I spent quite a bit of time working on quilt blocks today, and I managed to finish eight.
Since daughter Joanne and granddaughters Sophia and Kara are also working on quilt blocks, I took pictures of both the front and back of each block so that they could get some ideas for their blocks.
I have an idea for using fairy wands, so I put some more together this afternoon. Once my supplies arrive, I'll share what I've thought of doing... if my idea works!
Today is daughter Carol's 45th birthday. Happy birthday, Carol! To celebrate, we went to a new Italian restaurant in the next town south of us. The food was delicious, and the company was even better.
I spent a lot of time crafting with two of my granddaughters today... long distance, of course! They're in Georgia, and I'm in Illinois.
One of the things we're doing is making beaded pens. I'm not sure what the kids will do with theirs, but I will be passing mine out at school.
Sophia and Kara have decided that they want to learn to sew. I found some inexpensive fabric squares on Amazon and had them shipped to their house. Sophia practiced on the sewing machine today.
Kara worked on hand quilting. I'm so proud of both of them!
We thought there might be more storms today, so I started my day with quilting five more blocks for my next quilt. It did get a little dark for a while, but we never saw any rain. That's okay!
I really wanted to watch The Alamo today. I remember going to the movie theater with my sister on a Saturday afternoon. The deal was that when we got home we had to tell Mom all about it. I often wonder if we did a good job telling about the movie. I was only 8 years old when it came out. I've asked Mom, and she doesn't remember.
Anyway, it was easier to work on sewing two strips together for Joanne's quilt than to concentrate on tatting. My next step will be to add the final strip to these two. After that, I will join the first four strips with the last three. The end is in sight!
This morning I quilted five more quilt blocks. Each block has a different quilting design, which should make an interesting quilt.
I would have liked to accomplish more today, but we had some fierce storms this afternoon. Our mail lady came in and sat with us in the house for a good half hour until things calmed down. Luckily, we only had a few tree branches come down. Timing for dinner was just right. About 20 minutes after we finished cleaning up, our power went out for two and a half hours.
Obviously, the power is back on, but now it's almost time to head off to bed. Hopefully, I'll accomplish more tomorrow!
I accomplished a lot today. First, I finished tatting another bookmark, "Curds & Whey" from Tatting with Visual Patterns by Mary Konior. This was the last of "Harvest Moon" hand-dyed thread from LadyShuttleMaker.
The glue basting dried for more than 24 hours, and the five blocks that I quilted went very smoothly. The only negative is that on the purple color on the left, the glue shows through. Out of all the squares in these blocks, that color is the only one that showed this. Since the glue is supposed to wash out, I think all will be fine.
Late this afternoon, I finished sewing the two sets of strips together. I only have three strips to go. I really like the way this looks!
We had a great Tollway Tatters meeting this morning! We shared our projects, talked about tatting terminology, and even talked about other crafts.
After lunch, I finished Little House in the Big Woods by Laura Ingalls Wilder. It's funny, but I never knew of these books when I was a child. I wasn't even aware of them while studying to be a teacher and librarian. My first exposure was with the television series starring Michael Landon.
Recently, Dave and I watched the first season of the new Little House series on Netflix. Yes, I've been inspired to read the books. It will be interesting to see if the television series stays true to the books.
Today's tatting is "Thérèse" from Four Dozen Tatted Bookmarks by Robin Perfetti. The thread is size 20 Hakelgarn, hand-dyed "Harvest Moon" from LadyShuttleMaker. I didn't think I had enough thread for another pattern repeat, so it's a bit shorter than I'd like. As it turns out, I really think I could have made it a little longer. Oh, well. Someone will like it!
One of the things I have learned about from watching YouTube videos on quilting is glue basting.
Back when I first started quilting, I only knew about long basting stitches with a needle and thread. That was very time consuming, but it worked well.
Next, I tried pin basting. That was not for me. I felt like my quilt layers bunched up, and all of those safety pins really annoyed me.
When I was working on my Patriotic Pot Holder quilt this past spring, I used basting spray. It worked really well, but everything in my pressing area felt sticky.
Since I really didn't like the sticky residue, and since I'm quilting 10" square blocks, I decided I didn't need to use anything for my wall hanging. That did not work out as well as I thought it would. Some of my blocks came out a little off kilter. Lesson learned... I need to baste!
I still have some basting spray left, but I just wasn't ready to go back to using it. So, I went back to YouTube.
I found two different videos in which the quilter's used Elmer's washable school glue. The first quilter squeezed on the glue and then spread it with a foam brush. That did not look like fun to me.
The second quilter just put dots of glue all over her batting, set the fabric square on top, and then heat set the glue with her iron. That seemed like a much more reasonable approach.
I spent about an hour and a half glue basting 42 blocks for my next quilt. One of the videos recommended waiting 24 hours before stitching to make sure the glue is completely dry. Mom and I had other plans for the day, so that's not a problem!
I had great expectations for the day. First, I wanted to finish sewing the next two sets of strips today. It took longer than I expected, but I did finish by lunchtime.
Next on my list was to finish "Hills and Valleys" from Four Dozen Tatted Bookmarks by Robin Perfetti. Again, it took longer than I expected. Still, I have another bookmark for my stash!
I had so much fun making fairy wands the other day that I ordered two more kits. They arrived right before dinner time, and I put them together after we cleaned up. I think they make a cute display, and I have an easy gift if I need one.
Tomorrow... more fun!
Yesterday I went shopping with daughter Carol. She's looking for fabric to refinish a slipper chair that her Aunt Karen gave her. No decisions have been made, but it sure was fun looking!
Today I pieced blue and white squares. I think I might turn these into pinwheel blocks. I do love blue and white!
I am working on another bookmark, but I haven't gotten very far. My goal is to finish it tomorrow. I really need to stop reading books and watching YouTube videos!
I had quite a few squares left over from my most recent wall hanging quilt, so I decided to make them up into four patch blocks. I'm not sure if they will stay this way, or if I will try some different ways of cutting up and re-sewing to make different block designs. I really think a four patch lap throw would be great!
The first two rows of Joanne's quilt are sewn together. I think I'm going to sew two rows at a time and then join the pairs. It's a little too warm to have a quilt resting on my lap!
While doing some reorganizing, I found two charm packs that I thought went well together. Again, I'm starting with a four patch, but I'm not sure if this is the way they will stay.
This afternoon, Mom and I made fairy wands. I watched a YouTube video and thought they would be fun to make. I found a kit on Amazon, which was much less expensive than purchasing some already made. They arrived this afternoon, and we put them together in almost no time.
Many of our flower pots now have fairy wands in them. The sure do sparkle in the sun light!
I started my day off right by baking a loaf of bread. This time I chose to bake it in a bread bowl I purchased on Etsy. The bread turned out great, and I love the bowl.
Once the bread was finished, I worked on piecing squares for my next quilt idea. Mom and I hadn't gone on an excursion in a while, so I asked her if she was interested in taking a little trip. I didn't need anything, but we met daughter Carol at Michael's, and then went on to Hobby Lobby. We went to Cozumel (Mexican restaurant) for lunch, and then headed home.
There was plenty of time left to craft. However...
I got caught up in reading, and spent the rest of the day lost in a good book!
It has taken me all week, but I finally finished putting together the last strip for Joanne's quilt. I'm using the heat as my excuse, but the truth is I've just been lazy!
Today was uncomfortably hot and humid with absolutely no breeze until late afternoon.
Dave and I spent the morning getting my sewing machine tuned up. With lots of road construction going on, it took us over an hour to get to the quilt shop. Luckily, they were able to service my machine while we waited. It turns out that the piece I broke was unnecessary. It was some sort of brake to keep the bobbin from spinning when I stop stitching. The man who was working on the machines told me that I would never sew fast enough to make that brake spring necessary, so I didn't need to buy a new part!
I did put my sewing area back together after lunch, but I had no ambition to do any crafting. Instead, I sat and read the rest of How to Solve Your Own Murder by Kristen Perrin. I thoroughly enjoyed this murder mystery, and I'm ready to start her next book.
My sister is coming down to visit tomorrow. It's supposed to be another hot and humid day, so I'm pretty sure we will simply enjoy each other's company!
This is the pattern I messed up the other day. It looks so much better in tatting thread! The pattern is "Ornamental" from Four Dozen Tatted Bookmarks by Robin Perfetti. The thread is size 20 Hakelgarn, hand-dyed "Harvest Moon" from LadyShuttleMaker.
I have the next set of blocks ready for joining. While sewing the binding on the last block, I managed to break a piece on my sewing machine. I called my not-so-local quilt shop (it's about an hour away) to find out when I could get it serviced. Dave and I will be taking my machine in tomorrow morning. I'm hoping they can replace the broken piece and tune my machine while we wait.
Since I only had one block to finish, I pulled out a back-up machine that I had planned to give grandson Nick. He asked me several months ago if I would teach him to sew. Naturally, I said yes. I immediately started searching for a machine for him. I found a used Bernina that fit the bill. Luckily, it came with a walking foot. So, I finished binding the last block this morning. The bonus is that I'm confident that I'm giving Nick a machine that runs smoothly and will hold up for years to come!
Another strip of Joanne's patriotic quilt is finished. I thought I might get started on binding the blocks for the next strip today, but it didn't happen.
I almost finished a bookmark today, but I wound up throwing it out. I was working with perle cotton, which I really don't like for tatting. From the first ring, I knew I wouldn't be happy with the results. Near the end of the bookmark, I made a mistake. I thought I knew what I had done wrong, so I carefully untatted and "fixed" my mistake. However, it was still wrong. I saw that I had made a mistake four rings back. I started to untat again, and the perle cotton just shredded. Yes, I could have cut out the mistake and added new thread, but I disliked the look so much, I just threw the whole thing away.
Tomorrow, I will start the pattern again with thread I like!
Have you noticed that I've been finishing off each skein of hand-dyed thread with Mary Konior's Curds & Whey? That's because this is a simple one shuttle pattern that looks good no matter where I end it. I've even been saving small pattern repeats to use as embellishments. Where or when I use them has not been determined!
I wasn't really in the mood to sew yesterday. Another book has caught my interest, and I wanted to be lazy and have another reading day. However, I also have a strong desire to see how this quilt is going to turn out. So, I spent the better part of the afternoon binding the next set of blocks.
I've watched videos on yet another way of attaching the binding, but the finished look is different, so I won't be experimenting with this quilt. I do have an idea for my next quilt!
Yesterday was a reading day, and I made the most of it!
When we went book shopping the other day, I purchased The Violin Maker's Secret by Evie Woods. We all started reading our books when we returned home, and this one held my interest so well that I finished it yesterday.
I also did some mundane things like laundry, cooking, and baking. But... I had a day filled with reading!
Today's project was "Crescent" from Four Dozen Tatted Bookmarks by Robin Perfetti.
Joanne and family decided to stay an extra day, so we had fun shopping, grilling, and playing America-Opoly. Joanne won her first ever Monopoly game!
I was too busy enjoying time with family on the 4th to post about my crafting activities. I was able to accomplish quite a bit while visiting.
I finished binding the squares for the third strip of Joanne's patriotic quilt, and that was about it for the day. There was lots of visiting, chatting on the front porch, grocery shopping, and playing games today. It was the perfect summer day!
Optimistically, I approached my day thinking that I could complete two strips. Ha! I started at 8 in the morning, and finished at 8 tonight. Granted, there were other activities during that time frame... laundry, cooking, cleaning. Still, I really thought I could complete two strips.
My goals for tomorrow are more realistic. I now know that there is no way for me to finish this quilt before daughter Joanne and family head home, so I will take a more relaxed approach. I do better when I can alternate between two crafts, and I do have a bookmark that I'd like to finish.
We've had a great week crafting, playing games, and working around the house. I will miss Joanne, Jan, and their three kids when they head home. I am so grateful that they have taken the time to come visit us!
Today was a busy quilting day. I finished trimming all of the blocks by 8 a.m. After that, daughter Joanne decided on the arrangement for the quilt while I worked on cutting binding strips. Just our luck, I was short 16 strips. The fabric was a remnant, so I'm not sure I can find more of it.
After looking at red, white, and blue fabric, we settled on the navy blue. Joanne and I both like the look, and I was able to order more pre-cut strips that will arrive tomorrow.
In order to speed up the process, I machine stitched both sides of the binding. It doesn't look quite as nice as the hand finished binding, but there is a chance that I could finish this quilt before Joanne heads home. The first strip is done, and we are both pleased with the way it is looking. We will see what tomorrow brings!
