Joanne's quilt

 

It took me all day, but I finished Joanne's patriotic pot holder quilt today!  I'm so pleased with the way it turned out.

I foolishly thought that I had a chance of finishing this when Joanne was still here. It took my seven weeks, with a start date of June 15. Joanne and family headed home July 7. It took a little bit longer than anticipated!

Dave asked what I'll work on next. I guess he hasn't noticed that I've already started another quilt!

Another quilting day

 

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!

Busy day

 

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!

Lots of fun!

 

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!

Keepin' busy

 

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!

The last strip

 

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!

Ornamental

 

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!

Too busy

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 "Lattice" for Four Dozen Tatted Bookmarks by Robin Perfetti yesterday morning.

"Lattice Variation" was finished this morning. Both are in size 20 Hakelgarn, hand-dyed "Shades of Gray" from LadyShuttleMaker.

I also finished the third strip of Joanne's patriotic quilt. I will not finish the quilt before they leave tomorrow morning, so I'm working at an easier pace. 

We plan to take the kids book shopping this afternoon, so crafting is probably done for the day. However, we are going book shopping!