A Peachy Finish

So I finally got Peachy Cameo quilt hand quilted and bound! Lots and lots of distractions this past month and unfortunately, hand quilting did not always make the priority list. It turned out to be such a pleasant quilt, almost restful looking! Turns out that I adore strong blues paired with orangey reds and peach. Who knew?

Peachy Cameo is finished!

The original intent was to use loads and loads of the peach solid fabric, but somehow it only ended up with one wide border. Not terribly unhappy with that outcome as the quilt ended up with a nice peachy glow regardless. Something to remember. A little bit can sometimes go a very long ways! The fabric behind the blue circle-ish blocks is a darker peachy brown colored fabric. It was something that had languished in the stash totes for at least 10 years and finally found a wonderful home in this experimental palette. I love how the darker shade grounds the quilt just a little bit more than the lighter shades would have.

 A look at the full quilt

Every time I finish up another medallion sort of quilt, it seems that I'm raring to go on yet another. I definitely don't want all of my quilts to read this way, but hey! Medallion quilts can be sort of addictive!

Centerpiece

I don't usually put eyes on the birds in my quilts, but this one insisted. This centerpiece is not especially intricate or fabulous, but I am super happy with the overall sweetness. And the background fabric for the centerpiece makes my heart go pitter patter. Too bad I only had a fat quarter of that particular fabric!

Looking across the quilt

I think it's safe to say that many of us who have quilted for years and years often get in our little 'ruts'. We have preferences and go-to background color choices and it's easy to stay in our safe little comfort zones with very little thought. With this quilt, I was determined to step away from the cream background look that I continually turn to. Then of course, I ended up working cream into the quilt anyway, first in the very center of the quilt and then later, at the outside border. Just can't seem to help myself! I felt like the quilt needed the lighter color at the outside especially, just to continue with the soft, open look that had been developing. There's something about the way the borders almost seem to 'flow' through one another that is very intriguing to me.

Border work

This entire quilt is my own design. Like usual, in the initial planning stages, I drew up a rough draft {quilt doodle}, just basic ideas for the borders and a general plan of attack. I love starting with a scribbled-on-paper feeling of what I think/want the quilt to look like. The details are not super important at that point. It's more about getting the intended vibe drawn out in picture form before being totally forgotten and swept away in the detritus of life. You have to remember that I often take several years from the very first seed of inspiration to final quilt completion. Not to mention, there are usually many other quilts in the works at the very same time!

Overall I think this quilt was successful in maintaining most of that original intended vibe. The only thing that I wish had turned out differently, would be the green vine applique. It should have been more rounded {or bowl shaped} on the bottoms of the vine. There were several factors involved in that decision, including having to increase the vertical width of the border or potentially losing the amount of tulips and berries that could be added in. Maybe even having to make the tulips smaller? Knowing that the side borders were going to be altogether different kept me more focused on 'proportion' than maybe I should have been.

Bottom corner details

As usual, I started this quilt with a stack of long-simmering fabrics. The colors used in the centerpiece were vitally important in setting the tone of the entire quilt. I've found that if you get that part wrong, there are certain colors in that gorgeous stack of fabric that will never, ever play nicely together. Always so disappointing to have to abandon perfectly lovely pieces of fabric that originally seem destined for good use together. But it does happen. And sometimes it even hurts.

With a medallion quilt, I make notes of which color combination to try and use in each proceeding border, trying to tie back into the centerpiece of course. This is something that I audition several times throughout the making of the quilt top. If I use a lot of blues in this border, then what works best moving forward to the next round? 

Sometimes you find that a coping border will be needed and then there's the challenge of finding a fabric that doesn't read too glaringly 'off' or ends up being distracting. It's important that coping borders fill a minor role and don't take away from more complex border work done before or after.  I hit the jackpot with this very light blue fabric. For whatever reason, that soft, simple fabric ended up emphasizing my centerpiece, which was an awesome result! 

For those of you who were wondering, the light blue coping border was needed in order to have the next pieced border fit together properly.  Though it doesn't usually bother me, I didn't want anything chopped off in this quilt. And well..., it has to be said. I rarely plan ahead for perfect measurements at the exact moment of starting a quilt! Maybe I should? Hmm...  Most of you know very well by now, that my preferred method is simply 'eyeballing' things. If something looks good to my eye {or appeals to my gut instinct}, then it's a go. Everything after just has to be made to adjust and fit in. It's the human touch look that I'm after. Absolute perfection is just sooo boring!

So even with the original scribbled quilt plan, I never truly know what my quilts will look like until they are 100% completed. The entire project becomes a huge make-do effort as one decision informs the next one. That's the way that my personal creativity works best. Meeting the challenge of getting a quilt top to 'work' at each particular phase, whether that includes color, fabric, measurement issues or perhaps even needing to add in a new design element. The best quilts keep me on my toes throughout, cause me to think outside the box for solutions and often end up with something that surprises.

In this quilt, the 'surprise' is the multi-colored fabric that was used for the scalloped border. Deliberately cutting that fabric in a specific direction gives it a subtle striped look that just makes me smile. I would have thought that fabric entirely too busy for use as a scalloped border, but no! Turns out it was the perfect choice {color-wise} for that particular border and then it was just a matter of figuring out how to use it best. How could I not use it when the colors were so very spot on? We all know how difficult it is to find these pieces of fabrics when the moment is at hand. 

Okay, enough babbling. Time to quit avoiding the to-do list around here! It's good to have another 2020 finish wrapped up and behind me. 

 

Next Up

Our skies are blue again and that makes us very happy. Life was very slow for awhile, but sometime here at the end of summer it has gotten extremely busy. It's been long enough, a lot of the family is starting to come into town to see the parents again. Though we have to wear masks going into all the stores, our bubble just keeps getting bigger and bigger. Time for the government to take a big step back and let us be responsible for our own safety once again. Most of the people we know don't intend to live this way forever.

Binding all ready for hand work

It felt amazing to put the last few stitches in the Peachy Cameo quilt last night. Then, this morning, I got up early to put the binding on. Wowsers, the light was so pretty! I'm not generally a morning person, so this was an unusual thing, getting to fully experience the beauty of a quietly beautiful new day.

String quilt ready for the hoop!

I decided to put the string quilt in the hoop next. Not the quilt top at the top of the list, but it was the one that could be sandwiched and quilted in quick window of time late last week. And it feels right. I'm loving the idea of getting my hands on this particular quilt once again!

Love the energy to this one...

Also, I think it will be very therapeutic to hand quilt as the decisions will be minimal. Just pick up the needle and go. Stitch, stitch, stitch....

Lots more of these to sew!

I also managed to squeeze in a couple hours last week with the hourglass units that ended up being abandoned from another project. They aren't the prettiest things, but I enjoyed the mindless chain piecing so much. Was very sad when life got in the way and my time had to be redirected elsewhere. 

We're all packed up and about ready to leave for a week or possibly more time? away from home. Husband finally got the job stuff figured out after many delays {story of our lives}, and now it's time to go take care of the job away from home. There will be people here in our home so don't think I'm announcing an empty house to the world. Hoping to squeeze in a fast trip to the Oregon coast during the time away too. We'll see. Got my handwork bag all prepped and ready to go. Of course! Thankfully I checked it again last night because I had managed to forget the 'proper' color thread for an applique project. Hmm... I wonder if that was a sneaky way to go visit a quilt store? It's so crazy. When I think back throughout the year, I can only think of maybe three times I've actually been inside of a quilt store. How sad is that? 

 

August Update

Decisions, decisions. It was either take the time to go quilt or take the time to actually write a post. Today I decided the post had to come first. 

Seedpod Flower quilt top is done!

What can I say about this quilt top? You already know that the flower itself was kind of an impulse, use-up-the-abandoned-bits sort of start. 

The full view

You also know that the inspiration pic was one that I fell head over heels in love with a very long time ago. Or did you? Regardless, I'm pretty impressed to actually see this interpretation finally come to reality. I do so adore a scrappy, utilitarian sort of look!

Scrappy goodness

I suppose this quilt would have looked fine without the Seedpod Flower center. Maybe. At this point I can't even imagine the quilt without it though. Once I wrapped my mind around how it all needed to fit together, then the top went together relatively easily. The anxiety and avoidance up to that point was stupid. Why do I always tend to overthink?

Trying to UP the 'busyness' factor with the prints this time!

All the economy blocks are the same size which means the horizontal rows are the exact same width. That was an important detail moving forward. The random placement thus relies strictly upon the differences in the various lengths of the connecting rectangles. 

A new color palette for me, but somehow it seems to work!

While they are not nearly as tall as the ones used in the inspiration picture, these started out from the scraps leftover from cutting the economy blocks. That was a good place to start. Hard to throw away the very narrow ones!  And so... determining approx. vertical measurements for the connecting rectangles became unexpectedly very simple. After all, I really didn't want the differences to be super extreme. A couple inches at most and there I was. Easy peasy.

Looking across...

Crazy how the bright, sparky applique addition to the inside border brightens everything up. I do wish the very slight, lighter blue outline above the curves still showed, but it ended up being turned under for seam allowance. This was just another one of those impulse rabbit trails that turned out to be a wonderful idea in the end. Sometimes it's nearly impossible to keep myself from traveling down the path of 'I wonder if x, y, or z would make things look better....'. 

Sometimes it works to the good and other times I find out that it's clearly wasted time. Never really know till you try though! I love how the yellow in the applique surround is more citrus than the rest of the yellow golds in the quilt. Yet it works as a very definitive framing for the Seedpod Flower, which of course, is the star of the entire quilt. Why not emphasize that even more!

This quilt top has a very distinctive mood, one that I can't quite put a proper label to. Is it retro? Vintage? Does it just convey fond memories of my grandmothers house dresses or perhaps it was the aprons she wore? Whatever it is, the mood as a whole, brings a smile to my face every time. 

Working on Spring Flowers

Another project that I've been spending time on in Spring Flowers. After seeing how washed out the flowers looked, I decided they needed a little bit of pzazz added in somewhere. After debating several different ideas {most of them ridiculously complex}, I ended up going with a very simple rail fence sort of block as the alternate. Lots of turquoise used to wake things up, but I also made sure to add insome clashy blue. For value and interest of course. There's just something about doing the unpredictable that always strongly appeals to me when it comes to quilting! The long narrow strips of the cream background fabric were added in after I realized that the flowers now needed some breathing room. So glad I had enough of that particular fabric because everything else just looked sloppy.

Auditioning border ideas

The brown and light cream striped fabric was something that I locked onto early on in auditioning border ideas. There's just something about a good striped border that speaks to me. Lots of ideas in play until abruptly I was completely done with dithering. The pink/rose fabrics were totally scrapped and simplicity became the name of the game. While I kept the strong chrome yellow, narrow, inner border {the blendy mustard gold fabric that seemed obvious was boring}, everything else got stripped down to basics. Will see how this border turns out in the end, but the thrill was just gone. Oh, and all the other orphan bits were dumped back into the totes too. So done with this particular project.Time to move on when it's not fun anymore!

Peachy Cameo in the hoop

The hand quilting is moving quite slowly on Peachy Cameo, but there's nothing very complex about what I'm doing. Sensing a theme here? One last hoop on the blue circle areas and then I'll be working on the two outside borders. I think they both will fit into one hoop {as far as width} so that's good. We're entering the long, long home stretch!

A closer look

As you can see, I often take the clamp off of one side when hand quilting. In this case, two of the blue 'circles' are right where the clamp would be, making it impossible to quilt in that area if it were to be attached. Honestly, I don't know if this is laziness or efficiency, but with this sort of quilting, having one clamp off is rarely a problem. The funny thing is, after all these years of working with only Perle Cotton thread and a long needle, my stitches are getting smaller. Still not super close together, but it's not exactly big stitching any longer. Oh well. Love the look regardless. All that instant texture is very addicting!

Will try to catch up with my emails and reading and/or commenting on other blogs in the next couple days. Have seen several posts in the Bloglover app that feel important to comment on, but the time simply hasn't been there. With time being diminished for quilting around here, often times there's really only one choice!

A Little Bit At A Time

Life has been very disjointed and moody lately. We have deadlines and 'have-to's' out the kazoo. Things happening that seem quite heavy. Or at least it seems that way. It could be that our get-up-and-go is feeling recalcitrant, and everything seems to take an extra dose of effort just to get done. Our kids and grandkids came to visit last weekend, so that was a wonderful window of good times. Nothing like the honest joy of little children to make everything seem just a little bit brighter for a moment or two!

Coronacrazy progress

Governor proclamations and mandates have been getting especially wearisome of late. It feels like we're at permanent pause regardless of any available, pertinent data. I have family grappling with the public school question and I'm very relieved not to have to be dealing with that dilemma myself! Feel so sorry for the kids who will have to wear masks all day and not get to have any positive social time with their friends. Definitely time to seriously consider home school options, but if too many do that here in our valley, the result will probably be that our community permanently loses the school itself.

Good time to pull out the Coronacrazy quilt out and make a stab at moving things forward--put my crazy towards something beneficial. Just too many things completely out of our control! This picture above represents three hours of auditioning the layered flower bits and then taking off the pieces not needing to be tucked 'under' the hills. I'm not very much in the mood to do this particular applique at present, but it is all prepped and ready for when the time arrives. Which it always does.

Binding for Sweet Tarts

Lovely to have had the binding all ready for Sweet Tarts! It's well on its way to a post of its own here on the blog, and I must say, it will be very bittersweet to be finished up with this particularly sunny project. It's been a great mood elevator during these past weeks of having it in my lap.

Applique border on Seedpods

The Seedpod quilt has the applique addition all cut out, very carefully fussy cut from the remnants of a single fat quarter. Stumbled upon this fabric when combing through the stash totes and it seemed so obvious that it was the perfect choice to help make this centerpiece shine! Amazing what a little fussy cutting can do! Crossing my fingers all the colors work as well as expected....

Time for a basket!

This has been in the works for a couple weeks. One day I was perusing the multiple stacks of fabric marinating throughout the quilt room. This stack of older blues and pinks didn't seem very inspiring, but mixed with a few reds and greens, just had this little glimmer of possibility. 

A make-do background

On that particular day, I must have been feeling fairly invincible, as it was not the least bit scary to just start cutting and throwing things at the wall. In no time at all, there was a substantial basket looking back at me. Easy as pie to add more width to the chosen background fabric and then, next thing I knew, the preparation for applique was well on its way too. Love when a project barrels along, gaining momentum with every single decision made!

Figuring out the applique

I'm enjoying the faintly Scandinavian look/color palette to the applique, but you probably need to know that all the cues for this flower arrangement were taken directly from the darkest blue fabric in the basket. Still not 100% sure about the white stem and leaves, but am willing to try it out and see. The basket handle still needs some fine tuning, but otherwise, all is ready for hand stitching there too.

Next up in the hoop!

Though we did have a lot of distractions over the weekend, there is generally always a brief window for hand quilting around here too. Thankfully Peachy Cameo was already sandwiched and pinned, ready to be popped into the hoop at a moments notice! I've been dreading working on this quilt for some ridiculous reason, but finally the time had come. No more excuses or procrastination allowed!

Closer look at Peachy Cameo

Now that I've stitched a hoop or two, it seems like a rather silly 'dread' and I'm left wondering why? It was probably the open areas in the applique border that seemed rather intimidating. Sometimes it takes getting a quilt into the hoop before those decisions can ever be satisfactorily addressed in our minds. Gotta go through instead of trying to weasel our way around a problem.

Full view

Up till today, I've not had a boat load of problems with the New Blogger. Little bit of a learning curve, but not too overwhelming. Today was a doozy and I eventually just had to delete an entire post and just start over. Why? Something to do with {accidentally} engaging the link button and then trying to type out the entire post while in that particular mode. Definitely. Do. Not. Recommend. I've been working on getting a post out today for more hours than I want to admit to. You'd think I would have quickly figured it out, but no.... I'm not techy smart and it took me forever to understand why all my defaults had suddenly went pyscho. {Head banging stuff.} Blogger, you picked a fine time to change things up and I sincerely hate you. The end.

So the paperwork has been piling up around here and I've been ignoring it best that I can. {For a long, long time actually!} Thinking... Hmm.. Surely I can put it off till a less stressful time? Yeah. Not happening any time soon. I finally bit the bullet and started getting things organized for a big push in the home office. Will still try to blog here and there, but cannot guarantee any regularity. Or perhaps I will post pictures and leave off the wordy ramblings? Whatever. Will figure it all out in due time. Thankfully I have lots and lots of hand work prepped and ready to go for when I need the down time. 

Am currently trying to get my hand work bag sorted out with applique projects organized in order of priority. lol  Order of importance? Or order of interest? You tell me which ones more important...

It's a Long Post About 17 in 2017 Progress

Committing to 17 in 2017 was a big step for me. While I personally have a lot of quilting lists, feeling pressure is something I generally try to avoid! Meredithe made it super easy though and just encouraged us to make forward progress with each item on the list. Okay, easy enough! So that's what happened and wowsers, did I even surprise myself!

The Eagle Quilt is a Finish!

I divided the list into two sections, 11 quilt tops with a goal of reaching completed quilt top stage and 6 tops to be complete, true-blue finishes. Nine out of those eleven projects made it to the quilt top stage--82% success, and five out of six tops made it the finish line--83%. I feel pretty good about those numbers because the other two incomplete projects did actually make forward progress {yay!} and the only quilt top not finished yet {in that particular list} is still sitting at my longarm friends.  Good intentions and all that....

It's been a long time coming!

So this Eagle quilt. Yep! It's my very last finish for 2017. Just squeaked in at the last minute. I was pretty determined not to stress over the lists and details-- just let it all play out. I did as always and just picked up the hoop whenever time permitted or I was in the mood. The funny thing is, this quilt has never been one that I've been 'raring to get quilting on'. Once I had the hoop in my lap and had been stitching for awhile, then I would relax into it and really start enjoying the stitching. Thankfully that doesn't happen very often, or I would never get any hand quilting done!

Loving how it looks with the stitching

This quilt was started back in 2014. In fact, Angie and I started an Eagle quilt blog for awhile with the determination to make our own eagle quilts and encourage others to join in the fun. While it was great fun initially, the fire happened here that summer and I abruptly changed my focus. This quilt top took a good long while to come together and then, well... you know me. My quilt finishes are usually lagging a year or two behind the point of a completed quilt top! I don't feel too terribly bad as I don't think Angie's gorgeous quilt top is completed yet either!

I'm glad it was on my 17 in 2017 list though. Otherwise, I'm pretty sure it would still be languishing in the drawers with others that I'm stalling on! The thing that was holding me back was how to quilt it. For some reason this was one of those quilts that I couldn't 'see' and so finally I had to just get it in the hoop and start the stitching. Yes. That means I had times where I ripped out lots of stitching and started over. Mostly though, the more I stitched, the more it started making sense. It's all stitched with Perle Cotton #8 or #12 thread, something I do for all my hand quilting anymore. And I LOVE the texture in this quilt. It really makes the entire quilt come alive in a way that makes it all so worthwhile.

The eagle design was something I drew on paper after looking at lots and lots of other eagle quilts. Then I fussed and fussed with until it started looking the way I wanted it to and also fit into the size square I wanted for my quilt centerpiece. No, I'm not a good artist nor do I draw worth beans. It's just something you have to trust yourself to make happen and keep trying! What's the worst that can happen? That's what I always tell myself at the start when I'm feeling the agonies of inadequacy. You can read more about some of the other design process here or here if you like. As the time drew nearer to putting it in the hoop, I almost took the '2015' off the quilt and replaced it with '2017'. So glad I didn't though. This quilt really didn't have much to do with this past year and that only has to make sense to me!

One last picture!

So back to the 17 in 2017 list, my Peachy Cameo Medallion quilt finally reached the completed quilt top stage as well. Last we talked, all it was needing was the corner bits. You can see that I ended up making the fabric do the bulk of the work and just kept the shape super simple.

The corner work

My youngest son reluctantly helped me get a picture outdoors as the quilt was too big for a full shot in the house. That particular day was freezing cold though and he only lasted about five minutes, before running back into the house like a little girl.*hehe  Just kidding. It really was ridiculously cold to be standing about outdoors, trying and trying for that perfect shot.

Sort of a full-on picture....

 And last but not least was a project that I mentally determined to get rid of at least three or four different times. But every single time I opened up the box to finally put all the {set aside} fabrics back with the rest of the stash, my mind started spinning and nope. Just couldn't toss this one quite yet. Finally here in the last week I decided to actually DO something with it or be done with it forever.

Shattered--The scrap bin quilt

This project has been in the works for a couple years now and the entire center is made totally from the scrap bin. The plan was to make several vertical columns of make-fabric flying geese, but that essentially involved sewing hundreds of them. Ughh.. After making 72, I threw up my hands and decided that I was done. Then, when I was faced with throwing it all away or continuing on somehow, I suddenly changed course and decided what if? What if I took those flying geese and set them medallion style around the centerpiece? When I found an old castoff shirt of my husbands in the stash tote, that decision was set in stone and I was off and running. Still don't know what I'll do with the remaining 32 geese or where this quilt will end up. Mostly for now, I'm resting on my laurels that yes, indeedy, it did make forward progress as well.*whew!  It's been a good year!

Thanks Meredithe and Ann and all my other fellow 17ufosin2017 cohorts for the wonderful encouragement throughout the year and helping to push, nudge and cheer lead each other along. I definitely needed it with some of these projects!

Looking For Border Solutions

So here we are with the Peachy Cameo Medallion quilt started sometime in 2016. All the applique work is done on the outside borders and now I'm contemplating the corner areas of that same border. If you think about how much time is invested in this border work alone {min. of 5-6 hrs. just to sew those cute, little blue circles}, then this decision becomes much more important.

Border  #1

I like to call it the 'make-it' or 'break-it' moment just to be properly dramatic! You know how it is at the end of the quilt top making process, every last little decision seems like it could be that beautifully done, icing on the cake, or perhaps end up being those funky, colored coconut flakes that help to cover up whatever got messed up underneath.

Border #2

There are a lot of options of course {and some so awful they didn't even get a courtesy photograph}. One thing for sure--absolutely no more of that gold!

Border #3

And I'm still trying to decide for sure what the corner shape might be. Obviously I'm leaning towards stitching something and not leaving it without, although that's seriously tempting in a get-it-done sort of way. Nonetheless, it seems a little 'blank slate' without some color in that corner. Perhaps a tear drop shape with the wider end on the inside corner? That would be simple enough not to detract from the rest of that happy looking border.  I've been cruising my Pinterest boards for any and all ideas, but naturally, the most perfect idea of all times hasn't presented itself quite yet. Funny how some quilts are so adamant about what to do moving forward and others just want something, anything done. Whatever. Just do it!

Border #4

Once I make a determination, then it won't take very long at all to complete these corner pieces. They aren't very large! As a true-blue, hand applique enthusiast, it really is a joy to make these final stitches and see it all sort of settle firmly into place. Like it was always meant to be and why did I ever presume anything different would work? hehe  Well, that's the desired outcome. As always, my favorite words are We'll see.....

Our new family picture

I also threw in a picture for proof that we did finally get the large family pic on the wall. It's going to be our 'forever' family picture for better or worse. Everybody is extremely happy with the picture as a whole, but most of us have extreme reservations about our personal place in it. Why did we wear that? Could we have possibly taken three extra minutes with our hair? Ugghhh.. I look so old {or so young!} and on and on and on. We are our own worst enemies. In reality, we'll look back on this picture in a couple years and think we look marvelous compared to what we'll look like then. Probably. That's the way it generally works, right? And yes, the picture is on canvas so doesn't technically require a frame. That being said, we might have to put a frame on it or maybe re-paint the wall a different color. Nothing happens quickly around here though.

17 in 2017 Still Moving Along

Still working on the 17-ufos-in-2017. For the Peachy Cameo Medallion, I have been working on a scalloped border. Couldn't find the right border fabric and then stumbled upon this funky print in the stash. I feel in love with it not knowing how it would end up being used and so this is a surprising choice to me.

Peachy Cameo Medallion

Overall though, the entire quilt has been surprising. It seems odd to still be incorporating more red and blue into this quilt instead of branching off into other colors like usual! Still have two border units left to go before this scallop border will be complete and also the corner blocks--not sure what's going to happen their either. For now I am contemplating a little applique addition to what I already have going on, perhaps add a bit more spice to the quilt...

Auditioning another idea for the border

The solids challenge quilt is on the list as well and finally, I went forward with a plan that's been in the works for months now. I drew this triangle sashing plan out in a rough sketch, but didn't know if I like it or not. Well, you know how that goes. Sometimes you just have to sew it together to find out! And so the first three blocks are up on my wall for all to see. Hmm... I think adding in more of those solids is probably the right choice and I am happy they won't all be the same. Still, am I making more work for myself just because I can? 

Looking at the new sashing detail

 And then there is the Eagle quilt. It's definitely in the hoop and after a very rough start {ripping out thread colors I didn't like}, we are well on our way to something positive. It's often hard to 'see' the best way forward when getting started. This one would have looked fine in many different stitching patterns, but there's always one we seem to prefer, right?

In the hoop...

As usual, we have had very busy times here--a cousin wedding last weekend with lots of family in town. So much fun but now I have been hit with the flu. Ugghh... Will hopefully be back to my normal routine very soon....

Some Things I've Been Working On

Life has been craaaazy for us lately, I think it's been mentioned once before here on the blog. We've had company something like every weekend but two? out of the last 8 or 9 weeks? Yeah. Fun stuff. Anyhoo--hand quilting and applique have been the go-to stress relief for yours truly.

Next up in the hoop

Immediately after dumping the last quilt out of the hoop, then it was on to the next. This one is a decidedly fall colored quilt which makes me just sigh in complete and total satisfaction. It's been awhile since I attempted any Baptist fan stitching, and this one seemed like a perfect match for that. Because this is such an 'imperfect' quilt, it seemed wildly appropriate to stitch freehand fans, right? Well, like I said, it's been awhile.

The first two frames were stressing me out so much that I almost ripped ALL the stitching out. The blue perle cotton thread was getting lost in the piecing and I couldn't see anything. What a disaster. After I slept a night or two and did lots of contemplating, I decided to keep going. But from now on use a blue wash-out pen to mark my fans as I came to each particular frame. Still a freehand look as I'm not using any sort of template, just drawing the 5-arc sets prior to stitching.*whew!  Glad to get that figured out! And now I'm happy as can be and things are going swimmingly. I am loving the sweet texture and am so very glad I didn't default back to a more formal look. This quilt definitely needs stitching with the look and feel of 'the human touch'.

Peachy Cameo Medallion

And my Peachy Cameo Medallion quilt got a good fixer-upper this week. I was a little unhappy with the top and bottom borders and in fact, got out my seam ripper and took the bottom one off, flipped it upside down and then just sat there and sighed with exasperation. I knew it. Even though it makes everything wonderfully balanced, I don't like the look. Not with this quilt! So while that border was off I did a quick measurement and sure enough, it needed trimmed about 1/4". Hmm... I thought the two borders looked a little out of whack. So I went ahead and ripped off the top border and hello? it was 1/2" too long. Working too fast because of time crunch issues and just not paying enough attention.

The long and short of it is that in trimming both of those borders, I had to take off a couple of those green leaves there on the sides of the quilt and move them over. Which made my brain spin and next thing I knew, there was a great solution to my borders making itself known. Yep! I quickly picked some fabric out and mocked up some simple little flower pots to put my vines in--elongate those side borders down into the bottom border. Problem solved! So yeah... all that 'fixing' took a couple hours, but it was so worth it. Now it looks right and good. Ready to move on to the next border!

Vintage Lillies

And I warned you that I was probably going to start 3 new projects? I was serious about that. This one is a project I've been deliberating about since Kaja started this quilt much earlier in the year. The colors were so intriguing that I couldn't help but start pulling fabrics. Yum... Various fabrics have migrated over to that stack in the last couple months, but I just couldn't pin down where and how to start the quilt. Finally, after the quilt show in September, the starting place hit me like a bolt out of the blue. What about a Lily block centerpiece? And from there it's just been a matter of finding the time.

A fabric pull

I cheated on the lillies, and just drew up a simplified version, totally skipping the diamond piecing. Who cares about that? I just want the look! All the pieces need to applique stitched down and then I'll probably have to cut the top of the block down for reasons of proportion. My daughters were less than impressed, but I am really excited about this new start. It feels really good. Maybe some improv. can be incorporated into this quilt too?

Trying to take the Family Pic

And just as a side note in the interest of keeping things real. My plan has been {all year} to get a family picture sometime this fall. One good picture of my mostly adult children with their dad and mom--it's gonna be blown up pretty big and will hang on our wall forever. My parents always had a big pic of their huge family and I loved it, always wanted my own. So... plans were made, schedules were checked and finally we had a date where everyone could be in town, not working, no company, yada yada yada. It was a beautiful day, but my oh my, were the family members grumpy. Normally I'd have made meticulous plans to make sure we all had new, spiffy clothes and, no. 

We totally lost track of time. Okay. What colors do we ALL have in our closets? It seems that we are a casual, blue-jean sort of clan. There was a football game in which cell phones were making their way into pictures on a regular basic. NO! This is picture day! My oldest son was on call with his work. Don't answer your phone! This is important! My husband has been sick off and on all summer. He looked tired, desperately needed a nap. Eyes open everyone! He's lost almost 60 pounds in the last two years. Yay! Good for him. Apparently I picked up 15 or 20 of them.*Ugghh  Was I not planning the picture for over six months? Seriously. How hard is it to stay away from the desserts? and so on and so forth. I'm depending on my amazing photographer sister to make US all look amazing. That's not too much to ask, right?