Still Moving Forward!

I'm always so surprised at how fast time goes by.  Last time I blogged was back in April of this year.  My husband had a kidney transplant on March 21st of this year and I was quite overwhelmed!  It was a rough six months to get to September when he finally began to regain some of his energy.  This is the middle of November and I'm just beginning to catch up.  It has been a rough year, but also an incredible blessing.  I have my husband back.  But there is also a down side to this; another family lost someone that was important to them.  Our blessing is some else's loss.  

Quilt # 5  Chinese Flowers
I've had limited time quilting this year although I have manager to get a couple more quilts quilted and finished.  I also made a baby quilt for my grandniece.

 This one was finished and sent off in May (2018).

The background is simply back and white prints, dots and checks.  The flowers are from my own hand dyed fabrics.  I was trying to use what to my eye was Chinese colors.  My fabrics didn't quite do the trick, but it did turn out well on the black.  I went exploring for stitches on my little Janome (not a fancy machine).  Every area that I did was done with different threads and different stitches.  I used a multi colored batik for the binding.  This quilt is free motion quilting on Phoebe, my Grace Q'nique long arm.  Lots of creativity and fun!

Quilt #6  No name

This quilt is not named yet.  I saw a quilt someplace years ago.  If I knew anything about it, I would give credit where credit is due.  I fell in love with the stars in the sashing of this Log Cabin Quilt and worked out the sashing including the stars.  The layout is sort of my own.  I'm sure it has been done before, but I simply played until I got what I liked. The setting triangles and border are made from a green printed with gold stars.  The red centers to the blocks are a deep rust/red pin whale corduroy!  Yes, it washed beautifully in this quilt.

This one is 68" x 68".  I think it is the 2nd widest quilt that I've done and as you can see there is still move room on the 8 foot SR2 frame from Grace Frame Company.

  

 I used Hobb's Heirloom Wool Batting for this quilt.  It was the first time I used it.  It is a perfect weight of a New England Summer Quilt, but only okay for our winters.  This is only November and I'm finding I need and extra quilt over me at night...maybe even two!

This quilt is done with rulers.  The quilting made the stars look awesome!  My centers are anything but perfect, but they were greatly improved by the ruler work.  The Log Cabin block is done in the ditch and down the center of each strip.

This is the center block.  I was never quite sure what I would do in the center,  At one time I thought about hand embroidery there, but I like this so much better.  Again it is ruler work with free motion stippling.  So glad I chose this; it seems perfect on the quit. 

I pieced this quilt back in the late 1990s or early 2000s, I think.  I was overwhelmed with the idea of quilting it by hand.  I wanted to design quilt tops; I used to love designing and piecing them.  Best part for me is choosing the colors.

The binding is complete and this quilt is on my bed.  Not my warmest quilt, but I sure do love the way the wool batting holds is puffiness.  I do consider this a good choice.

Quilt #7  He Loves Me  Jackie Robinson/Maywood Studios

So this is the next quilt.  It is a Jackie Robinson kit.  I love her work because of the specialty fabric for the border.  It is printed in stripes the length of the bolt.  Makes a fancy border easily.  I love the colors as well.  It's not a large quilt; I wanted something for my back porch hammock.  I nap there sometimes on hot summer days.  Funny, I wake up cold if I don't have a quilt under me.  In my back garden are orange day lilies, Gloriosa Daisies (fancy brown eyed Susans) and daisies.  My garden is the same color as this quilt.  Again the quilt top is about 6/7 years old.  So glad to have this quilt finished!

 

I chose a matching plaid for the backing.  Not sure what company, though.  And this one has Quilters Dream wool in it.  This is a thicker batting and I do like it a lot.  It is warmer than the Hobbs Heirloom Wool.  It makes a nice winter's companion with the No Name quilt.

I did in-the-ditch quilting all over, then went back to the triangles to quilt the big flowers.  The centers are ruler work, but the rest is Free motion quilting.  I was beginning to learn quilting directions to get across a row without breaking the thread.  This one is also finished and is now on the foot of my bed so I can grab it if I need the extra quilt.

Problems!

So, two weeks ago I ran into problems with a thread catching in the bobbin area on Phoebe.  I'm waiting for the repair man to call.  The same week I had the problem, he and his wife were at Houston Quilt Market.  I expect this past week he was exhausted.  Hoping to hear from him soon.  I'm missing Phoebe...

I did get one other quilt quilted before I lost Phoebe, but it is not trimmed yet for the binding.  That top goes back to the mid 1980s.  It is basically the first machine pieced quilt I learned to make; it's a string quilt.  As soon as it is complete, I will be taking pictures and posting it.  And I'm working on one that I hand pieced back in the early 1990s and started hand quilting a couple of years ago.  I've moved it to Phoebe's frame.  I just need to finish it.  It is an Irish chain made from 4" squares.  I've hand quilted the large empty white blocks and I'm in the process of long arm quilting pumpkin seeds in the 4" alternating nine patch blocks.  Again, no pics yet.  

Meanwhile, I'm repairing a quilt for a friend.  She purchase it in Lancaster County, PA back in the late 1990s.  Some of the fabric is very weak and wearing out.  I do still enjoy hand work, so I'm enjoying working on this quilt right now.

So, at this point, I have seen seven quilts completed for this year and I've learned so much about long arm quilting.  Special thanks to the FMQ and long arm quilters on YouTube and Craftsy that I have watched incessantly to learn both ruler work and free motion on my long arm.  The stunning part of this is that quilting by machine is now my favorite step.  I tend to want to purchase quilt kits so that I can get tops done quickly.  So looking forward to piecing a top and going right to the quilting process before I start a new quilt.  That will be new to me.

Enjoying God's blessings!

dianne