Cq ladies (CQJP 2015) is ALMOST finished

So this cq has taken a long time to finish.

Mostly because I have been looking for the perfect backing for it

A backing that would both give it some more structure and was still pliable

Tough bill to fill.

What I ended up with was a heavy brocade upholstery fabric

Can I tell you a secret? Promise not to tell?

I stole the backing, from material I 'm supposed to hem for my daughters mother-in-law, for a table cloth.
To be fair there is plenty more and I feel, not at all, guilty over the theft!

Its your own fault, if you leave me in charge of the perfect material, to finish something I've been agonizing over for 3 years!

Aand there you go, Mom logic.

It was bound to happen at some point.

Any way, It's ALMOST done.


I was looking at it hanging there on the curtain in my sewing room and decided,

It needs something,


It looked to plain, Just hanging there, It looked bare.

If something as embellished as these panels can be said to look bare!

I thought giving the panels a wide border   and putting the panels askew rather than in a uniform pattern
would make them less chaotic to look at.


Than sewing them all together in a bunch, throwing a binding around that and calling it good.

Well the spacing part worked out bUt Instead of the balance I was going for, the askew part just ended up making it look more awkward.

So, I am in the process of adding laces and flowers and stuff,

so it doesn't have all that empty space between the panels.

That look like they are going nowhere.

THey make it look Meh.

I will fix thAt!

Hi-bear-nation & tutorial for cathedral windows

Nene

See what I did?
Yeah, I know it's not great if you have to explain it.

*Sigh*

I find myself explaining
a lot

To the point where I don't want to speak

to any one

any more.

Honu

Beach scape

I get my "bah humbugs" early

Or late

I can never decide which.






  I want to hibernate. 


 This doesn't mean I haven't been busy.

  I wandered into appliqueing again via a few things bought in Hawaii last years and never gotten to.              

When I realized I never showed you all The Honu (turtle) protector of the islands! I finished him before thanksgiving

The Nene, Hawaii's state bird, not quite done. The baby nene still needs it's beak& legs, the corner stones need to be done and then the berry vine they like to eat needs doing.

And the beach-scape background has been started it will have a lady swinging on a hammock with her quilting and a drinky


Then I found out my oldest and dearest friends mom has breast cancer so I'm making her a snuggle quilt for when her chemo gets going.

Also linking with Oh Scrap! cause everything I do is scrappy!

I hope it's cheerful enough for when she can't manage


 I also found an OOOOld UFO!

A cathedral windows quilt I started back when my old, old , old machine died so I'd have something to do.

I don't remember when I put it aside but it went everywhere with me for a while.

This is a great project if you travel a lot.

It takes up a minimum amount of space and you only need a pin cushion a needle, scissors and thread

Unless you let it grow out of control then it's like kudzu, everywhere all at once!

I'll show you how easy it is,
you need an even amount of 7" squares of whatever cotton you like,


I've used eyelet lace renovated from an old skirt here.



 Fold the square in half

and sew both ends

Leaving the long end opposite the fold open









Turn inside out so the seams are not showing

                 

Like this

Now open the pocket till you form a square

The seams should form a straight line right down the middle
(where my finger is pointing in the picture)

Crossed by the raw edge. and Iron nice and flat.

Don't worry about finishing this as it will be under all the folds that are coming next.



Fold like an envelope so all the points meet in the middle.

Iron nice and flat again.

Now sew just the tips of the points together so they all meet in the center.

Leave it floppy so you can put your finger underneath it.

I'll tell you why in a minute

Now sew the whole mess together!

I like a fast and easy whip stitch here









Don't worry about being too neat they will all be hidden by the 2"-2.5" squares you are going to use for the window effect

BTW this is a great project for those 2"-2.5" charm square packs you have lying around

Now place a square right in the middle of the square formed by your seams, pin it.












 See how my finger is demonstrating how to fold over the edge?

That is how you are going to cover all those raw edges!

Now pin the corners down
then pin the fold over right in the middle

The ends should fold over automagically

If they don't it shouldn't take to much encouragement to make 'em

Pin them down too.

Sew down.



I use a scoop stitch method here.

Sorry about the blurry but it's hard to sew and take a picture!
This is why I leave the center points floppy,
 so I can get my finger in there to sew it all down!

If you want to sew it down when you have finished the patches on either side go ahead



Now those pesky corners........

Take a stitch so you catch both sides of the fabric

As I have shown here

Pull thread through

Take another stitch where you went in initially

Then angle your needle ( Like in the picture)
catch the other side of the fabric

Pull through

 Both sides should pull together making a neat point

Scoop stitch to the bottom where your next stitch will go

Rince/repeat until you are done.

If you have never done one of these before I would start with just 4 squares

See how you like doing it before you go crazy

Like I said, Kudzu.

Now for those of you who noticed this clever little thing and want one, Extra credit!

It's easy-peasy!

Requires 1- 3.5" square

Folded in half as a triangle, right sides together.

Sew along both edges, leaving enough room, so you can turn it and stuff it.

Don't go to crazy and don't use batting, unless its really loose fluffy batting.

Hand sew the seam closed when you are done.  

Now take both bottom ends of your triangle, where the fold is.

Sew them together, securely, nice and tight.

and Voila!      A pin cushion ring!        Brilliant!

Bonus fact, if you fill the end point with walnut shells (about half way) before you stuff it you will have a bit of needle sharpening.
I don't recommend emery, unless you are using a really tight weave fabric - OR - you want to double up on fabric.

Because after a while using it, the emery will start to leak out through the needle holes and leave you with a floppy pin cushion.

I get my walnut shell from the pet store, in the reptile bedding section.
       It's a huge bag that, will last you for ever, so be warned.

Christmas Quilts received

 All the quilts that I gifted this year and couldn't show until they were opened


For my son the blue and tan scrappy quilt that started this crazy sane quilting thing.







For his Fiance Butterflies in blue











for my daughters mother in law Roses







And for my daughter and her husband
more peacocks



there are two more out there but the recipients haven't opened them yet...

Solstice

Happy Solstice to all  Merry Yule and Happy New year!

Grumblings

Yes, the time for the over commercialization of christmas is come. It is now unavoidable.
Every store you walk into, be it a malls hoity-tioty specialty shop or the bodega down the block has put the relentlessly cheerful christmas music on frenetic. As though every one want's to hear "little drummer boy" for the thirty millionth time this season. Grump, grump, grump!

Now before you all go and label me the grinch, let me explain; much of this yuletide grousing comes from years of working in the, aforementioned, mall.
Where as a mere worker bee you are expected to bear the brunt of Whitney, Celine and Mariah et.al. belting out christmas cheer for all their worth, on minimum wage, for 7.5 hours a day, no overtime. Whist being battered and abused by the rudest and most clueless shopper of them all, the last minute guy (sorry/not!/ if your him but really man, you had all year!) with a BIG smile on your face.
Generally by this time turned into the travesty of a grin by dozens of LMGs impatiently scurrying for the "Perfect" gift for the most important persons in his life, that he could only manage the 20 minutes before christmas to think of shopping for.   -.-
I hate this guy. He likes to think himself busy.  Try being a mall drone 9pm christmas eave.
It sucks donkeys........., well you know, I don't think I have to enumerate here. Those who have been there sympathize, those who have not try and that's good enough.

You probably won't be surprised that I celebrate solstice as opposed to chritstmas. To many years of having a higher power shoved at me by well-meaning relatives. I do however believe in Faeries.

They are only with us for a very short time and you have to appreciate them while they are here.
They don't have wings and they only seem tiny and delicate.
They do however have small grubby, sticky hands and cookie breath and their laughter will melt the badness from your heart, every time.

Happy Holidays

Felting #2

 So I made a BIG Mistake over the holiday.   

Huge!  

I cleaned.👀😜

Yep, House is all sparkly clean, spick and span. I can't find ANYTHING. Ugh! 

I take comfort in knowing neither can my husband

And he helped

Happy Turkey day all!

Having good old fashioned, fun, family, Thanksgiving!

felting

There's Something about Felt






the way it feels when you work it




soft to the touch and inviting




 the way it looks in piles colorful bits of warm and fuzzy


or when you've finished sewing it down finally neat in its encompassing stitches


hmmm, I thing crow needs a wing to go with that worm









 a little lumpy but always warm and inviting





one is never afraid to sleep under, sit on or otherwise use a felt quilt



its home





and homey things


things that make you feel warm and fuzzy





things that make you think of the future and  family and what lays ahead

please do

Happy Halloween!

HEY!







                come Back with my hand!

zen and the atr of quilting

 I'm in my happy place again




the sun is shining through the prisms



sending little rainbows all over the sewingroom



 the window is open for now 'cause its warm in the sun








I've got something on the machine and something  in the longarm
(thank goodness for charity quilts and the quilt guilds who spawn them!)

 practicing my feathers when piecing gets boring or frustrating in a rippit sort of way

Giving myself plenty to do so I can ignore politics for another week or so


I've gotten a lot of practice this year!

the throes

I have a bad case of the throes,

as every quilter realizes at some point in their quilting career

there are way more Ideas in their heads than they can ever make in reality

and when you are a quilter like me

who is well and truly bitten,

you have more than one hobby horse to ride

this makes for a messy table

or two............


I am always in the throes of an idea

I've various stages of done laying about the house.

I try to keep them contained but they keep crawling out across various tables in the house

tossing themselves around

at least that's what I tell myself

You know they just got out again, like recalcitrant puppies refusing to stay in their basket


here's another one!

and you have to lay it all out so you can see all the colors and how they will interact with each other!

next thing you know there are parts all over the room

It just exploded! honest!

I need to stop buying fabric, is what I need to do.

Ha!




that last pile ended up looking like this so the process is messy

but look at all the pretty colors!