When I realized I was going to blog about finished Harpsichord and NSSG blocks, the thought of a harpsichord in a Not So Silent Garden just made me laugh. This is the seventh of the NSSG blocks I’ve done. I’ve finally … Continue reading
It’s not the North Star. But it is two new stars – the Morse Star and the Inklingo Star. And they’re both fantastic fun to stitch. And to fussy cut/print. Continue reading
When we took the picture of the stack of quilt tops waiting to be quilted, we also took some of them out to the roof garden for their outdoors photo. First up was the crib size Dresden Plate quilt. This … Continue reading
The block that has 112 pieces is finished. Baxter was inspecting it. It’s a variation of the Flying Swallows block, measures 10.86″ finished and was made using shapes from the Inklingo Free Diamond Square Triangle Collection. If you have the … Continue reading
One more fabric combo. This is the one I’ve decided to use. It’s actually a grey, not black as it appears in this photo, with pink and white. While I was filling out my Monkey’s Cheat Sheet so I’d know … Continue reading
Actually it was finished on the weekend but we couldn’t get a good photo of it until yesterday. On the weekend it was too rainy and the grass on the roof garden too wet. Monday it was too windy and the top would have flown off, never to be seen again. Yesterday it was still a bit breezy and rather chilly, but we managed to get a shot of it laid out on the grass of the roof garden. One of these days I’ve got to sort out a way to have a permanent design wall. This waiting for the weather to be just right is a pain! We were lucky to get this shot of it as the wind kept threatening to pick it up.
It’s a good thing it was finished on the weekend before the New York Beauty collection came out. Otherwise, it might have been a week or so longer before it was finished.
Why maybe in the title? Because as it is now it’s a small lap quilt, measuring about 50 x 58. Mr. Q.O. likes it just the way it is. I’m tempted to add one more plain border all around and make it about 60 x 68. But for all intents and purposes, the top is finished because even if I do decide to add that final plain border it won’t take longer than an afternoon.
Now to choose a binding. I’m thinking something very dark to frame it. I like to choose the binding at this stage and get it made and ready, along with the label.
It is hand pieced except the plain borders. They were stitched by machine. But when it came time to add the final pieced border, I stitched that on by hand.
I know how I want to quilt the large plain borders. But the rest of it? That I’m still working on. I’m tempted to just quilt in the ditch around the squares in each round of the star.
It was made with shapes from the free Inklingo collection, except for the cornerstones in the final border. For those, I needed a 2.25″ square in a square and used shapes from the 6.75″ Storm at Sea collection.
I worked on another of the pieced blocks for the red and white Feathered Star/Sunflower border last night, although I was terribly tempted to play with another New York Beauty block. That New York Beauty block is just way too much fun to make! My ideas list using it is growing practically by the hour.
The crab apple tree on the roof garden is starting to look very pink. I can’t wait for the blossoms to appear as it really is a beautiful sight and the scent is wonderful.
I had tossed my sweater over the loveseat. I know better. The minute a piece of clothing is tossed there, Baxter is immediately on it making sure it has its fair share of kitty fur.
This is another simple quilt that was made for the teddy bears. It measures approximately 22.5 x 27 inches and was such fun to make. Twelve 4.5″ LeMoyne Stars and a border and it was done. It’s hand pieced and machine quilted. This was the first quilt I machine quilted using anything but straight lines. On the borders I managed to quilt a cable, although it doesn’t really show up in the picture. That may be one of the benefits of working with a small quilt when machine quilting for me – I can manoeuvre the quilt sandwich a bit easier.
During the summer of 2008 it was also put to use for a teddy bear outing on the roof garden. Finding the old photos of these quilts is rather fun. I’m actually finding quilts I had completely forgotten about.
I’m still working away on the pieced border for the red and white quilt and, while I work on it, am thinking about another idea for a red and white quilt. The next one will be a small quilt though, I think. This red and white Feathered Star/Sunflower quilt is going to be rather large although I have sorted out how I will baste it. I’ll put it in the collapsible floor frame to baste it. No more crawling around on the floor with safety pins, not that that’s even an option with an inquisitive cat like Baxter around. I can just imagine what a nightmare that could be.
Speaking of Baxter, this photo was taken last week. Mr. Q.O. captioned it, “Any treats over there?”
So where is the fourth of the little borders? It’s pressed and already on the quilt top. Once I finished piecing the last of these I couldn’t wait to see how it was going to look. With any luck I’ll have all four of them on the quilt top by the end of the week. Then I’ve got to decide if I’m going to add the final pieced border(s) I originally had planned for the quilt.
That’s where the camera becomes a design assistant. Once all four of the little borders are on, a picture will be taken and I can then look at it on the computer screen before I decide whether to add that final pieced border. While I’ve already started piecing elements of that final border, it can easily be put away and used in another quilt.
Baxter knows how to really relax. He’s a very long kitty and he’s still growing!
Aside from playing around with EQ, this is what I’ve been working on. I need 4 long strips like this for one of the pieced borders for Scrappy Star. At this point, it seems like an endless bit of stitching for a border that finishes at only 2.25″ wide but I’m almost three-quarters done and I know I’m going to be pleased with it once it’s finished and attached to the top.
There are loads of opportunities for continuous stitching when attaching the QSTs to the diamonds and I’m taking full advantage of those opportunities. That is helping make the stitching of the border strips fly along but I’ll still be glad when this part of Scrappy Star is finished!
Playing with designs in EQ has now taken on a life of its own. The laptop is now plugged in over by the couch, rather than at my desk. The last few nights I’ve been designing and listening to TV rather than stitching and listening to TV. I think I’m on a designing binge of sorts.
Baxter was, I think, posing for this photo.
Yesterday I was talking to a friend about thread. It got me thinking about the different threads I use. There are five threads that I will use for any hand piecing or appliqué project. The only criteria for me is whether the colour matches the fabrics I’m working with. MasterPiece, Mettler 60/2, YLI Heirloom, Madeira Heirloom and DMC are the five. I love the heirloom threads as they are so fine they melt into the seams. That said, if I need a black thread the only one I’ll use is the MasterPiece one. It is the only black thread I’ve tried that doesn’t break after five or six stitches. Yet it’s fine enough that it doesn’t add any bulk to the seam.
The DMC thread is amazing. It is stronger than it may appear. I’ve used it both for appliqué and piecing. It melts into the seams almost as well as the heirloom threads and, of course, comes in many more colours. I spent some time here, drooling over all the DMC thread colours. I told Mr. Q.O. if we win a lottery, I’m ordering the one of every colour package!
This is a portion of one of the pieced borders I’ve been working on for the Scrappy Star top. Because there are so many fabrics that I’m using in this, the grey DMC thread has been my choice.
Baxter likes to sprawl on the floor right by Mr. Q.O.’s feet. When he does this, he’s wanting tummy rubs — and he’s not shy about asking for them.
Quilt Obsession 