Blogger's Quilt Festival

This is my first time participating in the Blogger's Quilt Festival.

I am entering my latest finish, my Baltimore Spring quilt.  This was purchased as a laser cut kit, but most of the pieces were just scored, not actually cut.  I sat at a quilt retreat for four days and cut apart and fused the blocks inside the border.  I did the border after I got home.  Then I rolled it up on a large tube I had on hand and it sat.  I finally decided to stitch down the appliques in August.

I used a variety of threads, mostly Superior Fantastico.  I machine quilted it Labor Day weekend.  I can't believe it is finished!  I added a hanging sleeve to the back as it will be hung in my home on a quilt hanger a friend's husband made me.

Closeup  detail photos.

 I entered the quilt in our local county fair a couple weeks ago.  We have about 10,000 people in the county, and the fair and Lumberjack Days are a big event in town in mid September.  I won Best of Show and the photo below is hanging at the fair.

The third weekend in September is another fair an hour away.  Residents from surrounding counties can enter that fair, which is unlike our county fair.  I was surprised to win Best of Show again!  I also received Best in Class and Superintendent's Choice.  They put all the quilts behind plastic to keep people from touching them.  It doesn't make for good photography!

The most popular question I get asked is "How long did it take?"  I really should keep track sometime, but then again, that might take the fun out of it!  I am quilting obsessed and I think I will get back to piecing for awhile!

Finished Baltimore Spring quilt!

After many, many hours of stitching this past week I finished my Baltimore Spring quilt.  I stitching every evening after work and all day Friday and Saturday.  Saturday evening I applied binding.  I added a hanging sleeve as it will go onto a quilt hanger a friend's husband made me.  It's a bit heavier than I had hoped and I need to block it I think, but it's done!

Baltimore Spring

detail

detail

I started cutting up panels for a One Block Wonder and will have that on my design wall soon!

Be sure and check out my blog tomorrow for a special post and and links to many other bloggers for a meet and greet!

Linking up to Design Wall Monday and Monday Making 

Machine Quilting/Applique

A few months ago I finished this top.

It was a laser cut kit from Keepsake Quilting.  The pieces were just fused, not stitched.  I got it out this past week to start stitching.  I layered the top with just one layer of Quilter's Dream Request loft batting and nothing else and I have been free motion stitching around the edges, changing colors of thread.  I am using a lot of Superior Fantastico thread.  

There were some VERY, VERY thin vines that wouldn't fuse well and when I tried stitching I had a huge mess.  I kept going (stupidly) and finally decided I could not live with it.  I worked hard to get all the vines out from under one row of stitching.  Then I decided to just free motion stitch a stem.  I like it so much better!

 The cherry stems are just drawn on, but I will stitch over them and make it connected!  I still have lots of stitching to go!

After I finish this part, I will add another layer of the Request loft batting and backing and stitch all the background.  That is going to take time too!

It was back to work today,  I always forget that we really do have a lot of rules and routines!

Linking up with Design Wall Monday.

Not a lot of progress

The last few weeks have been filled with many things, including a horrible cold virus that really zapped me.  Lots of other things going on.  I am almost quilting a large quilt, but just didn't get a chance to finish!  My daughter and grandkids are here visiting and that takes priority.  I am eeking out a few minutes with the kids playing here in the sewing room.

My biggest finish was getting the borders on my Baltimore Spring quilt.  I still haven't gotten to the stitching stage, I hope to soon.  I do have some other quilting commitments coming up, so we shall see!

When I took the quilts to school for 100 day in my previous post, our volunteer music teacher was there.  This is a small wallhanging from hand dyed fabrics and the leaves are raw edge.  It's not my favorite and she asked if I would donate it to a benefit auction for a neighbor's 4 year old great granddaughter.  I was happy to.  The little girl was born with a rare medical condition and they are seeing treatment in Boston.  I included a closeup of the quilting.  This is about 24 X 30. 

Instagram is having a quiltfest for the month of March, but again, way too many commitments to participate fully.  I  was able to post a pic on miniature quilts day though!  I wish I had laid a ruler for comparison!  It was about 24 X 27 or so, I can't remember now!  I made these a few years ago.  I used to make a lot of mini quilts!  The top two are traditionally pieces and the bottom 2 are paper pieces and they are small!

 I got out my Farmer's Wife blocks to see how many I had. I laid a piece of black fabric on the floor and I think that is what I will use on my scrappy batik quilt when I get all the rest of the blocks made some year!  Actually I have been challenged to finish it this year.  I started this many years ago.

 More recently I started the 1930's Farmers Wife.  Still not sure why as I have way too many sampler quilts and they aren't my favorite!  They are brighter and I will be using white.  I have a lot more to make!

Hopefully I will be able to get back on track with quilting and blogging.  I will post pics of my grandkids in another post!

Check out Design Wall Monday!

Retreat Weekend

I went to a retreat that started last Wednesday for four nights.  It was a new to me retreat and the retreat was held at a hotel.  I had a lot of fun, there were 23 of us, including the quilt shop owner that sponsored the retreat.  She was very generous with gift bags and set up a small shop for us.  Her husband and kids provided dinners for us.

I was able to sew up 84 4 patch blocks for a couple of kids quilts and still need to cut them apart for a disappearing 4 patch, but my main project was my Baltimore Spring project I showed a block of in my last post.  It was intense, but I got all the blocks cut and fused. Some of those pieces are SOOOO small!  I was able to tape the pieces to a wall to watch the project grow.  I have been debating what to do next. I think I will go ahead and assemble the blocks, add the borders (yes a fusible applique one) and then thread paint with a thin layer of batting and then add another think batting layer and a backing and quilt the open areas.  That is my plan at least!  This is not the final layout, it looks too heavy on top, so I will do some rearranging.

Baltimore Spring BOM all fused

Before the retreat the quilt shop owner had a mystery quilt pattern and and quilters had a chance to participate.  She picked fabrics and had them in a bag based on their color preferences.  I did not participate but enjoyed seeing the wide variety of finished quilts from the same pattern!

The previous weekend I got the this quilt top out and added the prairie point border and the final border.  I had pieced it quite some time ago at a retreat.  It was a kit I bought many years ago from Starr Fabrics.  It is a small throw size.  I also have a kit for a queen size version!  It is fun to sew up and I like the mottled effect.

I also pin basted this quilt top to ready it for quilting.  I had gotten word that my friend Kathy had passed away unexpectedly and she and I were co-moderators on a yahoo group for twenty years called Washington State Internet Quilters.  The list owner Melissa is a dear friend and the three of us "ran" the list.  As Facebook and other social media took over the group had dwindled in recent years, but many friendships were formed from this group.  They had many sew ins, retreats, swaps, round robins, etc.  These blocks were from one of the swaps, and in memory of Kathy I got out this quilt top and readied it for quilting.  I have another one as well and still more blocks to be made into quilts!

I think I am going to be busy for awhile!

Linking up with Design Wall Monday, Main Crush Monday and Monday Making.

Very Productive Weekend

I had a wonderful four day weekend.  I didn't feel like battling snow to go shopping so I stayed in my quilt zone.  We did watch movies so I could do hand stitching on bindings.  Today I finished two more projects and made a block for another project.  It was on my list!

This baby quilt is busy and not my style.  Years ago (7 or 8) I was at a quilt show and bought this froggie print kit.  When I made it I didn't have anything to do with it so I set it aside.  I still need to find a home for it, but it's quilted and bound and off my to do list!

I am in a small group and a couple years ago we did a group project.  The background is a hand dyed piece of fabric from a friend.  I hand wrote the words and everything else was added by six other people.    Someone embroidered over my words, someone added beads, someone did machine stitching, etc.  I wasn't sure where to go with it and finally decided to do minimal quilting and bind it.  It even has a label.

A couple years ago I fell in love with the quilt Baltimore Spring in the Keepsake Quilting catalog.  It was a spendy BOM, but the pieces are laser cut.  I decided to test a block to see if it's doable at a retreat and yes it is as long as I have my pressing area right beside me!  I stood at my pressing table for two hours to do this block!  I still need to add stitching and that is going to be tricky because some of the pieces are SMALL!!!  The block finishes at 12".

 Officially I have finished 14 projects so far this year!  I am down to 101 UFO's!!!