What could be better?

Hand quilting a cozy, warm quilt while snuggled on the couch with your best friend.  Netflix on the television, snacks to share nearby and the ability to be part of the family unit.  Ahhhhh..... 

 
How can I ever go back to being hunched over a machine by myself while struggling to feed (jam) a large quilt evenly through a small space? This is definitely more time consuming but I am loving the chunky look of the perle cotton and the accent it adds to the overall look.   For a while I had a feeling I was in a self imposed contest to see how many quilts I could produce, but now I'm enjoying the slow process and the added personal touch.

Today I made my second ever bee blocks and Jessica chose a ticker tape block.  These were fun and reminded me of fitting a puzzle together.

I hope she likes them!  Being in a bee is such a great way to connect with other quilters and get to experiment with new blocks.  I'm debating about joining another bee but don't want to overextend myself and start freaking out at piles of envelopes.  How many are you in and how do you handle them?

My first ever bee block

It's done. I guess I'm an official real live member of the quilting world now.  Do I get a badge or something?  I kind of want to keep it but will be sending it off to Texas tomorrow to live with Jenni and become part of a super cool quilt.  I'm in love with this color palette and can't wait to make myself a quilt with these bright and brilliant colors.

The color is really a bright turquoise, my indoor photography lighting is horrible

I have been wanting to be in a bee for a while but have been too intimidated by the intricate blocks I've been seeing and not trusting my skills.  I finally felt more confident in my sewing abilities but I've only ever made improvisational type quilts on my own.  And by that I mean I sit down and start making blocks and see what starts developing.  If I want more of a fabric I order it quick and if I'm not digging another one I put it away for another project.  Having to pre-figure out all the fabric and know the specific quantity to divide up and mail out to eleven people seemed impossible.   In the Twitter Bee we mail one fat quarter of fabric to each person and then use our own fabric to supplement.  I love being able to audition my stash against the main fabric and come up with an eclectic but cohesive mixture and I love not having to buy all the fabric for my blocks beforehand.  It will be so fun to see what the others come up with!

My first attempt ....

I really, really hope that Jenni likes this block and that she gets a nice quilt at the end of this.  I'm already searching for fabric for my month.  Come on August .....

Snowy day project

Spurred on by this tutorial on organizing your stash, the arrival of a fat quarter for my first ever quilting bee block, and the overnight fall of a foot of wet snow I decided to dedicate today to sorting and folding my printed fabrics and putting them in some sort of order.  Of course, I have no idea how to store these lovely piles yet but am determined  NOT go to Walmart today.  That would definitely ruin my whole fun snow-day-in-the-house project. 

Here is the fat quarter that Jenni sent and some of the fabrics I pulled so far to make her block.  I'm kinda liking this mixture and am having a swell time pulling fabrics and trying them out.  So much easier now with them all together and in color piles.   Now I'm off to fold all my solids and stack them up neatly.  What are you doing today?

A tale of two baby quilts

Can you tell how cold it is from these pics?  Brrrrr .......

 After the holidays I was in a mood to use up some of my pink stash and practice hand quilting so I used nine fat quarters and made 36 crazy nine patch blocks.  Paired with some kona ash I made up two identical quilt tops pretty quickly.  The first one I used some hand dyed variegated perle cotton size 8 and made squares inside the gray blocks and one the second one I used white, pink and lilac in a grid pattern.  I definitely like the texture and the color accent of quilting with the perle cotton.   I think that I am going to use a combination of machine and hand quilting on the log cabin quilting I'm working on now. 

My sewing machine had to go into the shop for service so I got my old machine out but have apparently been spoiled by the luxury of needle up/down and a quiet whir as opposed to a loud vibrating clank.  I'm going to take a little break until my girl is back next week.  I miss her .....

One block at a time sweet quilter

Is it wrong to rework the words of a hymn?  Well, that's the soundtrack in my head as I'm plugging away one block at a time ....

I've been enamored with some pictures I've found recently of brown quilts and I've always wanted to make another log cabin quilt so I'm combining my two wants and working on a wonky log cabin quilt that will have brown sashing with blue corner squares (that's the plan anyway).   I'm loving these colors and each one is almost like a little work of art for me.  I've come to accept that I will never be able to produce quilts at the speed and volume that one probably should have to justify a quilting blog, but I'm determined to plug away methodically.  One.Block.A.Day.  

At night I'm finishing up the hand quilting on the second of two baby quilts.   I have one finished but just haven't had the gumption or stamina to trudge outside to the neighbor's clothesline after work for any pictures. I'm now thinking that I might as well finish them both and have one photo shoot.  Especially since I've never really confirmed that my neighbor gave me permission to use his clothesline.  Ummmm .... better not make too many trips out there until I get some acknowledgment of OKness. 

It's bitter cold today and I'm tucked into my warm, cozy house in honor of President's Day.  Thank you great Presidents!  I'm making a dinner and sewing and watching Housewife 49 while hand quilting.  Perfect :)

Operation Learn Hand Quilting: Successful!

I'm calling this my practice pinwheel quilt.  I used this technique for making super quick pinwheels and then determined to figure out how to hand quilt once and for all.  I looked up all sorts of tutorials and youtube videos and then experimented with many different materials and techniques until I was able to come up with a method that worked for me.

Molly's Hand Quilting Notes to Self: 

Forget quilting needles and quilting thread.  The official needles are way too short and the thread is way too thin.  I finally bought cotton darning needles and used the longest ones in the pack.  Then after buying perle cotton size 12 (thin) and then buying perle cotton size 5 (too thick) I settled on perle cotton size 8 (just right).

Pin baste your quilt sandwich and then don't use a hoop.  I just could not get the hang of the big hoop but since it was basted well there was no problem with letting it lay across my lap.  Well, except for the Assistant laying her head on it every five minutes for a quality check.

Make one simple knot in the perle cotton before burying it in the batting.  Don't worry about twirling it around your needle and pulling the knot down the cotton like they show on the videos.  You will never be able to master that technique and it doesn't matter (breathe deep....).


By the time I was done I was pretty good at burying knots and getting semi-even stitches. I can't express my relief when I pulled it out of the dryer and saw all my stitches were still there and nice and tight.   Whew!

This quilt is sweet and simple and I think it will find a home someday with a baby.  I'm not super proud of it but it taught me a lot and it is bright and fun.  The best part was that, with the exception of the various perle cotton and needle purchases, I didn't buy anything new and used up lots of my large batting scraps that I zig-zagged together.   As Martha would say ... that's always a good thing :)

Peep Love

The Assistant needs a lot of attention. 

This is how the Assistant helps me while I'm handquilting.  She lays her head on the quilt and gives me "the look" until I pet her.  This gives me a chance to rest my wrist and give my fingers a break so I guess it does serve a very important purpose.  She knows what she is doing. 

This weekend I was so pleased to find out I was tagged for the Stylish Blog Award by one of my favorite bloggers, Carolyn, of Fake it While you Make It, a blog that not only full of awesome quilts but  lots of interesting takes on crafting and life in general.  The rules of the award are that you share seven things about yourself and this works out perfect for me since I don't have one single "post worthy" topic going on right now.  Sooo, without further ado .... seven quilty things about me:

1.  I'm hand quilting for the first time and learning as I go.  I'm now wondering if I should have bound it first.  Also I found I don't like a hoop, it goes much easier just pin basted and on my lap.

2.  I love to bookmark things of interest I find on the internet. Quilts I admire, tutorials I want to use in the future, cool haircuts, interesting paint jobs, etc.  But later I have a hard time going through my folders to find what I want.  I just found a new site I love pinterest where you can pin these links to bulletin boards you create.  Perfect!  Not only it is easy to find what you are looking for, you can open your boards on any computer you are using PLUS you can see what other people are pinning.  At this time the site is in a beta stage so you need an invite to start a board so please let me know if you want one.  I promise you'll love it!

3.  I'm attracted to plain quilts with lots of solids and rich, earthy colors.   But I found that over the summer I bought lots of fabrics of pinks and peaches.  Now I have a stash that does not match my personality or my tastes ... yet I almost bought some pink fabric today.  Haven't figured out why I do that yet. 

4.  I have major gift regret when I think of the quilts I've already given to people. As I learn and my skills increase I cringe when I think of the quilts I was so proud of and gave away.  Now I want to take them all back and replace them with better ones. 

5.  I've realized I don't like pre-cut packs like layer cakes and jelly rolls.  I'd rather pick and choose the fabric and cut it myself.  Plus they're expensive!

6.  I hate putting the walking foot on my machine and I hate taking it off.  I pretty much hate everything about the walking foot. 

7.  The next quilt I make is going to be just for me.  I'm  excited to start, but I'm paralyzed with indecision because there are so many designs I've been wanting to try.  I think I'll just have to sit down this week and start cutting and sewing and see what emerges.

In the spirit of the award I'd like to tag some of my most recently subscribed to quilting blogs.

A Fish in Water

Joy in Everything

Mandyloon
 Andie Johnson Sews
Shiner's View 
Greenleaf Goods 
The Happy Bumbler 

Check them out!  They're some awesome quilters.