Henrietta Whiskers Finished

I finished sewing on the binding for the Henrietta Whiskers quilt today.



It is 48" x 54". I used Civil War Chronicles fabric for all the applique blocks and other fabric for the borders.



I machine appliqued the quilt blocks (using the freezer paper method), and Invasifil thread in the top with Aurifil #50 thread in the bobbin.
The quilt is also free motion machine quilted (on my home sewing machine) using Aurifil #50 thread. I used cotton batting (because I had a piece that was big enough) with flannel for the backing (I intend to use it as a lap quilt).



I used a stencil, and pounce to mark it, for the border. It is really easy to free motion quilt this stencil design (I have used it before), and there are only a couple of areas along the design where backtracking is needed.

 
 

I love the birds in the border.

I am really pleased with how this quilt turned out (it is the first applique quilt I have made). Since this is the last free BOM that Anne from Bunny Hill Design is doing, I am glad that I participated. Thanks Anne!

I spent the day at a mini retreat with Myra and her quilt group - always a fun day, and such a welcoming group of talented women.

Have a great day and thanks for stopping by!♥

Finished FMQ

I finished free motion quilting the Henrietta Whiskers quilt -

I just have to finish sewing on the buttons -

and adding the binding. I'll have more details about the quilting later when the quilt is all finished.

Today I made challah bread for the first time -

I was pleased with how it turned out and will definitely make it again.

Have a great day and thanks for stopping by!♥

FNSI Results

Last night for the Friday Night Sew In I worked on the Henrietta Whiskers quilt.

I just had the applique in the borders to add.

Got all the pieces stitched down last night,

and this morning I finished off the hand embroidery. It is all ready to be quilted.

Another productive FNSI!

Have a great day and thanks for stopping by!♥

Catching Up on BOM's

I finished the last two Henrietta Whiskers BOM.

block 8

block 9

Many more BOM's to catch up on too.

Have a great day and thanks for stopping by!♥

Inspiration??

I have been back for a week now and getting back into the swing of things.


I decided to move my sewing machine back into the basement (this is supposed to be my sewing area), to see if I would enjoy that more, bonus - the "mess" can stay out longer.



I have been working on the Henrietta Whiskers blocks. These are the last two blocks to applique.

I went to my parents home this weekend,


here is a picture of my Mother's quilt that I machine quilted earlier this year (it is on a king size bed).



These are three baby quilts that my Mom made with fabric I received from Marcus Fabrics (as a gift because some fabric I bought was not correct). The center one is made with the GO! baby tumblers (I machine quilted it in July). We are donating them to the Children's Hospital.



We have had some incredible weather lately. Last week it was 30°C, and tonight there is a risk of frost - oh well. Today was also so windy.

Good to be back! Thank-you to every one who joined me on my vacation and left me kind comments (with some wonderful suggestions).

Have a great day and thanks for stopping by!♥

Machine Quilting

I have been machine quilting the samples I made with my new Go! dies.

The Winding Ways one,

I chose to quilt it in concentric circles with a walking foot because I wanted to emphasis the circular pattern that the blocks create.

The Rob Peter to Pay Paul one,

I quilted feather variations on this one.

I also quilted a baby quilt,

meander quilting in the center and a swirl design for the outer border. This quilt is made from the fabric I was sent by Marcus Fabrics.
The Tumblers were cut using the GO! cutter and my Mom pieced it. She was pleased with how easy the tumblers went together. We will be able to make 3 baby quilts (she has already finished one) with this fabric and we will donate them to the children's hospital.

They all just need the binding.

This is this month's Henrietta Whiskers block.

We have had lots of heat and my vegetable garden is growing well,

we just need some rain - I have never seen such deep cracks.

Have a great day and thanks for stopping by!♥

Henrietta Whiskers

I finished this months Henrietta Whiskers BOM -

My fabric is so busy, definitely "out of the box for me", but lots of fun.

The six blocks so far - three more blocks and the border to go. The patterns for this BOM are still available.

I was given this quilt to machine quilt. It is a quilt that someone in my Mother's quilting group made for Quilts of Valor - Canada, I am honoured to be quilting it. I think I will quilt a feathered wreath in the large Canadian flag fabric square. She used spray baste to put all the layers together - it will be great to quilt without having to worry about pins.

I am using my regular machine quilting set-up of an old piece of counter top - this makes all the difference in quilting a large quilt.

It just sits on little pieces of 2x4 - pretty easy (to set up and to store).

I am very pleased that I planted all the gardens, especially as it has now turned cold and rainy (good quilting weather!). Here are some pictures of my yard.

I know things are just waiting to grow! (That soil might look nice - but it is really just hard lumps of clay - it always amazes me that little seeds grow in it.)

Have a great day and thanks for stopping by!♥

More Apple Cores

I have been adding apple cores to the quilt I am working on.

These are cut with the GO!

They are nice and big, and go together so well. It should end up being a good size lap quilt.

I also finished May's Henrietta Whiskers BOM.

Have a great day and thanks for stopping by!♥

Mother's Day

I hope all the mothers had a wonderful Mother's Day (I did!).

I forgot to mention that I finished this table runner last week.

I free motion quilted feathers on it (it was my practice piece for the FMQ Challenge). It is 20½" x 41½". I used wool batting. It is the small drunkard's path cut with the Baby GO!.

I have also been working on this months Henrietta Whiskers BOM. Using the freezer paper, machine applique technique.

Also sewing some more apple cores (cut with the Baby GO! - each 6½" long).

What is it with cats and anything that you put on the floor??!

He is so sweet when he sleeps though!
He is also still waiting for his forever home - too many allergies here. We believe that some one just didn't want him and dropped him off in our area.

Have a great day and thanks for stopping by!♥

Henrietta Whiskers

I decided to start another BOM!

Henrietta Whiskers by Bunny Hill Design
I think the patterns will be available for the year.

I have been waiting to finish the Thread Head Quilt Along quilt, and getting caught up on the other two BOM's I joined this year before I started this new BOM. This was the weekend. I am using a "Civil War Chronicles" bundle that I recently bought (more about that later).

January's block

February's block (just some vines to finish stitching)

March's block

April's block (it was the crows that persuaded me to join in on this BOM)

This is going to end up looking very scrappy. Love it!
This sure is a fun BOM, all the blocks are so different, plus this is the first time I have added embroidery to a quilt (the buttons will be sewn on after quilting).

On to the problem with the fat quarters -

When I opened up the Civil War Chronicles fat quarter bundle I was very surprised by how small they all were. Mostly all about 17" x 21", a few were less than that (they are advertised at being 20" x 22" - there wasn't one that size). In the above picture I laid the best CWC fq on a Moda fq (from a Civil War Homefront bundle) and you can still see the difference.


Plus lots of the fq's looked like the edges had been chewed.

I did contact Marcus Fabrics and they replied very quickly.

Now to get some things ready for the Free Motion Quilting Challenge starting at the end of the week.

Have a great day and thanks for stopping by!♥