Safari Finish

I did it!  The Leo & Savannah quilt is finished.  The label is attached and it is on its way to my customer and HS classmate in wait to welcome her little grandson, Andrew Lincoln.

The assembly of the animals was easy, though the book Every Breath by Nicholas Sparks made it challenging to stay focused on the position of each stitch and flip direction.  I only had a few mistakes... one required the remaking of a small unit... several others required a visit with my friend Jaquie O for a ripping out session.

I had plenty of fabric... despite the accidental swap of two neutral fabrics.  One was 7/8yd, the other was 1/2 yard.  I didn't realize this until I was on block 4 (the leopard).  It all worked out in the end!

I moved on to the sashing and Anna Karenina... the audio book is 33+ hours long!  It did pass the time of sandwiching, marking quilting lines and quilting the hanging diamonds rather quickly.  I had originally planned on doing medium stippling.  Considering the size of the quilt and the fact that it is for a boy... I chose hanging diamonds.  Straight lines lend a more boyish feel than the flowing curves of stippling.  

I chose my own arrangement of the blocks and opted for a scrappy binding rather than what they suggested.

I've been able to pick up the speed of the audio narration just a touch... As of this writing, I still have 20 hours remaining.  😦

I asked mr. google a question about the book... and another question popped up that let me to a discussion forum about the book.  "Is there any reason to finish Anna Karenina?"  The writer of the question stated she had just finished Pt III (near the point that I was).  I too was beginning to feel the same way.  I read some of the comments including a spoiler and have decided that yes, I need to finish the book.

Since I was waiting for the quilt to dry, I decided to pull the fabric for this book.  I'd had a dream about it and knew what fabrics to use.

That completed... I have an empty design wall.  I have the Pieces From the Past blocks that worked on before our Moab trip.  Two blocks need embroidered names added to them.  

I'll be listening to Anna as I slow-stitch.  You know where to find me. ;)

Have you ever read Tolstoy's Anna Karenina?

Leave a comment... I'd love to hear from you!

Keep Piecing,

Melva

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21st Birthday Quilt

It was just Monday morning that I started cutting into the collection of t-shirts for a customer and by the end of the day I had all of the pieces on the design wall.

Tuesday was a day to determine what fabrics to use as sashing strips and borders.  After checking with the mom of the soon-to-be-21-year-old, I was given permission to include maroon/red and grey to the black that she had asked for.  

I do love being able to use fabrics from the stash whenever possible! After making sure I had enough for the layout I had wanted, I started sewing the columns together.  

I had just enough of each fabric... there is such a minimal amount left that it was placed in the scrap bin or trash rather than back in the stash!

The greyish print that I used in the horizontal strips was from a previous quilt... The maroon fabric was left over from making the armchair covers for Dave's recliner...  The outside border was left over from a binding job on yet another quilt.

Lickety split, I had the top pieced.  The border was added and I was sandwiching the quilt by the end of Wednesday.

I chose to do a flange binding with a batik red that had snowflakes and swirls (a bit feminine but worked perfectly for that pop of color) that I picked up on a sale. It offers a great finish to the border of the quilt.

The young man played football in high school, as well as soccer and hockey before choosing to stick with football.  There are shirts from various family vacations and elementary school events.  

It was a fun quilt to make and one that I enjoyed making.  I think this was the 4th time my customer contacted me to inquire... 13th birthday, 16th birthday, HS graduation... I'm glad that she finally followed through and that I didn't give up on her as well.  Timing is everything!

The finished quilt is approximately 60"x80"... a generous size for the young man to enjoy as he watches tv or snoozes while watching golf on tv.

Or maybe that's just us... Need a nap on Sunday afternoon?  Turn on golf.  It's the perfect accompaniment to the day of rest. ;)

Keep Piecing,

Melva

Linking with:

Share Your Style at French Ethereal

I Quilted This! at Quilting & Learning

Off The Wall Friday with Nina Marie

Brag About Your Beauties at From Bolt to Beauty

Thank Goodness It’s Finished Friday

Finished or Not Friday at Alycia Quilts

Create, Bake, Grow & Gather at Shabby Art Boutique

Home Matters at Modern on Monticello

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Vintage Becomes New

A few months ago, I saw this cute little crazy quilt block on Kelly Cline Quilting (fb) that included an embroidered piece. I love the block, and I was pretty certain that I had a pillowcase with one of these kittens on it somewhere in my "vintage items to keep" box.  

This "VITK" box lives under my sewing table...

I kept thinking about it as I pieced my scrappy green wonky star blocks for my RSC (rainbow scrap challenge) quilt.  I made a few dark, I made a few light... positive and negative.  I was pleased with how they look. 💚 (why am I mentioning this project again?  Keep reading ;))

It was as I was digging for the embroidered pillowcases that I found a collection of green blocks that came from another quilter a few years ago.  The blocks were pieced so that they were a little (quite) imperfect but had lovely greens.  I sat down with my good friend, Jaqueline and started to part them out... in the end, I added two more lovely RSC blocks to my collection... left side top and middle.

While I did not find the pillowcases I was in search of, I did find lots of other treasures... some linen hand towels stitched by my Grandma T - Tressie - and a crocheted pansy doily.

Grandma was born February 16, 1915.  She loved the color yellow.  The two pieces looked like they belonged together and the vintage pieces quickly became something new... in her honor!

I marked the centers of both pieces (by pressing creases with a hot iron), made my quilt sandwich using Hobbs fusible batting (being careful to leave the center crease marks) and then pinned the doily into place.

I machine stitched the outer edges of the white portion of the doily down and then quilted the center star, following the wider lines.  

I pushed the pansies to the center so that they were out of the way and marked my quilting lines to reflect the scalloped edge of the center of the doily.  

The pansies were then pressed back into place, pinned.  I then hand-stitched the outer edges.

The binding matches the backing from Connecting Threads - Swallowtail Grove.  I sewed the binding to the front and then hand-stitched the binding to the back with an exposed running stitch.  I made sure I added in two labels.  One to show I had made it... and one was just for fun!

If you are interested in making a purchase from Connecting Threads, you can use the code ACTMelvaLovesScraps to receive 15% off, including sale items.

This was a fun and quick project and I love the result.

Here's one final look at the piece all washed and ready for its new home. 💜💛

I wanted to offer a brief update about the grandson's basketball game... He only had a few minutes of playing time in each quarter, but each time he scored!  His skills have improved since we last watched him in December and he was happy to see us.  

Heather dropped him off at the game and was picking him up but did not stay.  While disappointed, we made the most of our time with Ty.  I was able to use him as a courier for the valentine's cards I had with us.  I had fun making these up and Mom had fun as we made the stained-glass cards from her.

For those that offered up prayers for our time together... Thank you! 💗

Now... where did I see those embroidered pillowcases???

Keep Piecing,

Melva

Linking with:

Off The Wall Friday with Nina Marie

Brag About Your Beauties at From Bolt to Beauty

Thank Goodness It’s Finished Friday

Finished or Not Friday at Alycia Quilts

Create, Bake, Grow & Gather at Shabby Art Boutique

Home Matters at Modern on Monticello

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Two Walk Abouts - Two Finishes - His & Hers

It's been a good week in the studio, and I am here to share the two finished Walk About quilts.  Both tops were pieced at the quilt retreat in November.

The Wildlife Walk About is designed more for a man... though, I know a gal or two that would appreciate it as well.  

The teal/yellow quilt is definitely more feminine.

Here's a closer look at the Wildlife quilt...

An all-over lattice grid was quilted over the center of the quilt, out to the borders... stitch in the ditch on either side of the narrow border and a vine & leaves FMQ filled the wider border.  

The backing is pieced - the focus fabric is flanked by some grey/green plaid woven fabric.  And the binding is a brown/green leaf camo print.

The yellow/teal quilt needed borders, and I had to spend a fair amount of time digging in the stash for fabrics that worked.

I modified the border sizes and order from the original pattern because I was limited in the amount of fabric I had available in the stash.  I started the quilting design with a square in a square layout and then started some dot-to-dot lines, allowing the lines to crisscross and create some interesting geometric designs.

The backing is a woven teal fabric with deep green and purple.  

I used a deep purple Aurifil thread in the bobbin and a variety of pastel Aurifil threads as the top thread - pastel teal, light green and a lavender.

The binding is a deep green blender.  I didn't think it would work... I was a skeptic until I auditioned it along with a few others and I was surprised to see that it was the best option.

I have my fingers crossed that they will find their new homes for Christmas... How perfect is this?  His and Hers quilts!

Same pattern... same layout... but so different!

I'll be tidying up my studio and stash this weekend.

Do you have quilting plans for the weekend?

Are you sewing Christmas or Holiday gifts?

Or are you done?

Leave a comment... I'd love to hear from you!

Keep Piecing,

Melva

Linking with:

Off The Wall Friday with Nina Marie

Brag About Your Beauties at From Bolt to Beauty

Thank Goodness It’s Finished Friday

Finished or Not Friday at Alycia Quilts

Create, Bake, Grow & Gather at Shabby Art Boutique

Home Matters at Days Filled with Joy

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Walk About Retreat

As promised, here I am with the retreat update.  My arrival on Friday afternoon found me greeting a few familiar faces as well as a few new faces.  As I got settled in, I mingled a bit.  Others arrived shortly after me and I assisted with toting and unloading them.  I was to be borrowing a table from another quilter, and she had not arrived yet. :( I set up a small trimming and pressing station and started marking the sewing lines for my HST units... and continued to help others get moved in.

As it turned out, a sweet gal had a second table that she had planned to use as an organizational space for her pieces.  The coordinator stated that there probably wasn't going to be room since there were 17 quilters. Wow!  What a great group!

Gwen allowed me to claim borrow her extra table, and we were stitching away in no time at all... after figuring out our power situation.  A few extension cords and power strips managed to solve the problem. ;)

By dinner I had all of my half-square triangle units sewn together, pressed and trimmed to size.  I got the rows laid out and sewn and by 8 pm I had the top ready for borders.

I was done for the night and returned to the small area I had set up for trimming and pressing and pulled out my hexagon color wash quilt to hand-quilt.  The location was great as others visited the station for their own pressing and trimming and I was able to talk and laugh with them.  I stitched until I was tired and turned in for the night as others were busily piecing away.

The morning dawn on Saturday was beautiful, and pictures never do the moment justice.

I soaked in the beauty as I did my daily Bible reading and then went to work on the borders of the quilt.  Slowly the other quilters arrived in the common area where all of the machines were set up with coffee in hand.  By breakfast time (9 a.m.) I had my borders complete!  The top measures approximately 62 inches square.

I had to modify the border to create cornerstones since I was limited on the amount of lighter/contrasting fabric I had for it.  It meant that one of the borders has multiple seams, but it looks fine.

A small group of us went for a walk, probably about 2 miles. A snack was needed after the walk and then I settled in for piecing the second quilt that I had.

I took a scrappy approach to the yellow and teal HSTs for this one.  Piecing was interrupted by several activities... gift exchange/grab bag game, a "show & tell" followed by strip poker.  These are some wild & crazy ladies. ;)

Show & Tell

show & tell

Strip poker was a game that included a die and a jelly roll. Each quilter took three strips and took turns rolling the die.  The marking on the die told you what to do... here's a link to the "rules", though our version was slightly modified.  It took a long time to play out with so many quilters, but it was fun.  I thought it was especially fun since I came out as the winner... and winner keeps all!  Hahaha!  

I was challenged to make a quilt with the strips and bring it to the next retreat in the spring.

The gift exchange was fun as well... so many quilty gifts, notions and patterns!  Here's what I ended up with.

Our youngest daughter loves baking and aprons.  She will be getting this one as a part of a gift. 💗🎄

After getting back to my machine I was able to get the yellow/teal quilt top ready for borders...

And then it was time for dinner.

I haven't had the time to get borders added yet, but I'm in no huge rush to get it finished.  Here are a few of the other Walk About quilts made over the weekend.

First, I have a third Memory Keeper quilt to make for my HS classmate.  Her other two were sent out and will soon be wrapping them in love from their Momma.

Here's the progress on Color Wash... I have three full rounds of hexagons quilted.  I need to get the binding on it so that I'm not dealing with fraying edges. 

The retreat coordinator is always on the lookout for fun games and activities... Do you have any suggestions?

Leave a comment... I'd love to hear from you (and share with the coordinator.)  

Keep Piecing,

Melva

Linking with:

Off The Wall Friday with Nina Marie

Brag About Your Beauties at From Bolt to Beauty

Thank Goodness It’s Finished Friday

Finished or Not Friday at Alycia Quilts

Create, Bake, Grow & Gather at Shabby Art Boutique

Home Matters at Days Filled with Joy

Free-Motion Mavericks at Quilting & Learning

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Rainbow Korner Kabin

The last of the summer days were bright and cheerful... how could they NOT be?  My RSC Kabin Korner blocks were on the design wall as it waited for borders - a scrappy checkerboard border seemed just right, followed by a large floral print.

After getting the garage door installed on Sunday, Monday morning welcomed me as I placed the rainbow quilt under the needle of my machine, poised ready to quilt in large Baptist fans.

A lavender purple thread was the top thread, and a deep purple was in the bobbin, both Aurifil 50-wt thread.  It didn't take long to have the quilting done.  I had the rainbow striped binding already prepared and before I knew it... It was done!

Striped backings are always a challenge to get perfectly straight...
So, I made sure the back was perfectly wonky

This quilt is a gift for a very special person, Darlene.  Darlene and I met each other 26 years ago when we attended a Christian women's weekend.  Through the years we would meet up again when we were both a part of the teams that help to make the weekend retreats run smoothly.

Darlene will be leading a women's weekend in October, and this quilt will be gifted to her at that time.

Shhhhh... don't tell! lol.  😉

I have so many thoughts and memories connected to this quilt, the women's weekends I have participated in and helped to lead and how God is forever faithful... and how the rainbow is a message and sign of that faithfulness directly from God Himself.  

When I was in my HS youth group, we attended a youth conference held in Estes Park.  One year's theme was the Rainbow Connection.  The main song of the conference was that song as sung by Kermit the Frog.  I've have always loved the song... so if you have seen the pictures on insta and fb, you have heard Kermit singing Rainbow Connection.

You probably noticed that the backing is not straight.  I actually did that on purpose.  Getting striped backing to be perfectly straight can be challenging.  So, I used a trick that I use when scrapbooking.  If you know you can't write in a straight line, or get stickers on perfectly straight... make them wonky and "imperfect" on purpose.

Have you ever tilted a striped backing?

Or do you just avoid striped backings?

Leave a comment... I'd love to hear from you!

Keep Piecing,

Melva

Linking with:

Wednesday Wait Loss at The Inquiring Quilter

Share Your Style at French Ethereal

Put Your Foot Down at The Quiltery 

Free-Motion Mavericks at Quilting & Learning

Little Things Thursday at Good Random Fun

Off The Wall Friday with Nina Marie

Brag About Your Beauties at From Bolt to Beauty

Thank Goodness It’s Finished Friday

Finished or Not Friday at Alycia Quilts

Create, Bake, Grow & Gather at Shabby Art Boutique

Home Matters at Days Filled with Joy

Scrap Happy Saturday at Super Scrappy

Patchwork & Quilts at The Quilting Patch 

Saturday Sparks at Pieced Pastimes

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On a Roll With TWO Finishes

It's been a productive week again!  I tidied up after my SIL left Monday morning and I settled in with the aqua Viridian's Chain quilt under the needle on my Babylock Jazz.

I had a brief detour as the machine became sluggish and the motor was straining.  I've experienced this twice before and both times I gave a small drop of oil in a few key spots.  It didn't seem to help this time.  Hmmmm.... 

I moved to my piecing machine - the Babylock Lyric - and quilted a few lines.  It was working out just fine, but I kept thinking of my Jazz.  That's when I decided I needed to get the case opened up.

It is not the first time that I have done this... but I didn't really want to...  But since Dave and I have done this together a few times, I was confident about where the issue was.  Also, since the Jazz is a fully mechanical machine with no computer to be concerned about, I reasoned that it was no different than working on my mechanical Kenmore that I had for 20+ years.

I found the issue, cleaned up some ugliness from excess lubrication from a previous cleaning/oiling session, and carefully/sparingly oiled the problem area.  I put her back together and we were back in business with her humming quietly as I quilted and the motor was not straining.  

Woohoo!  By the end of the day I not only had the quilting complete, but the binding as well!

This quilt, sans the orange "confetti" that I had auditioned, is calming and reminds me of an ocean breeze. Follow the link to learn about the orange. 

I was on my way out the door to do some much needed grocery shopping on Wednesday, when I noticed that I had morning glories in bloom.  I ran back in the house to grab the quilt and snap a few pictures while the morning sun was "glowing" on the flower bed.  Sadly, that glow was caused by the heavy amount of smoke in the air. :(  The smoke is from wildfires burning in the western portion of Colorado and some in New Mexico

It was well worth the pause in the start to my day, even if I did happen to get three mosquito bites as I accomplished the task that took less than 5 minutes!  I was quickly off to my morning errands.

After shopping I returned to the morning glories to snap a few more shots, specifically, the pieced backing.

Back in April, I was confused about the "color of the month" and had started with teal.  Mid-month, I switched to Red and this is what I made...  Since it has aqua in the Hawaiian fabric, I'll count it for August as well. ;)

I finished the hand-quilting as I enjoyed a slow-moving morning... sipping and savoring my tea as I stitched down the scrappy binding.

You can see the smokey haze in the air.  For those of us with allergies the smoke is aggravating!  I don't have asthma, but I feel for those that are struggling with the air quality.

One last close up of my hand quilting...

I got three more mosquito bites while taking photos again!  I'm ready for a heavy freeze to take care of those buggers.  You may think I am making a big deal about the mosquito bites... well, I am.  I have always suffered from the mosquito bites with severe itching and swelling and they bother me for weeks.  Yes!  WEEKS!  They weep and itch and make me weep.

Earlier this summer, Dave was working with and listening to a friend about how his wife suffers from mosquito bites but found a laser light that zaps them and she no longer suffers for weeks.  

Dave didn't immediately tell the guy that I experience the same thing, but did eventually get the info on the light "thingy."  We ordered one and it has been a game changer for me.  If you suffer like me... get this thing!  You will not regret it.

That's all I have for now...

Keep Piecing,

Melva

Linking with:

Free-Motion Mavericks at Quilting & Learning

Off The Wall Friday with Nina Marie

Thank Goodness It’s Finished Friday

Finished or Not Friday at Alycia Quilts

Create, Bake, Grow & Gather at Shabby Art Boutique

Home Matters at Days Filled with Joy

Scrap Happy Saturday at Super Scrappy

Patchwork & Quilts at The Quilting Patch 

Saturday Sparks at Pieced Pastimes

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Madam Butterfly Finish

Hey there!  I am making a quick stop with a mid-week check-in and to say that Madam Butterfly is ready to take flight to her new home.  This project was the result of finding a list of "Creative Quilting" ideas... you can find that list here.

Here are a few glamor shots from her photo session...  (I used a new location - the beautiful garden at my Mom's apartment complex.  

At the beginning of the summer the landlords/owners invited the other residents to purchase a few plants/flowers to fill the garden beds.  I love that they invited them to do this... allowing them to take a bit of "ownership" of the project.

My Mom selected a few plants like she had at her house... a rosebush with a deep red-ish-maroon color, a few rose moss plants and 2 tomato plants.  She has been sharing the fruits of the tomato plants with others and all are enjoying them.  She likes to spend some time sitting out in the garden area.  She told me that she enjoys being outside, thought it felt strange to not have to be weeding or "working" in the yard.  

Have I mentioned that I am SO happy that she no longer has the burden of the house and yard? ;)

Madam Butterfly finishes at 40-inches square.

The all-over medium stippling was all free-motion quilted with no templates and I am pleased with how it looks.

close up of texture

I didn't experience thread breakage and only a few skipped stitches.  

It is a win that I will celebrate.  I have narrowed down the issues of thread breakage and skipped stitches to what sort of thread I am using.  

My machine is happiest with Aurifil 50 wt. thread.

The general sewing thread I have been using is 30 wt.  I have the worst problem with it... even in straight line quilting.  

I have some connecting threads spools that are 50 wt. and plan to try them on my machine for FMQ.

What brand and weight of thread do you use?

I'm feeling brave after this quilt!  I may consider feathers again! Oh, and here's a peek at the pieced backing ;)

Keep Piecing,

Melva

Linking with:

Wednesday Wait Loss at The Inquiring Quilter

Creatively Crafty at Creatively Beth

Share Your Style at French Ethereal

Put Your Foot Down at The Quiltery 

Free-Motion Mavericks at Quilting & Learning

Thankful Thursday at Brian's Home

Little Things Thursday at Good Random Fun

Off The Wall Friday with Nina Marie

Brag About Your Beauties at From Bolt to Beauty

Thank Goodness It’s Finished Friday

Finished or Not Friday at Alycia Quilts

Create, Bake, Grow & Gather at Shabby Art Boutique

Home Matters at Days Filled with Joy

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