Tuesday, May 31, 2016

Lazy way to do labels -


Remember when I did my review on SuzieQ - my Brother SQ9050 - HERE - ?? - ;))

And remember when I said that she had an ALPHABET font for monogramming - or quilt labels?? - ;))


Well - guess what I just remembered?? - haha - ;))

I was trying to think of a way to "label" my little pieces that don't need a REAL "label" like the ones that I put on "quilt" quilts - if you know what I mean - ;))

Anyway - I remembered SuzieQ's alphabet font and dug out the book to "program" in my name and the year. I figured that it would be quick and easy and - if I did it in a "blendy" color - it would be virtually invisible - and it worked!! - ;))

Of course, I had to try it on the 8 blue placemats - I changed everything to the blue thread - found a spot for the "label" - got 7 of the 8 all stitched out - and had the top thread break on me on the "2" of "2016" on the LAST one!! It couldn't just let me get THREE more characters before it decided that it wanted a new needle - oh, well - it played nice the rest of the day - so there's that - ;))




Talk to you later - gotta go - gotta sew -



Monday, May 30, 2016

Give Thanks! -


Looking at the center squares on the Christmas embroidered table runner - I thought they needed a bit more quilting - so I FMQ around the embroidery part and then "scribbled" in the background areas. I didn't care if I "crossed" my lines - I just wanted to mash it down - and not have a 4" square area with no quilting in it - ;))


I also played with my Turkey Day Wallhanging - marked some "clamshells" in the "turkey" rows - then did some FMQ and followed the marked lines pretty well this time. And I like how it seems to puff up and show off the "turkeys" - ;))


I know that it is a Thanksgiving piece -
but the sentiment seemed appropriate for this Memorial Day weekend - ;))


Give Thanks! - ;))




Talk to you later - gotta go - gotta sew -



Sunday, May 29, 2016

Quilting on the lines -


Almost forgot to show you another little piece that I'm playing with -

It's an Amish looking "cheater" pillow top that I layered and basted -
Then I tried to quilt between the "seams" and "on the lines" - ;))


As you can see - that is easier said than done -
I missed some of the pre-printed white lines - but I got pretty close -


Then I tried a couple FMQ designs in some of the unmarked areas -


I still need to quilt the border area and make it into an actual pillow - but I'm in no hurry. I have a bunch of other projects that need quilting - so I have a good supply of "practice" pieces to keep me busy - and even though I'm not very good at FMQ yet - it's really FUN - and quite addictive - ;))



Talk to you later - gotta go - gotta sew -



Saturday, May 28, 2016

Some quilty stuff -


OK - in case you're wondering -

I HAVE been doing some quilty stuff between getting up and down off my soapbox the past couple of weeks - ;))

I finished up the Christmas Pinwheel table runner -

After I made a little stuffed toy for a neighbor's baby grandson - ;))

Found a T-shirt applique "left-over" from a stuffed toy dog project that I made a few years ago -


Cut it out and stitched it - right sides together -
to a brand-new white terry-cloth wash cloth -


Trimmed it - turned it inside out - stuffed it - and sewed up the opening -

For a quick and easy little last minute gift - ;))


The Christmas Pinwheel table runner took me a bit more time - ;))

First - I played with some stencil designs in EQ7 and came up with a plan -

Then I stitched-in-the-ditch (SITD) on every single seam - ;))

I have come to the conclusion that SITD is a total waste of time and thread and I'm not going to bother if I plan to quilt anything using a Free Motion all-over design. The ONLY reason I did it on this one was because I used a fusible batting and "iron-off" markers - so I needed to stabilize it since I wouldn't be able to re-iron it to re-fuse it without removing my marks. And NO - I don't pin baste my quilts - and NO - I didn't Free-Motion quilt it - I used my walking foot - and tried my best to follow the lines I had drawn.

I found the tutorial on "Susie's Magic Binding" - HERE -

Stitched it all to the back side of the runner -

And joined the ends by "snuggling" them inside one another to "nest" them - ;))

Left some tails on each end -


Folded the left one -



Inserted the tail on the right -

Fiddled with it a bit -


And when it was nice and neat - used some pins to keep it in place - ;))


I stitched it - folded it to the front -
Checked the join to see if I liked it - and then cut off the excess tail - ))


Pressed and folded the rest of the binding to the front -
Used clips that I get in the "Hair/Beauty" section of Walmart to hold it in place -
And stitched in the ditch between the red binding and the little print flange - ;))


Ta Dah! - ;))


It came out to be 12" x 26" -
I quilted an "orange peel" design in each block and marked it because the squares were so big that I didn't think that I could "eyeball it" and have it look half-way decent -


I messed up on the top row and did the "hokey-pokey" before I did the "1-2-3" -
(if you took the same Craftsy class - you'll know what I mean) -
But I fixed that by "just reversing it" - haha - ;))


I did the second row correctly -
Then added a couple of echo lines in the border to make it look kinda like a circle -
And I like the way it turned out - ;))



On the back - the binding "stitch-in-the-ditch" shows as a line around the edge -
You can see it - but it fits right in with all of the other "stitch-in-the-ditch" stitching going on - so it doesn't bother me - ;))


I have watched several Craftsy classes - I LOVE the format - just sign up - 24/7 access to the class - post questions and/or projects - reasonably priced and - my fave - a "30-sec repeat" feature for those times I need to "Play it again, Sam." - ;))

And it's funny - there are SO many ways to do the same thing - ;))

I started to watch Christina Cameli's "Secrets" class - got to the "tufts" and realized that it was her "Intermediate" class - so I got the "Essentials" class (Beginner level) and made the blocks and went through that whole class. Then I added the borders to my practice piece so I would have some sections to use for the "Secrets" class and the "Wild" (Advanced) one.

Then they had a sale and I got some other classes on using the walking foot - worked/working on a couple of pieces doing that. I've been watching some others - including the "I don't care" one - and have learned a LOT.

It's amazing - some teachers say to forget stitching in the ditch - some say you MUST do it - some say to start in the middle - one says to start in the bottom right hand corner but doesn't explain WHY she does that - you have to read all of the comments and her responses and she finally addresses the WHY in one of her last lessons. One talked WAAAAY too fast for me - another had good info and a very relaxed style. One was left-handed and "grabbed" the sample - one used her fingertips. Some use gloves - some don't. And they all have different names for the same designs - it's hilarious. Some say "Wishbone" for Christina's "Lazy 8"'.

I know that it sounds like I "took" a dozen classes - but the teachers that I mentioned are all the same ones - they all do stuff differently - so I watch and then pick and choose the parts that I want to try.

I'm having a blast -

If you haven't tried Craftsy classes yet -

I highly recommend them - ;))



Talk to you later - gotta go - gotta sew -



Friday, May 27, 2016

Twelve years ago today -


One of my bloggy buddies - Martha - is/was working on her preparations to teach
a smoking cessation program and mentioned it on her blog the other day -
so I left a comment on her post - HERE -
I quit, too - about 12 years ago - woke up one morning and wondered how long I could go without a cigarette. I told myself that I could have one anytime I wanted but if I did - I would have to start counting over. I got buckets of "Red Vines" at Costco and kept a full - open pack of cigarettes in my purse for over a year. After one day - one week - two weeks - one month - two months - three months - etc. I wanted to NOT start counting over more than I wanted a cigarette. I was a pack a day girl.
===
NOTE - The following post was originally written and posted on one of my first blogs on 5/27/11 - and titled "Seven Years Ago Today". When I discontinued that blog - I transferred all of the content to my other blog "Quilter BOB".

The 5/27/11 post can be found - HERE -

It goes like this - ;))
===

Seven (now Twelve) years ago today –

BOB quit smoking.

It was totally unplanned.

This Is How I Did It.

I woke up one morning and thought –

I wonder how long I can go without a cigarette?

Mind you – I smoked almost a pack a day – for almost 40 years.

One or two before I left the house in the morning.

Another one on the drive to work.

Another one around 10:00AM.

Another two or three at lunch.

Another one around 3:00PM.

Another one on the drive home from work.

The rest in the evening while I watched TV.

BOB enjoyed smoking - every single one of them.

BOB did NOT enjoy the ANTI-smokers and their goody-goody, holier-than-thou attitudes.

Especially the total strangers who believed that it was their duty to tell me to quit.

Don't tell me to quit smoking - and I won't tell you to lose weight!!

But - one day I just woke up and wondered –

How long can I go without a cigarette?

I told myself two things -
1. I can have a cigarette ANY TIME I want.

2. But – if I have one - I have to start over counting.
I carried a brand–new – full – open pack of cigarettes in my purse for over a year.

First I made it through one hour -

Then two hours -

Then a whole day –

Then a week –

Then a month –

Then two months –

Then a year –

Then two years –

It has been seven (now twelve) years today –

I can have a cigarette ANY TIME I want.

But – if I have one - I have to start over counting.



Talk to you later - gotta go - gotta sew -



Saturday, May 21, 2016

Yes!! - I'm a Happy Camper!! -


I recently received my June/July 2016/NO. 452 - Quilters Newsletter -

On Pages 52-55 is an article on English Paper Piecing - by Carolyn Beam -

AND the photos are LEFT-HANDED!! - ;))


I don't want to post photos of the pages just in case that might pose some sort of copyright infringement - but check it out if you have your copy of the issue or can find one on a magazine rack somewhere -

Then please tell me that my eyes are NOT deceiving me -

And that I am NOT seeing things - ;))

And if I AM not seeing things - and the photos really ARE Left-Handed -

I REPEAT -

YES!! - I'm a Happy Camper!! - ;))


BOB (my alter-ego - Bitchy Old Broad) has already told you about the problem she has with Right-Handed teachers who WILL NOT help Left-Handed students.

BOB also has a problem with quilting books that are "bi-lingual". I live in California and we get everything in English and another language (I'm trying to be politically correct here) - and I don't like the ones where every other line is in English or the ones where every other paragraph is in English. I don't like having to read the whole dang thing looking for the English parts!! The best ones are the ones where English is on one side of the page and the other language is on the other side - at least I can read the whole thing at one time without skipping every other line or paragraph.

The same thing is true for the RH quilting books with the - "Oh, by the way - if you're LH just reverse it!" I talked about them in my post -
LHQ - Instructions vs. Directions - HERE -

===

EAST/WEST - LEFT/RIGHT can be tricky.  Most diagrams and photos feature right-handed quilters - doing their thing - right-handed.

My advice is to take a pencil and circle obvious right-handed references as you read the instructions for the first time.  Then you can go back through the instructions a second time and decide if you are comfortable doing the step right-handed or not.  If you want to do it right-handed, erase the circle.  If you want to do it left-handed, the circle will remind you that you have to compensate when you get to that step.

Some newer quilting books have diagrams and photos for both right-handed and left-handed quilters.  I know they think that they are helping me - but the reality is - they just confuse me!!  It's like trying to read a bilingual book and having to search through it for the stuff written in English.  It would be easier to read, I think, if they just wrote two separate books - but they don't.  So with these books - I do a variation of the circle thing.  The first time I read them - I take a pencil and cross out the obvious right-handed references.

Just like the numbers on the rulers that go both ways - I just cross off the ones I don't want.
 

===

I can compensate for being Left-Handed - I've been doing it all of my life - but I REALLY wish somebody would write a dang book for LH ONLY!!

There are PLENTY of LH quilting PROFESSIONALS out there who have the "connections" - the TV shows - the YouTube videos - why the he!! don't they publish some books for US!!

I WOULD do it -

But I am not a professional -

I quilt for fun -

It's not my job - ;))

And I COULD do it -

But wait!! -

I already did!! -

I've written several books -
  • Left-Handed Quilting - Introduction
  • Left-Handed Quilting - Basics
  • Left-Handed Quilting - Rotary Cutting
  • Left-Handed Quilting - Construction
  • Left-Handed Quilting - Foundation Paper Piecing
  • Left-Handed Quilting - Hand Sewing
  • Left-Handed Quilting - Binding
  • Left-Handed Quilting - Finishing the Quilt

I even wrote one called - Left-Handed Quilter - Sampler Quilt - where I showed how to make 99 - 6" blocks - with an interesting "border" treatment -

AND they are all FREE - at the top of my blog - ;))

===

So - Carolyn - THANK YOU!! - ;))

It is NOT - BOTH - it is LEFT-HANDED!! -

Now if OTHER LEFT-HANDED QUILTING PROFESSIONALS -

Would do the SAME THING - THAT would be AMAZING!! - ;))

As a gentle nudge - the other day I left a comment on the blog of a Professional quilter/teacher/author who I know is Left-Handed. I asked her VERY NICELY if she would be so kind as to post some tutorials or videos of how SHE did a certain technique for all of the other Left-Handed quilters out there in blogland. She posted my comment - but I haven't seen a tutorial or video yet. I know that she is a very busy lady and may not have time - but I hope that she is at least considering it - ;))

But then again, it might be bad for business - ;))

I mentioned that little theory to another quilter and the response was -
I suppose some righties would think that they couldn't do it because they aren't left handed..So you may be right about that.
SOOOOOOOOOOOOO -

BOB has to ask -

Why would it be so difficult for Righties to "just reverse it"? -

Lefties are expected to do it ALL of the time -

We can do something THEY can't do????? -

BOB and I KNOW they can do it, too -

It's EASY! -

At least that's what THEY keep telling us - ;))

Now BOB and I are going to get off of our soapbox -

We have some Free-Motion Quilting classes to watch -

And a whole lot of practicing to do - ;))



Talk to you later - gotta go - gotta sew -



Thursday, May 12, 2016

Can we talk? -


There's something that I really need to get off my chest - and I think that it needs to be said - out loud - so I'm just going to say it.

BOB and I have a problem with Right-Handed teachers who WILL NOT help Left-Handed students.

There, I said it.

We apparently are not deemed worthy of their expertise. We are expected to do it Right-Handed or "just reverse it" with no help whatsoever from them.

Now you can call me a hater/bully and tell me what a bad person I am in the comment section below.

As most of you know - if you've been following along lately - I'm trying to learn how to Free-Motion Quilt on my home/domestic sewing machine. Having said that - I must admit that I have tried - unsuccessfully - MANY times - and have MANY books on the subject. I say BOOKS - because I am not one to take "classes".

Several years ago - I took a hand-applique "class" and had a problem stitching a curved leaf. The teacher had explained to the class how to start at the bottom of the leaf and go up the right side/outside curve of the leaf and had told us to stop at the top of the leaf. Then she would explain how to stitch the left side/inside curve. I - being Left-Handed - started at the bottom of the leaf and went up the left side/inside curve of the leaf and realized that she hadn't shown us how to do that yet. When I took it to the teacher and showed her my problem - she said, "Oh, you are Left-Handed, I cannot help you." BOB thought - "Gee, thanks, lady - I paid for the class and you CANNOT help me?!?!?" I sucked it up and said, "That's OK - I'll figure it out on my own - show me how you do your colors." - but it was NOT OK.

My Left-Handed sister-in-law tells the story of being in a class with three lefties - she said -
There are plenty of left handed quilters out there (supposedly one in ten) and we always need help with quilting challenges. In my class this summer, there were three lefties in our group of ten. We all just had to quietly sit there trying to translate how to execute the cutting and sewing of each block in our "backwards" brains. There was really no sense asking questions of our "right-handed" teacher; because unless you are left handed, you just don't get the questions. It's like speaking a foreign language!
I have a Left-Handed quilting friend who took a "quilting" cruise - and who was assured that her left-handedness would not be a problem. She paid extra for a variety of class-related stuff and it cost her a considerable amount of money. When it came time for the teacher to reach her "table" - she asked her how to do the technique Left-Handed. The teacher pointed to another Left-Handed quilter at the same table - and told her to do it like she did it. Excuse me - but my friend did NOT pay big bucks to be taught by another leftie who happened to be sitting at the same table. She paid the TEACHER to TEACH her!

So - like I said - I'm not one to take "classes". However, I did sign up for some Craftsy "classes" on Free-Motion Quilting - and you can probably guess where I'm going with this.

One of my Craftsy "classes" - taught by a Right-Handed teacher - who shall remain nameless - came to the part where she was showing the class/audience how to pin-baste a quilt. She said that -
I always put the fold in my right hand - and I have a lot of students ask, "Well, what if I'm Left-Handed." I don't care. It goes in the right hand. It doesn't matter.
I have gotten in trouble before for not keeping my mouth shut - and I have been called a bully - and other names not fit to print - by some who thought that I was being negative when I talked about stuff. And I know that I tend to be very direct in what I say and how I say it - and I have a considerable amount of trouble with how to say something without ticking everyone off - but others have been praised for "keeping it real" when they post about their upcoming colonoscopies - so this is my version of "keeping it real".

So now - just for fun - let's reverse the "pin basting" scenario above - let's say I'm teaching the class and came to the part where I was showing the class/audience how to pin-baste a quilt and I say that -
I always put the fold in my left hand - and I have a lot of students ask, "Well, what if I'm Right-Handed." I don't care. It goes in the left hand. It doesn't matter.
How would you react??

Would you - like my sister-in-law and her friends - sit there quietly trying to translate what I said in YOUR backwards brain?

Or would you call me on it - and say -

Excuse me?!?!?!

How rude!!!

It DOES matter to the student who asked the question or he/she wouldn't have asked it!!!

I certainly don't speak for all Left-Handed Quilters - I even had one tell me - "I have never let my being Left-Handed keep me from learning anything that I wanted to learn." Well - me neither - BUT I still have to compensate for it when I am reading a book or taking a class from a Right-Handed teacher. It's BACKWARDS and I am expected to "just reverse it" - and sometimes it's not that easy.

And to make matters worse - some things that Right-Handed people think need to be reversed - DON'T. I do a lot of things Right-Handed and can mentally reverse many others if I need to. BUT there are times when a Left-Handed quilter needs help and will ask a question.

Some Right-Handed teachers CAN and DO help Left-Handed students - and I love them dearly. That's the way it SHOULD be.

Some Right-Handed teachers some simply CANNOT - and I understand that. It's not always easy - and some things are more difficult than others. Cutting a 60-degree diamond shape Left-Handed is a little tricky.

But it's the Right-Handed teachers who simply WILL NOT help Left-Handed students - that I DO NOT understand.

It is NOT OK to dismiss a question posed by a Left-Handed Quilter simply because you cannot be bothered to figure out how to REVERSE it for them. It is YOUR job to teach ALL of your students - not just the Right-Handed ones.

It is NOT OK to say "I don't care." That student paid for your class the same as everyone else and to say that you "don't care" is simply unacceptable.

So after BOB calmed down and watched the rest of the class trying to learn all that the teacher had to teach - she posted a "question" on the lesson. I tried to choose my words carefully so as to not offend her and then wondered why I had to be careful not to offend her when she obviously didn't care that she had offended me - but anyway - I said -
Hi (insert teacher's name here) - With all due respect, you might suggest to your Left-Handed students that they fold the backing and put the fold in their LEFT hand - then line up the corner of the fold with the CENTER safety pin and eyeball it with the safety pin to the RIGHT of the table. That might sound a bit better than, "I don't care. It goes in the RIGHT hand. It doesn't matter." It DOES matter to the student who asked the question.
Now I have not yet received a "reply" - and I fully expect to have my head handed to me by her and everyone else who thinks I'm being "negative". But you know what? Here's where "I" don't care.

And just for the record -

One time I did keep my mouth shut - I ran across some FMQ designs that were drawn from right to left and supposed to be "Left-Handed". I wanted so much to tell the designer that FMQ is like handwriting and English is written from left to right - and that those designs aren't Left-Handed at all - they're Hebrew and/or Arabic - but I couldn't figure out a nice way to say it - so I just "let it go". I laughingly made reference to it in a blog post - but never did tell the designer - because I know that he/she was trying to be helpful - not realizing that it's one of those things that doesn't need to be reversed. Someday someone will clue him/her in - but it isn't going to be today - and it isn't going to be me.

This time is different.

It was something that I really needed to get off my chest -

And I think that it needed to be said -

Out loud -

So I said it.

And now you can call me a hater/bully and tell me what a bad person I am in the comment section below.



Talk to you later - gotta go - gotta sew -


EDIT UPDATE - The teacher's response was - "Thank you for letting me know!;)"
I'll give her credit for being gracious and not biting my head off. I truly believe that she did not realize how she sounded and that next time she might not be so flippant in her handling of a question from a Left-Handed quilter. Mission accomplished - ;))

EDIT UPDATE #2 - I like to reply to all comments left on my blog - but some of you come up as "no-reply". I have no idea how to get to your email on Google+ so please come back later to check your comment and my response. Thank you.


Monday, May 9, 2016

Design Wall Monday - 5/9/16


DESIGN WALL MONDAY -
Check out all of us who link up with Judy L. -
At Patchwork Times on Mondays.
We have some awesome stuff on our walls!
Well, THEY do - ME - not so much sometimes - ;))
===



On my wall today -

My May Flowers Sudoku -

Next up in the "to be quilted" queue - ;))



I thought that I had a flash of brilliance and used purple painter's tape to mark some diagonal grid lines on the Christmas embroidered blocks table topper - but then I discovered that taping more than two diagonal lines at a time was a total waste of time. They came unstuck with all of the handling of the quilt - and it was just as easy to sew four lines and then re-position the tape - ;))


I got the bottom right side done in one direction - and it's looking good - ;))


By the time I finish the topper - I might figure out how I want to quilt the Sudoku quilt - maybe. I'm still working on how I want to quilt the Turkey Day Wallhanging - that one's going to be a lot of fun. And some of you may have noticed that I haven't quilted that other little Christmas table runner yet - but I have some more ideas on that - so stay tuned - ;))

I also have a scrap quilt that has been calling my name - loudly - ;))



Talk to you later - gotta go - gotta sew -



Thursday, May 5, 2016

Just having fun -


Thanks, everybody for your input - I really appreciate your comments and suggestions - ;))

I decided to use a "stipple" pattern on the Christmas placemats -

And found some "on a roll" in my stash of supplies -

So I practiced stitching that on my old practice piece -





But the scale was too big -

So I found a smaller stencil and used a "Frixion" pen to mark it out -



And it didn't look too bad - ;))



Then I marked a second one with an air-eraseable marker and the silly marks started to disappear before I had a chance to stitch them - so I said to heck with it - and just "went for it" on the last three -

And they didn't turn out looking too bad, either - ;))



Then I thought I would try the same thing on the bottom portion of another placemat in the pile -

Can you see the stitching? -



Me neither - which was part of my problem with using a white thread - it blended in very nicely - so nicely that I couldn't tell what I had quilted and what I hadn't - until I looked on the back and then I saw that my stitches were a bit too long - ;))



Oh, well - I know that I need a LOT more practice -

But I don't mind -

Like anything else -

I have to be willing to invest the time it takes -

To learn to do something really well -

And I am - ;))



Talk to you later - gotta go - gotta sew -






Tuesday, May 3, 2016

I can't decide -


Quick update -

And I can't decide how to quilt some stuff - I need some input - ;))

I cut the backing for the Christmas embroidered blocks table topper as a simple one-piece of the lighter fabric with the green holly leaves - still need to fuse it - but it shouldn't be a problem -

When I realized that I had already cut the backing for the Turkey Day Wallhanging - I got that fused together and the "quilt-in-the-ditch" lines between the larger sections done -

And then as I was looking at the pile of blue placemats and other smaller stuff to be quilted - more or less as practice pieces - I picked out the Christmas placemats and the other little Christmas table runner -

Now I can't decide how to quilt them -

Any ideas??? - ;))

The Christmas placemats have already been bound and have "quilt-in-the-ditch" lines around the green bars of the tree and down the "seam lines" between the white - the green - and the red.


The red section is narrow enough to not need any more quilting - and I could probably do some free-form squiggles to sort of outline the "roses" - but I need ideas on what to do in the "white" background behind the "tree".

I'm not very good at "stipple" so I thought maybe I could mark out one from a stencil. It wouldn't be much to mark - and following a stencil could/would help me get down the rhythm of the curves and practice changing directions. Besides - if I use white thread - once I'm done - I can brush off the marks and no one will be able to tell where I didn't "hit the line". Does that make sense? - ;))


On the table runner - I'm drawing a complete blank -


The middle block is set differently from the two on the sides -


The end blocks have the little pinwheel in the middle -


I was thinking of using red thread on this one to make it blend in - and thought I could try to do a free-form holly leaf in the red sections - but I have NO idea what to do in the lighter areas. It probably doesn't matter because it's so busy it won't be seen - but I have to do SOMETHING and I can't decide what that SOMETHING should be - ;))

Any ideas??? -

I'm open to any and all suggestions - ;))


Talk to you later - gotta go - gotta sew -



Monday, May 2, 2016

Design Wall Monday - 5/2/16


DESIGN WALL MONDAY -
Check out all of us who link up with Judy L. -
At Patchwork Times on Mondays.
We have some awesome stuff on our walls!
Well, THEY do - ME - not so much sometimes - ;))
===



On my wall today -

The Christmas embroidered blocks table topper - 3x3 -

Next up in the "to be quilted" queue - ;))


I got the table runner (three in a row) quilted with a cross-hatch grid -


And I like how it turned out - ;))


It still needs to be bound - so I set aside the Turkey Day Wallhanging for the time being - I want to make the backing for the Christmas table topper first and then quilt it with the same cross-hatch grid. I'm pretty sure that I have enough of the lighter Christmas fabric for the backing and I want to bind both the runner and the topper with the red and I may not have enough of that - so we'll see - ;))

This past week - I also did a bit more FMQ "practice" - ;))

Some big oval pebbles in the yellow sash -


Some spirals in the green sash that didn't look quite right -


They were supposed to look similar to the ones in the blue wedge section -


So I unsewed them and tried again -

Better - but not by much - ;))


Then I did some leaves on a vine in the orange sash - ;))


I practiced doing square spirals on all eight of the blue placemats -


And some feathers and other stuff on my old practice piece - ;))


Gotta make some more placemats. I think they make terrific practice pieces - even better than pillows. They are the perfect size - they have a variety of spaces to fill - and if I use thread that blends in - my boo-boos most likely won't be seen. And even if someone DOES see one - BOB can cover it with a plate pretty quickly - ;))

Then someday - when I get back to the Turkey Day Wallhanging -

I think it wants some big "clamshells" in this section - ;))

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And a SPECIAL NOTE OF THANKS to my friend, Gene - who shared a bobbin winding trick and helped me get these photos from my computer to my blog. Quilting buddies are the BEST - THANKS, Gene!! - ;))



Talk to you later - gotta go - gotta sew -



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