Melinda Quilts etc
Thursday was the day to put the blooming nine patch quilts together. Helen had done all her homework and we were able to lay out her quilt on flannel backed tablecloths so she could take it home and finish putting it together.
I like how it blooms. She wanted a yellow to purple quilt and she got it.
DJ didn’t have all her nine patches made but she came and worked on them. Her quilt is going to be beautiful too.
Melinda
Wednesday was the third of our beginning machine quilting classes. We worked on log cabin blocks. As usual, they did a great job. Here are some of the blocks.
Isn’t it fun to see all the different fabric choices.
Melinda
I got my gifts from my Stitchers Angel today. I was surprised and pleased to find out that Hanne in Norway was my Stitchers Angel. Here is what she sent to me.
I mailed my package today – it is going a long way from here so it will take a week or more for it to be received. I hope she likes what I made.
Melinda
Yesterday was the monthly Beyond Beginners class. I only had one student but she did a great job and was very pleased with what she was making.
Look at the perfect points! Great job Kathy!
Melinda
Today was special projects day at guild. We were making journal covers. We had some prep work to do before we started including quilting the outside cover and cutting all the part needed to make the cover.
I decided to do a selvage one, of course. As you know I love selvages. Here is the finished project.
Here it is open.
Lisa taught the cover today and mine is completely finished. I just got through sewing the button on and putting the velcro on. I put the binding on the outside by machine and then sewed the binding to the inside by hand before leaving the meeting/class.
It turned out even better than I had hoped.
Melinda
I finished the rest of the 4 patch kaliedoscope blocks this morning before going to work. The shop is open only 1-5 on Sundays so I have the whole morning to do things before going in.
Here they are -
Aren’t they wonderful? Each one was more fun to make than the last one so I didn’t stop until they were all done.
Yesterday I picked out the sashing and setting triangle fabric. Here it is -
Lime green for the sashing and the pink for the setting triangles/squares.
I am teaching another class tomorrow with only one student so I will probably have time to sew some. I will start putting the sashing on and put the top together if I have enough time.
Melinda
I taught this class on Thursday – only had one student and we had a great time. She is working with Christmas fabrics and it is turning out very nice.
She made a small mistake in cutting her strips so her quilt will be slightly smaller. Instead of each block ending up at 8 inches, they will be 7 inches. It will still be great though.
When we went to Mary Jo’s earlier this year and I bought several yards of very bright flower print. I think the name was Wake the Dead.
Here are my first blocks using this fabric.
Colorful, aren’t they. I need to get sashing and setting triangle fabric so I can put the top together before the next class.
Melinda
I have been trying to sew at least a few minutes each morning before I get dressed. It is amazing how much I can get done. Earlier this week I finished putting the borders on the mystery quilt and it is now in my stack of quilts to be quilted.
I like how it turned out – very much a blended type quilt. I am still undecided on how to quilt it but I did get the backing pieced and it is ready to go.
Melinda
Wednesday was the 2nd class of the current Beginner’s class. Everyone is doing a great job. First I am going to show some of the rail fence blocks.
The lesson this week was nine patches and nine patch variations. Again everyone is doing a great job.
Next week we are moving on to log cabin blocks.
Melinda
I finished up a pin cushion today. It is from a Bird Brain Designs called Pink Petal Pin Cushion. The main part of the pin cushion is a beautiful plaid, which I don’t think you can see in the photo.
I made one slight change from the pattern. It called for the large pink flower to be stitched to the background only in the middle, with the petals loose. I decided to stitch the petals to the background instead.
I don’t know what there is about pin cushions, but I love them.
Melinda
Here is what is on my design wall today.
The color is somewhere between the two photos. The first is with the flash and the second is just with the overhead lights on.
This quilt was started at the Tiny Stitches retreat in January and then set aside for several months. I then attended a guild sew-in and got the blocks all sewn together. I then added the first border. When I started adding the second border, I managed to sew it on upside down. It was already evening so I did enough reverse sewing to get the border off and put it back in its case for another day. On Friday I decided that another day had arrived and I got the second border put on. I got the last border cut but ran out of time to get it on so it is on the design wall, waiting for another early morning sewing session.
This quilt was part of a murder mystery that we did in 2008 at guild. It is designed by my friend Dave – who made me the murderer in the mystery. We then purchased the pattern from Dave and used it for our shop retreat early this year (I wasn’t the murderer this time).
The quilt calls for strong dark, medium and light fabrics but I decided to see what would happen from fabrics all in the same family. It is a much more blended look but I like it.
I am not sure how I will quilt it but I won’t be able to do it right away so I have time to think about it. I am not sure that custom quilting will enhance it so might just do an overall pattern on it.
Check out Judy’s blog for other design walls this Monday.
Melinda
I got an email from Angela last week and she sent me a photo of her beginner quilt with the borders on. It is really nice.
The border enhances the colors of the quilt and the inner border provides a frame to separate the center of the quilt from the border. She did a great job.
Melinda
I started making a needlework bag about 4 years ago. It is from a Pat Sloan pattern called, of course, Needlework Bag. I bought it as a kit from Pat and started on the applique front right away. I got it about half done and then somehow it got put aside and I found it again about a year ago. I finished the applique and put it in a plastic container with the pattern an other supplies. Somehow, I never got around to finishing it.
On Thursday morning, I decided to finish it and it only took about an hour to put the bag together. I made the pockets, put on the velcro and ribbons and stitched it all together. I still had some handwork to do but it was basically done. Yesterday after work, I did the handwork. I put the felt hearts on the pockets, whipped up the opening on the side, added snaps to some of the pockets, put another snap on the ribbon that holds a pair of scissors and sewed on the button. It turned out great.
Here it is rolled up, ready to travel. It just needs a project in it.
Here is the front of the bag, with the applique.
The back of the bag, with a pocket and scissors attached to the edge of the pocket with ribbon.
The last photo is of the bag opened up.
The hearts are of felt and put on with buttonhole/blanket stitch. They are to put your needles on. All in all, a very successful project and one that should only take a short time, not 4+ years.
Melinda
I finished up the quilting of my latest shop sample/table runner this afternoon and got the binding on it so it can go to the shop tomorrow in time for Saturday Sampler.
I quilted it with lots of feathers in the borders and 1/2 of each block. The points on the block were done with a continuous curve. I used a variegated thread with yellow, red and green in it. I like how it turned out.
Melinda
