Weekend Sewing Plans

Let's see - tonight there is a dinner meeting, then there's a birthday party tomorrow for my goddaughter and a family 4th of July BBQ on Sunday just because that is the day we were all able to get together. The weekend's barely started and it's already full of things to do.

Somewhere this weekend I hope to be able to do some sewing. I have several baby quilt tops that are done but they need to be sandwiched and quilted. I have some red, white & blue fabric to make things for the grandchildren which I haven't even started yet. There are still a number of Christmas motifs that need to be embroidered, and I have two, maybe three, jelly rolls that are just waiting to be made into quilts.

Oh I hope I can sew this weekend. I have many things to do and am anxious to work on all of them!!

Sew Busy!

I have been SEW busy lately!

I'm really, really trying to finish up some UFOs before beginning any new projects, but it's hard to stay focused on current projects. Every time I walk into a quilt shop or go to a quilting demo, I see something new that I desperately want to try and have to remind myself I already have a zillion projects in the works.

Some progress has been made though. I have hemmed about a dozen T-shirts, blouses and pants for my mom; practiced some trapunto quilting; used the Cutwork tool to create a flannel rag quilt block; practiced some free motion quilting; worked on two more embroidered Christmas blocks; and made some quick receiving blankets. I also took a Lemoyne Star class from the local quilt shop and have started making a cute wallhanging from the pattern that came with the ruler.

Earlier this year I participated in a jelly roll race and made a flannel quilt top out of jelly roll strips. This weekend I decided that instead of making one large quilt top, I would cut it up into 12-1/2 inch blocks and make smaller baby quilts. So far, I've got two quilt tops made and I think this week I'll cut up the rest of the original quilt top. This time, however, I think I'll make some wonky blocks instead of traditional blocks by twisting my ruler a little so that they're all tilted. I think it will be cute.

This year I joined a group that meets every month and we are making quilt blocks from two different books. I have finished all the blocks (there were only six) from one book and am halfway through the blocks I want to make from the other book.

Will post pictures soon as well as more updates on my progress.

Quilting & Embroidery Update

Well, just because I haven't posted, doesn't mean I haven't been busy - LOL.

I went to an awesome three-day embroidery retreat where I worked  Claudia's Baltimore design. It still needs to be quilted, but all of the embroidery is done.

Then there was a trapunto class with Paula Reid where I learned a bunch of new tips and trips about trapunto and stippling. Thanks Paula for a fantastic day of quilting! I have done another 18" block just for grins and to make sure I've got the technique in my head.

After that was a great rainy afternoon spent embroidering my first Magic In The Air block.

On top of all of that, I've also completed four blocks and will begin two more blocks this week so I can get through a block-of-the-month (well, two blocks a month) quilt project.

I'll post pictures later - now back to quilting!

Crazy Quilt Journal Project 2012

I just signed up for the 2012 Crazy Quilt Journal Project and I can't wait to get started.

Years ago, I was an avid hand embroiderer but sort of lost touch with it somewhere along the way. I just recently began hand stitching again and even joined my first Crazy Quilt Round Robin.

I'm so excited to be doing this again. There are so many beautiful threads, fibers, motifs, and ribbons available to play with.

Keep watching for pictures and progress posts as the CQJP 2012 begins!

Christmas Wallhanging is Finished

Yippee! I finished the Christmas wallhanging. I think I'll take it to work and hang it there so I can enjoy it between now and Christmas.

Here it is:

5th Panel in Christmas Wall Hanging

Here's the fifth block. It's cute and stitched up nicely but it needs something more. Compared to the other blocks, the drum is too small and doesn't quite fill the amount of space that the other designs have. I think I'll add one or two small designs to this block and see how it looks. It just needs something. . .

4th Panel in Christmas Wall Hanging

Here's the fourth panel for my Christmas wall hanging.

Some of the areas of this design are very dense and even though the 830 does a fantastic job of stitching, I slowed the machine down - just in case. I didn't want any trouble with the bobbin or the metallic thread. It stitched out beautifully. It will be even prettier once it is pressed and the hoop marks are gone.

3rd Panel in Christmas Wall Hanging

I'm so glad that changing the bobbin on my machine did the trick. This rocking horse is very pretty and it would have had a completely different look without the metallic thread. There are three more panels to be stitched for this wall hanging. I can't wait to finish them and put it all together. I think I may hang it in my office for a while during the holidays just so I can enjoy it!

2nd Panel in Christmas Wall Hanging

Last night I was able to stitch out two more panels for my Christmas wall hanging. If I have enough fabric, I may restitch the candy cane. My thread kept breaking so I swapped out the metallic thread for a plain gold thread for part of the design. To me, it's very obvious and I'm not real happy about the look. After the thread broke again, I swapped out the bobbin and the machine stitched the rest of the design beautifully.

1st Block for Christmas Wall Hanging

I'm so excited about finishing the first embroidered block for my Christmas wall hanging. Isn't it beautiful? It is from the 2011 Holiday OESD design pack. I will be making six blocks for a wall hanging and I think I'll use a quilt-as-you-go technique to sew all the blocks together. It shouldn't take too long to finish. Last night I cut the fabric, applied some fusible stabilizer, and downloaded all of the designs I want to use to my machine. I got the idea from an embroidery demo I attended on Sunday and I couldn't wait to begin.

Baby Gifts

I drive through McDonald's every morning and get a soda on the way to work. There are a couple of young girls who work there that I've gotten to know and they recognize me and my car and know exactly what I want without having to say anything at all. They are very sweet and I enjoy our brief chats in the morning as I drive through.

One girl is pregnant and due in a couple of weeks and I wanted to do something nice for her so I made the following gifts for her new baby boy. I hope they enjoy them. I embroidered a couple of bibs, made a couple of burp cloths, and had a blast sewing up a taggie blanket.

Making baby things is always a lot of fun. This time I was able to use all of my machines - embroidery, sewing, and serger. Woo Hoo!!

Inspired to Create

Last week I attended a Bernina event in Chicago and was totally inspired to come home and try all the new things we learned during the 2-1/2 days of non-stop fun.

I have been practicing some of the techniques we learned and am using new attachments and presser feet in ways that I hadn't thought of before. It is so much fun to color outside of the lines and step outside of the box and try new ways of putting things together. Most of the time, they turn out to be fabulous. Occasionally, they flop but all the time, they are tons of fun and help generate new ideas to explore on my Bernina.

Thanks Bernina for a great event and for opening my eyes to new and creative options in sewing, embroidery, and quilting!

Hello Stitching Bloggers!

I'm creating this blog to share some of my stitching creations. I love to sew and enjoy working on all types of projects. I've made tons of clothes and costumes, items for my home, gifts for friends, quilts, pillowcases, and many, many other things.

I just purchased an embroidery machine which opens up a whole new world for me. I've never done any machine embroidery before and I'm excited to begin this journey.

There are a million projects forming in my head so I must get started right away. Please join me as I share my embroidery/sewing projects with all of you creative bloggers.