Tea Party

This is the last quilt of 2015.  It is from the embroidery pack entitled Time for Tea from Embroidery Library.  It was great fun to choose the colors for the different teapots and teacups.  I lost some of the definition of the embroidery with the block design that I chose, but a lesson learned.  I probably should have stippled around the designs so they would stand out from the block.  Have a happy stitching New Year!

Merry Christmas

Carpenter's Star

This is a large carpenter's star pattern by Debbie Maddy of Calico Carriage Quilt Designs.  One of the patterns that we purchased in Paducah last year.  I used fabric from two Benartex lines designed by Michele D'Amore, Shadows Paintbox and Urbanicity.  I love everything about this quilt including how quickly it can be pieced.  My friend, Dee Gerardy, quilted it and I love the pattern she used.  I am almost sure this one will not leave the house.

FSL Snowmen

It is very easy to embroider free standing lace on my Babylock Enterprise.  Once you have the colors on the correct spool, it is press the button and let it stitch. The stabilizer is Pellon's Wash-N-Gone. I purchased the snowmen patterns from Secrets of Embroidery.  Mea Bernina, my local Bernina shop, decorates a Christmas tree for the Lawrence Festival of Trees.  Mea Bernina also include a quilt which this year is a snowman quilt. So my fsl snowmen will emphasize the snowmen on the quilt. They look so happy to be working on a Christmas tree.

Zipper Pouches

I have made a tubful of zipper pouches. This pouch was the project for October's Software Inspiration from Bernina.  I thought it had a great design and the Frond fabric makes it extra special.  The entire pouch is stitched in the hoop--even the zipper.  I love the zippers from byannie. The zippers come by the yard and you can order any color of zipper pulls.  When I was in Houston at quilt market, I purchased two groups of bright colored pulls. So I was able to match the zipper to the fabric.  She also has colored zippers but I had 4 yards of the black and of the white for this project. The pouches are stitched with batting between the outside fabric and the lining fabric. 

Barn Dance

Vicky Lawrence of Prairie's  Edge Patchworks has a series of 12 quilt patterns titled Barn Dance that make a full-size quilt.  They were originally designed for red work by hand.  Now she is having them digitized and they will be available for embroidery machines with very large hoops.  Some barns have two hoopings and some have three.  You can see the alignment marks in this stitchout.  The marks are to be removed after stitching the entire design. The embroidery patterns should be available in the next few weeks. She has allowed me to test-stitch her patterns. 

Embroidery on Hankies

I spent all morning and half of the afternoon embroidering on these hankies.  They all are very old and the fabric needed delicate handling but had to withstand the embroidery needle.  I practiced on some flimsy fabric that I had and decided to try Terial Magic, a stabilizing fabric spray.  I had read that it causes yellowing and I got some water stain looking spots.  But it gets very, very stiff and allows the stitches to lay on the fabric without pulling.  All of the Terial Magic washed out without a problem. I will have to try the stuff again on another project.

Store and Go Zipper Case

I made these two cute pouches. The pattern is Store and Go Zipper Case by Amy Barickman for Crossroads Patterns. They take less than two fat quarters.  I used my embroidery machine for the designs, but you can also use the circle tool attachment.  The most fun was stitching the zipper.  I used Zippers by the Yard  from byannie.com.  The 4 yards of zipper tape has 16 extra large zipper pulls of multiple colors. The directions tell you to use one side of the zipper for the entire circle.  Then attach the zipper pull.  Very easy! You can make one of the cases in a couple of hours after learning the technique. The pattern is available from Mea Bernina, my local Bernina dealer.

Windmill from Signs of Life Series

Vicky Lawrence of Prairie Edge Patchworks is slowly getting her redwork-type designs digitized.  Windmill will soon be available in embroidery.  I completed this sample on my Bernina 830.  The completed wall hanging is 16" x 20".  I was able to get all of the design except two stitches into the jumbo hoop.  The barbed wire is stitched separately.  This will be a birthday gift for a family member.

All of Vicky's patterns are available at Overbrook Quilt Connection.

Nursery Rhymes

This is Nursery Rhymes by Anita Goodesign. I used batting when stitching the designs so all I have to do now is to add a backing.  Most of the designs have a stipple around the embroidered area.  The design set I used added the fabric borders as part of the embroidery.  I used my Babylock Enterprise so I did not have to change thread so often as on my Bernina 830. I am going to use Minkee for the backing.

 I think this will go to a toddler who is due for her first big girl bed.

Diva Wallet

This is my new Diva Wallet.  The wallet is covered in a argyle pattern that I stitched with my embroidery machine.  The hardware for the wallet and pattern can be found at Diva Wallet Frames. The pattern is very easy to make and the frame is slipped on the ends of the wallet. Then there are four tiny screws that hold the frame in place. I showed it to a bus-full of quilters this week and they loved the look. I made this in a short afternoon. 

June Software Sampler

 The June Software Sampler from Bernina is Make it Plaid.  These are the samples that I made from the lesson. The top one is a plaid criss cross with blue and green thread on green fabric.

The second sample is an argyle pattern on orange fabric with green squares.  The green is the same thread as used in the top sample but it gives a gray-looking tone.  The center thread is white.

The third sample is red and blue on white fabric.  They all are interesting and very fun to make.

I did discover that a couple layers of stabilizer makes a flatter design.  I used polymesh on the third design with a lightweight tear-away floated under the hoop.

From The Window

This is a small 21" x 15" wall quilt from The Stitch Connection.  All of the designs are embroidery with no applique. There are nine 3" x 5" panels,  Lattice strips are added to create a window effect. I used Wonder Tape on the back of double fold bias for the strips. This is one part of a monthly calendar or a whole quilt. I made the design with backing and batting.  After stitching the panels together I added batting for the borders.  It was fun the make.

Paris Flea Market II

 I am so happy to have my Paris Flea Market II back home .  This is the second quilt that I have made from this fabric which was reprinted last year. The original idea for this quilt came from CJ Tinkle.  She showed photos of her quilt and I really liked it. The quilt is 92" x 112". The quilting design is Tickle, but I do not know the designer.  The thread used is a very light taupe color. I really do like the way this quilt looks and feels.   

Snapdragons

This is a tea towel that will be given to an unsuspecting friend.  The embroidery design is from Embroidery Library and is called Floral Border.  It is one of the designs I stitched with my Babylock Enterprise.   So easy to do multiples.  The more I use my new machine, the more I like it.

Granny Square Quilt

This is Paris Flea Market fabric in a granny square quilt.  I have the top pieced and still need the borders.  I really like this quilt.  I first saw this on CJ's blog and loved her quilt. I don't know the finished size but it will be ample for a queen side bed.

Santa's Calendar in Blue

Santa's Calendar is a Stitch Connection pattern that is available in both machine embroidery and hand embroidery.  Of course this is machine embroidery.  I cross-hatched the blocks and sashing before embroidering the designs.  The quilt is about 31" x 39".  I wanted to use the indigo blue fabric, so I chose to embroider the designs in blue. Not any snow in Kansas right now and it is very windy, so a wall photo will have to do. It really is beautiful.

Happy Easter

This is a tea towel that was a pay-it-forward gift to an unsuspecting friend.(She loved it!) The design is from Entwined Elegance from OESD.  The bunny design comes in two sizes. I made this one about 200 mm. I have made a pink bunny, green bunnies and blue bunnies. Happy Easter to all my stitching and embroidery friends.

Starting to Take Shape

My Granny Square Quilt is slowly starting to look like a quilt.  I have to thank CJ Tinkle for making this quilt and showing it on her blog.  I fell in love with it and knew I had to make one.  It is not hard to make but is a little time consuming.   Hancocks of Paducah is having a sale on Paris Flea Market fabric, so there is probably another one of these in the future.

Granny Square Quilt Beginning

This is the beginning of my Granny Square Quilt.  It is made from 2.5 inch strips of Moda's Paris Flea Market fabric. Moda reprinted it last year and I was so excited to find the fabric.  I had made a quilt several years ago from this fabric and it is still my favorite fabric. You can find a tutorial here or here. My quilt will have sashing between the blocks with corner stones of pink or red. The yellows and light green are much brighter in the photo. Picking the colors of the square is the hardest part.

Simply Woven Tablerunner

This is my version of Simply Woven Quilt by Jess Kelly.  She was so kind to include a tutorial on her blog:  SewCraftyJess.  The quilt can be completed with jelly rolls.  Her quilt was done with brights on white.  I had some left-over Kaffe Fassett jelly roll strips from an earlier project.  I wanted to test the pattern, so I sewed three squares. I will tell you that you must follow the directions carefully.  I ended up throwing away two squares that I cut incorrectly.

I like the full-sized quilt.  It is on the list of future quilts.

X-Block Quilt

 This is my 18" x 23" X-Block quilt.  When we were in Arizona for the winter two years ago, the Bernina dealer showed her quilt and the techniques for making it.  I have had this much complete for two years and had decided that I did not want to make a big quilt.  So last week I finally quilted it with designs using my embroidery module. I really do like the quilting.

On Saturday, I am teaching a lesson on binding.  One of the topics will be Piping Hot Binding by Susan Cleveland.  So there is piping around the inside edge of the binding.  I followed the instruction booklet, used the trimming tool, and got good results.  The piping would give any quilt a big boost of color and detail.

Blooming Bliss Quilt

This is the project for February's Software Inspirations.  It is the Blooming Bliss Quilt by 
Nina McVeigh.  The entire quilt can be made from jelly rolls.  The colored fabrics were jelly rolls and the white was yardage that I cut in 2.5" strips.  The directions are easy and the quilt goes together quickly.  I used a design from OESD's Elegant Line quilting 5 for the blocks and sashing.  The software lesson will be using the quilter program in Designer Plus v7. 

Silk Quilt

This is my silk duponi quilt.  I have collected the silk colors for a couple of years and knew how I was going to make the quilt.  The silk was backed with a soft stabilizer so it would not fray.  Then I hooped a polymesh stabilizer and added wool batting and then the silk fabric.  The designs are from two of Sharon Schamber's Design Collections. The designs were embroidered on my new 10-needle Babylock Enterprise. The quilt is 20.75 inches square.  I could not decide which color to use to bind the quilt, so I used a two color binding of a deep red and soft pink.

Ker Bloom!

This is Ker Bloom!, a kit I purchased in Paducah from Vogies.  It has beautiful Frond fabric and great colors.  My friend quilted it with a modern quilting pattern.  It was a pretty quilt until I added the green binding on the black border.  Now it is a beautiful quilt.  The binding made it really special and pulled all the colors together.  My husband is the proud owner because he really liked it.