Noah's Ark Quilt

 This is a panel that I have had sewn for several years.  I found a cute Noah's ark flannel backing at the local quilt shop that was a perfect match for this quilt.  Then I used Bubbles from Designs by Juju for the quilting. It is an end-to-end design.  My embroidery machine is a 10 needle Babylock.  The new big magnetic frame from Brother is perfect for end-to-end designs. I am very pleased with the final project!

Seaside Serenity

This is Seaside Serenity.  It is a quilt kit that I immediately fell in love with the colors when I saw it at Cotton Pickin's Quilt shop in Washington State.  I don't usually purchase kits but this one shouted at me.  I knew that I was going to try end-to-end embroidery design from JuJu.  This is the  Swirls 1 design. I basted the top, batting, and backing together with 505 spray (lightly sprayed). I recently purchased a magnetic hoop from Mighty Hoops to make the hooping quicker. I started in the middle of the quilt on one side and continued across to the other edge.  The last hooping on the edge was about five inches so when the design went off the edge I would stop the design and forward to another section that stitched on the quilt.  This quilt took some time and patience as there is probably 60 hoopings.  I just wanted to prove to myself that I could really quilt my own quilts. Someone is going to receive a nice Christmas present!
 

A Large Composition Cover

My newest Juju Design is the Large Composition Cover.  It is for the composition book that is 9 3/4" x 7 1/2". It is made in three hoopings and has excellent instructions. The front is a hooping, the back is a hooping, and then the spine connects them in the third hooping. The fabric is Artisan Spirit by Northcott.  It really is a beautiful fabric! The design includes a piece of flat elastic that holds the book closed.  I found that at my local sewing machine dealer and it is a fun addition. Dec. 26: The cover was a Christmas present for my Greatgrandson. Landon loved his gift!

Pencil Cases

I decided the the Operation Christmas Child boxes needed pencil cases.  I digitized this 5 3/4 x 9" shape with a zipper so that I could stitch the entire project in the hoop.  The cases are made from light weight vinyl and a polyester zipper.  I anyone wants this design, they may message me and it it yours along with directions.  You may include whatever lettering you wish. Happy stitching!

Sewing Machine ITH Zipper Bag

Another project for those with an embroidery machine. This is a project that is entirely in the hoop, including the zipper. The bag is fully lined, has thin batting, and has no visible seams on the inside. I did change the center of the small oval in the original design to an "J" because this is my bag. I only had to stitch the lining closed with hand sewing. The zippered bag is approximately 5.5" x 7.5" and can be ordered from Disorderly Threads. She has many other designs but I only purchased the tennis shoe and the sewing machine. The directions for making the project are excellent step-by-step explanations with photos. I love this project.

Elvis HIghtop In-the-Hoop Zippered Bag

Elvis shows his face in this hightop tennis shoe.  This is a project that is almost entirely in the hoop, including the zipper. The bag is fully lined, has thin batting, and has no visible seams on the inside. I did change the star in the original design to an "S" for the person receiving this bag.The directions are excellent and I only had to stitch the lining closed with hand sewing. The zippered bag is approximately 5.5" x 7.5" and can be ordered from Disorderly Threads. She has many other designs but I only purchased the tennis shoe and the sewing machine. It was a fun project.

I Pledge Allegiance

Claudia's Creations designed this awesome small wall quilt. It has excellent directions for multi-hooping the embroidered words.  The stars are simple to applique.  This will be a Christmas gift for my military grandson.  I haven't decided whether to attach a hanging sleeve or wait to see how he wants to display it. It is inspiring! Thanks, Claudia.

Heirloom Heart

This was a project at last week's Machine Embroidery group at Bob's Bernina. The project was really an heirloom pincushion stitched in white on white with a white ribbon. The design uses a wing needle and gives that heirloom look. It was really striking. As usual, I modified the design a bit by using red thread on a muslin background. On the back piece I stitched a large buttonhole using my embroidery module, layered the two pieces and now I have a candy holder for Valentine's Day.

The Anything Holder

This is my anything holder--you can use it for sewing supplies, art supplies, or anything else you might want. It unfolds and inside is three-inch-wide elastic sewn with slots for keeping your supplies. This was the project for the All About Machine Embroidery program at my Bernina dealer. I found the elastic at Hancock's and it has a frilly top--really neat elastic! The design is from OESD's Rose of Sharon Collection. The Bernina USA website has one of these designs to download right now. It was fun to make and would be a great gift for someone who sews.

Design Wall Monday

I know this is not a wall, but I could not get it to stick to the wall because it was so heavy. The ABC quilt still needs a final border. This quilt is "shocking" red and can cause red dots to appear before your eyes!! I am so glad to have this almost complete. I want to work on a quilt called Floral Visions that I will embroider on my new 830. Happy sewing week!

Design Wall Monday

This is Redwork ABC by The Stitch Connection.

The embroidery has been completed for all of the blocks. Now I am sewing the piecing around each of the blocks. I only have 16 more blocks to go! This is my second redwork quilt this summer. I think the next one will have to be bluework or greenwork because I am a bit tired of seeing red. My new 830 and I are getting to know each other as we work on this quilt.

New Project

I am going to embroider this design on the back of a white jacket that I purchased last summer. I have been looking for just the right design and this is it. This is called Mylar Roses Galore from Purely Gates Embroidery. I met Patricia Gates when she had a booth across from O'Brook Quilt Connection's booth in Houston. This pattern uses mylar--the stuff you use to wrap packages or put into fancy gift bags. The mylar gives the sparkle without using metallic threads as it lays under the design. The design is especially digitized so that the sparkly peeks though. I did have to order the design from a sewing shop in Texas called Little Stitches. I'll show you the jacket when I am finished.

Holiday Redwork

This is the quilt that I am working on. It is from The Stitch Connection. I am teaching this as a class at the Overbrook quilt shop. I made this quilt a couple of years ago and decided I should make it again to refresh my memory about how it constructed. The redwork is machine embroidery and is very quick. I am considering making a couple of these as Christmas gifts.

Free Standing Lace Valentine Angel

This is a free standing lace (fsl) angel that I embroidered on my Bernina. It is made entirely of thread. The angel is stitched on water soluble stabilizer that is washed out when completed. The stitches are designed to interlock and stay together when the stabilizer is removed. I purchased this design from Mountain Thread Art. I did embellish with some glitter on the heart. The angel is about 4 inches high. These will probably be gifts for Valentine's Day.

Newest Project

My latest project is making bib samples for the Overbrook Quilt Connection. This pattern is from Whistlepig Creek Productions and is called Little Monster Food Catchers. The monsters are machine embroidery. The designs take a while to stitch out because they are stitches, not applique. The CD with the pattern has ten different formats. You must use heavy cutaway stabilizer. Then the bib is layered with batting and batting before being quilted and bound. The bibs really are cute.

Sneak Peak of More Wild!flowers

This beautiful machine embroidery applique is a pincushion cactus from More Wild!flowers from Smith Street Designs. This photo is of my stitchout and is not copied from the website. The other really beautiful flower in this quilt is the California poppy. Really, all of the flowers are beautiful, but the cactus and poppy are just outstanding.

I have the body of the quilt finished. Now to get 292 half square triangles completed for a border.

My first embroidery quilt was the first Wildflowers quilt by Smith Street. I saw a finished sample at a quilt shop in Arizona and fell in love with it. Now I have enough embroidery quilts completed to develop a program about them. There are many stitchers who have embroidery modules who have never used them. Get those modules hooked up to your machine and have great fun!

Bloomin' Flowers is pieced!

The picture is not the best but Bloomin' Flowers has been pieced. I waited for the wind to go down so I could take the picture outside and I lost too much of the sun. This quilt is by The Stitch Connection and the blocks are intense embroidery and applique. Some of the blocks have up to 40 color changes. I had to put a small table beside my sewing cabinet just to hold the 40-50 spools of thread I used in the quilt. The pieced second border really is a great addition to the quilt. After quilting this top, this quilt will be exquisite.

I'll try to get a better picture tomorrow.

Sneak Peak of "Bloomin' Flowers"

For the past week I have been working on a quilt by The Stitch Connection called Bloomin' Flowers. The quilt has 12 main blocks of flower arrangements with several other small connector blocks.

The direction are quite extensive, so I printed them out and now have 35 pages in a notebook. It is so easy to look at the directions by just turning a page for checking and rechecking directions. Each of the designs have a stitchout diagram that has the thread colors and then a small picture of the stitchout. One of the designs has 40 color changes.

The directions contain lots of diagrams for putting the blocks together. There are also suggestions for quilting which is unique with many patterns. As a bonus there is also a label for the quilt.

Quilted Lady

This quilted lady is "Hope". When we were in Paducah, Sharon purchased a quilted lady from a person who was shopping at out booth. The quilted lady maker came back a couple of days later and I asked her about her quilted ladies and how she made them. They are really two embroidery CD's designed by Bonnie Colonna. When I had time after returning home, I did an internet search for the embroidery designs. I found a website that showed one of them and a quilt shop when they were purchased. I sent emails to the website and also to Bonnie Colonna. After not getting quick replies--I later found them in my spam folder--I found the phone number of the quilt shop in Pueblo, Colorado and just called them. They did have the designs and so in a few days I also had the designs.

The quilted lady CD's have a face design and then one or two small quilting designs for the fabric piece. Each face has a special name. I tried using cotton fabric for the faces and also dolskin. Cotton is much easier to sew and stuff but dolskin gives you more flexibility for shaping the head.

I have had such fun with the designs. My Wednesday Sewing Group at Bob's Bernina is participating in a quilted lady challenge. Each one received a quilted lady face and are to bring it back at the August meeting artfully attired. Won't it be fun to see with others will do with their quilted lady!

Small Flower Quilt

This sixteen inch quilt was made to be given to another quilter in an exchange. The center is machine embroidery and applique called "Bloomin' Flowers" from The Stitch Connection. I have used their patterns for several quilts. The border technique is a bias folding method that I saw in Paducah. New Leaf Stitches has several patterns that use the method. I enjoyed meeting the designer and seeing her patterns.

Today I am working on the heart quilt. Yesterday I spray-basted the layers and today is quilting day.