I have been quilting!

Hello everyone!

As usual I have been so busy. So much

to do at home and with grandchildren.

Well - I must tell you my good news!

My granddaughter is going to have

my first great-grandchild. Due  the Fist of December!

 

I am still in shock, somewhat. However

in the next few weeks I must get busy

making baby blankets and other stuff.

 

I have made a few cross stitch patterns,

but I am at a loss as to what to do since

Picnik closed! I need to find something

similar to this to name the patterns.

Does anyone know of one that is FREE!

 

Also, I have a problem with Google!

It is not allowing me to follow anyone.

I know there are plenty of people that

are also having this problem. I have

tried to follow 8 people so far and I

am getting frustrated with Google

not letting me follow.

I am beginning to wonder if perhaps

being a follower on Pinterest and

those other nice things is creating

the mess-up!

I never had any problem until I started

doing this.

Perhaps I will get off of all of this

stuff and see if that is the problem!

 

Anyway, I thought that I would show

you the FLYING GEESE quilt that

I have been hand quilting. This is an

old quilt that I started about 5 years

ago. Pep has also helped me to quilt it.

 

I am working on the pretty blue sashes

and then after that I will quilt the navy blue

borders. I have been taking my time

hand quilting it.

 

 

Thank you for visiting me and listening to my

Google troubles!

Take care, Hopblogger

 

My New Sewing Room!!

Hello Everyone! How you doing?

Great, I hope.

 

Finally after 20 years, I got a sewing room again.

Yahoo!!!!

My former living room is or was the biggest

room in the home that we live in now.

14X12 is not saying much,

but hey I am happy and that is all that matters.

I am now able to show you what the room looks

like at this point.

I am still not finished. I need to straighten up and

re-arrange more but I am getting there!

So bare with me.

 

Walk through the dog gates into my

Sewing Room. We will enter and go to the

left side, from there work our way to

the right side.

 

On the left of coming in an old china

cabinet that belonged to my husband's

mother.

 I still need to get this china cabinet out of

here, hopefully soon it will find a new

home in some other room. Oh yea, that

is zip lock bags on top of my "Gone

with the Wind" figurines. A cheap way

to keep the dust off. You weren't suppose

to see that, but now that you did, I felt

the need to explain. Lol's

Anyway I want a tall bookcase to go in

this space.

 

 Directly against the china cabinet is an iron quilt

rack that you cannot see. It is holding some vintage

quilts that I eventually want to show you. These

quilts came out of my bin that was stored in my garage.

The quilt with pink squares is a basket quilt. The other

quilt with green is a star. This quilt is similar to the

purple quilt that I made a long time ago that is

already on my blog. There is a door behind this

quilt rack that stays locked constantly.

 

You can see the window. I used to have thick floor length

red curtains that blocked out the sun, with checked

shades underneath. I kept the shades. I was not

looking for anything fancy in this room, at least not yet.

So, I took an old quilted king size

blanket and made the curtains that

you see here. One entire side of the blanket made

me a 17 inch deep valance. The valance goes across

the window and the door with very little gathering.

The shades just hang to the floor. This room is

still cold!!

I had to use the printer box to hold my printer to get

it off of my desk. I hope to remedy that this summer

and put a tall shelf there so it will hold computer

paper and supplies.

This is the sewing desk that was upstairs in my sewing

room. Boy, that desk is heavy!!! My hubby and I

scooted, pushed and shoved on towels down the

stairs to get it here in this spot. The boxes on top of

the sewing cabinet hold beads, beading in

one box. Another box holds upholstery trims.

Another box holds pincushions etc.. Much

storage in those boxes. Now I can swing

around in my chair!! hooray!

 

Well, I was wondering where this photo got off to!

Here is a close up of the quilts that were in the

garage. After they are quilted, I will wash them.

 

I have designated this spot in front of the window

as my cross stitch table. I will have to keep this area

clean if I want to stitch here. The plastic green Wal-Mart dresser

bins hold ribbons, lace and just a touch of cross

stitch in the bottom drawer. This room gets cold so I have

a little space heater to keep my feet warm. To the

right is a little white plastic bin. It holds stuff for

my sewing machine only.

 

My monitor always displays my miniature scenes.

I change them every so often. This particular

screensaver shows the gowns that I won from Felma's

giveaway!

 

I still have a small box on the top of the desk to sort

thru. Sabrina the witch is keeping an eye on it for

me. I have been sorting thru getting rid of things

again, so now my shelves are looking a little bare.

But don't worry - I have plenty of stuff to put up there.

I have been stitching on another little miniature quilt.

See it to the right of Sabrina's head. It is a Grandmother's

fan. Yes it is a cheaters, but I work hard on those little

quilts.

 

I meant to take photo's inside the plastic bins but

I forgot. What can I say. I have been going through

these bins. Look one bin is empty!! One bin holds

the television remotes. One bin holds only pincushions.

And yes there are plenty of them in that one bin.

Another bin holds just cutting scissors.Scrapbook

papers are hiding in one of those bins. The bins

still need cleaning out. Hopefully I get them cleaned

to show you on the next post.

It is nice to sit here, quilt or sew and watch a little

tele. My fireplace in the corner.

 

This space is beneath my sewing machine. these bins

need going through also. That plastic bin holds

trash. Maybe it is time to empty it.

 

Here is a little spot for my doggy's. Ira likes the

brown bed. Little Kane loves the blue crate. And

curry keeps scooting his blanket towards my feet.

I keep moving him back cause I am afraid of stepping

on him. Time to get Kane a new bed. And Curry

needs a bed so he stays in one spot. Love my boys!

 

It is hard to believe that my poor over-worked attic

once held all of this fabric. But it did! This was

15 bins that I emptied. I was quilting on my

9patch quilt and washing fabric as hard as I could

just trying to get this room up to par. I was up

many hours. The more I washed fabric, the more

I stitched!

I have tried organizing these

shelves. It is hard when you have so much. The very

top of both units will hold my quilts when finished.

At least I hope it holds all of them. Below that, I

call this section MY SHEET SHELF. This

section holds just twin, double, queen, and king sheets

and pillowcases. I even had some new ones in here!

I use these sheets for blocks, sashes and backings.

Once you start quilting a lot of this fabric does get

used very fast!

The next shelf holds only white sheets and a few

others that will not fit on the sheet shelf. And then

starts the fabric shelf.

 

This next shelf is my QUILT TOP SHELF. Quilts

waiting to be hand quilted. These quilts have waited

20 years for me to look at them. They certainly have

waited long enough.

The bottom shelf are 2 cloth bins that hold a lot of

applique blocks that me and my momma worked on

in the 80's. It was a thrill to open them. I will show

you them in the next post. So much stuff was packed

in those bins.

 

This room fits both of my leather computer chairs.

I will show you the quilt on the back of the chair a

little later. It is a quilt that needs mending. Which is

my next project.

 

This is the other shelving unit. The bottom shelf holds

batting and will hold polyester stuffing also.

The shelf above it is packed with fabrics. The same

with the shelf above it.

 

The top shelf will eventually hold more quilts and

a lace bin.

The shelf below it has a variety of fabrics. This shelf

holds curtains that will get cut up. There is a space for

pillow shams. Yea, I cut them up also. Behind the curtains

are lots of bed dust ruffles. I love these!

I cut the skirts off from the inner section of the dust

ruffles. These sections are white cotton and sometimes

they are paper like. If the inner section is a very

good cotton then I use that for blocks etc..

However, if the inner section is papery, that

is great to use as a foundation block for strip quilts.

Sometimes thrift stores carry loads of these

bed dust ruffles. Most people over-look these,

because they do not know what to do with them,but

there are tons of fabric here to use. Those long skirts

can be stripped for borders or most anything.

These bed dust ruffles sell as little as $1.50.

This is a great buy!

There are also cotton duvet covers behind these

pillow shams. These duvet covers are a great way

to take one side to use in a quilt for blocks etc..

and take the back side of the duvet cover to use for

the quilts backing. That way some blocks on the

top of the quilt can match the backing. Some of these

duvet covers at thrift stores sell for as little as $7.00.

Underneath the white apron is a section for

are some cotton thrift store

clothes washed and dried. Ready to be cut up.

I just finished the white linen apron and hung it.

 

This corner holds 2 plastic Wal-Mart dresser style drawer

bins that have been stacked on top of each other. Each

dresser holds only 3 drawers giving me a total of 6 drawers.

The bottom drawer holds Christmas fabrics.

The next drawer up holds red fabrics only. 2 drawers

hold little pieces of scraps and strips to make the STRIP

QUILTS. The top 2 drawers holds 2.5 inches or larger

strips to sew into blocks.  On top of the dressers are

cotton thrift store clothes. The good thing about

buying thrift store clothes is that they are already

pre-shrunk. So many lovely prints are there. And

shirting's, this is a great place to buy men's shirts.

 

Yay, my ironing board can stay up. It is such

a nuisance to keep putting away an iron and

its companion when you sew.

 

This use to be my fold away cutting table when we

lived in Oklahoma. In the room where it

was located at, it was able to stay open

all the time, but in this house, it could

never be opened. Plus anyone that

ever owned this type, know that it is

not very stable. At least mine was not.

 

This table mat used to be on that fold away table.It

is self healing, but mine never heals?? Anyway I

do not cut on this mat, I use other mats that I

place on top of it to cut my fabrics.

 

I have to show you this island!! I saw it here:

georgiapeachez.typepad.com - new-cu

 

And I just new this was for me!! I am not one

to copy, but this was the answer to a cutting table!!

I am not as organized as her photo's are, but hey,

this works for me. It had added storage!

This island used 4

bookcases that were from Wal-Mart. I just happened

to own these bookcases, and they were being stored in my attic.

They had been up there for years!  This was so easy

to do.

My hubby took the top off of the fold away cutting

table that I owned and placed it here on top of the

bookcases. I then placed that self healing large mat

(that you see above) on top. I am surprised that the

mat did not disintegrate! It had been in the garage

so long.

I absolutely love this idea!!

The extra storage comes in handy. As you can see I

am trying to fill up this shelf. The first 2 shelves hold

Halloween fabrics. This will be moved later. The bottom

shelf is holding some vintage items. Those will be

moved also a little later.

 

This side of the bookcase is towards the shelving

units. The shelf is currently holding quilt blocks

that have been cut out already and in sandwich bags.

Also blocks that need settings. And there are a ton

of 9patch blocks on the second shelf.

 

This side faces my window. These are the only

quilt books, magazines that I own now after getting

rid of 180 books.  The top shelf holds the baby box

that I converted to a sewing box. It holds only my

quilting supplies in that little box. It holds my rotary

cutters, thimbles, quilting needles and safety pins.

Love that little box. Of course I do love boxes.

They come in handy.

 

This side faces towards the dogs. The top shelf holds

my miniature fabrics. Those little plastic bins will

go back in the attic. Then there will be 2 shelves

empty.

 

I hope you liked visiting my sewing room!

Thanks for stopping by!

Hopblogger

 

 



A Mother and Daughter Collaboration!

Hello Everyone!

 

As a Christmas present to my sister Lori

from my daughter Pep and

I, we collaborated on a Dog Wallhanging

or a little lap quilt.

 

Me, thinks that I have a little quilter in

my midst!

 

This little dog quilt was made because Lori

loves Terriors. She has had 2 of them. One that

died about 4 years ago from cancer and a dog now

that she owns names Grissom. Grissom is so sweet.

The colorful binding and colorful sashes were

created from Grissom's bandana's. Everytime

he went to the groomers, he came back with a

pretty bandana. The bright colors just enhanced

the black linen.

Here is the finished quilt. The sashes and borders

are black linen and so is the back fabric.

 

I hand stitched the outside borders and binding while Pep

stitched the colorful sashes and inside blocks and borders.

The bandana's were cut on the bias so the fabrics were

stretchy. I did the best that I could in trying to make

them straight and sew down even. However the quilt

is still lovely!

 

A close up of some of the bones and dog paws that

she hand stitched. So cute!!! Pep even made the

tiny stencils for the bones and paws.

 

Here is the cutest Terrior dog patch that I have ever

seen. Look at the lovely small stitches that Pep

appliqued the dog down with. The stitches are even

and just as they should be. Hey, that's a wonderful

job you did there, Pep!!

 

Here is the little quilt in it's binding stage.

 

The back linen with Pep's and mine hand stitching

along with the binding sewed on.

 

The little quilt all folded up and ready to give to

it's proud owner.

 

Hope you enjoyed seeing the little doggy quilt.

 

Hopblogger

 



MY 9-PATCH QUILT IS FINISHED

Hello Everyone!

 

I meant to post this 2 days ago, but I got so busy that

I completely forgot until now. I finished my

quilt on January 10th. The only thing left to

do is to make a quilt label and as of yet

I do not know what or how I want to make

that, or if I want to buy labels?

 

My quilt had to be washed 3 times to get those

age spots out. And each time I pre-treated them

very heavily. With each washing my muslin

got brighter and brighter. I am so happy with

how the quilt has turned out! I hope you like it

also.

 

Here is my finished 9-patch quilt. Basically it has

taken me about 19 days to hand quilt this twin quilt.

Not bad, I say.

Here, I show one side of the borders that is quilted

already. I had to hand quilt fans in each of the 4

corners of the quilt, so I hope you can see it.

2 sides of the quilt has green

borders and the other 2 sides only have the cream

borders. I have not placed the quilt on my bed yet

to see which way those green borders are suppose

to lay, but I think they were added for length.

 

A better close up t see one of the fans.

 

All 4 borders are squared up with excess batting

and backing cut off.

 

I cut fabric 4.5 inches wide and folded in one side

towards the middle, but further towards the top. Then

I folded the other side in, making the size I wanted.

After all was folded and ironed, I began to machine

stitch to the back side of the quilt.

 

Here I was hand quilting the binding. This is the

fasting part of making a quilt. What I do is pin at

least 2 sides of the binding to the quilt. Then I start

hand stitching it closed on the front side.

 

Again, here is the quilt finished!

I will be hand quilting another quilt in a few more

weeks from now. I got some projects that need

finishing!

 

Thank you for visiting me!

Hopblogger

 



A new Log Pincushion and Cross-Hatch finished!

Hello Everyone!

Sorry I did not post,

but I have been very busy.  I meant

to post the photo's. Am

trying to get my home de-cluttered

as well as sewing.  I have some other

photos to show you of the progression

of my new sewing room. It is coming along.

 

It took me 3 days to sew the second half

of the cross - hatching. So all together it

has taken me 6 days to hand quilt the top

with the exception of the border. But I do

need to tell you that sometimes I quilt for

hours before I take a break. It will take you

longer to quilt, if you stop and start a lot.

When I hand quilt, I always listen

to music or watch a movie that I

have previously watched before. This

way I do not become engrossed in

a new movie where it steals my attention

away from my stitching.

 

My main goal was to see how long it

would take me to hand quilt a

quilt without a frame, if I needed

a quilt really fast! I am hoping to

spend only a total of 2 weeks on this

quilt. So I am pleased with my progress

at this point.

This quilt is a twin so I am sure it would

have taken me longer if the quilt was

much bigger.

 

However the more I plied the needle, the

straighter my lines got. You can see this

in some of the pixs.

 

After I finished hand quilting - I had to make

me a better needle holder. The tomato pincushion

did not work anymore. I tried a square pincushion,

but that did not work either. I needed a pincushion

that was long so I made a LOG PINCUSHION.

This log when not in use will be stored with

my quilting supplies. Now, I can

thread 20 or more needles and stick them in the

Log ready to be used. When you keep your needles

threaded - you can fly with that stitching!

At least I felt like I was! Perhaps my sewing machine

witch cover had something to do with it. She keeps

looking at me!! Hehehe

 

Anyway, the log is made from a quilted pillow sham.

I swear - I will cut up most anything. Nothing is

sacred around me!

The log pincushion is 3inches X 11 inches long. It

is stuffed very hard. I definitely did not want my

fingers to get pricked on the bottom side if I choose

to pick this log up. The log is almost 2 inches thick.

I am enjoying this blue log!

 

I believe that the more you stitch the straighter your

lines are. However do not take a break too long from your

stitching or you would have to start over again.

If you find yourself having to start over again after a

couple of days, then your stitches might not be as straight

as they were before.

 

I forgot to take photo's of the back, but it is

straight and even which pleases me.

It is getting time take the safety pins out so I can

stitch the borders. I guess I will cross hatch them

also. Hopefully that goes quickly.

 

At my home - we eat black eyed peas and ham hocks

all day on the 1st. Tradition is the more of them you

eat the more money you make! Of course we are

still looking for that money! Haven't seen it yet!

Perhaps we did not eat enough. Heheheh

 

Happy New Year!!

 

Thanks for visiting me!

Hopblogger

 



Half of the Cross-Hatch quilting finished!

Hello Ya'll

 

Hope your Christmas was a

Merry one!

 

Well, it took me 3 days to finish half of the

cross-hatch quilting design. I did not quilt

any on Christmas Day. As you can tell from

the photo's, I did not mark any of the quilt.

Some of my lines are a little wavy but it

is not a big deal. Vintage quilts show some

wavy lines also from their makers. The

quilting is half of the vintage quilts charm

appeal.

I think that I can safely say that some

quilts can take a while to hand quilt while

others do not.

 

I forgot to mention on the last post the

size of this quilt. The sheet says twin size.

72 inches X 104 inches. The vintage sheet

is Cannon's Monticello sheet. It is beautiful!

 

As I worked I stuck a safety pin on every

age spot that I saw. There are 5 squares

that have age spots on them.

 

I need to also mention that all of my blocks

are cotton. The large greenish squares are

half cotton and half poly.

The Vintage sheet is half cotton and half

poly.

After 20 years of storage there are

not any age spots on any of the fabric that is

half poly. I have found a new respect for

fabric being half poly.

I am hoping that once I wash this quilt that

the age spots will come out of the cotton.

 

I have not yet quilted the green borders or the

muslin borders.

 

I am estimating that it will probably take me

at least another 3 days to finish the second half of

this cross hatch design and perhaps another 2

or 3 days to finish the borders

before I can bind it.

 

 

One of the blocks with a safety pin showing an

age spot on the cotton. Where the safety pin is, can

you tell the blue square that has a joined seam. Many

of the blocks in this quilt has squares that have

seams. Not in this quilt but most of the time, when

I cut out a square from a shirt, I include darts or back

seams. It adds to the charm.

 

A beautiful vintage sheet - white and bright with no

 stains or age spots.

 

Well, I gotta go so I can quilt some more. Gotta

get busy!

 

Thank you for visiting me!

Take care and may

God keep you safe and out of harm's way!

 

Hopblogger

 

Started Back Quilting!

Hello Everyone! Christmas is soon

upon us - I hope you are ready!

 

While straightening up my garage a couple

of months ago - I came across 3 quilts tops

all ready to hand stitch. So I will be stitching them up!

I did not take the other 2 quilt tops out of

the bin so I do not know what condition

they are in. The first quilt I looked at

was this 9-Patch.

Believe me when I tell

you they had been in my garage for at least 13

years!  And stored an additional 7 years

before that!!! These quilts (not included

the quilts in my attic, were all

cut and sewed together back in

the early 90's when we were living in

Oklahoma.  I hope to get around to

hand stitching them as they have waited

long enough.

However, time sure does fly by fast! I sure did not realize

that it had been that long.

 

Anyway this 20 year old quilt top that you are about to

see is finally getting hand stitched. You will

see safety pins all in my quilt tops. I have never

basted a quilt to its backing. Not only have I been

lazy at that but I never wanted to waste thread.

 

With my quilts I never waste anything. When I get tired

of seeing the same ole piece of scrap around, then I

donate them to someone else. But I have not quilted in

a long time so I have not had anything to

donate. Last year I got tired of having so much

clutter so I donated to the Library 180 quilt books.

It took me many years to collect them. I only kept about

a shelf full for myself.

 

In my quilts I use anything that I can get my

hands on. The dust ruffles that you use on the beds

is one of my favorites to buy. I particularly look for

them at thrift stores. If the inside part that goes under the

mattresses is a little holy - it is okay with me!! Cause I use that

part for the foundations on all of my string quilts. On most of

these string quilts, I do not even put batting in between.

I just tie them.

Also I have always used sheets for my quilt backings.

 

Back then I was able to find sheets for 50 cents each.

It did not matter to me if it was fitted or flat. But I

did like to get as many flat sheets as possible. I always

used the fitted sheets for sashing's between blocks.

So in my attic I know there are at least a couple of big

bins full of white cotton sheets to be used as backings. 

I am what I call a 'thrifty quilter'. I have been

shopping at thrift stores since I was first married.

And I love it. I wash all the clothes very good

and the best part of this is - I do not have to

worry about anything shrinking!! Cause it has

already been shrunk by other good people.

 

I am a Traditional quilter, I think. I love the old patterns

and I never stray from white or cream colored quilting

thread. My tomato pincushion holds at least 8

threaded needles at one given time, ready for use. Time

to get the pincushion ready.

 

Anyway, as you can see my quilt top is full of safety pins. I

used to have quilting frames in the early years but the last time

that I owned a quilting frame was 1980. I got

tired of them breaking every time we moved.  So then I

decided that I should just stitch them the way women

back then stitched them. And I have hand quilted this

way ever since then. 

 

But what is new with me on this quilt that I will be

hand stitching is, this will be the first time that I have

not marked the quilt top. It has been 20 years since

I have quilted so I will be rusty!!

So I am not going to mark the top - just hand stitch!

I will be doing the cross-hatch.

 

When I checked this quilt top - I was amazed to see

that it was in surprisingly great shape!! The sheet

backing has not yellowed. The cream squares

look great! My pins did not rust or

leave any marks in my fabrics, however, there is an age

mark on one of the green squares. I will put a

safety pin here to help mark the spot to treat in

the washer once I finish quilting.  I am surprised

that there is not anything else wrong with it!!

 

I have been thinking a lot lately about women of long

ago that quilted. I am not an expert but I do

not believe that every woman owned a quilting frame.

Nor do I believe that every woman participated

in a quilting bee. I think that some women

sat in a rocker or at the kitchen table and quilted.

One of my grandmothers had 5 daughters. Her

daughters cleaned, washed clothes along with

other chores. My grandmother

cooked 3 meals a day. She also sewed clothes and

made quilts. She never had a quilting frame and with

10 children she never had time for a quilting bee.

 

I have spread this quilt out on a table. There are piles of sheets

and clothes at the back to help hold it up. I will be quilting

this way because I get hot very easy now and this way

it helps to keep the quilt off of me. For many

years I quilted while watching television on the

couch or a chair. This was when I was cold natured,

which that is not the case now.

 

I want to see how long it takes for me to hand stitch

this quilt top if I work on it every day without it being

marked. I want to see about how many weeks it

will take to stitch the entire top with the

exception of the binding.

 

 I am sure that my stitches will not all be

straight or even but this does not bother me. This will

be the first quilt that I have hand quilted that

will have cross hatch quilting on it. If cross hatch

quilting turns out to be fast then I will be stitching

many quilts with this pattern.

 

I will start my quilting tonight and take pictures

of my progress. Here is the 9-patch quilt that I

will be hand quilting.

 

A close up of one of the blocks.

 

The rose backing is already pinned to the top along the muslin

border. It was always easier for me to quilt like this.

I can tell that the batting is thin. It is still a crisp white!

How did I manage this?? It has been safety pinned

like this for 20 years.

 

I always loved this sheet that is why I pared these

two together.

 

 I know that I have another quilt top that has this

same sheet as a backing already pinned together

also. I do remember these sheets costing me 50 cents

each. Today if you can find this sheet, it will

probably cost you. But I think that I might look on the

net. Look how white it still is. The sheet has held

up better than the fabric when you think about it.

 

Thanks for visiting me!! Come again!

 

Hopblogger