Another Design Wall Monday

This has been such a fun week.  My work plan has been to do a little work on each project every day.














The first of the projects is Christmas Quilt #1.  It is on the frame and I have been quilting one pass a day.  It is an edge to edge panto.










I am quilting through the embroidery.  They were done by 12  different people but I don’t think any of them will complain. 






As you can see on the wall, I completed my Carol Doak BOM block for October and the applique on two funky chickens. 



And in between all of these other projects I worked on frogs.

I drew, light fused, cut, fused and then appliqued most of them. 





As you can see I did the legs with a blanket stitch and satin stitch for the bodies.  Usually I don’t like the satin stitch but I do like using two different stitches for variety.


I still have 4 frog bodies to applique and all of the eyes.  Then I will be embroidering their mouths and the fold in the legs.  I forgot to take pictures of all 6 insect embroideries that will be the sashing cornerstones. 


After all this work DH and I took Sunday off for taco pizza.  Then a swing through Staples ($$), a visit to Publics for groceries (no tax in FL) and then to Chill for yogurt.




What you can’t see in this picture is the Decadent Dark Chocolate yogurt topped by the Cheesecake yogurt, topped by strawberries and blueberries.  Oh, my, this was good and low in points, too.

Today will be mostly housework (except one pass on the frame) but then it will be studio all the way.  I have to get a lot done because pretty soon it was the beginning of November and then I will have 3 new BOM blocks to make. 

It Was A Very Good Week

This past week was a really good week.  I’ll start with the last part when I got another Funky Chicken (#10) ready for applique.



Isn’t he cool? 














This is going to be such a fun quilt.  With only two  more blocks to come it is about time to start thinking about a setting for them.  I want it to be unique so I will need to give it some thought.
I also got Teapot #3 drawn and the fabric chosen but that’s as far as I got when DH invited me out for lunch and some antiquing.  How could I resist?








I got the backing done for the first of the Christmas quilts.  I sewed these strips together while I was embroidering the back of a shirt (see below) so I had two machines going and loved the sound of being productive.








The black fabric has been in my Christmas stash for a couple of years but never has suggested what it wanted to be so I used all I had as the center of this piece.  The outside “borders” are what is left from the front.  I’m not doing stash busting but if I were this would really be a coup. 
This backing made it to the quilt frame but that’s as far as I got. 







This was what I was working on while I was sewing the backing.  Isn’t it great?  I was so pleased with it while it was sewing out.

Until………..












This happened.  Can’t see what I mean?











Take a closer look.  It seems the shirt “jumped” onto the embroidery bed and got itself stitched into the embroidery foot.  Stuck good and proper.  I finally got it off the bed and finished the embroidery but there is still a big lump of fabric sewn together that I will need to do something about, later.

I did stitch out two owl t-shirts, see the last post, and I really like these designs.




Friday I went to a machine embroidery workshop where Mary Alice Smith was teaching some great software.  Can you see her face there in the center?








I was sitting way in the back but could see what was going on because of the monitors which were connected to her computer.  Ain’t technology grand?














Well, I had decided that I could use my time well by working on the hand applique for The Dragon.  I didn’t get a lot done but that was a whole lot more than I had done in the last couple of months so I felt pretty good about it.  Once I had it out again I realized how much I really want to get this quilt done so it will be on the top of my “to do” list soon.









Lastly, I finally got the label sewn onto the quilt I am sending to Gene Black for a children’s charity he is donating to.  This is a Jelly Roll Race quilt I made last Spring but hadn’t decided to whom it would go.  I love the cheerfulness of it and hope it brightens the heart of the girl who receives it.

Oh, one last thing.  Last week I finished the 22 lessons in EQ7.  It was a lot of work but I learned a lot.  Mostly, I learned that the program does a lot more than I knew and that there is still a bunch I still need to learn.  Maybe I will begin this next stage in my learning while I design my new chicken quilt?

Wow, it’s Design Wall Monday, again.

And yet, there is nothing on my design wall this morning.

During the last week I sewed the blocks together and decided on the inner border.  I blogged about this fabric here and am really happy with how well it goes with my swap blocks.













And then I decided on the outer border and this past weekend I cut it out and

















And sewed them on.  I am so excited at how this quilt has turned out.  During the making I, again, remembered how difficult swap blocks can be: not the right size, no quarter inch seam allowance, poor stitching, pleats inside the block, etc.  However, once I decided that I was going to use each block pretty much as it came, the top came together to be beautiful.  I also got the binding prepared so now it is ready for quilting (once I put a backing together).

And that brings me to the mental block I have been suffering since June.  That’s when Judy at Patchwork Times offered lessons on stitching feathers.  I made my quilt, a Carpenter’s Star, put it on the frame and stitched the top border.








And that’s as far as I got.  Between the stitch regulator now working and my unhappiness with my feathers, I just couldn’t make myself go back into the quilting room…..until Sunday.







You see, I am making two quilts that I want to have done by Thanksgiving.  Both tops are done but in order to get them quilted I have to finish this quilt.  So Sunday I made the stitch regulator work and then quilted one more line. 








I am not unhappy with how these feathers look, but I still need to quilt a curved feather as well as a circular feather.  I have given myself this week to get this done: I really need to move on.




And, in between quilting bouts I will be making my funky chicken #9, my color challenge project, and working on my EQ7 lessons.  And, how do I relax?  I read murder mysteries, especially ones that include quilters.  Nothing better than sitting on the swing out on the deck, reading a book and petting a puppy.
Oh, I also spend a little time on the computer trying to get through all the blogs that are posted on Patchwork Times every Monday.  Lots of great stitching going on over there.