Another One Done

I put the pedal to the floor on this quilt and was done machine quilting in a couple hours.  This is my go to free motion quilting for most scrappy quilts.  I shouldn't be in such a rush to finish these quilts because when I am done I will have to start packing my sewing room.   --Ann--

Design Process

It was a very quiet 4th of July here, most of the celebrating was done on Saturday so I hardly heard any fireworks on the 4th which is just wrong because our Independence day is the 4th of July not the 2nd!!  There are somethings that just shouldn't be messed with like the National Anthem, Christmas carols and the 4th of July.  I'll get off my soap box now.
Lots was accomplished in the sewing room during the quiet 4th of July.  I have been thinking about how to quilt this from the time I started it.  I want to enhance the piecing, after stitching lots of quilting lines in my head I got out the paper and pen and printed a photo of the quilt.  Tracing paper is so useful.  I started by swinging an arc in each pinwheel blade with a continuous line.  I drew horizontal lines then vertical lines to hit each of the six blades.  The second was diagonal and vertical lines through 2 of the blades which meant moving the entire quilt under the needle three different times.  Then I tried vertical rows with lines in each blade the old draw the X in the box without lifting the pencil trick.  None of those ideas were thrilling me.  Doodle time.....draw circles in and out of each pinwheel, try scrolls do I want them all going the same direction,  try baptist fans, try daisies, the daisies changed into saw blades with horizontal lines...........aha try saw blades and work in vertical rows!!! then I can stitch in the ditch.   Let it rest while I work on something else and look at it again with fresh eyes.  --Ann--

Stars and Stripes Out of the Cupboard

Happy 4th of July!!! goodness has my free motion machine quilting improved but then I did these on my Bernina in 2003.  Happy 4th  --Ann--

On the needles

I started a summer cardigan, the pattern is Fine Sand I'm using Hempathy yarn which was a suggested yarn on the pattern, there is a link to the yarn with the pattern.  It is the same yarn I used  on previous sweater, it had wonderful reviews and was nice to knit and washed nice so I bought more.  The pattern has increases all the way across the yoke rather than just at the sleeves and I learned a new stitch increase.  Who know there were so many ways to increase stitches?!?  I'm just following directions and sometimes that is the best way to do things.  Another gorgeous sunny windless day here on the prairie.    Have a great 4th of July --Ann--  Linking to Judy's OTN

Eye Spy Quilts

See there really are two quilts, I finished the binding last night I love striped binding and I had enough for one, the other is lots of bits from the binding box.  I feel like today is a Monday after the last road trip with darling daughter.  First I helped her hang pictures in her new apartment, she learned the Ann way of centering a frame on the wall, measure the wall then fold the tape measure in half, no math!!  Then we had a day of shopping, she had a long list of things she needed like a lamp and window treatments, we found a real bargain on the curtains, then she found a dress for all the summer weddings.  My big purchase was footies that were on  sale. The next day was lasik surgery on her eyes and now she has 20 20 vision in one eye and almost 20 20 in the other,  in the next days or weeks it should catch up. She did the math on the cost of her prescription eye glasses and contacts and decided she should have the surgery.  Everything went well perfect in fact. Then we puttered around getting back home.  It was a great beginning of the week and here I am on the back side of the week and the last day of June.  --Ann--

basting day

I had a big basting day over the weekend.  Three new tops sewn and five quilt tops basted in an afternoon.  It goes pretty fast if I only have to set the frame up once.  (click) to Grandmas quilt frame.  Next a couple days of power sewing!  Ready to roar --Ann--

another scrap quilt

This is almost like last weeks quilt with all tractors in the center of the wonky log cabin blocks.  I added some pheasants, mountain lions and cowboys to the centers just because they were there and I could.  These blocks take more time to sew than you would think because I am digging through the pile of strips and scraps looking for one that is about the right length or width in-between pressing and trimming.  A lot of scraps were used and a lot of small pieces were tossed.  It felt good.  Scrap happy --Ann--