Hand Quilt-A-Long (HQAL)

I'm joining the Hand Quilt A Long organized by Kathy@ Sewing Etc.  This Hand Quilt Along is an opportunity for hand quilters and piecers to share and motivate one another.  We post every three weeks,to show our progress and encourage one another. If you have a hand quilting project and would like to join our group, contact Kathy at the link below.

Kathy, Lori, Margaret, Kerry, Emma, Tracy, Deb, Connie, Susan,  Nanette, Sassy , Edith,  Sharon, and Karrin

I have been doing lots of projects recently that are all hand stitching.  First off, one of my goals for the Finish-A-Long, Quarter 3 co-hosted by Marci@ Marci Girl Designs was to get 2 Flourishes BOM done.  This was a Piece of Cake BOM from a number of years ago.  My quilt shop owner knew I liked to applique, and asked if I would stitch one for the shop,and she would give me the materials to do my own.  I got the shop's done, but mine got stalled on block 7.  I pulled the bag out of the closet recently and I am trying to get block 8 and 9 done for my Finish-A-Long goal this time.  I sort of got stalled out the past week or two as I was working on my daughter's BD quilt.  You can read about it here.

This is the Flourishes block I am working on and trying to finish up soon, as I still have block 8 to stitch.  It is prepared though.

This is the stage in my progress.  I still have the upper apples and leaves to stitch.

I'm leaving this Tuesday to take my granddaughter back to college in Massachusetts.  One day when I am back there, I am thrilled to be meeting up with a crazy quilting friend.  I thought I would finish up this stitchery to take with me as a gift. 

I have 2 pumpkins to finish and some words at the bottom.  I'll be working hard on this in the next day or two to get this done.  

I'm really excited to join this Hand Quilt A Long, and look forward to seeing everyone's progress.  Be sure and visit the other member's links noted above and see what they are up to.

Thanks for stopping by!

One Monthly Goal-August 2018

My one monthly goal, stated here was to stitch and quilt the Chinese Lantern block from an old BOM called Time Began in a Garden.  This is my last block and next month I plan to put them together.

I'm linking up to Patty at Elm Street Quilts-One Monthly Goal.

Thanks for stopping by!

Wednesday (Thursday) Wait Loss 81

I'm going to link this up to Wednesday Wait Loss at the Inquiring Quilter.  

I finished my daughter Katie's BD quilt this week, just in time for her BD August 24th.  She wanted me to put together some rows that we had gotten in a row-by-row we had gotten at some quilt shops, in 2015 and 2016.   I put together the rows, and needed something for the center section, so I designed that. 

Front of Quilt

Back of Quilt

Center Section

Remember here, I was featured on Wednesday Wait Loss #73 and won the Island Batik Stash Builder roll?  I used them in the seaweed, and cut all of them except the one below in the braided border.

This one is very special to me, and I will be using it a little at a time.  I hate to cut into it, but  I used some these shapes to applique in Katie's quilt,and also on granddaughter Kyleigh's mermaid cushion

This is the bottom row, a mermaid sitting on a sea urchin sewing.

The top section

Jennifer at the Inquiring Quilter on Wednesday Wait Loss this time is asking to share State Fair Quilts.

I'm copying my post from my Wednesday Wait Loss 76, as my red, white and blue quilts were also some of my State Fair Quilts.  

This quilt is called Crazy about Boating.  This was my own creation.  I embroidered in bluework sailboats and sayings about sailing and created crazy-quilt type blocks.  This was completed in August 2001.  It was also quilted by Susan Nixon@ Desertsky Quilting.  I entered it in the California State Fair that year and received a second place ribbon. 

This one is called Lights Ahoy.  The center section came out of a book called All Hands On Deck by the Picket Fence, Richard and Debi Anderson.l  That year, we went up to Trinidad, California to visit friends, who took us to breakfast  down by the pier.  Right up the street was a quilt shop called Ocean Waves, which has since relocated to Eureka.  Anyway I convinced my husband and our friends we needed to stop so I could look.  On our way out of town, my husband stopped and I bought the 4 whale blocks and the lighthouses which I love.  The owner told us about this blue fabric that would be perfect for a border.  My DH asked if I wanted to get and I said no, 3 times, thinking if we spent money for it, I would not get to stop for a sandwich on the way home.  I also thought my local quilt shop would probably have it (they didn't).  So the next week, I called to get some shipped, and the owner said "Your husband asked you 3 times if you wanted it".  This quilt was finished in 2/99.  It is fusible applique and buttonhole stitched down.  It was also quilted by Susan Nixon.  It won a 2nd place at the California State Fair that year.

I have a quilt I made in 2002 for my granddaughter, a combination Redwork/pieced quilt.  It was an Alice in Wonderland theme.  I won first prize and best of show, but I spent  all afternoon looking for a picture and it is not to be found. 

So I am liking up with Wednesday Wait Loss with the Inquiring Quilter

Thanks for stopping by!

Fall Into a QAL-Just in time

Got my Fall Into a QAL block done just in time this time.  With all the birthday gifts I have been busy making, was getting down to the wire in making my block this time. 

The block this time was designed by Bobbi Bridgeman@ Snowy Days Quilting.  Thanks so much Bobbi for a great block.  I love pumpkins!

I'm linking up with Bobbi's link for the Fall Into a QAL, and will also post on Facebook and Instagram.  

Thanks for stopping by!

Slow Sunday Stitching, 2018 Finish-A-Long Q3

I'm linking up with Kathy's Quilts Slow Sunday Stitching for the weekly hand-stitching link-up.  

Today I finished the third of my redwork blocks I had planned to get done this quarter for the 2018 Finish-A-Long.  Getting these 3 redwork blocks stitched was #1 on my goal list.

The last one was the one I finished today, Mary Had a Little Lamb.  I am finishing these blocks up for my SIL to put together her first granddaughter.  I have 6 more blocks to do I think.  I need to get more traced out on fabric.

I have also been working on daughter Katie's BD quilt, which I will be able to show in a couple of days which I talked about here.  I am working on the bit of quilting.  Her BD is Friday so have been working pretty hard on this.

Thanks for stopping by!

2018 FAL,Q3-Finally got one done!

At  last I was able to complete one of my goals for the Finish-A-Long. Quarter 3, cohosted by Marci Girl Designs.

My granddaughter Kyleigh turns 18 on August 17th and is my kindred spirit.  She was born when I was 50, graduated the year of my 50th high school reunion, has the same love of the ocean, mermaids, whales.  I plan to take her back to college back East in a couple of weeks along with her parents. 

For a graduation gift, Kyleigh and I had a 4 day trip to the Monterrey peninsula in July.  We had a wonderful 4 days smelling the salt air, visiting the Monterrey Bay Aquarium and going on a whale watching boat where we saw humpbacks and tons of dolphins!

The goal I finished for the Finish-A-Long was to make thus cushion for Kyleigh.  She wanted some cushions to decorate her room at college.  This was #7 on my list here.  

I also took another one the mermaids stitcheries that Joy@Days Filled with Joy and her daughter kindly gave out several months ago. I did a bit of beading and fusible applique, and even a lace fish hand-dyed by my friend Nicki at Raviolee Dreams.  I love this cushion, I am going to have to do one for myself one of these days!

My daughter mentioned Kyleigh wanted lots of cushions.  I happened to have an orphan block leftover from the quilt I made for Kyleigh for her graduation quilt that I turned into another cushion.  

Then I decided to make a couple of pillowcases for her.  There was one with the whales

Then one with these cute funky Loralie fairies.  I had gotten this fabric for a pillowcase for Kyleigh at a quilt show a number of years ago, came across it again, and determined to get it done at last!

Kyleigh and I so happy to be at the beach!

Thanks for stopping by!

The Best :Laid Plans Set Aside

It looks from my posts this week, that I have been doing nothing...  But I got side-tracked in a different direction.  I had my plans to continue working on my 2018 FAL Q3 goals, and I have been slowly appliquing my Flourishes Block.  I'm down to the top branches.

The week before last my youngest daughter Katie, whose birthday is August 24th told me that what she would like for her birthday is for me to put together her row-by-row blocks we had purchased several different years from a couple of shops.  I haven't even put together my rows yet.  

So that is what I have been working on for the past week or so.  These two mermaids were from the Calico Mermaid in Porterville, CA.  This was from 2015.  We drove 7 hours round trip with a small grandchild to go get these in 1 day,.  The multicolored one is supposed to be mine, but I am putting it in Katie's quilt to balance it out. I have the pattern so I can work on mine later.  We both love mermaids.

The next row was from 2015 from Prarie Queens Quilt Shop which was in San Jose, but it seems is permanently closed.  Katie went with her DMIL one year and collected some rows for me.  This one was called "Do you know the way to San Jose" and it had that written in the green part, but we left that out for the purpose of this quilt.  It was supposed to have 2" square border around it, but I am doing something like that to tie everything together so I left it off.

This next one was the 2016 row by Calico Mermaid.  Love this row but sort of hard to take apicture of.  She has a coconut bra hanging on the line.  

I'm now designing the center section.  Hopefully this will get finished the next day or two and I can start quilting it.  It also has a cute starfish Katie drew and a oyster shell with a pearl inside she drew for me.  I will just need to fuse and sew the center section down.  The rest is already sewn.  

The other thing I have been working on, hand stitching is Kyleigh's mermaid pillow, the design kindly given by Joy at Days Filled with Joy several months ago.  I decided to fill in the mermaid hair, instead of just as an outline.  I'm really pleased with the result so far.  Kyleigh's BD is Friday, August 17th so am down to the wire on this.  I plan to do a little fusible applique around the mermaid and should be able to assemble the cushion in the next several days.  

Thanks for stopping by!

Slow Sunday Stitching

I'm joining up with Kathy's Quilts for Slow Sunday Stitching.  Kathy's Quilts hosts this each Sunday "where we celebrate all types of hand stitching including cross stitch, embroidery, hand piecing, knitting, crochet, rug making, Englist paper piecing, applique, hand quilting, etc.  If you are creating something with your hands (not by machine, using needles and threads, we want to see what you are making!"

I wanted to post what I was doing last week, but my computer was not cooperating uploading my pictures.

I have several projects going right now that I am slow stitching on.  Right here I talked about my Quarter 3 Finish-A-Long list, how I wanted to finish 3 blocks of the Redwork Nursery Rhyme BOM blocks.  I have finished 2, and right now I am working on the third one.  It happens to be Mary Had A Little Lamb.

Also #3 on that same list was to finish 2 of the Flourishes BOM block, prepare and hand applique them.  I am about 1/2 finished on the first block with the hand applique.  

Thanks for stopping by.  I am linking up with Kathy's Quilts Slow Sunday Stitching

Thanks for stopping by!

One Monthly Goal-August

I'm joining Patty@ Elm Street Quilts again for August's One Monthly Goal.  I have found it is great motivation for me to keep on track.

I will be leaving the end of the month to go back to Boston with my oldest granddaughter Kyleigh and help her get settled at college.  

So I made my One Monthly Goal a rather simple one.  Continuing with my Time Began in a Garden wall hanging, my goal is to finish this last block, Chinese Lanterns, stitch, raw edge applique and quilt the block.    

Next monthly, hopefully I will get the whole thing together and start my embroidery on the borders.

Thanks for visiting!   I'm linking up with Elm Street Quilts-One MonthlyGoal