Slow and Steady Wins the Race

What's Under Your Needle This Week? 

 

My projects for February....

Finishing a table runner started by my Quilting Auntie Nyla, Coffee Time.

 

I could not even tell you how long ago Auntie made this table runner, she passed it down to me before her passing
... 5 years ago already?  The very least I can do is quilt it and bind it and get it out of the UFO queue. 

The cute little cups are needle-turn applique.  If memory serves me she was going to hand quilt this.
I'm not a hand quilter,  I'm just sewing straight lines.

She loved to do needle-turn and she did beautiful work.  She tried to teach me... bless her heart.  I miss her so much! 
(There is some slight puckering...I don't think she used any sort of spray basting.
It is too late to go back and spray baste now as all the applique is done.  Oh, well, DONE is better than PERFECT, right?)

 

 

 

 

 Hat-on-a-Cat for March

Working on Binding.
I wasted an entire evening quilting this...I forgot to put my walking foot on....I do not know where my brain was!

Sewing along I kept thinking "why is there so much puckering....?!*^?"

Finally the light bulb went on .... I did consider leaving it but in the end Jack and I had some quality time.

 

 

 

Fran is back from the Spa*  The technician said "what a great machine."  (Boy, don't I know it!)

I did inquire about getting a new case for her and he said "zero chance."  There is just no source.  Darn.

On The Road Again Memorial

The last item on my list for February is Auntie's memorial.  It needs quilting and binding.  I am finally going to set up the Flynn and give it a whirl, and here is were Fran can show her stuff!

2024 Is the year I'm either going to use it, or lose it!  I have had this poor-man's quilting frame for far too many years. 
It's time to either figure it out or thank it for it's service and pass it on. (Well, it didn't really "serve" but it wasn't his fault.)

 

 

 

 

Speaking of passing it on....I tried using this laser light for sewing straight lines....nope, didn't work for me at all.**  Could not keep the little light ball straight.    Into a baggie it went and into the "give away" pile.  I could not even thank it for it's service because it has not served!


And with that, I'm swearing off gadgets....no more new-fangled sewing gadgets. 
OK, drawing the lines for HST*** might take longer, but it ALWAYS WORKS! 
(Can you tell how much this thing frustrated me!)

Now that False Spring has passed and we're back in the COLD weather,
I don't feel so bad staying in and neglecting the yard.
Time to finish up these February Projects!!

 

 

*    English's Sew & Vac
**  You might recall I bought this at the Paducah quilt show last year (2023.)
*** HST = Half Square Triangles

It's a Woman's Prerogative

 ...to change her UFO Challenge list.

American Patchwork & Quilting UFO Challenge number for May is 8.

My original #8 was to finish the memorial wall hanging for Auntie Nyla and learn to use the Flynn quilter to FMQ* it myself.
I've only had this thing about 10 years....about time to either take it out of the box, or pass it on!!

 

BUT, I just learned that my youngest G-daughter is having a half-birthday party in June.  (There are three birthdays and Christmas in December....we'll now celebrate Miss Cata's birthday mid-year.)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I have this Olivia Panel.   

 

Making Cata a lap quilt for her birthday this year WAS already on my UFO list....
we'll just change the position in the lineup.

 

I made a quilt using this same panel for one of my great nieces, Karter, back in 2014.
Karter is now a grown-up career woman selling real estate....How they DO grow up!

Change is in the wind....and sometimes Change is a GOOD thing!

*FMQ = Free Motion Quilting

National Sewing Machine Day

 

There might be a National day for just about anything you can think of.  HERE is an example. There is something to celebrate EVERY SINGLE DAY in June!  (Philosophical question:  if every day is a celebration, when do we start our new diet????  Inquiring minds want to know.)

It is kind of fun, however, to celebrate the things we love, even if it is a celebration strictly in our mind... like sewing, quilting and sewing machines. (Not to mention ukuleles:  National ukulele playing day is February 2, in case you wanted to know.)

Read the History of the sewing machine, click HERE.  

We've come a long way, baby.

How many sewing machines do YOU have?

I am down to three. Miss Ellie, Ma-Moo and Millie. 

 

Millie gets the most use, as she is Thoroughly Modern.  However, Long Time Gone is being created using Miss Ellie "as we speak."  Ma-Moo has not really been used since  receiving her as a gift from my BFF two years ago. (Miss Peggy rescued her from a thrift shop in Tahoe.)  But,  there are big plans for her!

Have you seen the Flynn Quilting System?  Click HERE.   You'll see "Flynn" at quilt shows doing his demonstration.  (He's a really nice man, you should stop and talk to him.)  I bought this so long ago I don't even remember exactly when...it has moved with me from Oregon to California almost 9 years ago and it is still in the box.  But, dagnabbit, I'm going to learn to use it!

I've been pondering this for a while now, especially since I decided to keep the Carolina Chain quilt. My immediate thought was it would be a good quilt to finally set up the Flynn Quilting contraption and give it a whirl. 

Flynn makes it look so EASY.  Click HERE.

 

 Perhaps that goal will be accomplished by the next National Quilting Day? 
Don't laugh,  miracles have been known to happen.

 

Quilt Show Take-Aways

Vendor Hall
It really did look like this.

I went to the show knowing I'd find gobbs and gobbs of fun, wonderful quilt stuff.  And, I was not disappointed.  But, I also had a budget (my money tree has not started producing yet.)  My strategy was to visit the booths, and yes we do look in every one...mostly, and mark down on the map what I liked and the booth number where it was found.  It actually worked pretty well.





I only came away with two things. But, I still managed to go over my budget. (sad face goes here)

The Oregon wall hanging pattern speaks for itself.  As I am a Portland girl, I just could not pass it up.

Before I talk about my other purchase, 

I need to give you a bit of background.

The first two quilts I ever made were QAYG **.  One, a simple 4-patch and the other  a BOM* from Cool Cottons in Portland, Oregon.  Back then I knew so little about quilting that when the group was talking about sashing I thought they were saying slashing!   I thought that was a bit strange, but oh well ...  the group did eventually correct me. Imagine my embarrassment.

I  did not like the finished result of QAYG at all. They looked sloppy and wonky.  I've never done one since.  But, I did not think I would EVER pay to have someone else quilt them, either...too expensive.  That, of course, changed because if you don't QAYG and you don't send them out the only thing left is to tie them.  I have tied a few....functional but not as pretty as quilting. (You could quilt them yourself on your domestic machine...I learned a whole new vocabulary quilting them myself.)

Simple 4 patch for my son.
QAYG

BOM that I gave to my friend, Peggy.
QAYG

Enter Mr. Flynn.  At another quilt show (I think it was Paducah)
 I met Mr Flynn and purchased the Flynn Method for free motion quilting.

Think of it as the poor-woman's answer to a sit-down quilter, like the Tin Lizzie or the Handi Quilter Sweet 16.

It looked so easy!  I was so motivated!  It is still in the box 10 years later!!!

Every show I attend I stop and talk to Mr. Flynn, as I did this year.  I promised him THIS year, I would take it out of the box.  And I will keep my promise.

Now, back to the present time:  as we were perusing the vendor booths (I'd only purchased one item so far and feeling pretty proud of myself)  I happened on a booth with a sign "THIS METHOD FOR QAYG WILL CHANGE YOUR LIFE."   Being the smart-aleck that I am, I scoffed.  But, I gave her a few minutes of my time.

IT DID CHANGE MY LIFE....AND TOOK ME OVER MY BUDGET! I bought her kit.

All the Instructions

All The Tools

I could not possibly describe how this works, so here is a link to the website with videos on how this works.
Here is a link to a very short  demo video.

The process in a nut shell.
The last circle is the finished sashing.

The result is very attractive, looks really easy and I  think I'm going to liked it very much.

One more post tomorrow to talk about some Honorable Mentions.
Things I would have purchased if I hadn't already run out of money.

Ciao.




*BOM = Block of the Month
**QAYG = Quilt as You Go