French Knots

I decided to practice French knots at my embroidery club today and finished up when I got home. The pattern I used is adapted from the tissue paper pattern I found in my Great Grandmother Harvey's tin. I find the traditional French knot is my favorite. I have friends who prefer the colonial knot, but I cannot seem to get the hang of that one.

I think my Great Grandmother would be surprised at my color selection, but anyone who knows me now would understand it's just how I am!

I am enjoying this embroidery journey. It's a nice change of pace.

Dear Jane,

I had been neglecting you. Today, I got back on the stick(le) and finished the center portion of my Black &White and Bright All Over Dear Jane! Did you hear my squeal of delight? I am very pleased with both the front and the back. I still have to hand sew the sashing on 5 of the rows on the back.

There are 3705 pieces in the blocks.this count does not include the sashing pieces or back of each block.

Crayons and Embroidery Thread

My first embroidery project was made by tracing a pattern onto the fabric, coloring parts of it in using crayons, and embroidering the outlines. Then I made it into a pillow cover.

Austen Family Album Quilted

I got my Austen Family Album BOW quilt, aka The. Giant Nine-Patch, back from the longarmer.  I am very happy with it.  The quilting helps emphasize the large "blocks". Now to bind the darn thing!

Black and White and Bright All Over Jane

I am making steady progress on the black and white version of the Dear Jane quilt I am making.  I have 5 more 66" seams and an accompanying 5 x 66" of hand sewing the sashing down and then the center portion will be done!  Here's the back of the rows - I tried to use a square of the same b&w print used on the front of the block on the backs. I ran out of some, so it's not perfect. I used each B&W fabric at most three times and there is only one instance where the same fabric is right next to another. Not bad, I think!

The quilt as you go technique is perfect for this quilt and makes the quilt reversible, which is why I'm showing the back here. 

I still have the side borders to make...I'm only piecing the corner kites and one triangle to put in the middle of each side.  I have all but the pieced triangle done on one side:

Once I make the pieced triangles for the center of each row and get them all done, I will have to figure out how I am going to quilt them. I am leaning toward simple one line of echo quilting in both the black and b&w triangles or just the b&w triangles using the variegated thread I used for the center blocks.

And I have the corner kites done:

I need to decide what to put on the kite with the yellow flower. This is the piece Jane Stickle used as a label. I will machine embroider the start and end years (2013-2015) and maybe my first name and last initial, along with the city where I live.

I can see the light at the end of the tunnel!

Because I Need Another Project

I decided to take an embroidery class at Kelly Ann's Quilting.  This is the first project. It will become a pillow.

There is a method to my madness. ..I will be making a crazy quilt inspired border soon and want to learn the basics of embroidery to add embellishments to that border.

And here's the finished pillow:

 The pattern calls for three buttons in the plaid area. I did not have any buttons that worked so I made a flower and used it instead. Not bad for one of the first pillows I've ever made.

Row by Row 2015 - Finish and a Win

I decided to see if I could get a quilt completed for the Row by Row experience this year. I had picked up a cute row pattern with cabanas on a beach from the Quilt Patch and made it over the next few days after work.  I then had time to get to a bunch of other local stores and over the past two weeks have worked diligently on them in the evenings after work.

I machine pieced the rows and used fusible applique. Some "firsts" for me during this process:

• Applique by machine using hte buttonhole stitch - not as difficult as I thought - need to work on turning those corners
• Fusible applique - tried several different types and found one I like - now I need to figure out which type that one is!
• Used the Quilt as You Go technique between the rows to practice longer seams before I put the rows together on my Dear Jane quilts
• Attached binding by machine rather than hand-stitching the back - if I am going to do this, I need to make my binding strips smaller since I like a nice tight binding.
• Machine quilting the entire thing - yes, you really should tape the backing down before pinning - I'll say no more

All in all, I had a lot of fun. I was the first to bring a completed top to Kelly Ann's Quilting in Warrenton, VA so I got to pick out 25 fat quarters. In addition, since I used the row from KAQ in the quilt, I received a gift certificate...which I promptly spent!!

Here is the result of my labor, which will be hung at Kelly Ann's for the duration of the Row by Row - through September, I think.

In order to keep myself from obsessing over what order to put the rows in, I chose to put them in alphabetical order by shop name, as listed on the label. (Yes, hand-written - I was in a hurry and it was 2am!)