Pin Cusions

I have been working really hard on making pin cushions for my Guild's quilt show.  I worked so hard that my middle finger had almost no skin on it from the needle.  Ouch! I really need to learn to use a thimble.  I just need to find one that I can be comfortable with.  Still searching. Anyway, here is my effort.

I made these using just hexagons.  They are stitched all by hand, hence the sore finger.  If anyone would like one you can find them on my etsy shop.

If you live in the Washington DC area, you can see them at the quilt show in the guild's boutique.  True Blue Quilt Show hosted by Quilters Unlimited in Northern VA is at the Dulles Expo Center in Chantilly VA on May 30 & 31 and June 1.  For more information on the show you can go to their website by clicking on the link above.  This is a great show and I have looked forward to this show every year even before I was associated with the guild.  It is a must see show! 

Silk Ttread

Today I want to talk about silk thread.  I have been working on a lot of hand work lately (my applique class and my hexagons).  I asked my teacher about silk thread and she told me that the stitches would look better but it was more expensive.  I decided to try it and I was sold.  I couldn't believe the difference that the silk thread could make.  If you have not tried it I recommend that you give it a try.

With cotton thread

 

With silk thread

After using the thread for awhile I  noticed other reasons for using silk thread.  For one, I was surprised at how strong the thread was. Secondly, I noticed that I did not have to condition the thread and that I did not get as many knots in the thread. Thirdly, if I did get a knot that I could not get out, I could continue to sew since the thread was so smooth and fine.

I went to Superior Threads and looked at their silk thread.  They have a Thread of the Month club in which they will send you 6 spools of Kimono silk thread for $36.94 a month.  After 14 months you will have the entire collection of Kimono silk thread.  It is a easy way to get the entire collection without forking over a lot of money all at once.

Player of the Year

Spring is finally here! It has been a long and cold winter but Spring has finally made an appearance.  With Spring comes a new golf season.  We just had opening day at our club.  The weather could not have been better (this is usually not the case).  The only thing keeping this day from being perfect, was that a well known and loved golfing lady from our club passed away from cancer  the week before.  God bless her and her family.  We know that Phyllis is in heaven now looking down on us.

These are a few pictures from just before the tournament as we remembered Phyllis.

After a fun round of golf we all had lunch and waited for the results of the tournament.  Before the tournament results were announced, the club announced "Player of the Year".  When my name was called, I was very shocked.  I was not expecting it! Come to find out, I was the only one in my family that did not know.

To make this day even better, our team won first net.

The Quilters Quilt

I went into Suzzie's Quilt shop and found the really neat sewing themed fabric.  The fabric is Sewing Box by Gina Martin. I really liked the fabric so much that I picked up the Yellow Brick Road pattern by Atkinson Designs to make a lap quilt with the Sewing Box fabrics.  The pattern calls for fat quarters (12 for a lap quilt).

Just a small note.  I used bamboo batting (Nature-Fil Batting by Fairfield).  I had the easiest time quilting this quilt than I had with any of my other quilts.  I don't know if it was the batting or not but from now on I am only using  Nature-Fil Batting.

I have named this quilt The Quilters Quilt because both my husband and my son-in-law both called it the quilters quilt when I showed it to them.

After I finished the quilt, I went to Suzzie's quilt shop to show Suzzie the quilt.  She and another worker liked the quilt so much that both of them picked out the same fabrics  to make this quilt for themselves.  Suzzie asked me to bring the quilt back on Wednesday for Quilt Club.  After showing the quilt at Quilt Club two more people were wanting to buy the fabric to make this quilt. Wow, I didn't realize how popular this quilt would be.

Where The Wild Things Are Quilt

I know that it has been awhile but I have not stopped quilting.  I was working on my largest quilt to date. I made a full size quilt for my daughter's friend's son.  She gave me the fabric and asked for a full size quilt made out of large squares.

I cut out 12 1/2 " squares of three fabrics for a total of 35 squares. I cut out 2 1/2" strips out of another fabric for the sashing.  Out of the 2 1/2" strips I cut 28 6 1/2" x 2 1/2". I then pieced the remaining strips together to make 6 60 1/2" x 2 1/2", 2 96 1/2" x 2 1/2", and 2 64 1/2" x 2 1/2".  Then out of the last fabric I cut 6 1/2 " strips for the outer border. I cut 2 at 100 1/2" x 6 1/2" and 2 at 76 1/2" x 6 1/2"

This is not the greatest diagram, but I hope you can understand it.

I sewed 12 1/2 inch pieces of the 2 1/2 inch strips on each side of the squares. I then sewed a long 2 1/2 inch strip in between each row.  I then added the sides of the inner border. After that I added the top and bottom of the inner border. I then repeated the process for the outer border.

Here are pictures of the finished quilt.

In the Hoop Bag

I went to the Embroidery Club at Suzzie's Quilt Shop. Not only was it informative but I also got a free embroidery pattern.  Each month everybody who attends will get a new pattern.  One of the embroidery designers that was featured was Anita Goodesign.  I picked up one of the CDs.

This CD gives you 12 in-the-hoop designs each in three sizes (10.1" x 7.8", 8.8" x 6.7" and            7.6" x 5.8")  The software on the CD also tells you how (with free software) to re-size a design if your machine hoop size isn't big enough to accommodate the sizes on the CD.

This is my first project with this CD.  I have one blocks worth of applique materials in the bag.  This way I can just drop the bag into my purse and have a quilt project with me at all times.

Applique blocks

Somehow I had gotten behind on my applique class.  With no class scheduled for December I was able to get back caught up.  January will be our fifth class and I now am proud to say that I have 4 blocks finished!

 This is my second block. I hope there is some improvement from my first block.

 This is my third block. I added more Batiks to this block.  I really like the batiks.  I think I will use them more in the rest of the blocks.

My fourth block.  I am starting to see my technique getting better.  Don't get me wrong, I know I still have a long way to go before my technique is good.