Tis the Season For

Christmas cookies for breakfast!

 

 

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Rainy Day Applique

I am sitting this morning with my cup of coffee popping out the plastic disks in about 60 berries. I thought my little work space looked so funny with all these trailing threads but it really works quite well. This tip was mentioned by Sue Garman in a recent class I was in: gather your stuffed berries with the applique thread and leave a 6 - 8 inch tail to applique them on. Simple, but a time saver. Several of my class mates had heard this before but it was new to me.

Yesterday was a rainy, drizzly, cool day and I assembled the little berries all day long. I gave them a good press last night put the ruler over them to add a little pressure and keep them in one place over night.

They will be glued on to the block for stitching as soon as I get all the plastic disks out.

Happy Stitching,

Cheri

 

 

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One Month In

We have been on the road in our RV one month today. We are happy to be spending this winter in Texas which just happens to be close to our grandchildren.

I thought I would be getting lots of stitching done but I just have the four rose fan blocks

at various stages of applique and one completed Patchwork of the Crosses block stitched.

There have been many walks on long empty stretches of beach.

and a couple days spent fishing.

I never would have guessed I would find alpaca at the beach,

this is Sunshine and her little black sibling.

They belong to the RV park owners where we are currently staying. The freezing cold weather the country has been experiencing has made it's way into Texas. I am not sure if it was my new alpaca neighbors or an especially cold morning standing at the school bus stop with my grandson that inspired me to get some yarn and crochet a couple pair of little red mittens.

I have not crocheted in years but these were fun. A quick and easy free pattern on ravelry.com.

Happy stitching and stay warm friends.

Cheri

 

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International Quilt Festival

I made a very quick 3 hour stop at the International Quilt Festival as we traveled through Houston. I packed a lot in three hours but I spent a lot of time at this recreation of the Infinite Variety, Three Centuries of Red and White Quilts show from the American Folk Art Museum a couple years ago. The display was just beautiful.

Happy Stitching,

Cheri

 

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My New Sewing Room

We have had a lot of changes this last month. My husband and I have retired!

After months of planning we are going to hit the road and do some traveling.

This is our new home on wheels.

This dinette and the storage space under the seat is my new sewing room. My sweet husband is more than willing to take my sewing machine, but I have carefully packed and prepared hand projects.

I have four applique blocks from the Sue Garman applique class all ready to go. I also have a couple little knitting projects (a new hobby for me), a needlework sampler, and most of the Patchwork of the Crosses english paper piecing quilt in the tub.

Ziplock baggies are my new best friends in preparing our RV for our travels. Here are baggies of precut berries and batting for making stuffed berries for the applique blocks.

I am sure that I have packed enough to keep me busy for three times the amount of time we will be traveling. I am having to say goodbye for a while to some of my projects. Auntie Green is coming along nicely. I have the right side border finished and am now working on the left border. She has just grown to large to take along.

We are so excited about our new adventure. We are off to warmer climates, meeting new friends, and stitching at the beach.

Cheri

 

 

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Fun Class

Baltimore on the Prairie is an appliqué conference held at Mahoney State Park, midway between Omaha and Lincoln Nebraska. I live close by and was able to attend a one day class yesterday with Sue Garman.

The class project was the rose fan, the top center block on Sue's Bed of Roses quilt.

Sue had a wonderful way of teaching, she split the class in three smaller groups and kept everybody busy at all times. The smaller groups would go up to her work area one group at a time to watch her demonstrations.

It was a very personal way to watch her techniques and while your group was not at her area you got a chance to visit with your classmates from around the country and even Australia.

The conference continues this weekend with three day classes. I am still absorbing all of Sue's time saving methods from my one day with her.

My friend Leslie and I are working away on our block here and note we each have a sheet of paper filled with tips under our scissors. I am going to make four of the rose fan blocks, it makes an interesting secondary design, and make it into a Christmas table topper.

 

Happy Stitching,

Cheri

 

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The Strangest Fabric Bleed

I was working on a hanging sleeve for Ladies of the Sea and noticed a little dirty spot on the back of the quilt. I wet a wash cloth to clean it and it became larger! A purple fabric bleeding! It is the strangest fabric bleed I have ever seen. The quilt is completely quilted and, thankfully, the bleed is only showing up on the back.

The front is okay, this purple fabric on just this one compass point is bleeding through the batting to the back of the quilt. I had hand washed every single batik I used on this appliqué and rinsed it until the water was clear.

Strange, but again, thankful it is on the back of the quilt. Now a little camouflage is necessary.

With the boat and ocean theme of the quilt I decided to appliqué a little family of sea turtles swimming across the back of the quilt. I though one lone turtle would be a little suspicious of a cover up.

It is a little difficult to appliqué and not go through to the front of the quilt but I think this is going to work. Bleeding disaster averted and Ladies of the Sea is still getting sent to the AQS show.

Cheri

 

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Ladies Of The Sea -an update

I thought it would be fun to enter a quilt into a national show and guess what, Ladies Of The Sea was juried into the American Quilter's Society's Des Moine Iowa show. The show is this October 1-4. The entry process is a little intimidating to a national show but the American Quilter's Society website is wonderful and takes you through it step by step.

Ladies Of The Sea is a pattern by Sue Garman (comequilt.com) and part of the entry process is to obtain designer permission to show the quilt. I sent Sue an email and she very graciously sent me an immediate letter granting me permission to enter the quilt. She even posted these pictures on her June blog entry. (If you have not ever seen Sue Garman's blog - suegarman.blogspot.com - she posts once a month and it is just loaded with wonderful pictures and lots of explanations of her design process).

I almost missed my notification email as it arrived in my junk mail and I had deleted it. I really am happily surprised and honored to have it in the show and can not wait to see it hanging among all the beautiful quilts.

I have been working steadily on Auntie Green's Garden (pattern by Irene Blanck). The last braided border on the center took me forever. Once it was completed I did the bathtub plunge thing and washed all of the glue out of it.

I am happy to say it survived and now is so soft without all of that glue in it . I am now started on the next borders. This is the third background fabric, and it will be used for the final two borders.

My only other stitching I have accomplished this summer was this small blue work embroidery block going into a raffle quilt my small group is making.

Happy Stitching All,

Cheri

 

 

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Auntie Green's Garden

The center is almost finished on Auntie Green's Garden. The braided bias border is the next step and I have just not had time to make bias lately.

The clemantis are blooming in my yard, they are my favorite summer flower. I bought this old buggy wheel hoping the vine would grow through the spokes. It is covered with buds so there should be a lot more flowers.

 

Happy Stitching,

Cheri

 

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