Greetings, Quilt Fans

I partially figured out my problem, so let's see if I can add some pics today.

First, some hand piecing.  From the back...

From the front.

My first applique label.  I only had a bit of selvage left so I machine stitched that onto the label first, inked the rest of the label and then appliqued it.  You can biggie size any of the pictures by tapping with your mouse.  A doll quilt for a little girl named Arabella from the Arabella fabric line a bit ago.  She got it yesterday and she was very happy even though she did not understand about the incredible story of having a fabric line named for her. 

Will quit here for today.  Hope you are well.  Oh, by the way, There is a glitch somewhere for Hummingbird Highway, so please click on Hummingbird Highway on my blog list, then find Winging It blog on her site to get the new postings.  I updated all the info, but it does not link to the new site.  Sorry!  Also I added Susan Branch--love her stuff--very down to earth, cool stuff.  Check her out! 

See you again soon!💖

Blissful, if distant. hugs,

Sharon

Counterfeit Needles UPDATE and a Sneak Peak

Greetings!  In my last post it may have appeared that I don't use Organ brand needles any more.  NOT TRUE!!!  I am just more cautious about where I buy.  Here is my go-to source:  Home Sew.

I've ordered from them for years and have never had a problem.  The "bad" batch was from an overseas seller (can we say DUH?)

Home Sew has an extensive catalog and website.  Stuff you never thought you might need, but now that you've seen it....

Here are the needles I order, marked with an X.  I usually use Size 11 for piecing, and have started using Size 14 when I am doing what little machine quilting I can manage.   If you sew knits, the Ballpoints are also excellent.  These are excellent needles at an exceptional price.  

And the sneak peak.

How is your grass growing?  My hops vines are already up about 8 inches!  

Blissful hugs,
Sharon

It's All in the Flap

Many years ago, Piece O'Cake Designs invented the overlay system for applique.  It involves 12 gauge upholstery vinyl and eliminates the need to trace the applique pattern onto the background fabric.  Yea!  Thanks, Becky and Linda!

But sometimes patterns do not come with an entire block layout, which means it is difficult (if not impossible) to make an overlay for placement.  So here's what I do.

I have long been a fan of Country Threads' designs.  Last year, I acquired this pattern and wanted to make it.

Pattern pieces only.  Luckily, I had worked on a much larger piece several years ago so I knew the drill!

After cutting out the appropriate fabrics for each piece, I started laying them in their designated spots according to the pattern front.  Once you get them arranged "just right", you don't want to have to remove them and applique just a few at a time--because the next additions will be slightly different than you originally had.

The candles themselves were not a problem, as they did not cross each other.  The "halos" and flames were a different story.  After arranging them, I pinned them in place (the pins are gone in these pictures).  Notice where the circles overlap?  That's where the flap comes in.

You can see in this pic that I basted so that I did not catch the layers underneath.  Now all my applique pieces are basted in place and this becomes a portable project, with no pieces to get lost!

Here you can see that the circle and flame on the left have been appliqued.  The next piece to be appliqued is the circle on candle #3.  The flap on circle #2 has been pinned back.

And the flap on circle #4 is also pinned back.  Notice that the bottom of the flame on circle #3 is pinned up to allow full access to the circle!  The circle will be appliqued all the way around, the flame unpinned and appliqued next.  See the plan?  Too cool right?
At this point I can applique circle/flame #2, or I can do circle/flame #5, then finish with #2 and #4.  We always applique the pieces farthest away from us first.

Because I had used batiks for all but the background, the look was a bit more stained glass than country.  So I eliminated the applique on the corners and opted for a bit different finish.

For those of you who are designing things as you go, this is a fabulous technique, as you can keep adding things, as long as you remember to leave flaps for easy sewing access.

So that's what all the flap is about!

Blissful hugs,
Sharon

P.S.  We had another inch or two of snow today.  And while I was sitting in the parlor this afternoon, two deer came up to the window!

Check This Out!

In the on-the-newsstands-now issue of Quilt Sampler, O'Susannah's Quilts and Gifts is featured as one of the top ten shops!  The article is filled with beautiful pictures and...guess who's mentioned on page 56.  Yep, you guessed it...me!  It's so exciting!  Sue, the owner, has a major event planned for this Friday, September 13, starting at 10:00 am.  For more information, go to her website osusannahsquiltshop.com.  You can get your copy of the magazine there, as well as other goodies good for quilters.

My long absence from blogging has been in part because of a new quilt I was working on--in every spare moment and into the wee hours of the morning.  Twenty hexies--ten hand pieced, ten hand appliqued and the whole thing set by hand, except the border.  Here are a couple blocks for your enjoyment.

Now I'm working on another new top--using the P&B Suedes.  Also hand pieced.  Can we say that I can hand piece in my sleep?  

That's it for now.  I have a block to finish before I can even think about bed. 

Blissful hugs,
Sharon

A New Low and More Retreat Pics

Okay, even I am embarrassed! Three posts in all of August? That's the fewest number of posts in all three plus years of blogging! I'll try to do better in September.

These are the "wrap-up" pictures from the retreat.

First, three ladies who braved the most intricate of the four designs. Gale, Sandy and Nancy.

Sharon G, Cindy, Gale, Sandy and Nancy. Cindy worked on the hardest design for all three days, Sharon G worked on the nine hearts for the three days, and Gale, Sandy, and Nancy completed the nine hearts project before starting the hardest one! It's fun to see what designs are chosen and how fabric choices make them look so different. Great job, ladies!


And the last hurrah. We had a wonderful time, even taking time to "porch" and, of course, enjoy the Thursday night fireworks from the boat dock. It all goes by so fast.

Several of us took a boat tour on Sunday morning, actually cruising on the Minne-Ha-Ha, the tour boat that comes in close to our classroom several times a day. It was fun to see things from the lake side!

First, this is a view of Fuller (on the right) and Mayflower Cottage (on the left), and a tiny bit of Rose Cottage just behind Mayflower.

And this is the House of Trix--the classroom! There is a small waterfall behind the building, so water actually runs right under the building. Having taken the ride on the lake, we will make even more of an effort to race to the porch to wave when the boat passes!

We did a bit of shopping and eating near the docks, and then it was the mad dash for home. The time is always too short, but we make the most of every minute.

Next post will be a water adventure featuring yours truly. Stay tuned!

Hugs,

Sharon

P.S. I finished listening to Crunch Time by Diane Mott Davidson and Timeline by Michael Crichton.

P.P.S. Traci, the thread color is Mettler 823 in 50 wt.

A Finish, A Gift, and a Visitor

If my math is correct, this is finish 3 for the year to date. Hand appliqued, machine pieced and hand quilted. I am quite pleased with it.

A detail of the applique and the quilting.

On Saturday, I went to a wonderful bridal shower for my best friend's daughter. So last week I spent spare evening moments knitting this dishcloth. It has hearts knitted in it--appropriate for a bridal shower, don't you think?

And a detail. Made of cotton yarn.

Earlier today I heard something just outside my sewing room window. When I went to look, here's what I found.

A female cardinal doing her best to get in! The picture is not the best because of the tint on the window. I think she was looking at herself on the other side, which acts as a mirror. She was there for quite a while, alternating between the window sill and the shringle bush near it.

I have spent the day appliqueing and weedeating. What a combination! But my new weedeater works great and is so much more advanced than my old one (let's just say it was into double digit years and the motor was smoking the last time I used it--and it is electric).

Tomorrow I am going to share a story with you--something personal that not many of you know. So stay tuned.

Hugs,

Sharon

P.S. If you are wondering why the spacing is so spastic on the posts, it is because I have given up trying to figure out how to edit html to get it right. WYSIWYG does not apply to editing this blog. I think others have given up as well--but it torques my cookies not to have it look better. Just sayin'.

And the Winner Is...

Everyone!!!! Everyone who commented on the "Can Anyone Explain This" post, that is! Some new people, some loyal readers...how could I choose! You will each be receiving the same prize (no you don't have to share one prize among you--I mean each of you will receive your own)...my newly revised Sunset Palms Cutwork Applique Pattern!

Originally issued in 1999, and with only a few sold, I pulled the pattern--no specific reason. Today, I have reworked the pattern, including some digital photos and detailed instructions for transferring the design from freezer paper to fabric, basting, and the correct way to clip and applique your way to a beautiful wallhanging.

Don't know how to applique? This may spur you to learn.

My sample is done in batiks--I love the denser fabric for applique, especially on those inside points.

Here's a close-up. This is perfect with a dark fabric for the trees and a sunny (sunset) looking fabric for the background. In the above photo you can see that I used an asymmetrical border treatment.

So here's what you need to do to claim your prize. Email me at sharon@sharonstroud.com with your snail mail address. For those of you that I will be seeing in class in the next couple weeks, I will hand deliver them. I am including Jay and Kathleen as winners; Jay emailed me privately with his...ahem...comments and Kathleen commented about the sweater, just on a different post. It's good to be queen--I can make the rules--but you are all winners! How can anyone argue with those kind of rules? (Okay, I'm sure someone will.)

I have been quilting another project and am over half done (it will eventually be my third finish this year) and the backing fabric for the secret project is on its way from Colorado as we speak.

Happy end of February and beginning of March, everyone!

Hugs,
Sharon

P.S. I am reading The Blessings of the Animals by Katrina Kittle. Her prior book The Kindness of Strangers was thought-provoking and unsettling. Check them both out.

A Bit of a Tease

In an effort to find a small, do-able project to teach circle ruching, I have been working on this:


It's just a small portion of the whole--but I am quite pleased with it. I am hoping that it will be well-received as a two time class--one for the base design and one for the addition of those tiny ruched flowers. When it is done, I'll give you a proper look.

It's been a mixed day. My class tonight was filled with bits and pieces of lots of projects. A group dedicated to finishing! Quilts were trimmed ready for binding, backs were pieced for the next project in the queue for machine quilting, rows of flannel blocks were pieced and laid out. Projects were planned for the future--we are on a roll! I will eventually have pictures of the finished projects to share.

Tomorrow morning I am going shopping for more pink brushes/combs for my horse tool box. Yes, it's official--I'm a Bucket Babe. I am painting my tool box "Blue Suede Shoes" blue and decorating it with pink accents. I'll show you pics as the box progresses. I am quite excited! (Okay, I know I need to get out more--and I am--to the barn! Hee hee!)

Stay warm and keep quilting. This is the perfect time to be hand quilting a large quilt--it keeps you warm as you are quilting!

Hugs to all,
Sharon

Happy Valentine's Day

Did everyone have a most excellent Valentine's Day?

The sun was out briefly today, but the wind was gusty, so full coverage of all extremities was necessary. I'm beginning to think it will never warm up and be spring. (Yes, yes, I know it is only mid-February but winter has dragged on much too long already.)

This is a snippet of one of my new designs. Reverse appliqued. Top not quilted yet. Another to add to the "To Be Quilted" pile. The basting for the applique took almost three hours, so this is definitely not class fodder.

Just listened to The Romanov Prophecy by Steve Berry. Excellent!

Today I got to spend some time with six wonderful women doing something we all love--hand piecing. Several of these ladies had not hand pieced before and were not sure they would like it--but now they are wondering how they lived without it! Portable, faster than getting dedicated time on your sewing machine, quiet, zen-like. Ahhhh, the Bliss of Hand Piecing.

I will try to post more often this week. I still feel like I am running from one thing to the next as fast as I can go--but I seem to be going backwards! Hope you are going forward!

Hugs,

Sharon

Four Gingerbreadmen Went on a Journey...

and what a journey it was. This appliqued and embroidered top had been done and basted for several years when it cried out to be hand quilted just after Thanksgiving. I marked it with the Clover Fine Line Marker (the one that irons away) and quilted it in a couple days. I decided to take it to a class to show them how easily the marks iron away. (And they do; that is not the horror story coming.) While pressing, the shop iron "leaked" majorly onto my almost-finished quilt. I didn't think much about it, since I had washed all the fabrics before I used them. Since the iron was leaking, I only removed the marks from part of one border and stopped. I showed the class that the marks were gone and then went about helping students. I scrunched the quilt up against me while showing someone something else and then threw it back into my bag.


Like everyone else, I have to do laundry. I washed a load of my clothes and then set the shirts aside to be ironed later. When I got to the ironing, the shirt I had worn that night had a big pinkish stain on the button flap--and it was pretty noticeable since the shirt is white, yellow and blue striped. At first I was nonplussed (love that word!)--where could it have come from? So I put some Tide to Go on it, rewashed it and it was gone. So far, so good. Unfortunately, things took a big downturn after that. When I pulled the quilt out of the bag, YIKES!!!! The red fabric on one arm had run onto that pristine white background and through all three layers to the backing, and it had stained the embroidery on that arm. I needed major amounts of chocolate to even keep from fainting.

So the journey began: How was I ever going to get that pink stain out without ruining my (did I say it before?) almost-finished quilt? I turned first to my Tide to Go pen since it had helped with my shirt. It lightened the mark, but it was still ghosting. Now the mission (which I had to accept) was really on. I searched for every laundry stain removing product I could find. I tried Carbona (no joy), Fels-Naptha soap (to which I am allergic, apparently), and I tried OxiClean Laundry Stain Remover (probably the best so far, but other areas seemed to be bleeding too!). The poor quilt had been washed several times by now. And each time I added a Shout Dye Magnet to the wash, so I knew I was still having a problem. I air dried the piece after each washing, and several times I thought I had solved the problem, only to have the marks ghost once more when dry. I was at wit's end. And worst of all, I have grown my hair out a bit so it would have been a prime site for hair tearing! (I'm sorry, no cheese can be served with this whine--it is, after all, a blog!)

By now I was desperate. After attending the preview party for Quilters Corner's new building (absolutely fantabulous!), I bought Synthrapol and Retayne. After girding my loins for a couple days, I threw caution to the wind and poured Synthrapol into a dishpan, added the hottest water I could stand to get my hands in and...pushed the quilt under. The worst that would happen is the quilt would be ruined for my use, but I figured Callie could use it to sleep on. The directions say to agitate the quilt for about 5 minutes. So I pulled the quilt out of the water and pushed it back in, pulled it out, pushed it in. At first nothing happened. Then...whoosh...a giant wave of color fell off the quilt and into the water--it actually turned the water pink! So my worst nightmare was that all the white parts would be turned pink by this. But my five minutes were not up yet, so I kept agitating. BEEP! Time's up. I take the quilt out, dump the water and start to refill the pan. Then I rinsed and rinsed the piece. At long last I laid the piece on a towel, blotted the excess water and left it to dry. I had learned the hard way that to closely scrutinize the quilt for pink while still wet was a fool's errand. So I left it for several hours, turning it occasionally to let it dry better.

(I think at this point that Callie was doing some kind of voodoo to get that pink stain to spread so the quilt would be hers, all hers--MMMMEEEEOOOOOWWWW!)

And (drum roll please), every bit of the dye came out. The picture above and the detail below are after this odyssey was over. It still needs a sleeve, binding and a label, but it survived multiple washings and treatment that no normal quilt should ever be subjected to. The cause of the bleeding? As near as I can figure, it was the difference in the water. I had washed the fabric at my house (no chlorine, but lots of minerals) and had pressed it at the shop with water that was different and may have caused the dyes to become unstable. What I learned from this process? Only press where I know the water!!!!! This took years off my life and made my hair even grayer. For those of you who saw me during these traumatic weeks, that's the explanation for that manic look.

As always, truth is stranger than fiction. I couldn't have made up this story if I'd tried!

Stay warm, keep quilting, be kinder than necessary to everyone--including yourself.

Hugs to all,
Sharon