Flowers, a Finish

Flowers is a Linda Brannock pattern and was offered as a sewalong hosted on a Facebook group from mid-2018 through the end of January, 2019.  And now, finally, it's finished (as of August 23).  It was a grey and windy day when I took these first two photos.  Sadly, I forgot my Canon digital camera so used my phone.  Not ideal but you get the idea.

I finished the blocks and the triangle squares for the sashing and borders then edited the pattern to make the quilt larger.  It didn't work.  The top had a time out while I decided what to do.  I finally unstitched and restitched following Linda's original pattern.  (Why, oh why do I imagine I can come up with a better way than the creator of a quilt pattern?!)  In the end, the only change in my finished quilt from the original pattern was that I increased the width of the border by an inch or so.  Now I'm satisfied with it.  

It took a while to decide on a quilting pattern.  I eventually chose diagonal lines at less than 45 degrees.  As the quilting progressed and I had to mark the lines as I went, I was concerned about having wavy lines across the quilt.  I don't think that happened.  Then as I was nearing the end of the quilting, I was thinking how much the quilting made it look like a mattress pad or a manufactured quilt.  I think the appliqued flowers help avoid that look.

I used a Mountain Mist 80 cotton/20 polyester batt which is puffier than some other cotton/poly battings I've used.  It may be one of the thickest bats I've quilted and makes the diagonal lines stand out.  It was easy to quilt through and did not beard.  It seems like it will be warm and cozy to sleep under.

One thing I learned from this quilt is that I should not use light quilting thread when the backing is a dark fabric, and vice versa, until my hand quilting is better.   (Will it ever improve?!)

The quilt top measured 84¼" x 62¼".  After quilting it measured 80 3/4" x 61¼".  And after washing and drying it measured 77" x 57 3/4".  All that to say the quilt lost 6" in length and 4½" in width.  It makes me think I need to make quilt tops larger than I want them to be when finished, but who can know how much larger when there's no standard shrinkage?

My favorite block of the whole quilt is the one with these three tiny, 3½" x 4", imperfect baskets.  I think they are adorable.

I'm linking this post to
> Finished or Not Friday at Alycia Quilts
> Oh Scrap! at Quilting is more fun than Housework
> Peacock Party at Wendy's Quilts and More
> Can I Get a Whoop Whoop? at Confessions of a Fabric Addict
> Beauties Pageant at from bolt to beauty
Thank you for hosting, ladies.

--Nancy.

Flowers, My One Monthly Goal Finish for July

I finished quilting "Flowers," my One Monthly Goal for July.  Hooray!  I'm such a slow quilter so I'm happy it's done.

To finish, I quilted diagonal lines on the lower right block, quilted around and in the flowers of that block, and also quilted the leaves and flowers in another block or two.

After finishing the quilting I just kept going, cutting and attaching the binding.  I had hoped to also finish stitching the binding before the end of July but I know I won't get it done because I've only finished stitching most of one side.  I'll finish sometime this coming week.  I'll post more about this quilt when it's washed, dried, and completely finished. 

I'm looking forward to getting the next top ready to be quilted!

I'm linking this post to July OMG Finish Link-up at Elm Street Quilts.  Thanks for hosting, Patty and Anne-Marie.

--Nancy.

July's One Monthly Goal

I have several options for a monthly goal for July but I've chosen to finish hand quilting this block of Linda Brannock's Flowers quilt. 

It is in the southeast corner of the quilt and as I quilt the block I'll also quilt the border, which will mean a finished quilt.  Oh, except that I need to look over all the blocks and make sure I've quilted the flowers themselves.
So, my One Monthly Goal for July is to finish all the hand quilting on this quilt.

It's been a busy week and I don't know how we arrived at the 7th of the month already.  We also have heat, humidity, and high dew points so we've been sweltering here.  And we have a new addition to our family.  I'll post more soon.

I'm barely getting in under the wire to link this post to July One Monthly Goal Link-Up at Elm Street Quilts.  Thanks for hosting, Patty and Anne-Marie.

--Nancy.

June One Monthly Goal Finish

This is a quick post to confirm my One Monthly Goal finish, which was to hand quilt this Cacti block and the border surrounding it on my version of Linda Brannock's Flowers quilt. 

You can just barely see the quilted parallel, diagonal lines.  With this block finished it means I have only one more block and the quilt will be done except for the binding.  I guess it's time to think about getting the next top layered, basted, and ready to quilt.  Oh, joy!

It's amazing to me how quickly I can drop a quilt after I've met a goal, even if there's more to do to finish the whole quilt.  I finished this block last week and only tonight picked up my needle and thread again and added a few more lines of quilting.  I need to stick to the task at hand even if I've met a goal!

I'm linking this post to June OMG Finish Link-up at Elm Street Quilts.  Thanks for hosting, Patty and Anne-Marie.

--Nancy.

May One Monthly Goal Finish and June's Goal

My One Monthly Goal for May was to finish hand quilting the Stocks block on my version of Linda Brannock's Flowers quilt.  I'm happy to say I completed the goal one day last week.  Then I just kept quilting.

My June goal is to finish that delightfully quirky Cacti block on the lower left and the border surrounding it.
When that's done, I'll have only the Marigolds and Blueberries block on the lower right (plus the borders) to hand quilt.  But that's for another month.  I'm looking forward to finishing this quilt. I'm linking this post to May One Monthly Goal Finish Link-up at Elm Street Quilts. Thank you for hosting, Patty and Anne-Marie. I find publishing my goal every month so helpful in accomplishing it. There's something about accountability in publicly stating a goal, I guess.

--Nancy.

One Monthly Goal: Short Post, Hefty Goal

This is a short post to declare my One Monthly Goal for May. 

My goal is this:  to finish quilting the tall, thin, stocks block.  That in itself wouldn't take much time but since I'm quilting straight lines from the morning glories to the edge of the quilt at the bottom, I know it will take some dedicated time and effort.  By quilting that way, it also means I'll quilt most, if not all, of the three little baskets and at least part of the cactus block to the left of the stocks.

There is something amazing and wonderful when stitches transform two layers of fabric and a layer of batting into one, delicious, inviting quilt.  (And I'm so sorry you regular readers have to keep seeing this quilt pop up every month, and sometimes twice a month.  One of these months it will be finished.)

I'm linking this post to May One Monthly Goal at Elm Street Quilts.  Thanks for hosting, Patty and Anne-Marie.

--Nancy.

April's One Montly Goal Finish

My One Monthly Goal for April was to make specific progress on my version of Linda Brannock's Flowers quilt:  outline the tulips, leaves, and vase; finish the diagonal quilting on that block; and quilt diagonal lines in the border and sashing until I reached the morning glories.  (Just to say, I find straight line quilting oh so boring.)

I think you can see the quilting in the photos above and below. 

In the photo below, it's hard to tell, but the last diagonal quilting line on the left reaches the bottom of the morning glories block.

I still have about a third of the quilt to hand quilt--the three blocks on the lower left and the block on the lower right, plus sashing and borders.  I usually start quilting in the center and work outward but with these diagonal lines, it was a little challenging to do that, hence the lower unquilted blocks. 

I'm guessing I'll be quilting this for another few months.  I'm looking forward to finishing it.

I'm linking this post to April One Monthly Goal Finish at Elm Street Quilts.  Thank you for hosting, Patty and Anne-Marie.

--Nancy.

P.S. It seems that sometimes Blogger is not forwarding comments to my email.  If I have your email address, I'll send my response directly to you but if I don't have your email address, I'll respond to your comment here on the blog.  Thanks for your comments.  I so appreciate them!

Flowers for April's One Monthly Goal

Hand quilting is the easiest thing for me to put off.  I usually quilt when I'm watching--or half-watching--TV or a movie.  There are programs I watch several days during the week, but not every day.  I need to make the commitment to quilt six days a week whether I'm watching something on TV or not.

The photo above has truer colors than the one below, but it's harder to see the hand quilting.  The photo below shows the quilting lines better.

I am somewhere between halfway and two-thirds finished with the quilting.  My One Monthly Goal for April is to finish the outline quilting on the tulip block in the upper left corner and quilt the diagonal lines through that block and the sashing to where the morning glories are.

I quilted lines through the vases and I think I need to reconsider that.  Maybe they would be better quilted some other way. 

You wouldn't think straight diagonal lines would take so long but they seem to!

I'm linking this post to April One Monthly Goal at Elm Street Quilts.  Thanks for hosting, Patty.

--Nancy.

Slowly Quilting Flowers

If I slow stitch today, it will probably be hand quilting this Tulips block and the surrounding section of border on Linda Brannock's Flowers quilt.

I think the quilt is going so slowly because I'm quilting lines an inch apart.  What was I thinking?  I think you can see the quilting in the photo, below.  The background, sashing, and borders have parallel lines; the flowers, leaves, and pots are outlined with some echo stitching inside.

I've quilted six blocks:  on the top row, the two on the right; all three on the row below that; and the pineapple.  And about a third of the border is quilted.  Still to do are the tulips, top left; the little baskets, below center on the left; the three blocks across the bottom:  Cacti, Stocks, and Marigolds & Blueberries.

Don't bother enlarging the photos to see details.  My phone's camera doesn't do very well sometimes and my poor, dear, old Canon PowerShot A560 is having some problems and needs to go to a repair shop.  I think--and hope!-- it just needs an adjustment to the settings.

On Sunday I'll link this post to Slow Sunday Stitching at Kathy's Quilts.  Thanks for hosting, Kathy.

--Nancy.

Volunteer Bloom and Berries - December One Monthly Goal Finish

December's One Monthly Goal was to finish hand quilting one block of my version of Linda Brannock's Flowers quilt.  It's this one, Volunteer Bloom and Berries, below, and it's finished.

It's hard to see the quilting but it's there.

This is the third block I've quilted and have moved on to the fourth, Bluebells.  You can just barely see it to the right and below the block I just finished.

I think I like the diagonal quilting lines, ~1" apart.   This Mountain Mist 80/20 cotton/poly batting is puffier than most others I've used and I'm not sure what that will do to the appearance of the final quilt.  One thing I know, though, is that it will be warm.

This is the whole quilt.  The red lines you see in some of the photos are the ones I used to mark a few diagonals.

I mentioned in the last post about this quilt how challenged I felt about quilting diagonal lines across the whole quilt and keeping them in line across and down the quilt.  Robin of I Like to Create mentioned in a comment that she'd had trouble with that until she discovered why.  When I asked, she said she'd been marking each new line based on the previous one.  I had been doing that after I marked the first line or two.  (It doesn't seem practical to me to mark every line across the whole quilt, from one edge to the other.  So I've been marking sections....)

When I first marked the quilt I'd made a paper template with the angle marked with a fold.  You can see that the paper is not a true rectangle but the only two lines I'm using are the top one and the angle.

Making sure that the quilt is flat and straight, I place the paper against a horizontal line in the quilt, then use a 24- or 36-inch ruler to mark a few quilting lines.  (In case you can't read it, the paper below says at the top, "Place this edge along horizontal straight line."

I'm hoping checking and marking the angle of the lines against the template will be successful.  And if it isn't, I hope the quirkiness of the lines will fit with the quirkiness of the quilt.

If you have any pointers for me, I'd love to hear them.

I'm linking this post to December One Monthly Goal Finish at Elm Street Quilts. Thanks for hosting, Patty.

I'm also linking this with
> Finished (or not) Friday at Alycia Quilts and
> Peacock Party at Wendy's Quilts and More
Thanks for hosting, ladies.

--Nancy.

Quilting Volunteer Bloom and Berries, December's One Monthly Goal

Talk about deadlines!  Here I am with mere hours before the stroke of midnight, posting my One Monthly Goal for December.  I'm late, but not too late.  And gosh, doesn't time fly?  It seems like 2022 started about a month ago.  How did it get to be December so soon?

I've been steadily quilting my version of Linda Brannock's Flowers quilt which I started last month. 

A week or so ago I started Volunteer Bloom and Berries, the block above with the tape across it.  Because I don't know how much time I'll have in December, my goal is to finish hand quilting this block, though I hope to have moved on to another block by month's end.  The possibilities for next blocks are the two below.

This one, Tulips, is to the right of and slightly below the block above.

And this one, Bluebells, is at the right side of the block with tape on it.  The diagonal lines to be stitched from Volunteer Bloom and Berries cross over into both of these.  The blocks are askew because of the quilting hoop and the angle of the photographs.  The sides really are parallel with 90-degree corners.

I've quilted diagonals before but for some reason this feels different.  I don't know if it's because the sashing is larger than usual and the blocks are different sizes or what.  I'm a little nervous that the quilting lines won't line up by the time I'm finished.  I'm doing my best to prevent misalignment from happening.

I'm linking this post to December One Monthly Goal at Elm Street Quilts.  Thanks for hosting, Patty. 

--Nancy.

Finished Flowers Blocks and Thanksgiving Memories

My One Monthly Goal for November was to finish quilting these two blocks of my Flowers quilt, the bromeliad on the right and the morning glories on the left.  I had already quilted around the edges of the bromeliad and some of  the triangles around the edges of that block, but nothing on the background.

You can faintly see the diagonal quilting lines in the photo above and the two below.  The lines are about 1" apart.

I decided on the diagonal lines (that are not at right angles to either edge) based on another Linda Brannock quilt I saw online here.  To me this Flowers quilt is quirky enough to handle non-right angle parallel lines.

I think it will be tricky to keep the lines straight and parallel across the whole quilt, though.  I've been marking a few lines on one or two blocks at a time using a yardstick.  I use a piece of paper folded to the diagonal angle I want and then place it along one of the straight edges of the quilt to mark the line.  I hope that by the time the quilting is finished all the lines will be fairly straight and close to parallel.  It that's not so, I hope the quilt is quirky enough that the quilted lines being slightly crooked will look like they were intended to be that way.

Before I decided how to quilt the background and before I saw the inspiration quilt (link above) I'd already outline-quilted some of the half-square triangles that form the sashing.  I've decided to quilt right across those triangles with the parallel lines, which means I have to decide whether to remove the stitches from the triangles I already quilted or leave the stitching.  In the photo below you can see the lines marked for quilting and how they cross over the already-stitched triangles.

After having quilted these two blocks I realized that this quilt would have been a good candidate for big stitches using perle cotton.  But that's a change I'm not going to make this time.

Thanksgiving was fun, interesting, and challenging.  We have such a mix of personalities, likes/dislikes, and needs in our family.  My daughter, son-in-law, and their five children (ages 10 to 18 months) came.  Think fun, energetic, noisy, and curious, and not all were perfectly healthy.  My nurse daughter had just finished working five 12-hour night shifts on Wednesday morning.  (Read that as exhausted and in need of sleep.)  

Some highlights of the weekend, small memories that I think will be indelible in my mind:

• Seeing my year-and-a-half granddaughter moving glass votive candle holders into a small glass baking dish was such a treat.  She was very carefully holding the dish and even more carefully lifting and placing the holders into the dish.  She looked so pleased with herself.
• We recently discontinued our home phone service but hadn't removed all of the phones yet.  Our 10-year-old grandson noticed one of the phones and asked if we were still using it and, when we were finished with it, if he could have it.  I immediately removed it from the wall and gave it to him.  What fun to see his imaginative play focused on that phone! 
• Our daughter and family shared a thankful poster with so many items.  Amongst the commonly-listed family members and other people, all named individually, they included beets, ice, lettuce, avocados, chickens, moon, oven, pain medicine, Cheesy Bacon Brussels Sprouts, and many more.  
• They brought a huge stem of Brussels sprouts.  I've seen them at farmers' markets but had never purchased them.  It was fun to cut them off the stem and, with the help of the two older children, wash and cut them, then roast them to go with Thanksgiving dinner.
  

My horticulturist son-in-law gave a video class on wreath-making earlier in the week.  He gave me the wreath he used for demonstration (which I just now noticed is crooked hanging on the door).  I don't decorate for Christmas until December 1 or after but for this, I made an exception.  It is beautiful!

I'm linking this post to November One Monthly Goal Finish at Elm Street Quilts.  Thank you for hosting, Patty.

I hope all is well with you and in your world.

--Nancy.

Hand Quilting, Neatening and Sorting

I've made progress on the Flowers quilt (a Linda Brannock pattern) but it's been slow because I've had to build up my quilting callouses again. 

I quilted around the flower and pot on this block and need to quilt the pot and the background.  I thought I would quilt diagonal lines on the background but now I'm not so sure.  Maybe I should quilt vertical lines.  I have to decide soon and then either mark the lines or use tape for a guide.  I've also quilted most of the triangles surrounding the block.

The next block I'll work on is this one.  It's bigger and will take longer.

Here are both blocks side by side.  Getting both of these blocks quilted will be my One Monthly Goal for November.

My goal for October and for this month of November should have been cleaning the room where I quilt (and work on family history, use the computer, and so many other things). 

I almost chose that as my goal but decided it was too embarrassing to show photos of the space in such disarray.  What a mess!  Instead, here is a photo of my small cutting mat and the area surrounding it.  I've already neatened the area a little but those stacks of fabrics are now a higher than in this photo.  I'll be working at neatening, sorting, and organizing this room this month and probably for the next several months.

We had two beautiful foggy days last week.  We have many bare trees but almost as many are holding onto their colorful leaves.  It won't be long till they're all on the ground, though.  And the time change!  I wish we could stay with regular time all year instead of having to switch the clocks twice.  It takes me a few weeks to adjust, both spring and fall.  After I adjust I will these longer nights.  To me there's a coziness to late fall and winter nights.

I'm linking this post to November One Monthly Goal Link-up at Elm Street Quilts.  Thanks for hosting, Patty.
Also linking to Slow Sunday Stitching at Kathy's Quilts. Thank you for hosting, too, Kathy.

I hope all is well with you!
--Nancy.

Ready to Quilt Linda Brannock's Flowers

After I finished pin-basting this quilt yesterday I thought I was almost ready to begin quilting.  When I looked at the quilt sandwich this morning I realized that the top was a little loose against the backing (most obvious in that upper left block), so I unpinned it, smoothed it, and re-pinned.  Now I'm almost ready to quilt.

The only thing left before I begin is to decide a quilting pattern.  I plan to outline the shapes.  But how to quilt the rest?   I'm not keen on echo quilting so maybe diagonals in two directions?  That's always a straight-forward and simple option, since I can use tape to mark the quilting lines.  Or, I could quilt Baptist Fans, but I don't think that's the best option for this quilt.  Or . . . ?

I found this Pam Buda print for backing.  I thought it could work for either this quilt or Time Flies.  In real life it's darker than in the photo.  I decided to use it for this bright, colorful quilt and find a more lively print for the back of Time Flies since it's a plainer quilt.

There are a lot of quirky blocks in this quilt but I think these baskets turned out the quirkiest.  Linda Brannock's pattern was probably for paper-pieced blocks but I didn't realize it.  I used turned-edge applique to stitch them.  Together they are my favorite block in the quilt.
I love autumn!  Ours continues to be beautiful even thought our weather has turned cold--coat, hat, mittens, and scarf weather--with high winds.  Then the temperatures are predicted back up to the low 70s in a few days.  I have a lavender in a pot that I need to get ready for winter and grass seed to scatter over the area the plumbers had to dig up.  I hope autumn stays around for a while longer before cold weather comes to stay.

I'm linking this post to
> Midweek Makers at QuiltFabrication. 
> Finished (or not) Friday at Alycia Quilts
> Peacock Party at Wendy's Quilts and More
> Oh Scrap! at Quilting is more fun than Housework
Thanks for hosting, ladies.

I hope all is well in your world.
--Nancy.

A Risky Goal for April

More often than not my One Monthly Goals are conservative--the minimum I know I can accomplish in a month.  But when I get started on a goal I'll keep going and usually go beyond my original intention for the month.  I also often choose some aspect of quilting that I would let linger, resulting in a longer-than-necessary process.  And when I set a goal, it's one I know positively that I can accomplish (barring any illness or calamity) because I have everything ready to work on it.

This month my One Monthly Goal is to layer and baste a quilt in preparation for quilting it.  That's an easy goal except the only thing I have ready to meet the goal is a top and the batting--no backing.  And I'm not sure which top!  I'm crazy to put this much pressure on myself because it means making creative decisions with materials I don't have at hand.  Below are the options.

Time Flies.

Possible backing options are a print fabric with red/black/grey/tan--if I can find one; the leftover plaids sewn together--if there are enough; solid red; solid grey or black; a print with clock-related images.  I don't have enough reds to make a scrappy back.  I think it would fun to see a print on the other side.

Linda Brannock's Flowers.

This still needs a border and I have the fabric--it's in the washer now--and then I'll have to cut and sew it onto the quilt. But what backing fabric for this one? I thought a folk-style print would be great, but where to find one, especially in colors and a pattern that would work with this quilt?  Other options include a putty-colored fabric with or without a print; a red print fabric.  Or...?  Maybe a neutral....  This quilt is so busy that maybe a calm fabric would be great for the back.

Buckeye Beauty.

This is a small quilt.  The blocks finish at 6" and I think the border is 5", for a quilt that's about 46" x 52".  A red back?  Dark red?  A red print back?  Again, I don't have enough reds to make a scrappy back for it.

Anyway, layering and basting one of these quilts is my One Monthly Goal for April. 

(Do you come away from this post thinking that I like red?  I do!)

I'm linking this post to One Monthly Goal April Linkup at Elm Street Quilts.  Thank you for hosting, Patty.

--Nancy.

The Challenges of Unstitching and Restitching a Quilt Top

I'm nearing the completion of restitching my Linda Brannock Flowers quilt top.  There have been some challenges along the way.  I've listed them below, just to remind myself what I'll be up against if I decide to unstitch another quilt.  (And I actually do have one in mind!)

#1.  The half square triangles were stitched together into strips in two different configurations, which sometimes caused more unstitching to arrange them properly.

#2.  When unstitched, edges begin to fray.  The seams in several fabrics frayed nearly 1/8"!  I need to get this top layered and quilted as soon as possible.

#3.  The unstitched seams needed careful pressing which seemed to stretch the fabric.  Perhaps stretch is the wrong word.  Maybe it was more about smoothing out the wrinkles which made the fabric flatter and bigger? 

#4.  The unstitched seams needed more careful pinning than usual.

#5.  Some of the unstitched seams, because they were stretched, needed to be eased to fit the adjoining blocks.

Despite the challenges I'm glad I decided to put this quilt top to rights by rearranging it into a layout closer to Linda Brannock's original pattern.  (I really must learn to trust the pattern designers more than my own limited vision.)

My next step for this top is to add a 4" border.  I envisioned using one of the putty-colored fabrics but now that the top is together, I can see that a red will be better.  Sadly, I don't have enough of any one fabric for the whole border, and if I were to use a combination of what I have to make a scrappy border, there would be none left.  I think I've found a place to buy more of the middle fabric on the right.

Unstitching and restitching were plenty of work but so worth it!  I'm glad I made the changes.

This is what my daughter's kitties did to this quilt while it was on the floor.

I can't decide whether it's a statement of what they think of the quilt or if they think it's a new playground where they can slide across the floor on fabric.  This or something similar happens at least once a day. 

Our weather is crazy these days.  Down to the teens for a day or two, then up to the fifties, and tomorrow is predicted to be in the mid-70s, then back down to the 40s and 50s for a week or so.  I see a few daffodils and crocus as I''m out and about and I've noticed that the bushes and shrubs closest to the ground have nubs of green sprouting on their tips.  That's spring for you!

I hope all is well in your world!

--Nancy.