Quilt musing...

I wanted to say Thank You for those who have left me such encouraging comments on my quilting endeavors! It means so much to me. I tend to sew alone, and “wing it” or teach myself, and I always doubt myself. I think I am doing it wrong, or there could be a better way. Blogging has been good for me, I’ve met so many other people who love to quilt and it encourages me to try harder things and just go for it. So, thanks to all of you for giving me the courage to try harder :) You are all awesome!

I was reading through Crazy Mom Quilts blog today. I found a post where she has written out the things she uses when she sews. I found her favorite threads were from Connecting Threads. I decided to give them a try, their thread is really inexpensive and you get a lot of it for your money. I’ll let you know what I think after I use it. Also, I ordered some “machine quilting gloves” I laughed when I saw them. But I need something grippy on my hands, I hope it’ll help me with the free motion quilting I’ve been doing. Plus they were only a few bucks, if they don’t work, I can use them for gardening lol!

For those of you who asked if I am doing this on a regular machine, yes I am. I bought a Babylock Quilter’s Choice machine last year, and it came with a free motion quilting foot. I am sure if your machine has a free motion foot you would be able to do this. Let me know if you try it out.

March Review

Stitch one block on Shores of Hawk Run *not really, finished one, started another about ½ way done*
Make a Jo Morton mini quilt *no*
Finish tablerunners for my bedroom *finished 2 of 5*
Make 3 Abby’s treasure box bags *no*
Start quilting Cherie’s quilt *yes*
Finish Nikki’s baby quilt *yes!!*

April may not be a really productive month for me, there is a lot going on.
April Goals
Stitch one block on Shores of Hawk Run
Finish 3 tablerunners for my bedroom
Make 3 Abby’s treasure box bags
Finish Cherie’s Quilt

I'm trying

I have been working on this quilt for my mother in law since last July, it has been a harder one to do, adding corners to over a hundred squares, so I took my time on it. I also decided I would quilt this one on my own. I've been practicing on mini quilts and tablerunners. The finishing of quilts is what I really put off. I don't like stretching them, and pinning them (kills the back!) and then tying or quilting them. It just is hard work, and I can't bear the thought of messing up on a quilt top I spent hours on. Well, I finally bit the bullet yesterday and pinned this one together and started quilting it. I am just doing stipple quilting all over it. I wanted to try some sort of pattern on the border, but I don't know what yet. My goal is to have this finished by June, my mother in law might come out to visit us then, and I'd love to hand it to her completed :)

For those of you who are to scared to try quilting on your own, just practice on smaller stuff first and get comfortable with it. I am realizing as I quilt this, I need to work on it for about 30 minutes at a time, because it hurts my shoulders pushing it around.

So, what do you think, does it look okay so far? :D

Where have I been?

Hello my friends! I’ve been out of the blogging world for a few weeks. I give up on trying to redeem myself. Life is too busy right now. I did so good for so long on posting every week, or several times a week!

My excuses are as follows:

#1. My kids: 1st and 2nd grade kids bring home lots of homework, and for a working mommy and daddy like us, our evenings are filled with teaching kids how to add 234 + 193 + 78, and teaching them how to spell “no” vs. “know” or how to not write out numbers backwards for the 50th time!

Cute Jessie story: We were on about page 7 of some sort of math homework, and she kept writing her numbers backwards, I’d just erase and tell her to rewrite it. She finally got fed up with herself and exclaimed “WHY do I live in backwards world???” She was so flustered, it was adorable! I love my kids, even though their homework isn’t that fun.
This week is spring break and I think I was more excited about it than my kids… no homework wahoo! (does this make me a bad mom??)

#2. I joined a gym. Which means after I put the kids to bed at 8:00 I go and work out. I feel good! BUT it cuts into my “craft” time. I doubt I can stitch and swim laps at the same time.

#3. I am tired, from #2. Which means I go to bed earlier.

The weekend was very nice, I managed to get a few things out to work on.

I have made a bit of progress on Shores of Hawk Run. Here I am as of today, the 4th block is slowly filling in.
And I started a new quilt! I bought this kit from Hollyhill Quilt Shoppe in West Linn, Oregon. I have bought several of their kits (they are amazing!). This is called Puzzle Play and uses all blues/greens from the Amy Butler Midwest Modern fabrics. I am in love with it.
I got 2 of my 5 tablerunners done for my bedroom, here is one on our bedside shelf. I love batik fabric!
A few months ago Mark was complaining about how the little quilt hanging above our bed looks weird. It just kind of looks “stuck” there. It just so happened I read on Heather Mulder-Peterson’s blog about how she hangs her quilts from a curtain rod… so I suggested that to him, and we bought a curtain rod, several months go by, and we finally hang it up. At least it doesn’t look “stuck” there anymore. Painting the bedroom will happen someday, I've only had the paint for over a year now...Mark got us these adorable ladybug truffles, aren't they so sweet?
All is well in Portland, how is it for you??

Baby quilt all ready to go

I finished it! It took 6 fat quarters, 1/4 yard of minky fabric, and about 1-1/2 yards of white fabric. I quilted it on my machine with light pink thread. The backing fabric is one of the pinks used on the front. It's so cute! Jessie keeps trying to steal it :)

Shores of Hawk Run, block 3

I got another block done! This is my third block. I don’t know what to think about that seahorse, he’s kind of silly looking, but I like everything else about the block. I am going to start the one next to it now, with the white house and the mermaid. After that I think I’ll do the big center block with the ship. This is a very nice project to work on. Maybe I can get the next block done this month? Wish me luck. I finished my sister’s baby quilt too! I need to get some pictures of that up soon. It’s very cute.

There was a comment on my last post about what types of fabric I liked to stitch with. When I was first using linens and evenweaves, I liked a 28 count evenweave. It was easier for me to count the linen that way, after I got comfortable with that, I moved into the 32 count linens. That is my favorite now. I don’t have a favorite type of linen that I know of, but 32 count is a nice size. I haven’t attempted a 40 count or anything, it is just too small for me to do right now.

And I have a question to all of you chefs out there, what is your favorite clam chowder recipe? I’d like to learn to make it at home! Pass on the recipe if you can! Thanks :)

March Goals

I’ve been humming along on Shores, I am over half way done on my third block. I hope to get it done this week. We’ll see if that happens! I haven't even thought about any other cross stitch projects since I started working on this, it's very addicting. Did you see Giovanna’s Shores? She finished it this weekend, you must go and see. It is beautiful.

I was working on quilting my sister’s baby quilt yesterday and ran out of the thread I was using, so I have to get to the store and pick up some more. It is turning out so adorable! I want to finish this this week as well.

At JoAnn’s I picked up a new book called Jelly Roll Quilts, it’s a GREAT book! I don’t even own a Jelly Roll, but that is okay. I have lots of fabric to make my own Jelly Rolls :) I want to make some of the quilts out of here soon. Check out this book if you are looking for a good variety of quilt patterns.

I was so lazy/unmotivated in February that I didn’t even do goals! I’ll try again this month :)

February Review
Stitched one block on Shores of Hawk Run
Worked on Nikki’s Quilt
Made some tablerunners, but need to add binding

March Goals
Stitch one block on Shores of Hawk Run
Make a Jo Morton mini quilt
Finish tablerunners for my bedroom
Make 3 Abby’s treasure box bags
Start quilting Cherie’s quilt
Finish Nikki’s baby quilt

The baby quilt that grew

I can't make small quilts, I try to, and then, and then they turn out HUGE! I had bought 6 fat quarters to make this quilt for Nikki, and then I added some white, and ended up with a big 45 x 55 baby quilt! At least she'll be able to use it for several years instead of one year right? :) I was able to sew this together over the weekend, and it was so fun! I spent several hours on it and was glad I did, I haven't been sewing a lot this month and it was good to do it again.

The fabrics we chose for this are just adorable. They have these tiny cherries on them, and some irredescent dots too. I think I might have to keep this quilt!

So, now that the top is done, I have made a bunch of little triangles to add all of the way around the border, and am trying to come up with how I want to quilt it. I have to get this done, babies don't wait around you know.

More Shores of Hawk Run

I've been so boring lately, I am sorry! You know for the past month I've just relaxed. I don't have any exchanges to do anymore, and I've been focusing a lot on my kid's homework! So, not a lot to share very often. I did manage to finish another block on Shores last week. I really really really love this project. I started on a third block too!

My little sister Nikki is expecting a baby girl at the end of April (YAY!). She asked me to make her a baby quilt and bumper. I was happy to! I have never made a baby crib bumper before, so I was a little nervous, but it was very simple to do. I used minky fabric, so it is very soft. I like how it turned out. I used this tutorial for it if you need to make one.

Also, I am starting a baby quilt for her that matches, here is the beginning of that.

Curren has been learning subtraction, so homework has been taking up a lot of our evenings. He is improving every week with it, he'll get it down soon enough. Jessie got a haircut on Tuesday and it looked so cute, I had to share.

A little of this a little of that

Hello friends! I think I've become a "weekend" poster. It seems to be the only time I can sit down to do it. Anyway...

I have been diligently stitching on Shores. Every block finished is another step to it being done, so it is a good motivation. I finished the lighthouse block last week, yay!! The house block was started last week too, and the most of this house got stitched while watching A&E Pride and Prejudice. I will finish the other half of the movie tonight, and stitch some more on it. I love that movie...
Old McMary's hasn't had a WIP photo lately. It has been worked on when I can at breaks at work. I really like this one a lot, though it has been slow going.

Lots to share

Happy Monday to everybody! I hope you are all doing well and that you had a great weekend. The weekend was SO MUCH FUN for me. My friend Charissa came down from Washington to spend the weekend with me. She arrived on Friday night, and we both worked on a project and chatted away… I finished the American Pie quilt top that night. It kind of looks the same as the pictures from last week, except all of the blocks are sewn together now :) Isn’t it pretty? I think I’ll put a small 1” white border all of the way around it. I have yet to find backing for this one, I haven’t seen one that has called my name yet.
On Saturday Charissa and two of my other friends came over, and we went on a mini shop hop to our favorite quilt shops in the area. We were all looking for different projects, and all came home with something fun. I fell in love with the mini-quilts that one shop had hanging up, using Jo Morton fabrics. I got some ¼ yard cuts and a few patterns to try out. Look at the horse fabric! I love it :) After shopping all day, and eating, we went and saw a movie. I recommend Bedtime Stories, it was so funny! Then Charissa and I stayed up late… too late really and made this bag. For our next church quilt class we wanted to make bags and I needed to have this bag up for display on Sunday… we just managed to finish it in time. The pattern was a pain, and was missing a lot of instructions, (or we were both so tired) that we had a hard time getting it finished. We kept reading and re-reading the pattern. I am pretty much re-writing the pattern for the class we are making it in. Anyway, it turned out cute, and so all was well in the end!

I have a new project all kitted up and ready to stitch. This is from a 2007 Gift of Stitching magazine. I'll dig out the date for you it anybody is interested in it. It's a tin finish, which I haven't done before, so I think it'll be fun to try.
AND one last thing, I got the Four Seasons framed!!! Isn’t it awesome? It’s so huge, but I love it.

Shores of Hawk Run WIP

Well, here we are 10 days later, and I've made some good progress on the first block of Shores! I am loving it so far. I think I'll stitch the one below it next, with the pretty house :)
And I've also been making steady progress on the American Pie quilt. I love it so far! I have all of the blocks done (finally) and have laid it out this morning to see what it'll look like...

I have a friend coming over tonight to sew with me, it should be fun! I hope to get borders sewn onto my MIL's quilt today. Have a great weekend everyone :)

Gift from a friend

Thank you all so much for commenting on my new start for 2009! You are all so great to cheer me on. It got me motivated to really work on it, I am close to being done on the first block now. I’ll be posting photos of it this weekend.

So, I am in total shock still. On Wednesday I received a package from a friend. I’ve known her for a few years now & we met over on Livejournal. She was stitching the Mirabilia mermaids at the same time I was so we connected and have become friends since then. Well, we decided to send each other Christmas presents this year. I made her the red and white project bag, and she sent me this…

I opened the box to find this beautiful sampler. It is by Hillside Samplings, and she stitched it so perfectly. It even has our family’s initials on it! I am in love with it. I started crying when I saw it, it was so sweet of her to make this for me, I will treasure this forever! sorry my pictures aren’t great, it’s so dark when I get home at night!)

What a wonderful friend I have, I am so blessed to have such good friends in my life.

Here are my goals and whatnot for January, a bit late :P

December Review
Finish Gazebo Quilt *yes*

Work on American Pie Quilt *yes*

Work on Cherie’s Quilt *yes*

Stitch one block on Snapperville *no*
Also: Started Gina, Queen of the Sea, made 3 stockings

January Goals
Stitch one block on Shores of Hawk Run
Stitch one block on Snapperville
Work on border for Bent Creek Snappers
Add borders to Cherie’s quilt
Make 3 Abby’s Treasure Box bags
Work on Gina, Queen of the Sea
Make baby blanket for Stephanie

It has begun!

I got brave, pulled out the threads I'd need and started Shores of Hawk Run Hollow. It seems so daunting to start another huge project again... after taking 7 years to complete the Four Seasons, I don't want to work on it for 7 years! I hope I am dedicated enough to keep on going. Gee, it sounds like I have a positive attitude coming into it! LOL! I am excited though, and I like it so far. I started it last night while watching the New Years Eve celebration on TV. Here is where I am so far.

And here is the ornament I made for Courtney, it is a freebie design from Barbara Ana. I just searched for it and I don't see it on cyberstitchers any longer? I really like that little red bird, it's so cute!

We went roller skating the other night, and Mark had taken some pictures of Curren, and then combined them into this, it makes us laugh so hard, hope it makes you laugh too!

Christmas exchange with Courtney

I received a wonderful package from Courtney. We met over on the livejournal cross stitch blog awhile ago... so we have been able to get to know each other, and I am so glad that we have! We decided to do a Christmas ornament exchange this year, and she sent me this! I love it :) She says she hasn't done much finishing, but I think she's been doing it a lot, because it's perfect.

Courtney also sent some pretty silk thread, and bead containers, it's great! Thank you!

So for Christmas this year Santa brought us a new pet. If you call it a pet! Curren got a baby iguana. He named it Bullet... why? "because it's cool!" Here he is (if it is a he?) He's fast too, so Bullet is an appropriate name for this little green guy. We haven't let the dog anywhere near it, I am sure he'd be a quick snack if we did LOL!

Gina, Queen of the Sea WIP

I hope you all had a Merry Christmas! We enjoyed our long weekend together. We stayed home and played with our new toys, took naps and just relaxed. It was awesome :)

I’ve picked up a new chart to stitch a few weeks ago. I went into Acorns & Threads, and they had this really great thread pack from Carrie’s Creations. I was carrying it around, and then asked what chart it was for. They pointed to Gina, Queen of the Sea by Ink Circles. I loved it! So, of course I got it :) I haven’t really looked closely at the Ink Circles designs, but find that I like them.
So, I’ve been working on this for a few weeks off and on. I like it so far, it’s been a fun one to stitch. I like the celtic knots that you follow all over the design, it’s pretty!
Starting in a few days I am going to begin Carriage House Samplings, Shores of Hawk Run Hollow. I picked up the charts and fabric for it this past summer, and just haven’t had an opportunity to start it yet. My friend Charissa already did! Does anybody want to join in on a stitch along with me? Even if you’ve already started it, we can all keep tabs on our progress and maybe keep each other motivated to work on it weekly? Let me know if you are interested :) I am super excited to begin working on it.
This past week I also worked on the blocks for the American Pie quilt, I’ve got them half way sewed… that’s pretty good progress on it so far :)

Stiching 2009 goals!

Cross Stitching Goals for 2009 :D


Karen, once again, is motivating me to stitch from my "stash" I have all of the charts for the lists below, and most of the fabrics... so now I just need lots of time. I went through the list I made last year, and I didn't do all that well about getting things off of my list(I did a few), I stitched a lot of things that were not there, but that is okay. I finished three HUGE projects this year (The Four Seasons, Mermaids, NRR) so therefore, I give myself some pats on the back! :) Here is my list, to see how good I do in 2009.

My Current WIP:
1. Ink Circles: Gina, Queen of the Sea (currently WIP)
2. Hillside Samplings: Bittersweet Farm (currently WIP)
3. Old McMary’s Farm: The Workbasket (currently WIP)
4. Bent Creek Snappers (currently WIP)
5. Shepherd’s Bush: A Mother’s Heart (currently WIP)
6. Bent Creek: Snapperville (currently WIP)




See if I can do it! Come on dare me to! :)
7. Forest Snowfall: Little House Needleworks
8. Pineapple Threadpack: LHN
9. Acorns Threadpack: LHN
10. Christmas Mosaic Ornament: M Designs
11. Bent Creek: Summer Snapperville
12. Shepherds Bush: Sail
13 Forest Snowfall: Little House Needleworks
14 Shepherd’s Bush: Bee’s Fob
15 Shepherd’s Bush: Christmas Ornament
16 Birds of a Feather: Bloom Where You are Planted
17 Shepherd’s Bush: Americana Needleroll
18. CHS: Shores of Hawk Run Hollow
19 Hinzeit: Dash Away All
20. Sam Sarah: Bloom Where You Are Planted
21. Tournitocon: Christmas tree
22. La D Da: Sunshine
23. Homespun Elegance: Plant Kindness
24. CCN: Gingerbread Cottage


I'd love to be able to stitch some ornaments too, we'll see how I do on that. I was a lousy ornament stitcher this year. I hope to do at least 6 of them. I have some I could finish too. Leena mentioned she should "kit some up" so I think I'll do that, it's a good idea!

Gazebo quilt done!

I finished my Schnibbles quilt yesterday. The pattern is called Gazebo. I love it, it is so cute. I hung it in Jessie's room on her wall. All of our bedrooms have vaulted ceilings. Perfect to hang quilts on in my opinion.

I made my first attempt to free motion quilt on this one. I got a new sewing machine a few weeks ago, and it has that feature yay! It was kind of fun to do, it sure isn't perfect, but it's a start at least.

Also, this was stitched a few months ago. It's Little House Needleworks, Pure in Heart. I finished it into a big pinkeep. I gave it to my friend for Christmas. I like how it turned out!


Portland has been getting so much snow. Well, really it's a few inches. But for Portland, that is a lot! The kids have had all week off of school because of it :) Here's Jessie making a snow angel! Fun!!