Quilting

Hello, Hello. Another week has slipped by…{sigh}. We’ve had gorgeous fall weather this year and, after a busy few months, it’s been nice to just hang around the house relaxing and watching the slow change of seasons. Our trees aren’t as brilliant this year but most of them have finally started to turn colors this past week. I even took some time to make the annual trip to a small apple orchard nearby. I bought some yummy honeycrisp apples — they’re my favorite for a little snack and if you’ve never had one, you should give them a try. I also bought some Braeburn apples for baking. I tried PW’s Quick and Easy Apple Tart. It was ok, but definitely not one of her better recipes and not even close to her little apple dumplings.

One thing I’m not enjoying about the fall is the bugs that decide to seek warmth in the house.  Ewww.  Except for this little ladybug, our first sighting this fall.  I found her on a windowsill and took her outside and put her on one of the few zinnias that managed to bloom in the disaster garden this year.  I think she was much happier in her new home, although, not as warm.

She almost looks like she’s on her back in the next picture, but she’s really clinging to the underside of a petal.  Ladybug, Ladybug, Fly Away Home….

Today is lovely and rainy and chilly.  I’m looking forward to curling up with Doc Martin on Netflix while I work on the Steampunk.  I’ve decided to follow Cindy’s lead — I machine quilted the Steampunk sashing in the ditch and I’m handquilting the little propeller squares with big-stitch quilting.

It took several blocks for me to get back into the big-stitch groove, but I think I’m adjusting now.  MeMum voted for all fine hand-quilting because of all the work in these blocks, but I think they need something a little funky.  I think Cindy’s choice of machine quilting plus big-stitch quilting is just perfect.

I also have some dead bananas waiting in the kitchen today, so I thought I’d try a new banana bread recipe this afternoon. Sounds like a perfect afternoon to me — quilting and the smell of fresh banana bread baking in the kitchen. If the new recipe is any good, I’ll definitely be back to share!

XOXO,
Anna

Well hello there!  How’s the weekend going?  It’s a beautiful, relaxing week here in ThimbleannaLand.  I’ve been piecing more Steampunk blocks, taking my time and really enjoying the process.  So far, so good.  Out of 48 blocks, I only have 14 left to go.  Slow and steady wins the race. ;-D

For most of the summer I’ve had my sewing machine on the kitchen table.  TheManoftheHouse hasn’t complained but he must be getting tired of it.  It’s getting harder and harder to sew in the dungeon, because the view from our kitchen is so pretty and I just want to sit there to sew all the time.  Really, I’d just like to move the whole sewing room to the kitchen.  That’s how it should be, don’t you think?

While I piece along, my mind wanders.  Last night I was thinking about the blog posts not to long ago where people were sharing their favorite quilt book.  My favorite book is my first quilt book MeMum bought me.  The It’s Okay If You Sit On My Quilt Book by Mary Ellen Hopkins.  My quilty peep Junie told me a few weeks ago that Mary Ellen recently passed away, which is very sad.  I don’t remember taking a class from her, but Junie says I did one year when we were in Paducah.

It looks like someone in the family took a class from Mary Ellen — I found the papers below in MeMum’s The It’s Okay If You Sit On My Quilt Book.  Either way, I adored her style.  Her approach was simple and straight forward.  This book is full of quilt blocks and simple ways to put them together to make great quilts.  It’s an approach that I think we sometimes fail to teach to new quilters.  I feel we talk patterns too much, rather than teaching new quilters how to dream and plan and make quilts of their own.

I love how the pages of Mary Ellen’s book are on “graph paper”. It’s so fun to plan blocks out on graph paper and see how simple blocks, when placed together, form lots of different patterns.  Mary Ellen doesn’t give you a quilt pattern.  She just shows you the blocks and  then you make your own pattern, whatever size you want.

I remember pouring through the blocks of this book when I made the quilts we have in our guest room.  Do you see the block above that I used in the first quilt in the picture below?

I knew I wanted both quilts to have pinwheels in them, but I wanted the quilts to be different.  The block in the second quilt is also in Mary Ellen’s book.

Oh well, I’m quilt rambling — back to the Steampunks!  Just wanted to check in — hoping everyone has a great weekend.  Especially if you’re here in the US where it’s a long one!

XOXO,
Anna

Hello Boys and Girls!  Just checking in on a slooooow week.  We’ve been trying to get back in the groove after our little vacation.  ‘Tisn’t easy!  I’m making slower than slow progress on my steampunk blocks, but I’m chugging along.  Here are six new ones.  That brings the count up to 18 finished — not even half-way yet.

I’m loving the process though so I’m taking my time.  I have my piles of fabrics in two laundry baskets — one for prints already used and one for ones that are yet to use.  I’ve duplicated a few prints already and I’m sure there will be more duplicates.  I don’t use my rotary cutter either.  I know it takes more time, but I’ve been tracing around the templates and then cutting them with scissors.  Just like quilting happened before rotary cutters.  I love cutting the pieces out while I’m watching tv.  I put my old cutting board on my lap and go to town.

So, 18 blocks finished, 12 in one state of progress or another, and 18 left to go.  I have to get going if I’m going to make my goal of all blocks finished by the end of summer.

FWIW, I’ll be counting the end of summer as the official end of summer (the autumnal equinox) — not the start of school. I can’t believe kids are starting back to school already! It feels like autumnal equinox weather around here this week — it’s been unseasonably cool. Makes you worry a bit about what winter has in store. I know it will get hot again — it always does.

Do you have any exciting plans for the weekend? I’ll be fighting the urge to interrupt the steampunk blocks and slip those Adventure Girls into the sewing queue — I’m betting the Girls will win! ;-D
Have a good weekend!
XOXO,
Anna