Quilting is in my Blood

I am joining the weekly To-Do Tuesday Linky Party that is usually hosted by Chris at ChrisKnits. 

To-Do for the week of July 27th-Aug 2nd:

1. Make a third Fancy Forest Hazel Hedgehog block and get my modified Fancy Forest quilt top put together. √Done
   
2. Finish the Two Cranes Sashiko pillow for my brother. √Done
3. Make a mug rug with Kaleidoscope fabrics for a work colleague. √Done

To-Do #1

I did get my last hedgehog made in blue and turquoise for my modified Fancy Forest quilt and sewed the quilt top together. I’m going to wait to do a full reveal until after I get this quilted (yes, myself, as opposed to sending it out!!!) I am going to try using Hobbs fusible batting for this 28″ X 42″ wall hanging, which is on order from Amazon. Have any of you tried using this fusible batting? I generally baste my mini quilts with Elmer’s purple glue sticks, but this wall hanging is a little too big for glue stick basting.

I would have no problem with paying for long-arm quilting or even the extra time to wait to get the quilt back from the long-armer, but if I do simple wavy quilting, I can control where the quilting goes, and I’d rather not have the eyes and nose of the hedgehogs and possibly the foxes show any quilting.

To-Do #2

For quilting my brother’s Two Cranes Sashiko pillow, I decided to use fusible black interfacing rather than batting because I was concerned that white batting would show through the loose weave of the indigo Sashiko cloth. I do have some black batting, but it’s buried in my shed, and I just didn’t have it in me to pull out lots of bins to access this batting. Because interfacing is much thinner than batting, I actually quilted the pillow front using a regular presser foot instead of my walking foot. I decided to quilt two lines around the perimeter of the design and then quilted around each crane and called it good. The quilting with a dark blue thread is almost invisible on purpose as I didn’t want it to compete with the Sashiko stitching.

The fabric for the back is called Dance Steps in Maize, and there is still some available at Bernie’s Needle and Foot Etsy shop. I think the bird tracks look perfect with the Two Cranes design.

To-Do #3

I designed the mug rug for my colleague at work using an EQ8 square-in-a-square-in-a-square block (see mock up in second pic below). When I sewed the block, I was able to use the eyedropper option in the color design tab that showed me each color in my mock-up. I used every single fabric in my mock-up for my actual block except I changed the grey from Pepper to Charcoal.

To-Do for the week of Aug 3rd-Aug 9th:

1. Cut some petals to be appliquéd on my Lotus Blossom quilt.
   
2. Make some ombré triangles for a new ombré quilt project that I will share about next week.
3. Start hand-quilting my Dahlia Sashiko project.

Linking up to Melva Loves Scraps: To-Do Tuesday.

I am joining the weekly To-Do Tuesday Linky Party hosted by Chris at ChrisKnits. 

To-Do for the week of July 20th-26th:

1. Make a Fancy Forest Hazel Hedgehog block.√Done
2. Finish my Storm at Sea quilt top. √Done
3. Work on my 2021 Mid Year Check-in post. √Done

To-Do #1

I made two Hazel Hedgehogs for my modified Fancy Forest quilt that I am making as part of the Quilted Connections 1st Annual Spectacular Summer Sew-Along.

To-Do #2

I finished my Storm at Sea wall hanging and wrote about it in my July 2021 One Monthly Goal post.

To-Do #3

I did work on a mid-year check-in post and probably put in about 1.5 hours writing it and I’m not even halfway done. Because I still have a lot going on in both my personal and work life, I’ve decided that I will skip the mid-year check-in and will use what I’ve written in a full 2021 recap post in December. I do have a question for you folks who use the Word Press platform. Is there a way to link a photo in a post with a previous blog post?

To-Do for the week of July 27th-Aug 3rd:

1. Make a third Fancy Forest Hazel Hedgehog block and get my modified Fancy Forest quilt top put together.
   
2. Finish the Two Cranes Sashiko pillow for my brother.
3. Make a mug rug with Kaleidoscope fabrics for a work colleague.

Linking up to Chris Knits: To-Do Tuesday.

I am joining the weekly To-Do Tuesday Linky Party hosted by Chris at ChrisKnits. 

To-Do for the week of July 13th-19th:

1. Finish my Positivity quilt top. √Done
   
2. Make two Fancy Forest Thistle Flower blocks. √Done
3. Work on my Storm at Sea quilt project. √Done

To-Do #1

This past week I finished my quilt top for the Positivity Sew Along hosted by Sew Preeti Quilts and Needle and Thread. I used Alison Glass Kaleidoscope fabrics with a Charcoal background which can look like two different fabrics depending upon whether it was cut straight grain or cross grain. I randomly rotated the squares and rectangles of the Charcoal fabric to give the background more interest and texture. The pluses are Cobalt, Turtle, Tiger, Pencil, Hope, and Mermaid Kaleidoscope fabrics. I’m very happy to be able to give another Mercyful quilt to the Palliative Care Unit at Mercy Hospital in Sacramento, California. The dedicated personnel in this unit coordinate giving quilts to their terminally ill patients to bring some measure of comfort to the person and their family as they go through the difficult process of dying. The family then keeps the quilt in the memory of the person who passed away.

To-Do #2

Here are my two Thistle blocks for my modified Fancy Forest quilt that I am making as part of the Quilted Connections 1st Annual Spectacular Summer Sew-Along.

To-Do #3

I finished making all the units for my Storm at Sea project and have started sewing the units together. I hope to share a pic of the completed quilt top next week.

To-Do for the week of July 20th-July 26th:

1. Make a Fancy Forest Hazel Hedgehog block.
2. Finish my Storm at Sea quilt top.
3. Work on my 2021 Mid Year Check-in post. This linky party is hosted through Yvonne@Quilting Jetgirl.

Linking up to Chris Knits: To-Do Tuesday and the Positivity QAL Link up #2 hosted by Needle and Foot.

I am joining the weekly To-Do Tuesday Linky Party hosted by Chris at ChrisKnits. 

To-Do for the week of July 6th-12th:

1. Stitch one more grey Sashiko square with Caribbean floss. √Done
   
2. Share photo of my fourth Fancy Fox. √Done
3. Spend a little more time with EQ8. √Done

To-Do #1

I was able to get one more Sashiko square stitched while visiting with my family. The pic below nicely shows the color of the variegated Caribbean floss, but the background cloth looks beige rather than grey which bothers me but not enough to take another pic! Taking photos of my sewing and stitching is still NOT a favorite thing to do! But it is nice to have them to document the journey and to share with others.

To-Do #2

Here is the fourth and final fox for my modified Fancy Forest quilt that I am making as part of the Quilted Connections 1st Annual Spectacular Summer Sew-Along. I actually finished making this fox before I left for my vacation for California.

To-Do #3

During a little downtime on my trip, I played some more with EQ8 and drafted another wonky star that I might use in a future Christmas project.

Sashiko Recipient Update:

Here is a pic of my brother, Bill, with his Two Cranes Sashiko, that I made for his 75th birthday present. He was thrilled with it and asked me to make a pillow for him with it. I had a wonderful time in California especially at the Giants ball game with Bill and Sharon (see second pic below), but we were a little chilly, and I’m sure glad Sharon gave me the cozy moss green sweater to wear!

To-Do for the week of July 13th-July 19th:

1. Make two Fancy Forest Thistle Flower blocks.
2. Finish my Positivity quilt top.
3. Work on my Storm at Sea quilt project.

Linking up to Chris Knits: To-Do Tuesday.

I am joining the weekly To-Do Tuesday Linky Party hosted by Chris at ChrisKnits. 

To-Do for the week of June 28th-July 5th:

1. Make another Fancy Fox block. √Done
2. Start another rainbow Sashiko project on my trip to California. √Done
3. Stitch a grey Sashiko square with beautiful variegated turquoise floss on my trip. √Done
4. Spend a little time with EQ8. √Done

To-Do #1

Here is the third fox for my modified Fancy Forest quilt that I am making as part of the Quilted Connections 1st Annual Spectacular Summer Sew-Along. I really enjoy making these cute foxes by Elizabeth Hartman. They are quick and so satisfying to make.

To-Do #2

I did start another Rainbow Sashiko project but got very little done on it, so not worth a photo. I’ll share more about it down the road.

To-Do #3

On the flight to California, I stitched a pre-patterned Sashiko square with a beautiful hand-dyed variegated perle floss in Caribbean color. This pattern is simple pluses which reminded me of all the cool Positivity quilts being made through the Positivity QAL. I was a little nervous carrying on my Sashiko needles, but they made it through Security just fine, and I substituted child safety scissors for embroidery scissors which definitely don’t cut as sharply but worked just fine.

To-Do #4

While at the airport waiting for my flight to California, I played with EQ8 and drafted a wonky star that I might use in a future Christmas project.

Quilt Recipients Update:

I was able to give my Whale Tales quilt in person to my nephew, Jack, and he absolutely loved it:

And here is a pic of Jack with his daughter, Sophia, holding her high school graduation Ombre Star quilt, which she also was thrilled with:

To-Do for the week of July 6th-July 12th:

1. Stitch one more grey Sashiko square with Caribbean floss.
2. Share photo of my fourth Fancy Fox.
3. Spend a little more time with EQ8.

Linking up to Chris Knits: To-Do Tuesday.

I am joining the weekly To-Do Tuesday Linky Party hosted by Chris at ChrisKnits. 

To-Do for the week of June 22nd-28th:

1. Quilt minimally and bind rainbow Sashiko squares to make into mug rugs for my cousins. √Done
2. Make another Fancy Fox block. √Done
3. Work on Positivity quilt. √Done
4. Make more Storm at Sea units. √Done

To-Do #1

I did indeed minimally quilt these Sashiko rainbow squares for my cousins echoing the Sashiko stitching with dark blue thread that blends really with the Sashiko cloth. Both the back (second photo below) and the binding are Andover rainbow fabrics that complement the rainbow thread. The 4.5″ square minis just make me happy!

To-Do #2

And speaking of happy, here’s another cheerful Fancy Fox (pattern by Elizabeth Hartman).

To-Do #3

I have finished making all my Positivity blocks and have sewn them into rows. I’ll put this project aside until after I return from my vacation.

To-Do #4

I also made more Storm at Sea units this past week. I plan to make a Storm at Sea wall hanging for my One Monthly Goal in July.

To-Do for the week of June 29th-July 5th:

1. Make another Fancy Fox block.
2. Start another rainbow Sashiko project on my trip to California.
3. I also may stitch a grey Sashiko square with beautiful variegated turquoise floss on my trip.
4. Lastly I hope to spend a little time with EQ8 in the next week.

Linking up to Chris Knits: To-Do Tuesday.