Stitching Away!

 I've been working on two different projects, a machine project and a hand project.  I'm a home health care aide, and my client has lots of doctor appointments, so I've been getting lots of hand stitching done the past few weeks.  

I've been stitching on my Olde Treadleonia map.  I decided to stitch all around the block and all around the sewing machine island.  I also stitched all the waves in the water.  It just seemed easier to get those parts done first.  I've also gotten quite a lot of the locations and trails stitched.

stitching I've done so far

This is what the map looked like before I started stitching.  You can see the difference.

before any stitching

As for embroidery, I've never done anything other than back stitching until now.  I decided that the whale needed to be filled in.  Not too bad for a beginner.  I have a book with embroidery stitches somewhere.  I didn't look at it before I decided to fill in the whale.  

whale filled in

When I start back on this, I'm going to fill in the snow on the 'Here there be Dragons Mountains.'

'Here there be Dragons Mountains'

Those mountains are why Fred, Scarlet and Bumble came to live with me.  

Scarlet, Fred and Bumble

They are only a few of the dragons that live (or want to live) in those mountains.

I'm usually behind on projects (too many squirrels around here).  I'm hoping the dragons chase a few of those squirrels away, so that I can get started projects finished.  So far, they are helping.

My family reunion was scheduled for October 2020, but, like everything else, it got cancelled due to Covid.  Well, it's rescheduled for October 2021.  That means that I have to finish the raffle quilt for the reunion.  We auction off items to pay for the reunion costs, but we raffle off the quilt, so that everyone gets a fair chance to win it.  Years ago, someone would buy a cheap Chinese quilt from Walmart, have everyone sign it, then auction it off.  I was never interested in those cheap Chinese quilts, but thought about making a quilt instead.  Well, I make two quilts.  One to raffle off and one for me to keep (since I'm the one paying for all the supplies and making the quilts).  I have everyone sign two matching blocks so that the quilts will be identical.  The next reunion, there is a finished quilt to raffle off.  This is the first quilt I made (and the winner).

first family reunion signature quilt I made

Back in 2016, I also found a pattern to use for the next family reunion signature quilt.  I loved a string quilt over on The Eclectic Abuela blog.  She also has a tutorial for the quilt here. I was planning on making all the string blocks, but I get bored making string blocks after a while, so last year (when I was already behind on these quilts) I decided to make 16 patch blocks instead of strings.  I had already cut lots of squares for the corner flip blocks, and just decided to cut lots more squares for the 16 patch blocks.  This is what my box full of squares looks like 'after' I've finished all the 16 patch blocks. 

leftover squares

That box was FULL when I started.  I wanted to make sure I had enough different fabrics for each block.  I needed 100 16 patch blocks to make 2 full quilts.  I'd started putting the fabrics for each block together last October.  I hadn't touched this project again since last October.  This is what I found when I pulled this project back out in early August.

stacks of blocks, waiting to be stitched

what they looked like from the top

This was slow going, since I wanted to nest the seams, and I had to press each time I stitched.  My new seam presser came in handy. 

my new seam presser

Last night, I finished stitching and pressing all the blocks.  I have 102 of these blocks.  

102 16 patch blocks

The 'X' blocks have been finished since August 2017, along with the border blocks. Now I just have to lay them out, making sure none of the same fabrics are next to each other. I decided to make these quilts smaller, so I won't be using all the blocks for these 2 quilts.  I think I can get a 3rd quilt out of the extra blocks.  

Now you know what I'll be working on this weekend.  I also need to make a pin cushion for the Treadle On Pin Cushion exchange (to be mailed by September 1st).  I'll be switching back and forth between my Featherweight (Betty Sue) and my 1927 Singer 15 hand crank, since the pin cushion has to be made on a people powered sewing machine.  Thank goodness I have a double sewing machine cabinet (no, it doesn't look that neat and cleaned off now).  If I took a photo of how messy is is now, you'd wonder how I got anything done.  

What are YOU working on this weekend?

Books, Dragons and a Fantasy Land!

 I've stitched a few things since I last posted.  I made 2 fabric books for my grandkids.  I didn't want to use batting between the pages, so I used fusible interfacing instead.  One is a Christmas book.

The other book is a color book in both English and Spanish.

My Treadle On group started years ago with lots of fun and fantasy.  Captain Dick (who started the group and ran it until 2013) has quite the imagination, and invented a whole other world for sewing machines.  It was the Island of Olde Treadleonia.  For several years I've wanted to turn the map of Olde Treadleonia into an embroidery.  Well, I finally got started on it.  

map of Olde Treadleonia

First, I traced the map onto white paper.

my traced map

Then I took my traced map to Office Depot to get it enlarged 180%.  I had to settle for several different 'parts' of the map that I had to tape together.  Then I traced the enlarged map onto fabric.

map traced onto fabric

Well, the original map has colors, so I decided to color my map, too.  I've never colored an embroidery before.  A while back I bought some fabric pastel dye sticks at Goodwill (unopened).  After reading the directions, it seemed simple to do.

I think it turned out well.

colored map

I prepped it for embroidery.  I've done quite a bit now, but don't have a photo of what I've done.  

ready to stitch

We moved all the chatter about Olde Treadleonia to another group (also started by Captain Dick), called Quilt Along.  

Well, Olde Treadleonia has magical creatures, including Dragons!  The Quilt Along group decided to have a challenge: Dragons! Well, my Thunder of Dragons has grown!  The day I got the map enlarged, my son and I went to Blain's Farm & Fleet.  Guess what jumped into my cart?  Meet Fred the dragon.  

Fred wanted more dragons around, so I started stitching 2 dragons.  I had a pattern...

Remember, I've never stitched clothes or followed patterns other than quilt patterns (till Gwendolynn's dresses in the last blog post) and I've never made 'stuffies' before, either.  I decided to make my dragons in an unorthodox method, since I knew that stitching on Minky fleece and fake fur would be difficult.  I made copies of the pattern using my printer, and stitched thru the copied pattern pieces, like paper piecing.  

see all that black fake fur sticking out from the pattern? Messy!

body of dragon

Stitching thru the paper really helped, especially trying to match all the points on black fake fur (you can't see the dots or other bits on black fake fur).  

These dragons were very fiddly (and very messy, with black fake fur parts all over my sewing room).

Meet Scarlet.

Scarlet

It took 2 stores to find Scarlet's yellow fabric.  I'd found a gold fabric, but didn't like it with the red.  Since I liked the gold, I found the black fake fur and decided to make 2 dragons.  

Meet Bumble.

Bumble

Scarlet & Bumble

Bumble got his name from the gold fabric.  It has honeycombs and  bumblebee's on it.

Bumble's fabric bumblebee

Here is my Thunder of Dragons!

I mailed my grandson's quilt (and Gwendolynn's dresses) to Alaska. They arrived almost 2 weeks before expected (great job USPS).  When they opened the box, Gwendolynn decided she had to try on each dress (no photos, but I got to see them open the box on Skype).  Gwendolynn LOVED her new dresses!  Don't worry, I got Korin some new clothes, too.  Well, Declan was asleep when they opened the box, but my daughter in law sent photos of Declan with his new quilt (Fractured Diamonds).

all three grandkids on the quilt

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A diet update:

As of Sunday, I've lost 49 pounds.  That is almost 50 lbs in 6 months (6 months will be tomorrow).  It has slowed down, partly as expected, and also because I haven't had much time to exercise the past 5-6 weeks (traveling and crazy work schedule).  I'm not shooting for a weight, but for a size that I can maintain.  I still have a ways to go.  So far, I've been able to stick with the diet EVERYDAY for 6 months!  I've found ways to cut calories (reduced calorie breads, etc.) and still have dessert (low calorie ice cream).  My eating habits will have to change for life.  I will get to add some things back in (in moderation) when I reach my goal size.  Till then, I keep taking clothes to Goodwill.