This Week's Stitching

I'm finally recovering from the flu and pneumonia.  I'm well, but I'm still trying to get some energy. 

I have been stitching.  I finished the binding on the board game quilt.  Sorry for the lousy photos.  I just kept adding layers onto my design wall.

Olde Game, board game quilt

I had some burgundy binding already made, so I used it instead of cutting some black.  I think I have enough of the burgundy to bind the other 5 board game quilts when they are quilted.

I stitched the hanging sleeve on the Hobbit/Lord of the Rings quilt.  I also made labels and stitched them onto all of the quilts for the quilt show, along with all of the pillowcases that the quilts have to be in when we drop them off.  Woohoo!  All the quilts are ready for the quilt show. 

I stitched a set of blocks for one of my Treadle On Block Exchanges.  I kitted up 3 more sets that I'll stitch on some of my vintage machines at the quilt show next weekend.  I also prepped blocks for another block exchange with Treadle On.  These are the blocks I finished.  They are made with 1930's reproduction fabrics, and it's the Monkey Wrench block.

set of 8 Monkey Wrench blocks

signature label attached to the back of each block

Earlier this week I finished another 10 blocks of the striped circle blocks.  I now have 32 blocks finished.  Sorry, but my design wall is full at the moment, so you just get to see the blocks stacked.

10 more blocks finished

Today I stitched the pieces together for another baby quilt.  This is like the one I made in February but in pinks instead of blues. 

baby quilt top

I have 2 more baby quilts to make by early May.  I also have to quilt all 4 baby quilts.  March and April will be busy. 

If you will be in the Western Chicago suburbs next weekend, please come to my guild's quilt show.  I'll have a booth with 14 of my vintage sewing machines at the show.  Pride of the Prairie's quilt show will have over 300 quilts.  We also  have 'Strip Search' (our fabric booth), at least 50 raffle baskets, a raffle quilt, bake sale, magazines, patterns & books and a silent auction.  We'll also have VENDORS.  We'll be at Richland Grade School, 1919 Caton Farm Road, Crest Hill, Illinois.

A Finish and an Almost Finish

I've finished my guild challenge quilt.  I finished the binding this morning, then stitched the buttons on.  This is a Black & White Plus One challenge.

2020 POP Challenge quilt

I also did the machine quilting on the board game quilt.  I added the last gold star (hand stitched) after I did the machine quilting.

top is quilted

A while back I found this great fabric for the back of this board game quilt.  Unfortunately, I only have enough for one of the board game quilts (there are 5 more waiting to be basted and quilted).

backing for this board game quilt

Isn't that great fabric, with all of the different board games on the fabric?  Now I need to make the binding for this quilt. 

Both of these are for my guilds quilt show.

If you will be in the western Chicago area March 14-15, 2020, please consider coming to the Pride of the Prairie Quilt Show.  I'll have some of my vintage sewing machines at the show.  Our show always has over 300 quilts, so lots of eye candy!  We also have 'Strip Search' (our fabric booth), raffle baskets, a raffle quilt, bake sale, VENDORS!, Magazines, Patterns & Books for sale, and a Silent Auction. We'll be at Richland Grade School, 1919 Caton Farm Road, Crest Hill, IL. 

February Stitching (so far) and a question for you

I've been stitching, I just haven't had time to blog about it.

First, I finished one baby quilt top.  I still haven't had time to stitch the 2nd top together yet.

baby quilt top

I've also finished the last 3 board game tops.  I need to quilt one of them for my guild's quilt show in March.  I'd better get a move on.

board game top

last 2 board game tops

I've also finished another 10 of the striped circle blocks.  I now have 22 blocks finished.

10 more blocks finished

I finally got started on my guild's challenge quilt for the upcoming quilt show.  I've known what I wanted to do for a long time, I just hadn't had time to get stitching on it.

Years ago, back in 2012, I learned how to paper piece with this block.  Here is the block I learned on.  I've never done anything with this block.  I didn't even have a Singer Featherweight until 2016.  Back then, I fused the needle and needle bar, and drew the spool top and bottom on with a marker.  The pattern mentions applique (way too small to applique those parts).

first paper pieced block

Well, the guild challenge is a Black & White challenge.  We can use one other color (has to match the paint chip) as long as it is 25% or less of the quilt.  Well, having a purple Featherweight, I decided to make a Featherweight quilt.  I couldn't use the original block, since it isn't all black & white (it has other colors). 

The finished quilt has to be 24 inches (each side) or less, so a 12 inch block also wasn't going to work.  I reduced the pattern to make a 11 inch (finished) block.  I also wanted 4 blocks.  Here are the 4 finished blocks.

4 Featherweight blocks

I paper pieced the entire thread spool on each block, and added a spool pin doily to each one.  I took 2 spool pin doilies that I had, and threaded some purple embroidery floss thru each of them, then stitched on either side of the middle, and cut them apart. 

one spool pin doily threaded with purple floss, one waiting it's turn

I also wanted to use different black & white fabrics for each machine.  I also embroidered the needle bar and needle on each machine.

Now, my question for you is, should I just sew the blocks together? or, should I put a tiny sashing between the blocks?  I can't add a border, since it would make the quilt too large.

un-shashed

sashed

The sashing fabric shown is scissors.  I'd fussy cut it.

I need to decide quickly, since the quilt show is March 14-15, 2020.  I'm thinking of hand quilting this.  I don't think it needs much quilting, and my machine quilting skills are limited to straight lines. 

Fat Cats in the City is Done

I finished stitching the binding down on Fat Cats in the City on Christmas Eve. 

my quilt holder hubby

up close

This is the 2nd completed Fat Cats in the City quilt I've made.  The first one was for a special friend, Ms. Betty. 

Ms. Betty with her quilt

The pinks in the quilt are different, but everything else is the same.  Here are some up close shots of the cats.  Each cat is wearing a different tie.  I couldn't get a good photo of the hand quilted cats in each of the brown squares.

I started the Fat Cats in the City quilts back in 2011.  The quilt tops were made pretty fast, but I stalled on doing the hand quilting on them.  Betty's was finished in 2013, and Kay's languished until this November. 

 I finally took a photo of one of the board game quilt tops that is done.  All of the circles and stars are hand appliqued, along with the semi-circles in the center square.  There is still another star to be appliqued on the center square, but I want to quilt the semi-circles before I add the stars.  I'll add the stars when they are quilted and bound.  I still have 3 more board game tops to stitch together (six board games in all).  One of these has to be finished before March, since I've entered it in my large quilt guild's quilt show.

20" x 20" board game quilt top

I came up with a new idea to use with all of the striped circles I've been making.  Some of them will become a shadow box quilt.  Christmas afternoon I cut out the non-fusible interfacing and the black squares for the 117 black circles I need to make.  I got the circles traced onto the black and pinned the interfacing on yesterday.  They are now waiting by my sewing machine to be stitched for the next part.

117 black circles waiting to be stitched

Hopefully I'll get some stitching done on these after work today.