With Thanksgiving past us, I have been frantically trying to tidy up my craft room. I am bad about starting a project getting bored with it and then starting another one. This week I have gone back and finished two projects.
Project 1 – Incomplete Wall Hanging
Reversible
I had already quilted this but needed to hem it all around and add tabs for hanging.
Project 2 – Table Centerpiece – Quilted
Respect For Farmers
This piece I had already quilted except for the border and the edge needed hemming.
While neither of these was a difficult project they were worth the time to finish.
You will be able to find these completed projects on my Marketplace page on Facebook.
Even in the beginning, we were not perfect since Adam was missing a rib to make Eve. For whatever reason mankind has striped to be perfect and failed miserably.
The first row of the quilt I am starting today is seen above. Yes, before you even comment, the hearts are off centered on purpose because the theme of this quilt is self-worth, that even though we are imperfect, we are worthy of love.
Why is this theme so important? It is important because this lap quilt will go to a cancer patient to comfort them during treatments. Hopefully, it will remind that person that regardless of what they are going through, they are valued and loved.
It is time to start showing love. I’m not talking about the Valentine kind of love that you maybe show once a year but the deep love that we should be showing all of humanity.
It begins with one single act of kindness. Begin today. What can you do to make a difference?
While I have been hand quilting for many years, I decided to try my hand at machine quilting. The project is a rag quilt.
After seeing pictures and videos online, I decided to take the plunge. I really have always been against machine quilting because that takes the art out of quilting. What made me decide to try this is I want to make some lap quilts for donation, and to be able to serve more people, the speed of machine quilting would be beneficial.
The picture above is just the first row of this baby rag quilt. For adult quilts, you would use 8-10″ blocks, but for this baby rag, I decided to go with a 4″ block.
The only thing I hate about quilting is cutting out the pieces. I just happened to have a 4″ template, which made the chore easier.
For the middle of the squares, I chose a nice fleece instead of batting so that the thickness would be consistent.
I wanted it reversible, so I put equally bright blocks on both the front and the back. To join the blocks, just stitch the seam after you make a sandwich of (top, fleece, and bottom) to the next block. After you get the seam done, clip the seam roughly every quarter inch, making sure you don’t clip the seam you just made.
When you decide to stitch, the Xs across the block is up to you. If you are working on a larger quilt, I would probably do it before you go to the next block. Because I am doing a small quilt, I am doing by the rough.
Things you will for this project:
1. Fabric for top squares (amount depends on size quilt you want to make).
2. Scissors
3. Rotary Cutter
4. Cutting Mat
5. Ruler (to help in trimming rows)
6. Filler (batting or fleece) the amount would be the same as for the backing.
7. Fabric for backing
I am looking forward to my next day of quilting. How about you?
Today I finished my biggest project to date, a full size quilt. Take a peak.
Chicken Quilt
While it has not made it to my bed yet because I literally just finished it minutes ago but was so excited about its completion I wanted to share.
While I get it is not a complicated pieced quilt, and I have done those, this one has gotten me through this nightmare that we have endured the last few years.
Yes I can hear the comments now, “It took you two years to complete I could have made several in that length of time”. Yes, I get it could have been done quicker. Let me explain, this is not my only hobby and was not my only project. This was also not quilted on a frame but in my lap. The squares and borders were sewed together a row at a time after the individual squares were quilted.
It has not been a complicated project but a labor of love. Love of the art of quilting. I actually acquired the fabric for this quilt several years earlier on a camping trip to the mountains. We landed in Marion, NC. It is a quaint small town that has barn quilts on almost every single building. In addition to being a great photo op it gave me the opportunity to drop by their little quilt shop.
For two years the fabric sat in my stash of other potential quilt options. When Covid hit I said it was the perfect time to start the quilt. Striving for perfection was not the objective, just to get a finish during a stressful time was the goal. So that I would not get stressed over the quilt I also worked on other projects.
Two weeks ago my husband says to me “Are you ever going to finish that quilt”. He was anxious as well to see it complete. So I put my other projects aside and finished seaming the last row of blocks. The last two days have been spent gently binding edges. This morning my husband cooked breakfast. When he brought breakfast to me, I was in my office where I could watch the birds and our favorite rabbit. Again the quilt bundled in my lap would probably look a “hot mess” to most people. I proudly showed my husband the last few stitches I had to make. And his remark, “Are you going to sell it?” No I responded because two years of my life was tied up in this quilt!
It might be a while before I undertake another project like this but do plan to make some lap quilts for donation.
If you have never quilted but would like to learn check out your local community College, quilt shops or center for the arts for classes.
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Through My Eyes 