This year I participated in the Hands 2 Help Challenge. Sarah puts a lot of work and effort into this challenge. From recruiting bloggers who take the time to demonstrate a quilt they've made, to gathering sponsors who donate thank you gifts for the quilters.
The challenge is over for this year. Two hundred quilters made and donated a total of 876 quilts which is wonderful!
I received the book City Quilts by Cherri House as my thank you. I found it interesting that all the quilts in the book were made from solid fabrics. Living in northern Indiana in "Amish Country", most of the solid fabric quilts I encounter are Amish quilts.
These two quilts were my favorites.
What can I say? City Harbor looks definitely Amish.
City Sweets is not Amish but really cute. I love the simplicity of the pattern. I can see myself making these quilts someday.
Thank you Sarah for organizing Hands 2 Help 2019 and thank you to Cherri House for donating the book.
Linking to Needle & Thread Thursday, Peacock Party, Confessions of a Fabric Addict, TGIFF
Weeds N Tweeds is coming along faster than I had anticipated. The bottom part of the windows had a lot of detail to be quilted. The quilting completed last week had less detail and I completed quilting in all 3 windows.
I started quilting this week with the left "window". I decided to highlight the variations in the background hills. After I had quilted some, I sat back and decided the hills were too pointy. I didn't remove the thread but just I finished these hills with more curved points.
These quilted hills in the center window are much less pointed and I think look better. I also did straight line quilting in the fields.
I wasn't sure how to quilt the pasture but decided to just stitch around the sheep. Good enough.
The right window had both the background stitching and a field.
The left window and this window both had stalks of feathered wheat. I really like how they turned out.
There is just one more block to embroider for Miss Jane's Best.
I've been in rather a slump with my sewing machine. After the embroidery is finished, that will be the next sewing project which will then turn into the next quilting project.
I'm still enjoying spring, the color green and all the flowers. This year I bought some hanging baskets for my porch.
The baskets look very nice hanging from the porch and the begonias perk up the hosta bed.
The hanging baskets are going to do double duty this summer. Our daughter and her husband have listed their house for sale. To give it more presentation, she's going to use the hanging baskets and planters.
The porch faces the east. Several weeks ago I showed you a bleeding heart that wasn't very big. She's in full bloom now.
While the bleeding heart on the west side of the house is starting to slow down blooming.
The peonies were just starting to bloom nicely last Sunday.
We've had several heavy rains since then so they are looking rather bedraggled.
I didn't think the poppies were going to bloom this year but they finally sent up buds and started opening a couple days ago.
I wish the blooms lasted longer but they don't so it's enjoy them now, they'll be gone in 2 weeks.
I don't know what the name of this succulent ground cover is but it is going crazy and is 8" tall! It loves all the rain and is starting to bloom. By the end of this week it will look more yellow than green.
I'll be showing you an updated picture of this spot in a week or two. The lilies are so tall and full of buds, I never remember what colors they are. I do know some of them will be white from previous planted Easter lilies.
Linking to Kathy's Slow Sunday Stitching, Oh Scrap, Bambi's Show & Tell Monday, Monday Making, Design Wall Monday, BOM's Away, Moving It Forward
I've started a small embroidery project called Miss Jane's Best designed by Lori Smith. I bought the kit years ago at a AQS show in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Summer is a good time for small projects.
So far I've completed 3 of the blocks. They finish at 3".
I traced all of the blocks onto one piece of yardage.
After they're traced, I sew a light weight fabric onto the back. This gives more stability to the fabric and prevents from seeing any tails showing through to the front.
I used a Frixxon pen for tracing, the ink will disappear when pressed with a hot iron after completion.
I'm making slow progress hand quilting Weeds & Tweeds. I've completed the right 'window'.
I'm quilting the center 'window' now.
Muslin has been used for the backing on this wall hanging. It will be very interesting to see what the quilting looks like on the back.
Linking to Peacock Party, Kathy's Slow Sunday Stitching, Oh Scrap, Bambi's Show & Tell Monday, Monday Making, Design Wall Monday, BOM's Away, Moving It Forward
Also Hand Quilt Along is an opportunity for hand quilters and piecers to share and motivate one another. We post every three weeks, to show our progress and encourage one another. If you have a hand quilting project and would like to join our group contact Kathy at the link below.
Kathy, Lori, Margaret, Emma, Tracy, Deb, Connie, Susan, Nanette, Edith, Sharon, Karrin
A new hand quilting project is in the frame.
Many years ago I purchased a panel called Weeds N Tweeds from a local fabric store. There was a pattern in a quilting magazine on how to finish the panel but I didn't think that was necessary.
I added simple straight borders to my panel. I wanted looking through the window to be the center of attention, not the borders.
For the quilting, I'm experimenting with using thicker thread in varying colors, mainly Sulky #12.
I started quilting the first border in one color thread then switched to darker color. One really nice thing about using larger thread is that it is much easier to remove the quilting stitches.
The 2nd border looks like this.
I've marked the borders with a white Sewline Fabric Pencil.
After I'm completely finished with the quilting and binding, I'll mist water on what markings are still on the fabrics.
I'm going to free hand quilt the scene through the window using a variety of threads. I don't know if you can see but I did make black french knots on some of the flowers before quilting.
This is going to be a very slow quilting project. I won't be quilting everyday like I did on the Pastor's Attic quilt. I have three main goals with this wallhanging: 1. To finish an old project. 2. Keep my fingertips in quilting shape. 3. See how I like working with thicker thread.
Linking to Peacock Party, Kathy's Slow Sunday Stitching, Bambi's Show & Tell Monday, Monday Making, Design Wall Monday, BOM's Away, Moving It Forward
Two more flimsys are finished for the Hands 2 Help 2019 Challenge. They will be donated to the MCC Comforter Bash along with the other two I completed in April! They don't need to be quilted because they'll be knotted at the 'bash'.
The string stars that I started sewing together at retreat are finished and sewn into a 60" by 86" flimsy.
And a clothesline view.
The other flimsy is a log cabin. It measures 61" by 83". It's OK if they're a little larger than the required 60" by 80" they request. They just can't be smaller than that size.
You can tell the dark strings came from the same box.
Linking to Needle & Thread Thursday, Peacock Party, TGIFF!, Brag About Your Beauties, Finished Or Not Friday, Hands 2 Help 2019, Oh Scrap
Here are some pictures from around the farm.
In spite of what the "experts" say, this bleeding heart loves the full sun on the west side of our house.
It's about 3 feet tall and has been in this spot for many years.
This bleeding heart on the east side of the house has quite a ways to grow. It's way behind the other one but when it starts blooming, it will bloom into July. It only gets direct light in the early morning.
These heifers are glad to be out on pasture. They love the fresh grass.
The bull is enjoying the grazing too.
It's the middle of May and farming should be going full force now but northern Indiana has had so much rain that we can't get in the fields. Enforced patience isn't fun!
