Hearts & Wreaths, Border 2

I had more time for applique this week than I anticipated. The number of leaves that were on the first border was 62 so that is how many I need on this border. Fifty-five have been applied, the next seven should easily finish this border if I get an early start in the evening.

You can see the embroidered vine at the top where the leaves go. 

This is the 2nd long border, the next border to applique will be short side.

The pattern for Hearts & Wreaths is found in Quiltmania #138. Here is a link to my first post about Hearts & Wreaths which is dated August 29, 2021 which is a little over 2 years ago.

Once the borders are attached to the center of the quilt, I'll applique the corner leaves. These leaves don't seem to be taking that long. Maybe I can have this quilt the quilting frame by New Years?

I was busy with quilt stuff for the Relief Sale last week. Friday night I thought my legs were going to fall off, I'm not used to standing on concrete all day! 

We had a perfect autumn day for the Relief Sale. The 9 Patch Beauty quilt I donated to the sale sold for $1500 which is a respectable amount. Now I need to decide which pattern I'm going to use for next years quilt!

Northern Indiana has been extremely dry in September, we haven't received even an inch of accumulated rain. The edges of the leaves on the maple trees are turning brown and leaves are falling because it's so dry. This dryness is abnormal for us, usually we get rain in September after a dry August. 

We're hoping it doesn't start raining during harvest time in October, that's when we want it dry.

Linking to Kathys Slow Stitching Sunday, Stitching Stuff, Oh Scrap, Handmade Monday, Sew & Tell, Design Wall Monday, Craftastic Monday, Monday Musings

Scrappy Sprouts

The flowers for the Scrappy Sprouts quilt are pieced. I took the pictures outside so the colors are more true looking.

Here is the first arrangement.

Or they could arranged like this.

I'll probably move them around a dozen times before this quilt is finished.

I wasn't sure what to use for the green flower so I used this coleus as my inspiration. It has been my surprise plant for the summer. I had no idea this would grow to be so huge, I love it!

The flower pattern came from Preeti. She provided the pattern as part of her 2023 positivity quilt sew along. In an earlier post I had provided a link to the flower but that link no longer works. I knew when I saw the flower it would be perfect for my scrappy sprouts. Thank you Preeti! 

The next step is to fill space with neutrals to make all the columns the same height.

Here is a link to the pattern for Scrappy Sprouts.

Linking to Put Your Foot Down, TGIFF!, Peacock Party, Whoop Whoop Party, Finished or Not  Friday, Off the Wall Friday, Beauty Pageant, Patchwork & Quilts, Scrap Happy Saturday

Comforters for MCC

There are a group of ladies who meet Wednesday evenings at my church. They take the summer off but have now resumed. I don't attend Wednesday nights but I volunteer to bind the comforters after they have been knotted or strung.

I was recently given four comforters to bind. The first two, the lovely blue ones, are completely finished.

The other two have been stringed?, strung? strunged?, what is the proper word?

The strings will be snipped then knotted at a mini comforter bash at my church in October which is different from the BIG comforter bash in November.

I'm not naive. I know world peace isn't going to happen because my church is making comforters for MCC who sends them to refugees or disaster victims but it gives hope to the recipients and let them know they're not alone.

Here is a link to MCC where you can read about where these comforters are going.

Linking to To Do Tuesday, Midweek Makers, Wednesday Wait Loss, Needle & Thread Thursday, Put Your Foot Down

Hearts & Wreaths

A LOT of applique happened this week and I finished the first long border, I just couldn't put it down! It was so much enjoyable to be back to my evening applique again.

I was hoping I would have these borders finished by the end of this winter, at this rate it will before then. 

Of course this border isn't completely finished. After the main applique is finished, I'll sew a long and short border onto the center then miter the corner. Then I'll need to finish the applique in the corner. That will take longer since I'll have the whole quilt wadded up in my lap. But a quilt on the lap is a good thing in the winter.

I won't have a completed border to show you next Sunday, the Michiana Mennonite Relief Sale is this Saturday and I'm helping with the quilts. I will be home in the evenings but I have a feeling I'll be too tired to stay awake and applique.

The quilts in the auction are finally online and you can view them here. (I've fixed the link, sorry about that! 😟) Scroll down the page to see the quilts. My quilt, 9 Patch Beauty is Lot 141. Not all the items in the auction are quilts, there are also comforters, afghans and other quilted items.

* * * * * *

Back in 2020 I finished hand quilting the Sweet Surrender quilt which I renamed Floral Triangles. Over the years I have received many emails inquiring where the pattern could be found. The place I ordered the pattern no longer carries it. I didn't know where to  purchase it.

I recently received an email from Sue who no longer blogs. She told me she ordered the pattern directly from Sue Cody at this email address dragonfly.studio@bigpond.com. Here is your chance to buy the pattern! I'm looking forward to seeing a lot more Sweet Surrender (Floral Triangles) quilts online now, happy stitching!

Linking to Kathys Slow Stitching Sunday, Stitching Stuff, Oh Scrap, Handmade Monday, Sew & Tell, Design Wall Monday, Craftastic Monday, Monday Musings

Sweet Kisses

The 3rd quilt Lori Null quilted for me is Sweet Kisses. I bought this pattern a year ago when Deanna and I attended the Garden of Quilts at Thanksgiving Point. You can buy the pattern here. I also bought several other patterns that haven't been pieced yet.

Sweet Kisses is a very scrappy quilt. I used a variety of fabrics for the background, white on white, grays and some creams. I also used some Christmas prints.

The snails trail design was used on this quilt. The curves are 1/2" apart. I don't like big designs, I think they make quilts look floppy. This design is closely quilted but the quilt is not stiff.

This quilt has a diagonal striped binding. It has more colors than green and red. I thought it was perfect for this scrappy quilt that has so many colors in it.

The backing of this quilt is very scrappy. The center part was purchased 20 plus years ago at an after Christmas sale. The top and bottom fabrics are from my mother's stash. I don't like them, I think they are dark and dreary but they are perfect for the back of a quilt.

My Sweet Kisses is 68" by 78". I'm not sure if this quilt will be displayed on a rafter or the back of the couch. I'll show you pictures in December.

Here is a link to other posts about Sweet Kisses.

Linking to Needle & Thread Thursday, Put Your Foot Down, TGIFF!, Peacock Party, Whoop Whoop Party, Finished or Not  Friday, Off the Wall Friday, Beauty Pageant, Patchwork & Quilts

A Little Table Topper

Last September I visited my friend Deanna in Utah. One of the outings we enjoyed was the Garden of Quilts at Thanksgiving Point where we viewed all 600 quilts in one day!

At the Ten Sister's booth they were selling their book and the fusible webbing used in piecing their quilts from the book. Deanna bought the book and fusible. 

The fusible has squares printed on it. You cut your fabric into the corresponding sized squares, arrange them on the fusible and iron them on. You fold on the printed lines, stitch your 1/4" then turn and stitch the other direction. I had never heard of this idea before! I assume this technique has been demonstrated at national quilt shows but I haven't been to one since several years before covid happened.

When we returned to her home, she cut a piece of the fusible for me to make a practice quilt using 2.5" squares. I pieced a small quilt top and brought it home with me.

After I finished quilting the hexie table runner, I decided to quickly quilt the little quilt and now it's finished after a year of waiting!

It's a little summer table topper and looks nice under the fern on my island.

The topper measures 14" by 14.5". I had thought the fusible would eliminate not having it be square, was the problem me or the fusible? I don't know and I'm not going to worry about it. 

I have more fusible that was gifted to me but I haven't started the project yet. It's for a larger quilt and I hope to start piecing it someday.

I used a piece of sage green fabric for the backing.

Linking to To Do Tuesday, Midweek Makers, Wednesday Wait Loss, Needle & Thread Thursday, Put Your Foot Down

Hearts & Wreaths Applique

The embroidered stems are finished on all 4 of the borders. Now the applique begins!

This is how much I've completed in the last couple of days. I like to arrange a group of the leaves at a time.

I have enough leaves for at least 3 borders prepped if not all 4. 

This ladder was on the north porch so it made a handy holder for the border.

These pictures are skinny and long. I don't know how people get two pictures to show in one space!

My leaves aren't appliqued as closely as the leaves in the wreaths. There are a few that are farther apart than I'd prefer but I'm not measuring them, I'm eyeing the space and the angle of the leaves. 

The leaves in the wreaths are smaller than the leaves in the borders. Each wreath has 40 leaves, with 12 blocks is 480 leaves in the center. When the borders are finished, I'll post the total number of leaves in the border then the total of the whole quilt.

The pattern for Hearts & Wreaths is found in Quiltmania #138. Here is a link to my first post about Hearts & Wreaths. Look at the picture of the whole quilt and you will see little leaf branches in the border also.

 Originally I had thought I would embroider those little leaves but I've changed my mind, I'm going to omit them entirely! 

If you had been following along while I made the 3/4" hexie tablerunner, it's finished! I posted about it last week. Since all the finishing work was machine stitching, it didn't qualify for a post on slow stitching Sunday.

Linking to Kathys Slow Stitching Sunday, Stitching Stuff, Oh Scrap, Handmade Monday, Sew & Tell, Design Wall Monday, Craftastic Monday, Monday Musings