Tag: Lucy Boston

MORE QUILT MAKING PROGRESS

On By LucieIn English Paper Piecing, Longarm Quilting, Quiet Goals for 2018, Quilt Making2 Comments

Hello my lovelies. I hope you’ve all had a great day. I spent a bit of time in my sewing room searching for stuff and tidying. I really must find a good way of storing fabric so that I see what I’ve got!!!

As well as doing a few household chores, I started hand finishing the binding on my Patchwork of the Crosses quilt. It’s the perfect time of year for binding quilts. It’s brrrrr cold and so when the quilt is all spread out in your lap while you sew, it’s also keeping you cosy warm. I use my favourite clips to hold the binding down …..

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And in this case spend hours hand sewing the binding to the back of the quilt …..

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Here’s a little peek at the quilting design I used. This one is called Zephyr by Hermione Agee of Lorien Quilting …..

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I love the big teal polka dots on the fresh green background. I’m really pleased with the over all result of this quilt. My next step will be to make a label. I’ll post more photos when it’s finished.

It’s been a lovely quiet day working at my slow and measured pace. Sometimes it’s good to be in the slow lane. It gives you the opportunity to have a good look around.

So, that’s my report for today. I hope you all have a super cosy evening doing something that gives you a sense of accomplishment. Until next time,

Let’s all keep on stitching

Lucie x

TGIASF

On By LucieIn Applique Work, Longarm Quilting, New Designs, Quiet Goals for 2018, Quilt Making, Random10 Comments

Hello my lovelies. I hope you’ve all had a fabulous day. If you’re wondering about the title of this post …. Thank God it’s a sunny Friday.

It’s finally the last day of the working week. I’m always glad when Friday comes around. I enjoy the weekend because everyone is a little more relaxed.  I’m looking forward to tomorrow because I’m going to be spending most of the day with like-minded ladies sewing. There’s nothing more fun than spending time with other ladies who enjoy quilt making and who have been thru a similar life. We’ve all got kids that have grown and are about to fly the nest or who have already flown the nest. We all learn from each other how to approach the next steps in life.

I’m not sure if it’s the sunshine that’s making me feel really good today or perhaps it’s the fact that I finally finished sewing the border on my Patchwork of the Crosses quilt top this morning. I’m definitely doing a happy dance. I don’t think anyone has the right to be as happy as I feel at the moment!!!!! After finishing what seemed like the mammoth task of hand appliqueing the hexagons onto the border, I went on to loading it into my longarm quilting system. I have no excuse for not quilting it next week …..

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Now some of you might be wondering why the border took so long to finish. Well it’s because I wanted to keep the shape of the hexagons and squares on the edge of the quilt centre. I could have trimmed a straight edge but I think the shaped edge makes it more interesting.

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I purchased my backing fabric before Christmas in hope that I might finish it over Christmas but that didn’t happen. It’s a Moda wide back designs by Basic Grey and the collection is Grunge Hit’s the Spot. It’s a beautiful fresh colour. I can’t wait to see it finished and on my bed.

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I spent some time doing chores in between everything else. The washing machine was whirring away while I was vacuuming the downstairs. And I layered up a lasagne for our evening meal. Umm umm, lasagne, garlic bread and Caesar salad. Yes sir, life is good. And I even got to do some more quilt making related stuff by prepping another block …..

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I’m really getting back into my Moving Forward project. I’ll be transferring the leftover fabric from my POTC box to my Moving Forward box. Waste not and all that.

Well I guess that’s my report for today. I’m looking forward to a great creative weekend. I hope you all have a super cosy time doing all your favourite things over the weekend. Until next time,

Let’s all keep on stitching

Lucie x

GLAD THE WEEKEND IS FINALLY HERE

On By LucieIn Applique Work, Quiet Goals for 2018, Quilt Making, Random5 Comments

Hello my lovelies. Can you believe it’s Friday already??? It’s the last Friday of the month as well. I hope you’ve all had an enjoyable week.

So, while I was mooching about today, I searched for some blocks I made a few years back ……

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These blocks were part of an appliqué challenge which ended up in the imaginary UFO pile. These blocks will be the next UFO project I’ll turn into something. The blocks need a bit of embroidery or embellishment to liven them up a wee bit. I’m just hoping to turn them into something nice. I’m not looking for perfection, just something reasonably nice.

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As most of you will know my main hand sewing armchair project for the past 12+ months has been the Lucy Boston, Patchwork of the Crosses. Rest assured that I’m am making progress. Here’s a little peek at my latest blocks including one that is still in the prep stage. Only one more block to go and that’s it for the centre of my quilt top. I get quite excited whenever I say only one block to go but I forget that the whole process of adding the last row of blocks takes quite a lot of work and will take at least another week or so. I’m going to miss working on this project when it’s done so I will definitely be choosing another hand sewing armchair project for evening time. My hands to be busy while I watch TV in the evening.

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With the end of January looming and February just around the corner, we all know that Valentine’s Day will soon be here. Every year I buy myself a little tin of Lovehearts sweet.

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I do like the sweets in the tin but I like the tin itself even more. It’s the perfect size to hold a small sewing kit and a few hexagons. Does anyone else buy sweets, biscuits/cookies just because they are packaged in an interesting tin?!?! I’m sure I’m not the only one who does that.

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I’m glad the week is over. I plan on spending the weekend doing a few chores but mostly catching up on some hand sewing and perhaps watching some TV shows I taped over the last week or so. I’m going to pretend I’m on holiday in a warm place. Sigh ……

So, that’s my report for today. I hope you all have a fabulous weekend doing something fulfilling.

Until next time,

Let’s all keep stitching

Lucie x

PRODUCTIVE TIMES ON A CRISP COLD DAY

On By LucieIn English Paper Piecing, Longarm Quilting, Quilt Making, Random2 Comments

Hello my lovelies. I hope you’ve all been enjoying winter. Isn’t it cold brrrr!!! Mind you, if you live in Australia, you won’t be suffering from freezing temperature and snow. It’s been the perfect day for playing in my sewing room.

It’s been a productive day in quilting stitch manor. I did a bit of paperwork, payed some bills, ordered one or two things online and flashed up my longarm for the first time this year. It was just like riding a bike! Once the machine was cleaned and threaded, it came to life and stitched a lovely design on a bright and cheerful jelly roll quilt top. Bright and cheerful is very welcome on a cold crisp January day.

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The quilting design I used is by Apricot Moon and it’s called Hall of Mirrors. It’s a wavy design that gives the straight strips a little curvy movement. It’s such a long time since I bought some new designs, I think I’ll treat myself to a couple soon.

I do have a little progress to show you on my Patchwork of the Crosses…

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The countdown is on. I have four more blocks to piece for the centre section for my labour of love, the Patchwork of the Crosses, to be complete. I’m working as fast as I possibly can because I can’t wait to see the finished result. I’m so glad Lucy Boston shared this design with us all.

I’ve added one newish technique to my To-Do List for 2018. I would like to learn how to use rulers to quilt on my domestic sewing machine. I already have the ruler foot and a few rulers from my longarm system that I can use. I have plenty of fabric that I can turn into practice quilting sandwiches, all I need is the courage and energy to get on with it. Has anyone out there tried machine quilting with rulers on their domestic machine? I would love to hear about your experience with ruler work.

I was chatting with my mother on Skype today and whining about how cold it is here in my little corner of the northeast of England. I do keep up with the north American news but sometimes it takes a personal touch to drive home just what’s happening thousands of miles away. Apparently, the temperature has dropped as low as -49F recently. I do remember from my younger days living in Montreal just how cold it gets in the winter. So, to any of my readers who live in Canada or America do wrap up warm. For the benefit of anyone reading who might not know, I was born and bred in Canada and moved to the UK in the early mid-nineties. I do appreciate the milder weather but not the rain and regular flooding here.

So that’s my report for today. I’d love to hear from you even if it’s just to say hello.

Please pop in again soon.

Until next time,

Let’s all keep stitching

Lucie x

 

 

Rebuilding One Quilting Stitch at a Time

On By LucieIn Applique Work, Longarm Quilting, New Designs, Quilt Making7 Comments

I’m just a normal everyday woman, looking to live a simple and quiet life again. I’ve been a daughter, a sister, a wife, a mother, a friend, a volunteer and many other things in my fifty some odd years on earth. I’ve recently been turned into a single parent, not by choice. So, it seems I have been given a chance to start over. It’s a new year, so it’s time to start building a new creative life.

For those of you who do not know me, I’m quite a crafty person. My main pastime is quilt making. And as I grow older, I feel there’s nothing better than to sit quietly with some hand sewing while watching some good old fashion murder mysteries. There was a time when I only enjoyed piecing quilt tops by machine. Oh my, how times have changed.

Having said all that, I do have a passion for machine quilting. I have a longarm quilting system which I use to finish off my quilts. I use both the digital computerised function as well as my simple freemotion skills on my system. There’s nothing more satisfying than piecing one of my own quilt designs and quilting it myself. Seeing a project thru from design to fruition is very satisfying.

The most difficult part of any project is choosing a colour palette and fabric prints. I love both colour and texture. And the choice of fabrics nowadays is vast making the choice so very difficult at times.

Like so many of you, I have plenty of UFOs that need finishing. My current UFO is my Lucy Boston, Patchwork of the Crosses. Well, I’m very pleased to tell you that I have 5 more blocks to piece and I will have done all the centre blocks. I will be adding a plain border to bring the quilt top to the appropriate size to fit my super king bed. Here’s a little peek at my quilt top so far …..

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And here’s a little look at my border fabric.

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I have been mainly concentrating on my Patchwork of the Crosses lately but I was really hankering after starting something new last week. So, I selected some fabric from my stash and started cutting and chain piecing some Dresden Blades …..

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Here’s the block pieced and tacked to the background …..

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This project is one of my own designs with a twist. I do enjoy piecing Dresden Plates. They’re rather easy to piece but look much more complicated than they really are and produce a rather interesting result. You’ll have to wait a wee bit longer to see what the quilt top is like.

I’ve been enjoying the new year so far. Building a new life is more difficult than I ever imagined. However, I’m going to keep creating and we’ll see what happens.

Please pop in again soon.

Until next time,

Let’s all keep stitching 

Lucie x