Tuesday, April 11, 2017

WOW:WIP - Catching up

Hello Dear Friends,

In March I joined in with Kerry's Theme-tas-stitch - "March Madness".

I haven't managed to add the pretty button for Kerry's post but you can find her at "Ramblings of a Biscornu Addict".

You may have seen my previous post, with details of some of the projects I worked on during March, but there were a few I haven't had time to mention until now.

March projects:

The following are the updates for these three projects I wrote about in my post over at Kitten Stitching and The Friday Frolics (Click here):

Honey Bee

Butterflies

Stitch by Stitch
"Stitch by Stitch"
I'm very pleased with this kit, it came with a sharp cross stitch needle which enters the fabric very precisely, and the cottons seem to be very good quality - they seem to be easier to stitch with than many I've used before. (Details of kit can be seen on my post at Kitten Stitching and the Friday Frolics.)

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Another new start, again, in March:

Patchwork start

I haven't fully decided what I am making! I was going to make a Pinnie Pendant - I saw a tutorial over at Fabric Mutt, by Heidi Staples. But Heidi was using smaller scrap pieces ..... and I have this supply of 1.5" squares of vintage fabrics that I wanted to use! So this won't be like Heidi's Pendant at all really, but that was how it started !!!!

I am always on the look out for the perfect way to store/hold my needles and paraphernalia when I'm stitching "on the go" ..... travelling that is! Now to put my thinking cap on and try to come up with something suitable!

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And I was still experimenting with quilting in March:

Quilting/ basting
This is my test piece ..... and I know I left it with the pins
in far too long!

Previously I pieced a patchwork house for Jen & Jan's brilliant Mini Blog Hop QAL ..... and I am still wondering how to quilt it!

After my failure with free motion quilting I decided I would have to use my walking foot but I was am still undecided how I should finally quilt the proper block. 

Firstly, I doodled on paper, then I machine quilted the shape of my final block onto my test piece.

Quilting - front


I was really pleased with the result ..... apart from the slight indentations left by my safety pin basting, which I think should disappear in time ...... as there was no bunching or slipping of fabric!

Quilting/back

In for a penny, in for a pound, as they say! I thought I should test out machine binding too! I've bound things by hand but never by machine!

Binding
Trying to guess what it will look like with this fabric
for binding.

Most people seem to use 2.5" binding, so that is where I started.

Binding
I didn't know which fabric to use for my test .....
I'm so loath to part with my fabrics just for a test!

Binding a quilt
Not finished yet! This is the back, you might just be able to see the pins!

And this is where I have to leave you, as it is getting late for one thing, and I haven't quite finished my binding anyway!

I promise hope not to be so long before I post again ..... and I'd like to have a Friday Finish to share this week.

I haven't forgotten or abandoned my "Printing Block" post, it has just taken longer than I expected to prepare!

See you soon!



Hope you are having fun with fabric and thread!!


Hugs, Barbara xxx



Linking to:
Susan Arnold's Midweek Makers @ QuiltFabrication

20 comments:

Glenda said...

My goodness Barbara you have been busy, your sample block is turning out to be a lovely wee wall quilt. Those wee vintage pieces are lovely. Cheers Glenda

Kaisievic said...

Barbara, you certainly have been flashing scissors and I love your quilting - it looks pretty perfect to me!

Queeniepatch said...

Great looking machine quilting, and the binding sits perfectly. The cross stitch patterns are sweet.
Happy working!

Josie said...

I love the machine quilting, no wonder you're so pleased with it! The finished quilt is going to be so gorgeous! xx

Amy at love made my home said...

What lovely pieces you are working on, I like your house quilting!

Chris of UK City Crafter said...

Your little house quilting looks lovely Barbara. I tend to use 2" strips for binding as I find it gets 'filled up' with the seam allowance better, of course it all depends on what you're making.

Kerryp77 said...

Lovely quilt square barbara and pretty stitching for theme-tas-Stitch too

Christine B said...

Looks like you are making great progress on your little quilt Barbara and I love the quilting! The fabric you have chosen for the binding is very pretty! Looking forward to seeing the finished quilt! Christine x

Tiffstitch said...

Beautiful work on everything and good idea to branch out in your techniques.

Susan said...

Great idea for hanging! Somehow I never remember those little corner pieces until it's too late, and I should, because hanging sleeves are not my favorite! Thank you so much for sharing on Midweek Makers!

Jo who can't think of a clever nickname said...

You have been busy, love the little quilted house.

Rachel said...

Lots and lots of projects :) Your stitching is coming along! That quilting looks complicated to a non-sewing person like me, I think it looks great!!!

Have a great rest of the week!!

Clare-Aimetu said...

Great work - your quilting looks great, maybe you could use your practice piece for something too

Kate @ Smiles From Kate said...

I used a lot of quilt in the ditch with my walking foot for my laundry day mini Barbara, then just filled a bit more in using other stitches, again using my walking foot. You are doing great, it just needs a bit of practice. It's FMQ I struggle with.

Magpie's Mumblings said...

I had a thought when I saw your strip of squares - what about a needle roll? Your quilting looks great - not a thing I've ever been able to master because I always end up with pleats in the back despite tons of basting.

handmade by amalia said...

So many lovely things in progress. I've hardly had any time for crafting these past few weeks and half-way through your beautiful post I felt my fingers begin to twitch.
Amalia
xo

Benta AtSLIKstitches said...

The house looks great! I usually have an old bed sheet that gets cut up for testing things like machine binding. The 1.5" squares look great, but really! they are tiny!!!! Intrigued about the needle storage, look forward to seeing the results!

Sheryl said...

Well Barbara, you are certainly having fun with `fabric and thread´. good progress on your stitching and the quilting looks fine. Love the pretty vintage fabrics.

Janine @ Rainbow Hare said...

Everything is looking lovely. I'm looking forward to seeing more of your house project :)

Lin said...

Nice quilting Barbara - hope to hear from you again soon. I tried to become a follow but kept getting error messages! Oh the vagaries of Blogger! xx