Slow Stitching Anniversary!

Kathy has been hosting the Slow Stitching Sunday for 7 years now! Wow! I went back to my posts and it looks like I started linking up in July 2012! I had 'known' Kathy from the Rainbow Scrap Challenge. I have to give her a shout out for encouraging me to try hand quilting back then. I am so grateful that I took a chance... as I really enjoy hand piecing and hand quilting and hand applique! All new things for me in the last 7 years.

I was hand quilting the Quilt Square Along blocks I was making with a quilt along with Jo's Country Junction that year. I believe the patterns were a Lori Smith design and I made them with a bundle of Kansas Troubles Fabrics. I did a quilt as you go to connect them all together. Lots of pre-K car line waits for this one!

One of my favorites is still my apple quilt. I think this might have been my second hand quilting project.

Of course... Hugs and Kisses is on the list. This one I love and it lives in my room...when someone doesn't snatch it for snuggling on the couch! This photo shows the quilting better than the finished photo. All those peels were hand applique.

Hand piecing.... another fun thing to occupy your hands. I have made 2 trips by hand... well a 2 inch top waiting for quilting and this 2.5 inch top that is half way quilted on the frame. I really need to get back to this one....

This is the latest hand pieced quilt along that is also in the queue for hand quilting. So many quilts, so little time!

My current project is the baskets. They are all quilted and it is time to move onto the border triangles. I hope to be binding this one next weekend.

I did a lot of binding yesterday for the bow tie finish. It was a 2 Harry Potter movie afternoon and evening.

Of course... the hexagons are all prepped to get appliqued onto their black background. I just have 13 brown and 17 light blue to go on these as I finished off the purple ones this week. 

The end is in sight... so exciting. Then the decision... sew them together by hand or machine? I am thinking machine as they are black... and it will get them together quicker. I think this quilt will get colorful thread with the quilting...not sure if it will be all yellow or a mix of colors surrounding each one....

Thanks for reading and a big Thank you to Kathy and all who have encouraged me over the years. 

Bow Tie quilt completed!

I decided to put a flannel backing on this and tie it rather than quilt it. I am so happy with how it turned out. It is 46x54 a perfect snuggle size. Aidan even helped me tie it and then trimmed up the ties for me. Emily was happy to hold it up for me.

Trying out how good it snuggles..... both kids have approved it for snuggling. I think this one will be traveling up to Vermont next month and will reside at camp for a lap quilt for the parents.

Linking up to the Rainbow Scrap Challenge and Oh Scrap on Sunday.

Hand quilting progress....

The last basket got quilted! Now it is time to stitch the setting triangles. I always hate to stitch near the edge.... as it doesn't catch well in the hoop. The options - baste on the edge,  add a piece of fabric so it will work in the hoop or stitch without a hoop.

I started basting along the edge as I was finishing the last basket. Not sure it will work but I'll give that a shot first. I need to find my herra marker and make some stitching lines.

I do need to 'fix' a few baskets. When I cut out behind the baskets I got a little too close on a few and they are pulling out the applique stitches. This will be a wall hanging so not too many washings.

I also went ahead and got all my purple hexagon flowers stitched. I know, purple has not been called but I am almost done.... brown and light blue to go and the brown area all prepped to stitch and the backgrounds are all cut for the light blue.

Linking up with the Rainbow Scrap Challenge.

It was yard work morning... in the feels like 100 degree. I am wiped out but... one more load of weeds and brush to pick up and bring out back and I am done for the day. The front bed is now planted and Aidan and Emily were trimming the bushes. Another hour tomorrow should have the side of the house done as well.... we sill see how hot it is at that point if I try to work on the back or not! I guess we should have started a little earlier... but we all slept in (after 8!) and someone wanted crepes... so she made a blueberry compote while I made crepes for everyone. They were yummy. Time to go pick up the rest of the front and then it will be jump in the pool time!

Tiny Tuesday.....

A very unstable connection to work today led me to a little stitching time each time I tried to log back onto the VPN server.... now it is giving me errors so I'm giving up. Hopefully it is indeed on their end and it is resolved for working tomorrow! I am done for the day!

It did allow me to stitch up this little umbrella - I did parts each time I had to log back on which takes a few minutes each time..... it has been a long morning! Ollie has taken up the back part of my chair so I put the umbrella on him and took a photo. The other one was in with me this morning but I think he has gone under the bed for his afternoon nap.

Aidan called today and let us know he will be home tomorrow after lunch. He has guitar lessons tomorrow afternoon.  He has been at Grandma's since Sunday as Emily has horse day camp all this week... and Dad and I are working and he would be bored. I'll do something with him on Thursday since I have the day off... he is on his own on Friday though!

Hmmm about 45 minutes before I have to go pick up Emily... horse camp is about 35 minutes away. Her Dad has been dropping her off in the morning (I work 8:30-1:30) and I do the pickup for 3PM.  Think I'll go piece the backing for the bow tie quilt and cut the batting out.

Sunday.....

It is a busy weekend in my family. June 15th is always busy.... It is my parents 56th Anniversary, my nephews birthday (he was born on their 29th anniversary as the first grandchild) and yesterday my niece graduated from High School with honors and got her schools scholarship to UVM! Great job Sally!

Today - Happy Fathers Day! Hubby got breakfast in bed (coffee and everything bagel with cream cheese) and the kids homemade gifts at 7:10. They were so excited and were busy for a few hours making things yesterday. 

Happy Fathers Day to my Dad.... so many games played with his kids after a long day of work, trips to the dump on Saturday morning with 'going to the dump music' and special stops at the little store to chat with neighbors and I got Swedish fish =).  Great memories!

This is the 20th basket of 25 that was finished off last night. The heart is a little wonky and off center.... but I am ok with it. 

Linking up with Kathy and the other slow stitchers.

Dark blue hexagons are all done!

I managed to get all the dark blue hexagons stitched onto their black background. I am getting a little anxious to get this one done... so will continue on with another color this month I think. I went ahead and did the pink ones already. I have light blue, brown and most of the purple left to do.

Linking up with the RSC on Saturday.

Bow Ties...... take 2!

Stubborn quilt.... was insisting it was not 'done' yet. So... I added a little blue border and then used up pretty much all of the red star print with a 2.5 strip.  I was debating a darker yellow... but tried it out and it is big enough for a 'snuggle' quilt as is. I am estimating it is about 46x54 right now... and I'll pull some flannel for the backing and use the yellow as binding.  It is a drastic change between the 2 photo's!

These bow ties were started a year or two ago with that challenge - one color a month for 10 months. This batch has red, orange, yellow, pink, green, aqua, light blue, dark blue, purple and black. There is one of each of those color ways in each set of the 2 rows (10 blocks every 2 rows)... which is how I spread out my colors when I lay things out on the floor. Then it is moving things around within those 2 rows for lights, medium and darks to try and get it how I think it looks good.

I know Mom.... I do need to trim and finish up Sally's quilt.... which I will just bring with me next month! Maybe Sunday will be that task =) I am debating on big stitch hand quilting it or machine quilting it.......

Linking this one up to the RSC on Saturday.