October 31, 2022 & Progress

 Hi everyone!!

I've managed to get some stuff done and I get to post!!!

First up....."Trunk or Treat"  We got together at your local community center last night. The children were running around all sugared up and having a blast.  This activity is a substitute for the door to door celebration which has become dangerous for children.

I wanted to show y'all this product because it is fantastic in the wash for "whites!"  Do not put it in hubby's work jeans or denims or.....well. there's no need for me to get into any further details!!!!!

I think you've already seen this quilt from years ago. I finally got it quilted and then FINALLY got the binding on.....whew!  It is going to be donated to my ladies community group.

I decided to do another Be Attitude from Art to Heart. At this point, I'm thinking it will take a bit of time.

I've Made It Complicated String

I mentioned yesterday that I'm using Bea Ogesby's book on birds and Flowers. Well things have gotten a bit complicated.  Mr. Cowboy walked by, took a look and said, "The birds look naked!"

Sometimes I could just box his ears but I knew he was right.....SIGH!!!!!!!!  And I had made tentative plans to do just that.

So back to the drawing board. I decided to add a few branches and leaves.

I'll do some hand embroidery on this one which is the Northern Cardinal.

On the Cedar Waxwing, I've added a winding branch and leaves. I may add some berries but at this point I really need to pull back and not over do things.
What are your thoughts on the matter????
Have I bitten off more than I want to chew.....LOL!?

Sunday Evening String

Greetings all! I didn't think I'd get back to sewing but Mr. Cowboy didn't need me for feeding so I was able to sew a couple of days and was able to finish the string quilt top.

I used a type of tissue paper as a foundation and had to peel off the pieces from the back of each block.  Whew! That took a bit of time.

Then it was on to the borders. Gene asked about the size of the blocks. They are 9 1/2 inches unfinished. Also, someone asked about the coordinating colors.....that's a funny story that I'm sure we've all had to deal with. The fabrics were in a box that got pushed back to the dark side of the closet...hehehehehe, so when I found it the other week I couldn't remember what I'd saved them for and there was no design instructions saved either. So, string it would be.

 After sewing on a 1 1/2 inch strip of the reddish fabric because I didn't have much of it left, I added a 4 inch strip of the moss green.

I really had to think about the last border because I knew I need to use black but it was going to look "non interesting!"  After sleeping on it, I came up with the idea of adding birds

I had a book by Bea Oglesby, "Birds - Flowers Album" which I love, so I've decided to place several birds around the black border. This first one is the Scissor-tailed Flycatcher.

I will also add branches and leaves. I plan to stitch each bird, branch and leaf onto the black border before I stitch that border onto the rest of the quilt. If some of the bird parts flow into the quilt, I'll fold that part out of the way, stitch the border to the quilt and then finish the part afterwards.

Why Not.....Well, Change of Plans

Ok, so after thinking and then sleeping on it, here's what I decided.....

Here's the Jack O' Lantern I chose but.......well you'll see.

Most of you know my methods of using Heat N' Bond or Steam A Seam to trace off the design pieces then fuse them onto the chosen fabrics so I won't go into that. But I will show pics.

I use the original design to see if I like the placement of the fabrics.

So far so good.

Here I've placed all the parts onto the black background. Now here's where I've changed my mind.....again!!!! I decided to make pumpkins instead of the Jacks. The grandbabies liked that idea more, so I'm going with what they suggested. I'll do a bit of handwork for the tendrils and the veins in the leaves later. 

What are your thoughts? I'd love to hear from you.  BTW, Mr. Cowboy is out in the hay fields doing more cutting. I thought this part was over. Thank goodness he has help and I'm not involved this time. I'm keeping my fingers crossed on this one. I've missed getting in the sewing room, fondling the fabric and making a good mess!!

And another thing. Since Blogger is sort of messed up with the comment thingy, I have started responding to comments on the comment pop-up. So if you needed an answer from me, I try to answer there.

 

Ok, Maybe One or Two More?

I've enlarged each design 150% on my printed. It takes several repositions to get all the parts and then loads of cutting and taping things back together.

There are at least two Veterans at our Seniors Center who served in the Army and Air Force so I decided to make those two seals especially for them. I can easily quilt these on my Janome because they aren't going to be any bigger than 25 inches each.

After this I'm really finished.....no.....REALLY!!!

Below are some of the stages to making the seals. I'll show the finished quilts in a lager post.

 

 

 

I use dinner plates, pizza pans, skillets and anything else that will lend me a perfect circle. Mr. Cowboy just shakes his head but wisely says nothing.

I will stitch all the pieces down before quilting everything.
In a couple of previous posts, someone asked about the types of fabric adhesives I use. I love Steam-a-Seam Lite but it's sometimes hard to find so I'm using Heat-N-Bond Lite at the moment. When quilting everything together I use either the 505 Spray or Loctite Spray Adhesive (the Loctite is found at JoAnn's).

Celebration Part 6

Warning, this post is photo heavy!!!

I've chosen a close up of an eagle.

 

I enlarged it & outlined the parts I want to really stand out. Next I'll choose some fabrics to make the magic happen.

These are just some of the fabrics that will be used in this endeavor.

The eyes are looking good.

I've gotten the beak in place & need to stitch around the parts before I can stitch everything together.

Here's a close-up of the eagle's face. I've used crayons & markers to highlite the feathers & will use threads to further add to the coloring when I quilt the piece.

Little Firecracker is all kicked back playing some sort of video game. I don't know how her parents got her to sit still for any period of time!

Oh, I nearly forgot about the winner of the fat quarter. It's Vicki H. Congratulations to you. Her favorite color is orange.

Please leave a comment to participate in the give-away. I do believe that the next post will be #1600. Oh boy I can't wait!!!

Celebration Part 4

So, after several nights sleep I decided Log Cabin blocks would be the perfect solution. Of course I made a few to see if my thoughts were on point. 

Yep! So off to the old stash I went to find more blues/reds/creams.

I feel really good about this one. I might sew on a border but maybe not! At the moment it measures "51 by 45."

Thoughts??

Now for the winner of the FQ this post. It's Needled Mom whose favorite color at the moment is YELLOW! Congratulations to you. I must tell you, Mr. Cowboy gets to pull the names from the hat and always comments about the blogger names. I just laugh and send him on his way. That reminded me of when me and my brother were children and dad had a CB in his truck. Some of you may remember those which were a way to communicate back in the 70s. Truckers had them in their big rigs and when regular drivers discovered that CBs were a great way to outwit the Highway Patrol.....well you see where this is going.....LOL!  Dad's handle was Rancher on the Road. David and I loved to hear him talking with everyone on our road trips to Galveston. Mom was not so happy with all the chatter.

Sorry, I got off topic for a moment.

Remember that if you've won a fat quarter you can still participate. Just leave a comment and mention your favorite color. I'm very close to the 1600 post mark!!!

 

I'm already planning the next quilt. This process has been very therapeutic and has made me very happy.

Celebrate Countdown Part 3

Slept on what to do with this eagle. I added a light brown border then found some patriotic fabric in my stash to dress up the block. So far so good!!

However, my mind has gone in yet another direction. So that eagle is tabled for the moment. 

Here's the eagle I'm working on now.

The star design is one that I've use many times and is perfect for what I have in mind. I've use several shades of greens and golds on my HST and tone-on-tones.

I really like this eagle with its beak open. I've used permanent markers and crayons to highlight feathers and the bold brow on the eagle.

Here's the finished top measuring 54 inches square.
Next......

Magpie's Mumblings is the winner of the second FQ!! Congratulations to you. Blue and purple are her colors for now, so I'll be sending out the color BLUE to her as soon as we talk via email. I don't have much purple in my stash, if you can believe that.

Remember to leave a comment and mention your favorite color to participate in the give away. If you've already won a FQ, you can still win again.

Here's another pic of the little firecracker!!

Have a great weekend everyone.

Celebrate - Change of Plans

Oh, don't worry. I'm still counting down to the big 1600 post.
I'm referring to my changing the eagle for the second Veterans quilt.

I finished highlighting the eagle, changed his brow & stood back for a look-see.

But when I auditioned it at the top of the quilt, I didn't like the proportions one bit. So back to the drawing board.

The quilt needs a narrower eagle. 

I came up with one in flight. Now on to my stash of fabric to pick just the right colors.

Much better, don't you think?
I needed wording and Mr. Cowboy came up with "Freedom Isn't Free"
I like the way that sounds.

I've auditioned it above the scrappy quilt & it looks good. Now to figure out how I want to attach it. Maybe a strip between the quilt and eagle.

Not a very good photo but another quilt top finished!! I might try to take a better pic this weekend.

Now, for the first winner of the FQ.

The Left-Handed Quilter/favorite color at the moment RED!!

BTW, if you don't here from me after you leave your comments, please know that sometimes I just can't get to everyone. But I do read all comments and am so appreciative of everyone's time.

Alrighty, leave a comment, mention your favorite color to win a fat quarter.