Sew Happy Together

Hen & Chicks

One of my VERY FAVORITE SONGS in the 1960s (so long ago!) was "So Happy Together" by the Turtles (1967, when I was...oh, let's not go there). I wore out the little 45 record that I had. I still love the tune. (Don't know the song? Listen and watch here, vintage 1967: Turtles singing "So Happy Together" ). Looking at their "outfits" and  antics during this "live performance" should make any quilter creative, LOL.

Out of that random memory and inspiration came this machine applique and embroidery design on a 5" x 5" square:

I also created this machine embroidered and appliqued 5" x 5" label for a baby quilt made by my sister :

The nice thing about making appliques is that I can use all sorts of little scraps that I already have saved for this purpose (and other creative endeavors).

New Design

A Modern Quilt Guild friend showed a few of us how to make this design using scraps of batiks:

The lighting isn't good for the photo, but in spite of this I think you'll notice that there's not enough fabric color contrast to set off those leaves. It's not finished, however, so I'm thinking about perking it up with some threads and maybe some beads.  Measurements: 11" x 29", about wall-hanging or small table runner size. I've got more leaves to set into other projects, so this serves as a good test.

HAPPY CREATING!

Linking up with you via:

        

BOWTIE BLOCKS & "LEAVES" QUILT PATTERN USING HORIZON FABRICS

BOWTIES GALORE!

I recently became involved in an online swap featuring bowtie blocks.

They're quite simple to make. I need to make 88 individual bowtie blocks (measuring about 6.5" each), assemble them into a larger block of four (measuring about 12.5" each), and swap 22 of these big blocks with others. Yikes!

 I've made 65 so far from my fabrics and scraps on hand, which means I currently have about 16 ready to assemble. It's definitely a stash buster!! Just a few more to go!

If you'd like to try this block, you can find the instructions at Quilters Cache.

                                            

LEAVES QUILT

I purchased fabrics from the Moda line by Kate Spain called "Horizon" (any time her designs come out, it's hard to resist!!) to make the "Leaves" Quilt by Barbara Cherniwchan for Coach House Designs. The moment I saw the pattern and the fabrics, I fell in love!! The leaves are appliqued and there are little appliques on top of each leaf. What a project!

Pattern cover quilt (isn't it lovely??)

Leaves with Leaf bits machine appliqued

I organized the parts into a box a couple of months ago so that I can pull it out and "fuss" with it. I am beginnng to machine applique the bits of appliques on the leaves with invisible thread by Guterman. I tested the thread to make sure it wouldn't melt under the iron first! It's performing fine.

Looking forward to being inspired by YOU as we link up at:

                       

Free Motion Practice Becomes Pillow

Looking back at my practice swatches of free motion quilting done on my domestic machine from a couple of months ago, I decided that I liked a couple of panels. I confess that I didn't use quilters' quality fabric, and the batting is cheaper as well. It's recommended that one use the materials that one will be using in the project, in order to get the REAL feel for how all the components work and interact. In any case, I chose the cheaper route, thinking I'd be throwing it out, or stuffing something else with it.

Notice the pumpkins, vines of leaves, flowers, squiggles

I selected two different colors of fabric, cut a section from each (about 20" x 20") and sandwiched them with the batting. I marked 3" rows on the entire surface of the sandwich with chalk to give me a reasonable boundary to work toward. Looking at the full piece and imaging how I'd be quilting the whole space would be overwhelming and look poorly planned. I stitched several motifs to get the hang of it as I learned to work with the rhythm of the machine and needle, while incorporating the movement of my hands. I used chalk to draw a few motifs to find out if I could follow those suggested outlines. I didn't have the machine tension right, I thought, so the bobbin threads show a bit more than I'd like. I've since learned that my bobbin thread was too heavy, and hopefully the next time I do free motion, the bobbin thread won't show.

Two pieces could be trimmed down to throw pillow size, 16" x 16". I found another cheap fabric in my stash for the piping. In the photos, you'll notice the following motifs: pumpkins, leaves, swirls, flowers. Some of the stitching is dense, some is more open. Even though I didn't use the best materials and I don't have the practiced artistic technique down, I like looking at it, touching it, and letting it inspire me. When I look it over, I find myself eager to do it again! Next time, I'll be even better, right?

Here the quilting is more dense with various types of swirls & squiggles

It's time to WIP! 

and I'm adding a new link-y group: 

Autumn Leaves & "Holiday Twirl"

A glorious autumn today! I spent 1.5 hrs. yesterday mowing up the leaves with our small tractor in cloudy weather. I enjoy being outdoors, & the maple leaves pile up as I type & sew--a task for tomorrow.

I sewed a couple more rows of "Holiday Twirl" together this morning, which leaves 2 more strips to go. Then I'll be joining those wider bands together for the table topper. Here's where I'm at:

What projects are you working on? I'd love to see them!

Next rows are joined!

Autumn Leaves & Pumpkin Table Runner

Here's the tablerunner I'm trying to finish. I've combined machine embroidery, patchwork, free motion stippling by my home machine (my first time!), and now I'm working on hand-stitching the binding to the back. Once this is done, I hope to include it on my Etsy site that I'll be opening soon!!