April Crammed with Lots of Stitchy Projects

 It's my understanding that one of the key ways to keep my aging brain healthy is to challenge it...learn a new language, play and instrument...how about getting a longarm quilting machine with a computerized quilting design capability? 

On the 2nd of April, my new machine was delivered, HandiQuilter Amara 20 with ProStitcher Premium on a 12-foot Studio 3 frame. There are many longarm manufacturers to choose from but since I am only looking to quilt for myself, I didn't need a Gammill. I think they are the top of the line but they are pretty pricey. I definitely wanted a machine that could be maintained and repaired locally. My last machine was a Nolting and I had to ship it to Iowa for repair a few years ago. There is a Bernina shop in Anchorage but I have not been thrilled with their tech support with my domestic sewing machine so I didn't feel good about going with a Bernina longarm...I have briefly worked on one and it seemed great...but maintenance was a big concern for me. A fellow quilter has been very happy with the support she has gotten from our local HandiQuilter dealer. 

I ordered the machine on March 13th, and in under 3 weeks I had my new machine...the promptness of it's delivery was a big bonus. I am so thankful for YouTube and all the great videos from HandiQuilter and their dealers. Yesterday...after playing on ugly fabric for a couple of weeks...I put a real quilt on the frame! It all started great...almost halfway through quilting and I had a tension issue...oh no!!! Nothing like working through a problem to really learn the ProStitcher program! I took a break overnight and came back to it this morning and gotter done!

The quilt top was finished in April of 2016. A line of Moda batiks from Holly Taylor featuring dragonflies. I found several edge to edge quilting designs on the ProStitcher library and picked one.

I am sooo excited with how great the quilting stitch quality is and how smoothly it went.

I know it's hard to see the quilting design with all the pieced batiks but in person...it looks great!

I have been stewing on my age a little bit...I am feeling more like a senior. I saw a brief clip on YouTube about "Death Cleaning." It's when you get rid of things you don't want others to have to deal with when you die. I don't know if my sewing room will ever be anything but overwhelming to anyone else when I die but it has made me look at my stash and think...what is taking up space...and should it go now to others...

I did look at one of my oldest UFOs...the supporting fabric fills up three bins of fabrics...all from the designer Nancy Halvorsen from Art to Heart. She was my favorite when I first started quilting. I bought a fat quarter set of any line of fabric she released...plus most of her companion books for those lines. I have finished several projects over the years and have a quilt top waiting for quilting. 

When we were living in Paris, I made all the background blocks for the pattern, "Angels Among Us,"

I do still love this design...and the fabrics. So I pulled it out and am starting to peck away at the individual blocks. Since it was March when I opened the UFO project box, I started with the block for that month. The first step was to embroider the little saying.

I have the applique pieces traced on fusible web and the fabrics picked out...just need to do the first round of fusing.

While watching all the ProStitcher videos I did some hand stitching on the next block. I think I will have more hand stitching time while my quilting machine works. 

I made a little progress on the Cottontail Cottage quilt. I used Roxanne Glue-Baste-It to place the wool leaves and did a little blanket stitch by machine to secure. 

I ordered some bigger pieces of hand-dyed wool for the next block and it arrived recently so hopefully I will get going on this quilt soon.

I never work in my sewing room at night...I would never go to bed if I started working on something in my special place! My handwork must be done in my living room where my dogs can snuggle and get more attention.

I finished another mini patriotic cross stitch piece by Stitching with the Housewives. I have two more in the series to finish. 

I had a big cross stitch finish that I started last year. It was a series of "chick" ornaments designed by Jim Shore for Mill Hill. They are stitched on perforated paper with floss and beads. There is a front 

annnnnd back side that are stitched together. 

The two sides are stitched along the outside edges with four strands of DMC floss.

Jim Shore cross stitch patterns are a lovely challenge...all his special shading means lots of color changes for these little guys.

I have seen other stitchers create hangers for their Mill Hill ornaments with leftover beads in the kits. I did that here and will definitely do it again.

Working on felt projects is a nice...mindless stitching project. No counting...just stitching on the printed lines on the felt.

I finished two Merry Stocking Mantel Series kits. 

Classic Village, 2024, Schoolhouse kit.

Classic Village, 2025, Toy Shop kit

    

I've been spending a lot of great time with my grandkids. They all love getting to see my projects as I work on them and finish them! My 6-year-old has started working on a cross stitch kit and felt kits made for kids. She is doing to great. I feel so blessed to spend time with them and to share my love of various needlework projects...even my 3-year-old grandson loves these pieces.

Most of the snow is gone...just the piles from snowplowing our driveway are left. Temperatures are still mostly in the 40s during the day. I haven't walked into a gardening nursery yet...I don't want to be tempted to buy something when it is still so chilly.

Lots of neighbors are posting pictures of black and grizzly bears roaming our part of the world...I haven't seen any myself...yet...but it will happen eventually. Hopefully I'll have my iPhone in hand when it happens.

My Stitchy March

 We still have lots of snow but we have also been having a lot of sunny weather and finally temperatures are above freezing during the day. Looks like break-up is here!!! 

March started with a three-day quilt retreat. My retreat project was a panel project. I mentioned in a recent post I designed my own pattern around a patriotic panel in my stash. My design features 50 small stars for the 50 states. 

My design, "Flying Colors," features a Northcott fabric line, "Patriot," from a couple of years ago. It's a very simple design that lets the fabric do all the work. The quilt top is 55 x 73-inches.

I don't know why I am so compelled to work with panels lately...I think it's the color saturation.

 I loved a polar bear panel so much...I made a second quilt with it.

This was made from the pattern, "Awesome Sky," by Bound to be Quilting. A great pattern...very easy steps to create the framing around the panel.

And I stitched up a third quilt top made with a panel...actually two panels. These Robert Kaufman Fabrics' panels are part of their, "How the Grinch Stole Christmas," fabric line that has been around for a few years and is still in production. The companion fabrics change a little every year. The pattern for combining these two panels is a free one on the Robert Kaufman Fabrics' website, "Christmas Mischief." I put this together in a couple of afternoons. 

I also decided to start a quilt project I have been collecting colorful wool fabrics for over a few years, "Cottontail Cottage," from Bunny Hill Designs.

I made a Bunny Hill Design many years ago and did the appliques in wool, "Henrietta Whiskers."

I love the look of these wool appliques and it was so much easier to stitch than needle turn applique or fusible web applique.

I made all the basic blocks out of batik fabrics in my stash.

I am hopeful I will stay on task with this quilt top and get the wool appliques started soon. I am planning to glue them in place and probably stitch down by machine.

I didn't do any quilting in  March...because I went longarm shopping and bought one that will be delivered this week. My aging body is calling to me so I am entering a new phase of computerized digital quilting. I'm looking forward to learning a new skill and hopefully getting all of my beautiful tops quilted instead of stacked on a shelf.

Long Winter Nights = Great Progress

 As always...I'm surprised when I look through my iPhone photos when working on a blog post and realize...I got a lot done in the past month!

This is from Hands on Design, "Stand Up for Santa." This was a venture into working with different fabric and flosses. I used a 10-count Tula fabric in the color, sand. Most of the floss was #5 DMC Pearl Cotton. The beard has a Rainbow Gallery fiber in the color Whisper. I took an online class to see how the designer finished her Santa as a stand up. I picked up some new techniques in the class which is always a good thing. 

I think I actually finished the stitching in January but forgot to take a picture of it until going through my box of finished...but waiting to get fully finished...stitched pieces.

I finished stitching the last two Santa Gathering pieces.

Santa 11, 28ct Country Blue Linen

Santa 12, 28ct Cashel Linen in Clay

I finished all the pieces of the latest release from Merry Stockings' Mantel Series

 

Red Barn...

and the Police Station were finished as stand ups.

The Flower Shop, Car with Presents and the Police Snowman were started and completed as standups.

Once I finished the Mantel Series I picked up an ornament kit I had started in January

These star Santa ornaments are so cute.

They are pretty big...6 1/2-inches.

I had a hard time working with the floss included with the kit. I need to start using DMC floss when I work with Bucilla kits in the future. I switched out the white and red floss to DMC right away but struggled with the other colors. 

These ornaments would make great little decorations on a simple gift to someone...

Maybe on a bottle of wine...

or a box of cookies.

And just a side note here...I am in the process of taking all my Christmas decorations down. I had hoped to get them down by March...oops...too hard for me to say good-bye to them until November.

I am working on some patriotic designs. These will finish at 4-inches.

These are part of a RoundAbout series from the design team, Stitching with the Housewives.

Nice to have a few quickies to stitch up now and then.

Next is not a finish but a purchase with hopes for future finishes. 

I am obsessed with cute buttons from Just Another Button Company. They have a quarterly button club I was compelled to join. They come in an adorable tin and with a suggested patten.

Previous tins have come in handy for some of my cross stitch finishes.

 

Just for fun...I am sharing a photo of my granddaughters at our local library. We were coloring when I looked at a quilt on the wall and realized it was made by a great friend of mine that I do most of my retreats with...how fun!

Still no new critter photos. 

We almost hit a moose driving home one night...thankful for good winter tires and that my husband was driving! He always stays so calm...me...not so much.

I'm sharing a photo of a precious moment. All our kids and grandkids had been over for dinner. I had just finished cleaning up the kitchen and walked into the living room to sit and stitch. I saw my Bucilla draftdodger snowman posed in a stand up position like he was looking out the window. 

Unbeknownst to me, one of the grands had set him up before they left. Melt my heart.