Black & White Blog Hop with a little give away

Welcome to 2019 and the start of my Blog Hopping Year.  When Carla over at createinthesticks put out the notice that she was putting together a Black & White Blog Hop I was thrilled.  I happen to have a huge stash of Blacks, Whites and Grays.  I didn't have a real plan at the time but knew I would have no problems putting something together after the holidays passed.

And then came this little beauty. It is my first ever embroidery machine, it's the Baby Lock Solaris which hit the market in September.  I knew nothing about machine embroidery when I brought her home, as I've mentioned in my  previous post, the gal in the quilt shop told me to go home and play and not be afraid.  A day in I decided to use the Black & White hop as a great goal for this  adventures kick off.

So I set up my machine with a chunk of white fabric and a chunk of black fabric and a bunch of black and white thread and the games began.

This is the very first piece I ran.  It is my sister's name in a border.  Don't know what she'll what me to do with it but she's coming to town this week and I'm sure she'll have a plan.

Then I wanted to make her a zipper pouch with her initials surrounded by a niffty quilt pattern.  Well this is the first attempt.

Attempt #2 went much better, not exactly what I wanted but until I take a lesson I will consider it a success as it made a great pouch.

Sissie is the one who talked me into the machine so she will get the bulk of the test items whether she wants them or not.

Then I saw embroidery on ribbon and thought I'd give it a try, why not.  The ribbon is white, the lighting left a bit to be desired.

Then while spending hours on Pinterest and YouTube I came across  FSL ( free standing lace). I love these pieces.  I love them so much I want to share them with one of you who takes the time to comment on this post. 


And now one more item for this hop.  I have a friend who has "volunteered" to take samples of my test items and give them a home.  Actually she and her hubby each got samples as part of their Christmas gifts this year ( see previous post) Anyway this week I decided I would try my hand at a tee shirt. 

I had tried out this sweet cat pattern with no specific plan and since  it turned out well and I still had time to add it to this post I decided to do it on a black tee and add it in.

This is the shirt both without and 

with a body.  I have a lot to learn but feel I'm off to a good start.  

Yesterday I took a class on edge to edge quilting on an embroidery machine based on the book by Amelie Scott.  I see some potential there that I'm sure will show itself in an upcoming hop or two. Next week I start my official classes on using the machine to learn 16 different embroidery techniques, looking forward to it.

So to make sure I stay interested in my machine and not that it turns into another expensive passing fad in my life I have decided to use it for some part of every blog hop I participate in this year.  That would be 12+.

So if any of you have any incite or ideas or any thing that you think would benefit an embroidery newbie I'd be happy to hear about it.

So now I want to list all of the participants in this hop.  Those before me in case you missed them and those following so you don't miss them.  Wonderful Black and White ideas at every stop. I also want to thank Carla for taking on another one.  We all so appreciate the effort and the ongoing camaraderie thats been happening for so long.


Black & White Blog Hop Schedule

Monday, January 21st

Just Let Me Quilt
Needled Mom
Tu-Na Quilts, Travels, and Eats
Life in Scrapatch
QuiltFabrication
Scrapdash
Bumbleberry Stitches
keepsake moments
Vroomans Quilts

Tuesday, January 22nd

MooseStash Quilting
SewFreshQuilts
Elizabeth Coughlin Designs
Quilts by Joanne
PamelaQuilts
That Fabric Feeling
Songbird Designs
Two Maker Chicks


Wednesday, January 23

Selina Quilts
Beaquilter
Quilt in a not-Shell
Patchwork Breeze
Adventurous Applique and Quilting
Kathleen McMusing
Cynthia's Creating Ark
Everyone Deserves a Quilt
Homespun Hannah's Blog

Thursday, January 24

Quiltscapes
Seams to be Sew
Storied Quilts
Kathy's Kwilts and More
Ms P Designs USA
Den syende himmel
Melva Loves Scraps
The Joyful Quilter
Creatin' in the Sticks

So I will pull a name from the list of comments on Sunday night for someone to receive 4 FSL (free standing lace) pieces. Thanks for stopping by.

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Catching Up - New Toy

First up on the list  would be this adorable baby quilt by Lorna of Sew Fresh Quilts . The pattern comes in this small size and a larger size that one has 6 giraffes of different heights. I finishsed this in October and never posted the finish.

 Then  The Tinkalong Pouch Sewing Pattern is for the 2 larger pouches, to get to the tiny one she suggests taking the smaller of the two patterns down to 65%, it works like a charm. This is what triggered the mini pouch frenzy from last month.

I was on a crocheted potholder kick as a filler gift for the holidays.  I think I made 4 sets and a couple of singles.

And then this happened.  It happened on December 13.  Things have not gotten back to normal yet. In fact it was good that the Christmas tree was up and pre lit when the machine arrived.  I didn't get around to putting ornaments on it until Christmas eve.

It's a Baby Lock Solaris Embroidery Machine.  I've never done machine embroidery before and if you had asked me at Thanksgiving if I ever planned on it I'd have said no.

My sister, who doesn't sew, (she can, she just does't need to cause she has me) talked me into it. I thought about it for a week and surveyed friends in 2 different guilds and went for it.

I got the machine at Sharkeys Sew and Vac in Wildwood, Fl.  They have a wonderful support staff and offer unlimited instruction with their machines.  As I was leaving the shop with the newest member to my family, Suzanne, who is fast becoming my new best friend aka embroidery instructor said to me "go home and play, do not be afraid".  Since it was going to be a whole week before I could coordinate our calanders to get basic instruction from her I went home and played.

Bless You Tube and Pinterest

Since this machine and it's twin the Luminaire by Brother has only been on the marked  since September and August specifics were a little bit tough to find but I managed the following embroidery trials

This was the beginning of a mug rug, before I grasped the concept of stabilizer.  Don't have a picture of the back but it has the stablizer on the outside of the backing tee hee

This was just too fun not to try.  It was to remind MJ that even though I was locked away in another room I was thinking about him, yeah.

This was a perfect attempt at scanning an imagine into the machine and sewing it out.

This was my first downloaded pattern. It is a gift card holder, front and back.

The red is the card pocket.

Meanwhile, once my sister saw that I could scan she sent me this picture of Mickey in a snowflake.

So I did an improve Christmas ornament

And then another roll of toilet paper.  Actually I did 2 rolls, one went to friends with a gift card tucked inside. 

The other thing I learned in the past couple of weeks is how to use was the wishlist on Santa's Amazon account.  He found it and pulled through, yep that's 64 spools of thread.

Thanks for making it this far.  Here is the last of the experimental stuff to post today.  

FSL (free standing lace).  Love it, love it, love it.

I am participating in the Black & White blog hop later this month with some more of my embroidery experiments. Hope to see you then.

If you have any ideas on anything that I should know about or places to go regarding my latest adventure please leave me a comment. I'd love to hear from you.

November post just a tad late

Imagine my surprise when I opened up blogger to do a post Christmas write up only to find I never published my post Thanksgiving write up.  So I think I'll just publish that one and do post Christmas next week

From this point on written 11/25/18:

I have absolutely positively no idea where the month of November went.  I'm eating left over turkey so I'm relatively sure Thanksgiving came and went. I had house guests for the holiday so thankfully the left overs are at a minimum.  I kept a little of the main course and most of the dessert which is all gone now.

Oh well,  I have been busy with quilty projects and a couple of quilty classes. Most of these are Christmas related so I can't post those pictures yet.

In the Pick A Pumpkin Blog Hop post I included a table runner and placemats.  A friend saw them and asked if I could make a couple of sets with a horse theme for a charity event she was involved with.

I think it took longer to find  a piece of fabric with horses on it than it did to make them.

One of the classes I took was a beginner hexie class.  I have tried hexies before on several different occasions but never stick with it.  This one is no exception, this time I think it was the timing of the class running into the holiday sewing and it has already been shelved. I've left it in a spot I can see so maybe I'll pick it up again after Christmas. This is a picture of the goal not my work

Or maybe not since my Christmas / Birthday present to me this year is the Baby Lock Solaris embroidery machine.  It's on order and should be here any day now.  I have never done machine embroidery before, this will be an entirely knew experience totally out of my comfort zone. All positive encouragement will be gladly accepted.

approx 4 in across

3.5 in high 

3/4 in deep

I made a gazillion of these tiny pouches for several different holiday events. Gazillion translates to just over 50 in case you were wondering. They were all made from Christmas Scraps

 The pattern is The Tinkalong Pouch Sewing Pattern the pattern is for the 2 larger pouches, to get to the tiny one she suggests taking the smaller of the two patterns down to 65%, it works like a charm.

I also started making a Mondo bag for my sister for Christmas.  Of course I skipped over parts of the instructions and will have to work on restitching the handles on in the correct way.  They are just enough off center to drive me crazy.  I really hate being the cause of my own problems.

I also managed a sweet pin cushion

and a Hanukkah card both based  on patterns from Minki Kim's new book Diary in Stitches 

Off now to work on Christmas before I get sidetracked with  the arrival of my new toy.

Wish me Luck

Pick A Pumpkin Blog Hop

Lets start with a great big thank you to Carla for staging another terrific blog hop.  Thanks also to all of the hoppers who are participating, sharing their talents and ideas.

Now on to my offering this time around.  I had a tough time coming up with a way to pick my pumpkin.  I love pumpkins but tend to view them as Halloween decor not Fall decor.

Like this recent design by  Elizabeth Coughlin Designs that I fell in love with.

Carla set this hop for the first week of November, definitely not Halloween.

In  one of my  recent posts I showed the receiving blankets I made using this you tube video from Missouri Star Quilts

While I was looking at the blankets all rolled up ready for gifting I had the idea that I could maybe change the sizing/shape and make an easy to do table runner using some of the home dec pumpkin fabric I had stashed away.

Totally fall - perfect for my coffee table

It has no batting, and I did no quilting.  It has a bit of top stitching to hold the layers in place and that's all,  just like the blanket construction.

Well that got me to thinking I could maybe put some batting inside and whip up a set of placemats.

I just stuck the batting in before closing up the turning hole and secured it with the top stitching and an extra round of stitching in the border.  I'm really thinking that the next time I'll skip the batting. I'm really not seeing the need especially if you want to whip up a set for a family holiday meal with lots of attendees.

And then, why not some coasters. I fussy cut the centers and again slipped in the batting and did some additional top stitching of the border to hold it in place.

I am going to list the approximate measurements I used to cut my fabrics as well as the measurements for the finished pieces just in case any of you want to try this and not have to do the math thing.

Table Runner Finished at 14.5 x 32.5

Border/backing fabric cut at 18 x 36
Focus fabric cut at 12 x 30

Placemat Finished at 11.5 x 15.5

Border/backing fabric cut at 15 x 19
Focus fabric cut at 9 x 13

Coaster finished at  6 in square

Border/backing fabric cut at  8.5 in square
Focus fabric cut at  4.5 in square

I hope you enjoyed your visit.

Happy Fall.  

Below is the list of the rest of the participants in this hop.  If you missed any of them it is time to go back and visit them.  So many wonderful ideas are at your finger tips.

Monday, November 5th

MooseStash Quilting

QuiltFabrication

Elizabeth Coughlin Designs

Just Because Quilts

Made By Marney

ShirleyC

Words & Stitches

Tu-Na Quilts, Travels, and Eats

Tuesday, November 6th

Life in the Scrapatch

Clever Chameleon

Songbird Designs

Kathy's Kwilts and More

VroomansQuilts

Vicki's Crafts and Quilting

Super Mom No Cape

Quarter Inch Crafter

Wednesday, November 7th

Just Let Me Quilt

Count it *all* Joy

MaryMack's Blog

DesertSky Quilting

Melva Love Scraps

Hazel’s Daughter

Adventurous Applique and Quilting

Beaquilter

Thursday, November 8th

selina quilts

Seams To Be Sew

That Fabric Feeling

Just Sew Quilter

Home Sewn By Us

My Sewful Retirement

Creatin' in the Sticks

pumpkins - a couple of quilts - and more pumpkins

Since my last post I've been rather busy on the sewing front.

I am overloaded on the Halloween quilty stuff but I do love the holiday and it takes very little to push me into making something new.  This year I found a knitting pattern for a snowman mug hugger.

I was showing it to a few quilty buddies and one of them suggested I make a pumpkin version. It was such a small challenge so I went for it. 

I've now made a couple and they are on their way to their new homes.  I am making a couple of the snowmen for the Christmas holidays and I think I will maybe put a Dunkin gift card into an empty cup.

I am a member of   Heart Builders Quilts.  These are quilts made by  teams which are sponsored by Cotton Cuts.  On my team I am one of the top/flimsy makers.  I receive a package of fabric a couple of times a year and get to make a 45 x 60 quilt of my choosing using that fabric and any from my stash that I may want to use.

Once it's done off it goes to my team leader who is also the quilter for our group.

Next on the list of accomplishments for this month would be this adorable baby quilt by Lorna of Sew Fresh Quilts . The pattern comes in this small size and a larger size that one has 6 giraffes of different heights

I got this far last weekend (a week ago)  before getting off track.  I really have focus issues.

I needed a card to send with a gift and the cover of this book was flapping at me so I dropped everything and made this card.

Then I needed to send something to my sister in Jersey and thought about how cold it was getting up there.  So I designed a card just for her.

Then I was following the Peek A Who? blog hop and on  Elizabeth Coughlin Designs  posting she offered this wonderful pattern and I fell in love and had to start it immediately.

I did get the stitching done but I really don't know what I want to do with it, too many ideas so it may have to wait til next year for a permanent  purpose, the actual stitching is 6 inches square.

In the mean time I am really happy with them watching me from my design wall.

And then I got my act back together and finished the baby quilt this weekend.

I love the first picture of them on my lawn under a tree giving it great shadows.

And I'm including this one for the clarity of colors.

And of course one needs a photo of the cool backing that matched the colors on the front so perfectly.

There was a bit more sewing done but those shots will show up on November 8, my day to post on the Pick A Pumpkin blog hop  coordinated by Carla at Creatin in the Sticks.

Hope to see you then.

Small Kennel Quilts - Receiving Blankets - Dish Cloths

Hurricane Florence has done a number on small pets.  Requests having been coming in steadily since the storm for Small Kennel Quilts for all of the animals ending up displaced and in shelters.  I try and do 6 per request.

I find if I do them assembly line fashion I can knock them out at a little under 30 minutes each.  I am now in the habit of cutting left over batting into usable pieces for these quilts.  I also have several quilting friends who donate fabric and batting to me for this project.

These are the most recent finishes

The requests come through Quilt Pattern Magazine and Petfinder Follow the link for details and patterns and how you can join the team.

A few weeks ago a quilting friend mentioned a super simple receiving blanket video she saw on YouTube by   Missouri Star Quilt Co.     

Last week my neighbor mentioned that she had a brandy new, very early, great grand child and that in a couple of weeks she would be going north to a shower for him.  The perfect opportunity to give the self binding receiving blanket a try.

So cute and so simple

The first one took me about an hour and a half.

The second took 61 minutes start to finish.

You need to do a stitch all the way around where the binding is attached to the front to keep the layers from shifting.  On the first one I used a very slow to sew cute stitch  which added about 10 minutes to the project.  On the second one I just used a wiggle stitch.  # 4 on my Bernina.

The finished blanket measures in at about 34 inches square.

At my last quilt meeting one of the ladies was seeking a home for this spool of cotton yarn

One of the ladies at her table told her that I could probably crochet or knit something with it. Apparently I have a reputation.

She handed it to me and apologized that it was boring but that I could probably add some color to it.

The pattern was for a small and large wash cloth.  I started with the large and found it too big.  Posted them on IG and had a friend call and tell me that she really, really liked them.  Will probably use them for packing material for her Christmas gift.

I knew if I held onto all those scraps of color from a previous project  they would come in useful. Not sure who will find this set in their Christmas package. 

Not really sure what I'm up to next.  I do have several projects that should be finished and a hop or 2 on the horizon that I should give some serious thought to.  hmmmmmmmmmmmm

Until next time, stay happy.