Committing to Hand Quilting

I have tossed around the idea of hand quilting one of my creations and I have chosen the plaid hexagon to do that. I bought the thread just for that project, so now I'm committed. *grins*

One of my fav hospice thrift shops finally dropped a bag of vintage fabric. It didn't surprise me since I bought the Franklin sewing machine from the same location the week before. The cutest from the $4.50 bag of fabric are shown in my lead-off image. 

Thrift shops are getting so popular, you almost have to be there when the racks of items are rolled on to the floor. That was the case with this bag. Trendy, cute clothing is snapped up quick. 

A scrap quilter's dream, all of the fabrics are usable for me. The sewing machine print selvage is dated 1993 and there was a receipt for fabric dated from 1995. Lots of red prints, a color I needed to plump up my stash. 

My current project is for the Quilt Qwazy Queens blog hop. I was making great progress until I decided to quilt without the walking foot. Let's just say, it did not turn out well. I am ASRing (angry seam ripping), three rows of diagonal quilting. I've got the weekend to redeem myself as I would like to show a finished product. 

Here is the upcoming schedule of the hop:

March 15, 2019
Melva Loves Scraps
Words & Stitches
Websterquilt
Seams To Be Sew

March 18, 2019
Quiltscapes
Days Filled With Joy
Life In the Scrapatch
Rainbows. Bunnies. Cupcakes

March 19, 2019
Bumbleberry Stitches
Kathy’s Kwilts and More
Ms. P. Designs USA
Quilt Schmilt
Elizabeth Coughlin Designs

March 20, 2019
MooseStashQuilting
Thrift Shop Commando
Karrin’s Crazy World
Songbird Designs

See you round the qwazies!

Officially permanent and a Franklin joined my troop

I have been on pins and needles these past few months not knowing whether I could continue working as a legal analyst in my current department. A permanent position was offered and I am delighted to continue working there. Being a public servant provides stability and I enjoy the work. Having secured this career path, I can continue my college coursework for a paralegal certificate. 

The California State Fair has posted its Fiber Crafts 2019 Guide. After looking over the categories, I may be able to enter one of my quilts under Division 165 - Other Fiber Art, or Division 199 - Modern Quilts. I am tending toward an entry in Modern Quilts hoping to place in the ribbon category. 

I had told myself that I wasn't going to buy any more vintage machines, but this one I just couldn't pass by priced at $45, it was half off day. It is heaviest of all machines I have purchased so far, I couldn't lift or even drag it. It is time to get a sturdy sewing cabinet  for these heavier machines. 

On the flip side of my sewing machine purchases, I haven't sent any to the repair shop yet and incurred that cost. The Franklin has all of its feet, two bobbins and what looks to be a replacement pedal. The wiring on the attached light looks a little suspicious. The machine is mounted on a wood base that slides out of the case. 

My other finds for that day included high loft batting ($3), two new dress shirts, one white/one black and a graphic Wonder Woman t-shirt.  

Quilt Qwazy Queens blog hop begins on March 15th, my day to post my crazy quilt creation is March 20th. 

If you are on Instagram, be sure to visit me at tamaschen posting daily for the #IGQuiltFest. 

Sometimes progress is slow and go

On my UFO Challenge list, February prompt No. 10 qualifies - the Art with Fabric quilt. This has been in unfinished mode since last year. I have been chipping away at it, shooting for matchstick quilting or very close to it. I have called it the "monster" behind its back, so heavy and bulky. Lawd, how I wish this was a finish like right now. 

Next to composition quilt is the plaid hexagon in pin basted stage.

My basket of goodness, WIPs, wanna be WIPs and a few fabric pulls.

The prompt for the linkup group is 6, my magnolia needlepoint. I am about a third of the way through that project. 

So we move into March with the blog linkup prompt being 4 (black/cream/pink quilt), and the FB challenge prompt as 8, a Mariner's quilt. Thinking I will punt on both prompts. Half on my To-Do list are wanna be, they wanna be quilts but I don't have a solid concept of color and design. I also would like to get back to my No. 1 - basket block quilt began at the end of 2018 and put aside to keep up with the challenges. I have also promised my daughter a quilt but I am stuck on how it should be designed. We've picked out a block but it intimidates me just a bit on its construction. 

I have also committed to the Quilt Qwazy Queens blog hop with my post scheduled to go live on March 15. I've got that project to git to gitting if I want to fulfill my commitment. 

The #IGQuiltfest on Instagram began today with introductions as the Day 1 prompt. I will be posting as tamaschen. 

Because Google+ went by the wayside - I had a lot of followers through that platform, I have reactivated my Twitter account with the handle @CommandoShop. I will be pushing my blog posts there also. 

Linking up with wendysquiltsandmore

and www.patchworktimes.com

Benefiting from non-joy sparking donations

Having found the upholstery fabric turned cubicle wall tapestry (highlighted here), I have been on the lookout for heavier weight fabric. Adding these textiles to my "What I Hunt For" list was a no brainer. This modernist print came home with me for $1.50 from SPCA thrift.  

I squared up the fabric and added a binding, I made one major change by including a seam binding to the back of the wall hanging. The woven acted as the stand-in "batting." The binding went on a lot smoother than my last tapestry project. 

This cubicle cover will be for my new work station so the completed project will be revealed in an upcoming post. While I know I will still be a state employee, I still don't know where I will land at the end of March. Long story short - I took a two-year limited term position that did not become permanent. I rolled the dice and it came up snake eyes. Kidding aside, not all bad because I have gained job experience. I had three interviews last week, so waiting word on a permanent offer.  

The second delightful find was this camper/road trip print from the same thrift shop. I knew immediately that it was vintage. Thankfully, the selvage was intact revealing it is a 2000 fabric. This yardage will be cherished stash for the right project. 

Weekend thrifting was one day of nothing and the next day a bounty. I limit myself to three shops a day as I have been known  to lose track of time when I am having so much fun. 

There were other ceramics of this series but she was the only one that came home with me, a hand-sewer with a Princess Leia hairdo.

My favorite find of the day, this Classics Hardware horse head necklace, retail $25, second-hand $5.

One of Xena's best photo bombs, she was particularly attracted to these objects, Creative Curtainmaking Made Easy by Heather Luke, Paul Revere & the Raiders record, and some yardage. 

Not pictured are some other records, a bit of batting, and some remnants of feedsack fabric. I am thrilled that others are getting rid of their non-joy sparking possessions! The thrift shops have been bursting at the seams, my last stop, a Goodwill all of the shelves were full, sometimes overflowing. 

With my interest in needlepoint rekindled, I made a little girl gasp when I found this project, began and then sent to the Great Thrift Shop Beyond. 

A 2007 Dimensions kit scored for $3.49. I will finish and frame it as it fits in perfectly with my decor. 

3 Projects in Progress

Since I began participating in challenges, one a blog linkup, the other on FB, I have made fantastic progress with three projects going at once. This is the first time I have done that. Usually, I have one large project with smaller projects interspersed. 

I really enjoy hand sewing. I debated on whether to take a magnolia needlepoint to an out of state trip and was glad I did as I was snowed in. Now that the kit thread is organized, the background is almost done and I can move into the detail work of the flower petals.

I am seeing the light at the end of the tunnel with quilting the Composition quilt. It was my Art with Fabric blog hop flimsy from 2018. 

Plaid hexagon quilt is pin basted. That took true quilter dedication as I use a garage work bench and it is cold down there. At least, my technique is improving as I can pin baste in about an hour. 

I have surprised myself by making such progress and by having three major projects in progress. 

On my wish list this year is an Americana quilt. I found this image in a Quilt World magazine from 1988. The pattern was offered then but I doubt it is available now so I will have to wing it. Those are some large blocks, I am thinking of scaling them down for my quilt. 

How many major projects do you work on at the same time? 

Are you participating in any creative challenges this year?

March Madness and February blog hops

No, not in the basketball kind of way but in the qwazy quilting way. 

Listed at the end of this post are bloggers who "dusted off their quilt books" and chose a project. I had the good fortune to buy these specialty quilt eye-candy publications for $1 each along with some fabrics thrifting. The only problem with discovering new projects and new ideas is that it takes me off on a tangent with pending projects begging to be finished. 

March is National Quilting Month and to celebrate it there is an #IGQuiltFest on Instagram. It is a daily photo challenge (March 1-31) hosted by Amy's Creative Side. I participated last year and it was hecka fun. There are A LOT of upscale quilters, the ones who get all their points right and everything matches up, but I still get in a post or two. 

March also means crazy quilting for me. The Quilt Qwazy Queens blog hop theme is "Choose Your Own Qwazy." My day to post is March 15th, featuring another crazy quilt incorporating satin fabric.

Two hops coming up are one featuring "wings" in quilts.

Participating bloggers listed below:

February 18

What About Rheema?

Hill Valley Quilter

Nutz For Redwork

Kathy's Kwilts and More

Melva Loves Scraps

Creative Blonde

Keepsake Moments

Whims And Fancies

Quilt n Party

Seams To Be Sew

February 19

Patchouli Moon Studio

Vroomans Quilts

Elizabeth Coughlin Designs

Songbird Designs

Quilts Fabric and Thread Tales

Sew Many Yarns

Kathleen McMusing

Life in the Scrapatch

DesertSky Quilting

Clever Chameleon Quilting

February 20

Creatin' in the Sticks

MooseStashQuilting

The Joyful Quilter

Home Sewn By Us

Selina Quilts

Websterquilt

Beaquilter

Cynthia's Creating Ark

Ms P Designs USA

Bumbleberry Stitches

Mageez Room

February 21

Just Let Me Quilt

Sew Incredibly Crazy

Sew Fresh Quilts

Quilt Fabrication

Words & Stitches

All Thingz Sewn

Kathy’s Quilts

For The Love Of Geese

Two Maker Chicks

madeNcorrea

The other encourages its participants to "Dust Off a Quilt Book"

Participants in that hop are listed below:

Monday Feb 18^th

Turid at densyendehimmel

Pamela at Pamelaquilts

Joan at Moosestashquilting

Anne at seems like a plan

Susan at Desertsky Quilting

Selina at Selinaquilts

Kathleen at Kathleenmcmusing

Tuesday Feb 19^th

Cindy Stitchin at home

Jennifer at curlicuecreations

Stephanie at stephjacobsondesigns

Kathy at Kathysquilts

Shasta at high road quilter
Theresa at bumbleberrystitches

Wednesday Feb 20^th

Sharon at Vrooman’s quilts

Suzy at Websterquilt

Nancy at patchworkbreeze

Brenda at songbirddesigns

Karrin at karrinscrazyworld

Denise at craftraditions

Thursday Feb 21^st

Anita at Domestic Felicity

Leanne at Devoted Quilter

Jennifer at Dizzyquilter

Carla at Creatin' in the Sticks

Lee Anne at Podunk Pretties

Andree at quiltinglearningcombo

Lyndsey at Sew Many Yarns

Friday Feb 22^nd

Bea at Beaquilter

Barbara at Bejweledquilts

Laura at slice of pi quilts

Sherry Powered By Quilting

Pat at Life in the Scrapatch

Carol at Just let me quilt

Kathy at Kathy's Kwilts and More

Marian at seams to be sew

Spring looks to be roaring in with lots of creative activity. We are still in for stormy weather in Northern California. I am not complaining and hope I don't hear the word "drought" at all during the year. 

Fabric solves everything and presenting other projects

Project #1 is a cubicle cover tapestry. I am sensitive to light and now that the weather has warmed a bit in Northern California, window blinds are more likely to be open. 

Shades are semi-closed here

When I stumbled onto this $4 roll of upholstery fabric, I knew it would solve my problem. It matches my workspace color scheme incorporating mint green and cream-colored cubicle walls. The tapestry blocks light where I view my monitors and makes it feel cozy. 

It took very little squaring up on the textile. One problem presented was how do I sew on this dense fabric? I couldn't double it over as it would be too bulky and would break my needle. The lightbulb went off when I decided to just bind off the ends. I used the packet of pastels that came from my thrifting excursion to whip up a 2-1/2" binding. 

The upholstery fabric was the perfect size for my purposes. It really was uncanny that the fabric was the exact size I needed it to be. I had not measured the space prior to the project. I have never worked with that type of fabric before. I did French binding on it using a thread noted specifically for upholstery fabric. 

Project #2 are potted daffodils for my co-worker friends. One just got a promotion and others just to pay it forward for the sweet things they have done for me. I will update the post after I have planted them in the containers shown above. 

In the second image above, you can see my other thrift shop finds displayed. I needed the hoop for my needlework project (I had given all of mine away for some reason). There were fabric finds, of course, and two sun dresses with clothing all being $1 each. The spring pots averaged 75 cents a piece. 

Finally, Google and Blogger don't seem to be playing nice with each other. I have always had problems will my audience being able to comment, now, when they did those comments are lost. *sighs*

Here is a message from G & B.