It may be spring time but there is a lot of holiday magic going on here.
I have been busy working on some cross-stitch Christmas cards. With 4 in the set, I’ve got 3 completed. I think I like the Santa the most, although the candy canes are cute and I can hear the church bells ringing with this sweet bell.
You may notice on the bell there’s a green border. I had accidentally trimmed one side to short when prepping it. To fix it, I found some green material and added it to both sides. You’d never know 🙂
Nothing like a tea towel for gift giving. I bought some new transfer patterns at the beginning of the year. I really love this one. I like adding red potholders or those holiday boxed tea bags along with the towel.
I was able to get one more transfer out of this pattern from the year before.
This is a set of 2 of the Happy Hanukkah pattern. This transfer was actually not good for a 2nd try. The pattern did not show well and I am really struggling with seeing and getting her done.
Have you started anything for the holidays yet? Here we are in June and I know, I know I know, I shouldn’t dare say it, the holiday season is just another six months away.
Three weeks can seem like an eternity when I am waiting for something special to happen. It doesn’t even have to be special, let’s say an appointment, like taking the dog to be groomed. But three weeks in terms of posting my quilting progress, always seems like just days since our last posting and this week is no exception.
Checking back I had completed 2 blocks and part of a third at our last posting. This posting I have completed four blocks. Below, a picture from last time.
With all the blocks the same there’s not much visual change, in fact none, so I won’t post any additional photos.
Below is what the back is beginning to look like
I won’t say working on this is boring, I’ll say monotonous and to add a bit of zip to this posting I wanted to show you another hand quilting project I have been alternating with this one. It is the Scap Dance Pachanga Mystery Quilt Along hosted by Carol ~ From My Carolina Home.
I thought it would be fun, and it was, joining this Quilt Along, however it just reinforced something I already knew about myself. I don’t do well reading directions ~ I must have the visual to make sense of directions. I did ok up until ‘some point’ and when it came time to begin putting all of it together, I realized I had missed a few beats here and there. With pattern pieces already completed I was not giving up. I had picked the table runner for the project and decided to continue and make a table runner.
With the extra pattern pieces, I’ve sandwiched them together, two of each pattern, and have them ready for quilting
I almost hate to say this, but I am thinking ahead and will be putting this aside for a Christmas gift.
Now I am off and looking forward to catching up with the others in this hand quilt along. You can join me by clicking on the links below.
Hand Quilt Along Links
This Hand Quilt Along is an opportunity for hand quilters and piecers to share and motivate one another. We post every three weeks, to show our progress and encourage one another. If you have a hand quilting project and would like to join our group contact Kathy at the link below.
Time again to update on my progress with the Wild Flower Jar I am working on. Between the real wild flowers blooming and tending the garden, I have been tending my cross stitch garden too. At our last check in I was here
Three weeks and the jar garden is filling up with flowers 🙂
The best part of working on this has been working on it outside, in the garden, amoung the flowers. Now for the fun part, it’s off to check out the progress of the others in this SAL. Please join me by clicking on their links below.
Hi all ~ Another three weeks and some progress. At our last posting, I had sandwiched the quilt top with its batting and backing. I showed you a picture of the back material. Using three materials to make one big piece 🙂
As you can see below I now have two blocks quilted. I have a third block started.
I am toying with adding a pattern to the center square to give a little more interest to the block.
Along with this, I was pushing with another hand quilting project for a daughter. You may remember I had posted about two National Parks panels I had purchased. Zion and Denali Parks. My daughter and son-in-law arrived for a long week end visit (from Alaska) last weekend and I wanted the Denali panel done for her. I got it finished and was excited to surprise her with it. (she loved it)
It’s been a busy fun filled last three weeks and I am looking forward to see what the next three weeks brings.
Please join me in checking in with the others in this hand quilt along to see their projects in the works 🙂
Hand Quilt Along Links
This Hand Quilt Along is an opportunity for hand quilters and piecers to share and motivate one another. We post every three weeks, to show our progress and encourage one another. If you have a hand quilting project and would like to join our group contact Kathy at the link below.
I was gifted a beautiful hand pieced quilt top a few months ago. It was a totally un expected surprise sent to me by the daughter of one of my closest friends, who passed away about 2 years ago. The quilt was actually pieced by her grandmother, Jane Ina Rogers nee Eyer. She had been going through some of her mothers things and found the quilt top and thought of me.
I just love the colors in this top. It will be some time before I get to this beauty but I wanted to share it with you and write a little bit about Jane.
Born Jennie Ina Eyer on 27 Dec. 1909 in Phoenix, Arizona, she changed her name to Jane because she hated Jennie. She was the first child of eight born to Benjamin Franklin (Frank) Eyer (1885 – 1948) and Florina (Florence) Knifton (1890 – 1981)
My grandfather was also named Benjamin Franklin. Growing up I didn’t think much about that but now I wish I had asked him what he thought about being named after ‘Benjamin’
I feel like I have a bit of old world quilting history in my hands. I knew Jane personally for many years, she was a remarkable woman. Not only a quilter, she was proficient in all kinds of hand work, embroidery, crochet, knitting. I don’t think there was anything she didn’t do. She had gifted me, back in the mid 80’s, this beautiful tumble block quilt (all hand done)
She also had made doll size puff or biscuit designed quilt (no picture) to my youngest daughter that she still has. It was done in all different colors of velvet with a delicate green lace border. We loved, love that sweet baby doll quilt.
Jane was a collector. Dolls and teddy bears are what stick in my memory. Entering her home was entering a world of wonder and magical fantasy. The bedrooms were converted into museum like show rooms. There was a bear room and multi doll rooms as well as crafting and all kinds of sewing treasures everywhere. She made their clothes, repaired the broken and displayed with pride all her treasures. In my younger years I ran a family day care and I will never forget taking a group of children to her home for a tour. In fact, with the memories flooding back I dug into the photo albums and found the one photo I remember taking.
My daughter Fawn in the red shirt, tallest in back, Marissa in jean jacket in front. Two sisters in pink and purple jacket and two sisters red beads and pinkish jacket next to Marissa in front.
I have been doing some digging on Ancestry about Jane for her granddaughter and came across a researcher who posted this photo of Janes mother, Florence. Jane looked remarkably like her mother. I am imagining that Jane learned everything she knew about quilting from Florence. Also interesting is that Jane was named Jennie after Florence’s mother, Jennie Knifton nee Wanless. I would imagine, that Jane knew she was named after her grandmother, but I don’t know.
Florence Agnes Eyer nee Knifton
I have had fun combining a bit of quilting/quilts with my love of genealogy. I am so grateful to have been gifted another treasure to pass on to my children and grands….
Since our last posting on April 11th, there has been so many changes in my garden, the gardens of friends and in the neighborhood. Always a welcomed surprise to see everything springing to life. In my last posting I was here with my Wild Flower project
And as spring continues to blossom and gardens are filling in with color, so is my project. I have begun to work the flowers in the jar.
It’s interesting to see the color difference in the two photo’s. In that first photo posted last week I actually thought it looked pretty spot on. Boy was I wrong. The current photo shows the true colors.
Now I am off to check in with the other participants in this SAL and see the whats happening with their projects. You can join me by clicking on the links below.
Please note this SAL is not accepting any more new members until further notice but this is what it’s all about anyway. This SAL (Stitch Along) is slightly different to other SALs in that we don’t all stitch the same design at the same rate. We choose ONE unfinished project, or ONE new one, and show progress of its completion over a series of three weekly updates. There are no deadlines and no set amount to stitch. The result is that the space in our drawers full of WIPs (works in progress) is gradually being freed up to store lots of new crafty goodness. It’s surprising how much motivation I’ve gained from being in this SAL.
Here we are, half way through with April already. Gardens are blooming and projects are blooming too. At our last posting, I added the border to frame in the quilt.
For this posting I picked fabric from my stash for the backing. I had quite a variety to choose from but none were large enough for a solid backing. I decided on these three fabrics. Once that was decided and I debated on whether to hand stitch or use the machine. I used the machine.
So now I have the quilt sandwiched together and ready for quilting. The batting is Fairfield, Purely Cotton. I could have started quilting – but the sun (absence of rain) and welcomed spring weather kept me outdoors on garden spruce up. I added viola’s and pansies to pots, transferred 3 lavender plants from pots to a fence edging and the lawn mower had her maiden mow for the season. There were more doggie walks and well, simply sitting in the sunshine daydreaming.
Time to head over to take a peak at the projects and their progress of the other hand quilters in the group. You can too with the links below.
Hand Quilt Along Links
This Hand Quilt Along is an opportunity for hand quilters and piecers to share and motivate one another. We post every three weeks, to show our progress and encourage one another. If you have a hand quilting project and would like to join our group contact Kathy at the link below.
Here we are again with an update on progress for our SAL projects. I have been working on Wildflower Jar a design by Maureen McCarthy for Janlynn needlecraft.
At our last posting I made some good progress getting the jar started.
Here is where I am now
It’s almost as lovely as the real thing. Enjoying every moment with this cross stitch and every moment of spring.
Time to start blog hopping and checking out what everyone else has been up to by clicking their names below. If you’d like to join me, we live all over the world so you may need to allow for time differences. Posting takes place every third Sunday, local time. Our next updates will be posted on the 2nd May 2021.
At our last posting I showed you this picture of the my log cabin quilt. I had finished piecing all the blocks together.
As you can see above it looks like I created sashing but I haven’t. It is the blocks. In my construction of this I should have added that step.
For this posting, first I added on to the bottom and right side with the coordinating material of the block to balance the off balance look (of the photo above) I lost the look of a larger block since that light green material looked like the sashing once I pieced it all together. I am not unhappy with it, it’s a lesson learned 🙂 Next, from my stash I found the perfect fabric and added a (real) 3″ border. I now have the top portion completed.
Below is a close up of the perfect coordinating fabric I chose.
I have two different fabric choices for the backing. I may have enough of one to use but if not I am going to split down the middle and have the backing with two different fabrics.
I hope everyone is beginning to lean into glorious spring weather. I am looking forward to more sunny warmer days here. It’s still a bit colder than I like and far too much rain still. Now, off to visit the pages of the other hand quilters and catch up on all their wonderful projects. Until next time 🙂
Hand Quilt Along Links
This Hand Quilt Along is an opportunity for hand quilters and piecers to share and motivate one another. We post every three weeks, to show our progress and encourage one another. If you have a hand quilting project and would like to join our group contact Kathy at the link below.
At our last posting I showed you a picture of my next project. A counted cross-stitch, called Wildflower Jar, a kit bought off of Amazon. The perfect project to have started with Spring making her entrance yesterday.
I have gotten off to a good start and below is where I am.
Now it’s time to take a look at the progress of the others in this stitch a – long. Wishing you all a spring in your step ~ stay well and smiling 🙂
