I've neglected the blog lately so this will be everything missed over the last week. You know, the I Like Thursday post, Friday Night with Friends post, Rainbow Scrap Challenge post, and, believe it or not, I have an April quilt finish! To tell you the truth, I had this post written up and ready to proofread (yes, I do that!) and then I hit something wrong (obviously!) because it deleted the entire thing. So let's get started and try this again.
I Like Thursday #113: I like my cardinals and one morning we had ska-zillions in the yard under the bird feeder and in the grass. Several flew away while I ran for the camera but you can get an idea.
My BFF Vickie was traveling from Nebraska back to Tennessee. St. Louis is just about the halfway point so she and her husband stopped over for the night with us. In Nebraska, she adopted her cousin's daughter's dog, Daisy. Daisy is a 3-yr-old teacup yorkie and weighs all of 2# 4oz. Gracie adored her and wanted to play with her so badly! But Daisy was exhausted from traveling all day so all she wanted to do was sleep. I was happy she liked me and nestled in to watch Survivor with Vickie & me!
You can scratch my belly if you'd like!
A trip past Mom's house earlier in the week found her redbud starting to bloom. Beautiful against the blue sky!
I'm enjoying this book, "I'll Push You" by Patrick Gray and Justin Skeesuck. It was recommended by my blogger friend Diann @ Little Penguin Quilts. I'm a bit over 100 pages in and finding it so refreshing, inspiring, and a wonderful true story.
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| GoodReads talks about it HERE |
I like linking up with my global blogging friends on Friday Night with Friends. I began with my EPP project, a Lucy Boston block. I'm using mostly Frankie fabrics by Basic Grey for Moda. Here's where I started -- check the bottom left corner.
Here's the finished block. It still needs to be appliqued to the frame but I'm considering it done for now.
I switched over to some cross-stitching that I'd started. The top motif and the start of a motif just to the left of the top one is what I managed while watching "Blue Bloods".
I'll be switching over to a SAL from Melisa @ Pinker 'n' Punkin Quilting. She's got an small Spring piece that she's hosting that will fit in an 8x10 frame. Sweet! You can read about it HERE and join in if you like!
Angela @ SoScrappy has picked the color purple for the month of April as part of the Rainbow Scrap Challenge. I sure hope I get around to sewing up some purple pineapples but the rest of this month is VERY BUSY. In the meantime I spied these purple flowers!
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| At the Bike Trail |
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| My Neighbor's Tree |
As you already know, I took the long-arm certification class at my LQS. Last Thursday I scheduled time to try out a quilt of my own. Well, let me tell you that I needed quite a bit of assistance but Lani said I did great and was learning quickly. I think she was just being nice! Haha!
I decided I'd take a small 36x40 baby quilt. I needed something that would be relatively quick because I had to be back to get Mom to P/T. The quilt was Harmony and it was a QAL with Gudrun Erla in 2020. It took me a little over 2 hours to quilt up. I learned that the thread at my LQS doesn't like the starching that I do when piecing. The thread just kept shredding. I learned how to fix the messed-up spots and also to let Lani know that I need a size 18 needle if the next quilt is cardboard stiff! hahaha!
All in all, I had fun and will be scheduling another long-arm session. I really like quilting pantographs and I still enjoy free-motion quilting on my domestic sewing machine. I'll probably try out FMQ on a long-arm, but right now I want to master pantos!
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| A Peek at Quilted Harmony with Yummy Loops & Hearts Pantograph (No Binding Yet) |
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| I Won Playing "Binding Chicken" |
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| Harmony by GEDesigns 36"x40" |
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| Sparkling |
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| All the Quilty Goodness |
At the end of the month I'll be sharing this finish with Gail @ Quilting Gail for my Projects Half Done and also with Carole @ From My Carolina Home for the Stashbuster Challenge.
That catches you up with me. Hope you're having a productive week!
Great job on that hearts and loop panto quilting!!
ReplyDeleteBy the looks of this post you've been very busy. I like how Lucy is progressing & I love the Harmony quilt. Thanks for posting what you got up to at FNwF. Will we see you again this week?... xox
ReplyDeleteSo fun to have time with friends, and what an adorable little dog! I wish I could take credit for recommending that book, but I don't think I've read it. I did just check it out from my library, though! :) Looks like your first quilt on the longarm turned out great! It's a pretty one, too!
ReplyDeleteNice quilt finish. So satisfying to get a project to the finish line! Great job on the long arm quilting too. Our cardinals usually arrive in our yard in pairs…Mr and Mrs. your garden is a bit ahead of ours. Our redbud is not blooming yet and the violets have not made an appearance. Thanks for visiting my blog! Gail at the Cozy Quilter
ReplyDeleteoh what a wonderful list! I love the tiny yorkie, I'll pet her tummy ! Poor Gracie to be so close but the leeetle one was tired.
ReplyDeletewhen I saw the book, and read your description I got tearful in gratitude
LeeAnna
The Lucy Boston block is so pretty! Nice finish on the baby quilt, and your quilting looks wonderful. I am enjoying quilting from the back with pantographs on my Simply Sixteen, but I'd love to have a longer frame - mine is the small one at 5 feet. It takes me a long time to roll the quilt just right to get the panto design to match up!
ReplyDeleteHi Susie, where to begin, such a wonderful post! Love your flowers and that neighbour's tree with the flowers at the base is gorgeous. I adore your Lucy Boston block! Also your cross stitching. How wonderful you are working on your long arm quilting so seriously. I think it looks tremendous. You accomplish so much!
ReplyDeleteWhen you see a ska-zillion cardinals in your backyard, it's going to be a great day!
ReplyDelete