2014 - A Year in Review

All the presents have been opened. The dishes washed and put away. The turkey bones have been simmered and awaiting the rest of the soup stuff to be chopped and added. The house guests have all gone over to visit other family and I have time to sit back and reflect on the year that is almost completed. I was reading over my  2014 quilting goals  to see how I did in meeting those goals

On my 2014 wish list of quilts to start with all fabrics ready to go in project boxes:

• JT2 Benjamin Briggs BOM from Dear Jane and Sentimental Stitches beginning Jan 1. I started quickly but have only 1 block complete with the 4 corner buds, several without the buds and several cut out, prepped and sitting awaiting the machine applique.
• Dear Jane 2 in Brights as soon as I complete DJ. I started the DJ2 in brights on white and have about a dozen blocks done. I started a new blog called Quiolting Jane at the Farm . My intention was to make and post 10 blocks per month. Well, I posted some blocks each month. I had 7 quilters who wanted to take the course and 7 of them dropped out so, I cancelled the class. However, I still plan to make the quilt at whatever pace works for me.    
• Bali Wedding Stars from Judy Neimeyer in a king size as soon as I complete DJ. I pulled out the pattern sheets and made a plan but did not get it started. 
• Love Entwined 1790 Marriage Coverlet by Esther Aliu after I complete DJ. I still cannot decide what colours to do the center compass and did not start it. I think I will wait until later in the year or next year after I complete some other projects. There is a certain skill level needed to make this master piece and I do not think I am there yet, but getting closer.
• Di Ford's Antique Wedding Sampler on impulse when I forget what else I have to do after I complete DJ. I kept looking at the progress of some of my blogging friends making this quilt and impulsively signed up for the BOM from Homested Hearth that begins in February. I will receive blocks every other month to save on postage. This will be pricey, but it will have all the fabrics to make the complete top including the background and all the broderie purse.

My 2014 goals included completing at least 1 quilt. I completed the Civil War Dear Jane Quilt  but it is not yet quilted. I plan to do this sometime this winter. It will be a simple over all design and I have the threads sitting here ready to go.

Quilt starts include Benjamin Biggs Wedding Quilt and Beyond The Cherry Trees from Sentimental Stitches and Dear Jane and a new Dear Jane in Brights.

I counted up all the trips I made and have been away from home for 70 days. Keeping in mind that I usually prepare and take along several hand applique blocks and at least 2 textbooks, I got a lot of work done way from home. I visited my daughter three times. I visited my sister in England. Visited my aunt and met a 91 year old aunt for the first time in Poland. And I got to the American Quilt Society QuiltWeek in Grand Rapids. Nice.

Held  my first GORF weekend retreat. I did not finish mine after all. I had too much time. And my quilting machine has been in for repairs ever since I got home Nov 6. That's a long time. 

I filed 1 course for my DCC. I am working on 2 others but have not progressed much in the past few weeks. I got a new desk top computer with a very very large screen this week but have not yet plugged it in.

The greatest event of the year was the birth of our grandson. After 16 years of doctors telling my daughter that she was not able to conceive and after a high risk pregnancy mostly on bed rest, she gave birth to a very healthy beautiful baby boy in June. Praise God for His goodness.

Blessings,
Chris

I Won the Bag

Gay at sentimental stitches  offered this bag as a draw prize after being at the big Houston Quilt Festival this fall. I won and love it. I discovered her website Dec 30, 2012 and joined in the fun as they started the just takes 2 red and white sampler quilt BOM 2 days later with no less than 6 blocks. It was a response to the Red and White Quilt show in New York a few years ago.

I decided to make mine from fabric in my cupboard and used many different Jinny Beyer Pallet colours on a plain white background. I still have a few blocks to go. Some of them are patterns I had never seen before and techniques that were new to me. When completed there will be 100 blocks in varying sizes.

Serendipity

I might put this on my 2015 goals list. Or I might pull it out, lay it on the bed, gloat about it a bit them fold it up and put it back it its box for another year. After all, there will be lots of time after I complete the biggest goal for the year and that is completing my doctorate.

Blessings,
Chris

CCCQ Update

I completed this block babysitting the other night. It is one of several that I had stitched on in Poland in October. I really must learn how to center pictures so they do not look so distorted.

CCCQ #23

The house guest will begin to arrive in 2 days. It's going to be a lot of fun . . . and probably noise . . .

Blessings,
Chris

Ben Biggs Catch-up Marathon

When I started the Benjamin Biggs Wedding Quilt in January, I told myself that it should be quick and easy to do one block a month by machine applique. I was wrong. I had all the reds and greens from the CCCQ quilt and enough background fabric in my cupboard to start immediately and I had a whole roll of Floriani wash-away fuseable web to use for the shapes and not have to remove like you do with freezer paper. Maybe because I thought it would be quick and easy, I did not get to it as fast as I could have. Or did I? According to my calendar, I was away 5 times this year at the beginning of the month when the blocks were released and I just downloaded the patterns and saved them to print off later. That backfired on me when I could not find the files for 2 of the blocks and frantically tried to find them. They did show up accidentally when I copied the link and, then I found the patterns I had printed off in a note book.

Because I am using several different reds and greens, I laid out the blocks I did have done on a table in order and then started picking colours for the rest. I did not want the same colours together. Have I ever mentioned that choosing colours is not one of my better skills?

I had traced and cut out all the pattern pieces last week and this week I ironed them onto the wrong side of the fabrics and cut out the shapes leaving a small seam allowance. I have not yet glued these under. I will do that another day. All the blocks have been neatly stacked and returned to their project box for another day.

Ben Biggs Block # 10

The sun sure was shining brightly through the geraniums on the window, casting deep shadows on the light table. Did you know that too much light in the top does not allow the light under the table to shine through? I did not know that before. I do now.

Ben Biggs Block # 12

I thought I had counted all the pieces needed carefully. I missed 2 flowers here since I was layering 4 sheets of the wash-away stuff and then I could not find a piece to cut out the rest. That`s one of the problems when you start tidying up and putting things in their rightful place.

Ben Biggs Block # 11

 The sun eventually moved on and the light under the table started to shine through.

Ben Biggs Block # 9

I bought a  glass topped table last year to use as a light table.  I was planning to start  the Love Entwined 1790`s Marriage Coverlet last year, but so far have downloaded all 18 of the free patterns and obsessed about what colours to make the center compass. After reading all the posts about the process from many different quilters around the world, I realize that my applique skills needed a lot of learning and fine tuning. So, Ben Bigg`s is  my tutor for machine applique using the wash-away iron on fuseable stuff. LE is so detailed and finicky that I do not want to mess up. CCCQ and BTCT have been my tutors for needle turned hand applique. And now I have discovered a new approach to freezer paper applique. I love reading the quilt blogs that have come my way this past year.

Blessings,
Chris

Is it December Already?

My goodness. Where has the time gone? It seems like just a few days ago I was packing  my bags to go to England and Poland.Then after I was  home for 2 days I flew off to New Brunswick to spend time with my daughter and grandson. Now they have been here for the weekend for my husband's family annual Christmas dinner, which now takes place the Saturday after the American thanksgiving so his brother's family can all come back to Canada to celebrate with us. Since we were hosting this year, I made 3 turkeys and now  all the turkey bones and leftovers are in the freezer awaiting another day to make gallons of soup, since I cooked way too much. Not to mention that as I sat at the dinner, my throat started to close up and here I am, 3 days later with laryngitis and a deep bronchial cough. But I did spend lots of time looking after Devan when she was sick last week so, I guess she shared. 

Last night I printed off and taped together 5 pattern layouts for the Ben Biggs quilt that I am way behind in. I traced off the patterns onto wash away fuseable web and took time to cut them all out. I did remember to label them first. Two boxes of new fat quarters arrived from Craftsy. I had them in my cart and responded to a flash sale 2 1/2 weeks ago and got a better price then than they were offering last week, so I am happy. I have been slowly, oh so slowly, working on my simple tutorials for the Bright Jane quilt blocks. The sun is shining so brightly in here today.

In 2 weeks the house guest start to arrive for Christmas. Most recent count is 4 guests staying at my house, and 24 for Christmas dinner here at the Farm. Six of the nine coming from Saskatchewan will be staying in other homes. First guest arrives from Qatar Dec 18 and the last 2 leave for New Brunswick Jan 10. Both of these will be making quilts while they are here. Now, in order to sit 24 people at the same time in the same room, I need all 4 of my quilt tables cleared off, moved to the living room, that is 25 feet long, and I think there are enough chairs throughout the house to seat everyone at the same time. I have more than enough dishes since I bought all of them from a hotel auction 30 years ago and only broke one so far. Stacking chairs came from a local church auction 25 years ago.  One of the joys of living in a really big ole farm house, is that stuff seldom gets thrown out since there is so much room to store things. However, I did give away the 100 year old church piano (bought from the same auction) last week so have a whole wall empty in the living room. I am dying to fill that space with book shelves to house the hundreds of books sitting in boxes right now. Maybe. Just maybe, I could ask for bookshelves for Christmas? My daughter and my husband have had an annual luncheon date for the past 30 years to go out and buy my Christmas present. She always asks to make sure that I am happy. Hhmm.

And I drew up a 2015 goals diagram. Instead of writing a linear list like I usually do, I thought this might be more effective. Its like putting rocks into a jar. Only a very few large ones will fit, so the largest rock is completing my doctorate. The smaller stones are also important but not so big. Sand to fill in the gaps will be regular stuff like blogging, retreats, quilting, travel. And water to fill all the tiny spaces is everyday stuff.  I might change it but that is what came to mind immediately when I started.

Somehow, all the farm files made their way into the quilt room and this is the priority this week. The corn got combined yesterday and looks like a good crop this year so should have enough from selling it to pay for all the fertilizers, spraying, seed, combining, drying, silo filling, fuel for tractor and wages for workers. Then we get to start all over again with orders for next year's seed corn in the bills to pay file.

Blessings,
Chris

Welcome to My Blog

Hi. My  name is Chris and I live on a dairy farm in the Hamilton area of southern Ontario. I have been quilting for a lot of years and have a group of friends who come to Quilt at the Farm.  I have been blogging for more than a year now and cannot believe how much quilting I have accomplished since I started posting my progress here. I have also met with some pretty amazing quilters across Canada and around the world. Some are working on the same projects, other are doing their own creative thing. I have been inspired beyond belief with my quilting and my faith.

BTCT # 20

On of the quilts I am working on is the Beyond the Cherry Trees from Sentimental Stitches.  This was offered as a free BOM several years ago before I discovered it. I am needle turning and hand appliqueing as I babysit my wonderful grandchildren. I keep a bag ready to take with me. I got 9/12 leaves stitched down tonight. Try as I might, I still get peaks in my curves. Need more Practice. I will get that soon enough when I start on those 43 round cherries. I cut them out using one of the GO dies that has the right sized circle, I hope. Now, should I glue baste them in place or use the tiny pins like I have been with the leaves?

Blessings,

Chris

Original CCCQ

I found a picture of the original Chester County  Criswell Quilt made originally in 1852 as a wedding quilt. You can find more info  here  about the BOM.



I have been working on mine for 14 months and below is my progress so far. It is here that I have learned to do needle turn hand applique and am really loving it. Stitching around all those narrow inny and outy points with a size 10 Milliners needle  has given me an opportunity to learn to stitch with confidence. The original quilt has 61 blocks. Some of them were repeated by different family members. I am making mine with the 33 block pattern that are being made available.

 

Blessings,
Chris

GORF Retreat Update

We had our very first ever GO Real Fast Quilt retreat here at the Farm this past weekend. I had this crazy idea that a whole quilt could be prepped, cut out using the Accuquilt GO cutter and dies, blocks designed and laid out ready for machine applique in just 1 weekend. Two of the girls are making a 9 square quilt with swag borders. They are designing their own blocks using mine for an inspiration starting place. The other girl is making the same 16 squares that I made with swag borders. She could only come the one day and I forgot to take pictures of her progress. Each of the girls will be returning in the next 2 weeks to complete their blocks.

This is my yet unfinished quilt. I am quilting it in sections and my quilting machine is still at the repair shop. I machine appliqued the flowers onto the swags as a demo for the girls who practiced setting up their machine tension and thread on scrap bits after cutting out their shapes.

This is Daiva's work space above and she is ironing on the heat-n-bond fuseable web.This took longer than I expected.

How creative is this? She got 3 blocks done and 3 more started.
We laid out the blocks and border  on the design wall to see how the swags are going to look, then auditioned different options to connect the swags by pinning them on.

Leslie is cutting her very soft pink focus fabric after ironing on the heat'n'bond lite fusible web.

Her creative process was fun to watch.

 I learned a lot.

1. Everyone needs their own table space.
2. You cannot make the whole thing in a weekend if it is your first time.
3. Laughter is very good for the soul.
4. So is potluck food.
5. Not everyone wants to copy my patterns exactly.
6. Giving freedom to use my blocks for inspiration to create their own works.
7. This takes more time than copying a pattern.
8. I can learn from my students.
9. Helping each other is faster than doing it alone.
10. Three quilters at a time is perfect.
11. I never take enough pictures.
12. I want to do it again.  

Blessings,
Chris

GORF Retreat

Preamble Before the Retreat Officially Begins

I got the house tidied up, guest rooms ready, project boxes stocked with Lindor chocolates, tables, irons, etc . . . dill pickle soup is simmering on the stove . . .

the only thing I forgot was to complete mine . . . oops. . .
and they are here . . .
to be cont'd . . .

Dear Jane 2 Progress

Looks like I need to double check the size of each of these blocks. I have been home for nearly a week and spent most of Saturday working on DJ2 blocks and taking pictures for Quilting Jane at the Farm .
Had no internet until last night so here I am, catching up. Those blog posts will be up one at a time this week.

There are many joys of living on a farm that technically is within the boundaries of the City of Hamilton. Things that are not included, although my taxes do not reflect this, are fire hydrants, sidewalks, street lights, treated city water, sewers and bus service, to name a few. What we do have is open skies, lots of grass and trees, animals outside and fresh country air. Actually, not so fresh today. My Sweet Husband has been cleaning out the dry cow barn and drawing manure past my window all day. Elly came to visit for the day and helped drive Grampa's tractor, water and pet the babies. She even ate scrambled eggs and toast for breakfast.That's progress for a 33 month old who only wants to eat cereal and drink apple juice.

The first ever GORF retreat is this Friday-Sunday and I am once again de-cluttering my work space to share it with 3 ladies coming over for the weekend to make their very own GO Real Fast applique quilts. I will post pictures next week.

Blessings,
Chris

Home Again Finally

I have been home for exactly 22 hours and have run a gzillion errands, got in 2 loads laundry, a waterfit workout, pedicure and hugs to all the little girl grand children, ate 3 Tim Horton donuts and caught up on emails. Tomorrow I start back to the reality of life and, after a 90 minute massage, I have to (ugh) cook dinner and do some house work since the cleaning lady has not been here for the 5 weeks that I was away and just left for 3 weeks in Spain. Actually, the place doesn't look too bad since my Sweet Husband kept things pretty tidy. I haven't done any housework or cooking in 5 weeks. Sigh. Although I have done lots of dishes.

I dropped in to see the girls after school tonight and 18 month old Devan met me first and called me muma. I corrected her pronunciation of Gramma. Then 2 1/2 year old Elly came running and told me to come with her she has something to show me upstairs and off she ran calling me to turn on her bedroom light. And Ava, who is turning 7 on Saturday got in her hugs and asked if I brought my "bag" with me so we could pull out the fabric. I had not brought the bag since I was not babysitting, just loving on them tonight. I will be taking the bag with me tomorrow night to share time with them before putting them all to bed.

Mom was at night school and Dad was making supper and the girls were competing to see who could make the most noise. Little Devan's shrieks won since her 2 older sisters set the bar pretty high for her to imitate them. Finally their dad, my only son, raised his voice over theirs and informed them that he was the only one allowed to shout since he was the boss. It was awesome. Something about they all wanted me to sit by them as they were colouring, except Devan who was eating the marker. And she pushed a chair up to the counter so she could reach a water bottle that she called applejuice and asked to get up on my lap, then spilled some water and got down and reached, reached, reached really high to get the wash cloth off the drainboard and proceeded to wipe up the floor 2 feet away from the spill. Have I ever mentioned that all 3 of  my granddaughters are a bit OCD? Sh . . .don't tell them . . . they don't know yet.
 
I got to spend 12 days with my 5  month old grandson who, by the way, cut his first tooth yesterday before I left to fly home. And we bought tickets for them to fly out here for my husband's family Christmas dinner which we are hosting this year on Nov 29 the Saturday of the American Thanksgiving weekend. We started this new tradition a few years ago on the suggestion of his brother who moved his family to New York 20 years ago and now all his kids and grand kids are American citizens and they all have a 4 day weekend so can come and spend time with the ever growing family (there are now 16 great-grandchildren 7 and under). We meet on the Saturday at noon in the local church hall that great-grandma books each year. Good thing I remembered to ask her to book it since I have not yet sent out invitations. That will on the to do list for tomorrow somewhere between liver for lunch and babysitting. 

Now I've been home 23 1/2  hours and not done a single stitch on any of the quilts and its time for bed.
Blessings,
Chris

Some Applique Progress

I was in England visiting my sister for a week then Poland visiting my aunt and cousins for another week and a half. I took 6 prepped applique blocks with me to work on. The first 2 here are from Beyond the Cherry Trees. Neither is complete, but I finished what I had taken. Have I mentioned  how much I am enjoying needle turning these by hand? The bottom 4 are from the Chester County Criswell Quilt.

When I travel, I take along my net book to use to keep in touch and to write. I did get some writing done for my present course which is called "Equipping Saints to Counsel". I took 2 textbooks and completed one report. This is progress. One of the hindrances of using this net book is making blog posts. I have difficulty downloading photos off my camera. Sometimes it will download all 735 each time. Other times it ignores my instructions and does nothing. So here we are. I finally got the pictures on this post but cannot write anything beside them.

Last week I was home long enough to do my laundry,  make one Dear Jane block with pictures and have a wisdom tooth pulled when my daughter phoned with that pleading voice that a mother cannot ignore, "I'm going to be home alone with the baby all next week. There is a 2 o'clock flight. We can pick you up. Can you come visit?"

My internet had been out the 2 days I was home but it miraculously kicked in long enough for me to book that 2 o'clock flight and here I am. Home alone at my daughter's while she and baby are in the city for the day. The sun is shining brightly and I have Dear Jane stuff spread all over the table and the batteries in my camera died, so no pictures for now. Sigh.

But I have been able to snuggle my grandson every day. He is 4 1/2 months old and has been rolling over for a few weeks now.

Blessings,
Chris

Back Home Again

I have been out of the country for the past 2 1/2 weeks and my internet has been down. It seems to be working right now so I will try to make this fast since it comes in and out and the repair guys won't be here until Monday. The joys of having the satellite receiver at the top of a 70 foot silo. There have to be 2 workers before 1 can climb up.
I took 6 applique blocks with me to work on and only competed 1 but that's okay since I got a lot of work done on the rest. I cannot seem to download the pictures off my camera.
Also, this morning I tried doing some machine quilting on my GORF blocks to get them compete before the weekend retreat here next month, but my machine quit, so, I moved over to another machine and made 1 Bright Jane block.
The sun is shining profusely and the lady bugs are here en mass  and I still have geraniums blooming outside even though it is almost the end of October. Snow is forecast for Poland today and my Lufthansa flight was cancelled, but I was able to switch over to Lot Polish Airlines and get a direct flight home, so all is well.
Blessings,
Chris

Visiting Relatives

I have been away from home for the past week visiting first my sister in England and now my aunt and cousins in Poland. My netbook battery died in England and could not get it charged up until now. My 88 year old aunt fell a couple of months ago and is recovering. We have been home alone today and since her English is totally nil and my Polish is limited in understanding, we discovered google translate and the option to listen to the translation. We have been getting along famously.

Blessings,
Chris
 

DJ2 J-7

J-7

New Bright Jane Quilt

I have started the new Dear Jane quilt and am now posting individual blocks on the new Quilting Jane at the Farm blog. I will not be linking to it every time because I do get some house work done once in a while. But here is a sample of what is to come over there.

A-6

M-12

B-13

M-10

Blessings,
Chris

Really Old Sewing Machines

One of my quilting friends bought a portable machine from a Bible For Missions silent auction. Leslie  had messaged me several weeks ago asking if $40 was a good price. I asked her how much it weighed. Robin, one of the other girls she messaged said it's a feather weight and $40 is a steal. Well. It's a 99K Singer portable and weighs 22 pounds, hums like a dream after she was oiled and dusted. Now, not to be outdone by her best friend, Daiva walked into a different recycle shop and picked up a similar machine for $35. We had so much fun and laughter the other night checking out the new toys. So, I came home and pulled out my 99K that was given to me quite a few years ago. I had it working at one time but had just bought a new Bernina.  

99K Singer Portable 1954.

I own several really old sewing machines. They mostly sit in some obscure place in my house, out of the way, since they are not in use. But are they usable? I have my husband's grandmother's Singer (I hesitate to call it portable) but have never tried using it since I had bought a new Brother 1500S to do my  machine quilting. But look at the size of that opening! It's a bit bigger than my Brother. But does it work? It has that fancy dancy bullet bobbin winding apparatus on the front under the hand wheel. And it has 2 bobbins and a bullet shaped bobbin case. It hides out in the back kitchen along with the freezer, floor mops and all the other stuff most people hide in garages or basements

1909 Singer Sewing Machine

Now this one scares me. Never tried plugging it in. The cords look quite unsafe. But it makes a great door stop. Again, it has a bullet bobbin. Now if only I could figure out how to wind a bobbin?

1898 Portable Singer Sewing Machine

I must have gone mad that year because I bought several old machines just because I could. This 1924 treadle had been beautifully restored and the cabinet is so beautiful. However, for the price I paid for it, it should have come with a bobbin and bobbin case. I always check for the bobbin case now before considering purchasing an old machine. And why do I need so many old machines? I don't. But I like them.
Right now, this one sits tucked away in the living room. I have a chair beside it and a lamp and sometimes do hand work while watching TV. But must remember that pins often fall out and my husband always find them in his foot. I have not figured out the rhythm of sewing of this treadle without getting my fingers caught in the wheel.

1924 Singer Treadle

I could not resist purchasing this really old hand crank machine. It will never work since some vital part is missing. It is used as a door stop in the quilt room.

Hand Crank Sewing Machine Unknown make or date

Ava started playing with this toy machine when she was barely 3. Turning that wheel by hand became the goal. Later she cut bits of fabric scraps with her tiny Dear Jane scissors with the one blunt end. My fingers are too large for those scissors. I did not put in any thread so she just fed the scraps in and let the machine "sew" them. She spent hours here in the quilt room occupied by this. But now, she is starting to use the big, real machine with thread.

Toy  Singer Sewing machine with Hand Crank

This toy machine sat on an old bookshelf outside the guest rooms for years before I thought to bring it out to let Ava try it out. Turns out that it is much easier to use.

Toy Hand Crank Sewing machine made in USSR 

Elly is just starting to play in here and Devan will soon be following. And, Gramma has 2 toy machines for that day.

 Blessings,
Chris

Giveaway Winner

The winner of the anniversary giveaway is
Marjorie from new Brunswick. Congratulations. I had 2 of my Quilting at the Farm friends come by today and they helped with the draw. I had the most wonderful comments about what quilters love about where they live from across Canada, the USA and Australia. This is so much fun I should have a giveaway more often.

I am taking a trip next week first to England to visit my sister. Then to Poland to visit my aunt and cousins.
I am toying with the idea of taking my Dear Jane top with me to show my sister who is also making one. But I can only check one bag now and might have to do without other essential, like clothes. But then, she was here a year ago and saw the center blocks completed and sewn together. That would leave me enough room to pack a warm sweater since it will be nearly 3 weeks in October. Decisions. Decisions. Or, I could take her some fabric which, by the way costs about  double  there than what I have to pay, and I often purchase mine in the States at half what I have to pay here in Canada.

I wonder what other patterns I might have laying around that I may never make in my cupboards? Not that I do my sewing in the cupboards, but that's where lots of my patterns are  forgotten safely tucked away.
Blessings,
Chris

World Blog Hop

Hi. My name is Chris and I am somewhat retired, mother of 2, grandmother of 4 delightfully wonderful children and married to one Sweet, Sweet farmer who allows me and encourages me to study and travel while he carries on milking cows here on our family farm in Southern Ontario, Canada.

Carole at  wheels on the warrandyte bus  tagged me and I immediately panicked wondering, "What am I going to write??"  I discovered Carole's blog from Australia when I joined the chester criswell quilt  BOM which I found through  Esther Aliu . I was intrigued by the yellow buses lining the sides of Carole's blog and how she learned to do hand stitching on the bus commute everyday. Stitching or reading anything in a moving vehicle makes my stomach, um . . . unsettled. But what she stitches just blows me away! She finished her Morrell. Her What?? I thought? Her Sarah Morrell Sampler quilt. I tracked down the Di ford pattern from threadbear. It is on my one-of-these-days-I'll-get-to-it list. And she is presently working on the Di Ford Antique Sampler which is also on my to-do-some-day list.

What am I working on?
I have come to realize that I am actively working on no less than large 5 reproduction quilts using about every technique available. I started the Dear Jane quilt 5 years ago trying to keep 10 blocks ahead of the 6 girls who joined my class here at Quilting at the Farm where we quilt most Saturday mornings. I was working on my masters at the time and then started a doctorate. I had all the 4 1/2 inch blocks completed in June 2013 as well as a few of the triangles. Back in April I started a month long blitz to complete as many triangles as I could, and finally finished them end of August. I added all the borders Sept 1. I plan to machine quilt the thing later this winter after I have practiced up my machine quilting skills on my Brother 1500S. I started a second one this week in very bright colours. I am planning to blog my journey through this at a pace of 10 blocks per month on my new blog Quilting Jane at the Farm.

Dear Jane Quilt

One year ago I bought year 1 and 2 of the Chester County Criswell Quilt, a BOM from  Sharon Barnes

I was born in 1952, 100 years after  the original quilt was made as a wedding quilt in 1852 for a distant relative of Sharon's. And, my father's name was Chester so that was enough of a coincidence to get me on board. I added a few reds and greens to the left overs from the Dear Jane project. I started needle turn applique over freezer paper and quickly abandoned that to straight up needle turn cut away after drawing the the design onto the fabric from a freezer paper pattern.Since many of these are paper cut designs, that was the simplest way to prep the blocks. I packed these as hand work when I traveled or babysat. Each block finished at 12 inches. Year 3 has just been just released.

Chester County Criswell Quilt

In January Sentimental Stitches and Dear Jane offered the just takes 2  free for one month BOM and I could not resist, since I had enough left over reds and greens from CCCQ and just enough background fabric for this 100x100 wedding quilt from 1856 located now in an Indiana museum. There are 25 sixteen inch blocks and 4 borders with 10 or 11 swags. I was already doing a hand applique project, so I thought I would take the easy route and do this one by machine applique. I am using the wash away floriani fuseable web and turning under the edges. This is taking a lot longer than I had anticipated. There will be 4 corner buds in each block, eventually. 

  

Benjamin Biggs Wedding Quilt

In the meantime, the beyond-the-cherry-trees-album-quilt patterns went on sale in Feb and I could  not resist, since I had been eyeing them for a couple of years. I started needle turn hand appliqueing these in mid June. This has become my take along/babysitting/keeping my hands busy project this summer. Sad to say, but the hand work is getting done quicker than the machine work. I am really enjoying working with the Kona snow background fabric. I am giving serious thought to hand quilting this one. 

Beyond the Cherry Trees Quilt

I started this Go Real Fast Quilt quilt last year. I bought many of the GO dies and had some custom leaf dies made to hurry up the process. I am happy to announce that I am hosting and teaching the very first GORF Weekend Retreat here at the Farm in mid November. The plan is to make it in a weekend.  Well, we should get all the blocks made using heat and bond lite fuseable for raw edged shapes cut with all my Accuquilt GO dies and hopefully get a lot of the machine appliqueing done. I am quilting each block individually and will connect them with strips. Why I decided to quilt them with 1 inch cross hatching I will never know. I am not enjoying it as much as I should since I am having trouble sewing a straight line some days.

GO Real Fast Quilt

How does my work differ from others of its genre? 
Others get their quilts completed and quilted. I keep starting new ones. I like the reproduction quilts and researching the historicity of quilting. I like the challenge.

Why do I write/create what I do? 
Quilting is not the only thing I do. It is easier to write about my quilting progress than about my writing progress. I am working my way through a self paced online Doctorate in Christian Counseling. This means that I have no deadlines and so am taking way too long to do all the required assignments. I have written a book about my experience as a young mother with a profoundly handicapped child and am still working through the proofing process because, when publishing non-fiction, one has to be careful not to offend any real people who may be referenced in the story. I have a publisher on standby, waiting for me to commit to a contract.
I am also writing through my menopause journey which was a nightmare of anger, depression and thoughts of suicide that eventually turned to peace, joy and purpose. It appears that I cannot work through some of the doctoral studies without addressing and dealing with some of the things in my past that still bring me pain. But then, that is the whole purpose of the doing the degree, to better help others address the hurts and pain of their past and present by bringing issues to Jesus, who is the Word of God, and allowing the Holy Spirit, the Comforter, to bring lasting healing to hearts and spirits to anyone willing to let go of those hurts and pains through forgiveness. In other words, I am still a work in progress and each course brings me closer to God. Quilting had often been a life line for me during those difficult times. So, quilting and writing go hand in hand in my life and experience.

How does my writing process work? 
I usually just start writing and see where the words take me. I am often surprised by the outcome. Much of my professional writing is done long hand where I can think better, but then I still have to take the time to type it all out. I am constantly re-reading  and proofing, but never quite enough, since I often find typos and errors after I hit publish. Sometimes I hit delete and start all over again another day. I am constantly thinking, "Is this what I really want to say?" "Does anyone care what I write?" Then I get comments and emails that make my heart sing with joy as readers share how my words affect them.

I am tagging Marjorie at  marjories busy corner. I first met Marjorie on line last winter through needle and thread network where Canadians are invited to link to others who quilt and sew and knit and do other creative things. She lives in beautiful New Brunswick and says, "it is the open space and fresh air of the country . Everything is green right now and soon the leaves will change with Fall weather. What's not to love, eh?" I am amazed at what Marjorie accomplishes in a 24 hour day. Not only does she do her own quilting, but she quilts for others all day. Now I have only completed a Dear Jane top. Marjorie has hand quilted one for someone else!!

Don't forget that I am giving away a Rosemary Makhan  pattern  to celebrate my 1 year blogging anniversary. Just leave a comment about where you live and what you love about where you live. The draw will take place this Thurs Sept 25th.

Blessings,
Chris

Slow Stitching Sunday

I had my eye on this 1850s era red and green quilt from Sentimental Stitches  for a couple of years and finally bought it when it went on sale back in Feb. I started stitching on it mid June. It is my take along hand work when I travel,  babysit, listen to online lectures for school and any other time I am avoiding doing any real work. I prepped a lot of 1/4 inch bias strips. They are easiest to stitch down because there is no turning under the edges like with all those leaves. I tried glue basting with a tiny drop of quilter's glue, but still have to stitch through a dry lump. I usually pin with tiny applique pins. I am needle turning the edges of the leaves and flowers.

BTCT

I cut some of the leaves with my GO cutter. On the original, many of the leaves are floating beside the stems and others lay on top. This makes placing them simple. And, since every block is different and an original, I do not have to be too, too perfect in the layout.
I am linking to Slow Stitching Sunday.
Blessings,
Chris