SNOW DAYS ! ---- A FINISH

 Shame on me !   A week ago, we here in Middle Tennessee got one of the biggest snowfalls that I have seen in years around here, and I forgot to blog about it .  And the hardest part of that was the below zero temperatures that came along afterwards.

                       Downtown Main Street (not my photo)

  But even with concerns that pipes might freeze , and a little scare with my heat pump, God's gracious mercy saw me through again.  My water bill and my electric bill will show a bit of an increase due to the faucets left dripping faucets I"m sure, but that's nothing compared to being stuck with out water and heat and having to wait in line for repairs !  

  So, you guys know what this gal does when she's stuck at home for days ( I sure ain't drivin' on snow and ice' !)    I sewed,,,,,,of course !

   So, this past week was spent with me working on this little quilt....with white representing all the snow I could see out of the window in front of my old Singer 15-91 sewing machine.

  I chose to use IT because of it's location, and the birds outside of it, feeding all of the birdseed I kept putting out for them.

After finishing it, I realized that it would go perfectly with one of the Pioneer Woman fabrics that I picked up on clearance at our local Walmart.

Eventually I got around to quilting it, stitching in-the-ditch for the interior piecing, and then nervously experimenting with free-motion-quilting for the white borders.  After success doing the wishbones,

I started doodling on paper, and I made up the silly little triangles/circles quilting in the second white border.  

The outer big border, although I took the time to miter the corners, just got meandering quilting in it, since the quilting design there wouldn't be identifiable anyway.  I think that I could actually enjoy doing MORE fmq if I had a big table/cabinet that my Jazz 2 was sunken down into.  I use a SewSteady extension table, 18 x 24 inches, that came with the machine, but the quilt gets hung up on the edges of it, and lifts it up when I try to reposition the quilt.  I just don't think that I have room for those, even if I was willing to put out the big expense.

I bound it totally by machine, on my JukiTL2010q, using that 1//16th-inch left compensating foot that I am so appreciating. What a wonderful top-stitch it makes SO NEAR the folded edge.

Speaking of bindings, I have been invited to assist the ladies in our church that are making quilts for a good cause.  They were sorely in need of another stitcher, and I am happy to help.  I've bound 3 fairly big quilts for them so far (they do prefer that I do the finishing by hand).    We may even have a road trip to Marshall Dry Goods in our very near future.......I think that could be fun, although it IS a 6 hour drive each way !  Stay tuned for news about that.

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Snow Days ! String piecing

 

                                                    32 inches square

Pieced on Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday, Jan. 14th, 15th, and 16th , while snowed in under 4 1/2 to 6 inches of snow !!!!

To be continued !

 

FINISH ! First quilt of 2024 ! Four-Patch Squared

 This little guy only finishes around 38 x 39 inches.  

Here's the finished top before being quilted.

Nothing purchased for this one.  Made from 2 1/2 inch squares and 5 inch charm squares halved, for the colorful blocks, a grey print for the alternate setting blocks,  and 2 1/2 inch strips for the binding.  Blocks squared to 6 1/4 ".

I loved how this one looked after quilting on my Jazz 2, with a diagonal cross-hatching. 

 I used more of the 80% cotton/ 20% wool pre-soaked and dried batting.  I hoped that it really wouldn't get that crinkly post-laundry look , but IT DID.

And here is an 'after' photo.....

EDIT : *****************

Following a kind suggestion on FB, I ironed this little quilt, and I must say that I am much happier with the look.  I used the wool setting on my little iron.

          I couldn't resist including the birds in this block.

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EDIT:  I gifted this small quilt to Janice Bridges this past Sunday, Jan. 14, 2024, in appreciation of all of the volunteer work that she does.