Fantastic Friday Finish!

After 7 years of stitching, my "Journey of a Quilter" is finally finished! It was a long journey and I loved every stitch!

The pattern is by Leanne Beasley with some slight liberties taken along the way in changing some of the stitching.

The finished size of the quilt is 50" square. The piecing of all those little scraps was done by machine, and the embroidery and quilting was done by hand. 

I am delighted that this quilt is finished, but also admit to feeling somewhat sad. As my son used to say "it's a happy sad". This quilt has travelled a lot of miles with me over the last 7 years - to the lake, to the farm, to parks to camp, and to the hospital. I will miss hauling it around with me everywhere I go just in case I have some time for hand stitching. It was kind of like my security blanket at times. I guess I'll need to get another quilt prepped so I'll have something else to drag around with me! 
I am linking up my finish at "Finish it up Friday" at Crazy Mom Quilts.

Slow Sunday Stitching Linky Party

This week I tried out a new (to me) product called "finger cots" which were  recommended by Teresa at Fabric Therapy (see blog post here). I finally located some at Shoppers Drug Mart. They worked great and I liked them for pulling the needle and thread through easily. It was more convenient than constantly picking up the needle grabber discs that I had been using. 

I was getting very co-ordinated with the thimble on my middle finger and the cot on the first finger, until the cot cut off the circulation in my finger! I fixed that problem by cutting into the rim at the edge and it worked perfectly, and my finger stopped turning purple. 

My big announcement is that this week I finished hand quilting the 9th block on my Journey of a Quilter....the 9th and last block! I started hand quilting these blocks in December 2012. I have just loved every step of making these blocks - the fabric selection, block construction, hand embroidery, and the hand quilting. This one block has over 30 different fabric scraps in it, and even the light background fabrics are scrappy leftovers too.

Here is how the quilt looks today...

YUM!

I spent some time running my hands over the stitches, admiring the texture that hand quilting gives. My mind revisited many memories from working on this quilt over the years. One of the benefits of having a blog is that you can easily review your posts about a quilt's journey - you can see the 35+ posts written about this quilt since July 2007 by clicking here. 

My biggest hand stitching challenge today will be that I am puppysitting my granddog Max. And he doesn't like hand stitching, or anything slow! He wants me to play with him. All the time. It's cute for a while and then it's annoying!  "Come on Grandma... play with me"!

I hope to be able to get the border design marked today. I had been debating about hand quilting an unmarked design, a "liberated" free motion kind of quilting. Since I didn't do any marking on the blocks, it seemed like I should do the same for the borders. But I really had my heart set on a cable pattern around the border, and I can't do that in a free motion, unmarked way. Still thinking about it.

What are you hoping to stitch today? I hope you have some time to enjoy your hand stitching project, and link up your blog post below. 

Slow Sunday Stitching - Hand Stitching Patterns

Don't you love free stitching patterns? 
Many people I know (who shall remain nameless!) are more of a stitching enthusiast and pattern collector, than a stitcher. They admire the projects and talk about making it someday, buy or print off the patterns, and maybe even gather the supplies....but then don't progress any further. 

If that makes you happy, then carry on, and enjoy the process of collecting ideas and patterns. 

However, if you really want to see those beautiful stitcheries in your house, on the walls, and in your quilts, and if you want to enjoy the health benefits of slow stitching, why not make a goal to spend a little time with your needle and thread each day (or even to do some hand stitching each Sunday) and link up your post to Slow Sunday Stitching. You will be surprised at how the accountability is helpful in improving your motivation.
Whether you are "collecting" or stitching along with us today, here are some project ideas I have come across:

* click here for a fun beehive pattern from Red Brolly, with great instructions on making a bullion knot. 

* here is another great little project from Nana Company that I really want to stitch.
* feeling the love? Want to make a heart quilt? Check out Quilt Inspiration for a ton of free patterns.
* here is another great resource for hand embroidery patterns and project tutorials.

Today I will be adding some hand quilting stitches to my Journey quilt. There is a bouquet of flowers in each corner of this quilt, and this is my last bouquet block to quilt. I am very close to finishing the quilting on the 8th block and can then move on to the last block!
Link up your hand stitching project below and share with us what you are working on today!

Slow Sunday Stitching Inspiration

Welcome to the first Slow Sunday Stitching party of 2014! 
Last week we had a record number of link ups - 25! So much inspiration and beautiful projects to enjoy. 
...And speaking of inspiration, if you like intricate hand embroidery, crazy quilting, embellishments, Hummel figurines, beading, and/or lace work, you have to check out this quilt - Little Darlings. What an inspiring example of the love of all things stitched by hand! I cannot even imagine the hours of stitching bliss!
...And speaking of stitching bliss, since finishing my Accidental Quilt, I have returned to my Journey of a Quilter project. I just had to take a photo of my quilt when the sun came out for a minute yesterday. 
Okay, where is my needle? 
I really shouldn't leave my needle stuck in a project, but there it is! 

Now where was I on this project?  I have finished hand quilting 7 of the 9 blocks on this quilt. 2 more blocks to go, plus the border. It has been a wonderful journey with this quilt! I started piecing the blocks in the summer of 2007, so this is the 7th year of this project. It's time to get 'er done in 2014! 
What are you working on today? Link up your post below and share with us - hand work projects only please!

Slow Stitching Sunday

I am enjoying some hand quilting on my Journey quilt today, and I will be enjoying the last days of fall weather. Nothing is as soothing (for me) as quilting by the water. It is truly heaven!




This is the block I have just finished on the top right corner of the quilt. I am "working" on the last two blocks.

The leaves have mostly fallen down now, so it's time to start raking. But that's a job for another day... not today. 


It's Slow Stitching Sunday! 


Today it's all about relaxing, being in the moment, moving slowly and taking my time.
What are you stitching by hand today? Link your blog update below and share your project with us.

Slow Sunday Imperfect Stitching

I am going to a quilt show today. I know that I will see many beautiful and perfectly constructed quilts. I will feel a sense of awe and by inspired by the great beauty, and yet, I know I will likely come away from the show feeling a bit defeated about my own quilts. 
Ever since I saw some of the Gee's Bend quilts (my blog post is here) I desire to see quilts differently. I learned that when I look at a quilt, I want to be inspired, but mostly I want to experience an emotional connection, and to have a visceral reaction that is not related to perfect construction. I want to seek out the interesting, the unusual, and the memorable. 
For many years when attending a quilt show I would take 3 photos of my most favorite things - it might be a bit of quilting design, or a combination of colours, and sometimes a whole quilt... but something that made my heart sing.

Unpopped knot at the base of the heart!
It's staying there!

Perfection does not make my heart sing. 
It makes me feel stressed. 
I enjoyed reading Joshua Becker's thought provoking article on "Life is Not Perfect. Fortunately". He said "we can find contentment and joy even in the midst of defect".




Which is one of the reasons why I decided that as I quilt my "Journey of a Quilter" to not use any marking tools. 
I wanted my journey to be congruent with what I believe - that the imperfections are what make each person, each life, and each quilt unique and special in their own way. 


As a result, none of my quilting lines are an exact 1/4" away from the seam, nor are they perfectly straight. I am having a wonderful quilty time on my journey, imperfect stitches/steps and all!



When I get home from the quilt show, I'll be enjoying some imperfect slow stitching on my Journey quilt. 
How about you? What are you hand stitching today?
Link up your blog post below and share your imperfect project with us!

Slow Stitching Sunday

I recently enjoyed a few days of rural therapy and personal restoration at my cousin Debbie's beautiful farm. 
Debbie and I have been very close since we were young kids and could always be found together at family functions causing trouble of some sort. And we spent every school holiday together that our parents would allow.
It had been a long time since we were able to enjoy hours of wonderful conversation together. After all these years, we never run out of things to talk about and we still think we are hilarious!!

We had great fun visiting with her chickens and collecting the eggs. She is new to having her own chickens, although her family always had them when we were growing up. We enjoyed including "the girls" in our chats and watching their antics. It was a big ol' hen party!! HA!


While she was at work during the day, I putzed around her farm, made soup with whatever veggies they had from the garden, played with their adorable little barn kitten who was quite interested in my quilting, and of course I spent countless hours hand quilting.



I made a lot of progress on my "Journey of a Quilter" project (pattern by Leanne Beasley) . This is a blurry photo of the block I worked on, which is the bottom left corner of the quilt. 





I started this quilt in July 2007, and it took 5 years to complete the hand embroidery. I have been quilting it a bit here and there over the last couple of years. It spent a lot of time with me and my brother at the hospital over the summer, and it sure does hold a lot of memories of my journey. 

I am making some Slow Stitching progress and have now finished hand quilting 7 of the 9 blocks! Today I will be putting in a few more stitches, and enjoying all the memories that this quilt holds, especially the ones enjoyed at my cousin's farm.

I hope you have time to enjoy some slow stitching today, and that you will link up your blog post below and share what you are working on.  

Slow Sunday Stitching

We finally have some warm weather here this weekend  (sunny and over 20 degrees!) which is perfect for stitching outside. Are you tired of hearing about my "Journey of a Quilter" project? I am still hand quilting it and making great progress. At this point, I'm sure I will finish it by the end of summer!

Sunday is the perfect day to relax and enjoy some time with needle and thread. What are you hand stitching today?
Link up your post below and share your project.

Hand Quilting Inspiration

Every hand quilter has their own style of stitching. I have found it so helpful to watch other quilters' techniques when they are quilting. 
This is my friend Pat hand quilting a baby quilt. I was mesmerized by watching her. 




Pat uses the 1/4" quilting tape to mark her quilting lines across the embroidery blocks. 
She doesn't like to use a marker on white fabric "just in case" it doesn't come off. She is crosshatching the background of the block, but not stitching through the embroidery. I love it!
If you don't have any friends to watch quilt, you can watch some experts through the magic of the internet.
Here are some videos you might enjoy:
*Sarah Fielke - larger stitching with Perle cotton.
*Marianne Fons - I like her description of the difference between machine and hand quilting. 
*Thimble Lady - lots of commercials to watch but neat ideas...I might have to try one of these thimbles.
*Tim Latimer - Tim has a unique style of quilting with a thumb thimble on his left hand.

Photo by Squidoo

And...as a special treat to enjoy, Celebrate Hand Quilting blog had a fantastic blog hop last week - click here to start at day one. 

Now that you are inspired, don't just keep reading about the magic of hand quilting, go do it!

Today I will be continuing my relaxing "Journey of a Quilter" and I will be working on block #8 while thoughts of yesterday's quilt auction dance in my head.

Link up your hand stitching post below and share what you are working on this week.

Slow Sunday Stitching

It's Sunday! 

Time for some relaxing Slow Sunday Stitching!

 I am excited to share that I have finished 1/3 of the hand quilting (not including the border) on my Journey of a Quilter. I have quilted parts of some of the other blocks too, but blocks 3, 5 and 6 are completely quilted as of today! 

I finished the hand embroidery on block #3 in the fall of 2007 and here it is only 5.5 years later all quilted!

Wow...that journey went by fast!

Today I am going to spend some minutes hand quilting and hope you will make some time to do some relaxing stitching too! Link up your hand stitching post below and share your progress to inspire all of us slow stitchers.

Slow Stitching on Sunday

This is what is in my hoop to hand quilt today. I am working on block #7 of my eternal "Journey of a Quilter" (pattern by Leanne Beasley).
If you are relaxing with a cup of tea while reading blogs today, here are some fun hand quilting sites to visit for inspiration:
*Hand Quilting Tutorial
*Celebrate Hand Quilting
*Tim Latimer 
And if you want to be totally amazed, hop over to visit Teresa's hand quilting marathon at Fabric Therapy. She is attempting to achieve the impossible! Go cheer her on!


Link up your hand stitching blog post below and share your Slow Stitching project.

Slow Stitching and Connecting

This weekend I attended a party with some of my highschool friends. 

We lost touch with each other for a few years when we were finishing our education, getting married, setting up homes, having babies, raising children, establishing careers... and generally trying to keep our heads above water. But in a wonderful serendipitous way, we have reconnected in the last couple of years and enjoyed some wonderful time together. "Old people" like us always discuss the effects of the technology... the "world wide web", blogging, tweeting, facebook, instagram, etc. 
Then I came across this interesting thought provoking article to read - "Stop instagramming your perfect life".  
So much to reflect on.
This is the quilt that I hand quilted while I visited with my life long friends... stitching together the threads of our lives, and choosing to be "a friend", instead of just "an observer".
I am quilting block #8 on my "Journey of a Quilter" (pattern by Leanne Beasley) not because I have already finished 7 blocks before this, but because this block seemed to be perfect to stitch this weekend.
I am making slow and steady turtle progress...just the way I like it!
What are you S L O W stitching this week? Link up your hand work post below and share your project with us.

Relax...it's Sunday!

It's Sunday!
Today I'll be "working" on my Journey of a Quilter, and have been looking forward to some slow stitching all week. Just me, my quilt, and my needle and thread. I'm hand quilting block #6, and am over half way finished this block now.






Take a few deep breaths and enjoy some slow stitching today.


Doctor's orders...it's for health purposes!
Link up your blog post and share what hand stitching you are relaxing with today.

Slow Sunday Stitching

Not much time for hand sewing this week so I couldn't wait for Sunday to arrive. I plan to quilt until my hands are sore or my fingers are bleeding, whichever comes first! 
I am continuing to quilt my Journey of a Quilter, and am enjoying every stitch. I think the quilting is about 1/4 finished at this point.


These are my favorite quilting needles at the moment - the John James "Big Eye" Size 10. I can always thread this needle, even after quilting for an hour or two late at night!

What are you hand stitching today? Link up your blog post below and share your progress.

Slow Sunday Stitching - Inspiration

From where do good ideas grow?

How do you find inspiration and direction for your next quilt or quilting design?

For me, there seem to have evolved two streams of inspiration:

1) Reading quilt blogs, quilt books, and quilt magazines.
I love to read, and especially enjoy reading anything quilt related. I have a pile of magazines which are flagged with projects I will do someday (unlikely) and many books with techniques I want to try (possible), but these days I am mostly addicted to the internet/blogging sites and inspired by quilts I see on line that I would love to make (probable).

2) In quiet reflection.

It's a rare occurrence in many homes to have quiet time. Many of my friends and relatives have the television on 24/7 with the constant noise and distraction of sports and drama. 

You can probably guess that in my house, it's mostly quiet. When I am home, I am cooking, washing dishes, doing laundry, cleaning, walking the dog, and endlessly moving items/clothing/junk from one place to another. If I am not doing chores, I am either talking to my kids, reading, quilting or sleeping. Very boring and quiet and perfect (for me). I enjoy the relaxing mindfulness, and dreaming about the quilts I might make, the colours I might use, and the quilty adventures I might have.


“I must try to be alone for part of each year . . . and part of each day . . . in order to keep my core, my center . . . Women must be still as the axis of a wheel in the midst of her activities . . . She must be the pioneer of achieving this stillness, not only for her own salvation, but for the salvation of family life, of society, perhaps even of our civilization.” Anne Morrow Lindbergh, Gift From the Sea (one of my favorite books!)


I am wishing you all a Happy New Year full of inspiration and lots of stitching time in 2013!
Today I plan to enjoy more hand quilting on my "Journey of a Quilter". I have finished the center block quilting...oh, I just noticed on the photo that I haven't finished the framing lines! LOL 
Thank you for all the ideas shared on how to quilt this block (see the comments on  this blogpost). I enjoyed reading all the creative suggestions and look forward to using them on future blocks, but decided to try the wavy line idea, and am very pleased with how it turned out.

Maybe you can see it better in black and white?
I invite you to link up your hand stitching blog post below and share what you will be working on today.

Slow Sunday Stitching

Finally - it's Sunday! 
Make time to pick up a needle and thread and do some slow stitching today. Especially with the hectic rush of the season, it's important to have time to rest and relax, and catch your breath.

I got an early start this weekend... I started stitching last night when Bonnie Hunter was on QuiltCam. I took some time to relax and enjoyed hand quilting my "Journey of a Quilter" while watching Bonnie sew on one of her vintage machines. 
My daughter came in and said to me: "Are you STILL working on that quilt"!?!
I defensively say: 
"What do you mean? I just started quilting it last month!" 
Well, I guess it's true that she has seen me working on it for more than 5 years now. But that's not a very long time in quilt land! Wonder how many more years I'll be quilting on it?!? LOL
Can anyone give me ideas for quilting this large block? I am mostly quilting 1/4" inside all seam lines, but in this block, there are no seams and it's too large to have no quilting in it. Should I run a wavy stitching line across the block under each line of letters? I can't imagine shadow quilting each letter. Any other ideas?
Wasn't last week's link up so fun? We had some cross stitch, hand piecing, hand applique, hand quilting, and binding!
Link up your blog post below and show us what hand work you have been working on.