Torah Stitch

Have you cross stitchers out there heard about the Torah Stitching project?  It is an attempt to cross  stitch the first five books of the bible (the Torah).  You don't have to be Jewish or belong to any other religious group to participate.  Hundreds of stitchers are involved in the project now.

To participate, go to the website and fill out the form.  The cost is less than $20 for the fabric (14 count aida), chart, needle and floss.  I signed up before Christmas, but my project  arrived just this week as it takes a while to chart the verses.  I think everyone gets 4 verses to stitch, and there is also room on the sides and bottom to personalize your stitching.  They give stitchers 6 months to complete the verses, and up to 4 stitchers can work on one piece.

My verses are Exodus 20:20-23.  The challenge for me will be making sure everything is stitched exactly as charted since I don't read Hebrew.  Here's what I've stitched so far. 

http://torahstitchbystitch.temmagentles.com/

Sleepy Hollow Update

The last time I posted a picture of Sleepy Hollow, it looked like this:

 

I have been working on it the past few weeks, and have made some progress.

 

You can't tell from this picture since the color is so bad, but the gray church on the right has not been stitched.  That's because the color WDW 1176 has been discontinued, and my local source for WDW didn't have it.   I managed to find some this morning online and ordered 2 skeins, one for this project and one to give away with the chart  when I finally finish.  I know I will not be stitching this one again. 

 

I am not entirely happy with my linen color.  I wish it were a couple of shades darker.  I bought if when I was in VA Beach  at the shop where they carry a lot of R&R Reproduction Linens.  The lady at the shop insisted this was the right color.  I know dye batches vary, and hand dyed fabrics aren't consistent, but there is a huge color difference between what I bought and what is on the model.  The moral:  go with your gut.  I should have waited to find a darker blue.   I think I can darken it a little bit by mounting the framed piece on black foamcore. 

Mega Pinnie and Stash Report

I spent yesterday making a giant pincushion out of leftover chambray from a T-shirt quilt and a few scraps of quilting fabric.  I  also got to use up some truly terrible 80s era fabric on the inside to back the quilted panels.

I used Shelia Donnachie's tutorial.  Here's the link: https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B9ntoU3Iml4wZ2ltZDRES3p5Z28/edit?pli=1

This was an easy project to do except for the stuffing.  The challenge was to keep square sides while making the stuffing firm and uniform.  I ended up using 3 large beanbag-type cushions filled with ground walnut shells (my favorite pincushion stuffing), 2 pieces of mat board and a little bit of leftover batting to poke out the corners on the top.  This bit of engineering took several tries to get it right and  the better part of the afternoon.   

Now I'm going to sort out my other pincushions.  I have short glass head pins, long glass head pins, long quilting pins with plastic heads, flower pins, regular straight pins, applique pins...All of them a jumbled mess stuck to 4 different magnetic pincushions and two cloth pincushions.   My husband and son think organizing pins is a weird project, but maybe organizing my pins will spur me on to some bigger cleaning projects.

My yards used this week includes the pincushion and binding the baby quilts.

Linking up:  https://myplvl.blogspot.com/2018/04/tuesday-archives-192-pin-cushions.html

Used this week: 1.125 yard

Used Year to Date: 2.125 yard
Added this week: 0 yards
Added year to date:  0 yards
Net Used:  2.125 yard

To see more stash reports:  http://www.patchworktimes.com/2014/01/26/stash-report-week-4-2014/

Juilo's Quilts Bound

My brother and his partner adopted a baby last October.  I made 2 quilts, had them longarmed, and they sat for 2 months, waiting for me to bind them.  This week I finally got them bound.  I did the binding by machine since these are for a baby.  I hope these quilts will get dragged all over the place.  One of them is stroller/carseat sized.

Here are the tops before quilting.  I used my brother's, BIL's and husband's old 100% cotton shirts for the tops and gray dimpled minke for the backs. 

 

Here's the back:

 

 Here's the front:

 

 

The quilting is a spiky pantograph that looks like pampas grass to me, very masculine. 

 

I haven't been under any time pressure because my brother lives in Brazil, where it is summer now.  Also, I'm not going to mail them because postage is super expensive to Brazil, and then my brother would have to pay a customs duty on the quilts.  The baby clothes my mother sent cost $40 to send, took about 4 weeks to arrive and had a customs fee of close to $40.  Not worth it!  So Julio will get his quilts when they come to the US.  There will probably be another 6 months wait for his final adoption papers and visa. 

We now have a Julie, a Julianna and a Julio in our family.  Time to retire that name!

I'm linking up with Sarah.  http://confessionsofafabricaddict.blogspot.com/2014/01/can-i-get-whoop-whoop-good-thing-weve.html and Crazy Mom Quilts. http://crazymomquilts.blogspot.com/2014/01/a-quilt-for-my-brother.html

More Scrapitude

I injured my knee at the gym a couple of weeks ago, so I haven't been able to go on walks.  I'm hobbling around the house.  The doctor thinks I have patella-femoral syndrome.  Basically, my knee isn't tracking right.  He gave me an anti-inflammatory and tramadol, which helps with the pain but makes me feel a little weird.  The good news is now I have more time to sew. 

Today I finished the setting triangles for Scrapitude. 

 

I like this quilt a lot more than I thought I would.  Some of the batiks are downright ugly on their own, but they work in this quilt. 

 

This is not the final setting, but I couldn't resist putting it together to see how the colors work.  There is a lot of pink in this quilt, but it doesn't seem particularly feminine to me.  I think I could give it to one of my brothers, but maybe I'll just keep it for myself.

 

Scrapitude Blocks

I put down Celtic Solstice and picked up Scrapitude this weekend.  I completed 25 blocks.

 

Sandy was right about this quilt:  it is much simpler than a Bonnie Hunter mystery.  To see more design walls:  http://www.patchworktimes.com/2014/01/20/design-wall-monday-january-20-2014/

 

To see more Scrapitude progress:  http://quiltingfortherestofus.com/blog/scrapitude-linky-party-number-two/1/17/2014

Celtic Solstice Blocks

All 121 of my Celtic Solstice blocks are done.  I really need a break from this quilt! 

 

I'm going to take a break and put the binding on my brother's baby's quilts.

The Perfect Snow

Yesterday it got up in the mid 50s.  Today we had the perfect snow.  Big fluffy flakes that fell for about an hour and left the trees like this:

 

 

 

 

Nothing on the roads, a dusting on the cars, and melted by lunch.  That's how I like my snow!

Birthday Girl Blocks, Stash Report

I usually only give a stash report when I've added or used some fabric, but I wanted to show my birthday girl blocks for Celtic Solstice.  These blocks used the 2 units, the chevron and corner blocks, that were the least accurate of my clues.  Most of them went together OK, but had to do some unsewing and restitching.  The beauty of a  scrappy 9 inch block with 52 pieces is that little imperfections, a point missing here and there, don't really take away from the design.  Here are my 61 birthday girl blocks.

 

Everyone who has seen these blocks talks about how 'colorful' or 'bright' this quilt is going to be. 

 

Used this week: 0 yard
Used Year to Date: 1 yard
Added this week: 0 yards
Added year to date:  0 yards
Net Used:  1 yard

 

I also have to sneak in another picture of my tulips.  Three are blooming now. 

 

 One bud got broken off, so I clipped it off and have it in a juice glass in the kitchen.  That one is starting to open now. 

 

To see more stash reports: http://www.patchworktimes.com/2014/01/12/stash-report-week-2-2014/

Tulips!

Eight days ago, my bulbs looked like this:

Today I have 2 tulips!  They are supposed to be red, but they look pink to me.

 

Celtic Solstice Check In

I have FINALLY completed  step 5 of Celtic Solstice.  I cleaned up my sewing area yesterday and vacuumed the floor.  Now I'm ready to put the blocks together.

I think this project will be on my design wall for a while!

http://quiltville.blogspot.com/2014/01/mystery-monday-link-up-part-6.html

http://www.patchworktimes.com/2014/01/06/design-wall-monday-january-6-2014/

First Stash Report of the Year

I used one yard this week, and it wasn't in a sewing project.  My son needed it for a  Destination Imagination Instant Challenge.  I was glad to get rid of this yard of blue fabric.  It was a stiff, heavy cotton, and I'm not sure where it came from.

Used this week: 1 yard
Used Year to Date: 1 yard
Added this week: 0 yards
Added year to date:  0 yards
Net Used:  1 yard

I'm still working on Celtic Solstice, but I feel myself losing enthusiasm for it.   I'm on clue 5.  About 150 more of these units to go.

 

To see more stash reports:  http://www.patchworktimes.com/2014/01/05/stash-report-week-1-2014/

Forcing Bulbs

Many years ago I forced bulbs: daffodils,  crocuses and hyacinths.  I had never forced tulips before.  They aren't my favorite flower.  They aren't reliable bloomers in my yard.  My mother says it is because we don't get cold enough here.  I think we have too many critters who eat the bulbs or eat the flowers before they bloom.  I like bulbs that come back reliably year after year.  Tulips won't do that here.  For me they aren't worth the energy they take to dig the hole.

But I decided to try and force some for a friend of mine who takes care of our dogs.  This variety is a red tulip called 'Merry Christmas'.  These bulbs were chilled for about 5 weeks and have been growing for another five.

 

I've been turning the bowl to try and straighten them up, but it doesn't seem to do any good.  I had a couple of bulbs I thought were duds, but just this morning I see a little green, so maybe they will grow after all.

 

I also have a hyacinth that has been growing V E R Y   S L OW LY.  I started this guy in October.  I think he might be a dud!

 

 

The lady at the nursery thinks my house isn't warm enough for him to grow very well.  Sorry, bulb,  I can't turn up the heat just for you.

 

I pulled the other bowl of tulip out of the frig last week. I'm keeping these in the warmest and brightest room in the house to see if that makes a difference.

 

 

These are the ones for my friend.  I hope to have them ready for her by her birthday in February.