A Cross Stitch Finish: The Battle Hymn of the Republic

I picked up my latest cross stitch from the framer.  For those of you who don't cross stitch, getting a piece framed is like getting a quilt bound.  Lots of happy dancing here!  I have dozens of cross stitched projects in the, to use a quilting term, flimsy stage.  The last time I had a picture framed was in January of 2013.  http://sewingoutofmycomfortzone.blogspot.com/2013/01/mouline-rouge-in-purple.html

This is The Battle Hymn of the Republic by Little House Needleworks.  It was a quick stitch.  I started it in April when we went to visit our son in Florida, and I did a big chunk of it then.  I also had a four and a half hour stretch at the car mechanic and stitched another big chunk then. The rest was done an hour here and there.

 

 

An added benefit of stitching this piece is that I now know the words to The Battle Hymn of the Republic.  Almost everyone knows the first line, but I never could remember, 'He hath loosed the fateful lightning of his terrible swift sword.' Now I think I'll remember it even though it is a tongue twister when sung at a decent tempo.

 

Linking up:  http://www.supermomnocape.com/2015/08/03/vintage-embroidery-monday-stitchery-link-party-17/

Stash Report, Row by Row 2015

Last year I completed  10  rows from the Row by Row shop hop.  I collected many more patterns, but those were all I got sewn.  My goal this summer is to chose a layout and get a top finished. Eight of the ten rows I completed were summer themed or  used a lot of bright colors.

 

Right now I think I'm going to combine these rows with some of the rows from this year's hop. I usually just pick up the pattern and use my stash from the rows, but when I was in Quilter's Corner this week, I bought a kit for an applique row.  This kit has pre-cut and pre-fused applique pieces to make construction easy.  I don't enjoy applique, and that is the ONLY way I would attempt this row.  I didn't count how many little pieces there are, but the lady at the shop said about 50.  Maybe she was joking?  It is still going to be a lot of work, but very cute, I think!

 

 

Used This Week:  0                                       
Used Year to Date: 41.125 yards 
Added this week: 0 .25 yards
Added year to date: 53.625 yards
 Net added: 12.5 yards

 

Linking up:  http://www.patchworktimes.com/2015/06/28/fabric-report-week-26-2015/

 

                 

 

Gravity: Ultraviolet Blocks

I've completed the ultraviolet blocks for  Gravity.

 

The color isn't good in this picture, but the blocks are now buried somewhere in the mess that is the yellow bedroom, and I'm not sure I could find them to retake the picture.

 

I was recently in a local quilt shop and saw their version of Gravity, made of batiks.  It was beautiful, and if the kit had been offered in batiks at a reasonable price, I probably would have made that version instead of the Kona version.

 

Linking up:  http://busyhandsquilts.blogspot.com/2015/06/gravity-quilt-along-block-6-ultraviolet.html

 

 

Gingerbread Stitching House

Four days ago, I decided to join a stitch-along for Scream House.  All of a sudden I got interested in working on one of my WIPS instead, The Victoria Sampler's Gingerbread Stitching House.  It is a gingerbread house with lots of beads.  The roof comes off, and is a needlebook.  The chimney is a pincushion.  There is a small fob with a gingerbread man on it. 

Here's the top of the biscornu:

 

Hardanger is not a forgiving technique, and I don't do it very often. It makes me nervous to cut the threads since I don't see as well as I used to, even with magnification and lots of light. There are a few mistakes in this piece, but it is as good as I can do. 

 

Here are the front and the back of the house.  I'm having a hard time getting the picture orientation right side up.

The finishing instructions look complicated to me, but I'm going to try it anyway!

Project of Doom, More Blocks

Does it seem like this Project of Doom quilt will go on forever?  It does to me!  I've completed a couple more blocks, but the next pattern just came out today. 

 

 

I am not entirely happy with the block with the open book.  I know a lot of the cover of the book where it bends will get cut off in my 1/4 inch seam, but that is how the pattern is.  I could fix it, but this block was a lot of work, just to get Aberforth's eye in, and I'm tired of messing with it!  If it still bothers me when I go to put the blocks together, I'll fix it then.

Stash Report, Scream House Stitch-A-Long

The part of Virginia I live in has no fine needlework shop.  When I need linen or specialty threads, I have to buy them online or wait until I visit my mom.   Embroidery has been making a comeback, though, and one of the quilt shops nearby carries Weeks Dye Works now.  When I went there to get threads for my latest cross stitch project, I bought a fat quarter on sale, hence the increase in my quilting stash this week.

Used This Week:  0                                       
Used Year to Date: 41.125 yards 
Added this week:  0 yards
Added year to date: 53.375 yards
 Net added: 12.25 yards

I have joined a stitch along for Scream House, a Just Nan Exclusive carried by The Silver Needle.  I've had this kit for almost 5 years now, and I found an online stitch-along for it this week.  It is slow enough that I hope I can keep up.  Here's a link to the page for Scream House.  You will need to scroll down to see it.  http://cloudwww.thesilverneedle.com/exclusives.php?zenid=nljc4g6rsgb0m9nv4qqq56egd1

Yesterday I finished painting my new sewing room.  I won't move my stuff in there, though, until the floor is done, which may be a couple of months.  We need to get DS3's college tuition paid and the roof replaced before we spend money on a new floor. 

 

I pulled out Gypsy Wife again hoping to get that done this week.  I found the unfinished sections, but the rest of the quilt, the 2/3 of it that is completed, is missing.  I probably hung it up in the closet in the yellow bedroom, but I can't get to it now to see.  All the stuff that was in my new sewing room is now in the yellow bedroom.  It may be 2 months before I  can get back to Gypsy Wife!

Linking up:  http://www.patchworktimes.com/2015/06/21/fabric-report-week-25-2015/

Stash Report

Sunday's stash report got away from me this week, so here is Monday's stash report. 

Used This Week:  3.75                                         
Used Year to Date: 41.125 yards 
Added this week:  0 yards
Added year to date: 53.125 yards
 Net added: 12 yards

My son and I are painting one of the big kid's old bedrooms.  Soon I'll have a sewing room!

Location, Location, Location!

What is the difference between these impatiens? 

 

Both areas were planted at the same time, using plants from the same flat.  They both get about the same amount of light and water.  The difference?  Before I planted the top flowers, I removed about two buckets of clay and rocks and replaced them with my homemade compost.  The others were simply planted in the flower bed. 

 

This hydrangea is finally blooming!  It has lived in my yard for almost 10 years, but for the first 9 years it only produced two flowers.  I moved it three times before it found a place where it is happy!

 

 

It is still pretty short for a hydrangea, but it may be a dwarf variety.  (It has been so long since I bought it, I can't remember!)

 

These daylilies didn't bloom at all in my backyard last year.

 

 

Last fall I moved them to the front yard, and they seem to love it there!  I don't know what variety they are.  They are shorter than Stella D'Oras, and the flowers are a clear yellow, less golden than Stellas.

 

The moral:  your unproductive flowers may be in the wrong place in your yard.  Or maybe they  just need a couple of buckets of compost.

 

 

 

Gravity: Celestial Blocks

This quilt along is moving!  At this point, over half the blocks are done.  Here are my Celestial blocks:

 

Linking up:  http://busyhandsquilts.blogspot.com/2015/06/gravity-quilt-along-block-5-celestial.html

Scrap In A Box: Top Done!

I finished my Scrap In a Box mystery quilt yesterday.  It turned out bigger (61x78) than I originally intended it to be because I struggled with the borders.  I ended up using a dark green Christmas print, and I cut it 7 inches wide, so that some of the Santas would be intact. 

 

 I don't know where the light green floral that I used for sashing came from, but I didn't buy it. That fabric has been hanging around here for about 6 years, and I was glad to use up a bunch of it.  A lot of the fabrics are my oldest, oddest and ugliest scraps.  You'll have to trust me on this because you can't see from the pictures the black and white cows on a peachy-pink background, the 1980s red calico, or the lavender Easter egg print.  Several of these fabrics came from bandanas that my dogs got at the groomers. Not all of these fabrics are 'quilt shop' quality, but this quilt is not intended to be an heirloom. 

 

It feels good to cross off another top from my to do list.

 

Linking up:  http://quiltstory.blogspot.com/2015/06/fabric-tuesday-friends.html

http://www.shecanquilt.ca/2015/06/scraptastic-tuesday-june-link-up.html

Graduation Pillowcases, Stash Report

I made three graduation pillowcases this week for my son's friends. This one is for his girlfriend who wants to study astronomy in college:

 

I made two identical VA Tech pillowcases for his friends who will be going to VA Tech in the fall:

 

Used This Week:  2.25                                          
Used Year to Date: 37.375 yards 
Added this week:  0 yards
Added year to date: 53.125 yards
 Net added: 15.75  yards

My net added numbers have been bouncing around 16 yards since mid April.  I've got four quilts close to being done, so if I get sewing, I could be in net used territory again by the end of summer.

Linking up:  http://www.patchworktimes.com/2015/06/07/fabric-report-week-23-2015/

Catching up on Project of Doom

The Project of Doom Quilt is a block of the week pattern.  Last week I was uninspired to work on this quilt.  Today I finished two POD blocks.  Here is the next book block.  The feather is red because it is a phoenix feather.  I plan to make Fawks sitting on top of the bookcase and use the same red fabric for him.

 

Here is the sorting hat.  I used the new pattern with the face on it, but the face is very subtle in my version.  I wish I'd used black for the hat because black would have given me better contrast with the background, but I'm not unhappy enough right now to redo the block.

 

Here's the slouchy hat from my first PoD quilt.