Brand New Sew Along! A Primitive Garden

Yes, you read that post title correctly! This fall (dates TBA) we are going to be starting a sew along using Lisa Bongean's "A Primitive Garden". WOW!! This quilt is stunning!

This is the original version of the quilt from Primitive Gatherings.

This is going to be a lot of work and a lot of wool! But it's going to be so fun! And in the end you'll have your own version of this amazing quilt.

Don't worry...we won't rush you through sewing it. You'll be able to sew at your own pace. Faster, or slower than the sew along's schedule doesn't matter - just come join in on all the fun!

This version is by Janet Knapp.

We'll be hosting the sew along on Instagram again. It's such a fun way to share pictures and encourage one another along the way. Plus, you get to make some really sweet, quilty friends too.

This is one that I just saw at a quilt show last weekend in Grants Pass. This one had a lot of bead embellishment on it.

Julie and I will be hosting this sew along and a schedule will be put up on both of our blogs when it is worked out. For now though, you might want to start gathering your supplies. You can buy the pattern and/or a quilt kit from Primitive Gatherings Quilt Shop. Or if you choose, you can sew from your stash (but you'll still need to get the pattern.)

Looking forward to another great sew along! Talk to you soon!

Home For The Holidays Quilt ~ Finished!

I got my Home for the Holidays quilt top finished a few weeks ago! So exciting! It's off to the quilter in today's mail!

Thanks to everyone that joined in on the sew along on Instagram. We had such a great time.. and even finished early!

And guess what else? Just because we're Primitive Gathering's junkies we'll be starting a new sew along this fall! This one is going to be huge so you'll need to collect your supplies early, over the next few months.

Details soon to come!!

The Schedule - Home For the Holidays Sew Along

It's almost here! Are you excited?! The Home for the Holidays Sew Along starts in just 10 days!

I can not wait to start stitching this quilt.

 

 

Here is the schedule for the sew along. Please remember that you're not bound to this schedule. We laid it out so that you'll be able to take your time and COMPLETE the quilt. We don't want any UFOs left at the end of the sew along! If you're a go getter and have the time, you're more than welcome to sew at a faster pace than the rest of us (or maybe it's just me?)

I will be taking the 6 months to do it... unless in February I get some wild hair to sew more! ;)

~Your assignment for each week starts on January 1st. You'll have a new assignment every Friday.~

January
1st - Cut out fabric (this is for your pieced blocks only, do not cut border fabrics yet)
8th - Sew 3 of the red/tan triangle blocks
15th - Sew 2 of the green/tan blocks for applique
22nd - Applique and embroider tree block
29th - Applique and embroider angel block

February
5th - Sew 2 of the red/tan triangle blocks
12th - Sew 3 of the green/tan blocks for applique
19th - Applique and embroider holly block
26th - Applique and embroider stocking block

March
4th - Applique and embroider St. Nick block
11th - Sew 3 of the red/tan triangle blocks
18th - Sew 2 of the green/tan blocks for applique
25th - GRACE WEEK- Use it to catch up, or simple enjoy Easter with your family

April
1st - Applique and embroider house block
8th - Applique and embroider candy cane block
15th - Sew 2 of the red/tan triangle blocks
22nd - Sew 3 of the green/tan blocks for applique
29th - Applique and embroider candle block

May
6th - Applique and embroider manger block
13th - Applique and embroider ornament block
20th - Sew 3 of the red/tan triangle blocks
27th - Sew 2 of the green/tan blocks for applique

June
3rd - Applique and embroider reindeer block
10th -Applique and embroider gingerbread man block
17th -Piece blocks and rows together
24th -Cut border fabric and attach borders to quilt top
-Now, cut your batting and backing fabric (remember that Chris at The Hometown Quilter has fabric for your backing if you need it) and start quilting!

If you're just joining us now and you still need supplies, please refer to the post below this one. At the end of it I have a lot of resources for you!

 

We will be posting our progress shots every Friday on Instagram using the hashtag #homefortheholidayssewalong so you'll be able to see everyone's progress. Let's use this to cheer each other on and encourage one another to sew, sew, sew!

 

Have a wonderful Christmas!

Praise be to God for His wonderful gift!

Home for the Holidays Sew Along

We're gearing up for the 2016 Home for the Holidays Sew Along! I hope that you'll join Chris from The Hometown Quilter and I as we start sewing this wonderful quilt from Lisa Bongean at Primitive Gatherings.

 

 

Here are some of the early details of the sew along...

We'll be sewing with a schedule (although there's no rule that says you have to stay on our schedule!) and will start the sew along on January 1st. We will complete the quilt top by the end of June. Yep, that means you'll have 6 months to finish your quilt top! We realize that life can be busy and as quilters you, of course, have other quilty projects going on as well.

 

Home for the Holidays is a mix of small piecing, applique, and embroidery so it's not an easy feat. Taking the 6 months will allow you to get the top done while also allowing you to live your life! I promise I won't handcuff you to your sewing machine. :) And the good news is that you'll have plenty of time to quilt it (or have it quilted) and bind it before next Christmas.

 

We will be sharing our progress pictures every Friday on Instagram using the hashtag #homefortheholidayssewalong. I will occasionally be posting things here on my blog, but not weekly, as my life is busy too and Instagram is much easier for me to share on than creating an entire blog post! I will post the sewing schedule here on my blog in the next week.

 

Now, if you'd like to join in but don't have anything to start with, here are some resources for you.

 

To buy the pattern alone, click here

To buy the pattern with the wool kit, click here

To buy the fabric for the quilt, click here (Chris is willing to kit up the quilt if you'd like to save you time and money. Nice!)

To buy your own wool, click here (This is my favorite Etsy shop!)

To buy triangle paper (you're going to NEED this!) click here or here

 

 

You can follow me on Instagram here and The Hometown Quilter on Instagram here.

Looking forward to sewing along with all of you!

Monday Morning Sewing Logic

 

Sometimes on Monday morning with a full week ahead of you, you just need a good laugh.

Unless you're laughing with that funny look on your face because this hits way too close to home and you know you're guilty.

 

I didn't have that look though when I read it....at all.....

O.k., I'm not serious. I laughed and then I totally had that look on my face. Hmmmmm.

A Hand Quilting Finish

 

I finished this little quilt last week.

Once I really got going on quilting this, it actually went faster than I thought it would.

Choosing what designs to use took a little longer.

 

 

I'm fairly happy with how it turned out, being my first hand quilting project and all.

 Timber has this hanging on the wall next to her bed.

 

 

I'm certainly sold on hand quilting for little quilts, I'm not quite sure that I'm ready to give up the long-arm machine though for big ones!

 

Have you ever hand quilted a large quilt? What was your experience?

Hand Quilting

O.k. I'm just going to come out and say it. The ugly truth....

 

I've never hand quilted anything. Ever. In my 15 years of quilting. Never.

 

That's almost embarrassing to say.

 

But, there's no time like the present right?

 

I'm telling you, this off-grid stuff is changing me!

 

{I may have over pinned this}

 

Lucky for me, my first hand quilting project is small. This was the sweetest little pattern from Thimble Blossoms.

There were a few recent Moda collections that really caught my eye but I've kept telling myself "no" to them as the last thing I need right now is more fabric.

 

Until this pattern came along and I realized that I could use Plum Sweet and Mirabelle in these mini quilts.

 

 

The quilting has begun.

 

I'm impressed.

 

But not with my work. I'm impressed that women used to hand quilt bed sized quilts.

Mine is only 14"x16" and I'm already thankful for long-arm machines.

 

I'll let you know how this one turns out.

 

An Overdue Update

Things have been wonderfully busy here. I can't even begin to express how much we are loving living here. The sunrises over the hills, the peace, the sound of the creek flowing, the bees that are flooding the plum trees, all of God's handiwork around us. It's amazing. And humbling.

And I for one am just downright thankful.

 

{Driving home}

We've been doing some clearing around the homestead and besides that there isn't much news around the property. Except that we finally added another rooster to the flock. And that we added 17 (which turned out to be 15 after they arrived) new chicks to the homestead. Timber and Layton now have their birds for fair and we have some new hens for the flock.

 

As far as the off-grid brooding, I took the easy way out....and we have the chicks at a friends house until they fully feather and can head up here.

 

I finally finished the top of a block-of-the-month quilt I did with my mother-in-law....which we began back in 2008. Yeah, I know. That's sad.

But it's done and on it's way to Kathy now.

 

 

I also added this quilt to my Etsy shop.

 

 

A special little girl turned 6 recently. Her Auntie made her a special cake.

 

 

She got a new bed from Grandma and Grandpa for her birthday.

 

And everyone helped to put it together for her.

 

She also got a new sewing area, compliments of her Nana and Papa.

 

The only problem is that the generator must be running for her to use it.

Which has been our sewing problem since we moved here.

So, to resolve that somewhat this got added to the homestead....

 

 

Mercy, I am in love.

 I could go on and on about this machine. But I think that's for another post.

It is amazing though and works beautifully. I have already sewn curtains on it and have begun piecing my first quilt on it.

Now Timber says that she needs one in her room. And I think we're just going to have to share.

 

 

          

 I've also been soap making. I got a new mold that makes a 1/2 batch of my normal soap recipe and love how it allows me to try different things in smaller batches. Now I only have 8 bars (plus the ends) in a batch instead of 15!

 

I think that's about it for now. I hope that all of you are well. If you're still here and still reading, thanks!

 

Be blessed!

The Quilter in Me

The Moda Cutting Table blog has inspired this post. It has been fun to read about other quilters and what they enjoy using as they quilt. So I decided to do something similar...a "get to know you post" quilter style!

 

How long have you been quilting?: I started quilting when I was about 20 (give or take a year, I really can't remember!) Since I love all things old, I wanted to own a quilt. And I wanted it to be a quilt that I made. It seemed so nostalgic, so old fashioned, so wonderful. No one in my family was a quilter. My grandmother was an occasional seamstress. So where the urge came from? I'd like to think that the Lord had it in me at birth....it just took 20 years to come to the surface.
I'll be 35 this year so I guess that puts it at around 15 years.

 

What kind of machine do you use?: I'm cheap. Well, sort of. Spending $2000-$3500 on a sewing machine is not my cup of tea. For that price, the machine better make my quilt for me.
So I own this. It has been the most wonderful "simple" machine I've ever had. It has so many wonderful features and allows you to FMQ! The only problem is the throat size. This machine works o.k. with a crib sized quilt but anything larger is just too much. If the throat were about 3 times larger it would be, in my opinion, the most wonderful sewing machine of all time.

 

What are your favorite fabrics?: Cottons... and from Moda. I'm just really picky about fabric and I have yet to find anything that really tickles my fancy beyond Moda. They always have something out that I LOVE and can't live without, so why use anything else? I will say that over the past month or so a few lines from Riley Blake have caught my eye...even one or two from Benartex.... but overall I am just a Moda girl. And my stash would prove it.

 

What notions top your favorites list?: Wow, there are so many that I love. I could never dwindle it down to just a few, but I will for the sake of dragging on and on.

My rotary cutter is wonderful. If I had to cut my fabrics with scissors my quilts would be a whole lot messier.

My Aurifil thread. I have tried other brands (and I somewhat like Mettler) but overall Aurifil takes the cake!

I purchased a 3-way Sandboard recently and it has become one of my favorite notions. I love it for applique and I used it just yesterday working on my Churn Dash quilt.

My seam ripper, the fact that my machine has an automatic bobbin winder and an automatic threader (all the things I take for granted!), my Omnigrid rulers, my rotary mat...............

What's your favorite style of quilts- traditional or modern?: I am a huge traditional girl. There are a few modern quilts that I like and I certainly appreciate all quilts but overall, give me traditional quilt over a modern one any day!

 

Do you have fabric or quilt "limits"?: Hummm, do I ever think that you can have too much fabric? That's a tough one but I'm going to say yes. But having a large stash of fabric is essential.

You can never, let me repeat - never, have enough quilts. Ever.

 

Enjoy your week!

Some Summer Sewing

Summer is not usually the time I get too much sewing in. The sun is out, the garden needs tended as do the animals. It's the time to head to the river and the farmer's market. A time to pick berries and make jam.

But I have managed to get a little time in with my machine over the past few months. Too bad the time wasn't spent on a quilt. But that's what winter is for anyway, right?

 Here's an apron I made. (Pattern from here.) My dearest girl friend and I both decided to make this apron together. I think that we started them last winter?? I don't remember. All I know is that we finally brought our aprons back out a few weeks ago and I finished mine. Just in time too because this Gathering Apron is a winner for harvesting in the garden! 



Here is the apron down. You could absolutely wear this as a regular house apron. Apparently, Ms. Thanksgiving turkey felt as though she should be included in the shot.


Here is the apron gathered up and ready to be used in the garden!

The apron is absolutely wonderful and I know that I am going to get so many great years of use out of it. Probably until it's thread barren. Then I'll make another!

My second sewing project that I accomplished last week was a jumper for Timber. Sewn without a purchased pattern.

I just took a jumper from her closet and some Swedish tracing paper, a pencil and some scissors, and of course, some fabric and went at it. I traced the bodice and then took the measurements of her skirt. I did cut out a half bodice on the Swedish tracing paper to use as a guide for cutting. The skirt was 2 rectangles sewn together so that didn't need any special cutting.

I was really happy with the way it tuned out. I purposely made the bodice a little larger than what was on her current jumper but later regretted that decision. There is a little too much room in the front and back and it could be taken in right down the center about an inch. All in all though, for the $6 I paid for the fabric (that Timber picked out at Wal-Mart), the maybe $.50 or so for the tracing paper and my time one afternoon. It was worth it.

Maybe next time Timber will crack a smile for the camera. But I won't get my hopes up.

Twirl Skirt

Timber has been begging me to sew for the last few days. Each day I have felt overwhelmed with the tasks that need done and have been putting it off. So last night when she asked after supper, we began.

She said she wanted to make a skirt.

And I said, "One that twirls like your dress?"

"YES! YES!" she replied.

So with no pattern (as evident from the photos!) we began cutting fabric. Fabric she had picked out of my stash. We almost got the entire skirt sewn before bedtime. This morning we put the elastic in the waist and it was complete.

Then she asked if she could wear it outside. Wyatt said as she walked out the door, "Mom, are you sure Timber can wear that skirt outside? It's her new one!" I thought about it for a minute. After all, it did rain yesterday and the day before and all we have around the property is gravel, grass and MUD.

"Yes, it's o.k. that she wear it." I replied. After all, how fun are twirling skirts if you only get to wear them once in a while? It's going to get already dirty. Now it's officially broke in. And she loves it.

The Easter Dress and Colored Eggs

Just before Easter I realized that Timber didn't have an Easter dress. I had actually thought about it a few weeks ago and decided that one of her regular dresses would do just fine and that she didn't need anything new. Then I changed my mind. I sewed this dress up last Thursday.
The dress is from this pattern.

The dress went together quickly and was easy to sew. I have found that I really enjoy sewing clothes. It's not like quilting. While cutting fabric for quilting you don't even want to be 1/8" off otherwise your points don't line up and your blocks are off. While I'm not suggesting that cutting clothes is just a bunch of hap-hazard cutting, it doesn't seem to need to be as precise. It seems more stress free!

We had a great Easter. I hope that yours was enjoyed!

a little homemade skirt

I tried this simple, modest skirt tutorial last night for Timber. It went together really, really fast and would be a perfect skirt to sew for your daughter if you're new to sewing. Plus, it's adorable! The only way I may modify it a little would be to taper the top while I'm cutting my fabric so that there isn't as much gather at the waistline when complete.
Here are the photos that I took this gloomy, rainy morning.

I only had 1 yd of fabric (or maybe a little less) to make this so my back ties didn't come out to be as long as in the tutorial- or even as long as I'd like. But they'll do.

I would certainly make this skirt again. It's a winner!

Bind-A-long; Binding a Quilt- Part 1

Once your quilt is pieced, basted and quilted, you're ready for binding! I'm going to assume that if you've already made a quilt you're fairly familiar with how to use things like your sewing machine, a rotary cutter and mat and ruler so I won't go into any detail there. Here's how I make mine.

You'll first need to calculate how much binding you'll need to make. Measure the perimeter of your quilt. (I'm going to use the numbers from the quilt I am binding to help you in visualizing this.) Take the # of inches you've measured and divide it by 42. That will tell you how many binding strips you'll need to cut. Then take that # and multiply it by the width you'd like your binding. Most people cut between 2" and 2.5" wide strips for their binding, depending on the thickness of your batting and the type of fabric the quilt is made up of. I personally like around 2.25". So, for my quilt:

472" (perimeter)/42" = 11.24" That means I need at least 11.24 strips of binding cut.
11.24" x 2.25" (desired width) = 25.29" That means I need just under 3/4 of a yard of fabric to make my binding.

I'm going to cut 12 strips and then trim off the selvage from each strip. If my # of strips had came out closer to 11.90 I may make sure that I have enough fabric to cut one additional strip, if needed later, bringing the total to 13 instead of 12. We're going to be mitering the corners of our binding and you'll loose a little length in sewing the strips together so we want to be sure our binding isn't going to end up just inches short of completion. It's always better to err on the side of caution here. We're talking 1 extra strip, maybe $0.45 of fabric here folks, don't hesitate to cut an extra one. You can add it to your scrap pile later if you end up not using it.

Once my strips are cut, I'll start sewing. You can sew your strips together with right sides together like this, making a regular straight stitch down, using a 1/4" allowance:

But I prefer to angle my fabric like this and stitch from one corner to the next:
When you're folding the binding over and stitching it, it doesn't leave such a big wad of fabric (from the seam allowance) in one section.
Stitch it on the diagonal, stitching each strip to the previous one. I like to chain piece my biding since it goes quicker but do whatever is comfortable for you. You can also pin this if you feel like it may slip to much while running it through your machine.

Then trim off the little triangle that's left using a 1/4" seam allowance.
Press your seam allowances and then fold your binding in half and press on the fold.
I like to then roll my binding up to keep it tidy until I'm ready to attach it to my quilt.

That's it! Wasn't that simple? You just made your binding- congratulations!

We'll work on sewing the binding on to our quilts in the next post. I'm going to take my time with these how-to posts for 2 reasons. One, to allow ladies who haven't made a binding before to not get left behind. And two, because I am binding a Cal-King quilt and it's just going to take a bit for me to get it done! Maybe I should have started with a table runner. ;)

Remember that if you have any questions you can leave a comment here. I'll answer them here as well just in case someone else has the same question. Or if you need more in depth help, you can email me mountainhomequilts@charter.net.