Big Stitches Finished/Next Up

Of course the photos loaded in reverse order.

Here is the back of Hey June - Which way is up?

The big stitches are more visible on the back.

The label will be filled out tonight.

Machine quilting shows, too. 

Quilted on the diagonals and straight across and down.

Can you see the big stitches?

How about here?

I used pearl cotton size 5 in green, pink, yellow, gray, lavender, dark lavender, and burgundy.

Sometimes I matched the color of the block.

Sometimes I used a different color on each half.

Next up - A dress for Ava with the under sea fabric and a matching short overall for brother.

Hats with the leftover fabric? Maybe. 

Some secret sewing.

I'm trying wool appliqué with fancy embroidery.

So far I have two blocks started but a little nervous about the fancy stitches.

In other news, I cut some of my precious Liberty of London yardage to make a blouse.

I'll show photos next time.

Happy sewing.

 

Remembering Helen Jean & John Parham on their birthday

Today is my mother's and her twin brother's birthday.

A few years ago I found their birth announcement in a 1925 Brookhaven newspaper

at the Mississippi Archives in Jackson.

Here are some early photos of them dressed up for a Brookhaven Ladies Club party.

Mom said they were portraying George and Martha Washington.

Not sure the costuming is very accurate - John's hat looks more like Lincoln than Washington.

I think they were about three or four years old.

This year they would have been 97.

Miss singing "Happy Birthday" to them.

Family resemblances can be seen in photos of brothers and cousins and grandchildren at the same age.

Love the memories.

 

Trying some wool embroidery

In the fall I decided to take part in Sue Spargo's Tinsel Block of the Month.

I'm interested in attending one of her workshops in person and thought this might be a way to try

her instruction before committing to the time and expense of a trip to a class.

The first block arrived near the end of January.

I was working on the quilts I recently posted so I waited to start Tinsel.

There are strict rules about posting the blocks to social media - Don't!

There is a closed Facebook group for posting blocks and asking for help.

One thing I am very pleased to have purchased are the sewing needles.

No words to explain how excellent these are.

I'm in love with them.

Since I can't post my blocks here are some supplies that I'm using.

The freezer paper sheets are from my mom's stash.

I almost gave them away but so glad I kept them.

The sheets are very easy to use to make the pattern pieces.

I flagged the pages in Sue's book that I will need for the first and second block.

I'm keeping the monthly instructions and fabric in a binder.

The extra wool fabric is for practicing stitches before I make them on the blocks.

I pre-ordered the thread for the embellishments but did not order the wool thread for

appliquéing the wool pieces onto the blocks.

Now I'm waiting for that thread order to arrive.

Meanwhile I'm still sewing the big stitches on my Hey June quilt.

Have a good week!

 

Hey June! Progress

 This week I machine quilted Hey June and finished the binding. The batting is polyester - something I have not used in a quilt before. I am big stitch quilting each block to make the quilting a little closer. I am using 6 different colors of DMC #5 pearl cotton thread. So far I have done 3 blocks. I like having a hand sewing project to work on in the evenings.

 Sharing photos to remember how I did this one. Below my big stitches around the block. Sometimes I sew with my left hand and sometimes with my right hand. Depends on where the stitches need to go.

I am left handed but sometimes it works better to sew right handed.

Anyone else as mixed up as me?

A view of the back. I quilted on the diagonal lines, across and down on the quilt block intersections.

I had to add a little to the back on both sides. Oops!

The white corner triangle is for my label. 

I will write on it with a permanent roller gel pen when all the big stitches are complete.

Another view of the backing. The original plan was to make a sleeping bag.

I made the basic quilt bigger by adding blocks.

The binding turned out great. I am getting much better at sewing the binding ends together.

I sew the back on by machine then the front - also by machine.

I tried something different with the machine quilting.

I worked on each quarter of the quilt starting in the middle and working outward.

One more look at the whole quilt.

I am using yellow, pink, gray, green, lavender, and violet pearl cotton for the big stitches.

Having fun sewing.