Christmas Crafting In July!

I finished stitching the panel for this pillowcase yesterday while enjoying a cooler breeze on our deck. This morning the day dawned with more seasonal temperatures so I took advantage and sewed up this pillowcase for my mom for part of her Christmas gift. After looking at the finished project I wondered if I should have flipped the embroidery design around but after laying it down as if it were on a pillow I think it should be alright.

My oldest son asked me to make him a pillowcase if he picked out the fabric. This is the finished project.

Late to the party.....

Last night was the FNSI for July. It was just too darn hot to use the iron or even sit at the sewing machine. I started to embroider this panel last Saturday for the cuff of a pillowcase that I plan on making for my mom for Christmas. I worked on the rose leaves and started the butterfly while sitting in front of a fan and watching some T.V.

July FNSI

July FNSI is happening this Friday! What to work on? I have too many projects started and I really need to focus and finish something. Stay tuned to see which UFO I pull out to make some progess on and maybe even finish.

Another I Spy Flimsy!

My SIL asked me to make another I Spy quilt for her because she likes to use them for baby shower gifts. This is the latest quilt top I finished yesterday. It measures 45 1/2" x 54 inches. I am just waiting for her to give me the backing fabric she bought and I can get this quilt sandwiched, basted, quilted and bound.

What I Did On Our Summer Vacation.

UPDATE: Thank-you to Jacqui and her husband from Treadle Quilts for finding out that this machine is a Model 66 one of 50,000 that was commissioned in December of 1916.

For our summer holiday this year my husband and I spent a few days at my mom's house. She is getting on in years and my sisters and I are trying to clear out some of her "treasures" that she has accumulated over the years. While clearing out one of the bedrooms we came across this sewing machine. Since I am the one who does the most sewing-neither of my sisters are quilters-this beauty came home with me. The problem is I have no idea of its age or history. Does anyone in blog land know how I can find out the age of this machine? Any help would be appreciated.

Beat the deadline!

I gave myself a deadline of June 26th to finish my son's quilt and I did it! I finished putting the binding on it on Wednesday. I found a wonderful tutorial here by the Missouri Star Quilt Co. for putting binding on entirely by machine. It was much easier than I thought and hand sewing through denim would have taken me a very long time. By using the machine method for binding I had it completed in a little less than an hour.

The finished quilt held up by my husband. I was going to try to free motion quilt the borders but I found it just to heavy to control so I went with straight lines instead.

The jeans I used for the backing were castoffs from my husband, my oldest son, my youngest son and myself. The ones I had on hand were not enough so a friend gave me some of hers. They were not long enough for the width of the quilt so I added a panel in the centre using some orphan blocks I had in my stash.

Making More Progress

Earlier this week I finally finished basting this quilt and was able to start machine quilting it. I was hoping to be able to put it on the quilt frame but it is too wide for the space I have so I am using my dining room table. I couldn't decide how I wanted to quilt this so I decided to a straight stitch across the width of the quilt and maybe try a little free motion quilting in the borders. Hearts and loops maybe, we shall see.

I can only work on this a little bit at a time because I am finding it quite heavy so I hope it will serve the purpose of a weighted blanket. I think I may use some of the left over strips of plaid for the binding. Anyone have any ideas?