The Finished Quilt & Little Gracie

Okay...so not quite finished, I still have to bind it, but pretty close and I couldn't wait for Gracie to see it.  This quilt will be on her bed up in Maine next summer and she is on her way over to see it now.  Hope she likes it!

The picture above is the front.  I don't think it is bad for my first time!  

Here is the back of the quilt.  I do think that next time I will use a solid back as it did prove tough have the top and backing pieced.

And here is Gracie with her quilt!  She loves it and thinks I am the best G-Mom (grandmother) ever!  She is so funny...I think she likes the back better than the front!

OK - I ran out of fabric to make the binding so I need to order more and then I will post a picture of it completely finished!  On to my next quilt top....I have several waiting to go.  Get ready Grace & Jane!

Nearing the Finish Line!

Well, it sure is fast quilting this way!  I believe I spent a total of five hours quilting this top.  Three hours last week and two hours today.  I think Grace, Jane, and I are going to be friends for a very long time!

Here I am right near the end of the quilt....the last row of blocks and the end is in sight!!  I can't wait to get it off the quilt frame and see the finished product.

Grace, Jane & Me - The Beginning

Last weekend I finally decided it was time to stop practicing and actually load a quilt on my Grace frame and get started quilting with my Babylock Jane.

My first quilt...very nervous and of course don't want to make any mistakes.  Well here is "Gracie's Quilt" loaded and ready to go!

And here is a picture of my first row of stitching.  I chose a random loopy pattern since I really have no idea what I am doing :-)

Scrappy Quilt Back

  

I am working on a quilt for Gracie and couldn't decide on a backing. Finally I decided to piece one. I took scraps of different widths and sewed them together. I then cut them into strips that ray varying widths. I already like it :-).   I am sure Gracie (below) will like it too!

Our New Puppy - Scrappy

Here is our new edition, Scrappy!  He is a five month old miniature schnauzer and very playful. He loves to spend time hanging out while I sew :-) and he forces me to take breaks for a quick walk here and there!

I had not thought of it, but one of my sister's asked if I named him Scrappy because I like to make scrap quilts. I laughed, but thought how ironic is that?  He really did get his name because of his personality and the way he was a scrappy little fighter with the other pups. :-) he is a funny little character!

English Paper Piecing - This Week's Update

Here is my first star stitched together. It probably doesn't seem like a lot of progress, but it actually is!  I also cut the background fabric for my Grandmother's Flower Garden quilt so now I can start stitching those together. 

So considering juggling multiple priorities - family, work, school (working on my MBA), training our new puppy Scrappy - I feel pretty good with this week's progress.  Hopefully I can make more progress next week!  

My First EPP Diamonds

Okay! Here are my first English Paper Pieced (EPP) diamonds!  I used the 1 1/2" sixty degree diamonds from Paper Pieces and fabric from the Happy Go Lucky line by Bonnie &Camille. It was very fun and I am looking forward to stitching them together. More to come and very soon I hope!

Love this book!

Quilting On The Go is an awesome book!  Jessica Alexandrakis offers the basics along with great ways to 'travel' with your quilting obsession.  I love her travel quilt and although I have not finished by hexagon quilt, I bought 1-1/2" diamonds from Paper Pieces and jelly roll of Bonnie and Camille's Happy Go Lucky and I can't wait to get started on my diamond stars! 

I purchased the kindle version of her book as it sort of falls in line with my 'on the go' English paper piecing habit :).

Check out Jessica's blog to see her work or even join her Diamond EPP quilt along! I hope to post some progress later this week.

Enjoy!

My Favorite Supplies

Since I first tried paper piecing hexagons, I tried many needles and threads. I finally settled on Milliners Needles (size 10) made by Richard Hemming & Son, which I use for basting and whip stitching.

For basting I use all of my old thread since it gets removed any way.

For whip stitching thread I tried Superior Bottom Line, Essentials (100% cotton), YLI Silk, and Superior So Fine (#59/3 ply). While I love the way the Bottom Line disappeared, it was tricky to thread and slippery to work with. My favorite to work with is Superior So Fine. 

I get all my paper templates (hexagons, diamonds, etc.) from Paper Pieces. It saves a lot of time and I find the quality to be very good. I use the 1 1/2" hexagons.  If you choose to use the 2" hexagons, then you could use a 5" charm pack for fabric.

My favorite online fabric store is Missouri Star Quilt Co.

Sunday Morning Design Results!

Here are Gracie and Carter's designs.....Finally stitched :-)

Sunday Morning Designs

I tend to want all of my hexagons to look "put together" and yet I love the look of less organized or planned designs. My grandchildren were spending time with us at the beach and they absolutely love hexagons, especially Gracie. 

Gracie is an early riser (like me) so I gave her the early morning, quiet task of designing a couple of hexagon flowers for me. What better way to learn to relax and enjoy random placement :-)

Gracie planning her first design. 

Gracie is so proud of her work and I absolutely love them! 

Then Carter woke up and he definitely wanted in on the fun!

Gracie is so good about teaching her little brother.

Carter's contribution is just beautiful. 

Now I have to get to work sewing their hexie flowers together. Gracie is turning 7 next week and has learned how to baste hexies and is of course anxious to be able to piece so we will work on that over the winter. I am very excited to have my grandchildren contribute to the design it will have a lot of memories sewn in!  

My Hexie Obsession

I have fallen in love with English Paper Piecing!  I had no idea it could be so relaxing, portable, and addictive.  I became intrigued with hexagons when I signed up for Mickey Depres'  Craftsy Class - Pieced Hexies and that was the beginning of my obsession.  I figured I would start with just a few 'plain' hexies, which really meant I didn't have time to cut and piece :)

I chose fabric - Marmalade by Bonnie and Camille and the first flower worked up so quickly that I just kept going.  I still plan to piece some hexies in this quilt, but need time to get to my sewing machine for that.  I love all the options available and look forward to stitching....even if for 10 minutes at 4am before I get ready for work.  Hand stitching goes great with a cup of coffee :)

Here is my box of hexies just waiting to be sewn together.

And here are a few of my "flowers".

Baby Tumbler Quilt

This baby tumbler quilt was made from one charm pack of Curiosities fabric.  I used the charm pack tumbler template that is available from The Missouri Star Quilt Company. I did use some yellow fabric that I had in my stash for a few of the blocks so it would blend in with the binding and backing.

I quilted in by stitching in the ditch on my Janome 6600P.  It was so easy!  If you are interested in Jenny's tumbler tutorial you can check it out here on YouTube.

I love the results!

Vintage Quilt

This vintage quilt (circa 1940s) was handmade by my grandmother for my Mom when she was a little girl.  I dragged this quilt with me to the beach many summers right through my teenage years. I find it so interesting that she made it from feed sacks, which was very common from the 1920s - 1940s.  I just love the workmanship and the memories make it even better :).

My Sewing Studio Configuration

I have taken over our family room in our basement :-). I have a Janome 6600P, Brother 770e embroidery machine, and a Baby Lock Quilter's Choice Professional sewing machine on a Gracie Queen quilting frame. My BabyLock is actually my sister's and I love it (and her for letting me use it) so I will be purchasing the new Baby Lock Jane.

My Favorite Things

Ok...so this won't cover all my favorite things :)

I have always had a passion for the ocean and treasure every childhood and adult memory spent listening to the waves and walking along the shoreline.  It's just amazing, relaxing, fun and the most effective stress reliever ever!  While I get to spend my summers on the beach, I wanted this blog to be a reminder of that feeling all year - hence Seashore Quilting for my blog :)

My latest crafting passion is quilting.  Just like the soothing sounds of the ocean, I find quilting, especially hand piecing, so very relaxing, peaceful (or pieceful) and satisfying.   Small scraps of fabric turn into creations that can be cherished for a lifetime.

I hope you enjoy my "pieceful" journey as much as I will enjoy sharing it with you.