New quilting machine!

Pillowcases are done, now I have to get to the post office and send them off to Atlanta.  Aidan especially liked the Monopoly money fabric, but Grandma prefers the turtles.

This morning some friends are coming over and we are starting our guild opportunity quilt.  (When did the word "raffle" become extinct?)  We chose the fabrics a couple of weeks ago and the plan is to cut and package the pieces for other members to assemble.  The center will be a large applique and I think it is coming to me today to work on.

Yesterday my neighbor and I attended a large sewing expo.  It was incredibly crowded but we did manage to boost the local economy.  My purchase was a quilting machine!  I can't wait to pick it up on Monday and begin to learn how to use it.  It isn't a longarm because I dont have space for one.  It sits on its own table and has a hoop that you use to move the fabric under it.  I really hope that it helps to improve my quilting stitches.  I probably will need lots of practice.

Sharing a picture of an older quilt today.  I made this a couple of years ago, but I am so happy now with the way it looks against my newly painted red/orange wall. 

Been a busy week here, my daughter and youngest grandson have been with us.  They leave to travel back to Atlanta tomorrow morning.  No sewing this week, but we did a trip to the fabric store where Aidan picked out some fabric for some personalized pillowcases.  So Grandma will have some sewing and embroidering  to do this weekend.   And his mom found some really cute fabric for a new apron.  They were out of the pattern that she liked, so we are waiting for the order to arrive before I can start that project.

Peaceful Pathways is sitting here on my sewing table, waiting for me to return to quilting it.  I had set some completion goals for it, but somehow they didn't work out.  But it's on the list, lol.

Have a great week!  I hope to have some completed work to share next week.

WOW Wednesday

Sitting here today taking it a bit easier than usual.  We had the interior of the house painted over the last few days, and everything now has to be put back into place.  Somewhere in the process, I have hurt my shoulder so the work has slowed considerably.  So I am sitting here, doing some paper piecing for a charity quilt.  The good thing is that I am using up a bunch of scraps! 

My local quilt guild donates quilts to the local sheriff's department and they give them out to children in distress.  Our very small guild usually manages to donate about 100 quilts per year.

My quilting on Peaceful Pathways is halted for a while.  I am not sure that pushing that heavy quilt thru my machine hasn't contributed to the shoulder pain, so I will avoid it for the next few days at least.  I am anxious to get back to it and finish it.

Looking forward to the first installment of Esther's new BOM.  Several of my friends here locally have joined the group and we plan to work together on it.  Sounds like a lot of fun.

Back to my paper piecing.  Have a wonderful week!

WOW Wednesday

This week finds me still plugging along with quilting my Peaceful Pathways quilt.  The center is completed except for the corner blocks.  I am waiting on delivery of a new-to-me product called Paper Solvy by Sulky.  It is supposed to be good for printing a quilting design and then you can sew thru the paper and dissolve it in water when your design is completed.  Meanwhile, I am quilting the Lovers knot blocks, in the ditch stitching.  Boring work but it is looking good.  Then I plan to use my decorative stitches and continue quilting them on the diagonal.  Then will come the challenge of the feathered border..... hopefully using the Paper Solvy on that. 
We are all anxiously awaiting Esther's package...... it must be so frustrating.  I am looking forward to seeing her color choices later this week.  Then I will plan a shopping trip.
'Til next week, you all take care.

Started quilting Peaceful Pathways yesterday.  It is slow going, but coming together quite nicely.  Still not sure how I will quilt the pieced blocks, but I am leaning toward using the decorative stitches on my machine and quilting on the diagonal with those stitches.  This is probably the largest quilt I have ever tackled on my Viking Designer Diamond, but it is working out well.  I would love to have a long-arm machine, but we just don't have the space for one.  Every now and then I mention putting an addition on the house, but it isn't all that well received, lol. 

Break time is over, back to my quilting, but I did want to share my progress with you all. 

Not keeping up this week.......  my brain is still in vacation mode.   I have the 5th border for Peaceful Pathways completed and attached, but this is an old picture because I can't find the camera at the moment.  Like I said.....vacation mode.  I think the camera is in an unpacked bag somewhere and I just missed it when I was unpacking.  Of course, the bags are put away so it means a real search to find it.

Todays plan is to piece the final borders.  I am undecided if I will start quilting this project right away or start on some older UFOs.  But for now, I have to go back and find Part 1 and piece a few more HSTs.   Somehow, somewhere, about 24 of them were misplaced.  Since this quilt traveled 3500 miles in a very over crowded car I consider myself lucky that those are the only pieces that have gone missing.  And they are so easy to make using Esther's paper piecing method.  The original ones will show up as soon as I have recreated them!

Back to work for now but looking forward to reading everyones WOW postings later today.

Happy New Year!

Here is the quilt that I have been working on as a sample for our local quilt shop.  The picture makes it look rectangular, but it is actually 82 inches square.  The fabrics are by Windham and the pattern is one that they are giving away with a purchase.  I will deliver it tomorrow morning.

I was anxious to complete this project before we leave on Sunday for our cruise.  So upon our return, I will have time to catch up on my Peaceful Pathways quilt, and then I need to take time to quilt some of the tops that I have completed. 

I won't be able to post on Esther's WOW blog next week, but I will catch up with everyone after the 15th.