Tah Dah! The Peacock Quilt Is Done!

I had a few setbacks time wise this week and just could not get the binding all done until last night.  I stayed up to finish, as I have another quilt that I want to finish the binding on this weekend as well.  This Anita Goodesign tile scene has been on my list to do since it came out last year.  I changed it up a little bit by adding an applique section on the bottom instead of letting the peacock stand on just the stitching alone.  I think it looks nicer.  I have not decided what I will do next, but need to catch up on my Hoopsisters block of the month club before any new projects.  I'm trying to keep my mind on finishing stuff this year.  Our house survived the huge storm that came through Phoenix this week.  The heavy rains and strong winds are not something that we are used to at all.  I think we are supposed to start "drying out" after today.  Next weekend is the big Craft/Quilt Show and I'll be spending time there for classes and shopping.  Christina and I make it an annual event and look forward to it every year.  We are there at opening and always seem to be there at closing as well.  My feet already hurt just thinking about it.    Happy Sewing!  Carole

LONG ARM Lesson #1

What a fun day I had yesterday.  First of all, to spend time with two of my best friends is always fun.  We can sure make a day fly by at the speed of lightning.  Tammy, Christina and I have decided to get together once a month to work on Christmas projects throughout the year so that when the holidays actually arrive, we may be ready.  Tammy, who is a wonderful and very experienced long arm quilter is encouraging both Christina and I to take the plunge and learn the long arm.  (She may re-think this after yesterday).  I never knew how many buttons that were on her mammoth machine.  She would demonstrate for us and make it look so easy.  What I learned:  It's NOT easy.  I did like the zipper thing that you attach to the material and just zip it on the leads of the machine.  Both Christina and I have short arm quilters and until we upgrade someday, I would certainly incorporate this on my current machine.  I also learned that the long arm requires alot of practice to gain control over it.  I think it had more control over me, so my first project and trial run shows that.  We still had a great time together.  We also got Christina set up on Facebook.  Let's just see if she will use it.  I'm off to the zoo today with the grandkids and a few extra kids.  Happy Sewing!  Carole

Peacock with Borders

Just a quick post to show I have made a little progress.  I was able to get all the peacock blocks sewn together and add the border.  Now I'm deciding if I need another small border before I sandwich it all together and quilt.  My friend Andi suggested that I use my edge joining foot to get the designs all lined up and put together.  It worked very well and I will not have to add the ribbon to hide the seams as they all joined up nicely.  Once I apply a final ironing and quilting I am hoping the seams will be nearly invisible.  Off to another grueling day at the office.  Happy Sewing!  Carole

The Whole Peacock.... Almost Done!

I have completed the bottom half of the peacock body (block 18) and just had to show a picture.  Block 19 is on the machine now and if all goes well this morning, I will finish block 20 and start the joining process.  I think this quilt tile scene will be one of my favorites.  I was dreading all the metallic thread, but my machine did a great job with it and zipped right through it.  It has been a very busy week at the office and I was not sure I would be able to make any progress, but I did.  I bought a baby monitor for my machine and sewing room this week so that I can start a color with lots of stitch count and go to the other side of the house to do other things.  I can hear the beep for bobbin changes or silence for problems and not have to run back and forth to keep checking.  Multi-tasking at it's finest!  Happy Sewing!  Carole

Peacock Block 13

I was so excited to get to block 13. Seems like all I've seen are the peacock feathers and I was ready for a change. The peacock is now coming to life. 61,138 stitches of peacock life and over 4 hours of embroidery time for this one block (oh and 5 bobbins). I had to do it in three sessions to get it done. I am thrilled with the way it turned out. I'm over half way done, but the next two blocks are back to the feathers again. The final row is feathers and ground and I believe less stitches per block. I'm still on track to complete in the two week time frame. Happy Sewing! Carole

Peacock Quilt Blocks 1-10

I have completed row 2 of 4--10 blocks of peacock feathers. It is starting to really take shape. I am anxious for block 13 which will really show off the start of the peacock body. If only work did not get in the way of my progress. Loving the save design feature of my machine as I can just do a quick save and turn off the machine. Once I return and am ready to start again, a quick push of an icon and I'm back where I left off. Happy Sewing! Carole

Peacock Tile Scene Block 7

I am currently on the 2nd of 4 rows for the peacock quilt. The blocks on this row look pretty much alike. The next row will start showing the peacock body, so I am excited to get there. I thought I'd show you a close up of the feather blocks. This is block 7. It had almost 42,000 stitches and took right at 3 hours and used over 4 full bobbins to stitch out. It is a shame that I will have to get back to work and the grindstone tomorrow. Happy Sewing! Carole

Peacock quilt blocks 1-5

I have been able to sew out the first 5 blocks with only 1 small incident. I had a needle break and the tip flew off and hit me right in the face. This will be one time I am glad to say that I wear glasses. This tile scene has far less colors than the Christmas ones and the metallic thread has not given me any problems at all (except the price of each spool). I expect this quilt to be done within a couple of weeks. Happy Sewing! Carole

Peacock Tile Scene

And the winner is...... I had gathered my thread colors for the Anita Goodesign Peacock Tile Scene a few months before Christmas, but never got to it as I was trying to get all my Christmas wall hangings done. Since the collecting of thread and fabric takes an extra day, I decided to go ahead and just start this one. Besides, I will need something new to hang in my entry way when I take down my Snowmen design. There is quite a bit of metallic thread in this design, so I'm crossing my fingers that I have not created a big headache for myself. I'm doing the larger blocks which will give me a thread count of 607,342 total stitches when I'm done, not including quilting, binding, finishing. Happy Sewing! Carole

Happy New YEAR 2010!!

2009 is officially over (thank goodness)! We welcomed in 2010 with a small glass of Bailey's Irish Cream around 9PM. Just too old to make it to the stroke of midnight anymore. I am deciding on a new sewing project to start off the year and will post my decision later. Here is a picture of the grandkids on Christmas morning with our small tree. The big one was just so big and we did not want to do all the work that went with it, so this was the next best thing. We had a wonderful Christmas and holiday season with the kids. I think there are some quilt shops open today and I may have to venture out to check out the sales. Happy NEW YEAR and Happy Sewing! Carole