H2H TOP

My after-after-wedding recovery is over and the top of my H2H quilt is done. Why only top? There are two major reasons - shipping costs and my quilting skills.

First of all, quality of my quilting is still very poor. Yes, it is improving, but still far from bearable. I believe that giving a crap as a present is totally wrong - the people who will be recieving H2H quilts, have had enough troubles in their lives already, I do not want to add one more. So Sarah agreed to do the quilting from the beginning which I'm really thankful for. If not such offer to help, I wouldn't dare to participate. I know my limits.

The second is shipping costs.  The full quilt would be way over 50 bucks by snailmail from here to US and for me it's not reasonable. For that amount I can buy one on Etsy for H2H project right in US but then there would be no fun for me.

So... It's only a top which will be turned into a quilt on American ground. Because of this (only half of the project is mine) I'll let Sarah decide which charity it goes to. 

Done and dusted

Finally the big day is over. In three short words - all went well. It was a rather hectic time so now it’s a big relief for all involved. 

Our weddings while have all the classical elements, also have some special, traditional  twists.

First of all, making a special visit to a special tree – one of the biggest in whole Baltic. Oak is about 500 years old with diameter 9,1 m. Double bells were hang in the highest branches to protect the new couple while some toys were hidden in the hollow of the tree to give some special strength for their future children....

Well, according to the number of potsherds newlyweds managed to make, the poor oak will need a lot of strength.

Then a bit of yarnwork and over the bridge... 

Right into pottery training!

While newlyweds tried to play with clay by themselves,

quests were signing freshly made vase for the special occasion.

After the classical feast and dances, it was time for more traditional activities - fun with ‘Gipsies’ (it has nothing to do with real Romanys – any more or less traditional carnival is called ‘going Gipsies’ here)... 

...before there was midnight and newlyweds were sang to bed,

launching impressive amount of balloons with well wishes right up in the night sky while nightingales were singing like mad, trying to compete with the noisy crowd. 

The next morning it was a wake up song for everybody and then a bit of mandatory pilates before the coffee and some more fun for a day.

Proud mum

Finally the first of big quilts is finished, washed and packed. Generally - in time.

And the best part - the quilting on the front and the back is the same quality, so it can be used both ways without me blushing too hard. Okay, I'm still at the very beginning of this quilting journey, but after I learned to use abundance of starch, especially for the back, my life is getting easier. LOL

But that's  not my major whoop - whoop this week. The thing which really makes me jump around is...
...
....ta-dammm!

My youngest, who is 11, finished her first quilt!!!!

It's far from perfect (trust me, even worse than mine!) but it's finished! It has been her first and only hers - she picked the fabrics by herself, decided what pattern she wants, and made it.

She tried different quilting patterns on it, free motion included, and I must say that I'm rather impressed that the needle hit her fingers only twice.
Her quilt is for her dog, so size was picked to fit him, and colours also in hope that it will not getting dirty too fast.

BUSY!

With the big day getting closer I’m overcrowded with project in different stages, but while I’m spending most of the day at sewing machine, busy as bee, I really have no finished project to brag about.

This is the latest project – I would say, my first wall hanging in the making. It’s a tradition to create some memorabilia and my youngsters decided on a wall hanging. So a traditional monogram with three joined letters M (their initials).

I started with several sketches and decided on this one.

Then I made bigger, more precise drawing on a larger piece of paper.

Taped it to the window... 

then on top taped the light pink fabric and with pencil copied the drawing on the fabric.

Then quilted it. So far it had been a simple job, and I’m rather happy. 

The next stages will be a bit complicated as they want some lilac blossoms and the date, and a bit of colour added.... Next week it must be and will be ready and I’m quite interested how all the ideas will work out. 

And on my working table the big quilt is spread out to sandwich it for quilting. It also must be done the next week. Right now there are definitely not enough hours in a day. It’s 3 am now and I will return to thread and needle at least for another hour until I will be able to settle for the night.

And another whoop-whoop!

I had a two day marathon. On a quilt. And I won! 

On Wednesday’s night I got unexpected info about one young lady, going to celebrate her 6^th birthday. Such a date deserves a quilt, isn’t it? The only problem – the celebration is on Saturday! Can I make it? 

On Thursday morning I started at 8 am and finished at 9 pm, with few coffee breaks and one meal in between. In first six hours I managed to complete the whole top, and the rest of the day was spent on quilting. This morning I started at 9 am and the last thread was cut at 3 pm. Voila! Now the quilt for the special young lady is rolling in the washing machine so these pictures were taken before washing. 

I think the young lady really will like her quilt because this was a very lucky project, going incredibly smooth. 

I used different leftovers, some had been already cut, some just a little offcuts, too small to consider for bigger projects. I had a risk to run short with borders, but – incredible luck – after the last piece was added, I had exactly one inch of fabric left. I had even luck with the fabric for the back. Just on Tuesday I wondered past my favourite fabric shop, and stumbled upon the feathery fabric on a serious discount – just 1.5 EUR/m, and I just thought – nice fabric, cheap, I might use it some day. (Usually I don’t do that- I go and pick only the fabric I need for the new project so my stash is always nearly empty). Even my usual nightmare - quilting - went incredibly well.

I never had a project going so well, without even a single hiccup. 

Okay, the quilt is not big – only approx 60 X 80”, like a lap quilt, but a quilt in less than two days? Plus I really love the colour/pattern combination. I wish it would be sunny outside (instead of a heavy rain right now) but maybe tomorrow morning I'll be able to take it out for a true colour picture.  

Now I must return to my most urgent serious projects which must be completed until the end of the month. 

PS. For some creative fun, I'm linking to this blog. Enjoy!

Woop-whoop!

Finally my pheasant top is done, and on the 5^th, as I planned to, despite all the puppy fun around! A complete whoop-whoop time for me today! 

Even better – the material which I hoped to use for the back, is exactly as big as I needed to – no need to mess around, adding this and that! 

I bought a piece eons ago and didn’t dare to unfold it before the top is finished – I didn’t wanted to think about a problem before it arises. I unfolded it today, measured and... like I purchased it exactly for this quilt! 

So it's officially then – today is my lucky day! 

Now the ugly part – I hate quilting. As my quilt is rather big, I’ll be fighting with arm space again, and it drives me crazy. So for the next week or so I ‘ll be totally grumpy. I had been studying a lot of quilting close ups on Quilt Inspiration and now I have convinced myself that my quilting skills are not a total disaster but still – I’m dreaming about a space and a long arm.... You are allowed to dream, don’t you?