The "Spoken For" Flimsy

 

Hello Everyone,

 

I officially have a flimsy!  "Spoken For" is a completed quilt top.

 



I put it on the snowbank in our driveway and took a picture between snow showers.  Yes, there is a double flange!  Flanges are like potato chips, you can't make just one.

I think this quilt is a beautiful showcase for the Far Horizons fabrics by Henry Glass Company.  I really enjoyed putting the combinations together.

I'll have to wait until it warms up outside so I can put this flimsy on my longarm.  The machine lives in my garage, and it was a balmy 32 degrees inside the garage yesterday.

My resistance to Mr. Joe's ailment finally caught up with me.  There was absolutely no social distancing in our house, and now I have what he has.  Stuffing nose, sore throat, cough, but no fever.  When I took a 4-hour nap on Tuesday, Mr. Joe knew I was sick.  Napping in the middle of the day is not something I do, since I have so much to do.

I was the vision of loveliness, and was over the top sexy last night when I went to bed.  I used my mom's old home remedy of applying hot Vicks on my chest, then pinned a piece of wool to my pajamas to help keep the Vicks warm.  Then I curled up in bed while clutching the heating pad on my chest. My new fragrance was "eau de Vicks", and acts as instant birth control. 

We are taking it easy, except for the snow shoveling yesterday.  We like to keep the driveway cleared just in case we need to get out in an emergency.  The snow plows have been coming by regularly, so the streets are nice and clear.

Remember......the longer we stay put, the sooner we will be out of our confinement. 

Soon,
Lynn

Spoken For Progress

Hello Everyone,

 

Blocks appliqued onto the background.....Check.  Sashing and post finished.....Check.  Rows stitched together.....Check. Now I have to figure out what to do for the borders.



 

Far Horizons is the fabric line that I used to make my Spoken For pattern.  The fabrics are the first line designed by David Schulz for Henry Glass Fabrics.

I loved working with this rich palette.

Yesterday I cooked a 17# turkey.  It was a full blown Thanksgiving dinner with all the fixings for just the two of us.  Mr. Joe has a bad cold and couldn't taste a thing.  Maybe he will enjoy the turkey soup this week. 

 

Here's a funny note during these trying times.  So many people have been checking in on us via phone or email.  We have been doing the same.  The TV is on most of the time so we can listen to updates which only infuriate me.  When the news of the virus or the stock market gets too bad, we change it to music. When it gets way too bad, Mazey and I go for a walk.  She's been logging a lot of steps lately.

 

My friend Kaaren is alone in her cabin.  Here's what she posted on Face Book yesterday.

My TV is in an "ON" state. Flipping from channel to channel.....but then I tune it out.... I just realized I've been listening to a program on a "better bladder" and how to have a better bladder life, offering some kind of supplements........ Perhaps some music is in order. 

So play the music, and dance to the music.  I'll only dance when Mr. Joe takes a nap, otherwise he will think I'm stark raving mad with cabin fever.

Soon,
Madam Ambassador



Dresden Tutorial - Spoken For Pattern

Hello Everyone,

 

While we are spending more time at home, quite possibly in our sewing rooms, let's learn a new technique to add to our quilting toolbox......the Dresden Plate block.  My blocks are a little different because I'm combining Fans and Blades.  The Blades are the "pointy" bits, and the fans are rounded.

 



 

This is the block I'm making using Far Horizons fabric by David Schulz for Henry Glass Fabrics.  Begin by selecting three fabrics that look gorgeous together.  With this fabric line, they all look gorgeous together!

 



According to my pattern called Spoken For, I made templates out of template plastic.  I LOVE the gridded template plastic.  I like to make my templates out of plastic so I can see the underlying design for fussy cutting. In this picture, you can see that I outlined four blades on the wrong side of the fabric. 

I fold them in half, right sides together and pin. 

Then stitch 1/4" from the wide, top of the blade.

Clip the inside corner off along the folded side.

Press the seam open.

Use a little pointy thingy and turn the blade inside out.  Press.

And then there were four.

Now we make eight fans.  Use your template made out of plastic, and fussy cut the fans.

With this template, make a freezer paper template.  This is where my method differs from the norm.  Mr. Joe always tells me I'm not normal!

Iron the freezer paper template to the wrong side of the fan.

Clip the fabric right to the paper template.

I used a Clover, fabric folding pen filled with Best Press, and applied a little bit of starch to the exposed fabric.  You could also use a small brush to apply the starch.

I used an iron, and pressed the fabric over the template.

Remove the template and it looks like this.  Do this procedure on all the fans.

The fans are going to be placed right next to the prepared blade.

 Pin the pieces together.

Start stitching at the skinny end.  Before I start stitching, I move my needle one notch to the left. I stitch about halfway, and move the needle back one notch.  This procedure helps gather the center area together.  You can see that my stiletto is pointing to where I moved my needle back to its normal position.

Another little tipsy is to apply a thin, line of Best Press directly on the thread.  This also helps in the final construction and makes the seams flat.

You can't tell my needle was moved over a notch the first half of the stitching. This will ease the center area down.

I think these fabrics look great together.

Now I do the same procedure with the fans.

I lay all of the parts and pieces together, and continue stitching the seams together.

I fold my background fabric into quarters, and lightly press.  This helps me line up the Dresden Plate onto my background.  Then make the center hexagon out of the same fabric used for the blade.  At this point, I hand applique the plate to the background.  You could also machine applique the block to the background fabric.

I find the application of the Best Press directly to the thread line, and moving the needle over a notch, make the block flat.  In the past when I made this block, the center area looked like a square dancers ruffly skirt! Do you know what I mean?  I used to starch the block into submission with heavy duty spray starch.  Now I don't need to do that.

 

I have a lot more blocks made now, but I don't have a picture to show.  I only have to make one more block.  I may be far enough along to get a good picture later on.

  

Stay safe and hunker down.  We are self isolating at the cabin.  We are already quite isolated, so this is nothing new for us. We couldn't get more isolated if we tried!

Soon,
Lynn

The Finishing Flange

Hello Everyone,

 

I just have a few minutes for a quick post before I head off to meet with my Sew'n Wild Oaks Girls at In Between Stitches.  

 

 

I decided on the soft green fabric for my flange....or is it flangi??  It really puts a nice, finishing touch on the blocks.  Each block in the middle row is flanged, and you can see the difference that it makes.  I wanted it to be subtle, and classy.  

I'm going to have to hurry, and make seven more blocks.  I love the fabric selection process for each block.  It also helps to have the finished blocks up on the design wall, so I can see what colors I need to incorporate.

Off to In Between Stitches today, then back home tonight to my mountains.

Soon,
Lynn

Progress With Far Horizons Fabrics

 Hello Everyone,

It's been a very productive week under the pines at Wilder's Last Resort. There's been a lot of raking, and a whole lot of quilting going on.

 

Eight blocks done, eight more to go on my project for Henry Glass & Co.  I'm making my Spoken For pattern this month.  The blocks are going together quickly because I'm enjoying every minute working on them.  Each 8" block is it's own little quilt.  I enjoy selecting the fabrics, and seeing the design they make when they are together.

 



 

Here is the entire, delicious Far Horizons line designed by David Shultz.  This is his first line that David has designed!  I can't wait to see what he comes up with next.

 



On another note, the taxes are now out of my hair and in the hands of our accountant.  Luckily for us, there is a new restaurant right across the street from the accountant's office called The Watering Hole.  After working on the taxes on and off for days, I deserved that brewski!  I don't drink beer very often, and that mug of Jolly Pumpkin hit the spot.   It didn't taste like pumpkin at all, more like lemon.  I was feeling jolly by the time we finished our meal.

In a comment the other day, QuiltGranma asked me to describe my Henry Glass & Co., Madam Ambassador hat.  I've always wanted a Fascinator, and I wore a cake topper, (my pretend Fascinator) on my head last Halloween at my Sew'n Wild Oaks retreat at Snowflake Lodge. So there you have it, my Madam Ambassador hat is a fascinating cake topper!

I'm headed out to teach Country Courthouse at In Between Stitches tomorrow.  This is the quilt that is going to be in QuiltMania magazine this Fall.  Then on Monday and Tuesday I get to spend two wonderful days with my Sew'n Wild Oaks girls. This is going to be a Jolly Pumpkin kind of week!

Be jolly,

Madam Ambassador

Far Horizons Progress

Hello Everyone,

 

I've been happily working away with the Far Horizons fabrics by David Shultz for Henry Glass & Co.  

David designed the fabrics using the colors of Australia as his inspiration and color palette.  I see the deep, rich blue of the Great Barrier Reef, the golden hues of the Outback, and the dusty green of eucalyptus leaves.  I saw his inspiration the instant I opened the package from Henry Glass & Co.

I'm making my Spoken For pattern with the fabrics.  I think it is going to be an excellent way to showcase this gorgeous fabric line which will be in stores soon.  As I get the time, I will put a tutorial together for this block, and post it on the blog.

I have to tell you I have my Madam Ambassador hat on while I write this post.  Just picture this, plaid pink and black fuzzy robe, red and black buffalo check pajamas, and plaid slippers with snowflakes on them.  I'm quite the site over breakfast every morning with my fashion statement.  It's enough to scare the bears away!  Hopefully the husband will stick around.

Soon,
Madam Ambassador

 

Far Horizons Fabric

Hello Everyone,

 

It's time for me to put on my Madam Ambassador hat for Henry Glass & Company, and work on the package of fabrics that arrived this week.

 

The fabric line is called Far Horizons designed by David Shultz.  Click HERE to see the entire line up close on the Henry Glass website. The line is inspired by the colors of Australia, the country David calls home.  David made my Country Sunshine pattern, so we have a little bit of a history of commenting on each others work on Instagram.  David is very creative, and I was delighted when I learned I would be working with his first fabric line.

I knew in advance from my contact at Henry Glass, that this was going to be my March shipment.  I worked with it a bit in EQ software before I decided what I was going to make.

Then this idea came to me.  I thought the fabric would look great in my Spoken For pattern.  I knew I could do some fussy cutting and make some wonderful blocks.  I dug right in with great anticipation to see how the first block turned out.  I love it!  The pattern is a combination of piecing and applique.  I can piece during the day and applique the blocks at night so I can stay awake.

Well I have to tell you my knickers are all in a twist.  We watched the last episode of Sanditon last night.  So many loose ends!  There had better be another season in the works or I will be very, VERY sad.  I feel I was left hanging, and completely unsatisfied with the ending.  I will have to do some research and see if an author finished Jane Austen's book.  It is such a good story and I want it to have a good 'Austenesque' ending.

We are looking forward to a brief rain and snowstorm blowing in tonight.  We've had so little weather this winter.  I miss a good storm of rain, wind, and snow.

Soon,
Madam Ambassador