Beach, Lighthouses, Quilt Shops.. and Relaxation!

We just returned from a week at the beach.  We take our summer vacation at the end of summer when  most of the vacationers are gone and we can enjoy the late summer days without the crowds.  For anyone who has grown up in a resort area, like my husband, you know that late summer is the best time of year at the shore. 

North Wildwood, NJ Seawall

Anyone who follows me in Instagram has seen some of these pictures during the week. 

It was also my husband's birthday and we visited some lighthouses.  One of his favorite things to do. 

We visited Hereford Inlet Lighthouse in N. Wildwood, NJ.  My husband grew up just a few blocks from this lighthouse. 

They have done a beautiful restoration and have beautiful gardens around the lighthouse.

Love the butterfly sign.

My mother-in-law used to have these pretty purple flowers in her garden. 

We had perfect days with blue skies.  Perfect for walking the beach

We also took several trips to Cape May, NJ for shopping and dinner. 

There was always time at the end of each day for some stitching and sipping. :-)

On Friday we took the ferry from Cape May to Lewes, DE.  My wonderful husband took me to two great quilt shop - Serendipity and Mare's Bears Quilts.  He even found time for a cat nap while I shopped. 

 Serendipity Quilt shop in Dagsboro, DE had a large selection of reproduction and traditional fabrics.

Mare's Bear's Quilts Lewes, DE had some great deals on modern fabrics. 

Two great shops!  I would recommend them if you are in Delaware anytime. 

I was also able to get the binding and label done for this baby quilt for someone at work. Love the backing fabric on this one.  I have had this in my stash a long time and it was perfect. 

I was even able to get this quilt basted together before we left to come home. So much easier without my feline helpers! LOL  I am hoping to big stitch this one. 

 

It was a fun week... good food, great weather, a birthday, and two quilt shops!

Happy Stitching!

Deb

I'm Still Here... Making Friends

Some of you might be wondering what happened to me... Did she ever come back from that machine class?  Did she run away from that very intimidating machine? (Remember the picture of Lucy in last post?)  Well, no I have been here diligently working on a quilt and becoming acquainted with my new friend Bernie. The machine class was great and I decided to put some of what I learned into practice. 

This is a baby quilt for a friend at work.  She is expecting her second son on June 22.  If you remember I bought that airplane fabric at the NJ Quilt Show in March.

I saw a similar quilt on Pinterest with these airplanes and decided to draw the planes myself on fusible web and then add my own design around it. (FYI - I did search for the pattern and didn't find anything.)  Love the rickrack contrails.

The machine did a great job with the buttonhole stitch around all the planes.

I added 5 inch blocks and a couple of borders and it was ready to be basted.

In the meantime, we took a trip one Saturday out to Ephrata, PA to Hinkletown Sewing.  On a back country road with farms on either side, we found the shop nestled in a small white building located on their farm.  This is the dealer that I bought my machine from at the AQS Lancaster quilt show.

This dealer only sells Bernina sewing machines, except for a few trade-ins on the floor, and is owned and operated by a Mennonite family.

It is a small shop but with great customer service and good prices. The have used presser feet that you can pick up for $10.  A real deal!  I was lucky enough to find a clear free motion foot in that basket.

Back home, I was ready to start machine quilting this baby quilt.  The machine comes with a stitch regulator foot, but for right now I prefer to do my FMQ with out the help.  I loved this clear foot for seeing exactly where I was going. 

I did invest in a walking foot, not being sure that I would need it.  With the dual feed on this machine, quilt binding goes on with no problem.  But for straight machine quilting, which I would like to do more of, this walking foot was fantastic!  It was quiet and smooth and the guides worked great. I think it is a keeper.

I have added my label and I am working on getting the binding finished!

Hope the baby's mom loves this quilt as much as I have enjoyed making it.  Her baby 'sprinkle' is on Tuesday. :-)

I am no longer intimidated by my new machine and I am really enjoying working with her. :-)

Happy Stitching!

Deb

WHO got their baby quilt done in time? I DID!

As mentioned in an earlier post about a week and a half ago, I needed to get this baby quilt done and I hadn't finished the top yet... see post called I'm A Procrastinator. :-)

But I got it finished in time to give to the expectant mom this past Monday at her baby sprinkle at the office. Here is Jaime with the quilt at our lunchtime celebration. 

But let's back up to getting this cute quilt completed.  As mentioned, I drafted this design (with permission) from a quilt I found on Pinterest.  Once I was done with the applique and piecing, it was time to baste it.  Yes, I still baste with basting thread on the floor.  Definitely my least favorite part of the process.

I chose this soft lavender chevron print for the back. 

I freemotion quilted "peacock feathers" in the background....hmm, wonder how the owls feel about that...

and a freemotion leaf vine in the borders.

The eyes and lashes were machine stitched on the baby owl.  So cute!

It was finally done.  That was a quilting marathon in one day!

I pulled out my Janome to machine quilt this.  It does a wonderful job and likes all the rayon threads, unlike the finicky Viking.. :-)

Next came the binding.... I cut mine at 2 1/4".

and, of course, the label.

Someone seemed a little jealous of these cute little owls.  She didn't think I could see her looking for them. 

So happy to have this quilt done and delivered!  Now we just have to wait for the baby to do the same!

Happy Stitching,

Deb

Slow Sunday Stitching - A Bountiful Life and More!

I have been working on my A Bountiful Life quilt blocks. The current block is called Assorted Bouquet.

This is how the block looked earlier this week.  Lots of leaves in this one!

My husband jokes that I am always making leaves.  This is the life of an appliquer!

Here is my paper pattern to give you an idea of what the finished block will look like. 36 leaves in the pattern. 

The block pictured in the book has the leaves all appliqued in the same green.  I chose to add more variety with some darker greens and a lot of different fabrics. 

 The pattern also has a lot of leaves with stems under the flower stems.

I included some of these and the others I simplified with just leaves, no stems.

 Again, more leaves, some of mine without stems.  Anytime I can simplify a pattern, I do it!

We will be thinking about days like this today in the Northeast.  Forecast is for extreme heat and humidity.

Maybe you will be lucky enough to be here...

I will be staying inside with the air conditioning and enjoying some slow stitching on my Assorted Bouquet block. 

And also doing some of this as I finish up the binding on the baby quilt.

Stay cool and Happy Stitching!

Deb

Linking up at Kathy's Quilts for Slow Sunday Stitching.