IN WHICH FOUR NEW TRIANGLES ARE FLOWERED ......

Sweet Surrender by Sue Cody

Count is up to 13 triangles-5 more to make.  The quilt is going to fasssssst!  I have decided that is because I am not doing any original designing on these blocks but rather just following the pattern.  The only choices are the fabrics which are incredibly fun to play with and hard to stop. They just make themselves.  Here are the 4 new blocks:

Did I tell you that I have adopted the use of silk 100 wt thread for applique stitching?  I love it.  It is so cooperative to work with.  It blends so well and drops out of sight after the stitch is made.  You don't really need very many colors but, like all sewers (seamtresses, sewists, sewinas, sewistas, stitchers, choose your favorite), I like to collect as many as I can and they sit in their box like colorful, shiny jewels in a jewel case.  Silk thread is, in any case, almost as expensive as jewels.

I have gotten so much helpful advice from my friend bloggers about how to do foundation piecing.  I am using this method instead of the more grueling epp.  This week I am going to prep the diamonds and little triangles for these big triangles.  Since my Juki is wending its way to San Diego for an overhaul, there is no machine sewing in my future.

This is hard because I have a vague schedule on fmq training and wanted to keep up.  I brought out the Pfaff which is a lovely machine but requires a different skill set for fmq.  Since I don't want to confuse my muscle memory, I ceased and desisted with that idea.  I cannot sew the big triangles together either because it is the Juki which has the miracle piecing foot.  AArrrggghh!

Sewingmachinesplus.com has been very good so far with the return.  I thought i was going to be required to pay the almost $100 to ship and insure the Juki but they paid for that as the machine was less than one year old.  It will arrive in San Diego Tuesday 11-1 and the turnaround is 3 to 7 days.  They will pay to ship my Juki back to me.  So my report on Sewingmachinesplus.com is A+ so far.

I have had several people ask the name of my Salty Sardines quilt shown above.  Its actual name is Sweet Surrender by Sue Cody. What a name-maybe she is a Sarah McLachlan fan. I had to order mine from Material Obsession in Australia (shipping was very reasonable).  I am not sure if the pattern in sold in the US yet.  Here is a photo of the original quilt:

Lots of people have asked me the name of the background fabric I have been using.  It is a Robert Kaufman fabric called Valentina and designed by Valentina Ramos.  If you google it, you can find some online sellers.

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The fall is migratory season and we have a lot of (for us) unusual birds-that is birds not usually seen at our feeders.

This week we had a red breasted nuthatch (too fast to catch on camera) and a black capped chickadee.  Here are a couple photos of the chickadee:

Our usual chickadee is the Carolina which is very similar except does not have the rustier breast.  In the past we has lots more birds.  However, once the dog and now the orange cat Yoshi have taken up residence, the population has declined.

I am linking up with the usual suspects and thank them for their platforms!

Happy quilting!

I MISS MY JUKI!

SO FAR.....................

 I added two more triangles this week plus revised one which was too soft to fit the mood of the vibrant colors. I am almost halfway though making the triangles-not that speed counts-it doesn't.  I am just amazed at the contrast between the never-ending Chuck, Susan, and Me and this quilt.

Here is a nice purple flower. 

The petals of the smaller flowers are Kaffe fabric as are the dots and the leaves.  When I started none of the Kaffe fabric matched but now it does.  Another good example of the quilt taking over regardless of what I decide.  Isn't the leaf fabric beyond belief!!

Wow!  yellow and orange flower!  I love yellow.  The plums are Kaffe fabric.

Here is the block I revised:

New version with vivid blue hexie flower with rose center.  The blues in the little flowers respond better to this combination of rose and teal.  

The only change is the hexie flower which seemed weak in the original being a shade of powder blue which does not really align with the other vibrant colors.

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On another note, it has been a depressing week.  In the middle of fmq practice, my beloved Juki froze.  It is only nine months old and has not seen that much use.  I also oil and clean after each bobbin.  I bought it online from Sewing Machines Plus.  So far, I have not been able to speak to a service rep but it is early days. I bought the Juki online because they never have problems.  I will keep you updated.  Everything may work out just fine.  I have a nice Pfaff so I am not entirely bereft.

Anyway...here is some fmq practice I was able to do.

Now before you get excited about how talented I am, I copied this design.  The original design is by Valerie Smith.  You can see  a photo of her design in Machine Quilting Unlimited Jul/Aug 2016.

Valerie used a matching thin thread and a loftier batting.  Her article in this issue is a wonderful one about thread weight and the difference it makes in the final quilt.  Mostly I have used monofilament or 100 wt but the thread in my practice piece is a variegated 50 wt.  My aim is to expand my thread horizons.

I am also following Lori Kennedy at Inbox Jaunt.  She is making a weekly sunflower sampler.  We have completed week 2-the flower center.  I am quilting with 30 wt thread -Madeira rayon embroidery thread-I have a couple spools of this.  So first 50 wt and now 30 wt.  Okay-where is that rut?

Since I plan to use dissolving basting thread when stabilizing Caswell, I am trying it out here-both bobbin and top-thread just to see how it sews and if it really works.  It seems to be a major success!

Well, that's all for now.  Here is hoping I cheer up and my Juki issues are resolved.  In the meantime, some linkies are calling my name:  Bambi's show and tell, Em's Scrapbag, Patchwork times, Esther's blog, Let's Bee Social, Whoop-Whoop and Off the wall Friday.

Happy Quilting!!