Are you a trimmer?

Well I am not and I gotta say my least favorite part of making a Schnibble is all the trimming required. But since the results are good I guess it is worth all the time and effort and I see more Schnibbles in my future. I really like how this little top turned out and I think it will make a great little table topper on my black kitchen table in my new home.

And looking at it hanging on the design wall with some of my butterflies I am so excited that they look nice together. My last two houses have had yellow walls in both the great room and kitchen and white cabinets and were decorated in a decidedly French theme. But in this new home, with its dark cabinets and counters and a very open floor plan I am going in a different direction. At this stage of life though, I have collected many things that I love and have special meaning that I want to incorporate into the decor. Nor do I have the money to start over following the latest design trends but I love decorating and hope to create a stylish and comfortable home. It is quite a challenge using what I have in new ways to create the British colonial look I am going for this time. It reminds me a lot of making a quilt and pulling various fabrics and patterns into a harmonious design. I hope you don't mind hearing all about my design process in my new home. I am enjoying recording the process and it will be fun for me to look back on once I am settled.

More Butterflies

Not quite finished my Schnibble but I have been working hard to finish the appliqué on my Butterflies Are Free quilt. I still have one more flower block and 25 butterfly blocks but these have been finished since my arrival last Friday. I have the perfect spot for this quilt in,y new home so the pressure is now on to get this done before I have to take down the long arm for moving. I don't really think I can do it but It is good to set goals! New flooring is being laid in the long arm room and should be finished tomorrow so it will be another handwork day for me!

My first Schnibble

I have mentioned before that I usually prefer to select fabrics from my stash rather than using a whole line of fabric so it shouldn't be a big surprise that I have not made many quilts from precuts. During the past year I did see several quilts made using the Schnibbles patterns for charm squares and I decided that I would give one a go as a quick project to use a fabric line that I love. This pattern is called Hot Cross and the fabric is the new line by French General called La Belle Fleur. Now I LOVE French General fabric but really have only collected bits of it and have used it in projects mixed in with other fabrics. I wanted to see how this collection would look together and I must admit I do love it. The top is not complete yet but I am imagining it will look great as a tabletopper on my kitchen table next to a hutch filled with transferware.

Remember this?

Well, not much sewing going on since I arrived in Florida since we are working hard getting the house ready for our upcoming move. We picked out new hardwood flooring for the long arm room so that I will be able to sit and scoot along on a chair. I gotta say my husband is really sweet to understand my quilting needs and to be willing to fund them. But don't feel too sorry for him as he has three old MG hobby cars and all the tools necessary to work on them so he "gets it". Frankly when searching for a new home we end up looking for a garage and sewing studio with a house attached. Neither of us really wanted to move but a job and great new home does make the transition easier. He also hung several new light fixtures cause I just hated the old ones. Though they may not be the fixtures of my dreams, they fit the budget after the flooring expense and I am starting to see things come together.

So, now for a little sewing report. I haven't posted this in awhile but you might remember these "this goes with that" hexagon blocks. I worked on a few more last week and all the supplies for this one will ow stay in Florida. These are the colors in my new Master bedroom and I love how it looks with the aqua walls and blue and white pots that we brought home from China. Can't wait to get more furniture moved in!

A happy surprise

Today started pretty early for me. I was planning to drive to our new home in Florida today to see DH and perhaps to check out the new tile backsplash he installed the last few weeks. Since it is a 6 hour drive I usually leave between 9 and 10 after the Atlanta traffic, and then arrive a bit before he gets home from work. But all day yesterday there were dire predictions of freezing rain and snow starting around 8 am so it was either wait a day or leave early. Since my sleep patterns are pretty weird these days I decided that if I woke up early I would go, if not I would just wait a day. Well for once I am glad that I rarely sleep through the night cause I was up by about 4:45 and hit the road before 5:30. Wow, even with a coffee break and potty break for the dog and a fabric store break (you know just to stretch my legs) I made it here by 12:15. And when I arrived the doorbell rang and a package was delivered! What a great surprise. Thanks so much to Thelma from the blog Cupcakes and Daisies. She recently had a giveaway on her blog to celebrate her 100th quilt. I was the lucky winner of the pattern of my choice from the Fat Quarter Shop and I selected On A Whim by Thimble blossoms. I look forward to pulling some fat quarters together to make this one. Oh and check out how beautifully it was wrapped, it was the prettiest package I have had in years. :). Thanks again Thelma!


Oh, and the tile back splash is looking good too. It is marble subway tile and when I was here at Christmas I arranged the tile for installation. Getting the title "pattern" just so was just like arranging quilt blocks on a design wall and I am delighted with the results. Hopefully he can get to the grout tomorrow!

A few more William Morris blocks

I finished the binding on my Whig Rose but have no way to take a good photo. Since I head to the new house tomorrow and plan to take it with me, I should have something to show soon. However I have completed a few more of the William Morris blocks. Sadly I won't have these with me to work on for the next week or so but I'm sure to come up with another UFO or 2 to keep me busy!

Binding with a flange

Well, I have never tried this before and it is way harder than I expected but it seems to be worth the effort for this quilt. I debated the pros and cons of adding a flange versus piping and decided to go with a flange. Despite being VERY careful with my cutting and sewing my flange is not quite perfectly even so piping might have been a better option. I had always planned to bind this one in green but now am kinda wishing that I had reversed the colors but then the flange imperfections would be more noticeable! Back to stitching.