Saturday, June 9, 2012

Pay It Forward


I was visiting all of my fun blogs today and I ran across this Pay It Forward idea. Basically the rules are, the first 3 people to leave a comment on this post will receive a handmade surprise from me within the next 3 months. All they have to do is the same thing on their blog and so on and so forth. I commented on Pat's blog over at Bits and Pieces. So please leave a comment and let the fun begin!!!

Nicole's Two Color Quilt Challenge

I have decided to join in on Nicole's Two Color Quilt Challenge. You can read all about it here. I have chosen purple and cream 1800's repos and the pattern comes from the Fall/Winter 2007 Quilt Sampler Shop Hop issue.











I have been collecting these fabrics for a couple of years now. Thanks to Nicole for giving me the incentive to make it. Isn't blogging just the funnest thing! So exciting to make new friends all over the globe. Such fun to do some quilting together through cyberspace.

I have added everyone that is going to join in on this challenge over on my sidebar. Check out their choices and their progress.

Hugs & Stitches, Julia

Wednesday, June 6, 2012

"Blackberry Twilight" is on our Bed!

I finished "Blackberry Twilight" yesterday. Ethan is not feeling well, so we stayed home from church and spent the day reading, watching Discovery Channel and a couple of his favorite movies. While I was spending time with him and showering some extra TLC on him, I sewed the binding on. Yes, Cindy, CJ, I sewed it on by hand! lol Well, first I machine stitched it to the front then sewed it to the back by hand. Not really my favorite thing to do, but I do really like the way it looks when done that way, as opposed to stitching it all by machine. Will I do all of my bindings this way in the future? Nope! Just on the most special projects. I still think machine stitched binding holds up to wear and tear better, and as I want most of my quilts to be used, loved and dragged about, I will stitch most of my bindings by machine. Shh, don't tell the quilt police, okay. :~)


I had a disaster though. Can you see where the purple bled onto the cream?

It just had to be in the center!! Argh!@!#%*)_*&*%#@#@ I am really mad! I never pre-wash my fabrics, I always throw in a color catcher sheet and I have never had any problems before. I guess it was bound to happen sooner or later. Does anyone have any suggestions for me as to how I can remove it? If removing it is even possible. This quilt is so big, I think that the color catcher sheet didn't work well, because it was so stuffed in the washer. I always wash my quilts, in COLD water, after they are finished. I love the soft, crinkly look. The odd thing is that, I used this same fabric in other places on the quilt and this is the only place that it bled. Any suggestions and help would be greatly appreciated! It doesn't really show up that bad, when you look at the quilt overall. But, I know it is there, so it drives me crazy! Does that Retayne or Synthropol work to remove dyes that have bled or only to prevent the problem in the first place? Randy loves it anyway and wants it to stay on our bed, so there it will stay. :~)

Hugs&Stitches, Jul♥a

Friday, June 1, 2012

Quiltathon Update




Well, I didn't get to much done yesterday. I decided I didn't like the original design I drew up in EQ6, so I went back to the drawing board and spent a couple of hours coming up with a new one. Sorting through magazines and books, searching for ideas and inspiration. Basically, making a big mess on the floor by my bookshelf. *s* I did finally come up with something. So I got started and sewed for about an hour and then I started getting sick to my tummy. I had to make a mad dash to the potty a couple of times and ended up spending the majority of my day laying on the couch wrapped up in a quilt. GRRRRRR!!!!


You can see from the pictures, that the sun is shining today! It is a beautiful early spring day!

I am feeling quite a bit better this morning, although I didn't quite feel like going to church. Maybe I will sew a little bit today.

I hope all of you are getting way more done than I am. :o)