Another WIP be Gone for 2021 - STAR SPANGLED BIRTHDAY and a giveaway

Star Spangled Birthday
stitched area is 8" x 4" 

Toot toot!  

                            Whoop whoop another finish that is totally done.  

The design is Star Spangled Birthday by From Nancy's Needle and I loved it the first time I saw it.  The stats are being listed for my own reference only and changes I personalized being asterisked for easy notation.  It was basically stitched as designed with the called for threads on 18 count sandstone zweigart mono canvas.

The Watercolors by Caron numbers threads used are:   008 Nerfertiti, 016 Bark, 138 Winter Wheat, 160 Night Sky, 165 Granite, 255 Cornflower Blue,  and 257 Spearmint.  

DMC#5 weight colors were: Ecru, 498 Dark Red Border*, 321 Flag and Bunting*, 823 Navy - Bunting*.  

The Kreinik #12 weight Tapestry Braids used are: TR279 - Dark Multi darker windows on Left home *, 3202 Cats Eye for the Lighted windows.  

Gold Rush #18 used were *GD109C darker windows on Right Home*, GD45C Red, GD136C Navy and then added extra sparkle in the self designed fireworks using an assortment of sparkly threads like, *razzle dazzle Orange, an unknown *Green Sparkle I got through a thrifted mermaid item while visiting Mom in Florida, also unknown maker of two colors of a *Hot Pink Sparkle and an *Aqua sparkle. 

Many fibers were used and am glad I changed it up along the way.   The border colors only used the Rainbow gallery sparkly Blue in it and then I changed the called for Nefertiti red toned to a deeper toned DMC instead with out the sparkle*.  The *patriotic items were brightened up with a truer red as well as the windowed glass bits*.   Also made were changes to the design of the street lamps with a more to my liking simplified lamps and attempted successfully I think, a "truer to my memory" images of actual fireworks going off then the illustrated patterned lightning strike effect printed and designed.    Am so glad as I progress with my hobbies that I'm at liberty (yep- pun intended!) to change and stitch projects my way.  

Also was able to bring it to Aaron Brothers (Michaels) with 2 coupons, a 60% off and with an additional 25% off to get it framed with  the 2  mats and the selected frame which complements it perfectly.  That white pickled finish on the frame has hints of gold brushed through it letting it highlight the light affect of all those threads.  SO in honor of this finish... I did mention a giveaway:

To share in my self-finishing glory and joy,  I'm hosting a giveaway of this gently used chart to the continental US only.  My regrets to my other followers though for this exception but due to expense of international mailings it's unfortunate but too costly.  The winner will be drawn and announced here in November and I'll try contact you if I'm able to.  I plan to mail this out on my Birthday, November 10 to celebrate.   To enter, leave a comment on this post and share what you are most thankful for.  That's it.  Good Luck!

It was a fun stitch and only took me about 3 months to do and that's with sending it out to be framed too,  LOL.   But I work at a snails pace sometimes.  

  

TTFN,

Jane

Giveaway closed,   Sorry there were no entrants, so I will be letting this go in another manner.

Happy Thanksgiving.

Managing and Tending Leftover Threads

With the assortment of threads I use with my needle arts, for many of them I contain them in a DMC box on bobbins with a "like with Like" mentality.  Seems simple, but it works for me.  As shared previously on this post:  my DMC are all bobbin wound and stored in containers so it's easy to find the thread I'm looking for when starting a project.

When I got into  working with wool and needing the heavier threads I found it easier to  use bobbin buddies while stitching to eliminate any Perle cotton thread tangles yet store them within their weight classes in the compartmentalized boxes after their use.  The warmer colors in one or two containers with cooler colors in another.  Labeling the boxes with their weights 5, 8 or 12.  Then I have another container to hold the specialty fibers such as watercolour/snow/metallics and some of the DMC leftover bits.

I purchased a bobbin die for my Sizzix Big Kick and love how it works for making cardboard bobbins.  When done stitching a project, Typically I'll print out the design I stitched and will use that image glued on one side of a bar coaster and oak tag heavy duty paper glued on the back side.    

You heard that right, a bar coaster.  It's heavy duty enough to hold up to use/abuse with those heavier threads, looks nice and an easy reminder of where I used that particular thread to bout.

I note the type of thread with the color name and number on the oak tag side of the bobbin and store it in a case that's not quite deep enough for them to stand upright in unless they're tilted a tad in the compartment.   I don't go through a lot of these as I just make one to however many more are needing a bobbin when finishing a project.  When asking the bar/restaurant owners and managers if they mind if I take one or two while eating out at their establishments, they'll respond positively to my request - thankfully.

The DMC and Valdani 8 and 12 that I use as they are sold on the ball skeins (how they come) and when in use I will store the balls in the bobbin buddies (seen in the first photo setting on the very top proortion of that stack of plastic boxes in a netted bag)  I purchased those through Bird Brain Design many years ago.  She is selling little glass jars now to contain the skeins of thread with a jar lid having a centered hole.  I don't see the style I use as available anymore on line anywhere, but they are similar to the "toy coin machines" with the colorful capped bubbles with a little prize inside.  The only difference is that there is a hole drilled into the bubble part to allow the thread to be pulled out when needed.  You can actually see those ball skeins in the first photo shared and stored in either warm or cool color combos.  I also love the Wunderlist app on my smart phone (now known as Check it app) to document which brand, color and weight threads I already have on hand.   I use this app for my Accuquilt dies, threads, etc..... I  LOVE IT!!

Recently I thought of color coding my hobbies so am using Orange for Needlepoint.  Anything to help me easily transition from one project to the next besides know at a glance which bag to grab as I head out the door is a boon in my life.   This is probably way more info than you need or want to know, it's just how I roll.  

TTFN
Jane    

I have a whole different system I use for Eleganza (my Sue Spargo) threads I'm using on my current wool project but that  topic is for another day!  Share more later.

Quilt show entries, First one- "Tweet Camping"

Thank goodness our local quilt show isn't a judged show, otherwise most of my entries would have been shown to the door.  And no, I am not kidding!   Our show has many ribbons that people can win and people with all kinds of areas, expertise and backgrounds are asked to pick their favorite.  Of course some picks are spectacularly done quilts, well deserving of their awards while some others are nice quilts, but not as great as some that are just as well deserving IMHO.    The show kept taking my breath away with the many and varietied quilts shown.   I also would be remiss not to  mention that a good friend, Michele won a well deserved ribbon for her New York Beauty Quilt entry (Talk about Gorgeous!!!) and my granddaughter won a ribbon for her first Doll Quilt. 

Well done Michele, McKenna and fellow members of CVQG of NY!

 

I did the bare minimum for quilting because I procrastinated way too long.  

When I registered them in June, I figured they  would be done for the show.   

I had 5, Yep,  I said 5 UFOS that I entered. 

I figured that by committing them to be there, I'd get them done.  ROTFLOL!!!!

 

But I swear

I will never,

EVER!

I mean NEVER EVER!!  do this to myself again!!!

 

So this post will share the parts about

 

"Tweet Camping"

 

This quilt came to be  because I found this Bird fabric at my LQS and fell in Love with it.   The pattern design was inspired by a connecting threads kit I saw in their catolog but the dimensions wouldn't work because it was a baby quilt and the much smaller blocks wouldn't play well with this fabric so  I played with lots of math to make my own.  With the pattern, I really like the fact that all of those rectangles were being stacked and packed so to speak (a much needed choir when it comes to camping) so it seemed a perfect fit especially with the wobbliness of those stacks tottering.  Shopping my stash first,  then shopping for  a few more batiks to throw in for good measure gives this quilt a bit of color and punch.  I find projects made from different fabric lines is very appealing.  Quickly,  I even envisioned having shipping peanuts (circular shaped packing protectors) quilted in the white background areas with much more quilting done for the boxes, sashings and borders. So off it went.

 

 

 

What I was able to get done was quilt a "linking squares" meander  in the outside blue borders 

with the "peanut packing" for the white areas. 

Running out of time, I had to leave the rest of the quilting for when I have more time after the show. 

Thankfully it hung well enough at the show not to be too huge of an embarrassment.   A vanilla cream, minkee dot was used for this back which makes it a very cuddly and drapable quilt.  

 

 

Close up shots of the quilting in the border, white spacings while I was auditioning bindings.  

Quilting was done with a Universal needle without any problems

using the minkee dot backing, as for the threads, many were used. 

 

In the borders a Superior Lava Thread called KuKui Nut (soft browns) was used for the top and bobbin.

In the white background a Superior's Kimono white silk(color 373) for the top and

 Superior's White Bottom Line in the bobbin.

I'm thinking of dong a back and forth motion in the sashings and perhaps cross haches in the stacked boxes but am unsure what to do in the bird focal fabric.  Any and all ideas or suggestions are welcome.  What would you do? 

 

 

 

 

I love having piping or flanges on many of my projects, but elected not to on this one and just finished it simply by using the striped fabric that went with this fabric line called  "Love Lives Here" by P. Carter Carpin by P&B textiles.    I love this bird print and it fit the bill nicely for the For the Birds hop I participated in earlier this year.  Another tidbit to share is how a different label was made for it.  I folded 2 blocks with some sashing from that row I took off the quilt since it was really too long before borders and turned them into a label.  If there is any damage in the years to come, that label can help with many of the fabrics contained within.  Also a strip of the selvage from that fabric line was used too as to document more of the information and who wouldn't like the motto "love lives here".

Here's how it looks:

 

 

 

To the left of those stacked blocks is the date, quilt name, place done and maker's name documented centered with more brown and blue fabrics.
 This is the largest label I've ever made, it's huge 14"x 12".

 

 Finally I'll share a shot of "Herman" the weeping cedar bush near the pool deck, showing Tweet Camping in the backyard where love lives here.

Tweet Camping
88" x 88"
 

I'll share more of the quilts that were entered by me bit by bit. Sorry this was photo heavy but I wanted documentation for  future reference.  First item on my agenda this week will be to quilt the sashings on this quilt and read the book The Saving Graces which our club meets on Wednesday to discuss.  I totally slid on my reading while focusing on getting ready for the show.  Enjoy your Holiday. 

Jane    8^)