Stitch Therapy

Or is it?

As you all know, I am not a machine quilter. Most of my machine quilted projects involve organic, wavy lines or stippling. That too is so stressful to me, Most of the time I choose to hand quilt my quilts.

Lately, I am working on a quilt that has to be completed by certain time so I decided to machine quilt which reminded me of this old quilt I made in 2005.

In 2005, I had just finished a couple of pink and green quilts and few scraps were calling to be made into a quilt.

When I first pieced it, I was going to hand quilt the quilt. But one day, I decided to give machine quilting a try and since there were no other tops lying around, I decided this one was IT!

It was so stressful! It was the fear of  "what if it did not look good" that was making me uneasy. After working on couple of blocks, I knew my fear had become a reality. I liked this top which was now completely ruined. I thought of ripping the stitches out but that was even more painful. So I left it alone and practiced some more.

and, then some!

It got better with time. I am still not very comfortable but at least, trying new patterns.

 It is still stressful. I would rather be hand quilting.

 

Here we go again!

Another snow storm is on it's way.

I really wanted to share these pictures on Valentine's day but better do it now before we loose power.

They were here for a long time! I can't tell you how peaceful it was to see them perched right outside my kitchen window.

Happy Valentine's Day! 

Super Bowl 2014

About a week and half back I had my quilting friends over for a sew day.

Kelly was working on her applique class sample she will be teaching at out local quilt shop. Terry and Stephanie worked on their applique. Christine got some cutting done for a new quilt and all I did was talk!

I decided to sort my scraps while we chatted away. I had brought couple of my bins at the table to iron and cut as I go. My friend Terry was curious on how I organize my scraps.  The fact of the matter is, I don't always have them in boxes. It all depends on the mood I am in. Sometimes I have only one way to organize them and that is to toss them in bins until I have enough to make a quilt. If I was organized by nature, I could learn a thing or two from many quilters. I have tried that in the past. Look at the side bar.. that handkerchief quilt is still in the making. I did add few blocks to that pile. Mostly, I do like the unpredictable nature of scrap quilts and so I just dive in and see where it takes me.   

After they left, the bins remained on the main floor of the house. I was determined to not take them back in the studio until I did something about that explosion of colors in my dining area.

The following weekend was the Superbowl Sunday. 

I am not a football fan but have always been interested in the commercials. This year the Seahawks were playing! Needless to say, I paid less attention to the commercials (they were not impressive anyway) and watched the game. As unexciting the game was, I did have fun watching it with my husband and over the phone texting with my kids. I should also admit that I am just starting to 'get' the game. 

Next day, almost 10 inches of snow dumped in the tri-state area of PA, NJ and NY which also followed by freezing rain the following day. I felt guilty for even having the power when most of my friends were without heat and electricity. If it wasn't for my dear husband being sick with flu, I would have had everyone for camping at our house. I don't think anyone of my friends would have appreciated being sick in this bad weather.

While this all sounds like The Root Connection Channel news, believe me, I do have a point.

The snow storm brought everything at stand still except for my sewing machine! I have been busy with my scraps like a kid in a candy store!

Here is what I did with what I found in the bins.

A Seahawks victory quilt. Would Domination be right name for this quilt?

Super Bowl 2014

It looked a bit smaller when I thought it was done.

So I added few more pieces.

Once I got going there was no stopping.. Sorting of the scraps was quickly replaced by sorting and making of the quilt at the same time.

Or should I say quilts?

Here is #2 with an Amish theme. Don't know if I should hand quilt or machine quilt.

Can't decide which way it looks good either. I guess I will wait until it's done make that decision.

You can read about the process behind this quilt here.

And to answer Terry's question, Since I don't have any specific method, I keep working on multiple projects at a time. When it comes to dark scraps, I piece them together into strips. Eventually they all will get put together in a lap size quilt. To keep it a true scrap quilt, I resist cutting up new fabrics and keep adding new strips made from scraps to already existing WIP. It's a slow process for some quilts but I am not in any hurry.

This quilt is going to be a copy of my confetti quilt but I chose to put all the dark fabrics together instead of brights.

And lastly, I found some large chunks of large floral prints and some 2 1/2'' squares. I am going to have to look into cutting some yardage to add more to this.

This should be fun.
Few 4 1/2'' x 8 1/2 '' or/and  4 1/2'' x 10 1/2'' strips paired with 2 1/2 '' x 2 1/2'' squares, all randomly sewn into long strips. Long enough to cover a twin bed. What do you think?

Back to the news, last I heard, few of my friends are still without power. There is another ice storm on it's way and it is snowing at this moment as I end this post.

I am leaving you with a teaser.. I almost never do this but for this quilt, I want to wait for a full reveal until it's all finished.

I have got my machine well oiled and bobbins full. After a long break, I feel like I am back in the business of making quilts!

Thank you for being interested in what I do.

When mother nature gives you snow flowers...

 What do you do?

I know, you have heard it on the news and through the blogland how much snow was dumped on the east coast.

I decided to go through my stash and decided to make a quick flower garden quilt to beat the winter blues. 

There was plenty to get inspired from.

 Too pretty to cut them in small pieces but good enough for 9 1/2'' x 9 1/2'' squares.

Put some 3 1/2'' x 3 1/2'' squares from the scrap bin together into nine patch.

Put them all together in a simple 63'' x63'' lap quilt.

  

Pattern is called Leafy Rosy from the book, Passionate Patchwork. 

I have some leftover 3'' squares to make the border for this happy quilt.

That was fun, quick project!

I will be machine quilting this quilt soon. Hopefully, before the month's end!

Hope you are enjoying the weather wherever you are, doing whatever you love to do the most!

So it continues...

Hi everyone! I am still thinking how quickly 2013 went by! Last year, I was in India at this time and that seems like just yesterday!

Kids came home for the holidays and are back to their routine, Between all the kids, we have made numerous trips to airports with missed flights due to weather, airport closures and cancelled flights, all while having the best time with them. We have been busy!

I finished three quilts by the time they were opening presents.

They were so happy they ran outside with joy... NOT!

I made them run outside so I could take these pictures.. It was a cold, windy day!

 

Don't you think it was all worth the effort though?

I like quilts with feet.

 

 

  Oldest son who left early has made a promise that he will send me a picture of him with his quilt hanging on the wall. I am still waiting for that. It may take a couple of reminders but I am sure he will send one soon.

We have had some good family fun playing games, goofing around while cooking and eating their favorite food, watching movies and sharing old memories. 

We also watched the most beautiful Sunrise and Sunsets while they were here.

This day had quickly turned into a very cold day with freezing rain! For the first time in life, I heard the sounds of ice crackling from the swaying tree branches in the blowing winds.. It sounded like mother nature had hung thousands of wind-chimes, just for us! I will never forget that experience.
  

 

Sunsets were as mesmerizing as Sunrise.

 

 

As you all know, it has been cold lately in the Northeast. In 28 winters of my life in this country, I have never experienced these cold temperatures, ever!

Good thing we have quilts to keep us cozy!

Hope you all have a lovely start to the year.

I hope to continue blogging with new quilts and finish some old projects like these two. This year is going to be a continuum of life itself which I am happy to do with old things in my possession. 

I started a new project few days ago with old denim pants. Already loving it. I will be back with some pictures soon.

I have missed being here with all of you.

Wishing you the best!
Sujata





 

Cleaning Away

We work so hard in our sewing rooms. The mess is as constant as the quilts coming out of it.

This past week, I spent many hours cleaning and reorganizing my fabrics. It's overwhelming, distracting and rewarding at the same time. Found many old projects. mostly tops that need to be turned into quilts and few UFOs. I did find a long lost block from 1998 I was looking for a while back. I was a new quilter trying to teach myself how to applique. I drafted my own pattern looking at pictures of old quilts and followed the instructions in some book on applique.

 Oak Leaf and  Reel.

You can tell from the wrinkles how neglected this poor block has been.

And the back..

I didn't know I was supposed to tuck those ends of the thread in between the layers.

I am certain I used the freezer paper for this block. Why else would I have cut the back of the applique?

Nothing like the rhythm of the stitching in hand work. Now the question is, what to do with this block? I might just put it on the back of some quilt as a label.

Here is what's happening in the sewing room.. Fabric, machine, vacuum cleaner, scraps, containers... everything everywhere. And, I am not done just yet.

My friend Christine and Kelly went through major cleaning of their studios. I do this heavy cleaning only once a year and every year I have come out on the other side with a fun scrap quilt.

This is one UFO that was easy to finish.  
Half of it was pieced together so I took a break from cleaning and finished the top. It was probably an ugly fabric swap challenge. Why else would I have fabrics like these in my quilt?

 

I actually had bought some of these fabrics!!! 

There were some pretty scraps given to me.

Like this blue batik.

 

and this golden-rust print.

I like the way this quilt turned out in spite of all the uglies in there. It's twin size quilt, good for a chair by the window.

The Green Belt 60'' x 84''

There were few kaffe fabrics added to the pile as pick me up and I think they served well doing just that. 

This distraction from cleaning was pretty nice. 

I see a bit of machine quilting in near future. I named this quilt, The Greenbelt. More about it when I finish the quilt.

Back to cleaning!

Sunday Paper Done!

A finish!
It's about time!
Back in Feb. 2012, I never thought it would take this long to finish this quilt.These past few months, many times I wished I had heard my friends' suggestions of machine quilting it. It was difficult to see where my stitches were headed at times with all busy prints but now that it's all done, I am glad I hand quilted it.

Got little carried away with pictures today too.

 They match with my quilt books.

I just quilted in the ditch around the hexagons. In certain light they look embossed.

This was a fun quilt to make. I definitely will consider making another version in future.

Today's forecast was for the first snow of the season and it arrived as promised with wind blowing it everywhere. Well, it was more like flurries! It was gone before I could say, "First snow of the season" 
so no snow in the picture but it's stitched in this quilt for sure :0

Glad it's done and near the couch.. I will be using it while going through my books for inspirations for next quilt.