I’ve been having a lot of trouble with creativity this year. I work at a university that had a terrible school/workplace shooting in December 2023, and I’ve just been struggling a bit to find the mental energy to sew and quilt since then. I had high hopes when I set my goals in January but didn’t realize how hard the coming months were going to be.
In August, I finally got my creative energy back and my sewing projects are again moving forward! Here’s a recap of the projects I finished in August, as well as what’s under my needle right now in September.
August Finishes
In August I finished three table runners, all from charm squares/yardage that was already in my stash! These three table runners were from one pattern that focused on using charm squares in different ways. I’ve been collecting charm squares as well as cutting my scraps down to that 5” size so I had plenty to choose from.
Project #1 – Bright Scrappy Stars Table Runner
I was going for a “summer at the pool” vibe with the various shades of blue combined with the yellow/orange ombre fabric. I modified the pattern to add the framing around each block, resulting in a larger finished project.
This was quilted on my Bernina Q20 and was a CHALLENGE. It had been a while since I’d used my Q20, and my top thread kept breaking every few inches. It was incredibly frustrating, and I was very happy when it was finally done. When I thought more about it, I realized that the thread I was using for quilting was more than 20 years old and that that could have contributed to the frequent breakage. I tossed the thread and decided to get new thread for all quilting going forward.
Project #2 – Green Hourglass Table Runner
I used the same yellow/orange ombre fabric again, this time combined with green charm squares. It made me think of summer vegetable gardens, with the different shades of green representing all of the different plants.
I used my Bernina Q20 again to quilt this table runner, using brand-new Isacord threads in both yellow and green. The quilting went SO much better, and I didn’t have a single breakage while quilting! I practiced three different free-motion quilting techniques: pebbles, meander, and echo contours. I liked all three of these designs and found them pretty easy to quilt.
Project #3 – Pink Four-Patch Table Runner
For my final practice table runner, I turned to the pinks in my stash. For some reason, the layout of this one tripped me up a few times and I had to rip and resew pieces a handful of times. It came together in the end though, making a fun pink runner that will be great for Valentine’s Day.
For the quilting on my Bernina Q20, I used three different designs. I used Leah Day’s spiral knots, echo contours, and free-motion hearts for the quilting. The hearts were the scariest part as the mauve thread was very visible on the light pink fabric. Although they aren’t perfectly identical, they all look like hearts which is good enough for me as I’m learning.
Under My Needle in September
I’m trying to keep at least three different projects in action, each in a different stage or type of quilting/sewing. Depending on the day, I might work more on just one project or put a little bit of time into each of them. It’s fun to see them inch forward to completion stitch by stitch, and having the variety keeps me from getting bored. It also prevents me from just doing one kind of sewing, which can make my hand and wrist sore from repetitive movement and tendonitis.
#1 – Machine Piecing
I’ve pulled out a long-abandoned work in progress to make a pixelated wall hanging of Mickey Mouse’s head that I’ll use to display and store some of our Disney pins! I started this project at least six years ago and am using fabric from my stash. I know there are much faster ways to piece these types of pixelated quilted, but I’m enjoying working on this one column at a time. I found I can get one column sewn in about 15”, which makes it a nice project to move forward a little bit at a time by sewing just one each day after work.
#2 – English Paper Piecing
I’m continuing work on my Fall colors table runner. This project started with the six matching single EPP flowers that I found completed in my stash. I used other stash fabrics to help grow the pattern one ring at a time without any real design plan. I’m in the final stages now of finishing up the connecting pieces and getting the whole thing sewn into a table runner. Once I get it done I’ll quilt it up on my Q20, hopefully in time for Thanksgiving this year!
#3 – Q20 Quilting
I’m currently working on quilting a project that I started about six years ago in a class Mom and I took at the Pacific International Quilt Festival taught by Libs Elliot. It’s a Halloween hexagon quilt that was a great way to grow more confident with Y seams.
I’m quilting each hexagon block individually, mostly using a spider web pattern. In a handful of blocks, I’m trying other things such as a free-motion spider, echo contours, and free-motion stars. Since this is a larger project than the table runners, it’s a little harder to manipulate the weight of the quilt on the table. I’m working on focusing on just the block in front of me/under my needle instead of thinking about how much more work remains.
As you can see, I also have a little helper for my quilting. What’s better than a black cat on a Halloween wall hanging?!?
Check back in October to see how these projects are going, and until then just keep stitching!
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