Bernina’s THROUGH THE NEEDLE (Issue 30)-please scroll down for new posts!

Good morning! I hope you are having a good day.

Story of my humble beginning in sewing is featured in the issue:

Had it not been for the patient tutelage and encouragement of my quilting mentor and friend, Barbara, I would not have been able to discover the joy of sewing and quilting – let alone having the opportunities to be featured in magazines. And because of that, I consider Barbara as one of the most influential people in my life!

With much gratitude, I dedicated the article to Barbara, and the wonderful ladies of my local Bernina Club! These ladies are ever inspiring, and encouraging!

Dare to Declare

“I am well aware of the toil and blood and treasure it will cost us to maintain this declaration, and support and defend these states. Yet through all the gloom I see the rays of ravishing light and glory. I can see that the end is worth all the means. This is our day of deliverance.”

~John Adams (second president of America)~

by John Trumbull

You might be interested to John Trumbull of Connecticut was the “embedded photojournalist” of the revolutionary war. He recorded many scenes of the Revolutionary War included the surrender of Cornwallis.

Happy 233th Birthday, America!

by Howard Chandler Christy

Have a safe and inspired weekend, everyone! May God bless America, and may America bless God! I will catch up with you next week.

Mary Wigham: Part 5

Good day, everyone. I hope you are enjoying your day. I thought I would post a progress report on Mary before the weekend begins.  I have been experiencing a puppy dog love for antique samplers ever since I started stitching Mary.  Needleprint has indeed opened up the world of needlework for me like never before:

Oh, I am telling you… each time I start on a new motif on Mary, I find a new favorite color! Don’t you just love this light blue?

I also started on a new motif with ecru floss.  I am stitching the sampler as a reproduction. So, I will follow exactly what the teacher prescribes to use. Do pop on to Needleprint’s blog to see some stunning color schemes for Mary.

Thanks again for stopping by. I always enjoy having you visit.

Another heirloomy love — BOOKS!

… especially old books!

I came across these treasures in a cardboard box in my local county rural library — for FREE!

I was glad and all too eager to take them home for some loving.  Am I going to read them?  You bet!  Right now, we are reading the Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin:

Some other wonderful titles include:

Thanks for stopping by.  Happy Reading!  What is on your summer reading list?

From Dr. Seuss' "I can read with my eyes shut"

Rose Court

My husband named the quilt made from Northcott’s Victorian Courtship fabrics “Rose Court”.  I was able to finish the quilt in about five days, and ship it to the editor last Thursday.

I had the greatest time quilting it.  What does one do when one is extremely lazy in marking quilting motifs on the quilt top?  One just makes things up as one goes…. that’s exactly what I did, except for the rope design on the beige strips.  All the feathers and doodles are all free-handed without any prior marking:

This quilt will be featured in the November issue of “The Quilter”.  It will be on newsstands in September this year.  I will show the quilt in its entirety then.  Meanwhile, here are a couple of more shots:

Thanks for popping by.  I always appreciate you visiting lil’ ol’ me!  Have a lovely day.  Tootles!

Liberty BLUE!

Happy Independence Week, Everyone! May we always cherish the heritage secured for us by great men before us, and may true freedom always ring!

Independence Hall Plate from Staffordshire Liberty Blue Collection

“They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety.” ~ Benjamin Franklin (1775)

From the Diplomatic Collection by Mottahedeh

“The preservation of the sacred fire of liberty and the destiny of the republican model of government are justly considered as deeply, perhaps as finally, staked on the experiment entrusted to the hands of the American people.” ~ George Washington (1st inaugural address 1789)

American Bicentennial Plate by Royal Copenhagen

“We have spent the prime of our lives in procuring [young men] the precious blessing of liberty. Let them spend theirs in shewing that it is the great parent of science and of virtue; and that a nation will be great in both always in proportion as it is free.” ~ Thomas Jefferson (1789)

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Thanks for stopping by. I always appreciate your visits! Happy Blue Monday and Happy Week to you!!

Mary Wigham Part 4

Hello Everyone,

Can you believe it’s already Friday?  I hope you have had a good week.  I didn’t get as far as I would have like on Mary, but I did get my Northcott’s Victorian Courtship quilt finished in time to ship to the editor (YAY!).  Below are some latest pictures of my progress on Mary:

It has been a very meaningful and worthwhile endeavor for me to reproduce the Mary Wigham Sampler.   Working on Mary has perfectly melded my love of needlework with my love of history!

Jacqueline of Needleprint mentioned on her blog that the number of downloads has gone through the roof, and her current website does not have enough bandwidth to handle the traffic.  I am excited by the level of interest in Mary — Mary’s legacy is alive and well.

Thanks for stopping by.  I hope you have a lovely weekend!

p.s.  Cathi, are you still wavering about Mary?!  Come join me and waver no longer!

Quilts like a dream – wool!

The biggest challenge that I face as a home machine quilter is the weight and maneuverability of the quilt sandwich (largely contributed by the batting) under the throat of my machine.   I have found wool batting as a great alternative to cotton.  So far I have really enjoyed the Tuscany Wool by Hobbs Heirloom:

For one thing, the wool batt is extremely light and airy, but not overly “lofty” like say, polyester batt.  Thus, packing your quilt sandwich underneath the throat of the machine becomes very manageable:

It gives feather quilting an instantaneous “pop” with the trapunto look.  For me,  wool is more favorable compared to cotton when I incorporate feather quilting:

Wool batting is also ideal for dense quilting.  The high density of quilting makes the quilt lay really well without the cardboard feel when high density quilting is done over cotton:

A few tips from my experience dealing with wool batt–

1.  Make sure the batt is distributed evenly avoid the “snow plowing” effect later on while quilting.  Since the batt is so light, I always lightly stretch it to get rid of any “slack” before layering the quilt sandwich.

2.  The border would normally stretched after being quilted.  So, I always wet the quilt and pat down any bumps, and let the quilt dry overnight before squaring it for binding.

If you have never tried the wool batt, you have got to do it!  Get your local sewing/quilt shop to carry them!  I did!!

For my non-quiltling bloggy friends, I am sorry for the technical quilt talk.  I hope you have enjoyed the pictures of my quilts quilted over the wool batt.  Thanks for stopping by – have a lovely day!

Yummy got yummier…

I am, of course, referring to one of the fabrics in the Victorian Courtship collection by Northcott.  I hadn’t noticed the yummy details until I was cutting the fabrics for the quilt top:

A sneak peek for you:

I am feverishly quilting this baby so that it can be shipped to the editor of “The Quilter” later this week.  I will have some pictures of the quilted quilt top for you in a few days!  Meanwhile, I wish you a lovely and productive day!

Lavender Smocking Part 3: I “heart” you!

Good day, everyone! I am running up against a non-negotiable deadline. So this will be a quickie. I am showing the latest on my lavender smocking progress. The hearts are in!

I think it is sweet to have heart accents on children’s clothing because they are symbolic of a child’s heart being ever open to learn and to love!

Thank you for stopping by. I always appreciate your visits and comments, from the bottom of my heart!

Journals of blue

Hello Friends!  I hope you  had a wonderful weekend.  My Blue Monday post this week is about my journals of blue that I am currently keeping.  Both are Italian Florentine leather journals:

I have been journaling on and off since I was around 15 years old.  Over the years, I have filled quite a few journals (or diaries as we call it in British English).  I keep different journals – one for miscellaneous and personal thoughts, one  for a special family member, one for inspirational thoughts, and I hope to start one for my crafty pursuits:

I do not claim to be as faithful as I should be in keeping my diaries current, but I am inspired by the examples of these American heroes –

1.  George Washington — the venerable General kept a diary EVERYDAY since his first surveying trip till the day before his death!  You may read more about it here.

2.  John Quincy Adams — the statesman who provided glimpses of early America, especially that of the government, through his thorough recording of events in his journals.

3.  Thomas Jefferson kept a daily journal for fifty years.  He kept accurate record of his gardening and of the weather.

To me, journaling is not only an exercise of discipline.  It is also an act of preserving our experiences for the future generations, thus an heirloomy exercise!

Thanks for popping by!  I hope you get off a stupendous start to a new week!

p.s. Oh, look!  An entry in blue ink: