September Goals: Stonefields, FrankenWhiggish, Inherited UFO + BIG News for Rebecca

Happy Labor Day in the United States and Happy September, everyone!  I have a lot going on right now and my Big News (which I shall reveal towards the END of today's post) is going to dictate which projects and tasks take priority this month.

Stonefields Quilt

First, let's talk about my Stonefields quilt, because I am delighted with this project so far.  These blocks have been such a treat to work on!  All 13 of the blocks from Month One are now completed and on the design wall.  All blocks will finish at 6", but the applique backgrounds were cut oversized and will need to be trimmed down.  Because I use starch and glue in my applique preparation methods, I am thinking I might wash my applique blocks before trimming them down to size.  The serged edges will prevent them from fraying whether I hand wash them in a little dish pan or -- gasp! -- put them in a lingerie bag and run them through the washing machine on the Hand Wash Delicates cycle.  Honestly, that is probably exactly what I will do, because I know the washing machine will get all the glue and starch out very efficiently and I am more curious about what will happen in the washing machine than I am worried about what will happen in the washing machine.  

Stonefields Blocks 1-13 Completed, Appliqué Blocks Need Trimming to Size

My Sawtooth Star blocks were foundation paper pieced on the sewing machine, most of my applique blocks were stitched by hand, but the final Posy Pot block is a mixture of some shapes stitched by hand and other shapes stitched with my Bernina B990 sewing machine:

Stonefields Block 13 "Posy Pot"

I am absolutely delighted with my customized invisible machine appliqué stitch and how closely I got it to resemble the look of my own personal hand stitching.  

I love how, when the tension is just right, the invisible monofilament thread takes on the color of the fabric you're stitching on.  No hyper shiny stitches happening over here!

Combining Hand and Machine Stitching on the Same Block

So the invisible thread looks like the perfect gray thread on the polka dot leaf and the perfect shade of green thread on the green stem.  On the pink and white flower, it looks like white thread on the white parts and pink thread on the pink parts.  The blue flower stem on the right was stitched by hand with a pale blue 100 wt silk thread.  Two differences let me know which areas were stitched by hand vs by machine: Larger needle holes from the size 60/8 Microtex sewing machine needle compared to the holes from the size 12 Bohin appliqué needle I use to stitch by hand, but I think that's due to the heavy starch used in preturning the edges of the appliqué shapes.  I think that, when the starch is washed out, those needle holes will relax and close up around the thread to look just like the hand stitching.  The subtle difference between hand and machine stitching that I do expect to persist is that there is more of a dimensional raised effect to the hand stitched appliqué along those outer edges.  

When I'm stitching appliqué by hand, I hold the work vertically and my stitches are going in at an angle to the edge, which lets me get those stitches into my background fabric just beneath the folded edge of the appliqué, like this:

Hand Stitching Applique 

Stitching appliqué at the sewing machine, the needle is always going down into the work at a right angle.  You can't angle the needle to sew a little bit underneath the edge of the appliqué shape the way you can with a hand needle.  See how the machine stitched green stem is flatter at the edges with less of a shadow than the hand stitched blue stem below:

Green Stem Machine Stitched, Blue Stem Hand Stitched

I will be very interested to see, once the quilt is finished, whether that subtle difference persists and if so, how noticeable it is.  One more time for posterity (and in case I forget to back up my personal settings next time I install an update on my sewing machine), here are the settings for my edited Invisible Machine Appliqué stitch:

W=.6, L=1.5, One Straight Stitch Between Zig Zags

And here's where I've saved the stitch in my sewing machine's Personal Folder:

So I have decided that yes, machine stitched appliqué has earned a place in my quilt projects, not to replace hand stitching but to keep my projects moving along so I can finish more of them.  I will hand stitch when I feel like it and "catch up" by sewing machine when I'm feeling discouraged by slow progress.  Certain fussy little appliqué shapes are always going to be better suited to hand stitching, like the 96 stuffed berries that I have been procrastinating making for months years a very long time.

Blast From the Past: FrankenWhiggish Rose 

Batting Circles Fused and Cut Out, Waiting for Fabric

In the photo below, the stitching securing these stuffed berries is truly invisible because of how I was able to hold the work and angle my stitching by hand so the stitches are just underneath the dimensional edge of these berries.  There is no way to do that on the sewing machine; with the sewing machine the edges of the berries would be flattened like the edge of the green stem in my Posy Pot block and that would be very disappointing after going to all the bother of stuffing the berries with batting circles!

I haven't had my FrankenWhiggish Rose project on my design wall (or on my radar) since before our last move, but I have freshly resolved to get the berries prepped and start sewing them to the quilt blocks for this entirely hand stitched project I started eleven and a half years ago...  Do you see why I have decided that it's okay to mix in some machine stitched appliqué?!  There are more than three appliqué quilts that I would like to finish before I die.

Stuffed Berries Best Stitched by Hand

I really hope I have enough of that fabric left to fussy cut all my berries because there is no way I'd ever find more of it at this point!

FrankenWhiggish Rose Blocks Waiting Patiently for Stuffed Berries

The last time I had these blocks out on the design wall was at our last house, before we moved:

Eight More Blocks Need Berries

Inherited UFO Project: Foldy Stuff Pineapple Log Cabin 

Something New-to-Me on my design wall is this UFO I discovered in my mother-in-law's craft supplies as we were cleaning out my late father-in-law's house.  I believe she intended to make a larger quilt from these blocks, but I'll be putting the existing blocks together without any new ones in order to finish this project in a way that makes it mostly made by her with just a little help from me at the end.

New-to-Me Project On My Design Wall

I found thirty of these finished blocks inside a giant plastic bag along with these pattern instructions for "The Foldy Stuff" Pleated Quilts by Donna Poster, copyright 1996.  The blocks have loose folds instead of being sewn down as in traditional log cabin piecing, and they are thick and bulky because they are stitched to a foundation fabric.

The Foldy Stuff Pleated Quilts Pineapple Pattern by Donna Poster, 1996

Thanks to the pattern packed away with the blocks, I know that these blocks are meant to be stitched together with 1/2" seam allowances, seams pressed open, for a finished block size of 9".  I have them laid out on my design wall in a layout that is meant to look random:

Without Sashing or Borders, This Will Finish 45 x 54

However, I'm a little concerned about those bulky seams between the blocks.  I remembered this beautiful pineapple log cabin quilt that I long arm quilted for Ramona a few years ago.  Ramona had a narrow sashing between her blocks and I thought that was just ingenious -- no worries about matching seams from block to block, and the bulk from the quilt blocks can all get pressed towards the sashing for a flatter quilt with fewer lumps and bumps to break needles on quilt through.

Ramona's Pineapple Log Cabin Quilt with Sashing

I even found more of the white on white print fabric my mother-in-law used in all of her quilt blocks and scraps from all the rainbow batik fabrics, so if I added sashing like Ramona's I wouldn't need to worry about finding the right fabrics to blend with the originals.  I'm not sure whether I'll follow the pattern instructions regarding half inch seam allowances, either.  I like how Ramona's sashing strips are so narrow that they don't disrupt the secondary pattern of the pineapple log cabin design.  My sashing can't finish narrower than twice the width of the seam allowance, though, if my goal is for the seam allowances to lay flat instead of stacking up between the blocks.  Still mulling that one.

Oh, Hey!  We're Moving Back to North Carolina!

That's the big news!!  We've been in Southwest Florida for nearly two years now and it is not growing on us.  It is too hot and humid, we miss deciduous trees and wearing sweaters and enjoying the change of seasons, where we live is very rural and isolated and most crucially as my husband puts it, there are "too many ghosts" in this place we moved to with expectations of Bernie creating wonderful memories with his dad, only to lose his dad to liver cancer in less than a year. Both of our sons are still college students in North Carolina, we lived there for 25 years, Charlotte formed the backdrop for all of our favorite memories, and that's where we look forward to creating the memories to come.

So Bernie found this house that had been on the market for months with price drop after price drop, and talked me into making a super lowball offer on it even though it is objectively WAY TOO BIG for us at this stage in our lives.  I thought the sellers would be insulted and not even respond, but (alas?) they accepted our offer and now we are the owners of a huge house that has been horribly neglected, everything is outdated and almost everything is also broken.  As in leaking, rotting windows, leaking rotting primary shower, the oven in the kitchen does not work and neither does the downdraft.  Only three of four stove burners are operable.  The garage had a horrible roach infestation (hopefully the pest company I hired resolved that!).  There are wasps and a WOODPECKER living in the chimney, the laundry machines are full of mold and mildew, there are dead flies in the refrigerator and gum and dirty used bandaids inside the drawers and cupboards of the kitchen...

How on Earth did Bernie bamboozle Rebecca into taking on a project like this?  I'll tell you how.  

• The house is in a beautiful neighborhood in a fantastic location, only 10-15 minutes from just about anywhere in Charlotte that I might want to go.  It's only 10 minutes away from our church where I enjoyed singing in choir, 10-15 minutes away from all the best restaurants and shopping and theatre and art and the quilt guild and the greenway where we used to ride our bikes... There's a terrific sushi restaurant, pizza place, sports bar, and nail salon that are all a 7 minute WALK from my front door, and my very best quilting friend, the one who invited me to join her bee, lives less than a mile away.  Quilting play dates are in my future!
• It makes sense as an investment, as we got the home for a low enough price to justify the expense of all the work needing to be done.
• As a former interior designer, looking at a wreck of a home, envisioning what it could be, and "rescuing" it is a satisfying project for me to take on.
• There is a finished walk out basement in this house, and my husband pointed this room out to me and said, "Wouldn't that be great for your SEWING PALACE?!"  Yeah, that's really ALL IT TOOK to convince me!  😊

Future Sewing Palace, After Left Wall is Removed

Keep in mind, these photos are from the real estate listing and they used a wide angle camera lens.  This room isn't as huge in person as it looks in the photo; it's a generous "guest bedroom" on the floor plan.  That back wall without windows is just the right length for my long arm machine to fit comfortably with room to walk around to the back of it.  I think I can fit my cutting table in here, the bigger size like I had in my old house in North Carolina.  The wall you see on the left is not coming completely out, but it's going to get an 8' wide opening connecting it to a little room on the other side that the previous owners used for gym equipment.  That should give plenty of space for all of my machines and worktables, as well as giving me direct access to the back patio and more windows.  

Same Room, Different Direction.  Right Wall is Coming Out

Because this room was designed as a guest bedroom, there is a nice walk in closet for storing all of my batting and also a door leading to a bathroom.  That high transom window wall will be perfect for storing my quilting rulers and my collection of quilting thread.

Adjacent Room Adding On, Left Wall Coming Out

Again, this is a realtor photo that was taken with a wide angle lens.  The gym equipment in the photo belonged to the sellers, and this room is much smaller in person than it looks in the photo.  I think it's going to be a great space when it's connected to the adjacent room.  I will be able to fit two 4' x 8' wrapped foam boards on that right wall for a design wall just to the left of the glass door that leads to the patio, and I can just see my dog laying in front of that door when he hangs out with me down there while I sew.  Behind the photographer there are windows overlooking the back yard and that's where I'm planning to put my big cabinet with my main sewing machine.  Through the French doors you can see a little kitchenette in the basement, which will be my only "kitchen" to speak of while renovations are happening on the main floor of the house.

Where are we with all of this right now?  Well, our younger son who is going to school in Charlotte is already living in the new house full time.  My husband, whose job involves a lot of travel, has already maneuvered himself into a job based out of Charlotte, NC instead of out of Florida, and he's currently "covering all bases" in transition between the old job and the new one.  We've furnished the guest room (for us) as well as our son's room on the second floor.  I have selected a builder and I am nervously waiting to hear back from them with the final numbers and (hopefully) speedy timeline for when they can get the basement finished -- that entails taking out the wall to create my studio, replacing the carpeting in these two rooms, ripping up that wood flooring you see in the main part of the basement and replacing it with tile (that floor is horribly scratched up and damaged), and replacing carpet in another room in the basement, and painting all the walls.  Because once that is done, we can move our furniture up from Florida and be full-time in North Carolina, living in the basement and on the second floor while the renovations to the main floor (kitchen, powder room, primary bathroom, hardwood floor refinishing and painting) is happening on the main floor.  

Meanwhile in Florida, we are working on wrapping up probate and emptying out the property Bernie inherited from his parents.  He is working on selling the classic cars and boxing up tools and continuing to fill the trash bins to overflowing in advance of every garbage collection. This is proving to be a very emotional undertaking.  It's difficult for him to get rid of things he remembers seeing around the house since he was a child and I know it's going to be tough for him on the day when the place is finally emptied and our moving trucks are loaded up and driving away, to say goodbye to this place where his parents found the paradise of their golden years once and for all. It's weird for me to be in my mom's empty house for the same reason.  Side note: I am the executor for her estate and I am having her house painted next week in preparation for sale.  The only upside(?) to Bernie and me both losing our parents in rapid succession like this is that each of us really understands what the other one is going through and why what looks like junk to an outside observer might feel like a precious artifact of childhood memories to the other person.  And through all of this, it kills me that I can't pick up the phone and tell my mom all about the house, all about the renovations and the moving and everything else...  Like, how can this even be my home if my parents won't ever come to Thanksgiving dinner there?  And yet life goes on at breakneck speed and we try to plan the "next chapter" as best we can, knowing the book can end at any moment.  That's life, right?  We want to reconnect with our town, our friends, our church and my quilt guild, in a place that feels like home to us and to our sons, and that's what we're working towards.  

ANYWAY...  I think my builder can get my basement finished by the end of November, and Bernie is supposed to be 100% in the new job out of North Carolina by January 1st.  This is the reality that informs my September goals.

1. My Deco custom quilting needs to get FINISHED ASAP so we can dismantle my long arm machine and pack it up, along with all of the threads and rulers and everything else.  To that end, I'm trying to get in there to slog away at the stitching in the ditch for at least an hour a day.
2. I will continue to work on Stonefields for as long as I can, but the scrappy nature of this project might make it challenging to work on during the transition between homes.  Instead of prepping all of the Month Two blocks, I might just focus on one block at a time in numerical order.
3. My time study of machine versus hand stitching applique has renewed my interest in finishing those FrankenWhiggish Rose blocks with hand stitched stuffed berries.  I would like to get those 96 berries prepped so I can work on hand stitching them during the move.
4. Because yes, I'm going to have to devote some serious time to PACKING in September and October if I'm going to be in Charlotte to see the leaves turn colors in the Fall!  I can start by boxing up all of the winter clothing you never get to wear in Florida anyway, followed by the less frequently used craft supplies...  I am so tired of moving, but I feel like this next house is a home where we can STAY PUT for the next decade or two, God willing.

So that's my big news and those are my big goals for this week and for September!  I'm linking up today's post with the following linky parties:

• ONE MONTHLY GOAL

  Anne-Marie at Stories From the Sewing Room

  MONDAY

  Design Wall Monday at Small Quilts and Doll Quilts  

  Monday Musings at Songbird Designs  

  TUESDAY

  To-Do Tuesday at Quilt Schmilt  

  WEDNESDAY

  Wednesday Wait Loss at The Inquiring Quilter

  THURSDAY

  Needle and Thread Thursday at My Quilt Infatuation  

  FRIDAY

  Finished or Not Friday at Alycia Quilts

  Off the Wall Friday at Nina Marie Sayre

  Beauty Pageant at From Bolt to Beauty

   TGIFF Thank Goodness It’s Finished Friday, rotates, schedule found here: TGIF Friday

  SUNDAY

  Frédérique at Quilting Patchwork Appliqué

  Slow Stitching Sunday at Kathy's Quilts

  Oh Scrap! at Quilting Is More Fun Than Housework