Thursday, January 13, 2011

What Does P. Stand For?

I want to show you what I'm working on, but first...

Oh.Em.Gee!  Look what Elizabeth did!  And she is giving it away!! 


She used my Double Pinwheel String Quilt tute to make this quilt journal cover, and it is SO beautiful!  I have tears in my eyes right now!

Head on over to Such a Sew and Sew and (a) tell her Happy Birthday, and (b) enter to win any or all of her giveaways this week.  She is so talented and such a sweetheart!

Now, what I have been working on?  One of my PhD Challenge projects!

This is for the Climbing Lanterns wall hanging that I started almost a year ago.  Sheesh.  Yes, sometimes P. stands for Procrastination. 

And this is what happens when you ignore your WIPs...

...they hide on you!  It fell behind the futon and sat there for who knows how long, keeping a very low profile.  I got a glimpse of it while standing at the ironing board one day.  Come out, come out wherever you are!

I finally sewed down the stems last night.  After experimenting with different stitches on a scrap, I finally decided on one that does four stitches and then a zig, four stitches and a zag, etc.  I wanted to do a blanket stitch but this was as close as I could get on my 1960's Singer Touch & Sew with cams.  Yes, it is old, but it does the job.  The Juki and the Singer 301 are only straight stitch machines, and I recently gave the Kenmore to my daughter (yay, she is sewing!).

This morning, I hand-gathered the Chinese lantern pieces.  These will be appliqued onto the stems after they are stuffed lightly for dimensional effect.

I have no idea how tricky it will be to applique over the gathered part, but I guess I'll find out.

Today, P. stands for Progress! 

8 comments:

momto2wasd said...

The machine I learned to sew on was an early 1970's Kenmore with cams. I thought they were so cool when I was a kid!
Your lanterns project is going to be gorgeous when it's finished!

Anonymous said...

I'm excited about this quilt!!! Can't wait to see it finished...hint, hint;-)

And thanks for the heads up on the give away. I stay clear of fabric give aways, but a journal would be good.

blessings,
jilly

Shay said...

And excellent progress it is P. Chinese lanterns is already a beauty and will be stunning when you're done. I wish some of my WIP's would hide...permanently.

Isnt Elizabeth's journal darling...I finally sufaced from the land of blah to make a comment on that post.

Michelle said...

Wow! Elizabeth took your tutorial and really ran with it, didn't she? Gorgeous.

Hey, I'm glad to see the Chinese lanterns again!

Elizabeth said...

P., what a super nice post! Thank you so much!

OK, so I'm really excited about your chinese lanterns. The stitching on them is perfect, and I like the stitch you did on the tree, too. That quilt is going to be so amazing when it is finished! Glad to see it again!

Thanks again for the shout-out.

xo -El

Teresa said...

love those chinese lanterns. very nice

Anonymous said...

I can't wait to see the finished product!

Jamie Janow Elfert said...

So glad to have found your blog through Sarah. I have been browsing thru and just love your blog. I will be back for many more visits especially to see this project, keep up the great work.