I am Happy ... Happy ... Happy ... --- like the song!

Why am I so Happy?

I have struggled with a very very slow internet. It just kept getting slower and slower.  We live in the country and our options for internet service was limited to one source! Recently, we found out we could get internet from a different source.  It is more then 10 times faster!  

I am soooo Happy ... Happy ... Happy! 

I am not kidding, when I say it could take up to 10 minutes to upload a photo (we are talking about a photo, that I edited to make smaller in size, to help with uploading) to a post. Sometimes the internet would fail and I would have to start over.  I would upload photos, while I was making dinner and I would go back and forth and wait and wait and wait.  A post would take over an hour to complete and sometimes I would have to do it later, as the internet would stop working.  I finally just stopped posting, unless I really wanted to share something. 

I want to share! I love to share! I love to create!

Anyway, I am Happy!

I am also Happy ... Happy ... Happy ... with my Tree inspired quilt for the first Project Quilting Challenge.

I named it "Family Trees" --- Not Family Tree.  It is plural because it represents everyone's family trees, not just ours.

I used Kim's Drunken Flying Geese to make the trees and made them so free form, that I cut off the points too! See the previous posts about the creating process. 
Progress on my Trees Post.  and How I created the trees Post.

I added a free form house to the bottom of the quilt.  The house represents "a home".  A home is where you live with those you love.

On the edge, next to the binding, I quilted PQS6Ch1 --- Project Quilting Season Six Challenge One. This is something new I will be stitching on each of my challenge quilts.

I quilted/stitched the words: " Made with love by Mom - Marcia and Ritch 2015" 

I added a free form star using the scrap triangles from the flying geese. The star's points are meant to be uneven on purpose - free form.  The star is for my daughter.  I stitched/quilted the words:  
"You are one of the stars in our family tree!"

My daughter is a star!  She is receiving her Phd this spring. I will pack it in my suitcase and take it with me when we go for the ceremony, where she defends her Dissertation and officially receives her Phd. We are super proud of her.

Here are some up close photos of the quilting.  I really had fun with the Paisley Swirl Quilting. I quilted small paisleys and large ones and double ones and upside down paisleys. I shadowed around the trees and made some invisible trees.

What a blast!

And here is a photo of the back of the quilt.

I used a quilting thread color named Pearl.  I think it looks like a greyish white.  It was perfect for both sides of the quilt.  I used a washable wool batting.  I machine embroidery stitched the binding.

I love to create for family members, as I do the Project Quilting Challenges.  As I said, this one is for my daughter.  My Niece is having a baby this spring, so one of the challenges will be a baby quilt. Table Runners are made for my sister in laws and nieces too.

Thanks again for following along.

I am Happy ... Happy ...

Happy to be challenged!

Marcia

Family Trees!

I am having internet issues today.  I was able to upload a couple photos, so that I can link up for the Project Quilting Challenge.  I will post more photos later today.
Update:
NEW POST with more photos and details about my quilt.

My name is Marcia Wachuta.
I create in Boscobel, Wisconsin.
My Flicker ID is Crafty Sewing
My website is www.craftysewing.com
This is my blog: marciascraftysewing.blogspot.com
My facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/craftysewingandquilting

I took so many photos outside my fingers started to freeze!

I will post more as soon as all my photos up load so I can post them here.

I linked up to Project Quilting Click HERE.

Thanks for following along.

Marcia

Progress on My Trees!

I started sewing tree blocks for the challenge.  I selected 2 groups of the fabrics to create the trees from yesterday's post.

 Some from this collection of greens and....

 ...all of these fabrics.

 I cut three rectangles from each the print fabrics and combined a variety of cream on cream fabrics for the background. The rectangle size I used was 3" by 5".

I cut out odd shaped over sized triangles to use to make Drunken Flying Geese for the sections of my pine trees. Kim - Persimon Dreams shared a tutorial in 2013.

After I pressed them, I squared them up to 2 3/4" by 4 1/2"

 

I stitched them together in sets of three.

I added a 3" strip of cream background fabric to the left side of each block.  I also made 3 little trees. Then I added a tree trunk to the bottom of each tree.

 I am going to dream about the next part.  I think I want to scatter the trees around using different sizes of strips of background fabric.  I think I need more trees, but that depends on how large I want to make it.  Should I make a table topper or a lap quilt?

 That is why it is time to stop and dream about it tonight.

 There is still plenty of time this week to create a quilted project for Project Quilting? Check it out over at Persimon Dreams - Project Quilting.

Thanks for following along.

Marcia

Trees are the Inspiration for Challenge One!

Trees are usually green, so I have pulled out some of my greens and blue greens from my fabric stash.  I do not like the color green, but my daughter loves green.  That means, I collect green fabrics to make quilts for my daughter. She bought me a bundle of fabric for Christmas this year and it included the 2 greens on the far left.

Last year, I made her a "Squary Quilt" using some soft greens.  I added a few blue greens to the mix and even added one that had tiny purple flowers.

On another note:  Do you know you are suppose to sleep under a quilt, before you give it to a loved one?  Yes --- We slept under it and so did Toby!

Anyway, back to the green fabrics for the Project Quilting Challenge.

I grouped the green fabrics together and took photos of them.  This helps me to see them and to start dreaming about a possible quilt. 

The first one was the dots and check prints.

I like this next collection best, because it has a little blue and a little purple. I hope my daughter chooses these fabrics.

If I were making something for my home, I would choose some of these greens and blues.  It would be perfect in my living room. Our home is surrounded with pine trees.

I do not like these greens, but there were in my fabric stash! I might need them for a binding or the backing fabric.

I love the greens with the pink roses.

The next collection of fabrics have more of a blue green look.

And last but not least my collection of reproduction 30's fabrics.  There are lots of greens here, but less than a fat quarter of each color.  That is ok, as I plan to do something scrappy for the tree inspired challenge.

I think I have plenty of green fabrics to choose from.  I will dream about it tonight and ask my daughter to take a look at them too.  If I am making a green quilt, it might as well be for someone who loves green!

Yesterday and today, I did a little brain storming about the quilt.  I thought about using my Textures Quilt Pattern for the background.

  Visit Marcia Wachuta - Crafty Sewing and Quilting's Craftsy Pattern Store »

I also thought about making a wonky log cabin quilt.  That way I could blend several of the greens and blues together and use several strip sizes for the logs of the cabin.

I have a paper pieced pine tree that would be cool too.

I may dream up something completely different tonight!

Thanks for following along!
Marcia