Yesterday I quilted Jill’s quilt, Farmers Daughter, and it is a good example of how I space my lines. PLEASE note that I am no machine quilter! All I do are these straight lines and no, I don’t lock anything in – I just side step from the left side to the right side. This is utility quilting only – I like piecing but when that’s done, I’m ready to move on. I quilt all my tops because I’m lucky enough to have a longarm machine and when I die remember I said my quilts are going to the funeral and those attending will take one home. This idea belongs to Susan Henderson – I cannot take credit for it but for those people attending, I want them to be able to take a finished quilt home with them, not a quilt top.
So I start on the left and stitch about 1/4” away from the seam line. I return to the left side and stitch 1/4” away from the seam at the bottom of the piece. Then I go back one more time and stitch in the middle.
Here are the first two lines of stitching – the next line goes through the middle. I did this on all the block pieces.
I quilt through the borders with the same spacing before and after the block. This sashing is quite narrow so it has only two lines of stitching.
Like I have said many times, the quilting does not interest me – thus the straight lines. I think it doesn’t compete with the piecing and that’s why I like it. Machine quilters are very talented people and I would not want any of you readers to think that I don’t appreciate that talent because I do.
Our pattern, Farmers Daughter, is in the online store. You can purchase it and download it there.
I visited the garden center again – I just love buying those flowers and then coming home to plant them. I always use a coffee filter over the drain hole.
Remember the school desk that I had Rick remove the lid?
I will add a layer of pea gravel after I’m sure the plants are established.
Here are some of the succulents I just bought that are included with others I already had growing in small pots.
I just finished planting and it’s raining lightly – I hope it keeps up long enough to water everything.
Snoopy! What’s down there?
The red and white Picnic quilt was hanging here but I was due for a change. And there’s my free couch!
Siri is much better! Thanks for all your suggestions but she has had every test known to man and they were all negative.
That’s all for Saturday – since it’s raining I have permission to sew in the middle of the day!
You’ve gotten me into straight-line quilting lately. I’ve only done it so far on a few table toppers, but I love it! I really like how it looks! Thanks!!
Hi Mary, how is Telly? The animals looks good in the photos,it’s turned into a wet, windy day here, so l will pin a baby quilt and do some vacuuming, maybe even tackle some more tidying up in the basement. Enjoy your day, best wishes from sAndy
Mary, did you drill holes in the bottom of the desk for drainage? I remember some of those Iowa downpours and water collecting in my flower pots. They
were easy to tip a bit and drain the excess water off. The desk might not be so easy to tip.
I have been sewing red scraps and shirtings at the same time as you were sewing Jill’s Farmer’s Daughter’s quilt. I am making a Hugs and Kisses quilt for my great granddaughter’s thirteenth birthday coming up in Aug. It is an Edyta Sitar pattern. Since my grandaughter has been playing piano for three years now, I used up leftover shirtings and leftover red half square triangles and made a piano keyboard border. Love it. Will send a picture as soon as the borders are sewn on. Haven’t decided how to quilt it, but your straight line quilting is tempting me. I hope Mya’s quilt turns out as well as Jill’s did.
Love seeing all of your planting activities and all your wonderful ideas for utilizing novel planters. You certainly have a knack for it and a green thumb besides.
Jeanne in CO – believe it or not, there was a round hole in the bottom of the desk! I was thrilled to see it and it was in the center where excess water would collect – I never plant without a drain hole unless it’s a pot within a pot that I can lift out. Here’s a funny one – remember those red twig dogwood branches I had at Christmas in with my spruce tops? I left them in the pot and they are growing!!!! Haha!!
Sandy – Telly is doing so well – her liver supplement must really help because she’s eating again, too, and we’d never know anything was wrong. Thank you for asking about Telly – Hazel is such a clown that she gets most of the attention.
That all looks like fun, but I’ve got to keep at sorting thru stuff….. Sometimes I wonder if I’ll ever get it all done. I’m happy every time something leaves the house and won’t come back. The living room, the sorting area, is a mess, but what else is new? A friend brought a big bag packed full of scraps from t-shirt quilts that I have seen so far. She has cut the bottoms of the shirts off and they will be sewn together to make the covers for pet beds. The bag will wait awhile. What we can’t use will go to Good Will recycling. I think company is coming about mid June and they might like to sit in the living room or sleep in a bed?
You thought we should be ahead of you for planting. It has been too cold for most stuff yet. According to the computer Garner is about 1116′ altitude. We are 3202′ and that 2000′ would make a lot of difference. Even the south side of Rapid City is ahead of us on the north side. I am going to have to look at something to plant soon, but I probably won’t plant it til the first of June. I do sit down and sew something when I get the urge. All my fabric and patterns have always been inspiration.
One of these days I’m going to get brave and try to straight-line quilt a table runner or something on my sewing machine. We’ll see what happens.
In the meantime we will continue to happily read about everything the other bloggers are doing. And seeing all the dd quilts. Pure inspiration.
Take care. Betty in Rapid City
The farmer’s daughter quilt and the one above the free couch are beautiful. So, is the free couch.
Beryl BC – the quilt above the free couch is one of my all time favorites – I bought all those little blocks for $15 at a flea market and the little stars are crumb pieced – the tiniest pieces. I’ll take a close up picture.
I love Jill’s quilt. Straight line quilting works so well. Quilting isn’t my favorite part of the quilt process but I do quilt almost all of my own quilts. I don’t have a long arm but do have a machine with a wide bed. That free couch looks perfect there. Such a beautiful scene with the couch and the quilt.
I love the succulent desk. A cool idea.
It’s raining here. We’re supposed to get 10 straight days of rain. Yesterday we got over 2”. Some places in Dallas got more and there was flooding. An area that was hit by a tornado in 2019 was hit by a smaller one again.
Mary, I wish I lived closer to you. I would love to see your gardens and farm animals and The dogs and cats! We live on an acre lot and have a big garden and tons of flower beds! I spent all day planting today. I’m pooped! I’m listening to the Orioles and the finches and having some wine. (I’m allergic to beer or it would be a beer) someday when I’m heading towards middle Iowa I hope I can call you and stop by. Oh yeah, I’m also a quilter and we have a Jack Russell!
Anna Mundt – how far away do you live? I’d love to have you visit the farm! Let me know, ok?
I live near Sioux Falls SD. I am planning to retire soon, so it may be a good time to take a road trip. I will let you know!
Anna Mundt – the farm would be a perfect retirement drive! Use my email to contact me – maryehazel2020@gmail.com
Wow! I’m going to give the straight line quilting a try on my longarm! Thanks for the tips!! And I would have never thought to put a coffee filter in the bottom of the pot. Raining today in Wisconsin too. We need it.
Mary, wondering if you do straight line quilting for others? And if so, what do you charge? Pat in Burnsville, MN
Pat – oh, I am flattered but no, I’m not good enough to work on anyone else’s quilt. There’s always a couple of boo boos on all of them that I just live with.
I went to the garden store to get primroses to plant under a shade tree as they are hardy here over winter but I noticed terrariums are all back in style! Succulents were plentiful and containers to put them in. I think I still have my big glass one down cellar so I told the clerk I would be bringing it back to fill up as I always liked them back in the 70’s I believe.
We aren’t due for rain for a week so watering again tonight. Got to 70 and will be for next week too.
I like your theory about quilting to have them done and not just tops. Auditioning fabrics and Piecing are my favorite parts of quilting and then a draw a complete blank when it comes to visioning how it’s to be quilted so I am one of those who visits the long armer but I have stippled wall hangings I have made.
Ah, Kathy. I loved seeing your “down cellar” comment. I am from Western NY originally and all the people in Ohio, where I live now, laughed at me when I said “ down cellar”!! Thanks for taking me back to my roots and my mom and Nana😀😀.
And Diane, where were we sent to go get a canned good for dinner?
Yep, down cellar. No big beautiful pantries. Just wood shelves that stored everything. I did make myself a play room as a kid in the basement and thought it was the coolest thing I had a piece of carpet on the concrete floor. Good memories.
Kathy in western NY – our grandma let us go to her cellar every Saturday and pick a bottle of pop! Can you imagine this today???? She ordered her groceries which were delivered and she had all the flavors of pop – we’d stand there and debate about which one we wanted every Saturday afternoon. Such a treat!
What a great free sofa, Mary. I think red and white big check is going to be a great change! Your straight line quilting looks great. Some of my friends are trying it after seeing yours.
I decided to sit outside a few this afternoon and my treat was seeing an Elk cross our road to the north and head up the mountain. They usually avoid us during daytime because Pepper barks if she notices any. Just ground cover greening up with our long daylight hours. No sense planting flowers as they would be eaten.
I looked up a few of the 10 shops featured in the Spring n Summer 2021 Quilt Sampler magazine. One shop, Red-Roxy Quilt Co, is located in Iowa! Hope I receive my issue soon! The quilts pictured are lovely 😊!
Launa – I have to look up that quilt shop in Iowa. Connie and I will be needing more new fabric for our next Martingale book – we have to follow the trend so that the quilt shops can sell the book! It’s really quite fun to work with these new colors and fabrics!
Give that spunky Pepper a big hug from me!!
How is your ankle/foot? Can’t quite remember now. Update please.
Gosh, I’m flattered that somebody would try straight line quilting after me talking about it. It is utility quilting for sure!
I Love it all! Always can’t wait to see what you’ve done today! WOW! You are amazing!!!
I really love the straight line stitching..so simple but dramatic in a way. I like your free couch!! And the desk idea, something I never would’ve thought of but it’s so cute. I can’t remember, is Siri yours or are you watching her for someone?
Sherrill – I’m watching Siri for a gal who works for the USDA traveling around giving Covid vaccinations. It’s a long term boarding situation.
What great succulents you have planted in the old desk. I will try some straight line quilting and see how it goes, your inspiring me to be brave. The weather has been quite pleasant in middle TN and a lot less humidity than previous years. Our strawberry season is coming to an end so I need to grab a few more pails and freeze some for later this year.
Kim LeMere – good luck with your straight line quilting – try it on a small piece first to practice. And then send me a picture to share with the readers.
Hi Mary
I love your free couch it’s really awesome! I found a pink recliner type chair a long time ago and it looked like someone spilled food on the side of it. I took it home and cleaned it outside hosed the side of chair used lots of tide laundry detergent. I live in Florida left it out in hot sun for 2 days
It’s so beautiful clean fresh! I’ve had it over twenty years!! Very comfortable!!
Have a wonderful day😁
Bea knight
Bea Knight – what a great story! Honestly I’ll like this couch better when it’s been reupholstered but it’s fine for now and it’s not “deep” so when I sit on it my feet actually touch the floor! Haha!
Thank you for giving me permission to prefer straight line quilting. I have felt so guilty for not liking or being able to do free motion quilting. I figured there was something wrong with me, I am now free to love the piecing of my projects and the orderly, enhancing straight line quilting.
Anita Martin – you’re welcome! I could not master free motion quilting either and I just hated those curves interfering with my piecing. I’ve been known say – “No curly cues or curves on my precise piecing!” I hope you no longer feel guilty – I don’t.
Lucky you! We still haven’t had rain. My sewing time is devoted to watering grass seed, garden, and flowers. Jill will love her quilt and you for making it! You have so many clever gardening ideas.
Have a great day.
I have also been filling my pots with beautiful flowers, I love going to the garden center almost as much as a fabric store. I’ll have to try the coffee filter tip. Also the straight line quilting, thank you Mary!
Joyce from NY – the coffee filter really works – the pot drains beautifully and no, I didn’t think this up – I read it somewhere.
I also use coffee filters to line the bottom of smaller pots.
I cut squares from worn-out t-shirts, turtlenecks, pj’s, etc. and use those to line the bottom of bigger pots. By the end of the season, the all-cotton ones have completely disintegrated, so no extra clean-up required there.
I cut or tear strips from the leftover fabric and use those to tie tomato plants to stakes and tie strips on the deer netting around my garden to make the netting more visible.
Last year, I used plenty of those strips for mask ties!
I really like your straight line quilting. I’m going to try it. I love piecing too and dread thinking about the quilting. I do a lot of stitch in the ditch, echoing and meandering on my machine. I may get braver some day! I’m going to try the coffee filter tip too. I use a rock that kind of fits over the hole and allows drainage but keeps the dirt in the pot. I love hearing your ideas and seeing your pictures. Thank you.
Mary, both your Farmers Daughter and Picnic quilts are really nice. Love your large dog statue outside by the desk. I remember the school desks we had growing up had a punched hole (maybe even two) in them. Never understood as to why unless it was needed when they stamped the metal.
Janice Brown – I’ll bet you’re right about that hole in the bottom.