Merry Christmas Slow Sunday Stitching

This is the last link up of 2016 for the Slow Sunday Stitchers! Didn't the year go by so fast?
Do you have a favourite hand stitched Christmas decoration that you get out every year to enjoy again? This is my most treasured cross stitch that I made in 1992. It has symbolic meaning for me and every year when I pull it out of the box of Christmas decorations I am delighted to see it again. So many memories are stitched into our projects.

Do you have some hand made Christmas stockings? These are our favourite Christmas stockings that were knitted by my Mom. She made a stocking for everyone in our family for a total of over 20 stockings. Each one is slightly different and has the person's name on the top. The only problem is that these stockings are so big that Santa has to put a lot of stuff in there to fill them. The kids love that, the parents... not so much!!
The stockings are all filled up now and waiting for the kids to wake up. They are photographed on my Christmas quilt, which is called "Deckade the Halls" and was a quiltalong from the Fat Quarter Shop in 2013 (free pattern still posted here!)
Making hand stitched gifts is a labour of love and is practiced by people who value the benefits of the slow stitching process. I'm so glad to have met each one of the stitchers in our Slow Sunday Stitching community and to be connected through blogland.  A big thank you to each blogger who links up on Sundays to share hand stitched projects with us. 

Christmas Blessings

I am wishing each of you a wonderful holiday surrounded by the people you love. And of course I wish you lots of stitching time! Link up your blog post below and share your favourite hand stitched decorations and/or what you are working on during this busy holiday season.


   

    An InLinkz Link-up
   

Slow Sunday Stitching

Welcome to the last Slow Sunday Stitching link up before Christmas. I hope you will take time to relax with some hand stitching today. 
It's at the very busiest times in our lives when we need the experience of relaxation the most, and ironically it's the time when most people resist it, thinking they can't afford the luxury of "wasting time". They push themselves until they get sick and end up in bed on a forced relaxation break. Don't let this happen to you just before the holidays!
Take some time today to rest, to put some stitches into a project for a gift for someone special, and reduce the level of stress you are experiencing. Feel free to call this "mandatory preventative medicine"!
Today I will be spending time with my hand quilting project. This is my oldest UFO and I am slowly making progress with the quilting. I have been procrastinating stitching this block because it is black stitches on black fabric and it's hard on my old eyes. But it's noticeably in the middle of an area that is completed quilted except for this black star. So, today I'm tackling the black on black.

The little furman is here this weekend, trying to distract me from stitching (and everything else that I would like to get done). Just look at that cute face! He jumps up on the quilt and lays his head down on the hoop until it's tilted so much that I can't stitch and must play with him. I'm not complaining... it's all part of the forced "mandatory preventative medicine"!

We would love to see what you are making this week. Link up your blog post below and share your hand stitching project with us.



   

    An InLinkz Link-up
   

Slow Sunday Stitching - Binding!

Welcome to Slow Sunday Stitching! We meet here every Sunday to celebrate the art of all varieties of hand stitching. If it involves a needle (or 2) and thread and stitching taken with your hands, we want to know about it!


Today will find me hand stitching the binding on my Circa 2016 quilt. I love this quilt so much and will enjoy every minute of this stitching.

This is the backing fabric from the "Metropolitan Fair" line of fabric by Barbara Brackman. Like all the fabrics in my Circa 2016 quilt, this is a reproduction fabric from the mid 1800s. It delights me that this 2016 quilt is made of 1800 reproduction fabrics.

Let's get this binding stitched down! I am enjoying visiting with the blocks that were made over the course of the past year as I stitch on by. I feel more relaxed already. 
I probably won't be able to spend too much time on this today as I really should be working on some Christmas presents, but a little relaxation will make everything else run more smoothly don't you think?!?!

What are you hand stitching today? Link up your blog post below and tell us about your project so we can encourage you to keep stitching!

   

    An InLinkz Link-up
   

Slow Sunday Stitching

Bow Tie Quilt

Welcome to Slow Sunday Stitching where we celebrate the art of hand stitched creations!
Did you know that I just finished hand quilting my bow tie quilt? It was such a great take-along project over the last few months, and I am so pleased with the finish!
So what will I work on now? I guess the time has come to get out my winter hand quilting project. It's a big quilt, and it's heavy and warm, so it's perfect to work on at this time of year. 

Do you remember seeing this quilt last winter? It has been in progress since 1996 and therefore celebrated it's 20th birthday this year. It has the ceremonious distinction of being my oldest UFO! And I still really like it and enjoy quilting the blocks. I can't help but wonder if this will be it's last year as a UFO?

I made this weird little chart to help me keep track of the quilting progress. It looks like the block quilting is approaching the half way done mark. I'm starting to think about how I want to quilt the edge blocks and the border. I do really like just quilting straight lines on a border, but is that too old fashioned now?

What are you hand stitching? Are you working any Christmas gifts? I should be, but I'm just not motivated yet!
Link up your blog post below and share with us what you are hand stitching today.

   

    An InLinkz Link-up

   

Happy National Pins and Needles Day

Did you know it was a special day today? Well, besides being Slow Sunday Stitching, and my baby sister's 46th birthday, today is also National Pins and Needles day! 

 My friend Debby recently bought a fascinating package of pins and needles from a Facebook auction. Just look at the size of these huge needles! The bottom needle is what I am using for my Life Is Beautiful embroidery threaded with 2 strands of DMC floss. These other needles are thick and long and amazingly sharp!! Would they have been used for darning socks? 
Some of the larger needles were wrapped in soft cloth and tied with string. I guess that was a way of keeping a treasured needle safe and sound if you didn't have a needle book to keep it in?

Any speaking of which, just look at these fascinating needle books!
I spent a long time looking at these needles and wondering who had used them in the past. I am particularly fascinated by the "Lady Gay" book at the top where she is carrying a needle as if it were a gun, and the military figures are lined up behind her, some with red flags and some with white! And look at the book with the native chief with bright red lipstick! Both of these needle books must have interesting stories, but how can I find out about them?


And just look at these topless thimbles!

Have you ever seen these before? What would you use these for? 
So many interesting finds and no background history to go with them. If you have any information about these types of needles or thimbles, please share it in the comment section.
Do you have interesting hand stitching needles that you use or collect? Link up your blog post below and tell us all about it!

   

    An InLinkz Link-up
   

Slow Sunday Stitching

Welcome to the weekly hand stitching party! 
It's time to take a deep breath, pick up your needle and threads and take some stitches in your project.
Guess what I will be doing tonight?!? 


My most favourite quilting activity - hand stitching a binding! 

I finally finished hand quilting my bow tie quilt and it's ready for the binding. It's so exciting when you get to this stage of making a quilt. It's especially true when you have worked on a project for hours and taken it everywhere you have been for months. This is a terrible photo, but when I have time for stitching, it's always dark and difficult to get good photographs. By the way, did you see all the great comments on lighting tips at the link up two weeks ago? Click here to check it out.
Maybe next week I'll have a finished project to show!?!
What are you hand stitching today? Link up your blog post below and share your progress with us.

   

    An InLinkz Link-up
   

Fearless Slow Sunday Stitching

Welcome to Slow Sunday Stitching! 
Today's topic is being fearless! 
I am teaching an intuitive hand beading class at my local quilt guild next year and have had a few people ask me multiple questions about the class while trying to determine if:
1) they would like it, and/or 
2) if they could realistically be successful.

Killarney

Okay people... let's start the pep talk with a quote from Megan who blogs over at The Bitchy Stitcher said:

"If you make ANYTHING, you are a magician."

I love that!
If you have an interest, if you are drawn in any way to a topic, a book, a class, a quilt pattern, or a person, then trust that there is something magical about that interest, that it might be your invitation to an adventure waiting for you, and maybe a fresh new experience to learn and to grow.

Some of my beaded bindings

So, all you magicians out there... open up your craft bins, enjoy all the sparkly items you have collected over the years because you were drawn to them, fearlessly open up your UFO closets and see what magic you can create with all this stuff! And have some FUN!!

Indian cooking class supplies

The worst that can happen is that you hate the technique and never touch the supplies again. That's okay! I took an Indian cooking class once. It was a blast and I learned a ton. And I will never try cooking this again because it was way too much work to create something that might taste good and will be gone/eaten within minutes! I learned that my truth is... I would rather be stitching and painting and beading, and buy take out Indian food! But I am delighted that I tried to learn, because I want to be a life long learner and someone who embraces new experiences. 
So here is your personal money back guarantee for any life adventures you are drawn to:

Be fearless!

I personally guarantee you will enjoy something about the experience, have at least one interesting conversation with a fellow human, and learn at least one invaluable life lesson OR crafting technique (both are equally valuable) that interests you.
Optional: you might have FUN, even if you don't enjoy it or are terrible at it!
Be a fearless magician! Go sign up for that class you have been wondering about! Try that technique you've been interested in!
We hope you will link up your blog post below and tell us about the hand stitching project you are working on right now so that we can encourage you in your magical slow stitching progress!

   

    An InLinkz Link-up
   

Slow Stitching Sunday - Lighting

Welcome to Slow Sunday Stitching! Do you live somewhere in the world where you turned your clocks back 1 hour last night? If so, that means you have one extra hour to stitch today! However you will likely be spending more time stitching in the dark!


Do you have any lighting tips for us to make sure we can see well enough to stitch through the long dark winter?
This is a photo that shows my favourite Ikea lamp that I use for hand work. It has a solid base and a flexible neck to focus the pool of light where I need it. This is my winter hand quilting project which is great to cuddle up under on those cold winter nights. I will return to working on it once I finish the bow tie quilt.

Speaking of which, I did finish one corner of the bow tie quilt this week. It looks good in real life, but I couldn't get a decent photo of it last night. It's too dark!
My goal today is to finish the second corner and the quilting will then be more than half way done!

What are you hand stitching today? Link up your blog post below and share your project and your lighting tips with us.



   

    An InLinkz Link-up
   

Slow Stitching Sunday

Welcome to Slow Stitching Sunday where we make time to slow down our lives, to breathe deeply, to pick up a needle and thread, and take some slow stitches. 

"Grandma, let's have a slow day to read and quilt"

I have been reading a book called "In Praise of Slow" by Carol Honoré. Here is my favourite quote so far:
"In this media-drenched, data-rich, channel-surfing, computer-gaming age, we have lost the art of doing nothing, of shutting out the background noise and distractions, of slowing down and simply being alone with our thoughts." I must admit that I really cannot fathom doing "nothing", but I am often alone with my thoughts while stitching and enjoy the peacefulness of silence.

I have been slowly hand quilting my reproduction bow tie quilt, and enjoying every stitch. These blocks were from Barb's block swap last year.  It is fun to quilt through each bow tie, and to admire the fabrics. Primarily I am quilting with brown thread but sometimes I change to blue or maroon or yellow just to make it more interesting to stitch.

This is the corner of the quilt that I hope to finish today. I try to hand quilt at least one bow tie block each day. It doesn't take long and usually it is so enjoyable that I don't stop after one! After all these years, I still love to admire the texture that hand quilting creates!

What are you stitching by hand today? Link up your blog post below and share your slow progress with us!

   

    An InLinkz Link-up
   

Slow Sunday Stitching Treat

Welcome to Slow Sunday Stitching where we celebrate all the wonderful benefits of the art of hand stitching! I am so glad you can join us because I have an extra special treat for you english paper piecing enthusiasts!
I was at the London Friendship Quilters' Guild quilt show and saw so many amazing quilts, but 4 in particular that I want to share with you today. These quilts are all completely hand pieced, which means every single one of these thousands of tiny pieces of fabric was cut with scissors and hand stitched with a needle and thread. The pattern is called La Passacaglia and is found in Willyne Hammerstein's book called Millefiori. 

Let's start with our very own Cathy Shepherd who blogs over at Eagles' Wings Quilts. She frequently linked up to Slow Sunday Stitching while we watched over her shoulder as she pieced all these tiny shapes into this spectacular Passacaglia quilt. You cannot even appreciate all the amazing fussy cut designs she created, but trust me... you see something different every time you look at this quilt. Cathy edged all the rosettes in white and bordered them on a blue fabric.


And there were 3 more of these quilts hanging in the show!

Here is the second one sewn by Charlene O'Donnell. See how she made two borders (a gold and an orange) and then cut off some of the rosettes, and extended some of them into the border?

Here is the third one sewn by Lorraine Swanson using civil war colours. She edged the rosettes with brown, and added a larger neutral border and more english paper pieced blocks. See on the bottom right corner where she put examples of the tiny design units?!? I am telling you these pieces are TINY! I should have taken a photo with my hand beside it so you could appreciate the scale of these quilts.

And here is the fourth version sewn in brights with black pointed stars around the rosettes. This was made by Lorna Martin and she extended 3 of the rosettes into the border.

I am amazed by how each quilter used the same pattern, and how they each look so different! They were really unbelievable!

Some of the women at my quilt retreat were working on this same quilt last winter. This is Nancy on the left making a super small version, and Maria on the right making the regular size version. They are holding the same block from the pattern. Wow and wow! I sure do hope I don't fall in love with the idea of making this quilt!
Have you tried english paper piecing? What are you hand stitching today? We'd love to see what you're working on, so link up your blog post below and share your progress.

   

    An InLinkz Link-up
   

Slow Sunday Stitching

Not enough time in the day!

Yesterday my "to-do" list was too long. I woke up with anxiety about not enough minutes to complete the tasks the day required. 
NOT ENOUGH TIME!
And even though I was making good progress as the day went on, there just was not going to be enough time.
This kind of day needs to be less of a regular occurrence for me because it leads to not enjoying even my most favourite tasks, like spending time with loved ones, and spending time in the quilt studio. 
I have only myself to blame. I take on too many tasks, and say 'yes' to too many creative ideas, which combined with my "delusional doability" makes for a lot of unnecessary stress. 
Which is why I need Slow Sunday Stitching. It reminds me to breathe, to sit still, to regain a healthy perspective and to actually enjoy what I am doing in every moment. 
Today I will be hand quilting a few stitches in my reproduction bow tie quilt. I am almost to the edge on one side, which is alway encouraging. See the smaller bow tie blocks on the border? That's the edge and I'm one hoop away from the edge!

What are you hand stitching today? 
Link up your blog post below and share your slow progress with us.


   

    An InLinkz Link-up
   

Slow Sunday Stitching

From Journey of a Quilter

Happy Thanksgiving! 
Depending on where you live in the world, it might seem too early in the year to be extending this greeting, but this is the weekend we celebrate Thanksgiving here in Canada. 
I love Thanksgiving... a whole day devoted to food and gratitude. What could be better than that?!?
Well, if you add in beautiful fall weather to enjoy a walk in the great outdoors while enjoying the company of people you love, AND you have some time for hand stitching, you've got yourself the perfect day! 

Life is Beautiful block #29

This week I finished block #29 for my Life Is Beautiful project. There are only 3 more blocks to embroider and then I will be ready to start quilting. 
Today I will get the next block prepped and ready to stitch while watching some post-turkey eating baseball on TV. And with each stitch I take, I will remind myself of the things I am grateful for...including my Slow Sunday Stitching friends!
What are you hand stitching today? Link up your blog post below and share your project with us. And then visit the blog posts of the stitchers before you and give them some encouragement!

   

    An InLinkz Link-up
   

Slow Sunday Stitching Link Up

Welcome to the Slow Sunday Stitching link up! Grab a cup of tea or coffee, and join us in celebrating the benefits of hand stitching.
I am not usually an early riser, but sometimes the sunrise just calls so loud you have to hop out of bed and see what's going on. 

Last Sunday this was going on.

A gorgeous sunrise with mist rising on the lake, and still warm enough to sit outside and do some hand quilting. It was heavenly! 
It was just me and the beauty of nature. No computers, no cell phones, no TV or music, no conversation, no expectations, no distractions, nowhere to be, and nothing to do except enjoy a state of total relaxation in which I could stitch myself together again.

These days are precious and so far and few between. Life can be so stressful, and we need to fill up our reservoirs of strength whenever we can. By the end of the week, all of the benefits of that pieceful day of restful Slow Sunday Stitching had disappeared. It was as if I had never been there, and I was running on empty again.

From Quiltville

So today is the day to refill. I won't have the same beautiful setting in which to enjoy my stitching, but I will remember the benefits of that day, and force myself once again to slow down, breathe deeply, thread a needle and put some stitches into cloth. 
What are you stitching where you live? What do you have to do in order to silence your mind and heal your soul? What beautiful sights are you seeing as you pick up your needle today?

We hope you will link up your blog post below and share your hand stitching project with us.


   

    An InLinkz Link-up
   

Slow Sunday Stitching

Welcome to the weekly link up for the hand stitching community! We hope you will visit some of the blogs linked below to see the wonderful range of projects being stitched today.

I will be sitting by the water again today and will be putting more stitches in my reproduction bow tie quilt. It is the perfect sized project to take anywhere. It covers my lap and keeps me warm, but isn't so big that it drags on the ground.

The September weather here has been glorious with warm temperatures and sunny blue skies most days. Last week I was treated to forest bathing, and this week I will be enjoying my Sunday stitching by the water! 
I spread the quilt out on my lawn chair so you can you see my stitching progress. I started in the spot where the blocks form a circle and have been stitching in concentric rows out from there. Slow and steady stitching finishes a quilt eventually!
What are you working on today? Link up your hand stitching project below and share your progress.

   

    An InLinkz Link-up