Travel Time

Last week I headed south to Atlanta for some time with my business coach. Lots of new ideas in the works, for new programs and for The FLOCK.

Two weeks ago, I showed you a photo of this project in its earliest stages. It was just a pile of blocks and some fabric choices a couple weeks ago.

These blocks started as a Hardanger sampler, including, I think maybe 12 blocks. I made 5 of the (about) 4" square stitcheries, then I ran out of thread.

Sure, I could have purchased more thread in this color, but instead decided to add some borders (in quilting fabric) to each square and make something from the five blocks. Here you see the bordered blocks, layered and ready to pin-baste and quilt. Notice that I added an extra layer of fabric (the dark brown) under the quilt top to secure the batting beneath it. The embroidery has some cut-away sections, so an extra lining was needed.

With the layers sandwiched, I did some simple quilting to hold everything together.

Then added the binding.

As an afterthought, I felt that this runner could also hang on the wall in some of those narrow wall-spaces in my home, so I added a hanging sleeve.

The bound-but-not-sewn project went into my travel bag so that I could secure the folded edge of the binding to the back of the project during my flight.

Lucky me, I had an empty chair next to me on the plane and was able to finish up this project before the flight landed in Georgia!

Perfect use of flying time!

Here is a close up of one of the blocks.

Notice that I added some machine quilting within the hand stitching area to keep the puffed-up-center-effect down.

In between everything, I'm making progress on this blue-and-green Split the Check quilt (pattern found in the book ScrapTherapy, The Versatile Nine Patch)

This project is in preparation for an upcoming cruise - not the 2020 Hawaii cruise - that's going to be a different, all-new project TBD). This is for a 2021 cruise that has not been announced yet. Stay tuned.

Finally, the travel project that made it from my basket of projects into my travel bag is this little cross-stitch seagull piece. The pattern is from the September 2018 issue of Cross Stitcher magazine.

I worked on it quite a lot, both on the plane and in the evenings at the hotel.

The pattern calls for these little seagulls to become a pin cushion. . . . . . .but I think I'm going to turn it into another entry into my biscornu collection. I created a plain blackwork panel design for the biscornu backing - it's shown, in progress, on the right side of the photo below, inside the hoop.

I suspect the little chart I made up could stand alone as its own little project. We'll see. . .

Happy Stitching!
Joan