Merry & Mod Mystery Quilt Along - Day 5

  

Merry & Mod Mystery Quilt Along

CHRISTMAS IN AUGUST

August 2021

If you're still following along,

you've made it to Day 5!!!

I hope you'll stick with it, and finish the next two blocks

Friday and Saturday

and then we'll take Sunday off

for Gardening, or even a catch-up sewing day.

The big reveal will be on Monday!!!

Here's the info on tonite's giveaway on Instagram.

Tag a friend, please - - FOLLOW  our IG feed

and tell us if you recognize that quilt pattern and designer of the quilt

on the left of the screen!

We'll send you a Merry & Mod beyondthereef pattern!!

Hope you'll enjoy taking some time to do a little bit of sewing

each of the 7 days.

Thanks again for your support.

HappiestDays

Natalie.

www.beyondthereefpatterns.com

Holiday Memories - Janome to the rescue!

Holiday Memories

Janome to the rescue!

by Natalie Barnes of beyond the reef

The Holidays are for making Memories.

Just that.

You might be thinking, you don't have time to sew during the Holidays.

But I assure you, you do.

Just a few minutes a day, and you'll be ready for the Holiday family event.

Here's a simple project - and an idea for you.

Sprinkle some "albumn blocks" on your table, include Micron pens

and let your guests sign their name and leave a sentiment for the Holiday.

Everyone knows I love string blocks.

I've chosen them once again for this project, because they're achievable

and don't take a lot of quilting math!!  (smirk)

When you are done, you will be left with a stack of lovely blocks 

with the names and notes

from all of those that you love, and shared time with during the Holidays!!

Choose a color scheme - red and white, red and green and white, silver and blue.

Grab some fabrics from your stash.

Head to the hardware store and get some painters masking paper - 6".

You'll need lots of bobbin thread, so grab the Aurifil for this project - a neutral light grey.

You'll want a 6-1/2" square ruler, a cutting mat and rotary cutter, some snips

to one side of your Janome

and an ironing mat, and your Oliso travel iron sitting to the other side.

Because I sew on the HD-3300, I can set it up anywhere.  

So I set it up by the tree and turned on the lights

sewing to the sparkle!!!

Cut random width strips, trimming ends - between 1 - 2 inches.

Cut a stack of 6" squares from the masking paper - your foundation.

Place white, or the fabric you've chosen for the signature of the block, 9" strip,

in the center from point to point,

right sides up.

Select your first color strip, and trim it to a length just past the foundation paper.  

With right sides together, stitch together and give a quick press open with your iron.

Repeat until one side of the paper is covered.

Then cover the other side of the paper and you have completed your block!

Remember, you can chain piece the strips!!  

The Janome HD-3300 is fast, and makes quick work of this project!  (zoom zoom)

(the perfect setup!)

Give the blocks a good pressing, and trim to 6" square.

You are DONE!

And now for the magic.

Yup.  I buried the lead.

Sprinkle these blocks 

down the center of your table, 

making them part of the centerpiece!

Add some Micron pens, and ask your guests to sign while they are dining.

So, remember, Holidays are about the Memories.

Capture those memories with a quick stack of Albumn Blocks

easily string pieced

and ready for your Holiday Dinner or get together!

HappiestDays.

Natalie.

www.beyondthereefpatterns.com

be.do.create

Aurifil Giveaway Announced!!

we're skipping the pics of the random number generator

this grape vine grows along the side fence

it covers both sides of the fence, and runs almost the whole length of the property

it is just beautiful when the sun shines through it

it drops it's leaves in the fall

so it is greatly appreciated during the summer

okay, okay

the recipients of the

Aurifil

threads 

are

Beth said...

I have hand quilted only small projects so far. I don't have a favorite thread yet--frustratingly, I received a beautiful thread as a gift and found it to be lintless and smooth. Now I cannot remember what type it was. Grrr. So I guess I am open to anything, thread-wise.

 Linda said...

Hello,your post is very meaningful.We do only have so many "quilting moments" in our lives.I do a lot of machine quilt projects,but always come back to doing some hand quilting it seems.Just something about doing it and looking at it and give it to others that is special! I do cross stitch,Hardanger and redwork.Use Aurifil threads,sometimes a hoop or the white square thing you use;sometimes I don't use a hoop at all if it is a small project with a firm fabric.

Thanks for sharing!

Susan said...

I am new to hand quilting, and I just completed a small baby bow tie quilt for my fifth grandson who was born in July! I used DMC floss (two strands) and outline quilted the blocks. I enjoy the entire quilt making process from picking the pattern to adding the label. I feel lucky that I enjoy all of the steps! 

Ali said...

Oh that's sweet, too often I rush through to get a project done and don't feel connected (and am ambivalent about it when it does get done). I don't really hand stitch because I do embroidery and I get ENOUGH needle work there, but I've been considering doing a whole cloth quilt with pearl thread soon

please email me your snail mail addy

sheepishly, I thot I would remind you of two things

falling under the category of "shameless promotion"
the pics of the fabrics are to remind you

we have an online shop

www.beyondthereefpatterns.com

or find on bigcartel.com

and please remember to take a look at some of the reviews
and some of the pages

of the book

Set the Table

by 

Martingale

thanks, everyone

I'm pretty proud to be a contributor!!

be.do.create

natalie

...enjoy the journey!

short story.

I recently had some quilt tops returned to me

just the tops

(the machine quilter got too busy with their own work to continue working for others)

well, and the backs

and the batting, too

I recently spent a weekend hand quilting a little 'secret' project

and it got me thinking

 I realized

something had been missing from my process

connecting with my projects

bear with me while I run this past you

yes, there is a time and a place for everything - every type of project

and there are only so many hours in a day

only so many hours in our quilting lives

and there are so many many many projects that we all want to make

machine quilting has made completing quilts so much more achievable

and machine quilting is beautiful

and yes, I still have to cut and sometimes fold, all of the fabric bundles that beyond the reef sells

I still have to package and send the retail and wholesale orders that I am ever so thankful for

and I still have to design and then test and then illustrate and then write all of the beyond the reef patterns

but

I still have to connect with what it is that I do

I am ever so thankful for the machine quilter that didn't have time to quilt my quilts

today I pieced a flannel back

put down a layer of very heavy batting

and basted the Robert Kaufman Dill Blossom Camille Roskelly pattern quilt top

that I made years ago

I got out some pearl cotton

and started stitching

yes, it is slow

and yes, there are 

a million other things 

I

really 

should

be doing

bot for now, I am sitting in my craft

I am getting up close and personal with it all

it's nice to be inspired by the lovely continuous running stitches

in the "Kantha" hand quilted pieces made from reclaimed cotton saris

today

I am connecting with what it is that I do

"It's not a successful climb unless you enjoy the journey."

be.do.create

natalie.

www.beyondthereefpatterns.com

leave us a comment telling us how often you hand quilt

when and where you hand quilt

and what type of quilting thread you like to use

four people

will be sent an AURIFIL sample package

of five spools of threads

(random number generator)

Aurifil

"Feeling the thread of your passion"