Welcome to my blog! I am Kathleen McCormick and I have been blogging for about 5 years, but quilting for much longer than that! I have happily participated in the past, but this is my first time hosting Thank Goodness It’s Finished Friday (TGIFF)!. You can read all about TGIFF here, but basically it’s a party to celebrate finishes. So, link up if you have a finish. Either way, please enjoy my finish and maybe visit a few others who have finished something and cheer us all on!
I am so pleased to present the finished quilt, Little Boy Blue. It is a pattern from Sandra at mmm!Quilts. And, the quilt had fabric that Becca at Pretty Piney Quilts hand-dyed (NB: This was a win from a giveaway, she doesn’t sell hand dyed fabric). And, if that wasn’t enough there are a few more things that make this quilt really interesting.
So, a little more about Little Boy Blue. I started with the fabric and the QAL on April 3rd. We first cut the fabric, then we made 96 half square triangles. You can read more about it here. I love that in a little more than 2 months I have this lovely finished project.
This quit is amazing to me in so many ways. This little singer featherweight went to Pennsylvania with me and I sewed on my sister-in-law’s back porch, while my aunt recuperated from surgery. It is a 1951 centennial version; I am so pleased to be working on this machine, Boo (after her mother)! My friend’s mother owned it and now I do. She still needs a tune up but she got be through that week of being away (which could have been two weeks), so grateful.
Here are the first two blocks laid out; you can see the design coming together. What I love about the design is that you don’t make the star, then the borders around it but you make the fun squares and put the together. The pattern is still available and it is fat quarter friendly. I used 3 FQs to make this design, but you can also use 5 or just 1 fabric for the stars and 1 for the accent star. It is quite versatile that way.
Now, the odd thing is that this quilt was constructed on very different machines machines. Part of it was made on a 1951 Singer Featherweight, another part on a Bernina 440QE (2008). Then it was quilted on my 2019 Handi Quilter Simply Sixteen. It was my first pantograph on this machine and I was really pleased with the way it turned out. What a cool thing to have quilt that has been done on so many different machines.
This was my first time doing a pantograph on this frame. It is an addition to the Little Foot Frame called Little Buddy and it works like a charm. I am in need of some instruction to speed up the loading, as I guessed it, but it seemed to do just fine. Of course, it took me longer to do than on my regular machine, but that will soon change. For the machine quilting, I used some Superior Sew Fine thread, a 50wt polyester. This thread was perfect as it is quite fine and doesn’t show a whole lot on the quilt. The desire to show my quilting stitches will come, but not just yet.
All in all I was pleased with the way it and I worked. You can see some wobbles, but that will disappear with some washing….later this week. I do love the definition of the quilting and the feel and drape of this quilt. I used Hobbs Premium 80/20 Cotton Blend Batting* and it was great.
Little Boy Blue
41″ square
Hand dyed fabric from Becca Fenstemacher
Beothuk Star pattern from Sandra Walker
Machine pieced and quilted
Hobbs 80/20 cotton batting
Sew Fine Thread #403 for quilting
Pantograph: Drift by Keryn Emerson
Now for the fun! Lets share your finishes and visit one another and cheer each other on!
Upcoming on the blog:
Introduction to SS Tabitha (HQ Simply Sixteen)
Dream to reality, process from idea to quilt
Orange 2019 Monthly Color Challenge
Linking up:
TGIFF
Put Your Foot Down #5
Friday Foto Fun #88
Can I Get a Whoop Whoop!
Finished {or Not} Friday
Beothuk Star Parade of Finishes
UFO Busting #64
Hi Kathleen! You’re just trying to confuse me, aren’t you?!! It’s still Thursday . . . and I was already thinking it was Friday. Congrats on SO many fronts! Great finish on Little Boy Blue. Boy, these fabrics sure look great in this pattern don’t you think? Well, obviously yes you do. And how cool that you got to try a panto?!! I’m so thrilled about that. This whole experience is just going great and it’s only the beginning! You’re all set for the parade on Saturday, and since I still have tomorrow to get the border on mine I may just have a quilt top by then. {{Hugs}} Great post. ~smile~ Roseanne
I am so sorry for confusing you. This has always confused me but they start the party Thursday at 7 and end Saturday around 3am. I guess that gives different time zones the ability to play. I did as I was told. I am totally in love with the quilt and the machine. I hope you get your border on, and I do think the linky goes for a few extra days, so you have some time if the deadline slips a little.
Love the quilt! Very pretty.
What a grand finish! I’m linking up an older post, because I didn’t get my Beothuk quilted, thanks to my back injury (which is much better). Love your Little Boy Blue and the story behind it!
Thanks Wendy! Sorry yours isn’t done for this, but it will be stellar when it is. Are you taking your classes? I saw some is Suzy Webster’s students work and couldn’t remember what you were taking.
Love Little Boy Blue! How fun that you made it with so many different machines.
Thanks, Cindy. It is a fun little quilt…now to find a little boy blue who can love it.
This was a wonderful post. I have a fiber artist friend who hand dies with indigo she grows and I’ve been researching it myself. Sometimes to get that perfect blue you have to create it yourself. Please let me know how the dye holds in this. You are lucky to have received it. Oh and thank you so much for linking up with me.
Love your Little Boy Blue, Kathleen! What panto did you use? As for loading faster, you know what they say, practice, practice, practice. Thanks for hosting!!! Hugs!
Thanks for being a TGIFF host. Your quilt is awesome. I finished my quilt top, but I haven’t quilted it yet.
I just love seeing another Beothuk Star quilt! And so many people are seeing it since you’re hosting TGIFF!! Yay, double YAY! Thank you for quilting along with me, and thank you for hosting. You are one brave woman tackling a panto so early on in your relationship with your longarm; it turned out just great. Love the soft blues Becca dyed; they look like suede!
I love this version of Sandra’s pattern. It reminds me of Delft. And that photo with the sun shining through—lovely. I like that you used various machines. That shows just how rich our quilting heritage is.
What a sweet finish!! I was too busy to join in that one, now wish I had taken the time.
Beautiful blues in your quilt, and the perfect name for it, too! I enjoyed reading about your different machines – that gives this quilt quite a story!
Very sweet quilt! Blue and white is such a wining color combination. Well done!
Thanks, Michelle, it was fun to do.
i love your quilt in the blues. I was nearly able to call mine a finish but not quite
Maybe you can make it for the end of the linky party – I think its open to the 22nd at Sandra’s – good luck!
IT came out very nicely all in blue.
Thank you!