Hills 'n' Hollers

I've been enjoying my slow stitching this week (what else is new, lol).

It's always exciting to start something new.

 I've had the pattern for Hills 'n' Hollers for a while now, and was inspired to start it as part of an Instagram sewalong, #shutdownstichalong. I'm sure those who know me know that I'm a sucker for a sewlong...but I think a lot of us are! Is it FOMO...Fear Of Missing Out???....maybe sometimes, but most of the time it's the enjoyment of doing something with a group of people.

Here is the row of applique that I laid out on the back of the longarm earlier this week to get the spacing of the Hills right....

It's working up quite quickly. The pieces are about 6 or 7" tall and there are thirteen of them. I think this was my third morning working on them and I have only one more hill to stitch.  

In this next picture you can see that I basted all the pieces onto the background before starting the applique. I've done this in the past when there is a lot of vines on a long border, and it made sense to do it this time, too.  It really doesn't take long at all to prepare with the basting stitches, and it's all secure with no pins getting in the way.

I had intended on using my stash of Jen Kingwell fabrics for this project, but when I went to my local quilt shop I saw that they have started carrying Cotton and Steel fabrics (love!). I have a lovely stash of Cotton and Steel fabrics so I switched up the plan and am very happy about it.

I hope today to take some time to prepare the next row of hills. There is only one more row in the small size of this quilt and the hills are somewhat taller.

Here it is on the design wall with my Chapman Coverlet blocks...

Hopefully you can find some time to do something you love to do today. We may be in for some thunderstorms today so some extra stitching may happen in my house today.

I'll be linking up with Kathy today for her Slow Sunday Stitching.

And, just because, I'll share a picture of my run yesterday at the Jarvis Lions' Park. It was too bloody hot and it wasn't pretty....but I did enjoy the game of hopscotch that someone had provided...

Some pretty pieces of fabric....

I started the day as I always do....with a bit of hand-stitching.

Anyone who knows me knows that I like to start my day like this, but what you don't know is that at the same time I enjoy listening to podcasts. 

I thought I'd pass along a couple of favourites for those of you who like podcast as well. Please feel free to comment with your favourites!

I don't usually make New Year's resolutions, but this year I did....it was to listen the the Ted Talks podcast everyday. Not too difficult, as they tend to only be twelve or fifteen minutes each....but packed full of good and interesting knowledge. Well, I haven't kept up, but I do still enjoy it often. 

Another good one is Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard. He is an American actor who, a lot of times, plays a bit of a goofball. He is surprisingly well-read and has very interesting guests and topics.

Anyway, on to what was being poked at today....

This morning I worked on the last two tulips on Block 2 of A Curious Journey BOM by Susan Smith...

It is now complete, except for removing the water-erasable pen marks....

I'm liking this BOM....and I'm liking the use of my hoarded Tilda fabrics :)

A lot of designers like to have all the applique pieces stuck on to the background fabric all at once with a bit of fabric glue.

 I'm not a fan....actually, I should admit that I've never done it since it didn't appeal to me at all!!! I really thought that it would be a nuisance, with un-sewn pieces just getting in the way as I appliqued.

I figured I should at least give this method a try.

Well, I have to admit that this was not the case. It was "okay"....but will I do it again?....probably not.  I do encourage you to give it a try though....what works or not for me may be the opposite for you. There is no right or wrong way....just many "right" ways, wouldn't you agree? (Although, I'm sure we all have that one quilty friend that is always quick to announce there is only one proper way to do things, lol)

I also stitched a little block for The First Day of Christmas by Susan Smith. I hate to admit, this was a kit that I purchased late one night when I was quite tired....way too easy to push the "Add to Cart" button during this pandemic, isn't it?????

This week on Instagram I came across a stitchalong with @thenextstitch...

If you are on Instagram I encourage you to have a look. There is not a specific project, or anything to buy. We are encouraged to do a bit of slow-stitching for 15 minutes per day. The bonus....she (I can't recall her name at the moment, maybe Wendy?) is going to do a bit of a tutorial on Instagram once a week. I thoroughly enjoyed the first one. These videos do not disappear, they will be accessible all the time.

Something I got back to this week is my Temperature Quilt for 2020.

I've been keeping track every day of the forecasted high temperature....but somehow haven't sewn on it at all since March 27!

On our lovely rainy day on Saturday I did manage to get a row of geese flying sewn down the right hand edge of this piece. Each goose measures 2x3.5 unfinished and the piece is approximately 30" square so far. 

That's all for now. It looks like it's going to be a beautiful day, so an outing is in order, including a visit to the Good Bread Company in Vittoria...yum!

 Hopefully a little extra stitching time, too!

I am linking up with Kathy's Quilts for Slow Sunday Stitching. Try to visit with Kathy and see what others are slow stitching today.