Proud, Happy and Thrilled!

I'm so excited to tell you, if you don't already know, my Block Party virtual quilting bee is becoming a book! Congrats to Alissa and Kristen for leading this fabulous group and spearheading the idea! I'm thrilled to be a part of it. Head over to the Block Party blog for a giveaway and more exciting news. Proud, happy and thrilled. That's me!
Here is the start of the quilt using the fabrics from the last post. It's inspired by Malka's Tuesday pillow that is on the front of 'Stitch' magazine.
I like this layout...but I also played and made it into furrows and barnraising. It looks cool in those too, but I'm a LONG way from layout decisions. I have 25 blocks done...the quilt needs 110.
One finish to put on the list...I think all of my friends have one of these now. They sure are fun to make!

We've got lots of folks participating in the 'Joy in the New Year' challenge. Who knew so many of you had double digit lists of UFOs. This is going to be exciting!

This Post Is Brought To You By....Scraps

Scraps are treasures. Sheree sent me a box of scraps from a giveaway and when they arrived I decided that I would make something to share the love...kinda like an unofficial pay it forward. I think Sheree likes pink because there was an abundance of pink scraps in the box, so this is what I came up with:
before quilting...
after quilting and a wash and dry...
The quilts are pink, pink sun, pink clouds, pink back, pink binding. Everything from scraps (Sheree's and mine)...even the background is a scrap from an old tablecloth. Thanks Sheree! If only I had a little girl, or even a pink room, I'd keep this in an instant, but alas, I don't. So, if you'd like this to come to your house, let me know where it might go or who you might give it to. I'll draw a name randomly on Friday. If you left a comment on Ben's blog, consider yourself entered and feel free to enter again! It's 25 x 22.
I made more houses too....I'm up to 21....these all need their sashing.
I might want to live in the Frank Lloyd Wright inspired one.
Amy's blocks are done for her month in the Common Threads virtual quilting bee. Again, fun blocks to make. These range from 2 inches to 6.5 inches.
I'm done making small quilts for a bit. Mostly I've done them to practice with my machine. It's time to break out the big quilts and get them under that machine.

Speaking of scraps and treasures...you should see Penny's 'Scraps to Treasure' quilt. Stunning! I'm working on my scraps to treasure project this week too.

I Can't Make Just One

I made one for Amandajean in my Sew Connected virtual quilting bee, but once you get started, one is not enough. I was inspired by my little house for her and by her inspiration quilt. I made these to celebrate two commissions completed!
They're all free pieced. Each one unique. I want to keep mine simple and let the shapes and the fabric take center stage. I'd love this to be a bed sized quilt. I don't think that's going to be a problem.
If you've never made free pieced houses before, Tonya, of Lazy Gal Quilting is the queen and her tutorial for 'wonky' and 'wacky' houses will teach you everything you need to know. (Look in her sidebar under houses.)
Here is a mini tutorial for one way that I do a little house. Cut a square for the body of the house and a rectangle for the roof. Sizes aren't that important, but you might want your roof to extend over the sides of the house so keep that in mind. Cut pieces of background fabric the same width as your house. Cut two squares of background fabric the same width of the roof piece. For example, if the rectangle is 2" wide, cut 2" squares.
Sew the background pieces to each side of the house and place the squares on the roof rectangle as shown, sew diagonally from the centers to the outside corners.
Cut off the outer triangles leaving a quarter inch seam.
Press the background triangles up and you've got a roof!
Add some background fabric and sew the roof to the body of the house and you're done. With the basics of Tonya's instructions you can add doors, windows, tilt the roof, add chimneys...the sky is the limit. I bet you can't make just one!
For those of you who asked...this is the commission spiderweb quilt. It's 63 x 95 and will be used primarily as a tablecloth. It's going to a lovely home, one of those houses that you might find in Country Living magazine. The house has exposed wood beams and is filled with unique, beautiful antique furniture and country decor. My client chose the fabrics to coordinate perfectly with her room. It's going to be beautiful in her house. My favorite part is the scrappy binding.

Baby Steps

Despite a few setbacks this week, I did manage to accomplish a couple of things. I'm going to keep these private lest you think "stupid is as stupid does" should become the theme of this blog. I was able to finish my August virtual quilting bee commitments.
First are my blocks for Amy. She wanted blocks from 2" to 9.5 inches and a few in between. When I first saw her fabrics in the bag I thought...oh my, she really did pull these randomly from her scrap box. Amy is a genius...look how fabulous they are! I couldn't stop making these. Lesson learned...unexpected fabric combinations can be so fresh and interesting. This is going to be one fabulous quilt!
This one is for Amber, the first block of the second round of my Common Threads bee. It's hard to believe we've finished our first year and are on to the second. Again Amber chose fantastic fabric. She wanted us to show off those mushrooms....how cute are they!
Look who came to visit right outside my studio window. This little one and her sibling and mom had a little snack early this morning. Thanks to Bruno, I was up early enough to see them and get this shot. My Bruno is an early riser. More on Bruno later...check up at the vet today...hopefully all is well.

Have a great weekend everyone and thanks for the welcome to my new friend. He may become the star of this blog if I don't get sewing.

It's My Turn

I'm so lucky to be involved in virtual quilting bees. This is my month in the Sew Connected bee. It's not easy to decide what to do. I love bees because they are an opportunity to stretch myself both in skills and creativity. I want my month to do that for my buddies without pushing anyone over the edge. I've had this idea on my list of things to make for awhile now. It was a little hard giving it over to the group, (ideas are a little like babies for me), but after I saw the first block, I'm so glad I did.
This is the inspiration for the quilt. It's a drawing that my youngest son Jon did for me years ago. Jon is always pushing me in a modern direction.
The quilt will reside in this room in some form. I haven't decided if it will be the king sized quilt for the bed, or maybe a throw for the chair or the bottom of the bed.
I sent my sew connected buddies a very simple set of fabrics, three kona cotton solids: espresso brown, ice frappe (my fav color), and snow with the instructions to use the drawing as inspiration. I also asked that the brown be 1 inch strips so those lines would be consistent through the quilt. Tracy went for it right away and this was the first block posted. I was thrilled!! She captured the spirit of the drawing and the modern feel I was looking for. All the blocks will be different sizes and some will be very simple and some more complex. I'm looking forward to receiving them all and grappling with this puzzle and putting it together in a nifty way. More blocks have been posted...you can see them here along with the rest of the great work this group has done.

If you're not in a bee, don't wait to be asked. Gather up a group of friends and go for it. You'll be glad you did. This quilt is the result of my month in the Common Threads bee. I had such a great experience in this bee, I'm starting year two!

Thanks for all the advice and good wishes concerning my hands. I'm trying my best to be good and follow orders. It sucks being obedient.

FAQ

Well, here it is. Grab some coffee, tea or maybe a nice glass of wine. You may need it to make it through this! I hope I didn't miss anyone's question. If I did, just drop me an email. I finished the back for this quilt. I think I like it all on its own!

In the beginning...
I really haven't been quilting very long. I made two quilts back in the early 90's (one of those is still a ufo). I started quilting again for real in December of 2007 when I started this blog, so it's been a year and a half. However, I've been sewing all my life. All the women in my life sew and do handwork. My grandmother was an crochet expert. My mom taught me to sew. She was my 4-H leader and I took the usual home ec classes in school. My mom made all my clothes as a kid and sewed just about everything in our home, pillows, curtains, placemats etc. She can upholster couches and chairs. She can sew anything. When I need to know something I can ask her.

As for how I learned to quilt...I used what I knew about sewing and applied it to quilting. I read books and taught myself. The internet has been an amazing learning tool. I've never had a quilting class. Someday I'm going to remedy that!

One of you asked what level of quilter I would consider myself. I don't think I'm a beginner, but I'm not an expert either...so I guess that puts me somewhere in the middle. There are some things I do really well, other things I can't do at all. I consider myself a learner...there is so much in quilting I don't know.

Inspiration...
So, what happened in December 2007 that I became a quilter for real? I spent the last 10 years of my career as an educator traveling and working with troubled schools across the country. With a demanding job, lots of time on the road and a family to raise there really wasn't time in the day to feed my creative soul. In December I quit my job and decided to find work locally and focus on myself and my family. (There are lots of circumstances surrounding the job change, but mostly I felt I had lost myself and I found I was working in an organization which didn't have the same philosophy or ethical beliefs as I did.)

Then I happened upon an exhibit of the Quilts of Gees Bend. The quilts and the ladies of Gees Bend inspired me to pull out and dust off my sewing machine. I bought all the books and read about those quilters. Their attitude and philosophy about quilting touched something in me. The freedom, the whimsy, the confidence to do their own thing inspired me.

I stumbled onto Denyse Schmidt. A light bulb went off in my head when I discovered her...quilts can be modern. That opened a door for me. I bought her book and was ready to learn about improvisation. I was disappointed to find little in the book about process. I researched improvisational quilting and found little. Through my blog friends I learned more about Gwen Marston and some other quilters who had been working improvisationally. I looked at their work and told myself I could do that. So I gave it a try. I simply struck out on my own.
Someone asked how long it took me to do my own thing....I didn't wait until I learned the basics...I just went for it and learned as I went along. I used patterns and tutorials to practice the skills and then I did my own thing, a little at a time. It was all about one step at a time for me. There were/are lots of missteps along the way, but that's just part of the process. Mistakes are learning opportunities.
When I need an infusion of inspiration I always go back to Gee's Bend.

Tools, Tips and Quilting...
I have access to two sewing machines. My machine is a mechanical Singer. It sews a nice straight stitch and it's fine for piecing. That's about it. I bought it back in the 90's when I made my first quilt. I think it cost me less than 100 dollars. My mom has a Bernina artista 165. I sew with that as much as I can. I do as much quilting as I can on my mom's machine, but I do it on my own machine too even though it doesn't have any of the features that you need to quilt.  I just make it work.  I like to do my own quilting...there's something so satisfying about making a quilt from beginning to end.

I do wear gloves when I quilt. I find that they help me move the quilt smoothly.

I'd love to get access to a longarm and give it a try. I have some blog friends that rent time on longarms to quilt their quilts.

The wavy quilting on this quilt is done using a stitch on my mom's Bernina. Victoria shared how she does that quilting. I learned from her. Check out her blog...she does amazing work!

How do I get those nice mitered corners? The best binding tutorial on the web is from Heather Bailey...you can find it here. I do it that way.

Kigwit asked about wrangling large quilts. I wish I had an answer for this. I baste my quilts on the floor on hands and knees. Then it's quilt wrestling with my machine. I do roll my quilts to help handle the bulk. Sometimes I just move and squish and move and scrunch.

Rachel asked about how I might put these little city cabins together into a quilt. Here's a link to how to "quilt as you go." I've never done it, but I've talked to a few folks who have used this technique and they tell me it works. This is the best explanation I've found.

Fabric....
It's an obsession, an addiction....I love fabric. It inspires me. I find fabric everywhere. I love to shop at thrift stores, antique stores, vintage stores to look for interesting fabrics. I do a lot of online shopping as well. Some of my favs are:
Pink Chalk Studio
Sew Mama Sew
Cia's Palette
Contemporary Cloth
Fabric Shack
Fabricworm
J Caroline Creative
There are many more. My blog friends Anina, Jane, Kathy and Kerri have fabric shops. I try to support my blog friends businesses. There are a few etsy sellers that I like as well.

I subscribe to many fabric designer blogs as well as to fabric company blogs. I love to read about fabric and see what's new. True Up and the Fabric Shopper are two great blogs to read if you want to keep up with fabric trends.

Virtual Quilting Bees...
I belong to three virtual quilting bees: Common Threads, Block Party and Sew Connected. Common Threads was my first bee experience. What I love most about virtual bees is that they have given me the opportunity to push myself creatively. It's been a wonderful learning experience to work within another quilter's parameters: a limited amount of fabric, a time limit, and a design idea. The more open ended the idea, the more opportunity for me to stretch and develop my design skills. You can see the quilt that I did with my common threads buddies here. I highly recommend joining or starting a bee. Find a group of like minded quilters, establish a set of rules and go for it! A bee takes work...it's important to be on time, do your best work and the organizer(s) has to be vigilant and nurture the group to keep people motivated. It is a commitment. I'm am fortunate to be involved in great groups with great organizers!

A Business....
Until the show this summer, I have only sold quilts that I've done on commission. I have considered an online store many times. I still wonder if there is a market for speculation quilts. Quilts seem to me to be so personal, your colors, your style. I enjoy working directly with clients to design and make a quilt that is perfect just for them.
Tallgrass Prairie Studio is now an officially registered business. I'm doing talks to guilds, selling quilts, and yes, paying taxes. I don't know the direction of my business as of yet. I can tell you, I'm sure working on it. Could there be an online store in my future?

Time...
Finding time in the studio is always a challenge. For the first time in a very long time I don't have any children in the house. It's only been a month, but an empty nest helps! I work in the studio every morning and every evening if I can.

We're early risers here...the coffee is brewed by 5:00 a.m. at the latest. My hubby is out of town, sometimes a week at a time. That's a lot of time to fill in the evenings when he's not here. Quilting doesn't take the place of my hubby, but it helps me not miss him quite so much.
I don't sew much on weekends because hubby is at home and we like to do things together. Weekends are also the time to get all those things done that get ignored during the week. Though if he heads to his home office to work, I head to the studio.

My Process...
This was probably the hardest question to answer, but I wanted to give it a shot. Inspiration for me comes from so many places. Sometimes it's a fabric, or a set of fabrics and they just seem to tell me what should be done...at least where to start. Sometimes it's a thought, a conversation, an idea that sparks a quilt.

The other day I knocked a stack of flying geese from Anina's Geese in the Forest quilt off the table onto the floor. The way the blocks landed on the floor got me thinking. The word 'contrary' got stuck in my mind. I picked up a few of the blocks (left the rest on the floor) and made two quilts...this little one...'common ground?'

and this one 'a new direction'.

I was thinking about President Obama and the polarization of issues in our country. All from a few little flying geese blocks.

I have little moleskin sketchbooks everywhere...by my bed, in my purse, on my desk and in my car. When an idea comes to mind I jot it down...could be a couple of words, or a quick sketch or even a question..."what might happen if." I love museums...art inspires me....music too.

I'm a work as you go, quilter. I start with an idea, but it almost always changes significantly along the way. I use my design wall all the time. I audition fabrics, arrangements etc. I have lots of starts that go nowhere...maybe for months at a time, maybe never. I rarely go from a full drawing/plan to a finished quilt. I have many days where I have no ideas at all and wonder if I'll ever make another quilt.

Things in my house...
The comforter in this post came from Target. It was on the clearance rack when I bought it last fall. I don't know if it's still available.

I did my stenciled floor a long time ago. The floor boards were cleaned and run through a planer, installed and then I stenciled them. I used a purchased stencil and a stiff stencil brush. The trick to crisp lines is using a dry brush (dip in the paint and then blot till almost dry on a paper towel.) Use only an up and down stenciling motion. Make sure your stencil is flate and taped down securely. There is no stain on the floor. I used minwax polyurethane over the wood. I think I put on three coats.

How did you get so gosh darned awesome?...
I think this is a trick question. I don't know about awesome, but I can tell you that I work hard and I love what I do. I did a trunk show a month ago and a friend came up to me afterward and asked, " do you think you were always meant to do this?" I think she heard in my talk, my passion for quilting. Each quilt is an opportunity to succeed, to fail, to learn. 'Think you can, work hard, get smarter' is a phrase I used with my students when I was teaching. Success isn't a matter of luck, it's a matter of hard work. Those are words I live by.

I said earlier that with my busy life I didn't have time to feed my creative soul. Quilting does that for me. I am a better, happier person because I quilt.

Henny said in a comment the other day that Tallgrass Prairie Studio has a mission. I thought about it after her comment. My mission is to create beautiful work and to do a little good in the process.

Oh Happy Day!

Tallgrass Prairie Studio is back, at least in part. I've missed everyone. It's going to take a bit to find my stride and establish a routine, but I'm on the way.

I'm still trying to find a place for everything in the house and we still have boxes and a bit of chaos, but the sewing machine is set up and I can sew again. I can't tell you how happy I am.

I've taken over what used to be Jon's bedroom. It's a room in the basement, but as you can see I have lots of light. I like that. I tore down the shelves that used to be on the wall. They just didn't work for the studio. I have a lot of sprucing up to do. I'm going to paint the walls, but for now I'm undecided on color. I have to live here a bit to get a feel for what would work.
I had fun unpacking my supplies. My new thread cabinet found a nice place on the wall.
And I built a fabric tower. Chet found a home there and is happy lounging with the fabric. I organized all my scraps in the baskets at the bottom. Sorted by color and so much easier to get to and use.

I'm repurposing Jon's bed into a work table. I took off the headboard and I'm adding legs and a formica top. I'm so looking forward to having a large table to cut and lay out blocks. Part of the design wall is up, but it's not done either. I have loads of work to do in the studio, but at least it's functional. The room is at least twice the size of what I had before. I'm loving all the space.
I sewed for the first time last night and tackled some obligations first, a couple of blocks for Ashley in my Block Party group, and a wonky house for Sarah in my Sew Connected group.
My show is in less than two weeks. I have so much to do. This is the start of my Modern Reproduction quilt. I'm not sure if I can get it done for the show or not. I have so many other things to finish first.

Tallgrass Prairie Studio is coming to life again. I'm a happy camper.

Stretching

The reason I joined my first virtual quilting bee as well as the subsequent ones was to stretch myself. It's an opportunity to use fabrics that I wouldn't normally choose and to work within someone else's vision. Before I took off for spring break I wanted to finish all of my bee commitments. I came close. First is Lynn's for Common Threads. Lynn gave us carte blanche with her fabrics. She did suggest mini quilts within a block and that's where I took the blocks.
I've never done a whirlygiggle without background fabric. I loved playing with the placement of the fabrics and I really like how the whirlygiggles spin off the edges.
I also did a mini stacked coins for Lynn. Again, it was fun to place her fabrics and play a bit with sizes of the coins. Thanks Lynn. This is going to be one great quilt.
Over the last few weeks I've been playing with piecing circles and arcs and pushing myself into the realm of curved piecing. Just in time too, because Kristen, in my Block Party bee, challenged us to solve her quilty math problem. You can see her challenge here. I drafted a pattern for this oval...I went ahead and added a border to make it into something, though it was simply a first draft from scraps. I do really love this oval block and it's definitely going to be a quilt in the near future.
This is my first solution to Kristen's challenge. I'm not sure if I'm satisfied with how it works. Very different fabrics for me, but I enjoyed giving it my all. Her second block is still on my sewing table half way there. I'm glad I have a second try. It's been a long process, but this is the kind of push I love. Thanks Kristen.

I'm sure I'll have a GIANT stack of blocks in the mail when I get home, so if you've send anything for project improv and haven't seen it posted here...don't fret. I'll be back on Friday!

Geese in the Forest

Geese are finally arriving in my forest. These are my first blocks for Anina's Geese in the Forest BOM. I'm not usually a BOM kind of gal, but her quilt design is so great, I couldn't resist. And it's paper pieced too. I'm not a fan of that either, but again, the quilt is so cool. I'm about a month behind...I have February done...25 more of the March blocks yet to do. Finally decided on pink and orange.
I have lots to choose from for this quilt. I can't wait to see it come together. Another reason I don't like BOM's...no patience.
This is my block for Jessica's month of the Sew Connected Virtual Quilting Bee. She sent beautiful sheets and the orange linen. I added the bit of white to make my idea work. This was a fun block to design. I have two more virtual bee blocks to work on. Then my commitments are finished and I can concentrate on other things. I don't like to have commitments weighing on me...off to sew some more.
Have a great weekend!

Thank you to those of you who tried to help with my lame choices for Jon's graduation quilt. You had great ideas. I wanted to surprise the boy, but I broke down and showed him my ideas. He described my first set as pukey hospital colors. He liked the second set better, but didn't love them, so, I decided to let him take the lead. After all is said and done it's going to be his quilt. He looked over all the fabrics in my stash and chose Erin Michael's Lush. He had to choose the fabric I love the most (next to flea market fancy) and the fabric I had the hardest time getting my hands on, but he did, so I sucked it up and cut it. He also chose an aqua/blue linen for the background fabric.

He wants the quilt to be modern, minimal and masculine. A challenge to be sure. This quilt is going to be made collaboratively with my Common Threads Virtual Quilting Bee buddies. I'm not sure I could find better creative hands to put this quilt in than theirs. I haven't quite decided on the final structure of the quilt. I do know that the blocks the group is making will be large...15 inches finished. I know they're up to the challenge...it's going to be fabulous!

Project Improv Update:
We now have 185 participants in the project. It's wonderful having all of you in the project and seeing all the wonderful blocks and improv pieces that are being created.

Here are the folks whose blocks have arrived this week:
Marie - 1 block
Maggie - 5 blocks (wowsers!!!)
Leslie - 1 block (those pushpins are so pretty! thanks for the fabric too!)
Doris - 1 block (thanks for the pillowcase pattern...i can actually follow this one!)
Erica E - 1 block
Katie P - 2 blocks (thanks for the fabric...i made it into binding for the orange/pink quilts...it was perfect! thanks!)
Heather O - 2 blocks
Bison Girl (Erika) - 1 block
Alison S. - 1 block
Betty Ninja - 1 block
Mary P - 1 block

Thanks so much to each of you. Thanks for using great fabrics, thanks for caring about construction and doing quality work. The quilts are going to be fabulous because you put so much into your blocks!

This is Tia's quilt. Just one example of the stunning improv quilts that can be seen in the Project Improv flickr group. Photo used with Tia's permission. I'm giddy over this quilt as well as lots of others in the group.

If you have a minute, you might want to take a gander at these too. Amazing work, ladies!
Laura J's Sunshine quilt
Alissa's Flora and Fauna
Maggie's Cutie
Amber's Long and Lean
VickiVictoria's Scrap Quilt
Tia's Wall Hanging
Victoria's spring quilt
AmandaJeans pink doll quilt
Angie's one of three improv quilts
Lisa's Aloha! quilt
Bison Girl's six crosses quilt

These folks must be so proud to have finished pieces. Don't feel bad if you haven't started your block or started your project. There's lots of time. Blocks aren't due until April 1st. I'm with you...still thinking about mine.

From An Overflowing Scrap Box...

It all started with some overflowing scrap boxes. I had to do something to get it under control, so I started cutting 2 x 4 inch rectangles. Before I knew it I had all of these. I also had this white on white print that I was going to use in another project, but it drove me nuts so I threw it in the scrap box too. (it was so hard to tell which was the right side). After some mindless cutting and chain sewing this is what I came up with, my version of a coin quilt (crib sized) and a doll quilt to boot. These are some of my very favorite fabrics from the scrap box; flea market fancy, amy butler, urban chicks swell, farmer's market along with a few others.
A couple more additions to the "need to be quilted" list. That's one LONG list!

I finished Ashley's spiderweb blocks for the Block Party quilting bee. She sent a gorgeous piece of linen and a bunch of beautiful fabric strips. The block is really easy and I actually had a good paper piecing experience. This is going to be one stunning quilt. I made a couple for myself too....I think I'll keep making them every once and awhile until I have a quilt.
Lastly, these are my maverick star blocks that are on their way to Tia for the Bushfire Quilt Project (see my last post for details). Thanks to everyone who headed over and offered to help! Another super simple block to make. Can't believe I haven't made these before. Victoria has made a great tutorial on making maverick starts in case you need a little help. Wish I had seen it earlier!
Project Improv update coming soon. I have a bunch of envelopes to open.

Be Still My Heart Times Two

I have been doing some sewing. Thanks to some inspiration from Oiyi's block in my Common Threads virtual quilting bee, I have two more quilt tops waiting to be quilted. I'm not really a heart person, but there was something about this block that made me want to make more. I made a total of 12...6 red and 6 pink. At first I thought they would all be in the same quilt. Didn't work....so, plan B...two quilts. Ah, improvisation...best laid plans get changed!
Here's the first one in the red. I played with how to create a quilt from just 6 blocks. I added more sashing in cream to make the hearts stand out more and then offset them with some rich red kona cotton. This one is a nice lap size. It didn't say baby to me anymore so I made it larger. Sorry about the picture..but for some reason I just couldn't get a good picture of these quilts.
Here's the pink version. Again, I played with how to set the 6 blocks. I like how nothing competes with the hearts. This one definitely has a baby feeling and it's crib sized. I'm in love with this quilt.

I actually saved my notes and measurements and wrote down a few things. Maybe these could become patterns?
I'm so proud...I made something I've never made before. A wallet. I know, seems easy, but I'm intimidated by things like wallets and purses and clutches. The front is a nice linen...I like the choice of button and the loop.
Flip it over and you know what might be inside. It's a tea wallet. Is that not the cutest idea ever? Don't you just love the one little polka dot on the saucer? I wish I could say I planned it that way.
Open it up and there are little pockets to put your tea bags. This one is going to my mother in law. She's a tea freak. I'm not really pleased with the topstitching. My little Singer doesn't do well with bulk. I'm definitely going to make more of these. I used this tutorial and added my own little touch of the appliqued tea cup.