Sew It – Show It: When Pigs Fly

/ quiltinggail

June 19

Joan, of Moose Stash Quilting dreamed up this blog hop!!! At first I wasn’t sure if I could do a quilt with a pig on it. Boy, was I not thinking or paying attention!!!! Of course, with the PHD in 2023 happening on my blog, this blog hop is right up my alley!

Of course I have PIGS

  • PIGS: (Projects In Grocery Sacks)… they might not be in grocery sacks, but I have them!!!
  • UFOs??? (UnFinished Objects) Of course, I have a list … and I keep finding more!!
  • WIPS (Works in Progress) … usually many many of those!

Here’s what Joan had to say in May: Our next month’s challenge is all about those pesky projects that we haven’t finished. If you haven’t joined already, you might want to look in the corners of your sewing area and see if there isn’t something you can finish and share with us, too! 

It’s never too late to finish a PIG, UFO or WIP … but you can certainly go find one and work on it!

My “When Pigs Fly”

I’ve had my 2022 “Nutcracker” (by Helen Godden) on my To Do list as a UFO since Christmas. I decided it was time … time to ‘get-er-done’!

I have done several projects, guided by Helen Godden. You can visit her website HERE … she has some free patterns and there are Youtube videos to guide you in your quilting. The first picture is “Flower Power” and each block is around 8-9″ square (you can read about it HERE) and the 2nd picture is the Merry Christmas from 2020 or ’21.

I had outlined the Nutcracker with a sharpie. and had coloured it in with Inktense pencils. I used Aloe Vera to set the colour, sandwiched it with Hobbs Batting – Thermore (which is perfect for wall hangings) … and it has sat and sat and sat …

In May, I pulled it out … and started to work on it. The first thing I needed to do was all of the outlining with black thread. I used Aurifil Thread #2692. I started that and within about 30 minutes, I was bored. I did think about tossing it aside, but I resisted. I looked at the youtube video to see what the December 1 stitching was. It was the cap/crown. OK … so I continued to do the outlining until I reached the cap/crown. Figuring that I would do the rest of the outlining as I went along! December 1 was the cap/crown … easy peasy, December 2 was the red part of the crown … easy peasy … and on it went … checking out each day and stitching as directed.

I didn’t take a picture of each day’s directions, but I took a few as I went along. I completed the quilting in about 3 days … doing a little here and a little there. (So I obviously did not do one day at a time!)

In the following pictures, you should be able to see the progress … and yes, the definite imperfections!

When I went to outline the “Merry Christmas,” I realized that Helen had coloured hers in black. So, I pulled out my trusty “Stained” Sharpies and coloured mine in as well. This was easier and faster than pulling out my Inktense pencils and Aloe Vera gel.

Here is my finished Nutcracker from the back. I cut out 3″ squares of the binding fabric and folded it in half to give me the corner hangers.

And from the front where I used Aurifil Thread #2311 (Muslin) for the background quilting.

Other Piggy Participants

Here’s a list of everyone that’s participating in the blog hop! I’m exited to see what everyone’s been working on!

Monday June 19

Tuesday June 20

Wednesday June 21

Thursday June 22

Pinterest

Joan has set up a Pinterest Board where you can see all of the projects from this blog hop. It’s HERE.

One who sleeps under a quilt is covered by LOVE!

Happy Quilting! 
Gail 

42 thoughts on “Sew It – Show It: When Pigs Fly”

  2. Pingback: Sunday Summary: June 25 | Quilting Gail

  9. Excellent! I love watching Helen ‘do’ her magic. She does quilting with such grace and without all the ‘nitpicking’ that I do with my things. Your nutcracker is wonderful – love that you finished a project.

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  11. This is absolutely amazing. I’ve never seen this type of embroidery before. I’m not sure which side I like more. Both sides are stunning. WOW

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  12. You did a great job! I downloaded the Nutcracker but couldn’t figure out how to follow along. Just as well since I always have plenty to work on. ha! Love all the quilting you did on this project. Thank you for sharing!

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    • Hi Sue,
      The quilting is just what Helen’s tutorials said to do … well, mostly, because there are places where I didn’t follow her directions very well … but it’s fine with me! Happy Quilting!

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  14. Oh my goodness, Gail, that nutcracker is stunning! I have never colored fabric with markers, but I may have to try it. Your flowers and Merry Christmas pieces are so beautiful. Thank you for showing your PIGS!

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  17. Oh Gail, I have saved some of Helen’s designs, but have yet to start any of them. You might just have given me the kick in the pants to do so. I love your finishes. Seeing that Nutcracker come to life is so exciting! Thanks for sharing this fabulous finish with us all.

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  19. Gail, I absolutely LOVE this!! You do such a fantastic job with the quilting. I’m not very good at quilting on my domestic, but I never practice. I love Helen’s work and did try one square when our guild did a zoom lesson a couple of years ago. We used Jacquard paints which were really stiff. I think I would like the Inktense and aloe better. Thanks for sharing your process!!

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    • Thanks, Brenda! I only quilt on my domestic … so I do get lots of practice! I do notice a slight stiffness with the aloe … but it’s not bad! Happy Quilting! 🙂

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  20. Wow how pretty! Loved seeing your process, and the colors turned out so well. I had not heard of Stained markers, so I’ve added those to my “want list”. Your quilting looks beautiful too. Nice finish!

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