Teacher Gail's quilt, Julie's quilt, and more

 

Well, I finally have something more to share.  This having a real job is really cutting into my quilting time!  Anyway, about a year ago, I donated a coupon for a quilt for the auction at Bella's pre-school.  On the day it was to expire, the person who purchased it got in touch and we finally got together to talk about what she might want.  After looking at my blog, she decided on something bright and 15 Min play style.  We met at a local fabric store, and she selected some of my favorite colors in batiks.  I told her it would be a while, but I didn't realize just how much time it was going to take.  I have managed to make the first five of the 20 blocks I want for the top.  I promised to post the progress, so Julie, here is what I have so far.  I hope you like it. 

It being the end of another school year, and Bella's last year in pre-school, I wanted to make a quilt for her teacher, Gail.  Gail is one of the best pre-school teachers I have met.  She teaches the little ones and at the same time, the high school students who are learning about teaching little ones.  Bella has had a great year.  She did a little sleuthing and learned that Gail loves green, so I had fun gathering green fabrics.  Have you tried the virtual quilt wall at The Old Country Store?  I love this store.  Fabric is beautiful, and most reasonably priced.  Shipping is fast and also very reasonable.  And now, they have a place where you can put all the fabrics you want to see together before you add them to your shopping cart.  Can't beat it.

Gail was very surprised by her quilt, and Bella was proud to be able to give it to her.  I love it when people like the quilts I make.  Bella did a great job choosing the color.

In a completely different direction is this months Improvirobin piece that came my way.  I absolutely love it!  So far, this is the work of five very talented people.  I hope my addition, whatever it will be, will add to the wonderfulness of this piece.  I may have to try and recreate something similar so I can have it on my wall.

I leave you with this inspiration.  I just know it is a quilt waiting to be born. This is the first year since we moved in that the clematis bloomed fully.  It is a real beauty.  Many of our neighbors have very full vines, so I am very happy to see ours has come back to life.

I have a little bit of work to do tomorrow, but I hope to have time in the studio again.  Oh!  I almost forgot to tell you about the new quilt shop I found today.  Gossypium opened in Issaquah four months ago, but I just heard about it today.  It is fabulous!  I know I will be spending more time there, and probably more money.  I am so happy to have a new quilt store in the area that carries fabrics that I like.  If you live in the area, and haven't stopped by yet, it is in Gilman Village on the back side of the building with the clock tower.  Enjoy!

Have a great weekend everyone.  Joyful quilting.

 

 

 

 

H2H 2013

 

These are my two H2H quilts for this year.

Project photos

I see it has been nearly a month since I last posted.  When I went back to work, I didn't realize it would cut so much into my quilting time.  Learning a new job can be quite time consuming.  I am seeing the light at the end of the tunnel, and hope to have more quilting time in the near future.  In the meantime, I have done a few small projects and here are the photos.

 

First, I made a couple of hot pads for Tom to take with him to France as gifts.

I also made him a Kindle cover for his new toy.  I made it out of one of his old shirts.  Very cool.

I added my part to the Improvirobin for this month.  This one will end up with Willa, so I hope she likes what I added.  I had to borrow fabric from her African fabric stash.  I also added some of my own fabric, including a piece from a shirt from Africa that I wore before I lost all my weight. 

I made my May AAQI quilt top.  I just have to quilt and bind it before I register it.  I will do that tomorrow.

I also finished the second top for my H2H challenge for this year.  It is much brighter than I usually work.  It is a D9P.  That dark blue square in the top center sure does stand out.  Hmmmm.

Bella has been working on her own projects while I work with fabric.  We are enjoying our Wednesdays together in the studio.

Joyful quilting, everyone.

 

 

 

 

 



Studio weekend

Last weekend, Tom helped me switch my studio to a larger room, trading with a bedroom.  Now there is room for Bella and me.

Bella's corner of the new studio - or at least part of it.

My corner of the new studio.  The design wall stayed in the other room, but I am now in with all the fabric and there is much more room for both of us. That is very important on Wednesdays when we have our shared studio day.

The first thing I did this weekend was finish up my addition to the April Improvirobin block that came my way.  It started out like this.  I am the third person to add to the original.  As you can see, there have been big changes.  When I first saw the original, I fell in love with the rich reds, oranges, and golds in the center.  When it came to me, I decided to make some fabric of those same rich colors to add to two of the sides.  It will go to three more people before it goes back to the originator.  If you are interested to watch the progress of all seven quilts, take a few minutes to look through the Flickr site.  This year's group starts with this one.

I also worked on one of my H2H quilts for this year.  You can read more about that project over at Confessions of a Fabric Addict.  These blocks are going to make a D9P.  I do like that pattern.

Last, but really not least, I participated in a scrap swap over at 15 Minutes Play.  Margaret from New Jersey, and I decided to fill the small flat rate boxes from the post office.  I think she got more fabric stuffed in the box she sent me than I did for her.  These are just a few that I pulled to play with today.

This New York City scrap was my inspiration.  Don't you just love it!

After fun sewing, cutting, then sewing again, I came up with this 24" x 24" beauty.  The amazing thing about the box of scraps is that there was only one very small piece of fabric that I actually had in my stash.  Everything else was totally new to me.  What fun it is to improve together something from new scraps.

My new job is keeping me very busy, so I probably won't post again until next Sunday.  Have a great week, everyone, and joyful quilting.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



Big changes and little quilts

 

I recently finished this 9" x 12" quilt for a Craftsy class with Gloria Loughman.  I am very pleased with how it turned out.  Selecting the fabrics was a challenge, since I only wanted to use what I had on hand.  The process for making this quilt was quite complex for me, but worth it in the long run.  I can definitely recommend this Linear Landscapes class if you want to make a landscape quilt and if you are a Gloria Loughman fan.  Included in the class is a template for making a landscape, but she also includes ideas about how to create your own template from a photograph or out of your head.  I used a photo from a hike Tom and I took on Kauai several years ago.  The mountain in the background is named after Queen Victoria and really looks like her profile in person. I have painted this picture, and now I have quilted it. I like the quilt best.

As for the big changes, Bella has a new little sister, Hadley Elizabeth, born on March 28.  We also have a new little grandson, Ulysse, born on March 30 in Nantes, France.  Tom will be heading over to meet him in a few weeks.  That brings me to another big change.  I have joined the work force!  With Bella in pre-school part of the day on four days, I found myself with time to go out and earn some much needed money.  I am working as an assistant to a real estate appraiser.  It is a steep learning curve, but I find it very interesting and rewarding.  I still have Bella all day on Wednesday, and we go to our ballet classes in the morning, then spend the rest of the day in the studio making new and wonderful creations.

I have all the rows for the Criss Cross quilt put together.

 

I can see there are going to be some challenges sewing them all together.  I have to take the first two rows apart and try and address the problems.  Right now, I am just enjoying the rows on the design wall.  It has a lot of energy and I really want to keep that with my design fixes.  This will take some time and thought.  I also have several quilts I need to make, the round robin to stretch my skills, and at least four more AAQI quilts to make.  It looks like I will be a very busy woman for a while.  This makes me happy.

Until next time, joyful quilting, everyone.

 

The March installment of Improvirobin

 

As you know, if you follow my blog, I have decided to join the Improvirobin round robin again this year.  This month was a big challenge for me.  I wish I could post the original photo here, but you will have to go over to the flickr site to see the start for this one.

This is the block as it arrived at my house.  As you can see, Abby changed the placement of the second half of Chatelaine's name.  She also added the fantastic foundation pieced daffodils, daffodil fabric and the green fabric.  That gave me some direction, but I still had a great deal of trouble deciding what to do with that direction.

 

I knew I wanted to add a bird.  In particular, I wanted to add this foundation pieced frigate bird designed by Linda Hibbert.  First, I had to find it.  Then, I had to make it.  This is 4" x 6", and the bird is very small.  Once it was done, I had some ideas.  This is what I ended up with.

I hope it is easier for the next person to find her direction than it was for me.  Even with all my problems, I am happy with my addition.

 

 



Two more finishes

About a year and a half ago, I started this piece as a project for Modern 8 Create.  I decided to hand quilt it.  It had very irregular edges, and I wanted to keep them but wasn't sure how. I took the quilted piece to a Rebels meeting and facing was suggested.  That is what I ended up doing.  I finished it yesterday while trying to keep my cold germs away from Bella.  When I got home, I hung it in the hall next to the door to my studio.  I am very pleased with how it looks there.  Tom thinks I hung it too low, but he is much taller than I am, so it looks that way to him. Always something to consider when hanging wall quilts.

The other finish this week is this small AAQI quilt.  I have been a member of the quilt-a-month group since it started.  Each month, they send out an optional theme for color, design, and fabric.  I don't usually follow them, mostly because I am obstinate, but this month I decided I liked two of the themes: rainbow trout and plaid fabric.  I also decided to embellish this one with ribbon and beads.

You can see the beads better in this detail shot.  I really love piecing plaid scraps together, so this was great fun.  I am going to register it this morning.  Most of my mini-art quilts have sold, but there are a few still on sale. (numbers at the bottom of this post)  AAQI will close its site at the end of this year, having reached its goal of raising a million dollars toward Alzheimer's research.  There are still some great pieces for sale at the site, and it is for such a worthwhile cause.  To take a look - AAQI Quilts for Sale.

I am going to work on getting well this weekend, and I hope that includes some quilting time.

Joyful quilting, everyone.

 

 

Numbers of my AAQI quilts still for sale:  8832, 10897, 11132, 12030, 12326, 13101

 

 

 

Three Finishes

 

This is a UFO from over a year ago.  It was a mystery quilt.  This is the second piece I have finished for the fund raising auction. I am very happy to have one more UFO finished.

 

 

This is the finished quilt for Bella's baby sister to be.  We are expecting Hayden's arrival any time now.  I backed this one with flannel.

 

 

The last finished quilt is for our grandson who is due in May.  He and his parents live in France, so this one will be boxed with some other baby gifts and put in the mail in a few weeks.

 

I am very happy to have these done and checked off the to-do list.  Now, on to finishing up Criss Cross, the string quilt, the March AAQI quilt, and Bella's big sister quilt.  What fun!

Joyful quilting, everyone.

 

 

Some Progress

 

This is the finished top I made for Bella.  It is on the frame now waiting to be quilted.  It will be her big sister gift when the new baby comes in a few weeks.

 

 

February's AAQI mini was great fun to make.  I had great fun pulling spring solids from my very small stash of solids.  I need to get more since I have decided I like working with them.

 

 

I belong to the Business and Professional Women's Organization and we are having our scholarship fund raising gala next month.  Instead of a silent auction, we have been asked to donate a wrapped gift or two for each table that people may bid on.  I decided to make a set of six place mats.  Once again, I pulled from my small solids stash and some scraps from another recent quilt top.  I hope whoever wins the bid enjoys them.

 

Each one is a little unique, which makes it a fun set.

I have a couple of finished quilts I will post photos of tomorrow.  I am sorry to have been away so much, but I picked up a bug that laid me low for a while.  I am feeling better now, but Tom has been struck now. Hopefully, full health will return to our house soon.

Joyful quilting, everyone.

 

 

 

Starting a week in the studio

Each year, I make a new heart for Tom for Valentine's Day.  This is the newest addition.  The technique is new to me.  I have wanted to try this for a while.  It is layers of fabric that are sewn together then cut through to expose other layers.  I am pleased with this heart, but I don't think I would use this technique again.  Here is a peak at the last three.

My favorite is the one on the bottom right.  That is last year's.  Each of these is small enough to be considered a mug rug.

This is the tea towel challenge so far.  If you want to see some very cool challenge entries, hop over to 15 Minutes Play. My Bella has had quite a bit of input into this one.  It is for her.  

 

I am hoping to get much done this week in the studio  I want to finish the tea towel challenge.  I also need to get my February AAQI quilt done and registered tomorrow.  It is started, but I need to quilt it.  I will work in the Criss Cross string quilt, and some other fun things I haven't thought of yet. 

Joyful quilting, everyone.

 

 

Catching up

This is where I am so far with the D9P quiltalong hosted by Freda at Adventures of the Empress of the Universe. Take a look at what is being done at the Flickr site.  I still have a few units to add and some rearrangements to make before I start sewing this top together.

In the meantime, I have finished sewing Bella's baby sister's quilt top together.  I have the backing for it and I think I am going to use that satiny feeling blanket binding just for the texture.  This is very different from the extra bright one for the grandson due in May.  Now I need to quilt them both.

In a completely different direction, I finished the mini spider web top.  I did a few new things for this quilt.  The spider web, the Dresden plates, and the piano keys are all new for me.  The top and bottom borders are from a cotton linen jacket that was a size 18.  Now that I am a size 8, I thought it would be nicer to use it in a quilt rather than keep it around to grow back into.  It was too nice to throw away, and I liked the colors so I kept it.

Lastly, I finished my addition to the first round of the 2013 Improvi-Robin.  Take a look and see what is going on this year.  Most of us from last year joined again, and we added a couple of new people.  You can see below that block I received.  The rules for this Robin encourage improvisation.  I really enjoyed playing with this start.  All the rest of them are going to be just as much fun.

I am still working on the Criss Cross string quilt.  I spent some time cutting strips to measure today for another couple or rows. I figure if I have units cut and ready to sew, I can sew a unit or two when I have a few free minutes. It won't be fast, but it will get done.

Tomorrow, I will be working in the studio while Tom watches the Super Bowl. I will post what I get done.  Until then, joyful quilting everyone.

 

 

 

 

 

Some old and some new

Remember my Improvi-Robin quilt from last summer?  I have finally decided to get it finished.  I found some Alexander Henry fabric when I was out with my sister.  Actually, she found it and I bought it.  I also found some of the fabric Stephanie used on the left and bottom so I could add more to the top.  I cut out the three ladies and put them near the top.  I have fabric for the back so now all I need is the thread.

Here are the three ladies a little closer.

I am also working on a couple of baby quilts.  Bella is going to have a little sister in April and our oldest son and his wife who live in France are having a boy in May.  The baby girl quilt is not as far along as the baby boy quilt.  I still need fabric for the sashing.  

This one is for the baby boy.  I know his parents like bright colors.  I hope he does as well.

Lastly, I think I have finally figured out how to make a quilt similar to this one.

The antique is hand sewn and the strips are much narrower, but I am not one for such fussy sewing on a large scale.  This strip is 6" wide.  The strips are cut 1 1/4" wide and the base triangles are from a 2 1/2" square.  I made the first one on a piece of paper just to get the measurements, then I chain pieced the next four.  Now, I only have 75 units to go. I am making this from goodwill shirts and scraps.  It will take a while, but I think it is going to be very cool when done.

Back to the spiderweb quilt another day.

Joyful quilting, everyone.

Spider Web Part 2 and 3

You know that place in a quilt where it can look like a hot mess?  This quilt got to that place after several hours.  I kept at it though until I got to this place.

Everything was sewn together, pressed, and trimmed, ready to sew together.

I decided early on that I wasn't going to try to make every seam match.  I was hoping that the centers would match a little better, but am not too unhappy with the results.

I decided to use some of my favorite orange fabric for the next part, but it was too plain.

Dresden plates!  Yes.  Just the thing.  So what next?  I found three fabrics to audition.  First, I used some of my favorite Alexander Henry fabric for a border.

  

I liked them all, but decided to go with the top one.  Hopefully, I will get time to get back to this over the weekend.  In the meantime, I have a few other pieces I am working on. I will post them a little later.

Joyful quilting, everyone.