Exciting news!

Today, my blog was featured over at Confessions of a Fabric Addict.  I was very honored to be chosen.  It was really fun to see which quilts she selected to show.  Thank you, Sarah.

Today, I ironed the fabrics for the preemie quilt.  I made my flying geese and decided what to do for the strips between the geese.  I got it all pieced and pressed just before we went to my daughter's for dinner.  I asked Tom to take the photo because my camera sees yellow, then all other colors disappear. This is a very warm and cheery quilt.  Now, I have to find some flannel that matches and is just as warm and bright.  I am hoping I can find something in cheddar.  The search is on tomorrow.  This quilt will finish at 24" x 30".

I hope everyone had a great Mother's Day.
Joyful quilting, Miki

A beautiful exchange quilt and more work on En Vino Veritas

This incredibly beautiful quilt was made by Victoria Findlay Wolfe.  She hosted an challenge exchange over at 15 Minutes Play.  The challenge was to make something from nothing into a 12" finished quilt using the fabric making techniques we use on that site.  I have been loving all the quilts people have been making for each other, and I especially loved this one.  I was so excited today when I saw the postman put a squishy into my mail box.  Then, when I saw Victoria's return address, I was even more excited.  I am one very lucky woman to have received this quilt.  This is the quilt I made for the challenge.  It is on its way to its new home right now.

In other news of the day, I got back to working on En Vino Veritas.  I trimmed and pressed and finished piecing all 96 B units, so now I have two stacks ready to put together into squares.

I did get four blocks put together and up on the design wall so we could all get some sense of what it is going to look lie all together.  I am not really sure right now if the sage green was a good choice for the background, but I am going to live with it.  I really liked it at first, mostly because I like the color and the weight of the cotton is wonderful.  I am sure it will be fine when all is said and done.

I also washed the new fat quarters I got for the next preemie quilt.  I really don't like washing fat quarters because there is so much raveling, but it needs to be done for these quilts.  I have picked fabrics in cheddar, orange, and olive green.  Not really baby fabrics, but they are bright and cheerful.  I am going to make flying geese for this one.  Now, I have to find backing flannel that works with these colors.  Hopefully, I will have something to show you on this one tomorrow.
Happy Mother's Day to all of you who do mom-like things.
Joyful quilting, everyone.

Productive Studio Day

I had a great day in the studio today.  It has been a while since I had a whole day to play.  I built five blocks, quilted one, and added decorative stitches to another. 

The first block was a practice piece so I could try reverse applique.  When I was growing up, my mother had a wonderful wall hanging called a mola.  It was made by layering different colored fabric, then cutting out small designs and needle turning the raw edges.  I have always wanted to try this technique, so today I grabbed some pinks from the stash.  I started by drawing a large circle on a 9.5 inch piece of fabric.  Then I put another piece of fabric face up behind the circle and stitched on the circle line.  I cut away the top fabric close to the stitching, then covered the edge with a fancy stitch.  Next, I drew a smaller circle on the top fabric that overlapped the first circle.  I selected a new fabric to put in back, and followed the same procedure, using a different fancy stitch.  The third circle is smaller and has a dark fabric.  I cut away the extra fabric on the back as I went.  I quilted it with echo stitching on the machine.  The fabric at the bottom right is the binding wrapped on card stock.  Here is a detail shot of the fancy stitching.

After I finished this one, I decided to create a new Alzheimer's quilt out of a piece I started earlier.  I added a narrow turquoise border, and some meanders of decorative stitches.  I like where it is going, but I have to be careful about the size.  I took this photo before I pressed the borders.  They are actually even but the angle I took the photo makes them look crooked.

I made two new blocks for the Market Basket quilt.  I am really loving this quilt.  My goal is to make two blocks a day until I have 25.  As I cut each food fabric for the block, I also cut the rectangles needed for the sashing.  I will put them all together when I have all the blocks together

Finally, I cut some flannel for a new preemie quilt and built a block.  Unfortunately, I didn't buy enough of the fabric on the outside, so I will have to make another trip to the fabric store.   Too bad ;)  Don't you just love the little pink elephant?

March Preemie Quilt

Today, I decided to make my March preemie quilt.  I pulled out some fabric I washed and ironed, and made the cuts I needed.  I really like the bright colors in these fabrics.  After lots of sewing small seams, I came up with this.

I will add a border of the dot fabric at the bottom and another border of the owl fabric at the top.  These small quilts are 24" x 30".  The owls in this fabric are so cute.

Bella's Quilt

I finished piecing and quilting Bella's quilt late last night. Bella loved the tiny hearts in the mauve fabric and in fun hearts in the red fabric. I decided to use hearts to quilt this small piece. It turned out to be 17"x15". Bella gave it to her Grandma Edwards this afternoon.

While I was putting Bella's quilt together, I also pieced this preemie quilt. I recently learned a great tip about how to save thread, save time clipping, and work on two quilts at once. You know that little piece of fabric you use at the beginning and ending of chain stitching that ends up with serious leggy strings? A quilting pal told me she creates her preemie quilts by using those blocks as the starters and enders on these strings. So, I started doing that. Instead of throwing away thread filled scraps, I ended up with a preemie quilt top. This is a very valuable tip.

Quilting Fabric Choices

Here is the preemie quilt with the borders. I am wondering if I should have done a dark green border to match the sashing before I put on the yellow. I like it this way, and I have a size constraint, so this works for this one. I will have to try it differently next time. I could do six 8" blocks with sashing and borders next time and stay within the size limits. By the way, I have decided to embrace the wonkiness, so I have called this Wonky Zoo, which brings me to the fabrics.

I chose not to use my stash for this one because I didn't really have anything for babies. I went shopping at my local large chain fabric store. All the fabrics in this quilt are from their line, and I am not thrilled with the quality. The overall animal pattern on the light fabric is cute, but the fabric is hard to work with. It constantly sheds along the edges. The dark green has an overall dot pattern that is very wonky. Just when you think you have figured out a straight line, it has a tilt, like a screen was used and turned very slightly every time it was moved. I think this could be effective if done a little better. I guess you get what you pay for. In the long run, you make quilts to last. It is worth spending the extra money to get really great fabric. There are always sales online if you look.

Here is the first in my larger block practice stars. This one did not quite work out. I think if I had actually followed the measurements on the pattern, it might have worked better. I, of course, had to resize it. From now on, I will either look for patterns in the size I want, or change the size I make to the pattern size. Lesson learned. I will learn how to resize as I improve, I am sure. For now, I will find another star to practice on, and find cut fabrics for a disappearing nine patch I want to make. So far, I have found the inspiration fabric and a few to go along with it. I will show you what I come up with when I find the fabrics.

Wonky Star Quilt Blocks

This is the progress I have made so far on the preemie quilt. It is on the small quilt wall waiting for the rest of the sashing and the borders. When it is finished, it will be 24" by 30". I have a bright yellow check for the borders. I will probably bind it with the dark green, since I have quite a bit of it. Some of the stars are a bit wonky. Thank can be a good thing if it is intentional and all of them meet the criteria of wonkiness. Unfortunately, in this case it is because I need loads of practice. I plan on doing a lot of that this year.

I plan on creating many star blocks this year. I started one this afternoon. I am using scraps, which is a good thing since I am having a bit of difficulty. I may have picked a block a bit above my current skill level, but I figure I have to learn somehow. One important thing I have learned is that my old machine does not really like straight lines. I have figured out a couple of tricks to help me with that. Again, I just need to practice. Tomorrow, I will finish the new block and the preemie quilt top. I will put up photos if I get my camera battery charged.

The Redesigned Studio

I have been working in different mediums in my wonderful studio over the past couple of years. For each, I have changed things around. During each change, my sewing machine stayed in a small dark corner. Not so, now. Quilting has taken over. Everything is easily reached. I have my big cutting mat, that my wonderful sister-in-law got for me, on my big table. I moved my sewing machine to the small table where I can simple turn in my chair and stitch. I have my stash in my bedroom just waiting for a shelving unit for the studio. In the meantime, I am having a great time in my redesigned studio.

I have started working on a preemie quilt for my quilt guild's charity project. The group, Cedar River Quilters, makes and donates 250+ preemie quilts to the NICU at a local hospital. I am excited to be making my first one. You can see the progress in the photo above. I am going to focus and star blocks this year, and this is my first one. One of my goals is to create a star sampler quilt. I have loads to learn, but am really enjoying it all.