Playing and cutting

After spending the morning going to my ballet class and picking up Bella at her new pre-school, I had to run around doing some errands.  When I got home, I wasn't sure I was up to going into the studio, but after lunch and a Reginicare, I was ready to play.  This one really only took me 15 minutes.  I put it with the other three and I couldn't resist trying them against a dark background.

This first piece I found was really too small to get the full effect, but I decided it was too dark, and too blue/teal.  I wanted something darker, but not this.  I rooted around for a larger piece of fabric I could live with.

I found this piece of batik I had been hoarding and petting for a long time.  I think I have a little over a yard and a half.  I really like the way it works with these light blocks.  I am going to measure carefully and what I have will determine the size of this project.  Who knew I would enjoy working with lights? 

After playing with the lights, I turned my attention to the Marcia Derse group.  I re-did my math for the third time and finally felt comfortable enough to start cutting.  My finished quilt will have 12 14" blocks like the block I showed yesterday.  The sashing will be 2 1/2" wide and I will have two borders.  As you can see, I am using very light sashing.  It is a pale blue batik and it goes nicely with all the Derse fabrics I have.  Each little pile is for one block.  I discovered that I can make two blocks with each quarter yard of Derse fabric.  Next time, I will buy more.  Does anyone out there know where I can buy more here in the Seattle area? 

Ballet class was much harder today because we used the barre for the first time.  On Wednesdays, we rely on balance, so I am not able to stretch as far. I know I am going to feel this tomorrow. Taking up ballet at 65 is quite an adventure.  I am very glad I am blessed with a good sense of humor.

Until next time, joyful quilting - and dancing - everyone.

 

 

 

Post #300 - Whoohoo!

I finished this little AAQI quilt.  It is dedicated to Lori Crammer who is the mother of a friend's friend.  There are so many people I know who have friends and family affected by this terrible disease, Alzheimer's.   If you want to help raise funds for research toward the elimination of this disease, and get a little bit of quilt art for your wall, stop by the AAQI site and look at all the beautiful quilts for sale.  I know I mention this each month, but I believe these folks are doing a good thing and I want to help spread the word.

The other day, when we went to La Conner and bought the Marcia Derse fabric, I started toying with an idea for a quilt.  I had seen some pieces in the Japanese quilt exhibit based on a game called Genji Koh.  I really liked the designs, so I very loosely interpreted them with this one. In fact, it is so loosely interpreted, the people who know this game would probably not recognize my inspiration.  I made a block up using some batiks I like to see if I really like the design.  I will use this for a pillow, I think.  It is 18" square.  When I put four of them together, using the magic of Photoshop, it looks like this.

I have enough of the Derse to make 16 blocks, and I bought enough light batik to use as background.  There will be six different Derse fabrics in the quilt.  I think it will go together pretty quickly, once I get all the pieces cut.  Now, I am wishing I had purchased more of the Derse, but I will keep looking for them on sale.  Ha-ha.

I was trying to figure out how to celebrate my 300th post on this blog.  I could get all philosophical about why I blog, or why I quilt.  I could have built a collage of the highlights of what I have posted since I started quilting.  Instead, I will leave you with a photo of the first quilt I made when I started quilting again in 2010.

It is made with a layer cake of Sandy Gervais's Tranquility for Moda.  I had such difficulty with the layout of this quilt, I thought I would never get it done.  The trouble I had quilting it on my old Bernina prompted Tom to purchase me a mid-arm machine and Little Gracie frame for my birthday that year.  It has been all uphill since then.  I love quilting.  I love blogging about quilting.  I love the online quilting community.

With that said, joyful quilting everyone.

 

 

 

 

Broderie perse and the Union Square Block

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This week's block from Grandmother's Choice is called Union Square. Before I started this block, I decided I wanted to have a more uniform look to the backgrounds for each block. I dug through my light colored batiks and came up with a couple of larger pieces. They will last me a little while. This block was fairly easy to make and Tom and I both like it the best so far. Of course, I had to remake the other two using the new background

This is the remake of the first one I did, Grandmother's Choice.

I remade Amethyst changing it up quite a bit.  I used the paisley for the center square as well as the points, instead of using the background fabric like I did before.  I like it better this way.  I also discarded the cutting instructions from before and redrew the pattern using measurements I knew would make the block the right size.  Now, all my blocks are 8.5" unfinished.  I am very happy I decided to use a light background with similar fabric.  I think the paisleys will really be the stars this way.

I also finished up the borderie perse project I was working on for the International Robin.  It is the last piece out there, and I am sorry I dragged my feet for so long.  When I first decided to do it this way, I wasn't really thinking about all the pieces I would have to attach.  I just wanted a certain look, and didn't take time to consider what I would have to do to accomplish it.  I started out with traditional buttonhole stitching.  Then, I realized this is supposed to be more of an art quilt, so I switched to free motion stitching for the smaller flowers.  I think it is a nice mix.  Above is a detail look at the upper left of the bigger piece below.

This piece will be winging its way to Frea in Scotland as soon as I can get to the post office next week.  I am sorry to see this robin end.  I have really enjoyed the variety of work in these small art quilts.  Maybe after a brief rest from robins, I will try and start another one.  Maybe we will do a flat robin this time.  If you are curious or interested, leave me a comment.

Tomorrow, I have a couple of small AAQI pieces to finish, then a new project I want to start.  I think tomorrow will be my 300th post.  I wish I had something to offer as a giveaway, but I can't think of anything right now. 

Until tomorrow, then.  Joyful quilting, everyone.

 

This and That

This the the 2nd block for the Grandmother's Choice block of the week. It is called amethyst. I really had trouble getting it the right size.  In fact, it is the wrong size.  I followed the directions to size the template so the center square is 3 3/8".  Unfortunately, that makes the square 10".  It is supposed to be 8".  I may figure out how to make it the right size, or I may not.  It is not my favorite block in the world.  I do like the fabric, just not the design.  And that has nothing to do with the fact that there are Y seams.

On a completely different note, I decided to join Victoria's light value challenge over at 15 Minutes Play. If you follow my work at all, you know that I don't really use light fabrics.  Mid values and darks make me happy.  I keep being told that a little bit of light valued fabric would make my work more interesting and exciting.  I decided to join this challenge to see if I could make myself work light.  When I first looked at the photo, I thought it was over exposed.  It is not.  These are pretty much the true colors.  It is kind of pretty, but I keep wanting to add darks.  Maybe I will set these 8" blocks in some dark purple sashing.  Hmmmm.

Ahhh!  This is more like it!.  I had some left over fall leaf fabric strips, so I pulled some solids to match the colors and tried to create the riot of color that is fall.  I certainly got a riot.  I am wondering about the strong reds.  Maybe an orange would have been better, but I didn't have orange, and I am only using what I have for these small quilts.  This one is 16" square. I do like red, and it is growing on me.  For the record, I started this one first thing this morning when it was cooler, then did the amethyst block, then the lights when it reached 84 degrees..  Interesting progression.

Tomorrow, I will be working on my broderie perse project.  I hope to get it done soon.

Joyful quilting, everyone.

 

 

 

Quilt hunting in La Conner, WA

 

Welcome to  La Conner, WA!  On Sunday, Tom rode 52 miles in the MS Washington Bike ride fund raiser.  We drove up early Sunday morning (before dawn) to Mt. Vernon, where the bike ride started.  After getting him off, I drove out to La Conner, on the water about 15 minutes west of Mt. Vernon.  I had booked us a room at the La Conner Country Inn as a surprise for Tom.

I was really pleased to be able to check in at 8:30 in the morning for that night.  Our room was rustic but perfect.  Just look at the bed coverings.

I have fabrics like this I never thought to put together, but now I will.

La Conner is a small little artsy town on an inlet in northwest Washington state.  It is several blocks long and lined with galleries, boutiques, and gift shops of all kinds. September is supposed to be quilt walk month in La Conner.  Each business is supposed to have and display a quilt made by a member of the Washington State Quilters-Spokane Chapter.  I really looked forward to spending time strolling through the shops and seeing the quilts.  I was very disappointed.  In most shops, the quilts were not displayed well, and in some I couldn't find them at all.  I did find one that was displayed well and I liked.

This one was made by A. Morton and is called Cranes at Sunset.  I did find quilts I liked at the quilt shop in town, Quilt Diva.  The one of the left was the first quilt made by Michael who works in the shop and recently won a ribbon at the local county fair. It is made with fabric by Marcia Derse.

Speaking of Marsha Derse fabric ----

This is the first time I have actually seen any of her fabric in person.  I fell in love with it, and bought four quarter yards.  I took Tom in again today, and he bought three more quarter yards, plus a couple of other lights for my stash.  What a fabulous husband!

Yesterday afternoon, after Tom's ride, we went to the La Conner Quilt Museum housed in the old Gaches Mansion, built in 1891.  There was a fantastic display of Japanese quilts created especially for this exhibit - At Play.  The exhibit was filled with a variety of quilts in many different styles, mostly hand sewn and quilted.  Tom and I were very impressed with the designs and workmanship, and the variety in these quilts.  Unfortunately, we were not allowed to take photos and the book about the exhibit was poorly done, so the colors are far from true.  I bought one anyway for the reminders of the designs.  If you are in the area, the exhibit is worth seeing and is there through October 7.

One last must do in La Conner is dinner at Nell Thorn Restaurant. This is a farm to table restaurant where the food is fresh and excellent.  Tom and I shared polenta cakes in a creamy mushroom sauce, heart beet and endive salad, portabella mushroom sandwich, peanut soup, and incredible pot stickers.  It was all totally amazing, except the portabella mushroom sandwich which was served on a mediocre bun.  It is worth the drive to La Conner to eat at this restaurant.

Next, I have my three days with Bella, and then back to the studio to play with my new fabrics, and finish up some old projects.  I hope you have enjoyed my little travelogue.  Joyful quilting, everyone.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Just a couple of things

It has been a super busy week, but I did manage to squeak a little bit of fabric playing in.

 

 

I have been cutting my smaller scraps into 2 1/2 inch squares for a little while, wondering when I would use them.  Then, this month's Comfort Quilt Bee called for 5 x 5 blocks of these little beauties.  I had great fun pulling different squares so no two would be alike.  It was great fun to play this way.  I can't wait to see what everyone else puts together.

 

 

I also pulled together another AAQI mini with scraps from my International Robin piece.  The butterflies are from a vintage piece I found recently on a trip to Shibori Dragon with Willa.  I thought they were perfect for this piece, and I am having fun with broderie perse these days.  Now I have two AAQI minis to quilt and get registered.  I need to make one more for this month.  I have three friends with parents or friends recently diagnosed with this difficult disease.  If you haven't made a quilt or purchased one from this site, take a look at how much good they are doing with the money they raise and see if you can find it in your heart, and pocketbook, to help them out.

Tomorrow is a studio day.  Sunday, Tom is going to ride 52 miles in the Washington MS Bike Ride in Mt. Vernon, and we are going to stay in the area on Sunday night.  I plan on spending Sunday in La Conner where there is a downtown quilt walk going on.  I also plan on visiting the quilt museum.  I am sure I will come home very inspired.

Until next time, joyful quilting, everyone.

 



Before and after studio cleaning

Above is the view from the studio door before I started my clean-up.  It doesn't look as bad as the rest of the studio.  After several hours or sorting and cleaning, this is the view from the door.
 The only place I still have a mess is the small shelf to the right of the cutting table.  That will have to wait for another day.

 

The biggest mess in the studio was in the corner on the right of the door.  I have been putting fabric in boxes and baskets, and stacking them as I could.  I couldn't find anything.  That is why
I started this clean-up.  Now, everything is in clear plastic recycled salad boxes.  They are the perfect size and I can see what is in every one of them.





 

 

 



I also decided to change out the bulletin board.  I still had quite a bit of stuff up there from my paper collage days.  I decided a better use would be for small pieces that need quilting and other fabric pieces for inspiration.

 

 

After I finished the clean-up, I had time to make up another small 9" x 11" for AAQI.  All in all, it was a great day.  After the next three days with Bella, I have several UFOs that I can now find to work on.  Until then, joyful quilting everyone.

 

 

Sunday in the studio

 

I decided to try this pattern again, only make it brighter.  As before, this is a 12" x 12" mini.  I designed it with the focus fabric in mind, but I didn't have quite enough of it left for this quilt.  The focus is the dark blue with the mini fruits.  Where I grew up, this time of year meant the annual Antelope Valley Fair and Alfalfa Festival.  It was just like any county fair with rides, carnival games, hot dogs on a stick, funnel cakes, 4-H, FFA, and Grange Exhibits.  I loved all of it, including the tractor pull, destruction derby, and the stock car races.  One of my favorite things to do was go look at the exhibits of food, hand-made things (including quilts), and grange exhibits where all the fruits and vegetables were arranged into a beautiful design.  I wanted this little quilt to reflect my memories of all sights and sounds of the fair.  I think this one does it better than the first one.

 

 

On a completely non-traditional path is my September AAQI mini.  I love the incongruity of the perfect peony against the imperfect background.  I still have some stitching to do on this one before I register it and send it in.  I just wanted to share because I have never got this far so early in the month before on my AAQI commitment.  There are some really beautiful quilts in the September auction.  Give it a look and help a fantastic cause.

 

 

The last thing for today is the first block in Barbara Brackman's newest block of the week, Grandmother's Choice.: Votes for Women.  The Flickr page has some really beautiful fabric combinations in this first block.  Very inspirational.  I followed the Civil War BOW, but didn't make the blocks.  I am going to try and keep up with this one.  I have a very nice collection of paisleys I want to use, so this one will be pretty scrappy.  Brackman is a wealth of knowledge about quilt history, and she does a great job of providing historical information for these BOWs.  I am looking forward to playing along with this one.

I hope you have all been enjoying this beautiful September weekend.  Joyful quilting, everyone.

 

 

What do you think?

 

This is the piece from my international robin.  I love it.  The kanji in the lower left means friendship, which is perfect since I feel I am friends with all the people who worked on this piece.  I am perfectly happy with it as it is, but . . . .Willa and I found some wonderful fabric when she was here that might make it even more interesting.  Certainly it will make it bigger.  Please leave a comment with your input about the following auditions.

 

 

Audition 1 has a panel of one of the fabrics with Chinese scholars at the top and the other with the dragons at the bottom.

 

 

Audition 2 has the scholars at the top and bottom.

 

 

Audition 3 has the dragons at the top and bottom. 

I am not tied to any of these, so anything you have to add will be very helpful, even if you suggest leaving the piece as it is.  Thank you for your input.

Joyful quilting, everyone.

 

 

 

A little of this, and a little of that

 

I guess the first thing is that my old Black and Decker iron finally bit the dust.  I have had it for so many years, I can't even remember when I first got it.  I should have retired it long ago, but irons have become so complicated these days.  Anyway, the temp control stopped functioning and I burnt a test piece to ashes in less than 3 seconds, so it had to go.  This is the new beauty.  I am getting used to it, but so far, I like it just fine.

 

 

I wish I could lay claim to making this beauty, but I only quilted it.  It is a Jinny Beyer pattern and was made by the aunt of a neighbor.  It is going to a new home in Germany next month.  It was fun to quilt.

 

 

This is my August art quilt for the AAQI sale.  It was fun to design and create, and very different for me.  I think I will do more in this free style that is inspired by nature.

 

Speaking of nature, here I am going to do a shameless promotion of my business.  I have debated using this space to share the products I sell and the company I am associated with, but I think they are so wonderful that I decided I wanted to share them with everyone.  Univera is a natural botanical supplement company and so much more.  It is the PQ Diet from Univera that I used to lose all my weight.  Without some of the other products, I would not be able to sit at my sewing machine nearly as long as I am able now.  I have more energy, mental clarity and focus, and ease of motion since I started with this company.  I want to shout to the world how wonderful this company is.  Instead, I will just send you to our web site, Univera. Take a look at what we have.  Listen to Bill Lee talk about the company and Serve First.  That handsome man on the home page is my husband, Tom.  If you want to know more about how you can get involved with the company by trying the products or becoming one of my business partners, just leave me a comment, or send me an email.

 And now, back to quilting.

 

 

Today, I made this little 12" x 12" quilt.  The 16 patch in the center is a 1" square.  What looks like cream is really yellow.  I didn't realize until just now that the yellow didn't come through.  Also, the grayish looking color is green.  Interesting.  This one was fun and quite a challenge for me.  I may do another one just to see if I can keep all the points instead of just some.  I really think I should be able to do that at this stage in my quilting career.

I am back on the school year schedule of Tuesday through Thursday with Bella starting next week.  I am hoping that means more regular studio days and blog posts.  I have missed chatting with my blog friends.  Tomorrow, I am going to put up some audition photos for my International Robin quilt.  I have some ideas, but would like some input from others before I forge ahead.

Have a great evening, and joyful quilting, everyone.

 

 

 

Trying to find this fabric

Good morning, everyone.  It has been a long and busy time.  I have so much to share.  First of all, Janis the hen has learned to crow.  Apparently this is not unusual, but it is sure annoying.

Second, I was at the annual convention for Univera, the natural health products company I am associated with, and I won the 2012 Weight Management Throwdown!  It was a complete surprise, and loads of fun to be famous for a couple of days.

Because I only have limited time this morning, I will put off sharing what has been going on in the studio until the next post except for a couple of things.

First - Do you know what this fabric is called, who made it, and where I can get more?

Second is a sneak peak at the doll quilt for the August doll quilt swap.

I can't show the rest because my swap partner, the very talented Sharon Vrooman of Vrooman's Quilts, has been known to stop by here once in a while.

There is much more in the works - one piece I need to get finished today - so I will say goodbye for now.  Joyful quilting, everyone.



Tom's Table Runner

Every once in a while, Tom will go with me to a fabric store, and it is always a treat.  Last week, Tom took Willa and me to the Quilt Barn in Puyallup, Washington so Willa could find some mint green fabric for her project.  Tom patiently wandered among the rows of beautiful fabrics and found three remnants he really liked.  He picked the green, red/orange/green mottled, and the red batik.  He then saw a table runner design he really liked.  As I was wandering around, I found a wonderful piece of fabric with big flowers to use in the center squares.  What you see on the left are the four squares for the runner.  We have been auditioning sashing and borders, and I think we have come to consensus and this will be finished some time next week.

In the meantime, I have a new design wall!  Willa's husband, David, arrived on Tuesday.  On Wednesday, he and Tom went to the hardware store to pick up the sound proofing boards to build a permanent design wall for my studio.  Up until now, I have been using a piece of felt attached to the wall by thumb tacks.  It has served its purpose, but was frustrating as the pieces got bigger and heavier and would no longer stick by friction.  Now, I can stick pins in the pieces to keep them up.  All that remains is to staple the felt to the boards and it is good to go.  It may not be fancy, and it certainly wasn't expensive, but I totally love it.  Thank you David and Tom!

Finally, I finished quilting the July Doll Quilt Exchange quilt and it will be on its way to Germany this afternoon.  Now, I can think about what to do for August.  My partner for this month is Sharon from Vrooman's Quilts.  The theme is Sunny and Warm.  This means I get to work with my favorite palette!  Let the fun begin!


Have a wonderful weekend, and joyful quilting, everyone.