Wonky ornaments

I am in an ornament exchange on Mary Lou Weidman's Yahoo group and I made these 24 5" x 5" ornament blocks for the exchange.  You can't see it, but I did fancy machine decorative stitching on 12 of the blocks.  It was fun, but it uses so much thread.  It also tends to pucker if you don't use an interfacing.  I didn't want to add the extra weight, so I just ironed the puckers out as much as I could.  I am the collector and distributor for this exchange, and some of the ornaments that have come in so far are real beauties.  It will be interesting to see what I put together when the exchange is all done.  Any ideas?

I also finished this mug rug top.  The two with the deer heads are still in progress.  I am excited to have the next three full days in the studio.  It seems like it has been a long time.  I have a long list of things to get made for Christmas, so it is good to have these days.

I have been thinking about New Year's resolutions.  It is about that time, after all.  One of the things I want to do is organize my stash better.  My stash is made up mostly of bigger scraps.  I see that some people pre-cut their scraps into 2.5" strips or squares so they are ready to pull for quilting projects.  Others do this plus making strings for other projects.  I am torn about just what to do at this point.  I would appreciate hearing about how you organize your stash of smaller than fat quarter pieces.

Until tomorrow, joyful quilting, everyone.

Victoria and me

Victoria sent me this photo of both of us holding our exchange quilts.  I am on the left.  Victoria is holding the quilt I made for her.  The round "Christmas ball" is made from velvet scraps.  This is the first, and probably last, quilt I have made using embellishments.  I had total fun picking fabric and creating the feeling of an old fashioned Christmas tree.  I hand quilted it using green pearl cotton.  It was fun to make a real Christmas quilt.

Look what I got from Victoria!

Victoria at 15 Minutes Play hosted a mini holiday quilt exchange, and I think I got the best quilt!  We could each select a holiday for a 12" x 12" mini quilt.  Then Victoria sent us a name and a holiday to create a quilt.  I was sent Victoria's name and Christmas.  I was pretty excited about it, but had no idea Victoria had my name.  I thought about asking for Christmas, but really wanted a Dia de los Muertos.  There are some quilters who belong to this group who have some fantastic fabric, so I thought I just might get one.  My alternative was fall.  (Seasons were okay, as well as holidays.)  Victoria just happened to have this wonderful fabric.  Can you see the hand embroidery and the bead embellishments?  On the back is a pocket with a handwritten note on fabric.  I just love this quilt and it will live on my studio wall all year.  Unfortunately, I forgot to take a photo of the Christmas quilt I made for Victoria.  I will let you know when she posts it so you can see it. 

I was lucky enough to meet Victoria yesterday in Edmonds, WA where we exchanged our quilts.  It was wonderful meeting her in person.  Along with the quilt, she also gifted me with some very fun goodies.

There was also a tin of spices, but my husband took those to the kitchen immediately.  He loves a good spice mix.

Today, I am going to grab some studio time for a couple of hours before I start the cooking process.  I hope you are all going to have a joy filled day.



Getting things done

Today, I was able to finish my Jacob's Ladder top.  I am calling this quilt Hidden Garden.  It is so hard to show all the wonderful floral fabrics and great colors with a photograph.  This is the first quilt where I have had to match so many corners and points.  They are not all perfect, but I don't care.  I just really like this quilt. I am so happy I got the top finished today.

I have been dealing with a terrible ear ache for a few days and finally went to the doc this morning.  I have an ear infection.  I don't think I have had an ear infection since I was a kid.  It is most unpleasant.  Hopefully, the antibiotics and the ear drops will help quickly.

Last week, on our way home for the cabin in the woods, we stopped in Chehalis at Sister's Fabric. This is one of my all time favorite fabric stores.  There is an amazing selection of fabrics, including a fantastic collection of gorgeous flannels.  I purchased these batiks for a quilt I designed that I will start on after the new year.  I love these fall colors, so I will use this one all year long.

These beauties are for our youngest son's next quilt.  He loves these colors, and I am going to add them into the string quilt I started a couple of weeks ago.   I hope he likes it.

I am making mug rugs for a couple of hunters in the family.  I thought this fabric would be appropriate. I love the plaid.  I did some fussy cutting on the bottom fabric earlier this evening.  These small quilts are fun to make and are good gifts.

This bunch is from my stash and is destined for a 15" x 15" quilt for Bella's other quilting grandmother.  This is a sneak peak for her.  I just hope the pattern I have come up with is not too complicated for me.  The pieces are going to be very small, I think.

It was great to be back in the studio today.  I don't think I will be back until Friday unless I can sneak a little bit in on Thursday morning.  After all, how long does it take to prepare enchiladas?

In the meantime, joyful quilting, everyone.

Still away from studio

We stayed in this lovely cabin in Packwood, WA over the weekend.  Packwood is at the base of the Mt. Rainier area.  We were able to go exploring a bit before we headed home on Monday.

This is a small waterfall on Summit Creek near the Summit Creek campground.  There was a bit of snow on the ground in places, but it was mostly just overcast and breezy.

I loved all the moss covered rocks along the creek.  Of course, I saw quilt colors everywhere.  Look at these greens, blues, purples, and grays.  I think I will add purple to my string quilt and I will have a quilt to remind me of this fun weekend.

I will be away from the studio until Monday.  I am working on hand work whenever I get a chance, like when Bella is napping.  I will be on a ferry for two hours tomorrow, and I will take projects along for the ride.  I miss time in the studio, but I occasionally have to take time out for the rest of my life.  I am just grateful I have such a wonderful life that allows me to spend time with Bella and time to quilt.

Until next week, joyful quilting everyone. 

Going away

Hello.  We are going out of town for a couple of days, so I won't be posting until at least Tuesday.  I have been working on a couple of things I can't post yet.  Big surprises.
Until next time,
Joyful quilting, everyone.

11-11-11 National Corduroy Day has arrived!

Back in late August at a Rebels meeting, Nifty of Nifty Quilts gave us some very interesting vintage corduroy and set us the challenge of making something for National Corduroy Day.  This is what I got,

I remember when I was a kid and loved wide waled corduroy pants in the winter.  This fabric, however, was pronounced by one Rebel as possibly the all time winner of the ugliest fabric award.  We all accepted the challenge anyway.

I auditioned several fabrics from my stash, including teal, but ended up hitting garage sales for corduroy pants in blue and a grey/green.  I also found a heavy work shirt in red.  I found a wonderful purple corduroy shirt at the thrift store, but I liked it so much I wear it all the time.  The rest, I decided, would become one with the "ugly" fabric and make a pillow top and back.  I also added some gold batik from my stash.

Back

Front

It was interesting working with the corduroy.  It likes to be sewn together.  I think there might be a corduroy quilt in my future, but it will have some purple.  I do love purple corduroy.

For 30+ more wonderful corduroy projects, head on over to Nifty Quilts for links.

Enjoy the day.

Starting the Christmas presents

I had quite a few things I had to do today that did not involve quilting.  I finally made some time this afternoon to start on the Christmas list.  These little 1" x 2" flying geese will go into mug rugs for a couple of men on my list.  I know Tom loves his, so I decided other men might like them too.
I will be with Bella the next three days, so I will be back on Friday.  Hopefully, I will have more time to create quilts.  Until then, joyful quilting, everyone.

Finished JL blocks

The last group of blocks.

The design wall with all 42 blocks.  There are 21 different florals in this project.  Here are some closeups of a few of them.

Now, all I have to do is sew all the blocks together and quilt it.

I also made a change on the warm and cool wall hanging from yesterday.  Have you ever decided not to finish something right away, but you didn't know why?  I knew I liked the wall hanging, but there was something keeping me from finishing it.  Then, I got an email from Margaret.  She pinned it right on the nose.  The block with the cross, while I loved it, was too big and detracted from the overall look of the piece.  Can you see how I fixed it?

The last thing I did was to play with making fabric from velvet.  I am thinking of using it in a project I am going to start in the next few days.  This may be the last look you get at it until after Thanksgiving.

I have one more day in the studio until my Bella week starts.  There are so many things I want to do.  Maybe I will actually get some Christmas presents made. 

Until tomorrow, joyful quilting, everyone.

Bella's quilt finished!

I promised Bella I would get it done, and I did!  I found a piece of backing fabric just the right size from my "I am never going to use that in a quilt" pile.  I loaded it all on Priscilla, and quilted away.  Then I trimmed it and got out the minkee, with great anxiety.  I have heard stories of just how difficult this can be to work with in a larger piece.  I spread the quilted piece and the minkee on the dining room table.

I took my time and carefully pinned it all around the edges.  I am sure I used more pins than I needed, but I really wanted this to work.  I pinned right sides together - quilt top to minkee.  Then, I took this very heavy piece to Betty Bernina.  Together, we sewed and pulled, pulled and sewed until we only had on opening at the bottom to turn it.  I back sewed at each corner to give them extra strength.  After I clipped the corners, I turned the quilt, sewed the opening closed, and put in eight small ties to keep the minkee where it needed to be.  Then I took it over to Bella's house.

She couldn't wait to get it on her bed with all her stuffed friends and her baby dolls.  I fit just right, and she was a very happy girl.  Hard to get a good photo with her bouncing with joy.  I am not fooling myself at all about her liking the fabric or pattern, even though she picked them out.  It was the minkee she fell in love with, 100%.

After I got home, I worked more on my October/November challenge at Modern 8 Create.

Currently, it is 40" x 18".  It makes a very nice wall hanging.  I will leave it up for a couple of days before I decide if it is finished or not.  Sure wish you could see the dark rich purple that is not black.

Tomorrow, I have more projects to work on.  What are you doing this weekend?

Joyful quilting, everyone.



Estate sale finds

I love estate sales!  I went to this sale because I saw a photo of this Santa on the estate sale site.  I collect Santas and haven't had a new one in a couple of years.  I arrived early, and he was just waiting for me.  $4.00

Then, there were these very sweet dolls.  The larger one is about 15" tall with the smallest being about 4" tall.  These beauties cost $7.00.

I wandered into a room with shirts and sweaters on a table, but before I could start looking for 100% cotton shirts, my eye caught something that looked like a quilt coming out of a corner of a basket.  Woohoo!  It was a quilt.



I pulled it out, unfolded it, and started looking for labels saying it was made in China.  Not only was there no label, but there were no places that looked like a label had been cut off.  As I started looking at it, I could see it was hand quilted.  I am not sure where it came from, but it is in very good condition, and fits the big bed nicely.  Are you sitting down?  $8.00.

I also picked up about five yards of fabrics, mostly red, for $4.00.  I haven't taken a photo of that yet.  All in all, a very good estate sale for me.

After I came home, I worked more on the BOM quilt.  Then I built more blocks for the Jacobs Ladder.

I have four more to go if I want it 60" x 60".  I may add another row to make it 60" by 70".  I have just enough florals to do that.  It will be the biggest quilt I have had on my design wall.  I am not going to use a border, I don't think.  I am going to piece the binding out of what is left of the florals.  I will have used every last inch of the Kona Aloe.  I am loving this quilt.

For some reason, the aloe shows up much stronger in the photos than it does in real life. 

Have you been watching all the new fabrics that have been introduced at Market?  I have fallen in love with the newest Fig Tree by Moda, Butterscotch and Roses.  What are you drooling over?

Until tomorrow, joyful quilting, everyone.

11-1-11

Good afternoon.  I find that there is a dilemma about not having photos to post of quilty things, even when I work in the studio all day.  The problem is that the only thing I am working on right now that I can share is the Jacob's Ladder quilt.  I am not sure you want to see any more of those.  I am going to try and work on projects I can show while I am working on Christmas gifts and surprise challenges.  In the meantime, I will share some of the photos I have taken that I think are fun.  The top photo is a curious African Crowned Crane. 

Isn't she a cutie?  This is an alpaca.  Both these animals were found at the Cougar Mountain Zoo and Wildlife Park.  Bella and I made a recent visit there with the Greats (my aunt and uncle).  They have some interesting animals there, including a good size reindeer herd.

Of course, I had to sneak in photos of today's JL blocks.

One important thing I did today was talk to Bella's other quilting grandmother, Diane, about what kind of things we could make for our family members this year that they would appreciate and that wouldn't break us.  We came up with mug rugs, place mats, a gun cleaning kit carrying bag for the hunters, and bags.  We are going to exchange 15" mini red and white quilts.  I have already started on the design for hers.  What kinds of things are you making this year for gifts?

I have guild meeting this evening.  Only three more meetings this year as president.  Next year I will be vice president and in charge of programs.  That will be a different kind of challenge.  Tonight is a working meeting.  I am taking some hand quilting.

Until Friday, joyful quilting everyone.

 

Two new Jacob's Ladder blocks

Loving these florals!

I am getting closer to having two tops complete, the JL and the BOM.  I also need to finish Hokule'a, the Christmas challenge, and some Christmas gifts.  That doesn't include the hand quilting I need to finish.  Isn't life fun when you have projects to look forward to?

Joyful quilting, everyone.

Two ways for quilters to help

Today, my studio time was spent cutting scraps into usable pieces for the string quilt project.  Not really worthy of a photograph.  I loaded the above quilt on Priscilla and started quilting when my knee decided to let me know there would be no standing or walking around for the rest of the day.  After ice, rest, and an extra dose of Univera RegenaCare (a miracle I believe), it is better, but I am still resting it.  Needless to say, the quilt did not get finished.  Maybe tomorrow.  But I digress from the subject of my post today.

I am so impressed with the way quilters rally together to help others in times of need.  When Sarah over at Confessions of a Fabric Addict called for quilts to be sent to poverty stricken families in Romania, bunches of you responded.  When another quilter lost her teenage son, so many of you responded by sending her heart blocks.  Tsunami victims in Japan received hundreds of quilts lovingly donated by so many of you.  Hundred of you have made mini quilts to raise money for Alzheimer's research. I am honored to be a part of this giving group.  I just wanted to let you know about two more opportunities where you can help others in need.

One great project is the BASICs quilt drive being run by Victoria at Bumble Beans Inc.  She and Pat Sloan are trying to gather together 400 quilts for families who are moving from shelters into transitional housing.  Last year, Victoria was able to gather 300 quilts from people all over the country, but there were 700 families in the program.  Do you have a finished quilt or quilt top that just needs to be quilted and bound that you don't have a home for?  Maybe you and your quilty friends can get together and finish up those UFOs that aren't finished because they need homes.  Please read more about the project here and think about how you can help.  If you are a quilter, you might think about taking a few tops from others and finishing them for the project.  That is what I am doing.  The quilt at the top was made by Irene Armok, and it is the second one of hers I have worked on. 

Add caption

Perhaps an easier one is the 4 Patches 4 Hope project by Regina at her blog by the same name.  She is raising money and asking people to donate simple 4 patch blocks to be made into quilts for cancer patients.  The rules are simple and these simple blocks will mean much when they are joined with others and made into quilts.








Thanks for taking the time to stop by and read this post.  Thank you for considering helping in these projects.  Every little bit makes a difference.
Have a wonderful weekend, and joyful quilting,