Daydream Believer

Remember this quilt?  Yes, it's been awhile. . .

Last month I finally added borders and completed the top.  It's been sitting way too long and I had several ideas in mind for borders over the last year, but chose to do scrappy diamonds.  I thought it worked well with the scrappy style of the rest of the quilt.  It was challenging to get it all together, but I am really pleased with the end result.  Now I just need to decide how to quilt it!

Daydream Believer
(no pattern available)

Here is a close up of one border. . . 

And here is a little tabletopper I made with the leftovers from the border strips. . .

The floral border is a piece of some really old curtain fabric that I think was my mother's from an old house.  It was just enough and the colors worked, so it's one less piece of fabric I am holding onto for "someday!"

I have just now gotten around to loading my photos from the AQS Daytona Show.  I will get them organized and post those as soon as I can.  The show was really very good and it was so inspiring to see some of the amazingly beautiful quilts by the "Who's Who" in the show quilt world.  There is so much talent and creativity by so many extremely talented women out there.  

Until next time, Happy Quilting! 

Grandmother's Cabin

I finally finished my quilt last week, Grandmother's Cabin, and thought I would share some photos with you, since I know I am long overdue for an update.  Some of these pictures are before I put the binding on, some are with a different camera so colors may vary, but you get the idea. 

I had hoped I'd finish it long before now, but a few of life's interruptions during the month of September pushed my finish date up a bit further than I originally planned.  However, I was still able to meet a deadline I had set for entering it into several shows coming up, so on that note, I am quite pleased it is done and ready to send off into the quilt show world.

"Grandmother's Cabin"

I made the top back in 2012 and it has been sitting in a closet waiting to be quilted up until a couple of months ago.  I knew I wanted a lot of quilting on it, but really wasn't certain as to how elaborate I wanted it to be.

The log cabin blocks were foundation-pieced on paper.  The hexagon flowers were made using the English paper-piecing method.  The Dresden plates and the hexagon flower vine are all hand-appliqued.  This is only the second quilt I have ever hand-appliqued.

Since the quilt is so busy visually with so many pieces and such a wide variety of different fabrics, I decided to keep the quilting clean and simple with lots of grid quilting and straight lines.  Although though there is still a ton of quilting, it tends to play a more supportive "background" role instead of obliterating the details of the quilt itself.   This is also the first time I have used a wool batting, which is Hobb's Tuscany Wool.  The top thread is Wonderfil Invisafil 100 weight and the bobbin thread is Wonderfil DecoBob 80 weight.  The quilt finishes at 91 inches square, the log cabin blocks are 9 inches and the border is approximately 9 1/2 inches wide.

 

I did mark every single line with a fine-tipped water-soluble blue pen.  The grid lines are a half-inch apart and all of the lines were quilted with free-motion quilting.  The only thing I used the walking foot on is the narrow cable in the border.  The log cabin blocks are free-motion quilted in the ditch, spiraling out from the center by quilting in the seam line of each strip.



My inspiration for this quilt came from my infatuation with traditional quilts from the 1930s.  After I finished the log cabin blocks and was deciding on a border, I got the idea to combine a couple of classic quilt motifs that are easily recognizable into a single quilt to pay tribute to the 30s era as well as to our grandmothers that made them.  Since I also love scrap quilts as well as collecting fabrics that are reminiscent of the Depression Era, I challenged myself to use as many fabrics in the quilt as possible.  I kept the overall values on the lighter side in order to evoke a sense of the pastel, candy colors associated with that time period.  This is an original design and there is no pattern available.



And finally I would like to send out a big thank you to all of you who have been e-mailing me as to my whereabouts, your various questions, and the lovely comments I receive on my tutorials.  I am so flattered and appreciative of all the e-mails, as well as being overwhelmed at the interest in my work.  You never really know how many people you reach when you blog, but I will say that the response from all of you is very gratifying and I wish there was a way I could meet you all in person to say thanks from the bottom of my heart!  Until next time. . . Happy Quilting!

Happy Easter!

Happy Easter Everyone!  Hope you all are enjoying a beautiful weekend wherever you are!

A Touch of Fall Inspiration

Just a quick update to show you my fall inspired quilt top I just finished.  I'm calling this one October Romance since I really had fun pulling lots of floral fabrics I haven't used in quite a long time.  There are 210 different fabrics in this quilt.  

This quilt probably doesn't read FALL to most of you in the traditional sense.  I find that it's really difficult for me to use the color orange!  And yellow!  But that being said, I tried to make it look less Easter-like than most of my quilts. 

Remember my "inspiration" fabrics that I showed you?  I tried to stay within these color ranges when I pulled fabrics for this quilt, although I will admit, I pulled in more blue than what you see in the fabrics above.  Blue is a main color in my home, so I always try to incorporate blue in most of my quilts so they will look like they blend in with the rooms where they are displayed.

And just an update on my quilt, Color My World. . .it came home with it's second ribbon last week.  I was delighted to find out that it won Best Interpretation of Theme at the Pacific International Quilt Festival in Santa Clara, California.  The theme for this year's show was The Whole Nine Yards, although I didn't know that at the time I made this quilt.  I think it just turned out to be a happy coincidence!

Hope you are enjoying your fall, wherever you are!  Happy Quilting!

Jacksonville Quilt Fest Part 2

Ok, so moving on to the rest of the Jacksonville Quilt Fest that was held a couple of weeks ago.  As I mentioned in my last post, the quilts I am showing are just some of what was of interest to me in one way or another, in no particular order.

Civil War Bride Quilt by Rose Luehrsen, The Villages, Florida; quilted by Linda Spence

Hourglass on Point by Carole Jackson, Jacksonville Beach, Florida; quilted by Cathy Peters (detail below)

Little Bowties by Linda Simons, Roswell, Georgia; quilted by Shawn Hooten (detail below)

Brilliant Beauties of Joyette by Elaine Stemetzki of St. John's Florida; pattern by Jacqueline De Jonge. (This is a miniature quilt, she had also made one in a larger size just like it).

Wanda's Garden by Wanda Hizer of Marietta, Georgia; quilted by Michelle Wyman; pattern by Lisa Debee Schiller (details below)

Sweet Georgia Brown by Wanda Hizer of Marietta, Georgia; pattern by Terry Clothier Thompson (details below)

Love Eternal by Jill Allen of McIntosh, Florida; design by her daughter, Rachel Kolar (details below)

Tied to the Past (made from neckties) by Linda Johnson of Orlando, Florida; quilted by Cathie Mozetta (detail below) 

And finally. . .

 Elisabeth's Garden:  A Tale of a Thousand Threads by Elisabeth Frolet of Dunwoody, Georgia.

 

I was really taken with this crazy quilt.  Her work was fabulous!  It was her original design and a tale of her favorite hobbies and activities.  Silhouettes in the border of her husband, children and herself have been painted with oil pastels.  This was one of those quilts you could just look at for hours.  It was absolutely beautiful!  I've included several close-ups, below.  Enjoy!

Hopefully some of the quilts from this show have inspired you.  I know there were several that inspired me.  Until next time. . . Happy Quilting!



Log Cabin Show 'N' Tell



Wow, summer is now officially behind us and the upcoming holidays are quickly approaching.  Hard to believe!  This summer I've tried to spend every spare minute when I am not working or wrapped up in day to day living quilting my unquilted tops.  Although it's been such a relief to finally complete several quilts all the way down to the binding, sleeve, and label, I think I grew a bit tired of it after awhile.  I was so anxious to get back to what I truly love the most, piecing!  So the last four weeks I've been doing just that. . .  

In early August I took a break from machine quilting and decided it was time to piece a new top. . . .hooray!  And what could be more fun than a traditional log cabin to use up MORE of my scrappy strip stash.  I've gone a bit overboard over the last couple of years with these strips, I admit.  But it is such a convenience to just open up a plastic bin and start sewing with strips I've had cut and continue to cut in between projects.

I decided to make this log cabin for my husband, partly to celebrate a milestone birthday he is having this December.  But it really came about after he made a comment to me that I've made everyone a quilt except for him!  And he was right, I have never made him his very own quilt!  Although it really never dawned on me that he didn't consider all the quilts I've made to date for our home his quilts, too.  But let's face it, most men don't go for quilts in pastels and Easter egg colors!

So I asked him what quilt pattern he would like and his choice was the log cabin pattern.  And it turned out to be the perfect choice.  I went through two closets of fabric and cut strips from any fabric that remotely looked like a man's shirt, underwear, or pajamas, anything fishing or surfing related (his two favorite passions), any fabrics with dogs and even some tropical  prints thrown in for fun and added those to my ever growing bin of scrappy strips.  I even cut up a few of his own shirts and funny print boxer shorts that he no longer wore!  That was a ton of fun and it really gives him something to talk about now.

I separated the strips by value first, lights and darks, and then by colors.  The blocks are foundation-pieced and finish at 7 1/2" with the strips finishing at 3/4" wide.  The top measures 75" square.  I am currently marking the top in a simple grid for quilting and will hopefully get the quilting completed in the next couple of weeks. 

Another bit of recent excitement is the recent release of the book 500 Traditional Quilts by Lark Crafts.  I am so honored to have two of my quilt featured in this inspirational book of amazing quilts.

Summer at the Lake. . .

. . .and Blooming in Chintz are featured.  Both of these quilts will also be part of the 500 Traditional Quilts traveling exhibit beginning this fall in Houston at International Quilt Festival.  The exhibit will travel through next summer 2015 as part of the many shows Quilt Festival hosts.  If you have the opportunity to visit one of the shows, I'm sure it will be very exciting to see many of the quilts featured in this book in person.

Happy Quilting!

One Square at a Time

No, not MIA, but definitely been crazy busy!  This is a quick post on my day off just to show a current work in progress.

                                

I've been a bit obsessed about using up a bin full of 1 1/2" strips I had cut, it seems like there were thousands of them.  You know how they tend to multiply?  Originally they were cut for another quilt, which I showed a peek of back in November, my star quilt that I did.  Even though I used up a lot of strips on that one, there are still way too many left over just to put away and forget about.

So I've been sewing here and there when I am not stuck at work (we own our own business, not always a fun thing!) and it sure seems I have been working way more than sewing!  Anyway, one quilt I've always loved and have never made was a true postage stamp, you know, like the antique ones we all drool over?  Just random little dots of color everywhere, no real planning or thinking, just easy sewing, perfect for letting your mind wander and dream.

So here are the results so far, and no, this is NOT strip-pieced.  This is put together the good ole-fashioned way, one little square at a time.  Not at all as tedious as I anticipated and it goes much faster than I expected.  I made 10 x 10 blocks of one-inch (finished) squares on point, then sewed it all together.  This isn't huge at this point, only about 44" x 58", but I am getting ready to lay out borders for it next.  One border will be pieced with more little squares and the other borders will most likely be solid white.  I like a clean vintage look and I think that is what all this busyness needs.  (No pattern available.)

That is some of the barkcloth I have hanging in my studio in the background, one of my obsessions.  I love that stuff!  But unfortunately prices have gotten so high, I can't justify buying it like I used to, not that I really need another piece!  But it inspires a lot of the colors I use in my quilts and in my house in general, I can't get enough of those pretty vintage colors.

And besides dealing with normal work and life stuff and the challenges they present, I've also been hobbling around on this latest footwear the last several weeks. . . . ignore the dog hair that is attached to it!

Isn't it pretty?  The latest in Spring fashion footwear. . . and no, complaining does not get me sympathy!  So I've been sucking it up.  Apparently I fractured a bone in the ball of my foot, not really sure how, but I am now wearing this for a total of eight weeks and trying not to go the surgery route.  At least it is my left foot and not my right sewing/driving foot, so. . .it could be worse, as they say.

On that note, hope you all have survived this horrible cold and snowy winter so far.  I know it must be pretty awful for some of you.  Stay safe and warm and happy sewing!