Memorial Day

As we remember and honor our fallen, our thoughts and prayers are also with their loved ones.

Flags fly at half staff in honor of Cpl Nelson and Lance Cpl Opicka.

KIA 14 April 2008

I Didn't Know....

...that hurricanes came so far inland.  It's the only explanation for the mess that is my sewing room. 

Or maybe I just finished another challenge for Project Quilting.

This week's challenge instructions said think about road trips you have taken and use at least 12 fabrics on the front of your quilt.

I couldn't come up with anything very creative.... but you should see some of the other entries.... WOW! You can see them and vote at Kim's Crafty Apple. I had a couple ideas but translating them from my brain to fabric didn't go so well.  So Friday evening a new project was started.  Finished, photographed and uploaded within 5 minutes of the deadline.  Whew!

Years ago, when horses were a big part of our lives, Scott and I drove to Columbus Ohio to attend a large equine trade show and exposition. An unexpected perk of the trip was finding a beautiful garden early one morning. Light misty fog added to the scene... it was simply lovely. After several days of all things horse related it was a pleasant break. This is my loose interpretation of the garden, it's paths and a fountain in the center.


If you count the bit of silver used for the sun's reflection on the water, thirteen fabrics were used. Several different fabrics for the grass and for the flowers but only one fabric was used for the stone path to keep it uniform.

Meander quilting in green in the grass and in pink in the flower areas.  32" square.

There's a mistake clearly visible which I did NOT mention in my narrative with the entry.... let the judges find it!  Please don't tell!

One Flower Wednesday

Just one flower.  And it took me two weeks to sew it. ....sigh....
But...
I enjoyed the process.

Project Quilting .... And The Judges Said...

Judge 1: Unique idea for rectangles 7.5

Judge 2: Very well done. The two fabric background really adds interest and the reverse color bindings were a great idea. Nice machine quilting 8.5

Judge 3: Great idea to sew the rectangles together, recut, and then appliqué them back onto the quilt. Your loopy tight quilting really helped the shapes stand out. The colors you chose are clear and bright with lots of nice contrast. I would have liked to see more of a relationship between the appliquéd shapes, maybe by either sticking to geometric shapes like the circles and squares, or overlapping the shapes somehow. 6.75

Average Score: 7.58

I'm happy!

The voting is still open and it's a close one, with Karen and two others running neck and neck WAYYYY in the lead!!! .... if you haven't voted yet, head on over to Kim's Crafty Apple   and help Karen out.... it's not hard to vote for hers - it really is the best! IMHO

And...
The Next Challenge will be posted this coming Sunday 5/23 at NOON CDT. Please help me spread the word! Join us... it is so much fun and will really stretch your talents.

Project Quilting Voting Is Open!

All the entries for the first challenge... Project Quilting Rectangle Challenge.... have been submitted.  It's amazing to see all the different ideas everyone had; all the different items the participants made. Lots of great projects.  It's hard to choose for voting!

You can see all the entries on Flickr with multiple pictures.

And you can see them and vote at Kim's Crafty Apple. 

And you can win a prize even if you didn't make anything!

Doodling

Long ago, when I was in school and trapped in a classroom, to pass the time I would doodle in my notebook. I'm sure I took notes first.  Or maybe I was listening to the lecture while doodling. Or perhaps I had finished my test early. ;)  My favorite doodle would be to scribble a bit, then fill in the spaces, each with something different.

All the spaces aren't filled in ('cause now I'm not trapped... I can get up and leave whenever I want!) but you get the idea.  This was my 'inspiration' for the first challenge of Project Quilting.

First there were fifty 3" x 5" rectangles...

All sewn together...

Then cut up into various sized strips and sewn together again...

Random shapes were then cut and attached to background (two other fabrics were allowed - half yard each).  I wanted the stitching to show but didn't want it to pull at the fabric so I used a multiple stitch zig-zag.  Green thread was used on the white background and white thread on the green background.

It seemed fitting to do loopy, squiggly quilting.  This was also done with green thread on the white background and white thread on the green background.  Reverse color binding finished it off (thanks to niece Karen for that idea... I've seen it on a few of her quilts and liked it so I "borrowed" that).

This was so much fun!

Project Quilting fabrics

After several false starts I finally settled on a plan.  Here's my fifty rectangles to start my project. 

One Flower Wednesday

Well I made it on time this week. One block finished.  This time in 30s prints.  The plan was to make this one with templates and whip stitching.  I really tried but I just can't do it.  It's awkward and my stitches show.  So just plain hand stitching it is.

Mushroom Cul De Sac On Periwinkle Lane

Surrounded By Rectangles

3" x 5" rectangles. 
Fifty of them.
They are all around me. 
In my sketchbook, on the cutting table, the kitchen table, the design wall. 
I fell asleep thinking about them, dreamed about them, and woke up thinking about them.
They have been cut, layered, stacked, cut again, folded, twisted, lined up end to end, side by side.

All this because the first challenge of the first season of Project Quilting was posted yesterday at Kim's Crafty Apple.  So there are plenty of quilters hanging with these rectangles this week.  Can't wait to see what everyone creates for the challenge.  And to 'hear' the judges critiques.

Back to my rectangles.
They need to find their way to the sewing machine.
From somewhere I'm hearing "Make it work!"

One Flower Wednesdays

A hand sewn project has been calling me.  Grandmother's Flower Garden seems like the perfect quilt to sew by hand.  A bit ambitious maybe for my first hand sewn project but it IS just a piece at a time. So, I can do it. Yesterday, thanks to Quilting Fiesta, I found Karen of the blog Journey of a Quilter.  She is hosting a Garden Party.  Every Wednesday one flower needs to be sewn.  My first thought was I'll do a dozen each Wednesday.  You'll notice it's Thursday as I post this.  My first flower didn't get finished until this morning.  But it did get done!

TAH DAH!

and the back... I need to work on smaller, more consistent, straighter stitches... time and practice...

It's not really that color. See how my cutting board isn't even green?  It's really the color of the fabric below, which I purchased to make a wallhanging and had lots left. 

And, since I'm hand sewing a traditional quilt pattern it seemed appropriate to use 30's fabrics.  So maybe two quilts will come of this.  Just a few fat quarters to start. 

I feel out of my element with 30's fabrics but I was told after I use them for a while I'll wonder how I'd ever do without.  We'll see.  They are pretty cheery.

So now on Wednesdays you'll find me with my cup of tea at a Garden Party!

Chatelaine Anyone?

Recently I was asked to make a chatelaine and a pattern for one.  It took four tries to get the one I wanted for the pattern.  The final one had little log cabin blocks on the pockets and summer fruit, flowers, birds and bees and a few other things... kinda cute but no decent pics :(  I handed that one over along with the pattern.  But now there are three chatelaines left and I know I won't use them.  They are supposed to be handy at retreats...  to keep your applique scissors, your frogging tool, and other essentials right where you need them.  Anybody need / want one?

Project Quilting

I missed the first two challenges, having just discovered this project through Karen, but I'm ready to participate in the rest of the challenges.  It sounds like fun. Voting is going on now for the 2nd challenge.  Go to Kim's Crafty Apple to see all the projects.  Maybe you'll want to try the next one  :)

Plaid Roofs On Periwinkle Lane

This is the sixth home on Periwinkle Lane.

The cute little subdivision is taking shape.... it's at 50% occupancy and houses are going fast!

Quilting for Sara

Sara sent some quilt tops my way recently.  One was a lovely simple quilt with large stripes in the center...just like her sister Amy's... same fabrics just used a bit differently. 

Like Amy, Sara wanted flowers in the stripes. Happy to oblige - flowers are fun!

And, this bright baby quilt.  How can you not be happy when you look at this one?! What a cheerful quilt.