Jake & Lacey's Quilt Designs

I've let the grandchildren design their own quilts on my design wall and here is their latest! We stretched this one out a bit as what they can put up on the design wall in 45 minutes can give me a week's worth of work!!

 This is Jake's quilt! As he stated to his Mom, "It has a pattern to it". That was important to him. He was six at the time of this designing. It was neat how if he did not have enough of one fabric for his rows, he was okay with substituting something similar.

I found this great border fabric that I had been saving for a long time and it was just the right amount for the borders and the back.

 Lacey is not as concerned about order as she is having fun. She did choose all her fabrics also - she is five. She did notice how the flower in the vase turned out matching near the center.

 Here is her back - other fabrics I had on hand and her border was leftover bindings that worked with her quilt colors.

I did a freehand swirl on hers.

Swirls from the front!

Another Flower Garden block finished!!

I love the colors of this quilt!! Imagine that!! This is from Kaffe Fassett's book, Quilts from Italy. There are at least two in the book I want to make. For this one, however, I am making it a smaller size so it can be a wallhanging in our family room. It just looks like spring to me!

Happy Quilting and stitch when you can!

Fall 2017 Projects

I'm still working on several long-term projects and do not have any finishes yet. . . . .however, I have a couple of new quilts that I've enjoyed making to share.

Here is Scrappy Trip Around the World, a pattern given free by Bonnie Hunter on her website. I saw a quilt on someone else's blog and it made me want to make this. I had been cutting 2 1/2" strips when I had a little fabric leftover from a project and not much yardage left so I had a plastic shoebox full of strips. Many different fabrics are included.

I think Bonnie's was much larger but this is about 58" x 84". Even the border was leftover from a backing for my Lollypop Trees a few years ago. Just a simple pantograph with variegated thread and it was done!

 This quilt was SO fun to make. Now it made me think, contemplate, audition tons of fabrics and put them up on the design wall and a lot of playing but so enjoyable. I am quite pleased with it as I've done some improvisational quilting before and that is how this went. I was inspired by a quilt by Kaffe Fassett in his book Bold Blooms, called Gray Random Strips. I had the center piece like his but from there on, it was just trying to get the same look yet using my own fabrics and having fun.

 Here are some tulips that go back into the early nineties or late eighties by Jeffrey Gutcheon - I still have that in several color ways but it worked well in this quilt. I finally had to make a trip to the quilt shop to get enough larger pieces for the borders.

This backing by Laura Heine had been in my closet for years waiting to be used. It was just the right amount and I liked how it went with the very center floral in the quilt.

I finished one more block in my Flower Garden quilt - pattern by Kim McLean. I think I've been working on that for five years.............oh well! Still pretty to me.

My daughter's family had to evacuate when Hurricane Irma came up the coast so they spent several days with us. The children had previously enjoyed having me cut squares and triangles with my Go Cutter and they chose their fabrics and their design - all by themselves. Nana sews them together later on and makes the quilts for them. Lacey, who is 5 made the design on the left and older brother Jake who is 6, the design on the right. He wanted a pattern to develop with his and he did it all by himself. If he ran out of fabric he'd just use another that was a similar color he said. We did have fun!!

 I mentioned earlier that I was doing the 2017 BOM with Sarah Fielke, Down the Rabbit Hole, and this is my center. I'm a little behind - think I'm up to May now. 

I just finished making 40 little tiny houses to go around the center. Very tiny - makes me think of the tv show, Tiny Houses. Right now I am ready for some appliqué after sewing those tiny 1" strips but they are cute and colorful!!

Happy Quilting and maybe it won't be nine months before I do another post!!

Flower Garden, Flower Pots & China Shop

 Another really long-term project I have going is the Flower Garden by Kim McLean. It may take me longer than my Lollypop Trees did! But, ever so often I finish another block.

 I have learned something about myself recently - or actually faced up to the fact that I enjoy "kitting quilts" possibly more than sewing them. Always being afraid I won't have any handwork ready, I will get a whole quilt ready for appliqué and then it lays in its container for possibly years, waiting to be stitched. So as of now, I have months/years worth of appliqué all ready for stitching. I am trying to make a dent in it now. These flower garden blocks have been ready for quite some time!!

 Speaking of a quilt waiting for a finish - this is Flower Pots by Kim McLean. I began it in September 2010, six years ago. Now I got the appliqué completed but was putting off the sashing, also knowing that the blocks did not come out to the size indicated on the pattern so I was going to have to make an adjustment. Procrastinate . . . procrastinate . . .I finally solved this 'problem' by restitching a couple of bird tails and was able to proceed. I spent a week recently sewing the sashing and putting the top together and now it is ready for quilting. My backing just came in the mail today!

Here is a partial picture of the top - the bottom half. Just gorgeous fabrics to me and I'll admit to trying to match mine to the pattern picture - that can be fun and a challenge in itself.

As you know, I'm a fan of Kaffe Fassett fabrics and this quilt pattern was published in Homespun - an online magazine. It was designed by Kathy Doughty of Material Obsession quilt shop in Australia and her team which worked with Kaffe Fassett. In 2015 the patterns were published monthly so I subscribed. I ended up buying the kit for the fabrics from glorious color.com and made the quilt this spring and summer. I did all the appliqué on the machine and bonded the outer edge of the fabrics with Lite Steam a Seam 2. 

 Here are some close-up views.

 Love the fabric choices and combinations!

 There were several techniques used, including lots of hexagon flowers in the side blocks of the center. I did hand stitch all of those together then machine appliquéd them down. The platter had hexagons around it also.

Here is more of a close up of the hexagons on the right. I still have a little more to show but I'll save that for another post!! Happy Stitching!! It is GREAT therapy!!

Flower Garden Blocks

 I began this quilt in January 2012, but as you know, I get sidetracked easily and have many projects going at once. I did lots of tracing, months later I chose many fabrics, and even stitched a couple of blocks and then set it aside.

 However, I picked it back up and now have six blocks completed. I had even debated on whether to try the starch appliqué method that works so well for others but I already had my freezer paper cut for needle turn so decided to stick with that.

 I suppose the only drawback to my method is that occasionally the freezer paper comes off a little. I try to get it ironed on well the first time and then leave the paper on and use the edge as a guide.

 As usual with most of my appliqué, I am trying to use the fabrics just as are pictured on the pattern. That is often what draws me to it.

 Happy fabrics is what these are and they make me smile!

That's all for now. I do have many more quilts to show if I'll just get back to blogging!

Stitching in 2015

For those not familiar with the Dear Jane quilts or Jane A. Stickle quilt, here is the cover. There are 225 blocks and the center blocks are 4.5" finished. The border triangles are 5" x 8" finished. Quite a quilt and of course made by hand 150 years ago. I am continuing on with my Dear Jane journey this year and here are some blocks I've completed recently.

This is one of the triangle border blocks.

 All my Dear Jane blocks for now.

I got a little appliqué done on my Flower Garden quilt, pattern by Kim McLean. It has been waiting for years to be stitched. I'm just a little behind . . . . .

Here is another new book that really interests me. The 1718 Coverlet. And can you believe, most of the blocks are also 4.5" finished. Anyway, it's a future possibility but just thought I'd share the book. Happy Quilting!!

Catching Up!

 I am quite behind on some posting but first of all I would like to share an extremely special quilt that was made for me by some of my friends from the Pieceful Hearts Quilt Guild. There is a group that makes a birthday quilt for others on special years, like 50, 60 and 70. Two years ago I turned 60, and because I live away from this group now, they did my quilt a little differently. They each made a self-portrait or possibly how they would like to be remembered by me, since I don't see them but a couple of times a year, even though I'm still a part of the group. Now as I view this awesome quilt, hung right outside my sewing room, I can see their faces and think of them!! So much work was put into this and many would say they were way out of their box making these fabulous blocks, but they did an outstanding job. I am thrilled with this quilt!!

 In mid January I went on an annual quilting retreat with this PHQGuild. We go to a state park that is very inexpensive in the winter and quilt for 3 or 4 days . . . and eat and visit, too! Above is the first block I began in my Flower Garden Quilt. It had been so long since I had done needle-turn appliqué that I was quite slow just getting the leaves done.

 Here is my dear friend, Ille, as she shows her block for the upcoming donation quilt that we make every year. Part of the proceeds go to Camp Rainbow - a camp for children with cancer. Her appliqué is incredible!!

 Ille and I! I hardly took any pictures this year.

Here is one of the wool blocks I completed while at the retreat. I only worked on my appliqué this time.

 I finished this block after I got home.

This block I did while there so I felt like I did get some stitching accomplished.

And now here is the snow from my window this morning. Pretty unusual in Georgia and unfortunately a nightmare for so many out on the interstates that literally were in their cars overnight.  Fortunately I was at home and able to work on some of my quilting, and pray for those who could not get home.