Village Quilting

One More Time With Feeling!

2015-02-20T07:26:00.001-08:00

I wrote a whole post while on the way to visit my in-laws, went to look something up and must have forgotten to save it! Lesson learned!

Last time I wrote I was on my way to China. It was an amazing trip! Quite honestly, China was never on my bucket list but I was given a unique opportunity with my friend living in Shanghai. Another friend and I spent 11 wonderful days exploring Shanghai, Xian (home of the Terra Cotta Warriors), and Beijing. I won't bore you with a long travel log but share a few highlights and som quilting designs I saw. The Chinese government does not like Goggle or Facebook and, apparently, some of the pictures I took. They magically disappeared-just some, not all. Oh well, at least I have spectacular memories and the other girls have shared their pictures with me.

We started in Shanghai where we saw a lot of everyday life, the world's tallest building being built and a wedding market.

The three of us on The Bund-the river front dividing the old part of the city and the new.

The world's tallest building. The fogginess is partly due to the dirty window but mostly from the smog.

Sunday Wedding Market where matchmakers post potential brides' and grooms' resumes on umbrellas and on the ground. Some have pictures but most don't. I wonder what the success rate is!

From Shanghai we flew to Xian to see the Terra Cotta Warriors. I couldn't believe how big the area was! We even met the farmer who discovered the Warriors while digging a well and had him sign a book for my dad.

Each warrior and horse is life size! I was a bit disappointed as how commercial the area outside of the exhibit is getting. They force tourists to walk thru a maze of shops, basically selling the same things, to get in and leave the area.

We then flew to Beijing. We had an amazing tour guide for 3 days who took us to Tienamin Square, the Forbidden City, The Great Wall, the Summer Palace, a portion of the old city, lots of temples and The Pearl Market.

This is only about half of Tienamin Square. It is HUGE!

The entrance of the Forbidden City. It's not really tilted, just me trying to take the picture too quickly.

I couldn't get over how enormous it was!

The Great Wall was amazing! I had to keep pinching myself that I was really there! We had exceptionally great weather with hardly any smog.

A portion of the old section of the city. Our guide told us they are getting ready to tear it down and replace it with high rises. I'm glad I got to see it before it was destroyed.

This is just a small area of the Pearl Market. There are 4 floors of little booths with scarves, purses, silk robes, Knicks knacks and just about anything you can think of. You have to bargain and our hostess is a master bargainer!

I did get pictures of some designs I want to incorporate into upcoming quilts.

So, back to reality.

More later!

Happy Stitching!

Gift Quilt

2015-01-13T17:02:00.001-08:00

I've been working on a quilt I will take with me as a hostess gift. I saw the pattern in the Late Summer Miisouri Star Block Idea Book. It's a star quilt-I'm partial to stars-and its a new technique to me that I wanted to try using 10" x 10" layer cakes.

First you layer 2 squares, one light and one dark, right sides together and stitch completely around with 1/4" seam allowance.

Next, cut diagonally across the layered square twice.

Cut 1

Diagonal cut the other way.

Press open and arrange with the hourglass design in the middle. Do you see the star yet?

Sew together.

Next, be sure you have good light-especially if you are of a certain age!

You then need to cut 2 1/8" on either side of the center seam both horizontally and vertically.

No star yet!

Then you start flipping the blocks around! First turn the corners 180* ( no degree symbol on my iPad so I'll use the asterisk instead).

Then flip the center 90*.

Finally flip the remaining squares 180*.

And there's your star!

Here's the layout.

It's not my favorite color combination but I understand the colors in her home are black, gray and cream. If not, it's still pretty neutral. I still have to add the borders and quilt it before I leave.

So why the extravagant hostess gift? Her home is in China! She is a gal in our golf league whose husband was transferred to Shanghai for 2 years. She's midway through (hopefully) and gets home occasionally but misses the States. A few of us started talking about visiting her last summer and 2 of us are going next week! The next few days will be busy getting ready for the trip but I've traveled enough that I know what I like to pack. I usually like to travel pretty casually but I think I need to take at least one nice thing for dinners out.

Getting late. Another busy day tomorrow including a private paper piecing lesson with a student.

Happy Stitching!

Is December Really Almost Over?

2014-12-30T05:54:00.001-08:00

I think I say this just about every year! Where does the time go? Weird Humor Alert! When I was in the 3rd grade, we saw a film strip (remember those?) about the Grand Canyon told through the "eyes" of Father Time. After he introduced himself he said, " When people ask where time goes, I tell them 'I go to the Grand Canyon!'". This year he must have spent a lot of time there because I don't remember having much time to myself!

The end of November saw the last of the customer quilts out the door in anticipation of a get away with my husband. Just before our daughter's wedding Joe proposed getting away the beginning of December. I had visions of relaxing on a tropical beach until he said."Let's go back to Ireland!" Well, these crazy Americans headed over to The Emerald Isle on December 4th. We made hotel reservations for the first and last nights and had a loose itinerary for our trip-hugging the southern coast.

There were many rainbows!

The sun would come out and the scenery was breathtaking!

We found interesting places down quaint 2 way (?) lanes.

Stunning views.

Beautiful crystal being crafted at the Waterford Factory. I think "factory" is so deceiving. It's more a studio because every piece is made individually by hand.

We even found "our" town! It consisted of a church, a cemetery and a pub!

We had such a great and relaxing time. We are already planning another trip back-next time to the north.

Came home to the Christmas rush, wrapping frenzy, and general getting the house ready for the big day. Only 2 of the girls were going to be home in addition to my 93 year old father and husband but the girls surprised me and Katie, my daughter who is currently living in Salt Lake City, flew in to surprise us!

Ally and Josh, the newlyweds, will come for a few days after the New Year.

This week is going to be all about MY projects!

I just finished the second top of my Dancing Lady series. I put them up to photograph last night and need to make a few tweeks now that I stand back. I need to put together a gift quilt then I'll be back at it! I'd like to have both done when I go back for another few classes with Ursula Kern in March for her to critique them and help me capture the movement I'm trying to capture. I'm hoping the quilting will help.

Got to get my workout in then back to sewing. It's a sunny morning so I'm going to sew upstairs today to enjoy the rare winter sunshine here in Michigan.

Happy Stitching!

Christmas Crunch is On!

2014-11-25T12:42:00.000-08:00

I finished my customer's quilt and she LOVED it! I'm always so nervous that a customer won't like the quilting even after they tell me to quilt it how I think is best. I'm so glad not only she, but her quilting "sisters" liked it as well.

I finished the 2 brothers' quilts and their mother went crazy over them! We did meet at the local quilt shop to pick out the borders and backing and I'm really pleased with how they turned out!

You can't see it from these pictures but we chose a grey and black houndstooth. Very masculine but did not take away from the tee shirt blocks.

I'm now working on 2 quilts a customer made using blocks that she found in her mother's house. They were poorly pieced but have sentimental value to her and her family. She repaired the blocks as best she could and set them on point. I looked in books to try to figure out how a quilt made at the approximate time these blocks were made would have been quilted.

At one time, this was turned in the correct direction, but for some reason it's not downloading in the correct orientation.

I saw the sunflower motif and thought it went well in the yellow alternate blocks and the curved lines softened all the straight lines in the original blocks.

I drew out the design on template plastic approximately 10" x 10" to fill the blocks.

I also drafted the cable for the border-not too fancy because I didn't want to take away from the beauty of the blocks.

Cable Border

One of the antique blocks

This is the border and the setting triangle.

And the final quilts!

Quilt 1

Quilt 2

It's kind of like Thing 1 and Thing 2! (sorry, my weird sense of humor).

I hope she likes them!

Happy Quilting!

Quilting Again

2014-10-08T18:58:00.003-07:00

This summer was pleasantly busy! A trip to Cape Cod, a wedding shower and bachelorette party in Chicago and THE WEDDING! Our eldest got married on September 6 and the day was a dream! It was absolutely the best!

My Girls

So I'm finally back to quilting. I went to the Machine Quilter Expo in Springfield, Illinois. The best class I took was from Karen McTavish. If you ever get a chance to take a class from her, JUMP ON IT!

Back to the projects on my work list

First was a Hawaiian style penguin quilt.

I did get to do some McTavishing on the baby to make it look fuzzy! Wish I could have done more.

My student, Mildred, has finally finished her "Yuletide Snowflake" pattern by Fig Tree Quilts without the snowflakes. She had seen one that I had done years ago and wanted to do one in purples and greens. I ordered the thread we chose to quilt it with but it took longer to arrive than expected so I started laying out a tee shirt quilt for a client.

The thread finally arrived and I am busy quilting it like the one I had quilted for myself only I'm doing it on the longarm this time! It's much easier but it has taken me some time to remember how I drafted the quilting. It's moving along now but is going to take quite a bit of time.

I really have missed quilting and am glad to be back at it despite the Christmas crush starting. I really need to clean and reorganize my downstairs studio. I'm hoping to squeeze in a little of my stuff in between!

Happy Stitching!

Silly Me!

2014-04-07T11:42:00.001-07:00

I got a new phone-an iPhone 5. I've been trying to upload all my apps and, for some reason, the Blogspot app didn't show up. "No problem", I thought. "I'll just post from my computer". I've been busy going to a workshop with Paula Nadelstern and then off to Boston to care for my youngest after major knee surgery. I've taken pictures on my phone but couldn't figure out how to email the pictures to myself. Long story short, I finally found the app and now I can try to catch up!

I had the pleasure to attend The Hudson River Valley Art Workshop with Paula Nadelstern. This was the second time I have attended to take a class with her. She is a great teacher and a wonderful person. The first day we warmed up by making a relatively simple Nadelstar.

My Nadelstar

Class Nadelstars with one kaleidoscope block

Paula shared some of her quilts with us...

Snowflakes

A print of one of my favorite blocks of hers.

The process is not always pretty!

After 5 long days I finished mine!

I am very pleased with the results! It's almost 30" across. I think I'll probably add setting triangles, frame it and use it as a wall hanging.

I really enjoyed the process and would love to play for a few more weeks making more blocks but life goes on. More on that later.

Until then,

Happy Stitching!

Picture Day

2014-03-04T19:38:00.001-08:00

Right now I don't have any customer quilts to do so I came up with a plan to finish some of MY quilts. Some of them I finished YEARS ago. Some I just didn't know how I wanted to quilt them or wasn't confident enough to tackle them. Well, and unfinished quilt is just pieces of fabric sewn together!

First, I realized I hadn't taken a picture of the latest charity quilt I quilted.

Oooopps! I didn't turn the photo!

The border

A line of mussels

Mussels and feathers

Mussels and swirls

Ocean waves

Straight lines. I like this more than I thought I would!

I should photograph all the charity quilts I do.

I also photographed my UFO's to be quilted. I just ordered 8 X 10 prints so I can put them in a plastic sleeve and play with quilting designs. Some I know what I want to do and others are going to require a bit of thought. I'll post pictures as I finish them.

Happy Stitching!

New Dedicated Quilting Computer

2014-03-03T19:25:00.000-08:00

I finally got a pc based computer for my quilting business. The quilting business program I use is made for pc's and I had to use a program that ran pc programs on my Mac. I caused everything to run slow on my Mac and took quite a bit of time to switch it from one operating system to the other. I would put things aside to enter the next time I opened it. Things would sometimes get misplaced so I think this will make my record keeping more accurate since it's easy to open and enter the information. Now I have to figure out how to do get around on it!

I have been quilting. I was finally able to finish this tee shirt quilt for a client. She was really pleased with the outcome and doesn't know if she can wait to give it to him on his birthday in May.

I've also have been practicing on charity quilts.

I was able to practice using a rope template I used on a client's quilt and play with different motifs in the negative space.

This was fun!

Bear Claw Feathers

I really liked this pattern!

Feathers between feathers.

Triangle feather fill.

More pictures later.

Oh, the other thing I am finally going to be able to do is learn EQ. I've had it for a few years but have not taken the time to play with it enough to learn it. My youngest has to have major knee surgery in a few weeks and I'm going to help her out for 3 weeks. I'm going to take this along to play with it.

Happy Stitching!

Back to Normal

2014-01-27T08:31:00.001-08:00

The last time I posted I was having my meds adjusted. I'm back on track and I'm sorry I vented on the blog but life isn't always sunshine and lollipops.

Back to quilting! I finished a table runner I started in a Sandy Klop class this past fall. When I saw the pattern it screamed peppermint candy to me so I made a Christmas table runner. Unfortunately I didn't finish it until a week after Christmas-or 51 weeks before next Christmas!

Completed table

runner

I used invisible thread so it was difficult to photograph. I free motioned feathers in the candy stripes and swirls in the outer corners of each block. I wanted to try curved cross-hatching in the centers and was pleased with the outcome! I did use templates and wanted to become more comfortable using them.

I met a wonderful quilter who lives in my area who teaches at the dealership where I bought my longarm. It seems like everytime she's teaching there I have other plans out of town! I got in touch with her and she came to my house to give me a private lesson. I learned SO MUCH! I'm much more comfortable using templates and she showed me some other templates I should get. I want to do a rope motif around a customer's quilt I have and we played with one she brought. I ordered it and am practicing on a charity quilt.

Rope template

This is a charity quilt someone in my guild did and I'm quilting it. It's a great way to practice and someone will get a quilt. They won't care if there's mistakes on it and I work on new skills. I plan on doing at least one a month-more if I don't have many customer quilts. I''m going through my sketch books and doing a different vine motif in each empty zig-zag.

Leafy vine

Leaves and curls

I've done more but it's rolled up on the take-up bar. I'll post those pictures when I take the quilt off the frame. I have a few more zig-zags to do and I hope to finish it up this afternoon.

BTW-the music I was listening to while quilting this was the Sly & the Family Stone station on Pandora.

Happy Stitching!

Pity Party

2013-12-26T20:40:00.001-08:00

Who wants to party the day after Christmas? I hated my birthday as a kid because my family would lump my celebration and presents all together. "This is your birthday and Christmas present". As a kid, I hated it! Everyone else got 2 separate celebrations. As the years passed and I had my own family my husband did a great job planning a separate celebration. As the girls got older and moved out into the world they all came home for Christmas and I would have them with me on my birthday. But now, jobs and distance prohibit them from coming home. Bryn and Colleen made it home for Christmas but Co had to go back to Grand Rapids at 6:30 this morning to be at work by 10:00. Joe had a busy day at work and was tired tonight. Bryn was getting together with friends, many who were going back to their new homes tomorrow. I'll admit, I'm really sad and feel cheated again. Joe went to bed at 9:00- no card, no present and not even a cake! I felt like I was coming out of my depression but this is really crappy and I'm afraid this will set me back! Ally and Katie didn't even call. Ally did acknowledge me on facebook but I would have liked a call. We are supposed to go to Chicago tomorrow but I really don't feel like it now.

At my age, I really shouldn't care about my birthday but I do! Maybe next year I should plan something for myself. I've never done a day at a spa or anything decadent like that but then again, they will probably be closed the day after Christmas. And heaven forbid, I should go shopping the day after Christmas! My idea of hell on earth!

Oh well. Maybe I'll just pour myself another drink and watch late night tv.

Not Posting

2013-12-12T16:57:00.000-08:00

I haven't posted lately because, quite honestly, I've been severely depressed. I was diagnosed with SAD (Seasonal Affective Disorder) years ago by a psychiatrist and have been taking antidepressants and sitting in front of a lamp prescribed to me by the doctor as well. We've had a particularly grey late fall and the drugs and light therapy have not done the trick so far. I've been doing nothing but sitting in front of my computer and playing Candy Crush, Pet Rescue and Farm Heros. I have the attention span of a gnat. I usually love decorating my house for Christmas but could barely put up the tree this year. I pushed myself to sew the other day but could only sit there for about an hour. I have been working out and it feels good but I come home and just sit around.
I went to the doctor today and she's increasing my antidepressant and we'll see how that affects me. I may have to add a second drug to get this under control. I'm hoping I'm out of the dumps before Christmas.
Hope I have some projects to show soon after I get my mojo back.

Getting Ready for the Holidays

2013-11-25T18:35:00.000-08:00

Gosh! I've been busy! Not only have we gotten my daughter's wedding dress but I've also found mine! I'm so excited! I didn't want to get mine until Ally got hers so they wouldn't fight! They both have layers of tulle (or a layer in my case) and lace. Hers is ivory (duh) and mine is navy. We found her dress the first of two weekends we planned to look. We had a trip booked to Boston to look at dresses at a shop my sister-in-law had good luck with (the dress, not the marriage). Anyway, we took 4 of the 5 flower girls out to try on dresses for them! They thought they were all princesses!

Ally looking at the dresses

Elizabeth

Celia

Hadley doing her spins!

Hannah, Celia, Elizabeth & Hadley

That's a LOT of dress!

Bryn holding up the brides' maid dress with 3 of the dresses we are considering

This weekend her fiance's parents were in town to look at rehearsal dinner venues and to see where the wedding will be. It was a busy but nice weekend.

I've been busy quilting as well. I helped a friend make a tee shirt quilt for her daughter like the one I made for myself. I'll be quilting it in another week or 2. I did finish the tee shirt part of a quilt for a woman I know from the gym and have been waiting for her to pick out the border fabric so I can finish it and get paid. I already have 10 hours into it and would like it done.

I did get this wall hanging done for a customer's granddaughter. It's a fused applique so none of the pieces were sewn down. It did quilt up quickly and I think she'll be pleased.

I do have 2 more quilts to quilt before Christmas. I'm getting more comfortable using templates and need to practice a bit more because I want to use them on one of the quilts. Practice, practice, practice!

Happy Stitching!

Busy Week

2013-10-06T17:58:00.000-07:00

I finished this quilt yesterday and am really pleased with how it turned out. The customer is a neighbor and had a preview of it the other day when she was walking her dog. IShe seemed really pleased. I did get a rack so I can hang a quilt to photograph it and to show the client without clamping it to the curtain rod in the family room, blocking most of the light from the room! It was a good thing. Today a friend came by to ask me about an antique quilt she had and saw the quilt hanging in the living room. She loved it and is going to go through her sons' tee shirts and possibly have some made for them.

This coming week is a short one for me as I leave for Chicago Thursday night to spend the weekend shopping for a wedding dress for my eldest daughter! I'm going to spend some time working on my Dancing Lady quilt I started at Empty Spools this past spring. In anticipation of spending my time sewing I started a crockpot full of pulled pork! YUM!!!

Pulled pork

Then I set up my computer by my sewing machine and watched a few episodes of The Quilt Show. I watched an episode with Jean Wells Keenan. I'm signed up to take a class from her at Empty Spools next spring. Ricki talked me into it (Ricki Made Me Do It) and now I'm really excited about it! I need Ricki to push me artistically. She talked me into taking Ursula Kern's class and I probably learned more from her than just about any other teacher except for Jinny Beyer. Same same but different.

Sewing machine set-up

My goals for this week is to quilt the simple Turning Twenty quilt I did for Ally and Josh to give their friends. I want to take it with me to Chicago this weekend. Then I get to play with Dancing Lady. It' took me almost a complete block today to get back in the swing of the process. I'd like to get the majority of the blocks done by the time I leave. When I get home I'll get back to making the next tee shirt quilt then I have 2 quilt tops to quilt for another customer.

Until next time,

Happy Stitiching

Unproductive Weekend

2013-09-30T13:22:00.001-07:00

You know "those" days. The ones where no matter how busy you are you get nothing done? That's been my 4 day weekend.

Thursday started out so promising! Got up and went to workout for the first time since mid-July. I was really looking forward to it! Had a great workout, showered then jumped in the car and headed to the Sewing Expo! Had my "shopping list" of things I needed and the resolve not to buy anything I really didn't need (read: no new projects). It was a beautiful fall day for a drive. Got there in about 30 minutes with little traffic. Paid my parking fee and found a parking place near the door! Woo Hoo! Walked in and up to the counter only to find out it doesn't start until Friday! Had to laugh at myself. Oh well! I figured I'd go to a quilt store with a great selection of fabrics that I rarely go to because it's out of the way for me. I was half way there so I headed west-not on the freeway but the scenic route. Unfortunately, the scenic route was not as scenic as it was years ago! Now I know. Since I was coming the back way, I was a bit turned around so had to stop and look up the address on my phone (Thank you, iPhone!). Got there only to find out they were in the process of moving! REALLY?!? TODAY?!? Had to laugh at myself again! I'm so funny!!! At least I have a fun car to drive

(My Little Pony) and it was a beautiful day! I did stop at a little shop on the way back and picked up some fat quarters for a quilt my eldest daughter has commissioned me to make as a wedding gift for some friends that just got married in Maine.

I finally returned home and put my knee up to ice and relax. I did work the top of the tee-shirt quilt I want to have on the frame this coming week. Had a quiet evening since Joe was on a golf trip.

Friday was a free day. I had planned on just staying at home and sewing all day. Then, silly me, decided to try the Sewing Expo again. I was really disappointed in the venders. There wasn't much quilt related. There were some but not the variety I had hoped for. I did stop by the Innova booth to see my friends there-Cathy & Jeff. Cathy told me that a lot of the quilt venders had broken off and were in Birch Run (about and hour away) at new event billed as a One Stop Shop Hop. OOOO! It's a nice day so, what the heck. Looked up the address, plugged it in the GPS and off I went in My Little Pony. Got there about an hour later and didn't even have to pay for parking! (I guess karma was with me because I paid for parking twice for the Sewing Expo) Cut to the chase-it was small. I suppose it was the first year they have done this and hopefully, it will grow. I was thinking, after I left, I have been to Houston the past 2 years and to the Grand Rapids show last month. I've been spoiled. I have learned to have a list as you walk in and I don't need any more projects to start.

I did get home just as my daughter brought home my grand-dog, Guapo! She was going out with some friends so I got to spend the evening with "The Guap-ster"!

Saturday I got the Pig Tree decorated!

My Bryn had gotten me a string of pig lights so I decided to get out the pig ornaments I have collected over the years and display them year-round! After that, I got some of the fall decorations around the house and finished putting the borders on the tee shirt quilt!

Sunday was a bust! I got a call from Colleen, who was back home in Grand Rapids saying she had left her laundry (and her room mate's) at our house! Really?!? So we met in Lansing, about 90 miles away, and had lunch. It really took a chunk out of my day. I did get home and pieced a bit of the turning 20 quilt I'm making for Ally's friend before going to a prayer service for a friend.

So, it's Monday and I'm primed to work. I've already been with customer service to update a program on my long arm, seen my student, and getting ready to hit the machine! Woo Hoo! After quilting the tee shirt quilt, I'm going to work on The Dancing Lady quilt I started last March at Empty Spools. Next week I'll get back to the customer quilts.

Happy Stitching!

Back on Track!

2013-09-18T16:56:00.003-07:00

Home from my wonderful trip to Ireland. Didn't get a chance to post while away. Had busy days and enjoyed the Irish beer at night! My favorite Irish brew was Galway Hooker! GET YOUR MIND OUT OF THE GUTTER! A Galway Hooker is a type of sailing vessel!

It took a few days to get back on Eastern Time zone then allow my knee to settle down after all the walking around in Ireland. Hit M'Lady to get this quilt finished! I'm really pleased with it! This picture adds another meaning to "Sunshine and Shadow"!

Next, I finished the tee shirt quilt I made for a client. I'm really pleased with how it turned out. I'm always nervous before a client sees the finished product! Sweatin' bullets!

I'm ready to start on the next tee shirt quilt but I had a cortisone shot in my knee today and have learned the hard way that I have to REALLY take it easy the first 24-48 hours or I will be in tears. No exaggeration! I've been chomping at the bit to get going but in the mean time, I've come up with another idea to market in addition to the tee shirt quilts! Hopefully I can work on it tomorrow when I will feel comfortable enough to at least sit at the sewing machine. Pictures to follow

Until then,

Happy Stitching!

Off to Ireland!

2013-08-28T17:37:00.001-07:00

After 2 surgeries ( shoulder and knee), we are off on our honeymoon to Ireland. We had planned to go the spring after we married but babies started arriving, houses were bought, businesses started and parents got ill. We are finally on our way, 32 years after the fact! I'm so excited. Hopefully I'll be able to post some pictures from the trip!

It's boarding time!

My New Favorite Notion

2013-04-18T19:18:00.004-07:00

While at Empty Spools I was introduced to a new WONDERFUL tool!

The Seam Fix!

It looks like a seam ripper with a funny end you say? Yes it is, but it's so much better! Here's how it works.

You use the conventional working end like you do any other seam ripper-cutting through every 4 to 5 stitches and

pull the bobbin thread from the back.

But then you're left with all the little thread pieces to pick out!

You flip the seam ripper to the other side and "erase" the threads with the funny silicone end!

It really works! It has 2 different silicone tips, one is on the top cover and the other is on the opposite end of the ripper. I personally like the larger one on the cover but have used both and different times.

The only problem I've found with it is that the top does not fit on the end of the handle when it's removed.

It comes in 3 colors, Hot Pink, Teal (it looked more like blue to me) and Grey (which looked like black to me). I got the Pink so I could find it easily when I'm in the throes of quilt making! I got it at the store they set up during seminar but I found it on Amazon. Maybe you can find it at your local quilt store.

Pictures from Ursula's Class

2013-04-15T19:18:00.001-07:00

Okay. I'm going to try to join the 21st century and post pictures from my iPhone. Please bear with me while I try this. It could be ugly!

The first is a picture of my maquette (or model) of my dancing lady. (If I'm lucky, I'll try to figure out how to post the original inspiration).

The second one is of me showing last year's quilt at Show and Share in front of the entire session.

The third picture is of my friend, Ricki, and Ursula.

The next one is of some of the blocks I completed in their approximate position.

And finally, a picture of Ricki, Ursula and I.

I learned so much that week and I wish I lived closer to her to learn as much as I could from her. The commute to Switzerland is a bit daunting!

I'll post pictures as I work on my "Dancing Ladies" quilt.

Now, let's hope this posts with the pictures!

Happy Stitching!

I'm Baaaaack!

2013-04-11T19:01:00.000-07:00

I just returned from 2 sessions at Empty Spools-one session with Ursula Kern (2nd year) and one with RaNae Merrill. Let's just say, Ursula didn't disappoint and RaNae did. I took most of my pictures on my iPhone and I need to figure out how to post them here but quite honestly, I'd rather be quilting!

Ursula

I went to Ursula's class thinking my project would be of an image in my mind of a woman at the Pushkar Camel Fair in India. I was looking through my friend's, Ricki, pictures and came across a picture of 2 women dancing around the fire in the camp where we stayed while in Pushkar. It was night, so it was very dark. The women were dressed in black, full skirts decorated in fushia, turquoise, white and lots of shesha mirrors. The image of them swirling with the mirrors flashing, the colors swirling and the fire roaring behind them was magical. So I completely changed my project and had to buy more fabric (Don't cry too hard but I did have to pack it up to bring home)!

My maquette for my Dancing Lady

The second session with RaNae was on Spiral Quilts. From the description, I thought we would be studying what makes the spiral spin and how to draft them. She touched on the drafting but I think she really just wanted us to make our "wedges" from her kit. That's fine for a one or two day class but we are at Empty Spools for 5 days. There were more than a few engineers in the class that was hoping for more. I went ahead and drafted my own wedge for paper piecing. RaNae had said we had to follow her rules-one of them is doing things her way. Fine. I'll try it but if I'm more comfortable with another way I'd like to be able to switch to my way. She did have some good tips but I did not like not pressing with an iron but she insisted we use-basically a wallpaper seam roller- to press our pieces down. I think she knew the people on our side of the room were not happy so she stayed mostly on the other side. She commented on the last day how my pieces had little pleats in it. I was rather snarky and said that I preferred to use and iron and considered this wedge just a practice!

Now that I'm home and the dust is settling, I'm starting a t-shirt quilt for myself as a sample.

I'm finding that now that Lady Chamberlain is in the basement I don't have a large floor space without an oriental carpet on it! Maybe I should get a cheap white sheet to lay over the oriental rug to play with the layout. Tomorrow I'll get some interfacing and start stabilizing the shirts. I also have not worked on the Lady since I left and should at least throw something small on to play.

I did quilt and edge to edge quilt for a friend of mine with the Pantovision and she was really pleased! She has another one for me to do in a couple of weeks. Got to keep my skills sharp!

Time to put my feet up!
Happy Stitching!

I've Been Practicing

2013-01-18T12:11:00.003-08:00

Today, I am dedicating to Lady Chamberlain. I am taking a break because I was pretty intense for 2 hours and need to give myself a break.

First, let me back up a bit. The machine's name is "Quilt Chamberlain" but it sounds too masculine. I'm really into Downton Abbey and love the whole lord and lady deal so she is "Lady Quilt Chamberlain", or just Lady Chamberlain.

I practiced my stippling on "The Quilt From Hell". It was one of those "simple" quilts that I screwed up on every step! I just wanted it done! So I decided I'd practice on it and time how long it would take to do it from putting it on the frame to taking it off. It's 64" square and I used some flannel plaid (what was I thinking when I bought it? I do think it was on sale)

QFH in the frame

Close up of stippling

And I finished in basically 2 hours 10 minutes!

QFH done! All that's left is the binding! I'll do that when I get my sewing machine set up.

My friend, Ann, gave me a few of her quilts to practice on. The first one was a small former mystery quilt she had fallen out of love with. I practiced my pantographs on it.

Yesterday, I figured out cross hatching. I have a cross-hatch bar and after wrangling around a bit I "got it"!

This program is driving me NUTS! I just tried to move some text and it deleted a picture and turned my font blue and started underling! I can't turn it off so please bear with me! Okay-got it back to black but can't stop the underling.

Today I started back on the FMQP doing freehand straight lines. I drew the star and did okay staying on the line. I'll need to get a ruler to do the straight line.

The next thing I needed to work on (according to Leah Day) is outlining. I cut a piece of a large patterned fabric and sewed it on my practice piece.

I then practiced going around all the motifs. It was slow but not as difficult as I thought it would be. The difficult part was trying to see through the hopping foot. I need to see what other types of feet that are available. I then echoed around the motifs.

I did try to pebble but, again, it was difficult to see where I was going with the foot I had on the machine.

Exciting development! Yesterday, I had a quilting friend that I had not seen for a while call me to ask me for the name of a quilter to do a simple quilt for her granddaughter. I told her what was going on with me and she said it would be perfect! She just wanted large stippling done. I CAN DO THAT! She came over today to deliver the quilt, we picked out some thread and I told her I would get it to her in the next two weeks! I had loaded 5 yards of fabric to practice on before her call so I'm going to practice, practice, practice then do the quilt! It should take me under 3 hours!

Back to the Lady!

Happy Stitching!

First 3 Quilts from Lady Chamberlain!

2013-01-16T17:22:00.001-08:00

So I can't find my camera at the moment but want t show my first 3 quilts done on my Longarm.

I stippled on the first one and found it pretty easy.

The second one I did was the Kaffe windmill. I used a pantograph and it went pretty well.

The last one was the Christmas Log Cabin. I used another pantograph and it went okay but I definitely have to work on circular pattern!

I think I'm going to get back on the Free Motion Quilt Project. And Saturday I'll set up my sewing area upstairs!

Happy Stitching!

Promised Pictures

2013-01-09T08:01:00.000-08:00

Here are some pictures from inside the Rocky Mountain Quilt Museum. Pictures were allowed but without a flash. I also forgot my camera so had to take them on my iPhone. Without the flash, it was hard to get a non-blurry picture. I'm posting the best of the pictures. Some just did not turn out well. I hope you get the idea.

The quilts displayed were all crazy quilts. Most of them were antique, made with silks, velvets and satins. The embroidery was wonderful. It's amazing to think they were mostly made by hand.

This is the front of a two-sided quilt.

The back was just as stunning in all satins and silks.

A close-up of the back shows it was machine quilted!

The next quilt was heavily embroidered. It also had tartan plaids.

Beautiful embroidered peacock feathers.

This is another beautifully embroidered quilt.

Close-up if embroidered star

Embroidered 60 degree star

This is a modern quilt. I wish he picture of the whole quilt came out. It had beautifully embroidered trees. The quilting was also incredible.

This is a close-up of some of the embroidery! Lots of little surprises like the dragonfly all over the quilt. The bow is attached by the beads.

This is a modern quilt made by Silvia Einstein, who was in the class (as a student) I took last year in Asilomar. She is such a sweet, creative woman. I was so excited to see one of her quilts on display!

This was made from pennants. What a cool idea! I used to collect these. Who knows where they are now.

This quilt is quite stunning in person. All different shades of red velvet strips.

I'm sorry more of the pictures didn't turn out better. It was a lovely exhibit and well worth the trip up to Golden from Denver. I'll be sure to check what is on display the next time I'm in Denver.

Wanted to Post from Denver...

2013-01-07T19:20:00.001-08:00

Have you ever had one of those days? Well, I had just a partial one. I spent a delightful day with my daughter in Golden, Colorado, even dragging her to The Rocky Mountain Quilt Museum. With all good intentions, I had my daughter take my picture with the intention of posting it but my phone would not recognize my password. It's taken me 3 days to get things straightened out so I'll try to post it now.

I Think One of My Posts is in Cyber Space!

2012-12-30T17:30:00.000-08:00

I know I posted pictures of my new baby-Quilt Chamberlain! But since it's not here, I post her baby pictures now!

Jeff-the technician from Innova-arrived at about 2pm on Sunday, the 23rd. Joe and I helped him unload the truck and bring all the parts downstairs. With our help, he said we probably saved him an hour. I tried to stay out of his hair but couldn't help but check on him rather regularly!

All 4 girls were home, along with 2 boyfriends and 2 dogs and my dad. Poor guy had 9 people and 2 dogs supervising! He was such a trooper! I did make sure he had enough coffee and water and kept him well fed! In addition, we had Christmas Carolers come in and serenade us! 10 hours later, our newest baby was assembled!

Jeff gave me some basic instructions and I was very glad I had taken the new owners class a few weeks ago. I'm still muddling through with the Pantovision, but slowing becoming more accustomed to it. I am looking forward to more formal instruction with it.

I have a big learning curve with getting proficient with the machine. My curves and circles have a lot to be desired, but I will practice until it looks good. I decided I will do as many online classes that I can. I started with Leah Day's Free Motion Quilt Along. I have started with the stippling.

I had previously signed up for Craftsy's Machine Quilting Negative Space class with Angela Walters. It's pretty good. I was hoping it was more long arm instruction, but I do think I'll get a lot out of it. Below are my practice pieces.

Swirls

Boxes

Circles and Swirls

Parenthesis with lines and pebbles

I also practiced my feathers. Still not as rounded as I'd like but I'm sure it will come with practice.

I have been looking for a beginner longarm class online that gives hints on how to do things and drills to practice. I have found one called "Skillbuilding for Free Motion Quilting" which is part of the online quilt channel QNN show, "Quilt It-the Longarm Quilting Show" It's somewhat what I was looking for. You need to order some pre-marked fabric to practice on. Not sure if I'm going to do that or just practice on my own. It's a bit sappy-sweet but I'll muscle through because I really want to get on track.

I'm thinking Leah Day's Free Motion Quilt Along might be the best bet. I'll let you know!

Happy Stitching!

Log Cabin Stars Top Done! Finally!

2012-12-18T19:25:00.000-08:00

Well, it's not my favorite but the top is done as far as I'm concerned! The picture downloaded sideways, but then again, this whole quilt has given me fits! I took a class at Asilomar from Flavin Glover called Log Cabin Diamonds. I think I was expecting more from the class and, as my friend Ricki said, I was underclassed. I had been at one of Jinny Beyer's seminars where we studied the log cabin block and it's variations and I was hoping for more of the same. Didn't happen. But I wanted to finish the quilt top. So I plugged away, on and off, for almost 2 years. I had A LOT of blocks that I made but didn't use. So I'm going to use them on the back!

So I started fooling around with one of the complete stars and built with some of the partially done diamond blocks.

Then I pulled some of the tonal gradated blocks and really liked the result! Maybe even more than the front! It's looking like a double sided quilt!

To make it even I need add a 4 inch border around all the sides.

This will help keep me distracted (like Christmas isn't distracting enough) until the new Baby arrives! The wrapping is done so I can get back to quilting! Or should I say "piecing". I'l be quilting once the machine arrives and is set up. I was told last week that it should arrive this week! It's Tuesday and I'm beside myself waiting for the call!

Happy Stitching!