Friday, October 30, 2009

Houston Part IV

Are you fed up with this yet?
I'm trying to space these posts but I have a lot of photos...

This quilt was AMAZING!
Everyday Barns & Family Farms
by KAREN HANKEN
of JACKSONVILLE, OREGON
Houston 2009
Detail:
Houston 2009

Cuteness:
Pup Art
by NANCY BROWN
of OAKLAND, CALIFORNIA
Houston 2009
And more cuteness:
Just Sing...Sing a Song
By Tom Russell of Katy, Texas (Thanks nanann)
Houston 2009

Houston 2009

Houston 2009

Thursday, October 29, 2009

I must be nuts

I think I may seriously have a mild case of ADD.
I started a new project yesterday.
I've always wanted to make a cathedral window quilt.
Yesterday I saw one online and suddenly HAD to try the technique. I could think of nothing else.
I couldn't find instructions on how to make the blocks using the traditional, hand-sewn method anywhere online.
I had to resort to a book. Gasp!
A new project
According to the book, for a twin sized quilt you need 572 background squares and 1100 colored squares.
I may be making a table runner.

Wednesday, October 28, 2009

Geometrics

I think the mojo is back. Now just to find the time...

This morning I knew I had to make Cathy's block for SC3.
She mentioned that she likes geometrics and I remembered a little puzzle John once sent me when I won a giveaway.
Inspiration
It wasn't exactly conducive to piecing (I don't do inset seams) so I redrafted it in EQ5 with some minor alterations.
Block Draft
Lots of little squares and triangles later:
SewConnected 3 - October
I'm quite pleased.

Tuesday, October 27, 2009

Houston Part III

I loved this quilt.
Houston 2009
Houston 2009
If you know who made it, please let me know.
It seems I was really bad at taking photos of the quilt information this year.

Dutch Treat by Roberta Horton, Berkeley CA
She made this quilt from fabrics she collected during teaching trips to the Netherlands.
It was great to see all the different fabrics.
Dutch Treat
And just for fun:
Farm Truck - Retired by by Lynne Pillus, Oroville CA
Farm Truck - Retired
Unconditional by Virginia Greaves, Roswell GA
Unconditional
Fusible and raw edge applique was very popular this year.

Monday, October 26, 2009

Going in a different direction

Other than quilting and sewing, I love doing things around the house - decorating, gardening, trying out new things...

I'd like to keep this blog mostly about sewing (although other things occasionally slip in).
I've decided to start a new blog dedicated to things around the house.
I'll do posts about decorating, gardening, cooking, organization, review products I've tried, recipes I've made, and so on. You get the idea?

Some posts may be repeats from this blog but most will be new.

I'd love it if you'd join me!


Sunday, October 25, 2009

Houston Part II

And you thought Civil War era quilts were dull and boring. Some of the quilts I saw were so well preserved and bright that I'm starting to wonder if a bunch of those dull ones hadn't just faded over the years.
Houston 2009

Houston 2009

Houston 2009

There was a "That Quilt" quilt this year!
It's new, not old. Machine pieced and wonderfully quilted.
Houston Jane
(Made by Patricia Mayer and Karen Watts)

Saturday, October 24, 2009

A new project

After yesterday's cleaning, I cut out the fabric for a new quilt.
I know, I know - I have many, many WIPs but this one is for someone specific and it was really due at the end of September.
It's time to hop to it.
Don't you love these prints?
My latest project
And then I started sewing and either the pattern cutting instructions are wrong or I'm an idiot.
The jury is still out...

Friday, October 23, 2009

Sit a Bit

Today I cleaned for three hours.
Only forty minutes were actually spent Fall Cleaning.
The rest went to cleaning up after all the neglect this house has suffered in the last three weeks or so.
I'm now going to sit a bit...
Chair & Cushions
...and then I'm sewing!
(The quilt is my Virtual Quilting Bee quilt and the front pillow matches my kitchen table runner.)

Thursday, October 22, 2009

Houston Part I

Houston was amazing as always!
There was no way I could take photos of all the quilts - 500 or so - but I tried to capture the ones that drew my attention.

This is my favorite quilt in the whole show.

Even though it looks like raw-edge work, each and every little edge is turned under.

The quilt is at least 6' x 6'.
It was made by Martha Brown from Canada.
Here's some of what she said about the quilt:
"I found an embroidery I had created in my teens - a simple design of the wheel of the zodiac.
In interpreting it as a quilt, the challenges were to create effective imagery for each sign and element, maintain a cohesive design, and stay committed to the project.
It took over 6 months/500 hours and I loved every minute of it."

Houston 2009
The center:
Houston 2009
Pisces:
Houston 2009
Aquarius?
Houston 2009
Leo:
Houston 2009
Aries, Sagittarius:
Houston 2009
Virgo, I think:
Houston 2009
I wish I had taken detail photos of all the signs but there were people waiting to see the quilt.

Kudos to you Martha!

Edited to add: Thank you Quiltbug for giving us a link to Martha's site where you can drool over her other creations: http://www.bluemoonfabricarts.com/Index.htm
She now makes absolutely stunning dolls. Be sure to have a look at those.

Wednesday, October 21, 2009

I made something!

I had to.  I was under pressure.
I have a friend who always has an artists' sale at her home in November. She wanted to get the flyers out but needed a photo of "something".
I had promised to make things for the sale and small items always sell better hence...
Little ornament
At least I know I can whip up one of these in about 20 minutes because that's all I had last night.

Tuesday, October 20, 2009

I'm back!

I'm back from Houston. It was wonderful as always.
I took a lot of quilt photos and will share them this week, but at the moment I have my hands full catching up around here.
When I went to the mail box yesterday, the new batch of Don't Look Now patterns were waiting for me.

Lilly Pilly:





And my favorite - Willow:


To celebrate, Kellie is having a wonderful giveaway on her blog so head over there and enter!

Monday, October 12, 2009

And off we go!

Today I'll be running around trying to get everything together for my (very) early morning flight to Houston tomorrow.

I will try to blog while over there (haven't quite figured out the mobile blogging thing) but I'll definitely be on Twitter and Facebook.

And because I won't be able to ship any orders while I'm away...



If you're willing to wait a couple of days for your fabric to ship, you can get some good deals over in the store this week.

Saturday, October 10, 2009

Bundles of Joy

These little guys and their accompanying instructions have kept me very busy this week.
Fabric bundles
They're now in their envelopes, adressed, and ready to go out to their new owners on Monday.
Woohoo!
Fabric bundles
These are all fabric bundles for the Rainbow Jane Block of the Month. I have decided that the latest session will be my last RBJ session.
There's one signup spot left and then it's over.
Fabric bundles
Now I have to clean this house so the boys can mess it back up when I'm in Houston...

Friday, October 9, 2009

Blogger's Quilt Festival

I was so excited about this and then almost forgot!

Since we should probably all have started our Christmas sewing by now (yeah right!), I thought I'd share my Christmas quilt.

I made this last year with leftover fabric from strippy runners I'd made to sell at a friend's studio sale.
I had been wanting to make a zig zag quilt for a while and Christmas was right around the corner.
Christmas Zig Zag Quilt
I love this quilt and can (almost) not wait to take it out of the closet.
Christmas Zig Zag Quilt back
If you'd like to have a look at other lovely quilts or enter the Festival yourself, just pop in over here.

Tuesday, October 6, 2009

My New Toy

Remember when I broke my timer?
I ordered a new one.
It arrived today.
My new toy
It's amazing.
FOUR separate timers!
Oh the possibilities!

Monday, October 5, 2009

Pink

There probably won't be much blogging this week.
The Rainbow Jane kits have to go out on Monday.
On Tuesday I fly to Houston and I haven't even looked at the supply list for my classes.
I'm stressing a little but trying to breathe.
Pink
A little bundle of pink that went out in the mail this morning - $2.50 donated to a good cause.

Saturday, October 3, 2009

Joining the fight


The National Breast Cancer Foundation's mission is to save lives by increasing awareness of breast cancer through education and by providing mammograms for those in need.
More information about the National Breast Cancer Foundation over here.

Thursday, October 1, 2009

This little friendship bag...

...will be off to its new home tomorrow.
And yes, I am a little obsessed with Panache right now.
Friendship Bag
(It's my bag for the Friendship Bag Swap. Tutorial over here.)