Sunday, July 29, 2012

Santa again (and some grannies)

Since I'm watching A LOT of television right now thanks to the Olympics, I'm making progress on some of my handwork.

Windswept Santa
July 12th
Windswept Santa
July 18th
Windswept Santa
July 28th
Windswept Santa
Did I mention I now have ALL the solid colors of DMC embroidery cotton?

Granny Afghan
July 4th
Granny Squares
July 15th
Granny Squares
July 28th
Granny Afghan
I have spent a lot of time getting rid of those little strings on the back.
Granny Afghan

Saturday, July 28, 2012

Thursday, July 26, 2012

OMG!



Very surreal considering I wasn't even going to enter it.

(All the other winners are posted over here.)

Thursday, July 19, 2012

African American Quilts Part I

The Bellevue Arts Museum in Bellevue, WA currently has a collection of African American quilts on display. I visited yesterday and thought I'd share some of my favorites.

I think most of these quilts were made purely for utilitarian purposes.  Perfection was not needed. Still, the quilts show an inherent sense of design I think most of us possess without even having to think about it too much.

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Of course, some were clearly the result of quite a bit of thought about colors and layout.
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I have more photos and will share them soon.

(If you're in the Seattle area, the exhibit will be up until early October.)

Wednesday, July 18, 2012

Finish #6

Well, kind of.
#4 was a multiple item project but I'm only counting it as one.

My little challenge quilt is in the mail today to hopefully arrive at its destination by Friday. Nothing is as much fun as cutting it really close...
Challenge Quilt

I'm a little hesitant to show my quilting up close.
Challenge Quilt

Love how the prairie points turned out though. Challenge Quilt
Acceptance letters go out at the end of August. If I don't get one, I'll have this little one back in my hands by the end of September, all ready to go into our local guild's quilt show where they love EVERYTHING any member makes.

A big thank you to my friends who convinced me to send it in after all. If I hadn't I would always have wondered. Now it's just a waiting game.

Edited on 9/13/12 to add: She won first place - "Pieced - Best First Time Entry" in the Hoffman Challenge!

Tuesday, July 17, 2012

Super Mario Brothers QAL

I really, really, really do not need another project but my 19-year old would LOVE this quilt!
And I can hopefully finish it before his birthday in December.

 

Monday, July 16, 2012

Three Rows!

Granny Squares

 
Granny Squares

If I fold it just right, it almost looks like a throw...
Granny Squares

Sunday, July 15, 2012

Threads

I've finished quilting the center of the challenge quilt.  Did I mention this should be in the mail by tonight?
I may not enter it though.  Not sure it's up to snuff for judging.  Not sure I care.

I now have all the little thread ends to get rid of.  Lots of them.  Thank goodness the quilt is only 24" x 24"!
Challenge Quilt

Challenge Quilt
On to the borders.

Friday, July 13, 2012

Basting Time!

Challenge Quilt
On the bathroom floor.
Challenge Quilt
(The dots are from the Rooftop Garden collection.)

Thursday, July 12, 2012

Challenge Progress

Today I finished the challenge quilt top. I'm not sure I'm going to get it done in time, but I'm sure going to try. It has to be in the challenge people's hands by July 20th, which means this baby should go out in the first mail on Monday.

Challenge Quilt

In this small photo you can see the design better. I love what you can do with log cabins just using different hues and colors.
Challenge Quilt
Not sure how to quilt it.  Suggestions are VERY welcome.

For the Record

I know, I know.  You're bored stiff...

This post is really for my record. Just to reassure myself that I'm actually making progress. At around 20 stitches per inch, this is a slow process.
santaxstitch3
Yesterday I spent precious time I don't have cataloging my DMC thread. I only needed 46 out of about 450 solid colors!
I found an Etsy seller with very, very reasonable prices and ordered the last 46. Can't wait!

Wednesday, July 11, 2012

Cross Stitch!

Ran out of yarn for the granny afghan and since, as I posted yesterday, I now have a new urge to embroider, I retrieved an old WIP from the archives.

This is what I wrote in January 2008: "This guy may actually be done by Christmas 2008.."
Ha ha ha.
Cross Stitch Santa
And in February 2009: "Hopefully this one will join its friend on the wall this Christmas."
Really?
Christmas Cross Stitch
Today I'm saying NOTHING.
santaxstitch2

Tuesday, July 10, 2012

Why...

...are there only 24 hours in a day?

A week or so ago, my travels on the internet led me to order 200 skeins of DMC embroidery floss on eBay. I was planning to resell them on Etsy, but...

I have always wanted to own ALL the colors.

DMC Embroidery Floss
So I'm keeping them.

Having made that decision, I hopped on over to Pinterest for flossy inspiration.


from Kristen's Fabric Art on Flickr

You can buy this pattern on Etsy (and I just may).

In the mean time I have a deadline for the Challenge Quilt, a really messy house, a really weedy garden, a store to run, and multitudes of WIPs.

What is girl to do?

Wednesday, July 4, 2012

Two Rows!

Happy 4th to everyone in the United States. I love this country!

I have two entire rows of my granny square blanket completed. That's 30 out of 250 or so squares!

Fortunately I'm attaching them to each other as I go.
Granny Squares
Unfortunately this does not involve getting rid of all the little strings in the back.
Granny Squares

Any tips?

Monday, July 2, 2012

Scrap winner

Clearly there are still people out there.
The winner of the scraps is....

Happy Cottage Quilter, who said, "I love these bright colors. I would love to cut them into squares and alternate them with white for a quilt. Thanks!"
(Send me your shipping details at twiddletails{at}gmail{dot}com and I'll drop these in the mail.)

In other news, I made the little bit of challenge fabric I had work.  I was NOT going to pay $5 to ship half a yard of fabric! Where there's a will, there's a way.

Log Cabins

Sunday, July 1, 2012

Challenge

This is a challenge quilt. It involves using a specific fabric in a project.
A specific fabric I'm REALLY not very fond of, but I love a challenge.
If the judges like my little quilt it could become part of something very exciting.
Log Cabins
Stay tuned.

(BTW, when you buy fabric online, how much shipping do you expect to pay for half a yard? I need more of the challenge fabric, but can't find an online store that will ship half a yard for less than $5! Seeing that I ship it for $1.85, I'm a little shocked.)