Mon - March 20, 2006

Catching up on my last year of quilting

It's a little bleak, but I did do some quilting in the past year

Well, blogging once a year is something, I guess. Now that I'm happier with our new ISP I'll probably do more of it. I think that the last quilting project I blogged about was the giraffe quilt I made for Reid. I was really pleased with it and there's a picture of it in my July 12, 2005 archive blog. (I guess it's not been a whole year since I've blogged about quilting.)

I've also finished a quilt for a friend who was expecting a baby in February. I haven't heard about the baby yet. I need to check up on her. She volunteered with me at the library so we only saw each other there and we had started working different times so hadn't really seen each other recently. She's really sweet, though, and I'm excited for them and their new baby. The quilt was one of Nancy Chong's 2 Fabric Applique Quilt patterns called Bear Aloft. I did it using the ragged edge method she recommended in a beige flannel and a rust flannel. It goes really quickly. She did her sample piece in three hours she said. It took me a bit longer, but not too much. You sandwich the backing, the batting, the background fabric and the fabric which you're going to applique on which you've drawn the pattern (no seam allowances--just the picture). After you baste it all down you sew around the drawing, then clip about 3/16-1/8 inch away from the sewing lines on the outside of the picture, and then quilt inside the picture and around the border. Sew on a binding and you're done! You can even do the binding with a ragged edge if you want.

Posted at 05:50 PM    

Tue - July 12, 2005

The Giraffe Quilt

Finally finished Reid's quilt and it fits him perfectly.

I finally finished Reid's quilt. I hand quilted it and you can see the grass design that I quilted into it. I really enjoyed the hand quilting once I got started and forgot about the rules. I had a hard time trying to quilt on the hoop so I did it free form. I did large stitches around the giraffe spots with two strands of brown embroidery floss and call it "primitive quilting." I'm anxious to quilt another quilt now, but need to get one put together. I do have my crumb quilt top almost finished so I could probably do that one. If I can get this to work I'll dig out a picture of my crumb quilt and put it up. It's on another hard drive and I have to go dig it out.

Well, let me see if maybe I can get this blog to work. Last time I was here I couldn't get it to work.

Posted at 09:21 PM    

Tue - February 8, 2005

Back again...

I can't believe it's been five months since I last entered something. I've gotten a few crafty things done in the intervening weeks. The big news is that the twins arrived safe and sound at 6 pounds a piece on 26 September. Just missing my birthday by three hours. Owen and Gwynyn.

Well, I finished the turtle quilt, but instead of doing a fish quilt for the other twin, I did octopi. I got them both finished just before they arrived to visit for Christmas. Here's a picture of the two of them before they went home with the twins to Indiana.
Now I'm working on a giraffe quilt similar to these for grandbaby number three who is due the end of March.

In between I crocheted some hats for the twins and their parents:


And knit a hat for the new munchkin who we're waiting for:
Henry is our official baby hat model. We discovered that his head seems to be just the right size.

Now, besides the giraffe quilt, I'm knitting a colorful fish to felt for a baby to play with. If I get around to making a couple of them I'll hang them in a mobile for somebody.

Tomorrow I'm meeting with friends in the hopes of getting a quilting/ UFO group going. I'm counting on them to get me moving with all of my UnFinished Objects!!

Posted at 08:56 PM    

Tue - September 7, 2004

Earlier Projects

A Halloween wall hanging and a Hawaiian quilt top I finished earlier this year.

Spent the morning chatting with youngest daughter who was having computer problems and eldest daughter who is expecting twins momentarily and can't figure out if two of the car seats she's interested in will fit in her new Ford Focus in the rear facing position. Got the computer problem straightened out, but wasn't able to help re the car seats. Spent the afternoon volunteering at the library. So... no quilting done today. (Though the day isn't completely over, so may get a few stitches in yet.) Thought I might put up a couple of projects I finished earlier this year.

The first one is a Halloween Cat wall hanging that I did for the Senior Center to sell in their boutique. Someone donated the kit, but it was fabric only - no pattern or picture. I volunteered to come up with something and this is what I turned out.

All the fabric except the orange was in the package. I backed it with the character fabric.

Then I appliqued this Hawaiian quilt top for my quilting instructor, Nancy Lee Chong of the Pacific Rim Quilt Company .

Luckily she had a deadline or I might still have it in my to do pile!! I felt a real sense of accomplishment when I finished it and I discovered that I really do like to applique.

Posted at 10:31 PM    

Sun - September 5, 2004

Turtle quilt progress

I got part of one of the turtle shells done today. It's progressing!! I'm so excited. Hopefully I'll get at least one of the turtles done by tomorrow. You can't see much but I just had to take a picture of the progress so far...
Can you see the turtle shell taking shape?

Posted at 08:58 PM    

Sat - September 4, 2004

Turtle Quilt

The turtle quilt is under way!!

Yahoo! I got the background for the turtle quilt converged yesterday. I think I'm really going to like it with the turtles on it. The idea is to see the turtles swimming up from the dark depths of the purple on the bottom left up to the light at the surface in the upper right.

Today I got the applique fabric basted to the background and have stitched the first stitch. When I get one of the turtles done I'll post a picture. Now, back to appliqueing!!

Posted at 09:11 PM    

Thu - September 2, 2004

Oh dear....

Stopped in at the local yarn store and, oh dear...., what lovely yarns!!

Today I met with my weekly craft group. We're making Christmas decorations for the Senior Center to sell at their fall bazaar. Afterward I finally stopped in at the local yarn store. Oh my goodness does she have some beautiful yarns. I bought a skein to make a pair of socks for the Feet Need Socks crochet along. I'll give them to my daughter. It's a beautiful variegated yarn of blue, apricot and light purple. Also signed up for her yarn of the month club. You get one of her variegated hand dyed skeins plus a sample of the solid matching yarn. The colors are only available for the month and only to the club members. This month's is a maroon, almost purple, and sand or apricot. It's gorgeous.

Got the convergence background for my Herd of Turtles quilt almost finished today. Just need to sew the second set of strips together. I'll include a picture of it when I get it done. And then I'll be able to start putting the turtles on.

We got a little chilly today so have a nice cozy fire going in the wood stove for a bit. It's so nice to sit and quilt or crochet by a fire. The Senior Center is sponsoring a Caps for Kids project and everyone is busy making hats for kids in need for the winter.
Here are a bunch of them hanging up on the wall.
Here's one of my hats. I'm working on a purple one now in a different pattern.

Posted at 08:43 PM    

Wed - September 1, 2004

Getting started with this blogging thing

Got energized to start working on my projects from reading other blogs on line. Now I'd like to share some of my projects.

I accidentally stumbled onto Mariko's Super Eggplant blog while looking for people's opinions on what they received in Malden Mills remnant bundles. She is so upbeat and gets so many projects done and seems to have such a good time that I went looking at some of the other blogs she visits, and one thing led to another and now I'm hooked. Seeing everyone chat about their project has re-energized me to work on my projects and I'd like share some of them. Maybe if I have to confess how much or how little I've gotten done I'll do more...

The two that I really, really need to get done first are a turtle quilt (Herd of Turtles by Nancy Lee Chong and one that I'm designing using gold fish to go with the Herd of Turtles quilt. We're expecting our first two grandchildren shortly (twins!!) and the quilts will be for them. I've decided to do the backgrounds the same and they will be purples and blues running from dark to light converged as in Ricky Tim's convergence book. The Turtles will be a lime-ish green batik and the gold fish an orange-ish batik. Now that I write it here, it sounds awful, but the colors really are gorgeous together. Today I vow to get the converging done...

I'm also working on Maggie Walker's Country Journal quilt for my husband. I've got the first two blocks done.

And I'm taking a monthly applique class that has sort of turned into a club. The instructor has starting giving us one of her original designs each month for sort of a block of the month. It's wonderful to see all the different ideas that show up from the same pattern. The blocks are very stylized flowers and I'm doing mine in vivid colors on a deep purple background. I've got three of those blocks finished.


The three blocks I've gotten done so far. I'm thinking of using black sashing when I get ready to put all the blocks together.

And... I've designed a simple landscape quilt of our church for them to use as a raffle or however they want. I've purchased fabric for it and drawn it, but have otherwise not started it.

Posted at 10:47 PM