Showing posts with label blogger. Show all posts
Showing posts with label blogger. Show all posts

Monday, April 9, 2018

Where in the world have I been????

I have had a busy few weeks.  I am still having a busy week but wanted to catch you up on a few quilting things that I have been doing.
 First, I took a class from Paula Nadelstern, quilter, author and fabric designer.  Her quilts are an exquisite series of kaleidoscopes and are drop dead gorgeous.  The above is a sample of a piece of one of her quilts.  There is a knockout one coming - it is in Paducah now - but we were privileged to get a glimpse of it.  The picture above is a tiny piece of another one of her quilts.
Here is my star - quite a fun class classed Sun Star.  Paula is an excellent teacher and she really knows how to pace the class, keep it interesting, and make hard tasks seem easy easy.  I am anxious to make another to compliment it this block.  My friend used the same fabric as I did  and they are totally different! 
I auditioned some of my Island Batiks so that I could work on April's challenge while away on Spring Fling, our annual quilt guild getaway.  These fabrics are given to me by Island Batik to use in quilt challenges throughout the year.  For the retreat, we go to a lovely spot on Lake Winnipesaukee in New Hampshire,  a little over 2 hours north of Boston.  We sew and eat and laugh and have a great time for 4 days and 3 nights.  The endless winter meant there was lots of ice still on the lake and snow that fell Friday!  
The above quilts went to new homes.
I have been playing with a few designs - some easier than others!  
I worked on a new technique for my April Challenge.
 
I worked on a pattern for our  QAL!  Details will be realeased on May 1st so keep an eye out.   It is designed by a group that met nearly a year ago in the 2017 New Quilt Bloggers and are now known as Partners in Design.  You can find us here.
 
I signed up to host a few things in May...more on that later.
 
Unfortunately, I fell behind in my #365daysofArt but I will be back! One can only do so much.
 
So, you can see there are a lot of things in the works.
 
Linking up to:
Janda Bend - Pieceful Sunday
Powered by Quilting - Friday Foto Fun
Inquiring Quilter - Wednesday Wait Loss
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Tuesday, January 2, 2018

4th quarter complete








The 4th Quarter was a great one!  I accomplished a fair amount and am very pleased.

My goals were to finish the following:

1.  Free Falling Leaves - quilting, binding, labels, hanging sleeves - more here
Free Falling Leaves Top
Free Falling Leaves
Hanging at Rising Star Quilters Guild
2.  The alphabet quilt:  Hand binding, sleeve and label - more about this quilt here
Alphabet, Unfinished
Alphabet quilt, Finished

3.  2 Sew together bags - more about these here
Finished Sew Together Bags
Sew Together Bags, in project box


4.  And finally, finish organizing my space, more here

The Closet, unfinished
The closet - organized
More closet organized
This last project was not done, but I can't really complain.  Its a little harder in odd ways than it should be, so I only do an hour or two when I am working on it.


 The Loon did not get finished.  It was a little harder than I imagined and not so fast to do.  I expect it will be done in two weeks, if we get to Maine both of those weeks.  It lives there and so I only have access to it halftime.  I am making a list of what I need too, so I don't get stuck for that reason.


The Loon,unfinished 



Linking up with:  2017FAL 4th Quarter 



Sunday, December 31, 2017

4th Project for 2017FALQ4 Finished!


They are done - my two sew together bags are finished!  I think I cut them out two years ago, but they had no specific destination so they wallowed.   This is a big way we get UFOs - we find a new fabric and make a plan but no destination, no deadline.  For this year, however, they were part of my APQResolution and my 2017FALQ4 resolution.  I think these bags are so useful for EPP, hand sewing, cords or makeup. 


As you can see they are very similar.  I just swapped the lining and inner pocket lining for a way to mix up the fabrics.  I think it is nice to have some differences between the bags, even when making multiples.





As I write this, I am thinking of a person who might need at least one of these!

I have one more project, but it won't get finished today.  I am missing a bead I need, and need to make dinner for our quiet New Year'e Eve celebration.

Happy New Year!





Sunday, November 19, 2017

Finish #2 for the quarter, Free Fall QAL




It was a terrific feeling to finish this quilt.  I wanted it ready for our quilt show, in the middle of October and it was.  It was part of my goals for this quarter for the 2017FALQ4; you can see them all here.  We had a family death and so I was unable to be at the show, but was out of the country.  In my hurry to get things done and delivered to friends, I forgot to take pictures of this quilt.  As I have a quilt made of these fabrics on my bed, I felt as though this deserved to be in someone's home that loved it.  It found a buyer a the show - I was thrilled.


The quilting was pretty intense for me.  It was all straight line, and I used a darker thread in the green leaf and a light thread in the the background.  I loved the effect and was pleased that I stuck with it. 





Here's the way we label our quilts at the show  We get to write a little description to tell people about the quilt.  Of course we could go on forever, but we are limited to 50 words or so.



This pictures shows my label.  I had this fantastic aboriginal print, that was just lovely for the background.  I often do my labels the same way, framing them, and you can see more about that here.




Thanks to my quilting friend, Sandra at MMM! Quilts for designing a great quilt and hosting a fun QAL.  

Here's how the end of the year list is looking:

2017FAL4Q List:  3 to go!!!!
1. Free Fall Quilt Along 
2.  Alphabet Quilt
3.  Sew Together bags
4.  Petal Play Loon 
5.  Organized sewing room

All people quilt UFOs   (so 7 out of 12 are done!!)
1.  Grey batik flying geese
2.  Petal Play Loon
3.  Raw Edge Tree Runner
4.  Row by Row #3 (is this for real, one more??)
5.  Sew Together Bags

Here's hoping for a stellar finish - I think the Sew Together Bags will be done as well.  An organizer is coming Tuesday to help with #5 the Sewing room,  as the Raw Edge Tree Runner and the others just depend if I get any momentum.  I really didn't expect the move to last so long or the disruptions to be so pervasive but the are!



Sunday, September 24, 2017

2017 Quilt Bloggers Festival



Amy is sponsoring once again the Blogger's Quilt Festival.  You can read all about it here.   Please visit some of the quilts that strike your fancy and leave comments for the quilters!

This little quilt I finished a few weeks ago.  I honestly just love it.  It was a Row by Row from 2016 from Alewives Fabrics in Nobleboro, ME.   The trees are all Dr. Seuss like and it is so much fun.  I often use this size on an island near my dining room, but this one I got a little carried away with the borders.  It finished at 15" x 40".


This little squiggle of quilting in the inner binding makes me happy.  For quilting threads, I used three different threads:
  1.  YLI Machine quilting in Green to Tan 
  2. Superior Mono Poly to go around the trees
  3. Mettler 50 weight, #678  



This is the second time I have used this binding technique and I really love the pop of color you get.  Also, it's all done on machine, so it couldn't be easier.  


Thanks for stopping by and enjoy the festival!



Monday, May 1, 2017

2017 New Quilt Bloggers Introduction Post

Being a part of the 2017 New Quilt Bloggers has been a gift and today is the day I am one of the featured bloggers in the Blooming Quilters Hive.  There are plenty of new quilt bloggers debuting today and you can check in at the Queen Bee's pages where you can meet other new bloggers and register for prizes:


A little bit about me:
My sewing career began early in life; my grandmother, Petronella, taught me how to sew so I could make doll clothes.  The thimble in the picture below resembles her thimble, which I still have.


Soon, I wanted to know more and a neighbor taught me how to make dresses and, for many years, I made my own clothing.  Eventually, I worked in a fabric store that sold clothing and designer fabric. The store was frequented by Amish women who lived in the area.  Once in awhile, I would see their wonderful quilts.  I am sure that this began my love affair with quilting.

Fast forward a few years...and I am in graduate school in Boston.  There was a quilt store in Harvard Square and when I was out of grad school a few years later, I took a quilting class.  I was hooked! Like many, I began learning by hand.  Soon, I began making quilts by machine.  I joined a guild and later worked at my local quilt store, Cambridge Quilts (almost 18 years!!).

I am fortunate that my quilting has spanned many years.  My other crafts come and go but this has remained a constant.  I have become an avid quilter and teacher.  I enjoy learning new techniques and am always eager to find new projects that either challenge my design sense, encourage a new skill and then hopefully I can share the skill with someone else!

MY QUILTS:
First:  My first quilt was all done by hand.  It took 15 years.  Someone convinced me to make those little starts in the lattice!  I love this quilt and still use it on my bed.  You can see that LESSON LEARNED:  Fabrics see that the muslin has a bluish tint - the fabric bled!!!  I was all my fabric and if I am not sure, I wash it again.






A Middle Quilt:  This is a quilt I am really proud of - also mostly done by hand.  The pattern was Les Fleur de Jardin by Lisa DeBee Schiller.  I don't know if I will ever do another appliqué quilt this large, but I did love doing it. I met some good friends in the class that started this project.  I joined my guild, Rising Star Quilters, as a result of this class!  This may be as close to making a Baltimore Album as I ever get.  




New Skills: I learned to feel confident about machine quilting on my new Bernina 440 QE by making this quilt.  It was a mix of using a walking foot and free motion quilting and the pattern was called Quilt-As-You-Go Machine Trapunto by Keryn Emmerson.  I am not expert at machine quilting but can do most of what I need on a domestic machine up to a twin size quilt.  





Recent Finish:  This quilt just plain makes me happy.  I love the way it came together and that a wonderful baby received this quilt.  I purchased the pattern, Fancy Forest by Elizabeth Hartman with no plan to make the baby quilt.  I could not get the quilt out of my mind and then I thought about a baby that will love this quilt.  Her parents both worked on my house in Maine (he the carpenter and she the landscaper).  I was on a mission and it was done before she arrived.   I have already made a second one with some changes and should be quilting it in the early summer (future post).



MY TIPS FOR QUILTING:
Here are a few tips I always try to impart to my students:
  1.  Quilt what you love and love what you quilt.   
  2. Keep moving ahead. If there is a mistake that will not stop your progress, let it go and return to it when further along. Fix it then. if you still need to, rather than getting hung up or putting the quilt away for a future date. 
  3. Challenge yourself to learn something new with each project.  
SOME OF MY QUILTING GOALS FOR 2017:
This year I have set a few goals for my quilting.  Blogging helps to challenge me to pay attention to these goals.
  1. 2017 APQ UFO resolution which challenges you to complete one project a month.  You can see my list here for this year and a slideshow and list of what I finished last year here.
  2. To use EQ7 to design a few quilts which will use fabrics that were collected for a quilt, but I don't  have a particular pattern in mind.
  3. Make a Modern quilt, entirely my own design.  
  4. Continue to reduce my stash.

So tell me, what is are your quilting goals this year?

Thanks for stopping by, 

Friday, April 14, 2017

#FreeFallQAL Link Up #2

I finished the first 8 blocks for my FreeFall QAL!


I love the way they are turning out.  These are leftover scraps form at least one bed quilt and a few fat quarters that were stashed some time ago.

However, I was not paying attention...and here are a list of the errors of my ways:
  1. made 2 sets of flying geese (only needed one),
  2. didn't trim my half square triangles,
  3. didn't trim the flying geese, and
  4. don't try to put an off center block together with the two sets of flying geese (I did it, but much faster to take them apart.
Here is a picture of some of the trimming along the way.

Helpful hint#1:  
 When paper piecing, you can glue the first piece to the paper to keep it in place, easier than dealing with pins.  For this project, I "chain-glued" - glued all the 8 points at one time.


Helpful hint #2:
When trimming squares you can trim on two sides at once, and if you have a turntable mat, this is a good time to use it!