Blocks of the Month

As a longarm quilter, I don't have a lot of time to work on my own projects. I have several "flimsies" (unquilted tops) that need quilting. I have tons of UFOs and several zillion works in progress. None of this stops me from wanting to do more. For this year, though, I've decided to try something different. Instead of working on entire quilts (excluding the one I'm making for my step-daughter who is getting married in September, and my other step-daughter just because), I'm going to work on these three blocks of the month.

The first is the one I've been posting copies of here. Its our guild BOM.

The second will be Shannon's BOM. She's already posted the fabric requirements and the blocks begin posting in January. Join in...Shannon always has great ideas; it will be fun!

Finally, I'm seriously considering the Tonga Rhapsody BOM that Windy Moon Quilts is starting in January also. It's batiks and gorgeous and I'm a sucker for gorgeous batiks! Plus, it gives me an excuse to go to Reno monthly, if I want, or they'll send my block to me. The class will be lecture only, so my attendance isn't mandatory since we can always go over things on the phone when I have my block.

Of course, I'm still working on Bonnie Hunter's Mystery as well, but that one is going to take some time. Perhaps my New Year's Resolution should be, "No New Projects."

Nah....what fun would that be????

Happy New Year!!!

Hope everyone has a wonderful New Year...any resolutions? My resolution is to not make a resolution, then, when I break it, I won't feel bad!! Pretty smart, eh???

Many Happy Returns

So what, exactly, does that mean? If it means being happy while you return things, its ridiculous! I won't be returning any of our Christmas purchases, that's for sure. We decided to buy a big gift for each other this year, rather than little things. What could be bigger than this???

Okay, I know it's silly looking, but it's perfect for us. We currently have, among other vehicles, a Toyota Tacoma with a camper shell and a Subaru Impreza 2-door sedan that belonged to my mother-in-law. We really don't need two run around vehicles, especially after January 23, when Dennis retires. So we combined the two. There are many advantages and no, the fact that it's turbo and goes really fast has nothing to do with it! *smirk*

Then, although not really for Christmas, Dennis traded in one of his PR600's for a PR1000.  We got a great deal on it from Windy Moon Quilts in Reno, so good that we just couldn't refuse. So this machine has come to live in our yurt. It has some really great features, the best of which for Dennis is the ability for the cap frame to turn 270 degrees. He embroiders a lot of baseball caps, so this will save him tons of time.

Since Dennis got a brand new PR, I just had to give Mike Sullivan, the owner, a hard time. I've been sewing on a ball chair, but instead of helping my back, I think it was making things worse. He had these chairs there and sold us one of them for less than half the asking price. I love it! The back support is perfect.

And check this out...reminds me of a piano bench. I have no idea what I'll put in it.

How was your holiday? Anything special planned for New Year's? We'll be lucky to stay up that late!

Butterfly Round Robin

Back in July when Kristina and Shannon were here, we started a butterfly appliqué. The idea was to teach me needle-turn appliqué; I've since decided if it can't be fused, I don't need to do it!!

This was us from our summer adventures. (Hard for me to imagine, since I'm looking out the office window at SNOW!)

Shannon decided that we needed something to remind us of our adventures, so she designed this pattern. We then went "shopping" in my scraps/stash/piles of fabric and chose fabrics for our projects. After finishing the first "fried egg flower," I realized that needle-turn appliqué is not my forte. However, by then, those two had already decided that we'd finish our appliqué, send it off (mine to Kristina, Shannon's to me) for the first border of a round robin by the end of August.  Knowing myself well, I knew that if left to my own devices, my round robin would never leave my house because it would never be finished!!  Luckily, Shannon realized that too, so she finished the appliqué for me (THANK YOU!!) A close look will easily reveal which flower I did--just look for the pointy petals!!

I sent mine off to Kristina and received Shannon's to add the first border along with her colorful fabrics. She'd even picked which fabrics she wanted for the outer border. I was to use the one on the right; Kristina, the one on the left.

 Shannon loves brights, can you tell??  Luckily I have The Border Workbook by Janet Kime. Armed with it and the bright fabrics Shannon sent, this is what I added to her RR. Then off it went to Kristina to finish up.

A few days later, Kristina's came to me from Shannon.

 Deciding on the first border was easy; deciding on a border to compliment Shanon's was more challenging.  After some thought, I decided on a more geometric border.

Then...the great reveal.  Mine came back!

Don't you love it?  Kristina's colorful border gave my center the perfect frame--I love all the color. She even added some of her own fabric; my stash isn't quite that colorful. Shannon did the outer border, the one with the rattlesnake fabric.  That girl was thrilled when the snake was right outside our door and loved helping Dennis kill the darn thing. We let a lot of the wildlife live around here, but not rattlers. Too much chance of them biting a dog for me.

This RR was fun and I'd love to do it again...only not with an appliquéd center!

Shannon posted about her adventures here; when Kristina posts, you'll find it here.

Two More Quilts

This quilt was finished some time ago, but because my customer lives in Sac and wasn't able to pick it up until last week (she doesn't trust the post...do you blame her??), I couldn't post pictures.  This is our guild's BOM from last year. Marei always chooses bright colors...always. She's also the customer that did all those bunny quilts--please note: nary a bunny to be found on this one!!

The most fun part of this quilt for me was the back. She used a piece of very plain terracotta fabric, so she has a whole-cloth on the back! I did "e"s and "l"s in the sashing and a loopy thing in the outside border. I'm really having fun with samplers...does it show???

This one was a bit more challenging.  The fabric used was beautiful and very stretchy; I had to be very careful while quilting to not distort anything. On top of that, it is such a unique pattern, that it really took some thought and advice from my friends to complete. The quilt is the Day & Night pattern by Eleanor Burns. This is the second quilt of this type that Carolyn has made, but this one is more stunning due to her fabric choices. The hunter green and creamy white make it striking.

Carolyn wanted the star points emphasized. I attempted to do that with the feathers using a style I learned from watching Jamie Wallen's Mystical Cottontracks DVD. I've never been able to take a class from him personally, but this DVD is almost as good as being there.

The "wheel" part had to be quilted and needed something to keep it in the background. After talking it over with my friend Shannon, I came up with a sort of "line-dancing" technique.













Crosshatching in the inner border with a "line-dancing" cornerstone and feathers in the border finished it off.

Here's a pic of the back...the quilting showed up nicely, even though it's a busy fabric.

 I feel so lucky to finally have a "happy job." This is so much better than my previous occupations!!

Winter Special

This year, I did a winter special for my guild and current customers. If any of you out there would like to take advantage, I'll honor the special until January 31. What is it? you ask.  I'll quilt your quilt for $.01 psi, no matter the design. However, I do have the final right of design approval; i.e, no heirloom feathers for that price *wink* Call or e-mail if you're interested.

This was one of the sale quilts completed. The owner of this top has a HandiQuilter, but for some reason, she wanted me to quilt it. She asked for wonky/whimsical feathers and since I'd never done them before, I said sure. This is how it turned out. I love the chicken fabric she used.

This is a close up of the wonky feathers. I did a six-inch border of them surrounding the quilt and then filled the entire quilt with them. Open spaces had some stippling for fill.

And a partial pic of the back showing the "border" area.

This is another customer sale quilt. Its a pattern by Linda Ballard called "Fractured Crystals."  Carolyn made this in these earthy tones as a gift for her son's girlfriend. Then she couldn't decide whether to give her this quilt or the one that will be posted tomorrow. 

I was able to try out a "new for me" sashing treatment on this one...the "c" loops. I really like how they turned out, but they do take some serious concentration (for me, anyway). It's very easy to get turned around and end up with two going in the same direction. In the leaf print and the main design elements, I did a continuous curve with stippling to travel in the background. I didn't quilt the chocolate brown areas at all, which really accentuated the quilt's pattern. As a longarm quilter, one of the challenges is to quilt with as few starts/stops as possible. With this quilt, I was able to find a path that allowed me to do each row with only one start/stop...success!

This is the center medallion of the quilt. Our guild took this class from Linda and we all had such differing variations of fabric in our quilts. Carolyn's was very subtle...

Mine is just a bit brighter...just a bit, and a tad smaller, and unquilted :0(

I'm doing it...

I know I have a million other things I should be doing...but I pulled out all the fabric and then I couldn't stand to just put it back. So, I'm doing it!!  What am I talking about?? Bonnie Hunter's "Roll, Roll Cotton Boll" Mystery, of course.  And I'm doing it the way its meant to be done--no new fabric. I'm pulling from my stash and from my scraps. Bonnie's colors are green, pink and brown with a cream background; I found blue/purple, green and pink as I dug through looking for three colors that would work well together and hopefully provide enough variety to be interesting.

First step was strip piecing and cutting into segments...172 segments!!! (I was counting my toes, puppy toes and horse hooves to get that high!)

Second step...half-square triangles.

Third step...I've just barely begun, so I'll save that for another post.

QCQ Block of the Month #2

Here it is...my 2d block in the series is finished!

If all goes well, I'll end up with 12 b/w blocks, each one having a bright color within. The first had red, this one orange...I'm thinking bright yellow for the next one.

Happy Thanksgiving

I hope everyone is enjoying today...

Pioneer Sampler

These are photos of a new quilter's Pioneer Sampler Quilt. Its an Eleanor Burns quilt that was started in a class that several of us took from a local quilter. I take it just to have a night free to piece some of my own projects and to visit with friends.  Coleen did a great job on her quilt; this is only her second one.

Her border was so busy that I just did a big meander in red, after talking her out of cross-hatching (no point in paying for something that won't show). A "CC" in the red Seminole border finished off the outside.  Each block had a different fill and the sashing had a new treatment for me. I love how it turned out (she says modestly), take a look.

A close-up of one of the blocks. Do you think the sashing looks like wishbones? I have no idea what the actual name of it is.

And a close-up of the back...I always love the back.

Thanks for looking!!

Vacation Finale

While I'm glad to be home, I had a terrific time in Oklahoma! As promised, here are some pictures and the story of my vacation.  My sister, Donna (who refused to pose properly!)

turned 60 in September of this year and threw herself a party in July...in Phoenix (her daughter lives there). I had planned on attending the party, but circumstances with Dennis' mom caused a last minute change. I had a free SW ticket, so I called and change my travel plans to fly to OK in November. I love SW; it only cost me $2 for the change! Turns out, it was way more fun hanging out for three days than having to share her at a party would have been.

This is my sister's house. It is probably the cutest house I've seen in a long time and reminds me of the cabin we stay at in WA. She's painted every room a different color and its just so open. I love it.  Outside, right off the deck, is a river; her neighbors are set farther back, so you'd never know they were there.

This is the view from inside; the plants in the window are usually out on the deck, but since its winter, they're inside now.  Its a veritable jungle in her house this time of year!!

Its such a relaxing and comfortable house filled with quilts I've made for her over the years.  She has more of my quilts than I do!!  Here are a couple (okay, so they are small and pre-longarm, but still.....) There are two others, although one of them is small like these. The other is her birthday quilt...pictures are here.

And this is Lucy. She's a Cairn Terrier and she's so cute!! She helped with my puppy withdrawal and even slept with me two of the four nights I was there. She has a routine of going to the neighbors to visit; they love her too.

Friday morning, first thing, my sis was going to make coffee--or the brown water she usually makes that passes for coffee. She asked how many scoops for a 12-pot coffeepot...two??  No, no, no...six scoops later she was panicking that her pot would clog; then she tasted the coffee. I think she may become a coffee convert!

I already told you about visiting the Beauty College for a pedicure...lovely shade of green, eh??

Then the movies on Friday night...you really do have to see Unstoppable! Its so exciting!

Saturday we went to War Eagle Mills and Eureka Springs in Arkansas. War Eagle Mills is an old mill site where they ground flour, etc. They have a really cute restaurant on the third floor, a gift shop on the second and food items to buy on the first. We ate there on our way to Eureka Springs (beans and cornbread, yum!) and then headed to Eureka Springs. Here is a photo of the town. The streets are narrow and steep and the buildings are so unique. I loved it...no quilt shop though. Weird!!  They did have one of those stores that sells pre-made quilts with quilting that is very suspect. Then I found one that sold Amish quilts; those were beautiful...and expensive.

Sunday we relaxed after our 2 mile walk on this dam. Its a mile from end-to-end, so we parked, walked across and back. Lucy came with us; but about 3/4s of the way across, her little 3" legs were tired, so we carried her the rest of the way. On the way back, instead of carrying her, we stopped frequently so she could rest those little legs and I could take photos.

Donna cooked breakfast when we got back and then that evening, we went to the small town of Wagner, where Kenny, my nephew lives with  his wife and step-kids. We traveled in style in this car; it's a 1939 (I think) Ford something. Very cute and very much fun--weird though because it has no seatbelts; apparently seatbelts were invented after that year.




Kenny and Rachel live in a really nice house; Kenny loves critters, so they have four dogs (three of which were rescues). This is Penelope...she's part Great Dane and adorable. Penelope is the largest, Molly is some sort of cow dog (Aussie/Heeler cross), then there's Snowball who is basically a white, fluffy small mop-type dog and Clyde, the Weaner dog.  Its quite the menagerie!!

I made it home Monday evening after a long day of flying, planes breaking down, etc.  I'm glad to be back, but I miss hanging out with my sister...weird, eh??