Bird Brain!!!

Yep...that's what this super cute quilt is called!  Silly name; but I love the quilt!! Its a Buggy Barn pattern, of course.

Norma sent this one up and I had such fun quilting it. Its going to be a gift for a friend that loves her chickens and her horses (the backing has horses). She had her friend with her in the quilt shop, helping her pick out fabric for a quilt Norma was planning to make for "someone else." The friend has no clue that at the next Quincy Crazy Quilter Guild meeting, she'll be receiving this adorable quilt! I just wish I could be there to see her face!!

Here's a couple of close-ups of the quilting. I did some swirls in the chicken and a funky flower in the flower. Lots of thread color changes, but so worth it for the texture.

This pic shows one of the open green bits on the end of a couple of the rows. I wanted to do something "organic" in there, in keeping with the chicken theme, so I did a leafy feather motif.  I think it works, where actual feathers would have been too fussy.

No pics of the back. It was too busy for the quilting to show well.

Hope you enjoyed the chicks!

Dory

Beautiful Hunter's Star

Carolyn sent this Hunter's Star to me a few months ago. I was finally able to quilt it up and return it. She does such a beautiful job; her fabric choices for this block were perfect.

Unfortunately, with the red/cream print being so busy, the quilting wasn't going to show. So I chose to do a basic continuous curve design in those parts, along with some line work on the edges.

Here's a closer look:

I tried another fun design in the border. It was a challenge since I had to quilt it in the red/cream and really pay close attention to where I was at at at all times. However, in looking at the back, I think I did okay. (I just LOVE plain backs!!!)

Here's another shot showing more of the quilting. Sorry the fabric looks so yellow; the one above is more true to color.

Thanks for stopping by!!!

Dory

Its a Mystery; Part 2

I've received and completed the next two steps of the Cabin Fever Quilters mystery challenge.

We could choose from two different quilts, although we had no idea what either looked like. I chose the one with the fewest amount of fabric color combinations to give myself a chance.  The other quilt apparently has fewer steps to complete, so initially, I'm receiving two steps every month.

This is a picture of Step 2 and 3 completed!!

You can't tell from the pic, but there are over 90 of the small triangle bits at the top.  Tedious and boring, but finished!!

Steps 3 & 4 will be complete soon.

Dory

Quilt Club Challenge

Members of the Sun Bonnet Sue Quilt Club in Sequim have been challenged to make a "Quilt from the Pantry." What this means, in essence is that we must make a quilt based on the colors of a grocery store cardboard-boxed food item and we must incorporate at least one recognizable traditional block.  On its face, this doesn't seem so hard; however, we have to use the exact shade and colors that are on the box. We cannot add colors, nor can we change the value. And we must turn in the box with the quilt.

So...this is what I have come up with so far:

The first would be somewhat monochromatic (its a stretch) using this Jello box and mainly the greens.

The second is softer, using the Oatmeal box, with all the colors it contains.

Okay, so I have my fabric and my boxes--the problem now becomes what block and/or blocks and what to do. If this turns out like my other challenges, it will either stay in the planning stage forever and/or get made after the due date.

Any ideas??  Anything???

Dory

Aiming for Accuracy Quilt-Along Winner

You might remembered I posted several months ago about the Aiming for Accuracy Quilt-along that I was participating in. I actually have two quilts started, one in Christmas fabrics and one using Cherrywoods. As is usual for me, both of those are still in the UFO pile; however, Julie's quilt was finished and entered to win one of the Grand Prizes--my quilting.  Michele Foster, the designer responsible for the AAC QAL, put out a call for prize donations. I donated my quilting (what else?): free allover pattern or half-off custom.  Julie chose custom--I was so excited!!  Here's her finished quilt: (Be prepared...lots of pics in this one!)

I quilted all the blocks differently, using some geometric and some curves to soften some of the blocks.  Now, I know what you're thinking, "that's a lot of quilting on blocks where it isn't always apparent." Bear with me...my reasoning will soon become clear.

This next block was my all-time fave in the whole quilt. Very simple, but super effective. I LOVE how it turned out; and there are five of them.

This one I just did some simple CC treatment with hooks...

You can't see the loops in the HSTs, but you can see the echoed CCs in the blocks.

I played in this block with some straight line quilting and feathers--sort of a yin and yang thing.

And here's the reason I spent so much time on the blocks...a solid black backing. I love it when my customers send solid black backs. Everything shows up and my Millie has such great tension; it just turns out so fun!!

And here are some more shots of the back...what do you think?? 

Thanks for stopping by!

Dory