Wool Applique - first attempt..........not my favorite method or style
A Bear Paw wallhanging - Had this one at the CB condo and it went with the sale.......not sure where it is now. Also Tyler's Tshirt quilt front and back with all high school sports shirts.
This was a fun scrappy strip quilt that I'd make again. Paper piecing.
Another quilt that went with the condo......it covered the fuse box!
This one took a while to make. Paper pieced with batiks. The circular part was a little tricky.
Hand Applique, Machine Quilted in jewel tone colors
Meredith's tshirt quilt........preschool thru college and adulthood, machine quilted, flannel backing
Stitch and Flip with leftover's
Paper Pieced Trees.....thought I'd use it for Christmas but this is one of my favorites and I'm hanging it up year round. I have even started another one............a great way to use up smaller pieces of fabric.
This is the year I'm finishing projects. I found a machine quilter in Monument and I try to get another one ready for her whenever she has one completed. It's good to be cleaning out my unfinished projects. I have a few more to go! I've decided to stop making larger size quilts too !
Tyler also had a birthday the end of August and turned 32!!! I have been working on this T shirt quilt for years (he graduated high school in 2005). I finally finished it. I used a quilt as you go method which took me a little longer. I think he really liked it!
The tshirts range from 3rd grade to college with most of them being elementary school sports and high school.
I'm slowly catching up with the BOM club thru Craftsy. These are the May blocks. I think I'm going to double up on some of my more favorite blocks. I'm going for a modern look.....not a traditional block with modern colors. Val, you know what I mean.
Since the weather is cooling off I'm trying to get some projects caught up or finished. I'm behind in my BOM from Craftsy. These blocks are the June ones...I'm still working on May too. I've become discouraged and am finding that I disagree with some of the teaching techniques (sewing a scant 1/4 in seam sucks) Also the blocks are often off size or difficult to trim to a 12 1/2 in block. I don't like the fact that they tell you to use certain measurements and they tell you to trim the the piece which wastes fabric. My other problem with the class is that some of the blocks are
traditional (I've been there, done that).
So I might skip a couple of the months
and fill in with others or remake some
of the ones I liked.
I've also change the layout on a couple of the blocks because it's 'my' project and I'm making the 'creative' decisions.
I finally got the April blocks completed and out of the way. It looks like I should have put that upper left hexie on the interior...oh well. I can say that I am not thrilled with 'hexies' as many are in the 'modern quilt' interest groups. I enjoy hand applique but found 'hexies' boring. I'd rather have a project with more variety in the different shapes and over all design. I have started a future project which are different leaves and will use alot of scraps. I could get bored with that too but I plan on doing most of the hand work while watching TV next winter (helps to keep me awake).
I think I like March's blocks the best so far. The colors are great and the techniques were fun. I really like the 'scrappy' look too! Looking forward to April's blocks....
I used all one color for the 'Chunky Chevron' block and like it better. Notice the little bluebird....... A whole quilt with this block would be cute.
The block to the above is the 'Balkan Puzzle' block. I will probably won't make it again because all the half square triangles are on the bias which makes it a little more difficult to work with.
I swore I wouldn't start a new project until I'd finished some others but Val and I are doing a block of the month via Craftsy. I'm venturing into 'modern' quilting which seems to me to be somewhat loosely traditional with newer colors and patterns. The first two are the January blocks. I'm enjoying the colors and am trying to use colors I don't normally use. Plus, I'm learning a few new methods and the anticipation for each month's blocks is fun. The purple and white one is called the 'Asterisk' block and the one below is the 'Wonky Pound Sign' block. I really like the 'Wonky Pound' one and will probably make it again using the same block for a baby quilt.
This was a mystery quilt in the quilt guild I'm in from a few years ago. The fabric is woodsy and is the same fabric the bear paw quilt is made from. It included hand applique which I enjoy.
I thought I'd start keeping a record of past quilts that I've finished. These two are in the condo in CB. The first is a 'turning twenty' with batik scraps. The second is the 'bearpaw' pattern. Currently I'm trying to branch out and delve into the 'modern' quilt movement. I'm working on a block of the month in colors I don't usually work with. I'm also trying to finish some past projects before starting a bunch of new ones.
Today I went to a quilt show in Denver with my friend, Terri L. 300 quilts are hung in the capitol rotunda each year and hang all summer. They were beautiful and maybe it will get me in gear to finish some projects. Several of the quilts were made by people in my guild. After we were finished at the capitol we walked over to the 16th St. Mall and hopped on the trolley. We took it down to Tyler's part of town and met him for lunch at The Tavern. It was a fun day and it was great to see Tyler (he was out in ND on a rig for 25 days).
I seem to be the type of person who likes to keep track of things (lists). I don't scrapbook so I guess this is my way of recording happenings in our lives. One thing I have wanted to do is to keep a record of the quilts I complete so I guess I will start here and use them as posts when nothing exciting is happening. The first is a wool on wool applique. I occasionally go to Goodwill and ARC to scrounge for wool to use for projects. This was my first attempt at something like this. The second was a quick project for the condo (actually a fuse box camo cover). I hope that it is my photo that is crooked. I will have to check the quilt the next time we head to CB. The last one is a bear paw wall hanging (also in the CB condo). I am trying to break out of my usual color schemes. Recently I went to a program by Rene Peterson who is great with color and I am working on some of her patterns. It's paper piecing which I enjoy. I am also using lots of batiks which I have come to really love. I'll add some more pics of quilts when I get the pics....
I've been a little lax when it comes to posting lately, sorry. I think it's been due to several things such as ACLS study (I always spaz out about it), the hiking we've been doing has been local repeats that have been relatively icy and muddy(the weather has been mild for most of the winter so far), we started doing our taxes which eats up a lot of time with organizing and data entry (refund looks promising so far tho), and I guess we just haven't been doing that much that is that exciting. Arn has been able to golf a couple of times a week for most of the winter. Do kind of wish we would get a couple of good snow storms so I could break out my snowshoes at least once or twice this year.
Mom and I did get a baby quilt finished (jars of bugs with a flannel backing) and we are going to take it to the machine quilter tomorrow so I'll post a pic when we get it back. It's kind of been a type of therapy for her and it's something we can do together. I'm also working on a challenge from my quilt group which is called a paint chip challenge. You get three paint chips (one for each of your initials), pick out fabric to match, and make something by the beginning of May. Luckily I like my colors even though they aren't my usual choices.
Mom also sent for her 'blanket brigade' sewing so that keeps her busy along with her crocheting. We're getting her signed up for 'talking books' because she really misses reading. Mom wants to try going back to Ohio for the summer. I don't know how that's going to work but it's going to take some planning.
Not much else is going on......just waiting for the new season of DWTS too.
The secret to a happy life is not in getting what you want. It is in learning to want what you get.
Once you replace negative thoughts with positive ones, you'll start having positive results. Willie Nelson
Sun is shining. Weather is sweet. Make you wanna move your dancing feet. - Bob Marley
When you are a mother, you are never really alone in your thoughts. A mother always has to think twice, once for herself and once for her child. ~Sophia Loren
Opportunity is missed because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work. - Thomas Edison
The previously mentioned patty pan squash that were produced were about the size of a quarter! and only had a half dozen.
Garden Updates 2009
1. Started a composting box. 2. Adding triple mix dirt to garden and flower beds. 3. Still trying to get rid of voles. 4. Trying to plant things that voles won't eat. 5. Buy veggies at Farmer's market due to short growing season. 6. My seeds have come up - yeah! 7. Found some pattypan squash seeds that I need to get in the ground (childhood fav) 8. Harvested lettuce, using fresh mint, chives. 9.Hail Damage, hope everything survives. 10.The pattypan squash seeds sprouted, neversurvived due to major rain and hail. 11.Sunflowers are blooming!!! 12. My green beans are getting baby beans but the voles have discovered this too and my row of beans is slowly dissappearing from below. 13. Well, my row of beans has almost completely dissappeared. Now the voles are starting to work on the row of sunflowers (which did quite well). Today I found a sunflower stalk sticking out of a vole hole..... it was too long for the vole to get the whole thing into his hole. 14. Did harvest 2 jalopenos and 1 onion. Something has been eating my peppers too. 15. 10/10/09 Temp. 18 degrees. Everything is covered in frost. Goodbye garden. Will try to harvest some flower seeds. Brought a lot of seeds from Mom's flowers in Ohio. Hollyhock, zinnia, black eyed susan, morning glory. Will see if they grow next yr. Will also give some to Val to see how they do in North Dakota.
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