Still working on the Star Wars quilt.
I had taken down my design wall to
clean the sewing room. It's not
very large anyway and I might have
to re-do it. I covered it with
batting and there was lots and lots
of tiny pieces of thread stuck
to it. It drove me nuts!
So, the bed in my spare room is
the design wall for now.
R2D2 is put together (over 500 1" squares)
and I was debating whether to put an extra
row of white around his block. I was really
stressing about this!
I thought it would be too much white
around all of the dark fabrics. I realized that
I don't really work with a lot of dark fabrics;
I'm used to a lot of mediums to light.
I don't like working on the dark side (-;
I couldn't resist.
Along with the printed Star Wars fabrics
comes this mint green and pale blue - personally,
I don't think it blends well with the backgrounds
of the other fabrics. But I have to work with it
cause that's what DD wants.
Then I got this brainstorm to make blocks to
go with R2D2....
I think it's going to work.
I like this idea but now I have to make 16
of them - consisting of 36 - 1" squares !
wish me luck!
Happy quilting!
Blogger's Quilt Festival
Please check out the Blogger's Quilt Festival! Several different categories
and all the quilts are wonderful!
I started this quilt back in February, 2009 and just finished quilting it just recently.
(Sometimes life gets in the way) I blogged about it here:
http://uniquelyyourscreations.blogspot.com/2009/02/improvisional-quilts-2.html
I was so inspired by a book that I was reading "The Quilts of Gee's Bend"
that I decided to experiment with 2 bundles of colored fat quarter fabrics.
I used no pattern; it was totally improvised.
I was also inspired by a book
on my library shelf by Jenny Beyer - Quiltmaking by Hand.
On pg. 7 Jenny says "...generations of quilters made do with minimal supplies ... All it took was a needle and thread, a thimble, a pair of sharp scissor, cardboard..." - And this is all
that I used.
That's how my Chasing Rainbows quilt came into being.
Although it looks like a modern quilt - it has it's roots in traditional quilting.
I wanted to add a piano like border - those were cut with the rotary cutter BUT they were all hand sewn also - 1 1/2" x 5" abt. 166 pieces! And thought "I must be nuts!"
I used various colors and different weights of threads - thinking that it would give the quilt a nice textured look.
I used DMC #8, Perle Cotton #8 by
Thread Art (on-line)and Superior Threads,
Hand Quilting Thread.
100 % cotton warm and natural batting
100 % cotton fabrics
I Blended Big stitch quilting along with traditional quilting(small stitch);
I created a maze with stitches. They are not meant to be perfect as the blocks are not.
I titled it "Chasing Rainbows" because it just reminds me of one with all of it's bright colors. I think that it's a very happy looking quilt; and I'm very satisfied about the way it turned out.
And so after all of this work; I didn't
want it to be a throw quilt and decided
to add sleeves to the back and make
it into a wall hanging.
I added the lower pocket so that the quilt will lay flat and straight across.
You can use a yard stick or same size piece of light wood.
I hope that this quilt and my story
will inspire and encourage many quilters
to try hand piecing or even better
hand quilting.
With everything computerized in today's
world - take the time to do some "slow"
quilting - it's creative - it's
meditative - and it's relaxing! And
don't worry about the size of your
stitches - Just have fun!
Enjoy the Quilt Festival!
Happy Quilting!
My daughter sends me all of this
fabric
And more!
She bought it at the Fat Quarter shop and had
it mailed to my house.
"I would like R2D2 to be the main character."
I found a pattern on the web that said "free"
but it wasn't a quilt pattern block it was for
beading. So I thought that I could translate
that into a quilting block.
I printed it out and went to work and work and work.
I decided to use 1" squares and there is over 500
of them! But it was a challenge and so far so good.
R2D2 is going to be the center block - he's is
about 24" x 24". Then to decide what to do with
the rest.... hmmm.
Have a great week and
May the Force Be with You!
Lady Autumn, Queen of the Harvest,
I have seen You in the setting Sun
with Your long auburn tresses...
You sit upon Your throne and watch
the dying fires of the setting Sun
shine forth its final colors in the sky...
Lady Autumn, You are here at last...
~Deirdre Akins
I love autumn, love the colors, and
the smells.
And so gathering up some of my hand
dyed fabrics; I decided to make something
to celebrate autumn.
A skinny table runner - 10" x 36" I love the colors!
There's some of my sun prints in there and
I use decorative stitches to frame it.
I tried for the very first time "wrap around binding"
I found a great tutorial here: http://www.maubys.net/2011/07/maubys-binding-series-part-six-wrap.html
at Maubys.net. I found that the corners can be
very tricky.
And here's the back - I'm really loving these colors!
So much so that I decided to make some fabric
coasters!
And quilted them with a modern flair!
Also made with my hand dyed fabrics.
Here's the complete set - so bright and cheery!
My color inspiration ---
Autumn is a second spring when every leaf is a flower.
Albert Camus
How many times have you traveled
on the same road in your neighborhood?
Uncountable right?
When I first moved here; I found a short
cut to my house from the highway. And
to my pleasant surprise; there at the corner
stood an old farm house with a very old
woman with a slightly hunched back -
maybe about in her late eighties - gardening.
The entire front and sides of her land, which
I would guess is about 2 acres, were filled
row after row with rose bushes. So I dubbed
her, The Rose Lady. She had a little sign
in front of her house called The Rose Cottage.
Fast forward - right before she passed away;
I would see her on her lawn tractor - she had
to be now in her early nineties! I was amazed
by this woman. I would see her in the
supermarket and when my husband and I
went out to eat on Friday night - there she
was in the same restaurant!
Then one day there was a auction in her
back yard. I asked one of my quilter friends
(she goes to all of the auctions) and asked...
Oh she passed away. I was so sad.
Eventually, the house went up for sale.
They rebuilt the huge barn and the roses
sadly went neglected. I can tell that no one
lives there - they just use the barn and I'm
thinking that eventually that they will make
that property some kind of business.
I passed the other day and to my horror....
it looked worse - and not a single rose.
As I drove on
I saw the crane and I almost cried! Another old
farmhouse being torn down! They pulled out her
little sign but look on the porch - the bench is
still here and there are curtains still in the window.
Now I know this sounds silly but I thought that
they would at lest take them down.
And then slowly riding up I saw them!
Look at the far left under the stop sign...Roses
in full bloom! I rejoiced!
I never found out this woman's name. The road
is very busy and I never had a chance to take
a photo of her glorious gardens. There was
always someone in back of me and there's no
place to pull over. I'm so sorry that I never did.
So, here's some of my roses in honor and
memory of The Rose Lady.
Rest in Peace Rose Lady!
I so enjoy making quilts for children!
I just finished one called Zig Zag Zoom.
I had some racing car fabrics and
decided to make a quilt for a small
boy.
I bought high loft batting because I
wanted the quilt to be fluffy and not
flattened by a lot of quilting.
I drew out a shape of a car and cut
it out of cardboard so that I could
trace the outline with a pencil onto
the quilt. I used different colored
threads for the cars.
It's all hand quilted ---
There is some straight line quilting,
and also big stitch quilting with DMC
along the edges.
I also appliqued some "one way" signs;
I got the idea from the fabric on the back.
I think that it turned out really cute!
Happy Quilting!
Just arrived in the mail! I'm so excited!
The patterns are wonderful!
And
I have been dyeing some cotton sateen
to start my practice projects!
I love the feel of this fabric - so soft - and
it's easy to hand quilt.
And the colors in the garden are so
inspirational!
Have a great weekend!
