Quilts of Valor, String block

The beginning of this year; our Guild started a BOM. Every month
our V.P. of Programs is choosing a member of the Board to pick
a block of their choice.
My block is for the month of March. I picked a scrappy block
because we have been doing QOV (Quilts of Valor) for nearly
two years and I have 2 bags (grocery size) filled with red, white
and blue scraps and I'm sure half of the ladies in my guild does
also!
These blocks will be made into a QOV. Last month's block
was a "snowball" block. So many women made this block
that we have enough to make 2 quilts!
I found this pattern over at Mary's Quilts
The name of the block is "Amish Stripes and Strings".

Color me Blue

Misty's Blue


While doing the blue portrait; I realized
that I don't have much of the color blue
in my home. I do have a tweed blue carpet
in my bedroom but the walls are white.

When I first moved into my Pa. home; I
did paint my sewing room a light blue.
After a year I had to change the color
because I noticed that it affected me.
It made me feel gloomy.
Also because my room faces north and I
don't get direct sunlight in that room.
It's now painted white and I plan on
re-painting it in the spring to a pale
shade of yellow. I'm hoping that it will
make the room more cheery.

Rose Of Sharon

This is another one of my UFOs that I'm currently working on.
I started this about 4 years ago the pattern was in one of
the quilt magazines; I can't remember which one. Anyway,
I needed an applique pattern to join an applique group.
One of the criteria for joining is that you have to know
how to applique - this was not a teaching group. I had
gone to one applique class but I was still unsure of my
ability to work on my own. So I looked for the largest
pattern I could find - This block measures 17 x 17.

When I started this pattern I was using templates
but then I met a lady from this applique group
who was teaching a different method in one of our
local quilt shops. I stopped by the quilt shop
and looked at her samples - another Baltimore!
My first ever quilting class was a Baltimore (like)
Album! I almost quit that class twice but I being
a trooper hung in there and was one of the few
who actually finished it!

Getting back to my friend who was teaching this
yet another Baltimore Album class; she assured
me that the "new" way she was going to teach was
much easier than making templates. and it was!
She taught Jeana Kimball's technique which is that
you draw your pattern on the back of your block,
NOT the front.
Needless to say, I was hooked on the method and
never went back to templates.

This Rose of Sharon quilt is half and half. Half done
with templates, and half done the Jeana Kimball's
method. I have 8 blocks in all plus 8 very hugh
nine patch blocks! It's really a quilt with VERY
large blocks but I think of it as "My Happy Quilt"
It always makes me smile when I see it.

I am now in the process of free motioning the blocks. It's going
to be a Quilt As You Go. It will be much easier for me to do that.
This is what I have completed so far. I do not know what I'll be
doing with the white space. If you have any thoughts; I would love
to hear them. Thanks!

Journal

Things to do for 2009. Journal

My previous way of journaling was to draw or write stuff
on pieces of paper some which were lost or thrown out by
mistake; some kept in a binder.

My sister had given me 2 journals as part of a birthday
gift a few years ago. I only used 3 pages in one book.
Until last year around May I thought that I would like to
design handbags. That's when I used book two. When I
started to dye/paint my own fabric those experiments
went into part two of book two.

Sketched but never painted

The other day I went to Michael's and bought a sketch book,
Gesso, some brushes and sketch pencils and of course an
eraser. I already have some acrylics in some basic colors.
I was so excited to start that I ran into my craft room and
closed the door, looked under my desk, table and drawers
and made sure that there were no Art Police around. I
painted my first page with Gesso. (-:

Then I didn't know what to do next? I took out a stencil
and painted Gesso over it, and let it dry. I then painted
the whole page green and to my surprise - It Worked! - I
could see the leaves of the stencil. And the page still
sits there blank. ? Until I'm ready to use it.

My First try at actually painting something was over
at Embrace The Face. Wasn't great but at least a start.
I liked to sew and never quilted and now I do that pretty
well. I like to sketch (a little) and now I would like
to paint.

So.....

Over at Misty Mawn (as you may have heard of through the
blogvine) journal everyday in January - Self Portrait.

I did not sign up but in checking out all the bloggers
who did; I was hit with the urge to give it a try.

I did start this blog to journal my experiments and
here is yet another. TaDa..

I know it doesn't EXACTLY look like me but you
know what? I enjoyed doing it!

Tis The Season

December 21 Equinox

Winter Solstice - a time of rejuvenation and rebirth.
A time for Love, Forgiveness and Charity.

Light returns to conquer the darkness.

May the Yule log burn,
the wheel of life turn,
evil be spurned.
The sun has returned!

Wishing you all a very Merry Christmas and
Happy New Year!


Between shopping for gifts and wrapping them; I'm
appliqueing blocks for our guild's ~
The Red Rose Quilters Guild ~ Breast Cancer raffle
quilt. Participants were given pink 6 inch squares
and we are to make a finished 8 inch block.

I wanted to make blocks that were cheery and fun.
So I chose a Sunbonnet Sue
and a Sunflower
These are free patterns that you can find on the web.
Sunbonnet Sue
Marcia Hohn's quilterscache

Now that my nephew's red, white and blue quilt is
finished; I will add the label on tonight. Last night
I made 2 hot-dog pillowcases to match. They are
very easy to do and take less than an hour to make.
The link is on the side -->

Will I have the time to bake cookies this Christmas?

Will Santa bring me a new Digital Camera?

Recylcing

I really have to learn more about publishing on this Blog.
I had comments waiting and didn't notice them. Sorry.
Eventually I'll get the hang of things.

This past week I've been cleaning out my closets and came
across a "raggy sweatshirt" that I took a class for 2 yrs. ago.
The instructor said to put it in the washer and dryer and
it would come out really raggy. She wasn't kidding! and
I hated it. So I cut it apart again and sewed all over
it in a free motion 'crazy' way to cover all of the raggy
edges. Then it was returned to hide in the closet.

I've been practicing putting zippers in; I haven't done
that in years. So I decided to make a small bag to put
my sewing supplies in for class or workshops. This
is a piece of my raggy sweatshirt. I just recycled it!
I really like it and the way it turned out.


This is was second project that I did this week.
I used the scraps of my painted fabric for this needle
book. It's my first attempt at trying something "artsy".

While I was dyeing fabric on my deck this past summer,
a little leaf fell from the tree onto my fabric. I grabbed
at it and told it "You're going to become an experiment".
I painted it with gold paint on both sides, waited for it
to dry and then coated it with Mod Podge onto the cloth.

The woman on the opposite side; I found somewhere
on the internet. I sketched her with a black thin tip
magic marker pen. I just wanted to see how the
magic marker worked on fabric. I thought it
would run or spread but it didn't - although I
did work fast, just in case in would.

I'm happy with both of my experiments this week.

Harvest Time

My first attempt at trying to paint faces. Doesn't the top
one look like Michael Jackson? Wasn't trying for that.
I don't know what I'm going to do with these yet. I think
I need more practice and better brushes.


Great tomato harvest this year for my small garden!
When I have this much; I make my own tomato sauce and
freeze it. hmmmm good. The green peppers I slice and freeze
and the red hot peppers - I thread a long needle with
thread and go through the tops and hang them inside my
kitchen window to dry out. Just like my Italian grandmother used
to do. The dried out hot peppers will then be used in my chili recipe.