Scrap Happy!

I fell in love with this quilt pattern the minute I saw it in the May-June, 2009 issue of Fons & Porter's "Love of Quilting" magazine. The pattern is called "Seams of Opal." It's supposed to look like the vibrant and briliiant colors of an opal. I also call this "My Happy Quilt."

1,723 pieces of fabric went into making this queen-size quilt. Thank goodness my husband likes it. LOL! He probably wouldn't sleep under this quilt if he thought it was ugly (or too feminine).

I'm not sure if you can see it clearly. I tried to show the quilt design in this picture. I love red. It's my favorite color, and so I had to use red-binding on this quilt.

One of the new things I did with this quilt is to create a label that would be sewn into the quilt backing BEFORE the 'sandwich' was quilted together. I added strips of fabric from the same fabric used on the top of the quilt. I liked how it turned out. The embroidery was done by a friend of mine. I think it's very important to add a label to a quilt. It gives the recipient or owner of the quilt an idea of when the quilt was made, and the styles of fabrics which were available during that time. It makes the quilt a part of your personal history.

Thanks for stopping by, today!

Perserverance pays off!

I started this quilt on August 5, 2009. Now, one year later, it's all finished. Why did it take so long to complete? Well, it wasn't for lack of interest. See, I started this quilt to keep myself pre-occupied last summer while I was unemployed. This quilt (and my crayola quilt) was my saving grace. It made me feel productive, even though I was struggling to find a new job. We had just moved to Florida. The country was still struggling through a recession, and I was competing in a market that primarly focused on the hotel and restaurant industry. Yep. No Human Resources jobs available. I finally found a job in November, 2009 (so five months after we first arrived); and all of my quilting was put on the back-burner.
I love this quilt top. It was challenging, that is for sure. I love a good challenge, though. I also had been wanting to make a red-white-and-blue star sampler, so this was right up my alley. I love fabric, but I don't like to hoard it. Good quality quilting fabric is expensive (roughly $10 per yard), so really, I can't afford to hoard fabric. And, once I start a project, I have to finish it before I start a new one.
Now that this quilt top is complete, I will take it to my neighbor, Patty, to have it quilted on her long-arm machine. I will post the finished quilt once it's all finished! Thanks for stopping by and taking a look!

I ended up cutting an sewing some 800 squares, each was 2" x 2". What a royal pain in the booty. but if I didn't finish what I started, this quilt top could have taken two years to complete.

Old cards, new magazine

I had not sent any new artwork to Somerset Publications since October, 2007. So, needless to say, it was a big surprise to get the 2010 Catch Up Issue by Stampers Sampler in yesterday's mail. I wonder what other cards they may still have that I've forgotten about?

1,723 pieces and a new card

That's exactly how many pieces of fabric went into this quilt top.
1,723. LOL! What was I thinking?
This is the very first project I've made using the foundation-paper-piecing technique. I wish I had discovered it sooner. How easy peasy? OK..... it was a tad tedious.
110 blocks. Each block measuring 5" square. Then, you've got the one-inch sashing between blocks, one-inch setting blocks, and ten-inch wide borders.
But it's finished, and now, I will take it to a friend who has a long-arm machine for quilting. When it's all done I will share the finished quilted product with you. Now.... ONTO THE NEXT QUILT!!

This is the second project I worked on today. It's been a year since I've made a card. I am very rusty, I'm afraid. The vintage image came from an older Stampin Up set. I stamped with Memento and colored with copics. I stippled some Tea-Dye Distress Ink over the image and edged with chalk ink. Added some primas, punched leaves and a border (Martha Stewart Punch), and pearl embellishments. I gave away a lot of my vintage embellishments, and these are all I have left. Thanks for stopping by, today!!

My Crayola Box (Log Cabin Quilt)

I started a new quilt this past week. It's going to be a super-bright quilt. The pattern came from Fons and Porter's "Love of Quilting" magazine from their April/May 2009 issue. Here are the basic tools that I use for this quilt.

I call these strips of fabric my 'crayons.' When you line them up side by side, they don't look like they have anything in common (pattern or color-wise).

The blocks after the 'crayons' have been pieced together:

Time to add the sashing:

Attached sashing between log cabin blocks and sashing.

Here is what three rows look like sewn together. Three down, seven more to go!

This baby's 90% finished!

I am almost done with my Americana quilt. This evening, I will be heading over to Fort Walton Beach with my sewing machine, fabrics and quilting tools and will work on the border for this quilt. It has taken me roughly five weeks to get to this point. It's a monstrous quilt. It turned out to be larger than I imagined. I decided to take a picture of it now, because once I have the border pieced together, it will not fit on the wall for me to take a photograph. LOL! Thank you, to everyone, for your encouragement along the way. I hope it wasn't too terribly boring. I tried to make my blog entries as interesting as possible by showing you a variety of stars. I know you were looking at stars each and every day, so thanks for hanging in there with me! Now.....onto cutting and piecing 224 two-inch-squares for the border. Thank you for stopping by, today!

Section Five

I finished Section Five, today. I worked on it between Friday afternoon and this afternoon. I wanted to show you a few close-up pictures of some of the blocks. It's hard to see the details of some of the fabrics on the larger, wider shots.



This is what it looks like when it's added to Sections One - Four. I haven't sewn Section Five on, just yet. I'm tired, now, and will save that part for tomorrow. You can see part of Section Five on the far right of the picture.

Section Four

It rained a lot this afternoon. The sound of the rain hitting the window in my craft room was soothing. It didn't start that way. This morning, it was sunny and beautiful, and I actually brought my sewing downstairs, and worked on the kitchen table. I finished Section Four, and, as you can see, it's already covering a good portion of my bed. Keep in mind, this quilt has a total of seven sections. This does not include the borders. LOL! I am thoroughly loving how it's turning out.

Psalm 100

"Make a joyful noise unto the Lord, all ye lands. Serve the LORD with gladness: come before His presence with singing. Know ye that the LORD He is God: it is He that hath made us, and not we ourselves; we are His people, and the sheep of His pasture. Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, and into His courts with praise: be thankful unto Him, and bless His name. For the LORD is good; His mercy is everlasting; and His truth endureth to all generations."

I wanted to start this post with this Psalm, to give thanks to God for the blessing of time, resources and ability to sew. Because of this hobby, I've come to befriend other quilters; and simply enjoy sharing. I find an inner peace when I create. I know many of my friends who make cards, scrapbook or sew will agree. It is therapeautic. It is also a catalyst for conversation and fellowship. It brings people together. How wonderful it is to have the opportunity to brighten someone else's day when you wrap them in love in a quilt you've made; or, send them a handmade card; or, share family memories when you look through a scrapbook. I don't know what I'll do when the day comes when my eyes will no longer be sharp; or when my hands begin to shake so much I won't be able to sew a straight line. But, until then, I give praise to the Lord for giving me this gift.

I have joined together Parts One, Two and Three of this quilt. I still have Parts Four - Seven to finish. Then, comes the checkered border. I am taking my sweet time, it seems, with this quilt. I worked in the yard and did a lot of laundry, today. I saved my 'quilting' time until the chores were done. It was my 'reward.' So, now, I am going to relax, listen to some jazz music on the radio and enjoy a quiet evening reading. Thank you for stopping by, today!

Progress (or lack thereof)

I haven't worked on my quilt since last Wednesday. My in-laws came into town, and then Sean and I both came down with virus after they left. So, I've been feeling out of sorts. I managed to finish one block this morning. So far, I'm 20% of the way from finishing...maybe less. But, I'll keep chipping away at this. Stars are not my strength. It's challenging to line up the points without clipping off the tips or not distorting the fabric because of the bias-cuts. I actually threw away the last star I worked on (it's the one on the bottom, left); and started a new star this morning. The dimensions were just way off. My husband said people will not notice the mistakes, but *I* will know they are there, and that will bother me. I think quilters can be quite neurotic, but that is part of the territory. If you're 1/16" off here and there, you'll find yourself off by one whole inch (or more) before you know it. This hobby truly teaches one a whole lot of patience!! Thanks for stopping by, today!

Day Four

Something a little different this time. I'm not sure what this block is called, but there is a pinwheel block in the center. It measures 16" x 16". I saved the blue fabric for this specific block because I like the detail of the 'branch and leaf' print on the fabric. Here is a closer look of the fabric:

Family is visiting today and tomorrow, so I won't have time to work on another block before the weekend. I'll start again on Monday, and will post more next week. Ciao!! Have a fantastic weekend, everyone!

I attended my first machine quilting class, yesterday!

LOL! Let's just say I need more practice with free-motion quilting. It's really a good thing that I have a sense of humor, and this class was not about getting a great (much less, a good) grade. My straight-line quilting was pretty good. I was able to figure out the path the needle had to take to create a continous stitch line. I learned so much. I learned about the relationship between fabric choice, thread density, needle choices, batting choices, quilt pattern choices, stitch length and tension in relationship to fabric and batting choices...... how all of these factor into the finished product. I also learned how to clean and oil my machine (I could've failed the class simply from how dirty my machine was when I came to class that morning.) A good rule of thumb for ALL seamstresses (and quilters)... CLEAN, CLEAN, CLEAN your machine after every eight hours of sewing. Who knew that I had giant dust bunnies living in and around my bobbin case? I met three fellow quilters: Gordon (a beginner quilter but an accomplished tailor); Mary (who was the most studious out of the four of us); and Judy, the class clown. I sat next to Judy, not knowing she was the class clown. She had me in stitches (excuse the pun) and the class instructor was threatening to separate us. Needless to say, the class was fabulous. It was the best $45 I've spent on an art class. Now, off to practice, practice, practice!!!

My first attempt at free-motion quilting:



The front of the straight-line 'quilt.' When you look at a quilt, with all of the various patterns and fabrics, most people don't really see the 'quilt pattern' on the front (sorry about the glare from my window):



The back of the straight-line 'quilt.' When you flip a quilt and look at the back, the quilt lines are more evident:



Thanks for stopping by! Despite the tornado and lightning warnings, it was a fun, fun day; and I hope to be able to take more quilting classes down the road.

Day Three

Another day....Another block!! The first day, I worked on a 16" block; and yesterday, I worked on some 8" blocks. This one is 12". All of the blocks on the quilt vary in size; and it is a really neat sampler quilt that will fit together beautifully in the end. The handsome 'model' posing with this block is my darling Casper. He's lost some weight since the last few times I've taken pictures of him. We have Casper on a strict diet because eventually he'll need knee surgery. Without the surgery, he may tear his left ACL (he tore his right ACL early last month).
Well, I'm off to my machine quilting class, this morning. It'll be an all-day class and you bet your behind I am planning to listen to every last word the teacher speaks. This class is my birthday present to myself. I am so excited. I know what I'll sew in class will look 'crappy' but that's OK. I hope to get better as I practice.

Day Two

Four eight-inch squares. I hope these don't get boring for you as the days go on, and as I post a few blocks at a time. When I first see a large quilt with a ton of blocks, it looks overwhelming. Just like the Around the Block quilt that I made this past Spring. When you see all of the houses, it looks daunting. But, when you break it down, it's a really simple quilt to create. This is how this 'star' quilt is shaping up. Breaking it down, block-by-block makes it easier to take on. After all, that's how ALL quilts are created...... just block-by-block, piece-by-piece. I can't wait to show you the finished quilt.

Day One: Americana

I am starting a new quilt. I have a smaller, batik quilt that I'm working on, but I've decided to switch gears on that one. This is a quilt that I'm trying to piece together before the end of October. If my progress continues at the current pace, I can actually see myself finishing this quilt before mid-September. But, factor in the start of school (and whether or not I'll be employed soon), I thought I should probably get started on this now, rather than later. Why the end of October, you ask? I have an appointment with Katydids Quilting to drop of the 'top.' The gal, there, is going to quilt this for me on her longarm. For this quilt, I am using a pattern that I found in McAll's Quilting "America Loves Scrappy Quilts" Spring, 2009 issue. I probably would've started (and finished) this quilt before 4th of July, but there was this 'little thing' called a military move that kinda got in the way. Anyway, each day that I work on this and finish a block or two, I'll post my progress on my blog. Hopefully, this will keep me on my toes about updating this blog more often. Thank you for stopping by! As always, have a terrific day!

Pictures of my new studio!

I'm almost there! The boxes have been unpacked. Most of the 'stuff' has been put away. The furniture is set up. I just have a few things to organize, but I'm almost ready to start creating, again!!!! Whew! It's been nearly two months since I've sewn or done 'anything' creative!! I'm just itching to start sewing again! So, here are the pictures. The first one is what it looks like as you come to my studio (which is the first room on the left when you reach the top of the stairs):

The next picture shows you this beautiful window and my closet. I really should make curtains for this window, but I hestitate since it may block out some very valuable natural light.

I bought this 'side table' from WalMart, today. This is where I'll place my June Taylor cutting / pressing mat. I read in a book that your 'utility' table should be at a 90-degree angle to your sewing table, if you are going to have one next to your table.

Girl's gotta have a TV!! LOL! I also have a radio in the room. I need some 'noise' when I create.

I can still do some cardmaking and scrapbooking, in here. This is my stash of cardstock, papers, tools, etc. The baskets hold some fabric.
The owners of the house placed these neat shelves just below the ceiling. She also used this as her sewing room, and this is where she placed her antique spools, nick-nacks, etc. I've started to place some of my Longaberger baskets up there, most of which I plan to eventually sell at a garage sale in October.
This is my 'design wall.' It is intentionally 'empty.' This is where I will place blocks as I complete them. I don't know how to create a design-board, just yet, but I'm doing research on it.
Thanks for looking! Have a wonderful day!