Lots of Piecing

While I've been getting things in order for my screen printing work space and waiting on a few items that I ordered to make printing sessions easier, I have been doing some quilt construction.  My pile of quilts that need to be quilted is growing like crazy. Why is it so much easier to start a new quilt than to finish one that is already started?

The quilt above is made with Alison Glass fabric. I used both Handcrafted and Handcrafted 2 fabrics and the block is called Flowering Snowball. I found the block in my EQ program, but I ended up altering it slightly. . . so I guess it should be called Altered Flowering Snowball?

The block above is called Tallahassee and I found it at www.quilterscache.com. Lots of great blocks at that site. I didn't following directions when making the block, however. I decided to change up the orientation of the block parts and came up with what you see above.

I'm really loving how the spinning stars quilt (above) is looking. This was a free pattern by Anna Maria Horner. I did alter the pattern though. In the original pattern the finished block size is 18". I wanted a smaller block and I also wanted to construct it with the paper piecing method. So I resized it and made paper piecing templates. My block size is 14". I don't know how big this quilt will end up, I'll just keep making blocks until I don't want to anymore or I run out of fabric.

Happy New Year

Wow.....2016. It's a new year. Can you believe it? It seems like just yesterday we were entering the new millennium. I don't know about you, but time is just flying by.

Over the past few days I've been playing with fabric batik'ing. Here are three results that I'm happy with. I am going to be playing more with batiks in the near future. Just waiting for my supplies to show up. I ran out of batik wax so I had to get some ordered.

A couple weeks ago, I shared a quilt top that I had pieced, using all hand dyed fabrics. I've been thinking about how I will quilt this top and I'm sort of thinking about doing some hand quilting with these threads. The perle cotton was actually dyed with these fabrics so the colors are a match. I've seen some wonderful examples of big stitch quilting with heavier threads on the Internet and I like the look of it. So....we shall see about this. The good thing is that this quilt top isn't overly large, so hand quilting shouldn't take me forever.

And here is a quilt top that I'm currently working on. I found the central improv blocks recently in a storage container. I had pieced them some time ago...I have to say at least two or even three years ago....maybe. Well I decided it is time to create something with these so I'm slowly building the quilt top.

I plan to add more to this top but need some time to think about the next step. I have lots of scraps and pieces from other projects that coordinate with these colors so I am hoping to use those somehow. I have an idea floating in my head but just need to work it out.

Winter Photos

I find it difficult to get good photos in the house during the winter months. Usually the days are overcast and the lighting inside isn't great for photography. So I decided the next day there was minimal wind I would hang my finished quilt top on the clothesline and snap a shot. Today was that day. Even though it is overcast the lighting outside is so much better.

I finished my scrappy trip around the world quilt a couple of weeks ago. I have the backing fabric ready and now I just need to get it basted and quilted. I plan to quilt this one on my Bernina with simple straight lines (I think).

Below are the ornaments I made for the grandkids this year. Yes, it is a photo I took indoors and I'm not thrilled with it. But it records what I made this year and so it will do.

These ornaments are something I purchased a few years ago. They are interactive...you pull the string down near the legs and the legs and arms go up and down. They were unfinished wood when I bought them so all I had to do was paint and varnish.

Love/Hate Snow

Well we are finally getting some snow that seems to be hanging around and piling up. It was only after the second snowfall recently that I remembered that I'm supposed to have a new LOVE relationship with it. Last year I discovered I liked snow dyeing. And then I remembered that last year my snow dyeing days were numbered, because by the time I realized I was enjoying it, then we didn't get any more snow. By the end of that time period last year I had decided to try snow dyeing a white long-sleeved t-shirt. I had it all ready to go, with oodles of rubber bands wound onto it for some resist design and then......no more snow.

So I found my rubber banded shirt that waited for me to dye it and went to work. Here is what I got. I love it! At first, when it was still soaking in a tub of water to remove the excess dye, I thought I hated it. I was seeing murky muddy colors and thought the colors didn't turn out on the shirt. After the final rinsing and drying I found I was completely wrong.

I used three colors of dye on the shirt....Red Violet, Watermelon, and Aqua.

This past week I found myself wanting to create a quilt with only solid colored fabrics. In the past I have dyed many yards of fabric and over time they have sat on the shelf and not been used. So I pulled some and made this quilt top.

It is about 40 x 52" in its unquilted state. While I like the results and have always enjoyed solid fabric quilts that others make, I have learned something about myself....I much prefer to make projects with fabrics that have pattern/design on them. Silly huh?

Colorful Fabric Collage Blog Hop

Welcome to the Colorful Fabric Collage Blog Hop. I'm thrilled to share this fun new book with you. It was written by my friend, Sue Bleiweiss. The book is all about Sue's techniques on making some fun and fused quilts and other sewing projects. The book is available for purchase online from Amazon and Interweave. You may also find it in your local book store.

Way back when Sue was just getting started with writing this book she asked me if I'd create a quilt for inclusion in her book. Here is the quilt I made, which incorporates fusing and my usual quilt making techniques. You can read more about my quilt on page 49 in the book.

I thought it would be fun to try out some of Sue's techniques so I created the next small quilt with one of my bird patterns. I have to say that I enjoyed the techniques very much. Did you know Sue teaches? Check out her website for more information and to schedule her for your guild's next workshop.

There is going to be a blog hop drawing and one lucky winner will win the following prize bundle.

The giveaway package includes: A copy of Colorful Fabric Collage (please note that international winners will receive an e-copy and not a hard copy), a 2-1/2 yard package of Mistyfuse, a sampling of Aurifil threads and a stack of 10″ squares of Sue's own hand dyed fabric!  To be eligible for the giveaway just leave a comment on either this post or any of the other blog posts in the hop.  You can increase your chances of winning by leaving a comment on each of the blog hop posts but please, leave only one comment per blog hop post!

The winner will be announced on Monday, May 18 on Sue's blog. Good luck to all.

Please visit the other blogs involved in the blog hop:

May 4: Sue Bleiweiss: http://www.suebleiweiss.com/blog/

May 4: Jamie Fingal :http://www.jamiefingaldesigns.com/
May 5: Leslie Tucker Jenison: http://leslietuckerjenison.blogspot.com/
May 6: Terri Stegmiller : http://stegart.blogspot.com/
May 7: Deborah Boschert : http://deborahsjournal.blogspot.com/
May 8: Desiree Habicht : http://myclothesline.blogspot.com/
May 9: Kathy Sperino : http://finishinglinesbyksperino.blogspot.com/
May 10: Barb Forrister : http://www.barbforrister.com/blog/
May 11 Kathy York : http://www.aquamoonartquilts.blogspot.com/
May 12: Lyric Kinard : http://lyrickinard.com/lyric-kinard-blog/

License Plate Quilt

Last summer I participated in making a license plate quilt block for my state, North Dakota. The block was made with American Made Brand fabrics and there was a quilter from each of the 50 states that participated. Here is the resulting license plate quilt.

I love how this quilt turned out. You can see the block I made in the third row from the top and smack in the center of that row.

Here is where I first blogged about my making of my block:

May 10, 2014 blog entry

June 13, 2014 blog entry

The quilt has been exhibited at several quilt shows around the country and is scheduled for more shows in the future. Maybe you had or will have the chance to see it.

Read more about the quilt on the Clothworks blog here.

New Table Runner

I was recently inspired by a YouTube video to create some Cathedral Window blocks.

In the video the quilter also made a table runner but set her blocks differently and made a longer and narrower runner. This was my first time creating the Cathedral Window block.

Here is a close up of the quilting. I like how this turned out.

Here is the link to see the video on YouTube: https://youtu.be/yWK6WtO18y8

Baby Quilt

I finished the baby quilt. In case you missed my post in the past, we are expecting a new bundle of joy in our family. My son and daughter-in-law are expecting a boy. Her due date is early December but we might see our new baby sooner, from the way things have been progressing. She was already dilated to two centimeters over a week ago. Who knows what will happen!