Sunday, September 30, 2018

Finished One Block Wonder

I finished my "Memories of Hawaii" One Block Wonder quilt!  It's quilted and bound.  I meant to put a hanging sleeve on as I did the binding but totally forgot.  I usually sew one the top edge at the same time as I am binding and then just hand stitch the bottom edge.   I added a flange to the binding for a spark of color.


This project was a lot of fun and I am happy with how it turned out!

Linking up with Design Wall Monday.

Sunday, September 23, 2018

One Block Wonder

I have been working on my ocean one block wonder.  I love how it is turning out!  I am in the process of pressing my strips (seams are being pressed open) and then will be assembling the top.  I am thinking of appliqueing the points down so I really have to work to figure out the exact size I need the length to match the side strips.  This is a lot of fun sewing with the panels to make this style of quilt.

I have one more panel I had originally purchased, but it is cut slightly differently.  I ordered the rest and knew I had better not chance them being the same and ordered enough for the 7 panels.  The extra one will be on the back.


 This is a closeup of some of the blocks.

I hope to get this assembled this week and will actually quilt it right away so it won't go into my never ending pile of unquilted tops!  It will be a great memory quilt of our snorkeling cruise in Hawaii.

I am linking up with Monday Making and Design Wall Monday.

Saturday, September 22, 2018

Blogger's Quilt Festival

This is my first time participating in the Blogger's Quilt Festival.

I am entering my latest finish, my Baltimore Spring quilt.  This was purchased as a laser cut kit, but most of the pieces were just scored, not actually cut.  I sat at a quilt retreat for four days and cut apart and fused the blocks inside the border.  I did the border after I got home.  Then I rolled it up on a large tube I had on hand and it sat.  I finally decided to stitch down the appliques in August.

I used a variety of threads, mostly Superior Fantastico.  I machine quilted it Labor Day weekend.  I can't believe it is finished!  I added a hanging sleeve to the back as it will be hung in my home on a quilt hanger a friend's husband made me.

Closeup  detail photos.

 I entered the quilt in our local county fair a couple weeks ago.  We have about 10,000 people in the county, and the fair and Lumberjack Days are a big event in town in mid September.  I won Best of Show and the photo below is hanging at the fair.
The third weekend in September is another fair an hour away.  Residents from surrounding counties can enter that fair, which is unlike our county fair.  I was surprised to win Best of Show again!  I also received Best in Class and Superintendent's Choice.  They put all the quilts behind plastic to keep people from touching them.  It doesn't make for good photography!

The most popular question I get asked is "How long did it take?"  I really should keep track sometime, but then again, that might take the fun out of it!  I am quilting obsessed and I think I will get back to piecing for awhile!

Monday, September 10, 2018

Panel Wallhanging Gone Wrong, but Fixed!

Several years ago I bought a panel that had two different large flowers.  The designer was Stephanie Brandenburg.  I loved the sunflower and made up the wallhanging using thread painting.  I ended up buying more of the panels and making them up for gifts but somehow I don't have pictures.  I did not have any problems quilting any of them.  I had one panel left and decided to quilt it up.  OH MY.  Distortion, distortion.  I think it is because I did not stabilize the flower first and then fill in with stitching.   Here is the sunflower I did without any issues.


I don't have pictures of my problem wallhanging in progress.   I had done a LOT of threadwork in the center and it was so wavy I thought there was no way I could get it to lie flat filling in the background.  I finally decided if I trimmed out the flower portion I could applique it to a new background.  I had to fuss with it a bit to get it to lay flat, but I managed to satin stitch it.  The background is made up of some leftovers from another project with some blue added for accent.  I am thrilled with the way it turned out and it finishes at 24 X 24.  I used two kinds of yarn with an overlay of tulle in the center.  If only I could take straight pictures!


embellished poppy panel


stitching closeup
I hand couched red embroidery floss next to the binding for an accent.


 I started a new one block wonder quilt.  I started with 7 of these panels, six of them are cut up and sewn into half hexagon ready to place around this panel.  I am anxious to see how it turns out.  It is a great memory of our snorkeling trip in Hawaii.

Our county fair is this week and I am entering six quilts, two of them wallhangings. 

I am linking up with Design Wall Monday.

Tuesday, September 04, 2018

Quilters Meet and Greet

Click on the graphic to meet other quilters!  I am happy to be part of this Quilters Meet and Greet.

Hello from Idaho!  I have been quilting for 31 years.  I always say it's all my husband's fault.  We moved to Idaho for the summer to help out on the family farm and he told me I had to go to his mother's weekly hand quilting group.  I had a baby and the youngest person was in her early 60's.  I went to the group off and on that summer and I learned to hand quilt before piecing anything.  Over the years I hand quilted many quilts, but it's been years since I have now.  I just don't have an interest anymore.  

This is one of my early quilts, from a class in 1988.  Hand quilted!  It's faded and well used.



I have been called a prolific quilter.  Who ME?  Yes.  I discovered quilting magazines early on and PBS quilting shows.  I learned everything I could and tried every technique!  I made quilts for family and friends and in 1998 I started doing block swaps on the internet.  Wow, I got addicted!  I never had an unfinished project until then (okay it had only been ten years).  I still have a couple projects from the those swaps not finished!  

I was a charter member of a quilt guild that formed in 1993 and I have belonged to several yahoo groups, and now Facebook groups.  I do spend an amazing amount of time in my quilt room, even though I work full time at a school.  I do enjoy my summers off!  Click HERE to go to my blog post about my reorganized quilt room with pictures!  Peruse my previous posts for inspiration as well.

My favorite quilt to date does not even use my favorite color of purple!  It's my Fire Island Hosta.  It's a pattern by Judy Niemeyer and uses mostly Artisan Shimmer fabrics.  I machine quilted it myself on my Pfaff Grand Quilter.


One of my other favorite quilts is my Finger Lakes Log Cabin quilt.  The pattern is by Judy Martin and it is NOT paper pieced.  Some of the pieces finish at 1/4" wide!  I think it has 5,206 pieces.  

Here is a collage of a few of my other favorite quilts. Since I have made close to 500 quilts from minis to wallhangings, to throw size to king I have a lot of favorites.  I have about 250 quilts in my house.  I donate a lot and gift a lot of quilts.  I need to finish even more and find homes for them.

I hope you will continue to follow my quilting adventures and visit other bloggers in this meet and greet.  Click on the link below to enter a contest for prizes!



Monday, September 03, 2018

Finished Baltimore Spring quilt!

After many, many hours of stitching this past week I finished my Baltimore Spring quilt.  I stitching every evening after work and all day Friday and Saturday.  Saturday evening I applied binding.  I added a hanging sleeve as it will go onto a quilt hanger a friend's husband made me.  It's a bit heavier than I had hoped and I need to block it I think, but it's done!

Baltimore Spring

detail

detail
I started cutting up panels for a One Block Wonder and will have that on my design wall soon!

Be sure and check out my blog tomorrow for a special post and and links to many other bloggers for a meet and greet!