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.

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.

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!

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.

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!

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!

Linking up to Design Wall Monday and Monday Making 

Machine Quilting/Applique

A few months ago I finished this top.

It was a laser cut kit from Keepsake Quilting.  The pieces were just fused, not stitched.  I got it out this past week to start stitching.  I layered the top with just one layer of Quilter's Dream Request loft batting and nothing else and I have been free motion stitching around the edges, changing colors of thread.  I am using a lot of Superior Fantastico thread.  

There were some VERY, VERY thin vines that wouldn't fuse well and when I tried stitching I had a huge mess.  I kept going (stupidly) and finally decided I could not live with it.  I worked hard to get all the vines out from under one row of stitching.  Then I decided to just free motion stitch a stem.  I like it so much better!

 The cherry stems are just drawn on, but I will stitch over them and make it connected!  I still have lots of stitching to go!

After I finish this part, I will add another layer of the Request loft batting and backing and stitch all the background.  That is going to take time too!

It was back to work today,  I always forget that we really do have a lot of rules and routines!

Linking up with Design Wall Monday.

Retreat Projects

Last week I was at a quilt retreat hosted by Quilt Treasures.  I worked on 4 different projects.  I didn't have a lot of space, sharing a 6 foot table and no room to set up my little ironing table as I was on the inside so I sewed as many blocks together as I could.

Since I have been home I have assembled all the tops and added borders.

The first project I worked on was a batik throw quilt called Rip Tide.  I had purchased a kit, but exchanged out some of the fabrics.  This was a pattern by Karla Alexander where you stack up fabrics, slice them apart, move fabrics in your stacks and resew them.  It was fun and nothing to match up!  I loved that!

Rip Tide throw size

The next project I worked on was my 1930's Farmer's Wife.  I am a Farmer's wife, but samplers are not my favorite.  I also have the regular Farmer's Wife quilt in progress.  I am not sure what I was thinking!  Anyway I had 21 blocks done and there are 99 in the book.  I lost the CD with templates and I decided to do the lap size setting in the book and needed 32 blocks.  I went through and kitted up 11 blocks and got those sewn and I had precut the setting triangles.  I added a narrow border and I have a quilt top ready for quilting!

six inch block closeup  LOTS of pieces

Next I worked on a disappearing 4 patch.  I had a bunch of bright 10" squares and thought I would make a throw quilt for a gift.  I got all the blocks done, but couldn't lay them out at retreat.  After I assembled the quilt top at home, I HATED it!  It was too much, too intense, too something.  It was an 8 X 10 block setting.  I had decided on the alternating design, but I think I should have set it together like Ramona did.  I decided since it was too big for what I wanted, that if I split the quilt top in half it would work better and it does!  I added a border from fabric on hand and now I have two nice lap sized quilt tops!

disappearing 4 patches

The last project I worked on at retreat was a Scrappy Trip Around the World.  The pattern is found on Quiltville's site.  I had a bundle of Bonnie and Camille's Vintage Holiday fabric.  I just loved the pinks and aquas.  I added a few other fabrics and since I am not a true scrappy quilt lover, I made sure reds went through the center.  I am still contemplating a border or not.

Scrappy Trip Around the World

Scrappy trip closeup - sometimes matching fabrics came together!

School starts back up Monday.  I have worked this week and have open house tonight, but then have the rest of the week off. 

Triangles and a Gift

I didn't accomplish much this week since I was busy prepping for quilt camp.  However I did sew together the cutoff triangles from the quilt in my last post and decided to make a tablerunner.

I received this amazing wallhanging from my friend Melissa.  I am thrilled with it! 

Excuse the unedited photos.  I am on my phone and away from home at quilt camp!  I forgot to edit them before doing my blog post!

Clementine Sew Along top

Last fall I apparently signed up for a quilt along with Fat Quarter Shop to benefit St. Judes.  I honestly forgot about it, but a package of fabric arrived in late December.  Each month you printed a free pattern for seven months.  I just happened to sew all my blocks in the last few days!    July was the last month so I am not too far behind!  The quilt measures 70 x 90.

I will add this to my long list of tops to be quilted!

 The funny part I thought the setting/border fabric was an aqua pindot,   but when I took a close up I saw it was directional stars!

Check out other Design Wall projects at Small Quilts and Doll Quilts and Monday Making

Wedding Quilt!

I mailed the wedding quilt last Thursday and it was received in Kentucky Saturday!  I mailed it from a small post office in a town of 300 people and they don't have a postage printer and the postmaster put on a massive amount of stamps! 

The bride called me Saturday to thank me and say how wonderful it was and all that fun stuff!  So now is the big reveal!  This is an original design.  I used a world map, traced it and traced it again in sharpie on the reverse to get a transferrable design.  I hand cut and zigzagged around each piece!  I loved adding the stripe fabric for some interest and of course stars.  I drafted the design in EQ7.  I wanted a filler border and deccided on a swag. I threw together two Trip Around the World throw pillows from leftover pieces.

This is a king size quilt and I custom machine quilted it on my little Pfaff Grand Quilter.  I had extra tables around to support the weight!

Original Design - Stars Around the World - Huffman wheat almost ready for harvest in the background
 and it is laying on a round hay bale!

on the sewing room floor

center

swag border with stars and loops quilting

throw pillows

My birthday party went great over the weekend.  One daughter and her two kids are still here, but everyone else left and it was so fun to have so many people here!  The food was amazing.  When you say potluck in this community, everyone goes all out!  I can't believe I am really 60!  Neither can my mom, since I am her oldest!

Even though this quilt is no longer on  my design wall or floor I am posting to Design Wall Monday on Small Quilts and Doll Quilts. 

Vacations!

I haven't posted in quite a while.  There are lots of good reasons.  First off I was working on a wedding quilt, and hopefully get to finally post pics next week as I mailed it today.  To make this a quilting post, yesterday I actually sewed!  I used up some leftover strip sets from a msytery quilt and made this little 15" square wallhaning.  I happened to have some silk flowers I took apart and stitched on and added some beads and fun machine quilting.  A quickie little project for my stairwell.

Now, the rest of the post is about my trips and family!

In June my sister received an unexpected surprise and won a trip for two to Washington D.C.  I was her guest as her husband couldn't take off on short notice, since we already had another trip scheduled, more on that in a bit!  I drove to Boise June 21 and at least got to see my grandkids.  The twins were 7 months old at the time.  I will post a pic of the other two later in the post.

Remy (left) and Finn

We took off on June 22nd and did some touring of  D.C. before her awards conference for the Presidential Award for Math and Science Teaching (PAEMST).  She is a 6th grade math teacher.  We have a high school friend who works at the Pentagon and he gave us a private tour on the weekend.  We walked miles!  

Beautiful display in the Pentagon.  There were many quilts on the walls that they rotate given in memory of 9-11

 My sister and I went to all the monuments, Arlington Cemetary, Smithsonians (I went to one more than my sister when she was busy, as well as the Capitol and gardens) saw friends of my sisters for lunches from her time of her husband's two tours at West Point, and we went to the awards banquet at the National Portrait gallery.  It was lovely!

awards dinner with my name card!  We had assigned seating.

I flew home from Boise and flew back down three days later to take off on a long planned trip to Maine to a wedding.  I flew with my other sister to Niagara Falls first and then we drove across to Maine, stopping to look at many covered bridges in Vermont.  It's so hard to pick just a few pictures!  We had a great road trip!  We also crossed over to the Canadian side and got lots of great pics from there and we loved the Maid of the Mist boat tour.

American Falls, Bridal Veil and Horseshoe Falls from front to back.

One of many covered bridges we saw

 When we arrived in Bethel, Maine on the day of the wedding rehearsal we met up with my daughter, her husband and their two kids.  They had been on a different schedule, but had also flown into Niagara a day earlier than I had!  My sister and I took the kids for the morning of the wedding and went to a couple more covered bridges in Maine.  

Then on July 6th was the wedding!  Nicole was the flower girl and Jared walked with her as a sign bearer.  The groom is their mom's first cousin.

 The happy couple Kristine and Mike! 

 After the wedding both sisters, my BIL, nephew (best man for his brother), my daughter, SIL and grandkids and I went to the coast.  It was my first time seeing the Atlantic ocean and the grandkids loved it!  We went to Acadia National Park.  The next day we drove on down the coast stopping at lighthouses.  We left my daughter's family in Portland, ME to fly home and the rest of us went on to Boston.  My nephew flew home (he is also an Army officer stationed in Texas) from there and the other 4 of us went to Cape Cod and toured around Boston walking a lot of the Freedom Trail.  We flew home from there and I finally drove home on July 11th!

me at Acadia

one of several lighthouses

Since arriving home I machine quilted the king size wedding quilt (the couple lives in Kentucky, so it needed to be mailed), and I have done a deep clean and some painting in my house in anticipation of having a big birthday this weekend!  I am throwing my own party!