i have finally made real contact

sunday morning vistors...keeping an eye on my horse

last year i joined the sketchbook challenge but never actually did any serious work in my sketchbook...i watched others as they worked in their books and admired their work...my trip to italy and spain got me out of my computer and into my sketchbook...boy it has been so long...i set up an area in my upstairs sitting room to work and left my pencils crayons and sketchbook sitting out...finally it grabbed me as i was walking by...sweets of all things imagine..

fabric candies

 

jelly bellies yumm

more jellies...happy valentine's day everyone

12 months of work into 1 quilt

 the challenge as i see it

 last year when i signed up for the FMQ challenge sponsored by sewcalgal i decided that all my lessons would be made into a small quilt using a quilt as you go method to join them all together...so i cut all the practice pieces 10 by 10 to give me room to trim and then join the sandwiches together...i cut strips to give me 1 inch sashing between the blocks...used up some of my scraps for these bright and cheery sashes

finished dimensions are 34 by 43...a bright and cheery piece to remember the work and FUN i had learning to FMQ much better then i had before excepting the challenge...it is off to hang in to collection room of our local hospital...

baby quilt and postcards

i do like to have several projects going...i do try to keep it to only several not lots...right now i am working on a baby quilt design...at the same time i have been making circles...

here are the circles i have made so far...i used Karen Kay Buckley bigger perfect circles...and then to add some complexity i have made several postcards...circles hangin' out on the design wall with postcards ready to be mailed

 baby quilt with some circles waiting to be stitched down...as well as borders needing to be stitched on...some circles have batting in them which will give a trapunto effect to this quilt...

postcards, circles and baby quilt hangin' together

scraps and more scraps

rr just what to do with all those scraps...what a waste to just throw them all in the dustbin...i hated to do that so i have come up with a way of using some of those scraps...i bought several meters of muslin...several yards of wonder under type product...out came the ironing board...on with the TV and i set to work...i used the wonder under to fix the scraps to the muslin...all fabric bits overlap each other...after i made several meters of fabric i cut a piece out the size for a baby quilt...added borders...sandwiched the quilt and then FMQ'd it with a meander design...

i tried to catch the edges as i quilted...but left areas that are not sewn down...when washed these edges will fray and soften...somewhat like a rag quilt does...i gave one to a work colleague and she brought it in to show me 2 years later...it was frayed and soft...a quilt to be used for sure...not a show piece

several meters of fabric ready to go

some yardage and finished quilt...now i just need a baby to give it to..

some of this yardage is going to making place mats...fit for a mexican dinner party i think...bright and cheerful... these place mats will look wonderful outdoors in the summer

of course as always i used my favorite thread to piece the borders and FMQ the quilt...AURIFIL AURIFIL AURIFIL 50WT...  feel free to try this technique out yourselves but please tell people where you got it from...thx 

when children follow in our footsteps

we always seem pleased when our children follow in our footsteps...is that we can share something of how we feel with them...my daughter elizabeth does dabble in quilting...she is not OCD about it like am...a bigger then small blessing that would seem somedays...bali pops, layer cakes and charm packs are right up her alley...i understand this as i also don't like the hours of endless cutting that goes into some quilts...not that i would really know as i have finished only two quilts which required hours of cutting...any way here are some photos of elizabeth's and my WIP...she made the top...i quilted it and she must finish it by sewing the binding...

i stitched in the ditch...elizabeth is not OCD like her mother who loves to quilt every quilt to death...

detail of the borders...i had finished a baby quilt with these flowers and she loved them so into the border they went...i used we used my favorite thread...aurifil 50 wt cotton...