RSC15 week 47

A  BUSY WEEK

Deadlines are a good thing for me and have kept me glued to the sewing machine this week, or so it seems.  On Monday I showed my finished butterfly quilt at our Monona Quilters meeting.

Now I am working on two table runners from the fruits and veggies fabrics, which are both to be given to friends before Thanksgiving.  I found exactly the right backing for them.  It is a very long deep valance with an African feeling.  After ripping miles of seams it was wide enough to also be binding as well as backing.  They are now ready for quilting.

Where is the lime green this time?  I have more than enough balloon blocks for a kids quilt.  So a friend and I  auditioned some sashing choices.

 I originally planned on using thin black strips, but the black was too depressing for a child's quilt.

What about white?

The white did nothing for me or my friend.  She liked grey, but it made me feel sleepy, not happy.

Then the BIG IDEA hit. Why not use lime green sashing instead of making some extra blocks which I won't even need?  Here is our trial photo.

Fortunately I have lots of extra lime green strips, so I will do 30 blocks for the front and a few extras on the back, but no lime green squares.  I will save my fun lime scraps on last week's post to use for my plans for the new year.  Will announce them next week.

I link up with RSC15 at superscrappy.blogspot.com and Sew Cute Tuesday at blossomheartquilts.

RSC week 46

LOTS OF GREEN AND A LOVELY FINISH

It was fun finding the lime greens in my stash.  I found more cute ones than I expected, so I decided to finish my balloons and get started on a new block for RSC16, to see how I like doing it.  Can't hurt to have a couple of lime green blocks on hand just because they are so pretty.  If and when I get the first new one done, you will be the first to know.

My big project this week was finishing the butterfly quilt I've been working on for months.  It is a throw size, disappearing 9-patch.  I used two charm packs with butterfly themes and assorted batiks.  It even has lime green in it.

I found a lovely raspberry batik in my stash, enough to add a nice border.  The backing was bought several years ago for a dress which never got made.  I quilted it on the diagonal, using lavender thread on the front and dark blue on the back. I bound it with the backing, finishing it yesterday morning.

Now I only have two projects with deadlines before Christmas,  in addition to trying to find a finish for my balloon blocks.  It's been a great experience, a good feeling to be part of quilt blogging this year, thanks to all of you.

I link up with RSC15 at superscrappy.blogspot.com and Sew Cute Tuesday at blossomheartquilts.com.   Please check out the good things to see there.

RSC15 week 45

LIME GREEN AT LAST

About twenty years ago I made a wall quilt which I called Sunlight.  It was the third in a series using an unnamed asymmetric block from a Michael James book.  I loved the movement in this block, and in this quilt I accentuated the diagonals of rays of sunlight in the woods.  I used basically greens and yellows, with a lot of lime as well as bits of orange and purple.  I learned a lot about color by trying out each one.  Any color made with added white or black was too dull and stood out like a sore thumb, so out it went.

As you can see in the closeup, I used all types of fabric from velvets to satin ribbons. The leaf print is from a thrift shop 1960's silk sheath dress, which was just the perfect touch I was missing.  Since then I have always been drawn to clear bright colors.

I have been busy quilting another project this week, but will get started on some new lime greens soon.   

I link up with RSC15 at superscrappy.blogspot.com and Sew Cute Tuesday at blossomheartquilts.com.  Do come and enjoy what folks are doing.

Sew Cute Tuesday, November 3

FRUITS AND VEGGIES

On the giveaway table at our quilt group I found these strips of fruits and veggies fabric, already cut about 8 inches by WOF.  I cut the harvest gold strips to finish at 1.5 inches.  My first idea was a tablecloth, but it would have to be bigger.  So why not two table runners?  

 

I plan to do a 2-inch gold border, but they will be too wide for table runners, I think.  As pictured, they are 19 inches.  Should I cut them narrower?  I look at pics of table runner patterns and they vary in width.  I'm thinking of cutting off about 3 or 4 inches from each.

  I plan to give one as a thank you to the dear person who finished hand quilting this Amish style quilt I could not finish for my son before he died in April. Now I love having it on my bed and snuggling under it.  This photo was taken of us when she returned it to me at our meeting.

I link up with RSC15 at superscrappy.blogspot.com and Sew Cute Tuesday at blossomheartquilts.com.  Please visit and see what folks are doing.

RSC15 week 44

MOVING ON

As far as brown goes, I have no more new projects in the works with brown that you have not seen.  However, there is a lovely pot of brown on my deck that has not died off yet.  It was a Mothers Day gift from my family and I have enjoyed the coleus, begonia and sweet potato vine combo all summer.  I even saw a hummingbird trying its flowers for nectar, and just an hour ago two birds were checking it out.  So it has given pleasure to many.

  

Now this new month excites me, not only for the light green, but for a book that has me ready to get started on another WIP to join the crowd.  However, I really do intend to get the quilting and binding done on the butterfly quilt, which is staring me in the face.  You all are my witnesses to this promise.

The 9-Patch Pizzazz by Judy Sisneros is the book I got on sale that has me hooked, and look what I found in my stash!  The perfect feature fabric for 12-inch squares and a nice blending fabric for the patches.  This is going to be FUN.  We will have to wait and see if I can keep my hands off it.

    Meanwhile, a happy November to all of you dear folks.

RSC15 week 43

BROWN, OLD AND NEW

About 20 years ago, in my antique quilt collecting days (which have continued with my daughter's help), I found this stack of old blocks nicely pieced in about 1870-1900.  They were waiting for someone to give them a good home, and I could not resist.  They had been pressed, but developed stains and some folds over the years, naturally.  

I thought this brown month was the time to share them.  I need some advice on how to handle them, i.e., wash or not, piece them,etc.  if you have some ideas or can point me to someone knowledgeable about treating antique quilts, I sure would appreciate any help you can offer.

Here is how my dark chocolate block looks with some of the others, very good I think.  In two months I will have 36 blocks, but I have no idea about turning them into one or more quilts.  I will have to get out the grid paper and do some designing.   Soon that will be one more WIP.  They seem to be stacking up on me, but I am quilting the butterfly D9P, just simple diagonals, so it won't take long.

Thanks again, folks, for all your encouragement and inspiration.

I link up with RSC15 at superscrappy.blogspot.com and Sew Cute Tuesday at blossomheartquilts.com. Please come join us, it's lots of fun.

RSC15 week 42

WHAT COLOR BROWN?

Well, after all the input I received about brown last week, I chose my absolute favorite brown, dark chocolate.  I love those Lindor Truffles in the dark brown bag, which have a luscious burst of dark, dark  heaven when you pop one in your mouth.  If you haven't tried one, you must!

So here are my balloons looking very happy in their rich dark frames.

I also stitched together my fruit and veggie panels.  I think I will make two table runners out of it.  I have a couple of friends in mind who might enjoy one. All they (the table runners, not the friends) would need are slightly wider gold borders. 

I finally got my butterfly quilt pinned and ready to quilt, which is my next major project.  It is throw size, not as large as the twin sized rainbow quilt.  I used the raspberry batik for a border and will bind it from the back, the navy print.

The best colors I saw this week were on a drive through a nearby cemetery on a perfect day.  Wish you could have been there with me.

I link up with RSC15 at superscrappy.blogspot.com and Sew Cute Tuesday at blossomheartquilts.com.  There are some good things to see there.

RSC15 week 41

A TRIBUTE

Here is a quilt for my son, Chris, which I began when he was in college.  He wanted a black quilt, but I said, "No way."  I decided on dark blue with a simple Amish style pattern.  I got it almost quilted when he got engaged and married.  She had a different color scheme planned, so I put it away all these years.  He lived through cancer and a divorce, then side effects in recent years.  I hoped to finish it for him, but he passed away in April at age 47.  

    Not long ago I read about Cynthia Brunz's idea for volunteers to finish a quilt for another.  I took the quilt to my local Monona Quilters and one of the members very kindly offered to finish the hand quilting and binding the quilt for me.

Here is the cable border and finished hand quilting beautifully done by Laura Gottlieb.

This quilt will be my small tribute to Chris, who was taken too soon.  I am grateful to have this new community of caring quilting friends, both near and far, who have helped me to focus on a way to give of myself and my talents now and in the future.

FRUIT AND VEGGIES

I have been working on this piece with shades of brown and other gorgeous colors.  I added a gold strip to the top of each 7-inch strip by WOF.  Here they are folded because my first idea was a tablecloth, but am thinking now about making two table runners.  Slow but steady on this one.

I'm also pinning my butterfly quilt tomorrow and will start the quilting.  It is more of a cuddle size, so it will not be a huge job.   Lots of WIP.  

I link up with RSC15 at superscrappy.blogspot.com, Sew Cute Tuesday at blossomheartquilts.com and Throwback Thursday at kristaquilts.blogspot.com. Come join the fun.

Sew Cute Tuesday, October 8

This is the girl quilt I will donate to Project Linus this month, a UFO since last winter.

It is fleece backed and so I machine tacked each block, which is lo-o-ts easier than pushing a needle through fleece.

Hooray, today i finished the binding, so here it is at last.

The flimsy came very close to the 50 x 60 inch size of the fleece blanket backing, but with a little fudging I managed to get the binding on, not the neatest job, but the happy little girl who gets it will not care.

You can see how well the front goes with the fleece, which is how I design them, from a given back to a coordinating front.  I think this limitation makes them more challenging, which I love.

    This quilt will be collected at our Monona Quilt group.

I link up with RSC15 at superscrappy.blogspot.com, Sew Cute Tuesday at blossomheartquilts.com and Throwback Thursday at kristaquilts.blogspot.com.  Come and join us, it's good fun.

Throwback Thursday, October 8

LITTLE MEN #3

Last week in #2 of this series the little men were in Africa observing the animal life there.  Unfortunately they were too busy watching the giraffes to notice the leopard observing them from the bushes.  When he pounced, there was sheer pandimonium as most of the men were scared to death.

Of the remaining survivors, only one little man kept his wits about him and was able to continue his journey.  Now he is on the threshold of EXPLORATION.  As he looks out at the world he sees many facets to explore.  The world of the mind is there offering art, literature and man's inventions.  Beyond that he sees the beauty of nature all about him in the trees,blooming plants and geologic wonders. Above in the heavens he can envision and explore the stars, planets and galaxies.  All he has to do is go forward on new adventures beyond his imagination.  

This wall quilt of my own design was made for a quilt show challenge, which won first place for use of color.  The bright graphic areas represent the world of the mind. 

I did free motion quilting with metallic thread, a nightmare in itself in the early 1990's.  But it was done by the deadline.  I used leaf motifs in some nature areas and swirls like comets or galaxies in the starry pieces.

 

Overall, I was very happy with the way it portrayed the theme of EXPLORATION as the culmination of the series.  I doubt that I would attempt it today.

I link up with RSC15 at superscrappy.blogspot.com, Sew Cute Tuesday at blossomheartquilts.com and Throwback Thursday at kristaquilts.blogspot.com.   Please check them out.

RSC week 40

WHAT COLOR IS BROWN?

Brown has finally turned up for our Rainbow Scrap Challenge, a month I have been dreading.  I have been wondering how to combine it with my bright primary balloon blocks, while brown is a mix of other colors. So I dug deep into my batik stash to try to find some brown pieces that would work well with them.  I'm still not sure what to do.

Here are three different groups of fabrics to consider.

1.  These are more or less dull brown tones, but there is a pretty good range from dark to light.

2.  This group is brighter and busier overall.

3.  This final group is softer, not as bright, but stronger in saturation.

So I will be thinking about this for awhile.  Any thoughts? 

    Meanwhile, I am working with a fun group of veggie and fruit fabrics, all WOF, and golden yellow strips to separate them.  This photo was before I trimmed the width to 7-1/2 inches, essentially a row design.  I love these prints that came from the group giveaway table.

Finally, one more photo as a clue to my posts on Throwback Thursday.  I hope that you

Will have a chance to check out my blog itself for Throwback Thursday on Sept. 24 and Oct.1 to see what these little men are up to.  It is a three part suspense story, so take a look.

I link up with RSC15 at superscrappy.blogspot.com, Sew Cute Tuesday at blossomheartquilts.com and Throwback Thursday at kristaquilts.blogspot.com.   Hope you will join me.

Throwback Thursday, October 1

LITTLE MEN  # 2

The isolated men you saw last week are making progress in their life adventure.  In fact, they have gotten together and decided to journey to Africa, where they are anxious to see the wildlife.

A small group are braver and move on ahead to get closer to some giraffes.  The rest are waiting at a distance.  There are stitched sight lines to indicate who is looking where.  Can you follow the lines to see who is watching whom?  

Perhaps you need to look more closely.  Who is hiding in the bushes?

Can you see the zebras on the left?  They are looking everywhere. The men in front are looking only at the giraffes and the others are watching the men in front.  So none of the men look to the right to see the leopard hiding and watching those men in the distance.  What will happen next?

I have named this quilt OBSERVATION.  Check back next week to see who is continuing on.  

I link up with RSC15 at superscrappy.blogspot.com, Sew Cute Tuesday at blossomheartquilts.com and Throwback Thursday at kristaquilts.blogspot.com. 

 

RSC15 week 39

This is the last week of orange and I'm looking forward to next month.  But I have another orange option for my row quilt.

I really like the orange bordered by the little pinwheels.  I only have about six pinwheel strips so I will have to be careful where I use them.  That is one of the reasons I have been going slowly with these rows, so I won't end up having to do any ripping and replacing.  The floor is only temporary, but I do make good use of the iPad by taking photos of all my ideas to look back at.

The other reason I have put this aside was to finish this Project Linus quilt, a WIP since last winter.  I machine tacked each block, which is lo-o-ts easier than pushing a needle through fleece.

Hooray, today i finished the binding, so here it is!  There are little bits of orange in it also.

The flimsy came very close to the 50 x 60 inch size of the fleece blanket backing, but with a little fudging I managed to get the binding on, not the neatest job, but the happy little girl who gets it will not care.

You can see how well the front goes with the fleece, which is how I design them, from a given back to a coordinating front.  I think this limitation makes them more challenging, which I love.

    This quilt will be collected in mid-October at our Monona Quilt group.

I link up with RSC15 at superscrappy.blogspot.com, Sew Cute Tuesday at blossomheartquilts.com and Throwback Thursday at kristaquilts.blogspot.com.  Come and join us, it's good fun.

Throwback Thursday September 24

LITTLE MEN SERIES

Do any of you remember this fabric from the eighties, row after row of these stuffy-looking gentlemen?

This fabric was the starting point for a series of three wall hanging quilts.  I bought about 1/4 yard at the time and then wished I had more.  

 

I found a book, don't remember the title, about designing your own quilts by using various sizes of blocks arranged in a balanced way.  I found some dark blue, maroon and other muted colors for the blocks.  I used one man for the center of the feature blocks, then strips or nine patch for the rest.  

As I studied it I realized there was a word which explained the state of these men, of so many people in general.  So I named it ISOLATION.

The back side is pieced out of leftovers, and I put in a small row of men as well, no longer isolated completely. 

There are two more quilts in the series.  Come back next week to find out what happens to the little men.

I link up with RSC15 at superscrappy.blogspot.com, Sew Cute Tuesday at blossomheartquilts.com and Throwback Thursday at kristaquilts.blogspot.com.  Come over and check them out.

RSC15 week 38

HOORAY FOR ORANGE

This week I finally got a chance to do my balloon blocks in orange.  Some fun pieces showed up in my stash, including a batik with random cicles which showed up out of the blue.  So I have balloons inside of balloons.

Actually I did very little quilting this week,  just could not get motivated.  Maybe i should blame that on the humid weather.  We had about three solid hours of lightening last night and a ton of rain.  

    However, I did finally get back on track with my Project Linus girl quilt.  I am not quilting it to the fleece backing, just machine tacking in each block.  It is due to be turned in next month when our quilt group has our semiannual charity collection.  I love making these quilts for needy kids.

I link up with RSC15 at superscrappy.blogspot.com, Sew Cute Tuesday at blossomheartquilts.com and Throwback Thursday at kristaquilts.blogspot.com.   Come along and enjoy some great projects.