Tuesday, January 26, 2010

Do's and Don'ts for Quilters

I have already posted today, but came across this great little article on a very interesting blog... check it out here

This made me feel better as my little turtle didn't make the finalists for the Quilting Arts contest I entered.

Sunday, January 24, 2010

Charity Quilt Block


We have a very ambitious quilter in our guild and every year she does a quilt with a heart theme. This year is no different. It has been about a year since I have done a block where I had to follow a pattern and instructions. This one is called Orion's Wheel.

I was a little out of practice in following a pattern and having to do something as told. It made me realize how much I like designing my own quilts and how long it has been since I have made a whole quilt from a pattern.

I have friends who feel the complete opposite of me and truly love following a pattern and turn it into a beautiful quilt.

I rarely make bed size quilts anymore and never have a set of instructions other than what I have written down from my own design. And that is mostly so I don't forget my plans.

Anyway, here is my block.

Saturday, January 16, 2010

First Quilt Block


My oldest son really enjoys watching me make quilts. He will often tell me which one he likes best and even chose one to hang in his room.

Today he made his first quilt block. It is a picture of his skidoo.

Friday, January 15, 2010

A view of my stash


There are so many quilts I can't show right now. Some are being juried, some are for a guild challenge, some are underway. There are over 7 that can't be shown, but come early spring, I can show them.

For now I will show you a selection of my stash. I actually do have my fabric sorted by colour on the shelves. But then in front of the colour assortment, I have put the newest, craziest fabric that I want instant access to, there.

It does look a little haphazard and I am sure at some point I will rearrange, but for now it is working. And so am I.

My latest quilt, the one with the clothing on it, I have it all pinned and it is ready to be quilted. This is one quilt that I am going to take pictures of along the way as there should be some really great before and after shots.

Monday, January 11, 2010

Sea Turtle


Here is my version of a sea turtle. It has a bit of angelina fibers in the bottom of it where the two fabrics meet. And the back is yellow puzzle pieces centered in each one of the shell pieces that are heavily stitched around.

This is my first time working with puzzle pieces and I quite enjoyed it. I think I will try a larger piece next time.

Thursday, January 7, 2010

Desire and Determination

You just have to check out this link on desire and determination.

While the author discussed it in terms of being a painter, you could adapt it to anything. It is such a good read and totally relates to my word of 2010 'perseverance', which just happens to the name of the quilt I finished on New Year's Day 2010.

Wednesday, January 6, 2010

The Buttons are Here


They arrived! All 400 of them. This picture is only of half of them. The disappointing part, when I laid them out on my quilt, I realized that I need alot more red buttons.

I am going to try and find some by pestering family and friends, and if that is unsuccessful, back to online shopping.

On the positive side, I finished a small wallhanging for the Quilting Arts magazine I subscribe too. It had to be of your 'inner animal'. I am not sure what the protocal is for posting pics of it, so I will wait til after the closing date and then post.

I also have 2 table toppers for our guild challenge. One is completely done and will definitely put a smile on your face. The second one has the top completed and I have had several compliments on it. Again, won't be posting them till February.

Now that all my small little projects are almost done, I will be getting back to my button quilt. I guess I will call it that till I come up with a suitable name for it.

Monday, January 4, 2010

Fabric From Christmas


Here is a shot of the fabric I received from Christmas. I love it, it is lots of pinks and greens, I seem to head towards pinks, and consciously have to break away from that and try new colours.

Lately I have been focusing on understanding the colour wheel. Trying to learn about what to do when I choose a colour for a quilt, what ones should go with it. All I have ever done is go with what I think looks good. But I do know that I often get stuck on what colour to throw into the mix. I don't know about values, complementary colours etc. I would love to know of a good book that describes it simply. I don't have a colour wheel, but do look on the net to see what colours are beside each other and opposite of each other.

So far, my 400 buttons haven't come in.... I hope it isn't like the 150 yards of ricrac that never did show up. I will begin to think that someone at the border really likes these two embellishing elements.

And the count is 34 days till I hear back from the National Juried Show......

Saturday, January 2, 2010

Having a Little Laugh


To paraphrase W.C. Fields, "I don't drink water, because fish screw in it."

To my friends who enjoy a glass of wine... and those who don't..
As Ben Franklin said: In wine there is wisdom,
in beer there is freedom, in water there is bacteria.
In a number of carefully controlled trials, scientists have demonstrated that if we drink 1 liter of water each day, at the end of the year we would have absorbed more than 1 kilo of Escherichia coli, (E. coli) - bacteria found in feces. In other words, we are consuming 1 kilo of poop..
However, we do NOT run that risk when drinking wine & beer (or tequila, rum, whiskey or other liquor)because alcohol has to go through a purification process of boiling, filtering and/or fermenting.
Remember:
Water = Poop,
Wine = Health
Therefore, it's better to drink wine and talk stupid, than to drink water and be full of sh--.

A Close Up


Here is a close up of the quilt I had quilted. It is called Perseverance. This quilt was started 4.5 years ago when my youngest was just 3 weeks old. I had a friend come from British Columbia to teach me a new technique, and wanting to use it, this quilt was born. With 2 young children, it took a long time to finish the top. Then as a special treat, had it quilted. I have always quilted my own quilts, but I wanted to see what it would be like to have someone do it on a long arm machine. And it was not what I wanted. I asked advice from 3 top quilters and was told to chalk it up to a lesson learned, file it on a shelf, and give it away. So I put it away while I thought about it. But I couldn't let it go. I just couldn't give it up. It was too close to me and went through too many things with me. It saw me through birth, the death of two exceptionally close people, I cried over this quilt and I laughed over it. It was me, and I never ever give up.

My dear mother offered as a Christmas gift to remove all the stitching for me. It took over 6 months for her to do.

Then I had it requilted and it is so fabulous, I can't even describe it.

I won't post pictures till I hear one way or another from the National Juried Show if it was accepted. Once I hear, I will post the quilt and several detailed shots of the quilt. For now.... keep your fingers crossed.

Friday, January 1, 2010

Colour Chart


Kona Colour Chart is the best thing ever! Especially if you don't know your colour chart and can't think of all the variety of colours when quilt making.

Thankfully I have a great friend who gave me this for Christmas. Now my quilts will definitely have the right colours in them and may even get accepted at a certain juried show.

Well, to update on my quilt status, I did drive the 2 hours yesterday to pick up my quilt that I had quilted. And yes, it is breathtakingly fabulous. I worked last nite and this morning putting the binding on. And then took pics and got that all ready to enter it into the National Juried Show. I send the cd off on monday and will know in a month's time. Keeping fingers crossed. Whatever the outcome, it is my very best work to date and the quilting highlights that.