Stuff Since March

Although I have not been blogging, that does not mean that I haven't been busy.   Spring is always an impossible time for me and this year has not been any exception.  The gardens are planted, we have been traveling, and I'm working, taking classes, and quilting.  H is baking bread.  The youngest is graduated and off on his Grand Adventure.  The others are working, going to school and in general, happy and healthy.  We are so fortunate.

The Lone Star is quilted and bound.  I freehanded it on the long arm and made many, many mistakes.   I frogged 1/2 of it twice, once for a tension problem and the other because I didn't have enough sense to not use white thread on red fabric...  I used masking

tape as a guide for the crosshatch and it is wobbly.  Next time, it will be a straight edge.  I did buy some oval templates and put a swag on the border with them, so it was a learning experience all the way around.  

Applique class with Karen Kay Buckley was yesterday.  I learned an alternative to needle turn and though I don't know if I will use starch and template plastic often, it is good to understand the technique.     I'm going to try and get this finished this next week.

The Crabapple Hill redwork birds are coming along.   It has taken 2 full skeins of perle cotton to finish these nine.  Nine down, three left to go, fortunately I have another 2 skeins of red cotton.  These will look much nicer when pressed.  They have been wadded up in my bag for most of the month.       

Isn't this just the coolest piece?  I saw photo of this nine block antique quilt in a book and decided I had to have one too.  The flowers are huge, 24" across, so it really makes a statement.  I made a paper template for the flower and freehand cut out some leaves and a center.   I had enough of the red to appliqué this one, but now can't find more of this red and I love it.  I've been looking for a month and it doesn't seem to be available anymore.  It is a Moda solid, though the color looks somewhat mottled, but not the Bella, so I will probably make this one a wall hanging and start over with a different red.  I'm considering taking it to guild and asking if anyone has any of this fabric...

Another class...this one on asymmetric blocks and all the ways that they can be arranged to make different patterns.   I'm not loving this and I'm not sure why, maybe just the pink and white color scheme...  The pattern is interesting though.  I'm not sure why I see a swirly pattern when they are just blocks and triangles.  I have more of the deep rose color for a border.  I'll quilt it on the long arm for practice and then it will be a donation or maybe given to the neighbor who admired it last week.

We went to Kansas City to the International Quilt Market in May!  I was totally overwhelmed.  We handed out business cards, checked prices for batting, ate barbecue, and I met the ladies behind the Blackbird Design label.  They were charming and gave me the tiny charm pack of their new fabric line that is sitting on the box.  It will make a great little doll quilt.  I thanked them  for writing all these books that I seem to have to have...LOL.  I bought some fun stuff...I loved the batiks.  They are from the Ivory Coast.  They will make fabulous medallion quilts.  The basket is handmade by a women's co-op in Ghana, the Valdani variegated perle cottons are beautiful, and the pattern is a pieced wallhanging of birds on a limb with the words..."Faith is the bird that feels the light, when dawn is still dark".  I know someone who will enjoy this piece when I get it made.   

This is a free BOM from Pearl Periera's website.  I am using really bright batiks to make her lovely tropical flowers.  These are fun to appliqué and I'll have enough for a real quilt by the end of the year.  The pieces on the right are cut out for hibiscus and for a bird of paradise on the left.  I'll probably use embroidery and beads on these.   I have another BOM coming from a shop in Baton Rouge too.  Those blocks are paper pieced flowers with black shadowing.  Though I have 4 months or so of patterns and fabric, they will have to wait until I have finished a couple other projects.  


This was my Memorial Day weekend project.  I have been wanting to make a liberated asterisk quilt for a while, and my ruler needed a break after the Lone Star, so it seemed like a good project.  The blocks are all batiks with a lime green solid.  I have to finish it up tonight and then it will be off to the long arm for more practice.

Looking back over this post makes me remember why I love this craft...I can, and often do, do completely different things every day and still be happily quilting...