New Pillows/New Place

Too much light coming into the camera so here's another view ...

I've finished moving into my new digs

and

I've finished these pillows!

Many thanks for your earlier quilting suggestions!

As you can see I elected to do vertical straight lines

as I felt this showed off the Lotta fabrics best.

(The covers are removable for cleaning.)

one day at a time

The front.

The back.

The way we TRAVEL together.

:)

So far we've been to

Therapy appointments....

Swimming lessons.....

Picking up kids from camp....

and now....

We're heading to an overnighter!

I'm loving my handstitched "friend".

What Would You Do?

Am about to unpick the square box quilting I've done on two of my pillow tops.

Thought it would look like a repeat of the fabric row but that's not

how it comes off.

Have a look at the third pillow ready for quilting ... what would you do?

I have an idea and am wondering if anyone might have the same. Thanks!

Voila!

Love both sides of my new string bag. It was great fun to make. Thank you much for the fabric and the challenge, Victoria! Am on my way to the bakery for a loaf of French bread. Maybe there will be room for a bottle of Sauvignon Blanc, too.

baby quilt.

Boo was the photo stylist on this quilt... So she says I have to post this one on this blog. ;-)

I've gotten this far, and I am debating doing more to it. I know the more I do to it the LESS

you will see the desired fabrics... So do I stop now... Do I add more?  

I'd be adding all my bits of scraps of the golds and white... 

yes, I totally went with three solids...

 I bombed the challenge.

 BUT, I still wanted to make something I like! (and I do!)

It makes a sweet baby quilt, right now... 

Because frankly, a lap quilt to me, is KING size. LOL!

It feels like summer, this little quilt... Bright & Sunny.

Strings Quilted

I quilted my strings with fusible bias tape. Whoever invented that stuff deserves to get a prize. I would buy some Clover stock today since it must be a real bargain right now, but alas, all my money is tied up in fabric.

I get to play!

 Finally! I have had ideas rumbling around in my head for days!!!  

And today I cut into some yummy fabric to play...

 Being so excited and working to fast, I snagged some cotton... 

slow down, breathe! (see my triangle there.. LOL) oopsie!

I'm also running out of this ochre gold color... 

so I may have an extra challenge of how 

I can make it stretch as far as possible! 

I have a feeling some EXTRA creative thinking will need to happen...

I'm going for lap size, and some really fun free motion QUILTING!

I'm seriously loving these Lotta fabrics!!

I NEED more!  well, OK, it's not so much a NEED, 

But I seriously Want... with a capital W.

More Play

Yesterday I played with my blocks & scraps & decided that instead of two-color blocks, some looked better with three colors ... so I fixed them. I also decided to make three 16" pillows instead of two 20". Late this afternoon the fabric came ... yippee! I cut one piece to see how they will most likely look (minus the fingerprint on my camera lense). I probably won't post again until all my belongings are packed & ready for the move. That doesn't mean I won't sneak in a little sewing for relaxation!

The KISS Principle

My life is kinda full right now, so I am forced to apply the KISS principle....Keep it simple....

So what could be easier than two giant 9-patches??? I am loving these prints so much that I want to keep 'em big.

Now for the solid question. Know I already went for the gray, but am now second guessing and wondering about black, my old standby. And I could wrap it up quickly with some fusible bias tape and have the "string bag" I have always wanted.

Whew! going to have to get used to the new blog deal.......

I thought I was posting on THIS blog......LOL.

Got back from the dog show (friend took Best of Breed with her nice Borzoi) and lunch with vet cousin Karen (who is crafty yet does not quilt but her son Matt is my biggest quilt recipient, he loves my quilts).

And got my camera from Valerie to take this picture.  I was a bit disappointed with the photo, the reality is much deeper in color than the photo.  Lighting.  Never right, either too dark when you want it light or too light when you want it dark!

So here is my "wall" of frames.  I know, I know.  One or two colors, but it was just screaming for this purpley pink stripe.  But I do so love the graphic-ness of the bold black frames.

We shall see, we all know it can change in a heartbeat!

glen

Designing My Blocks

I've decided to make two 20" pillows in length for my sofa. Each pillow will have 5 blocks made up of two of the prints. (In some instances it looks like I will have to piece the piecing to accomplish this.)

The blocks will be arranged horizontally but not in a straight line. I'm still waiting

for the solid I ordered.

Got my squares today!

So I guess I can no longer whine about anything.  We had Open House at the Library for the Quilt Show today so I had to be there doing the Jelly Roll Race for Charity Quilts.  The public got a chance to be a part of the donation quilts by sewing the strips.  And we got two quilt tops made by 2 PM.  Fun.

I left early at 2 PM and went to a Pampered Chef party (my friend made me come to her party, I went kicking and screaming but I did buy the requisite one item just to be a good sport.)  Valerie packed up my stuff and my camera and brought it to her house.  So I don't have my camera tonight.  I will have to shoot pictures when I get home from the dog show tomorrow.  (a friend's Borzoi is #5 in the country)

When I got home I found my package!  Yeah!

So I tossed some sandwiches together and made Frank eat fast so I could get sewing.

I love black and I wanted big so I framed every square in black.  I have 20 squares.  So they will go 4 x 5.

My daughter the Interior Designer has a wall in her house that is simply covered with black and white photos of her and her hubby and their dog in black frames of all the same size.  The wall is a taupey gray.  And it is dramatic.  So I wanted to copy it. 

So I created a wall and hung my framed squares on the "wall".  Oh, I love it.

And it is a nice lap quilt. BUT.....I spent all night working out a pattern plan on graph paper that i did not use at all. so I have another quilt to build at some point with different fabrics.

Fun and stretching.  I did this with no fear!

glen

Circling around

I've cut most of the charms into circles, piecing them into frames above

and doing a bit of the reverse.

It's still early days for this project -- I'm thinking a cushion cover, or a cover for my Juki.

Where I am so far

My family had loads to say about where this quilt was headed.  After much consultation, everyone selected a favorite motif from the Echo fabric which I interpreted with the two solids I chose to use.  I have to admit, I am much happier with the results. 

It really is straight.  My camera apparently is not.  Now that I have it put together, I am trying to decide on a four inch turquoise border to match the elemental squares.  I do like the size better with the borders.  Then, I have to figure out how to quilt it.  I am thinking echo quilting on the solid squares.  That is as far as I got.  I am sure it will come to me.

Going round and round

I received my fabric in today's mail and I have the beginning of an idea

I'm using a light putty coloured solid (I'm not sure of the Kona colour name)

and I'm thinking about circles, cut with a pre-cursor of those fancy die systems out there. I found this template in my sewing room and I'm having a go with it on these fabrics.

My only question so far: do I have to use every charm, or can I pick and choose?



Aack Alack and Alas

Am I the only one who does not have the squares??

And you guys are finished already??

I live in the South, granted, but it is still America and the post office rules here too!

Well, it IS Louisiana, but it is the CAPITOL of Louisiana.....really

Square, squares...where for art thou??

glen

Settled on mustard

I started out thinking I would use the gray and turquoise.  I left it on the way for a day, and decided it wasn't working for me.  There is way too much gray in the PNW for me to add a gray quilt.  So, I decided to go with a mustardy yellow.

I liked this much better for me.  I started sewing all the smaller units together, then added the sashing bars.  As I put it on the design way, I realized I wanted a bigger quilt, so I added more sashing between blocks.  I also added solid blocks and arranged it to look like a tic tac toe board. 

It is still a bit small, so I think I will added more green to the outside.  I haven't sewn any of the sashing yet, so that may change.  I did think about arranging the blocks so there was a cross of the Echo fabric.  I may try that later and see if I like it.  I am not a huge fan of symmetry, though, so it will probably stay in this arrangement.  We'll see what happens tomorrow.

So far, so good.

I've been busy.

FUN busy.

My quilt top measures 50"x50"

AND...

I'm so excited to begin the quilting!!!

'Cause....

I Have Some great IDEAS about how I'm going to do that!

The only problem is...

My IDEAS don't always turn out to be great

REALITIES!!!

ah well...

You know I'll be having some fun,

whether or NOT it turns out like I dream!

;)

Going Gray

I am crazy about the new grays here. I wear a lot of gray now, so I will probably make a bag...or a hat....or????

A Lotta Charm

Here's what I'm working with . . .

(That's a navy solid, in case you can't tell.)

I was gonna use black, but the navy went better, and I had it, so that's just how some decisions get made around here. I had some yellow, too, but in my chosen design, it didn't create enough of an accent . . .

I know what I'm planning to do with my charms, and I've already started cutting. I'll show you more progress a bit later.

What to do ? ? ?

Here are the charms in my pack & here is my sofa. I'm thinking about making some pillows.

Since I'm in the "packing boxes" stage of moving

into a new apartment on Aug 15, I'm thinking that a new pillows project is something I could manage right now.

I've ordered a solid that I hope will work & as soon as it arrives I'll start. Keeping my fingers crossed!

Charm pack, please hurry!

Looking for the bright spot in my day which would bring the charm pack to me.  While I was waiting I sat down and started playing in EQ6.  If the charm pack for Echo will have 42 squares, I am in like Flynn.

(I wonder who Flynn was and what he was in?)

I had to seriously change what I was thinking due to the fact that we were getting a charm pack and not 13 yards of fabric, then try to decide what solid to add to it.  But then it came to me in a blinding flash of lightening, literally!  We WERE having a storm and it WAS lightening and most dogs were crowded around me on the sofa trying to not get zapped. 

(No one ever has, but the Late Great Fabulous Bonnie Doon told them they would get zapped one day.)

So I have a plan.  And a good plan at that.  I need some quilting distraction from my other woes in this world, and I can't wait to get the fabrics and see what color I need to add to it. 

I could order some now but I think a gray that I already have will work beautifully.  Black is a given.

glen

Lotta Challenge

This is Modern8create's First challenge!

Show us anything made with Lotta's fabrics to 

show off how fabulous they are!

Any thing, any size, and you can add one/two solids, 

but no other lines.

Think MODERN on this one.

Have fun!

Post some sneak peaks, and your finishes!

create!