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Drawstring Bags and Tutorials

2012-02-22T20:01:00.001-05:00

I saw these at In Color Order but I have been wanting to make one since I saw this one here ( a free tote tutorial, among others, at Pillow and Maxfield). They are super fun and easy to make and whip up in no time. They make a great lunch bag that you can just throw in the laundry as needed. Go here for In Color Orders instructions on how to make them.

Lots O Color

2012-02-16T21:46:00.000-05:00

My in the round block

One of the quilting groups that I belong to is doing a round. Each month we are given a new assignment to add onto. The first month was a 12.5 inch square. I think, if I am remembering right. The next was 6.5, pieced. Next is a 2.5 inch add on, probably for me a border of some sort to calm things down a bit. It has been a lot of fun. I just kinda went wild with my colors.

As you can see bright colors have been a them for me. Maybe its the grey of winter that has made me crave all this color.

I am about 9 blocks shy of having 30 blocks to put a nice size quilt together.

Pinwheels and Strings

2012-02-12T20:52:00.000-05:00

Aren't these batiks yummy!

I have only been meaning to say something about this lovely win I had during Christmas time. The lovely Melissa of Sew Bitter Sweet Designs.had a giveaway and I entered and lucked out and won two half yard cuts from Fat Quarter Shop as well at the triangle foundation paper. I had no idea what the foundation triangle thing was. A friend of mine told me it is like piecing with training wheels. Yeah, I knew I needed to give it a try. It helps a lot in keeping my triangles from not getting wonky. Recently I learned that a lot of my wonkiness was coming from pressing and pulling when ironing. Now that I have a softer hand things have gotten a lot better. I wish I knew about that a year ago!

The pinwheel quilts had been put on hold for the time being because I am totally obsessed with finishing my string quilt. I have ten more squares to go and then I will have 30 huge blocks to make my quilt. Totally looking forward to seeing this one all the way through.

A Gifted Stash

2012-02-11T10:56:00.000-05:00

My parents have some friends that they go way back with. We have picnics usually twice a year and we get to see them and their families. Their grandchild and our daughters are around the same age, so my girls enjoy seeing him at the picnics as well. My parents knew them from when they lived in Pennsylvania and thats going back a good 50 years. Wow!

C, I will call her, is my parents age and she gave me some fabric that she has had for 30 plus years. She had always wanted to make a quilt but never did. And I gather she is not interested in making one now as she gave me her stash. I was thrilled. I received the stash before Christmas but with much to do I could not really do anything with it at the time. Now, however, I had a moment after all the Holidays and birthdays. I made her a tote. Who doesn't need a tote. And besides she admired the one I made for my Mom.

It was a little overwhelming at first trying to pick out fabrics that would work well together. But after spending some time with the fabrics I started seeing themes and colors that I thought would be pretty good together

Now, keep in mind, I did not exactly group them perfectly for these pics. I mainly wanted to get them photographed to post on this blog.

This flannel here, I love. There is not a big enough piece to make pajama pants or anything. But, I so can see it being used real soon. I just love the design and color. Kind of heathery.

Here is the tote colors and design that I decided on. Since she is a traditional woman I went with a traditional design.

Iron Craft: Hearts

2012-02-01T13:42:00.000-05:00

Iron Craft challenge was hearts for this round. I had all kinds of grandiose ideas but it didnt happen. What did happen is these cute little door hangers for my kids bedrooms. I thought it might be fun for them to put their name on their doors.

I had these blocks laying around from a block of the month club thingy. The store that had them is now out of business so for sure I would not be getting any more blocks. They have been laying around for about a half of a year of more. I didn't know what I was going to do with them. I dont have that many so this was good use of what I had. I actually had two in two different color ways because I was going to make two quilts- one for each of my daughters.

Feel free to join in on the fun, go to Just Crafty Enough

String Block

2012-01-27T15:04:00.000-05:00

So Molly Flanders posted this really cool block with a tutorial and I just had to make it. So here it is. You can find out how to make this particular block by visiting her web site. Easy instructions and lots of fun.

Dread

2012-01-23T20:51:00.000-05:00

I have been having a blast, totally into my creative process. I have been working on this as well as a Round Robin for my quilting guild. I am so loving it. Right in the middle of this creative frenzy, (you know it is a frenzy when the state of my table has mounds of luscious fabric piled up on it), I decided to get out my quilt that I pieced together during my first quilting class. It needed to be quilted. THis King sized honkin' hunk of a quilt has been calmly asking me to quilt it for some time now. I see it sitting on the shelf and I keep telling myself, soon, I will quilt it soon.

The time has come. Me and that quilt are becoming one. I have to tell you though. (am I alone in this?), I hate it. I hate the color, I hate the look, I hate the thread I chose to quilt it, I hate the backing, there are tons of mistakes and now I even hate my quilting. Well, I don't totally hate the quilting. I like parts of it. But the quilt is poorly pieced so it is giving me a hard time. I am starting to wonder if I even want to put it on my bed.

I would much rather be working on the quilt I started above.

Well Said Ira Glass

2012-01-19T21:12:00.000-05:00

Oh my! So true. It really could not be said any better- could it?

Ira Glass on Storytelling from David Shiyang Liu on Vimeo.

Iron Craft: Paper Craft

2012-01-17T04:00:00.001-05:00

It's Iron Craft time and the challenge of the week was papercraft. There are so many amzing things out there on the internet. Amazing creations. I was totally wowed.

I found these cute little Japanese women dolls on Omiyage Blog: Simply Charming. You can view them here. Theirs of course are amazing, done wiht beautiful paper. I have to say if I see beautiful paper like this, I think I will pick some up just to make these Japanese women- they are so beautiful.

It takes about 20 minutes to put them together. I can totally see why they are addicting. I would like to make some of the blue ones.

Here is the other thing I made. This two week thing takes some getting use to but it works so much better for me. Slow I know but it usually takes me about a week to get my inspiration.

Table Runners

2012-01-11T20:28:00.000-05:00

I made four table runners for Christmas presents this year. One I had made last year but there was a mistake that I wanted to fix. I finally fixed it and gave it to its lovely new owners, my brother and his wife.

The three others were for my friends that meet every month. We have been meeting for over ten years now, pretty faithfully. They are warm and supportive women who are wonderful to be around. I always feel uplifted and my soul feels hugged every time we meet. How special is that? I am very grateful for them.

One table runner that I have posted here has a story behind it. Many years ago, one of the girls in the group, "L" had bought this fabric bundle from Joanns with these Southwestern fabrics. Her and I had been to Phoenix together so it had special meaning. I went to Joannes and bought the same fabric pack. For the longest time I have been wanting to make something with them and give it to her. THis was before quilting came into my life. I finally found the perfect thing All Quilts- this table runner. Very simple design but with the right fabrics it could look stunning. I made her the runner using the South West designs. I quilted "ole" and "fiesta" on it, along with some designs I had picked up from The Free Motion Quilting Project.

The other two (dang), I did not photograph because I came right down to the wire, finishing them up before bringing them to our get together to give away. The next time I am at one of their houses I am going to photograph them. I liked them so much that I am considering making a quilt out of them.

Randomness

2012-01-07T08:51:00.000-05:00

While we were away at Christmas time I found a great shop that was having a sale... six dollars per yard. I just had to get some of this yummy fabric, er, fabrics. I see skirts for my girls.

This beautiful little bowl was given to me by a friend of mine. She does pottery. I must take it at other angles so you can see more of its beauty. I actually have it posted in my food blog about red pepper relish on Lori's Lipsmacking Goodness.

These cute mugs are from the MM store in NYC. Yup, three floors dedicated to the MM guys- a marketer's dream.... only in America. The red one says", "Wanna a piece of me?" and the blue one says, "It's all good". The red one is for me on color alone and the blue one is for my husband. But as far as our personalities go, the ying yang thing, I am more of the Its all good with a little of the piece of me. And my husband the opposite.

This here (minus a button I sewed on for the door) was for a gift exchange at our quilters guild. I did not get to see her. I hoped she liked it.

This was a tote I sewed from scraps I received at a silent auction. I made it for my Aunt D. She is a master sewer. When I was in my early twenties she made a gown for me for a wedding I was in. The sizes only went up to 18 and I was in a 20. There was virtually no difference in our gowns. Except for the fact that mine was probably the most quality made one of the bunch. She did all of it without a pattern. AMAZING!

This final one here is a dress I made for our friends daughter for her American girl doll. I have to get a pic of it in the light because the purples are so pretty and it just does not show up like that in this picture.

Iron Craft: April Showers in December- sure why not?

2011-12-21T08:57:00.000-05:00

My daughter and I had some fun over this past weekend making these pins and barettes. I had saved some really cheapo hair bands that had these cute little flowers on them with ladybugs as well. The hair band became very stretched out really fast. I could not part with those cute little buttons that were on there so I have been saving them. And since the order of the day since last January is to use up what I have or get rid of it.... it was the perfect time to use them. Didnt they come out cute. So glad I saved them.

Since it is bring back one of your favorite Iron Challenges or do one you missed I figured I'd better get an Iron Craft post on my blog. I chose April Showers- flowers! Thank you for doing the Iron Craft. Ladies I apologize for missing so many weeks but I will do better in 2012. I am so joining Iron Craft again.

Secret Santa Was Very Good To Me

2011-12-19T10:21:00.001-05:00

Our Quilting Bee had a Secret Santa gift exchange for those who wanted to participate. I joined in. These things always makes me nervous because I always worry the person will not like my gift. I will share what I gave on the next post. I did receive an amazing gift from someone in the Bee that I happen to be friends with. That girl, M, knows what I like. She knows I adore Kaffe Fasset's fabric. She knows I love scraps and she heard me talking about my desire to do Mariners Compass Star. Dang, she is good.

She made this adorable little duffel, that I totally need to get the pattern for. Is she amazing or what? Perfectly sewn! You rock M!

And being the smart and wonderful person she is, she added chocolate. Love it! Mint chocolate happens to be my all time favorite chocolate combination!

Then she cut 10 inch strips down the length of her fabric and rolled them all together. Layer cake? Is that right? I am still new to these terms. Aren't they luscious?

10 inch square cuts of fabrics. Totally delicious as well. I am so loving these. I will have to just sit back and admire all this stuff for a while.

And finally this great pattern which I hope to work together with M on. She has a pattern as well. I like that M- one for you, one for me.

And let's not forget that really cute gift basket. It's a drum shape. Don't you love it? I do!

O Christmas Tree

2011-12-16T17:59:00.000-05:00

I made a few of these at the beginning of the month. I wanted to post them for one of the Iron Craft challenges but I was afraid the people I was giving them to would see them.

The original pattern called for a smaller border around and the tree ended up touching the sides. (See picture below). I did not like that so I made the border a bit bigger. Other than that it was an extremely fun tree to put together. This is my first time with an applique pattern and really I was surprised at how much I enjoyed it.

Here is the other one I made. The pattern is from Patch Abilities. MM312 Funky Tree

Photography by Cynthia Starr

2011-12-11T19:29:00.001-05:00

A couple months ago my husbands cousin and his girlfriend came to our house for a visit. Cynthia Starr, the girlfriend, is a professional photographer. She does weddings, school pictures, family photos, the whole gambit. I wanted to share with you a couple of her photos as they related to my blog. They are so crisp and vibrant. I just love the thread one. The pop of color is so attractive.

If you live around the area of Kingston, NY and are in need of a photographer she is your girl! You can click on the link above to go to her home page or you can click here for her blog. (If you are curious about the pin cushion/caddy, click here for the link of how I made it).

Here are some photos of my kids. She took some really nice shots but I do not like to show my kids pictures on my blog. Believe me there are times when I really want to post photos of them.

A Bird in the Hand

2011-11-13T09:13:00.000-05:00

A bird or two or three or four ( I am so addicted there probably will be more). I can't stop making these pretty little birds. I saw them on DIY with Kim and Chris, printed out the instructions (you can find it here) and have been goin' crazy with scraps. I think I sew more with my scraps then I do with my collection of fabrics. Well, no, I know I sew more with my scraps.

So here are some of my little chickadees.

Tomato Cage Christmas Tree

2011-11-06T20:28:00.001-05:00

Saw this great idea for tomato cage trees on Pinterest. It's P. Allen Smiths idea. Check out his video.

It was such a great idea, I just had to do it. He suggests using what you have lay around. I did not have most of this stuff laying around unfortunately but in a series of good twists of fate, I managed to find stuff and do it rather cheaply. I made these for a total of 34 dollars. 17.50 per tree. Not too shabby.

On my way to Walmart, where I thought I'd find some good prices. Um, not so much. I did buy to 16.5 inch large pots for 15 dollars per pot. Yup. I thought this was going to rack up the dollars since I was starting here. On the way home, swear to God, there, on the side of the road, someone was throwing away two large, stone colored pots. They are a bit weathered but I figured who was going to notice after I got all the decorations on them. I returned the pots that I had bought from Walmart. Cha ching! So far zero.

Then I thought I'd check out the local Garden Factory, who tend to be a bit pricey but I needed to get dirt anyhow. Just so happened that there pretty fancy garland was on sale for a dollar- and to think they wanted 5.99 and that other store.

The pine garland was the most expensive part of this whole deal- 12 dollars per strand.

See the phone there. That my moment of "oh my goodness, I think I may have to go back and buy more pine garland". I wrapped the tree tighter and everything worked out.

I still want to hang some lights on it and some decorations but this is what I have so far.

Iron Craft Challenge: Conquer Your Fear

2011-10-26T03:50:00.005-04:00

Here is something that I have been wanting to try and was somewhat ambivalent about because of my fear. Fabric Dying. I have seen it before with lots of cool ideas... snow dying salt dying, etc. Over the weekend I went to a retreat. One of the ladies in our group gave a class on fabric dying. I joined to give it a go as it is much easier to jump into something you are afraid about with someone holding your hand- is it not?

I still wasn't quite sure about it. Silly me. I LOVED it. While I do not have tons of money to jump right out and buy some dyes, I will be open to classes in the future. I think I may do some natural dying- beets and all and see what I came up with.

We used a cotton that is prepared or shall I say not prepared for dying (called PFD). It is natural cotton fabric without dyes or sizing or anything like that. If you use a Kona cotton for example, you will have to scour it to get any chemicals off of it that might be present.

Quilting Retreat

2011-10-24T09:51:00.000-04:00

Lucky me, I went on retreat this past weekend. Our quilting group has a retreat twice a year, Spring and Fall. I have been very lucky to be a part of it, thanks to my friend Jan. It is a wonderful group of ladies that getaway for a weekend of sewing and fellowship. I had the BEST time!

Did I get a lot done? Well not nearly as much as I wanted to but I did get a lot accomplished.

I will show you later what I worked on. Part of it included dyeing.

It's a beautiful view, isn't it? I even managed to get a walk or two in.

My New Blankie

2011-10-20T20:21:00.000-04:00

This is my Mom (ain't she beautiful?), delivering my blanket. Isn't it beautiful? She asked me some time ago what kind of afghan I wanted. We went to the store and picked out the colors. The colors I chose were very counter intuitive to her. She invariably adds white or cream in her blankets. It's rare we agree on the colors of things. She tends to pick subdued colors while I pick brights. She tends to pick quilts that are traditional and very simple with maroon or beige or blue or green. Nothing too wild. Me, I tend to pick off beat designs or modern looking things or bright or wild. As far as art goes. She picks a very traditional, yawn, simple kind of picture. And me- well, I like sweepiness and artsiness. I like wonky. I like untraditional. So you see, as far as that goes, my Mom and I coudn't be more different.

When she agreed to do the colors and design I wanted, it was a bit of a stretch for her. Granted it still is simple in design but I had to pick something that she would be willing to do. She kept asking me- are you sure you don"t want another color (like cream)? Or are you sure you just want stripes? (I love stripes and darn if I can't get my husband to wear rugby shirts.) No, Ma, I am good where we are.

I think it is perfect and she surprised herself by liking it.

You can not tell here but there are two light blues- one is periwinkle where the other is a heather blue.

Thanks Mom, I love you.

Iron Craft Challenge: Imaginary Friends, etc.

2011-10-19T22:08:00.000-04:00

Over the summer my daughter and I made these. She did such a great job sewing. She was very careful as she went around curves and was pretty precise the whole time. I couldnt have been more proud.

I really wanted to make something for this weeks challenge but instead I have only this past project to show you. The piece that I was going to make is sitting on my sewing table, incomplete. When I get a ball point needle for knits, I will finish it.

I really can't submit this to the group but I will share it. We drew pictures, cut them out and used them as templates.

Barbie Clothes 1

2011-10-13T10:12:00.000-04:00

I have to secretly tell you about my newest adventure. Making Barbie clothes. I tell you in secret as they will be for Christmas for my girls. This one, although I followed the Just Crafty Enough idea of the week for Project Project Runway, I will not be joining. I just don't want to commit to something I may not be able to do at this time.

I have been spending my time finding patterns for Barbie clothes on the internet and at some time I will post them. This one I just made without a pattern.

Iron Craft Challenge: Halloween

2011-10-12T20:23:00.000-04:00

The challenge for Iron Craft was Halloween. I have not entered the challenge in so long. It seems all I have been doing is canning and tending to the kids. This week I really wanted to enter. While I am not big on Halloween, I did totally enjoy this project and my kids will be glad to have something to decorate our house with.

Thanks Kat, et al.

You can find this group and others on Just Crafty Enough. Come on, join the fun.

What to do with my Farmer's Wife

2011-10-10T07:08:00.001-04:00

It's a conundrum. I have so much color going on in my blocks. Well, too much color, really. It is very difficult, at least for me, to decide how to set this one up. Depressing really. So I set it aside. I thought nothing really looks good with this. Sashing doesn't set the colors far enough apart. Too much chaos in this quilt. I thought I had better set it with black or white? Straight up and down or on point.... ???

I dunno.

I even tried a different design. I thought this would be kind of cool so I cut up all the white and sewed it together and thought it look rather silly. Then I ripped it all out. I did actually rip out that lavender block (the one in the inner square bottom left) that was sewed wrong and redo that one too.

Any suggestions on where to go from here?

Hearts That Found a Home

2011-10-07T19:55:00.000-04:00

I have not been to many garage sales this year. That's okay because sometimes I ge tthings I might not necessarily need. I did find this pile of hand appliqued hearts. I said to the woman who appliqued them, "are you sure you want to get rid of those?" I appreciate the time that went into these. I bought the pile for a dollar. I will put something together because I don't want all that energy and time she spent to just sit there unloved.

The older fabric/Civil war type stuff and Americana is not my style. While I like to look at it and have an appreciation, it just doesn't fit in my house. Eventually I will find the right person to give it too.

Farmers Wife; Missing my mojo

2011-09-21T22:31:00.000-04:00

I am afraid I have lost my crafting mojo. Maybe it has been taken over by the canning season that is upon me. Canning tomatoes, peaches, salsa,... Freezing vegetables and fruit. Dehydrating fruits. Picking my lavender and drying it out. Lots of stuff to do during harvest. My garden of weeds is crying out to me. I think my plants are being starved right now. Poor things.

I spent the better part of this evening ripping out seams- such a bummer. Some idea I had for my Farmers Wife quilt just did not work out. Hopefully this mojo thing will return.

I havent done Iron Craft and very little blocks for my Farmers Wife quilt. Just the one above and below.

Design Wall Monday: Vroom Vroom

2011-09-19T21:57:00.000-04:00

A boy quilt. This is my first one. A very simple design.

I picked up some scraps in a bag at one of our local quilt shops. I love doing this. Every time I go I pick up about four bags or so. I come home, open the bag and press every single piece. I then cut my triangles out for my 1000 pyramid quilt and the rest becomes whatever or sits around waiting for a new life. Its very exciting to open these packages and discover the material inside. Once I saw these autos and related fabric, I had to make a quick boys quilt. Its one of thos e things that just grabs you.

Like the Christmas material that was in there. It grabbed me too and I am putting it all together so I can make something real soon. I am very focused on Christmas at the moment.

See what else is on everyones wall over at Patchwork Times. Lots of inspiration.

Design Wall Monday: Autumn

2011-09-12T22:20:00.000-04:00

I know it's not Autumn yet but I want it to be here. It is my favorite season. If I sew it then maybe it will arrive faster.

The two on top are totes for my kids for Halloween. I am not sure about the pumpkins yet, probably a table runner.

I am not very verbose here but I wanted to share my Design Wall. Click here to go to Patchwork Times and see bunch of other designs. I wanted to say plethora but you know, it just didnt feel right on a blog.

Design Wall Monday: Kokopelli Dancing

2011-09-05T03:18:00.002-04:00

Ahhh, many moons and light years before, I started this pinwheel quilt. I am happy to report I am totally done with it. Well, okay, aside from the tag that I have to put on there. It's done. My daughter is asleep under it right now. Well at least I hope she is asleep. Anyway. Here it is.

Kokopelli Dancing

My free motion design.

Here is a few pictures from my "design wall". The quilt took on a life of it's own and kept growing in ways I had not anticipated.

I started of with a bunch of stars and pinwheels. Some pattern from my class that I wanted to throw together. Then it kind of grew from there with borders and such.

I machine quilted it. Stitched in the ditch in the squares and did this kind of angular free flowing design around the borders. This is ultimately how it got its name, read here for a more detailed account of that. But anywho, I am glad it is here and done and in use at this moment!

So I say goodbye to that project. I am kind of sad to see it's colors go bye-bye. They were very cheery to work on.

Iron Craft: Craft with a Book

2011-08-31T08:04:00.000-04:00

I don't know if this is what Iron Craft meant when they said this weeks challenge was a craft with a book. Honestly, I looked at all my books and couldn't think of anything that cried out to me. I did however remember my journal. I have been meaning to post about my journal and get that going again as it has fizzled out ( a long time ago). The pic above I just did the other day. If you notice I had missed coloring parts of the flower. Yup- those over forty eyes doing artwork, not realizing that I really need to have my readers on even with art work. Ugh!

This sketch I did a number of years ago. If you will notice there isnt a thing representing quilting or blogging for that matter and those two things certainly take up a great deal of my time and require creativity.

This is me on the left and my friend on the right. She is one of our Four Corners Gals. We meet monthly and have been doing so for over ten years now. Even during my move out of town, we kept right on meeting.

This was the first page in the journal. This represents our Four Corners. We have nicknamed each other a long time ago. I am Red Feather Swimming. We have earth, air, fire and water represented. We each gave each other our elements. It was obvious to all of use for many reasons who was what. The Compass Rose representing the directions of the earth and our lives, etc. Our group is very spiritual but not religious. It has always been about peace, grace, support and kindness. When I am with these ladies for our monthly get together it is like going on a spiritual retreat. I am grateful for all of them.

So thank you, Just Crafty Enough, for lighting a fire under my butt to get going with my journal.

The Farmers Wife: Week... I lost track

2011-08-27T12:08:00.000-04:00

Ribbons

Farmers Puzzle

Old Windmill

Northern Lights

Mothers Dream

Old Windmill

Rainbow Flowers

I just wanted to add my latest blocks for the quilt, The Farmers Wife.

You know what makes me crazy when I work on my blocks. My lack of knowledge when I began. Like why would I pick such large prints for such small blocks. It has presented lots of challenges. Overall I like the blocks but I think the prints are better represented in larger sized blocks.

Quilt Show at Patricia's

2011-08-25T11:42:00.000-04:00

I just wanted to share some of the quilts at a quilt show that is done biannually. The show is held by a store called Patricia's in East Rochester.

Love the motion of this one.

Loved these colors.

A great scrappy quilt.

I think this was my favorite. I love the colors and design. Its beautifully executed!

Hand quilted by a local quilter/teacher Jeanette Cook. One of these days I will take her class.

I know that sunflowers should be cliches by now with me but I just am absolutely drawn to them. Loved this quilt- simple but beautiful.

Design Wall Monday- January Carnations

2011-08-22T12:12:00.000-04:00

I am off for days events but I wanted to slip this entry into Patchwork Times, Design Wall Monday. I have actually finished piecing a top with these colors. Then I decided to make a fancy backing for it. But then as I got going, I decided I was going to make a throw. So the pinwheels on the bottom are for the backing as originally planned. And the Evening Stars on top are for the next quilt. Goodness. This January Carnation fabric has really had a life of its own. Since I have two girls born in January it works out pretty nicely.

This is where it all started- with this pieced square that I won at an auction.

Iron Craft Challenge: UFO's

2011-08-17T08:27:00.000-04:00

Don't beam me up yet, I have to much to do. Too many UFO's (unfinished projects) or WIP's (works in progess, as other people call them). You know, the kind of stuff you have lying around that haunts you. It speaks to you, "Hey, remember me, I am the ____ project that you were excited about, spent money on... and then forgot about". Oh, indeed I do, remember you. I had made a sommitment in January of this year to really buckle up and get some of those projects done. I have to say that I actually have finished a bunch of stuff. Of course I started a ton more as well. The above bucket is a small sampling of projects that I have to complete.

Thank you Kat and company at Just Crafty Enough for inspiring me to get some things done.

Like this for example, I had other quilts in progress but this one, because its my daughters, begged to be done first. She really hasn't bothered me about getting it done in a long time. But I wanted to get it done. Her sister has her quilt on her bed and I want her to have hers.

So at a day retreat this past Friday and Saturday I worked feverishly to get it quilted. I had begun some Free motion stitching a while ago when there was a cool day but then stopped. With all the heat, the last thing I wanted to do was get under a blanket and stitch. I stitched in the ditch around my pinwheels and finished all the free motion stitching. At the last hour, I added the binding. Now I am waiting for another cool day to attach all the binding.

It is called Kokopelli Dancing. Someone, Jan, over at Quilting Revolution said that my free motion stiching reminded her of Kokopelli. Since my daughter loves dancing I decided to name it "Kokopelli Dancing". As soon as I get the binding on I will post.

Here is my next project that has been sitting right by my table that has simply been driving me crazy. I put it there purposely so I had to move it out of the way all the time. This way it would persistently work its way up to the work table. Its been like that for about four weeks. I had to get it done.

I made a few of these because they are convenient for people to have and I wanted to give some away. I made one for my Mom as well. The center square was made when I was at an embroidery class. I didn't want it to go to waste, so that is where it all started.

Design Wall Monday- 1000 Pyramids

2011-08-15T08:48:00.000-04:00

While taking my first quilting class last September, I became interested in the 1000 pyramids quilt. I kept thinking about it and thinking about it. I decided to make it but knew it was going to be an in progress quilt for a long time to come. I wanted each triangle to be a different fabric. I want it to be pretty huge too. Right now it is about a 1/3 of the way done. I get super excited when I find nice scraps because it means I am that much closer to finishing. You can see how I have grown with my quilting by this quilt. When I started points didn't necessarily match that well. Now, I am much better at matching points. I thank the Farmers Wife Quilt experience for that. When you are off on a smaller block- it really shows. I cant tell you how many seams I have ripped open on that one. One block I ripped out about three times per seam. And really that is not much of an exageration. I, of course, still see much room for improvement. Maybe I should do Dear Jane? Talk about small blocks.

For those of you that dont know quilting, 1000 pyramids doesnt ne cessarily mean that there are 1000 triangles in it. It means there are obstacle illusions of many pyramids in the quilt. Maybe even 1000 illusions.

The quilt is becoming a bit of an eye spy quilt because ever time I add something that has animals or pictures, I fussy cut it to add interest to the triangle. When I lay it out on the floor, the kids like to play I spy with it.

This is what is up on my design wall today. I have a few triangles to add. See other peoples Design Wall Monday posts here at Patchwork Times.

You can make your own equilateral triangle that is used for this quilt. The how to is here. I made mine about 5 inches tall (with seam allowance).

The Farmer's Wife Quilt: Week 11

2011-08-12T22:39:00.000-04:00

The Spool #84

The Spider Web #83

Lightening #92

Iron Craft Challenge: Summer

2011-08-10T13:53:00.005-04:00

Very exciting, I actually finished the challenge and I couldn't be happier. I have been wanting to do this for a while now.

My rough sketch.

I really like this part. My skills may be on the primitive side but I was pleased with this part and how it came out.

Design Wall Monday

2011-08-08T22:55:00.000-04:00

I continue to work on my Farmers Wife Quilt. I keep thinking to myself, do I want to cut short and stop now or do I want to make every single block. Regardless of what I want to do I just keep plodding along. So maybe I will just nonchalantly arrive at block number 106 (or whatever the final number is). I like to look at my set in Flickr.

If you would like to see all the others who have shared their links at Patchwork Times- Design Wall Monday. Head on over. Lots to see.

The Farmer's Wife Quilt Along- week #10

2011-08-03T20:46:00.000-04:00

Prairie Queen #70

Nope, I didn't do Iron Craft this week. I had every intention. My daughter was pretty sick so my energy was focused somewhere else. And why do I have like, seven blocks this week? Well I did manage to make two this week. Then I started looking at my design wall and the wall on my flickr page and saw that I had not posted some.

Gentleman's Fancy #44

Calico Puzzle #16

Contrary Wife #21

Friendship

Bat Wings #5

Farmers Daughter #32

Design Wall Monday

2011-08-01T03:47:00.003-04:00

I am new to design wall Monday. My friend, Jan, over at Quilting Revolution told me about it. I was suppose to start posting it last week but fell a little behind the 8 ball. If you'd liek to join in or check out what everyone else is up to then head on over to Patchwork Times.

Here is the complete bag. It's huge. I wanted it carry things to retreat. I had seen it when I went on a Quilters retreat with my local quilting bee. This woman had it. She didn't have a pattern. She told me that you just make it howver big you want and reduce the bottom row from each side by two. I looked online to see if I could find something similar but didnt come up with anything. I decided to wing it. What the heck. Live on the edge.

Picked out my fabric, cut squares and put it up on my make shift design wall. My design wall is a tablecloth hung up with the wrong side facing out; tacked into place. It may not be the most fashionable thing but it gets the job done.

I have been using this same fabric for my Farmers Quilt.

The squares are 5 1/2 by 5 1/2 inches.

I used purple for my sandwich. I wasn't thinking because I should have used just plain muslin. I was going to put a lining in anyhow. Make and learn. Right?

Added handles and lining. I also added a loop to hook over on the other side. I also added ties on the side when I sewed my front and back together. This helps to give the honking thing some shape. Because let me tell you, this thing is HUGE, honking huge!

When you sew up all the bottom you form a gusset without having to cut off the triangles and such.

All in all I love the bag. It's very feminine and cheerful.

The Farmers Wife: Week 9

2011-07-30T14:43:00.000-04:00

Duck and Ducklings #28

Evening Star #31

Iron Craft Challenge: Hot, Hot, Hot!

2011-07-27T11:15:00.001-04:00

Yep, its been hot here too. Like many places across the USA, we have been in the midst of a heat wave. Can I tell you frankly that I hate the heat. Anything is too hot when it gets over 75F, at least for me. I am perfectly content with the weather when it is 30F. After living in Phoenix, Arizona, I gladly moved back to the North East for the colder temps. Around here, I really can't say that too loud, 'cause besides me and my neighbor, we are the only ones that like the cold. So shhh.

Iron Craft challenge this week was Hot, hot, hot! I have been wanting to make this pillow case dress for a while. Iron Craft gave me the much needed push to make it. I have to tell you that you can whip one of these off in like, an hour, tops and that includes finding the pillow case and ribbon.

I found a few links that may be helpful if you want to make one. Here is a video on You Tube.
And here is a step by step written explanation from Dresses for Africa. You can donate some if you like!

The Farmers Wife Quilt Along: Week #8

2011-07-21T08:59:00.000-04:00


End of Day #30

I photographed my blocks in sun light, made them looked kind of washed out. I decided that to have more flow to the quilt, that whatever blocks I was working on for the week, 2 or 3 of them would be the same color scheme. I dont know maybe that will work, maybe not.

I am having so much fun with this quilt. It is so gratifying to see the blocks come together. One of my favorite things about the quilting process is how a fabric that you may not be thrilled about, in combination with another fabric, can reveal itself to be something very beautiful to you. I love that. That is so magical to me.

Practical Orchard #69

Bouquet #8

Iron Craft Challenge: Buttons

2011-07-20T08:26:00.000-04:00

I really wanted to do this yesterday with my daughter. One daughter is at my Mothers for an overnight and the other is here with me. I thought we could do a special craft together. Her task was to clean the toy room. She's done it before, I know she can do it. But she didn't. She decided that what ever Mommy had in store for her was not worth the effort. Now, my other daughter would have had that room cleaned lickety split for a chance to do a craft. When my daughter sees what I made this morning while she slumbered, she is going to wish she had cleaned that room. Natural consequence, well, at least I hope.

This was real quick to pull together. At first I was going to use felt but then I remembered that my Mother made me a bunch of these crocheted flowers. I was using them for many crafts but still have a bunch left. I decided to use them instead. I laid some little scraps of fabric over the styrofoam ball. (Those scraps came in handy again- see). Then I straight pinned them in roughly. No need to get all perfect with it because you are going to lay the flowers on top. Then I just pinned the buttons onto the flowers with a colored headed pin. Voila. Stuck some ribbon on top for hanging with some decorative pins. I rather like it. I can see some Christmas balls like this in my near future. A great craft with the kiddos as well.

I am calling them Flower Power Balls

I love the Economy

2011-07-17T09:22:00.000-04:00

Block, that is. I love the Economy Block so much that I decided to make a scrappy quilt with it. I digress from the Farmers Wife Quilt- but thats okay. I was going to make the block bigger than 6 inch but I like the fact that I can use uo some of my scraps. Not that I have a ton because I am new to quilting. Twice now, however, I have found bags of scraps and quilt shops. Works real well for me as I love scrappy quilts.