O Holy Night...

Merry Christmas!!!!

:o)

Finish #3 of 3

And finally the 'S' quilt...unveiled in a hurry and photographed with poor lighting.  HO. HO. HO.

No one to hold it up for me today...

Another view...

And another...

The back...

 

Ready for the gift bag!

:o)

Finish #2 of 3

And the black version...which reminds me of stained glass...

Fresh from the dryer...

A peek at the back...

Folded for the gift bag!

:o)

Finish #1 of 3

What a month...finally I have something to show you. Tis the season...

Fresh from the dryer!

The Back!

Folded for the gift bag!

:o)

Tweaking Time

The 'S' quilt is up on my design board for a while so I can let the arrangement settle in.

:o)

A Bit about Binding

I have the binding sewn on two of the three quilts I am working on.  (I still need to hand sew them to the backs.) Here is the orange Aboriginal I've been posting about.  My binding starts out in 3 1/2 inch strips.  After folding in half, they are slightly less than 1 3/4 inch strips.  I sew them on using a 1/2 inch seam allowance which results in a 1/2 wide binding.  I often use these measurements when making my binding as I like the binding to be more prevalent in framing the quilt.  This particular quilt is bound with a 'scrappy' binding using a few Aboriginal fabrics that were also used in the quilt blocks.

:o)

Blogger's Quilt Festival -- Fall 2011

This is my fourth time participating in the Blogger's Quilt Festival sponsored by Amy at Amy's Creative Side.  We owe a big thanks to her for hosting another festival.  Be sure to check out all the entries if you want to be inspired, wowed, and make some new friends, too.

My entry is my Matisse quilt which was gifted to my husband.  My husband introduced me to the art of Henri Matisse when we were in college, and the first art we bought after we were married was a Matisse museum poster that we framed for our living room.  The minute I saw the Matisse line of fabric at Hawthorne Threads, I knew I would be making a quilt.

I used a simple block and interspersed it with larger fussy cut pieces from the large print in the collection (by Alexander Henry fabrics).

I used a serpentine stitch with my straight line quilting.  The batting is Dream Wool. 

Roscoe's Pa really likes it and falls asleep under it often!

Thanks so much for stopping by my blog and please come back sometime!

:o)

Some of my 'S' Blocks

I thought you might like to see the beginning 'S' blocks.  I am in love with them so far!  Hopefully the lighting will be better for the next post about this quilt.

:o)

Making sandwiches

Today my body is stiff and sore because yesterday I made sandwiches.  This:

And this:

On another note, I have spent a fair amount of time looking, researching, and talking to the pros about a new machine.  I am leaning toward the Bernina 550QE.  It looks to be a great machine.  The thing is...it has just been introduced.  I don't think I want one of the first machines out of the factory.  I think I should let things settle a bit and let the kinks get worked out.

So now it's time to start quilting the above projects!  :o)

Grandpa's Closet

The quilt pictured below was found in 1989 in a closet of the home my husband's paternal grandfather, Roy.  It is believed that the quilt had been made by Roy's grandmother in the late 19th Century.  The quilt is in very good shape but was very dirty from years of sitting on the top shelf of the only closet in the farmhouse.  I rinsed the quilt in our bathtub again and again until the water was clean.  I didn't know a lot about caring for antique quilts in 1989 but luckily proceeded with caution and some common sense when taking care of it.

I love the bright colors and the scrapiness of the quilt.  Here is a close up of some of the fabric.

What a treasure!

:o)

Pillowcases

Remember this? 

I promised pillowcases to go with it.  Yes, it is time to put the quilt on the bed and guess who didn't make the pillowcases.  Oops.  Problem remedied:

 Yay! A finish!

:o)

A few more acquistions...

I placed this order recently with 'The City Quilter' in NYC.  I love this store and only get to go there when I visit my daughter. 

I purchased this Aboriginal for a backing to the quilt I am going to make someday for ME.

I liked this one too.

Plus I added these next two pieces to my collection of New York City fabrics.  Some of this will probably land in my 'S' quilt.

:o)

A Reveal!!

This summer I posted a couple of posts about this fabric

and making this quilt.

It is a combination milestone birthday gift and upcoming retirement gift.  The quilt has now been delivered and I can show it to you! 

:o)

More fabric acquistions...

I bought these yummies from my LQS.

I am anxious to start using them.  Here is my inspiration from the December/January 2009 issue of Quilt Magazine:

:o)

Aboriginals Update and Some Pondering

Here are the pressed fronts, backs and bindings for Quilt #1 and Quilt #2. 

Now they need sandwiched and quilted.  I think I have a quilting plan, but I am waiting while I decide what to do about my machine.

I love my machine...a 25 year old Bernina 1230.  But it has started to act old lately (just like me!  LOL!)  I recently had it tuned up and it's still doing some funny things (again...just like me!)  Roscoe's Pa told me to look at new machines.  Yes, he really said that.  I am taking it seriously!!!  So I don't want to quilt these quilts until I make a decision about whether or not I am going to get a new machine.  I want to go look at the new Bernina 550QE, which has a moderately extended free arm to the right of the needle...more room for quilting.   I am now in my 60's.  If I get a new machine, it might be my last machine.  Lots of pressure here to a make a good decision!

:o)  

Yesterday...

My sewing for yesterday can be summed up with this picture:

On a cheerier note, I received this in the mail on Thursday from Hawthorne Threads:

It is for my next project which has a Christmas due date!

:o)

A couple more gadgets...

My good friend Sandy visited me recently from Arizona.  She brought me some little quilting gifts as she knows I am possessed by quilting!  The first item is:

I haven't had a chance to try it yet, but it should come in handy when dealing with those tangles that sometimes occur when you hand stitch the binding to the back of your quilt.

And the other item is this:

This is a great marking pen...easy to use and makes a fine line.  The words on the pen read 'remove by friction'.  However, my friend had seen a demo of the product, and heat was demonstrated as the way to remove your markings.  I tried friction to no avail but heat worked fine.  I would caution you to test first though.  I used the pen on a white fabric, and the line faded but didn't completely disappear.

Thanks a bunch, Sandy!                            

  :o)

First Preview of Quilt #2

I didn't think it would be possible to like Quilt #2 as much as I like Quilt #1.  But I do!  This is my first preview.  I already see a couple of places I need to tweak but I am really amazed that the orange version pleases me this much!

And another WIN!!!

Alissa at Handmade by Alissa recently held her 2nd annual fundraiser recently for Action Kivu, a wonderful nonprofit that helps women who are victims of the conflict in Eastern Congo by teaching them to sew.  The fundraiser raised $15,135 this year!!!

I participated in the giveaway and was the winner of this:

 
And a signed copy of this:

            Thanks Alissa!! 

                              

   :o)