Monday, August 17, 2009

Another Bag!

Last week's bag was so much fun to make that I made another one yesterday and have a third one almost complete. I gave the first bag to a wonderful quilting friend of mine named Mazelle. She turns 75 at the end of this month. She is one of the neatest ladies I've ever known and has sort of become my second mom.


Oh...also last week I learned how to make Cathedral Windows. That was really cool! Mazelle showed me the basics. I love handwork so this should be fun. I haven't gotten to the adding the color squares yet but hopefully at retreat I will get the chance.

I have tons of other projects I want to work on right now but I'm saving them for a quilt retreat I am attending this month. I know I'll never finish all the projects I'm taking but maybe I'll at least make some progress on each of them.

Last Friday afternoon I picked fabrics for the Portobello Market quilt. Since the original fabrics cannot be ordered again, I have chosen some wonderful reproduction prints. I can't wait to return from retreat and begin working on it. As soon as I can finish it, classes will be scheduled.


Thursday, August 13, 2009

Sometimes...


...the simplest projects are the most fun! I had been planning to do the bag pictured above at a quilt retreat coming up in a couple of weeks. But Tuesday afternoon after finishing the Double Circle quilt top I decided I wanted to do something fun. So I decided the bag couldn't wait any longer. From start to finish it took maybe five or six hours.
The bag measures 14" wide x 11" tall. The patten came from the August 2007 issue of McCall's Quilting. It was made from one charm pack, a yard of lining fabric, and some pellon fleece. The original pattern did not have an inside pocket. I took 6 leftover charm squares and constructed them in the same manner as I did for the other parts of the bag.

Tuesday, August 11, 2009

Double Circle


I just finished the Double Circle quilt top. I am pretty happy with it. The border using the leftovers is a bit distracting to me. But...since its for a class its always best to follow the original pattern to less confusion.

Had I designed it though I think I would have done a simpler border so your eye was drawn more to the circles.

Monday, August 10, 2009

Works in Progress

Here's a picture of the Double Circle quilt so far. Today I worked on trimming the blocks and playing with the layout. I am eager to start putting it together and see the finished product.


This evening I finally completed the first embroidery block for my friend Donna. Only 4 more to go!

Saturday, August 8, 2009

Another Day, Another Quilt

To support my fabric addiction, I teach quilting for one of the local quilt shop. Early this week I went in and discussed new classes with the shop owner. We selected a couple repeat classes that I've taught before, Portobello Market and Winner's Bouquet. They are fun quilts to make that are easier than they look. We also settled on a couple new classes, a french braid tree skirt and Double Circle using the Wonder Arc.

There is also a third class that I am really excited about. My Tea Party quilt is going to be offered at the shop as a Block of the Month and I am going to teach a one day Embroidery Primer class followed by hosting a monthly bee.

Here are the fabrics I have selected for Double Circle.


While I was at the shop today, I was asked to make another Portobello Market using reproduction prints. Because I love this quilt pattern so much I happily agreed. After I complete the Double Circle quilt, I'll start working on it. I can't wait!

On a side not, I haven't completed my friend's embroidery blocks but I'm getting there. Luckily I have till the beginning of October to complete them. I tell ya, there are just not enough hours in the day to complete all the projects I'd like to.

If you're ready this Donna, I'm working my little fingers to the bone for ya. *wink*

Wednesday, August 5, 2009

Wordless Wednesday


Starting Something New

Today is Wordless Wednesday. This is an idea borrowed from a blog I follow. Every Wednesday this blogger posts a photo and nothing else. I always find the photos she posts to be beautiful and artistically inspiring.

The plan is to post photographs of my own with the occasional internet found photographs.

Monday, August 3, 2009

Helping a friend

Today I am starting on a new embroidery. A week or so ago my friend Donna came to me for help. She was asked to make five quilt blocks for some annual conference with her Eastern Star group. The block could be anything I wanted but it had to have certain written information on it. I immediately thought embroidery. After designing a few different embroidery blocks using Microsoft Publisher, we settled on the design below. The design is 8" square. I got the Texas and bluebonnets from a quilt pattern we saw in a quilt shop. For the colors I wanted to keep it fairly simple...two greens, four blues, grey, black, and red.

I am pleased so far with the results. With any luck I'll be done by the end of the week with all five of them and then I can start on my next project...a snowman tree skirt.

Hi ho hi ho...its off to embroider i go!

Sunday, August 2, 2009

i LOVE hand embroidery

Below is a picture of my latest project. I just finished it this week. It is called "Tea Party." The embroidery patterns by Crabapple Hill Studio were picked for a few dollars at a yard sale. The quilt design is mine.

This was such a fun project to work on and I wasn't sure how well I was going to do at it. I hadn't embroidered since I was a little girl when my grandmother taught me when I was staying with her one weekend. Over the years I hadn't really given embroidery much thought but when I saw these beautiful, dainty little tea cups I couldn't resist.

When I took the quilt top to bee this week, it was met with ooh's and ahh's. One of my bee friends insisted that it needed to be hand quilted. She offered to hand quilt it for me but only if I would enter it in our upcoming quilt show. I agreed. So in about two months I should have it back and I'm really excited to see what she does with it.