Quilt Island

TAST Cretan Stitch

2012-01-29T17:45:00.001-05:00

This week's TAST is the Cretan Stitch. This one was a bit hard for me to master. I couldn't figure out if the thread went over or under the needle, but eventually I got into a rhythm. I like the little fence that stacking rows of Cretan Stitch created.

Chicken wire and pine cones? Boy, it's hard to stitch everything the same size! Easier to do one isolated motif and make that look pretty good than to make a row where everything is identical.

Avril! This was the little kit I worked on last week. It came from Mary Corbet of Needle n' Thread. This was one of the kits that I won during the 12 Days of Christmas event. So sweet! The forget-me-nots are made with two different blue threads. You stitch a small lazy daisy stitch on all the flowers in a light blue then go around that with a darker blue thread. Yellow French knot in the center. How do you like that alternating chain stitch to make the heart! You thread the two different colors on one needle and alternate which one makes the chain. Sound easy? No, it's not! Well, I managed it, but I wouldn't want to do too much more of it than this.

I don't much enjoy satin stitch. The little pink heart is satin stitch and I am happy with that, but the forget-me-not leaves were supposed to be in satin stitch and they looked more like green worms than lovely leaves! I did chain stitch for these instead and I like the result. So much fun!

Embroidery!

2012-01-22T16:17:00.004-05:00

Look what I won!

Mary Corbet of Needle ' N Thread had a fun "12 Days of Christmas" contest on her fabulous website. I won these little embroidery kits, pincushions, and bird thread holders.

Mary sent me a little something extra, too. "Avril" is a dainty design done in blues and yellows, purple and greens, the colors of spring. I have been stitching all weekend and it is now done, but I will have to take more photos because the ones I took look awful.

Embroidery is so much fun! I did not think I could ever stitch anything so fine and dainty, but I can! These little kits are from Rouge du Rhin, a French company so the instructions are in French. Now, I don't know French, but it was quite simple to figure out the stitches and which thread to use. In fact, that part was rather fun.

Last week's TAST was the Blanket or Buttonhole stitch. After working on the Rouge du Rhin "Avril" kit, I tried these tiny one thread buttonhole flowers. Little fly stitch greenery. So sweet.

Week 3 of TAST is the feather stitch. On the far left is my first attempt, not so good. I like the one beside it, and then to the right of that is a staggered feather stitch. The dark green is done in 4mm silk ribbon. Ooo la la. On the far right is some seaweed, perhaps? Shrubbery? Done in green perl cotton in two sizes with delicata beads for accents. I stitched the light green first and then the dark on top. I think it might be better with the dark underneath, but I still like it as is. Enjoy!

Introducing "Ann"

2012-01-22T15:56:00.000-05:00

Remember this? On December 29 I wrote: Here is a quilt I designed in EQ7. The block comes from the Quilters Cache and is called Octagon and Twist. It is a 12 inch block which is made up of four 6 inch blocks, really two different blocks. I also wrote: I'm not sure that this quilt will ever get made, but I had fun designing it and wanted to share it with you.

Well, as you can see, I did make it! It's no longer called the chocolate and pink quilt, she now has her own name. I call her "Ann".

Last spring my quilt group had an auction and I won a stack of fabric from one of our co-presidents. Ann donated this lovely brown fabric and there were yards of it! I just love it and decided to make a quilt that would really show off this print.

Brown and pink has been a popular color combination for some time now. Maybe I'm late to the party on this, but I do really like it. When I was little my mother would often dress me in brown and pink, so this is a nostalgic look for me.

The binding is a little different on this quilt. I always make a mitered binding using 2 1/4 inch strips folded in half. Always. Something prompted me to look in my Fons and Porter quilt book this time and I used their method of attaching binding to two sides, hand sewing to the back, then applying binding to the other two sides with 1/2 inch tails on the ends which are folded over and hand stitched to cover the raw edges of the first two sides.

I also added the little pink strip under the binding. I cut 1 inch wide fabric, folded it in half and sewed it to the edge before applying the binding. Also a Fons and Porter suggestion. I really like the result. I wasn't sure if it would really show in the end, but it does add a very nice touch. I will have to remember to do this again.

Thank you Ann!

Take a Stitch Tuesday=TAST

2012-01-14T16:43:00.000-05:00

You may remember in a previous post I mentioned that I was going to take part in "Take a Stitch Tuesday" hosted by Sharon B. AKA Pin Tangle. Sharon's blog showcases her beautiful crazy quilt and her embroidery band sampler. The sampler is 8 inches wide and 72 feet long!

Sharon teaches embroidery and crazy quilting. There is a free stitch dictionary on her blog as well as tutorials and freebies. You are in for a treat when you look at her lovely work. Sharon also started "Stitchin Fingers", a forum for people interested in textiles, a real visual candy store!

Those of us who signed up for TAST will post on our blogs, on Flickr, or on Stitchin Fingers. This is a no pressure event, you can join in when you can, choose which stitches you want to do, skip a week when life gets too hectic. I like that.

The first week we learned the Fly Stitch. It is very easy to do. I stitched it with perl cotton, Caron's Wildflower thread, and cotton floss. The green stitches in the center would make a nice bush. The slanted line was my attempt to make bird tracks but it didn't quite work on on the Aida cloth. The little row of flowers in the top right has beads for the flower heads.

Week 2 featured our old friend the Blanket Stitch or Buttonhole Stitch. I remember learning that when I was a little girl. Blanket Stitch and Cross Stitch were the first two stitches I ever learned. The pink posie on the right is an appliqued silky fabric with Fly Stitch radiating out and French Knots in the center. Stitched on linen.

The green leaf on the left is appliqued green satin fabric with Fly Stitch down the center in #8 perl cotton. Same thread goes around the leaf in blanket stitch.

At the top are two circles with blanket stitch pointed inwards on both and with another row pointing out in the yellow thread. Just some little filling stitches in the center of the one on the left.

Care to join in?

Bonnie McCaffrey

2012-01-14T08:05:00.001-05:00

Inventive, adventurous, imaginative, unusual, inspiring!

Friday the 13th

2012-01-13T06:48:00.002-05:00

Chocolate and Pink

2011-12-29T19:59:00.000-05:00

Here is a quilt I designed in EQ7. The block comes from the Quilters Cache and is called Octagon and Twist. It is a 12 inch block which is made up of four 6 inch blocks, really two different blocks. The Octagon is more familiar as the Snowball block. The "Twist" makes up the rings. I got the idea to look for a block Eleanor Burns demonstrated on The Quilt Show. She calls her quilt "Fabric Frenzy" and it is made with the center square and partial seams. She said it was a traditional block, but I don't know what her block is. In looking for a similar block I found this one on Marcia Hohn's quilt block website.

My quilt measures 60 x 72 including the 6 inch borders. I have some lovely brown fabric that I won at our quilt chapter auction that I had in mind for this quilt. Now to search for the perfect pinks. I've found in
playing with colors for this quilt in EQ7 that I like a good contrast in colors to emphasize the interlocking rings.

I'm not sure that this quilt will ever get made, but I had fun designing it and wanted to share it with you. My quilt group will be meeting soon and I will have to see what is planned for the coming months. I may want to put my limited time into one of the projects in our line up.

Happy New Year!

On the first day of Christmas...

2011-12-26T13:05:00.000-05:00

Look what my DH gave me for Christmas! The Art of Elegant Hand Embroidery, Embellishment and Applique by Janice Vaine. Published by Landauer in 2011. What a gorgeous book! Kudos to my DH for bravely going into our local Joann's to find this book for me. He talked to a male employee (I think it really was an angel because I have NEVER seen a male employee at our Joann's) who showed him where to find the books.

The book includes how to do needleturn applique, embellishment techniqes including embroidery stitches, fabric techniques, ribbonwork, and stumpwork. The book includes a DVD which lets you print the patterns for the many 4 inch blocks, the 8 inch blocks, and the 16 inch block and a swag used in one of the quilts. The quilts include one done in redwork. Excellent photos and drawings showing the stitches and techniques.

Here is the chickadee block I worked on Christmas afternoon. The branches are Encroaching Stem Stitch. The berries are beads. The leaves (using variegated embroidery floss) are done in Fishbone Stitch. The Chickadee is outlined first in split stitch and then filled in with long and short stitches. The eye is a black bead. He's pretty cute, don't you think? I love the Fishbone stitch, very effective for the leaves.

So, now I'm enjoying my day off and am going upstairs to stitch and listen to an audiobook from Audible. I'm listening to Time and Again by Jack Finney.

Enjoy!

Merry Christmas!

2011-12-25T15:05:00.001-05:00

Tangerine Tango

2011-12-19T07:04:00.004-05:00

Tangerine Tango, the color of the year!

Wow, 2012 is going to shake things up!

TAST

2011-12-12T15:33:00.000-05:00

I've signed up for TAST! TAST stands for Take a Stitch Tuesday. Sharon Boggon of PinTangle is hosting this year-long event again this year. Every Tuesday she will post a new stitch and participants will have a week to learn and play with variations and threads. If you have never looked at Sharon's "For the Love of Stitching" band sampler, currently 74.8 feet long, then take a look. Want to sign up? TAST begins January 3, 2012. It's free and if you don't have time one week, well just hop back in when you are free. That's what I like, no pressure, just some fun.

So, in preparation for TAST I made this strip. The center strip is 7 inches. That will be the width of my sampler. The side pieces are also 7 inches and will give me room to put my work in an embroidery hoop. At some point I may fold those sides in for a backing. The very bottom center stip is a piece of cotton print. Next up is a 6 inch x 7 inch piece of Aida cloth. Then a little checkerboard strip made up of 1 inch squares. Above that is a piece of linen, another fabric strip, more Aida cloth, and finally another fabric strip.

This is enough to get me started and I hope it works so I can keep adding fabrics and Aida cloth as the year progresses.

Here's a sweet little heart I made today. I saw the inspiration for this heart on Stitchin Fingers. A whole lotta darling hearts done Crazy Quilt style! Mine has silk ribbon French knot flowers, lace threaded with silk ribbon, embroidery with "Wildflowers" thread embellished with beads. What fun!

Sunday ramble

2011-12-12T06:38:00.001-05:00

"Chessie"
Here's a Christmas ornament I made recently. The embroidery pattern comes from an old Erica Wilson book from the library. Amazon has used copies for sale, wow you really can find everything on the internet.
Embroidered with cotton floss on a delicate polka dot fabric. Felt frame and backing. I machine embroidered the felt to the red backing and then used a wavy blade in a rotary cutter to finish the edge.

Another ornament, same method but this is a motif from Christmas fabric.

Sunday, Bill and I went for a hike. We left Tonks and Weasley lazing in the December sunshine.

Bill at Morse Mountain beside a cliff in the woods.

View of the estuary and out to sea

See those holes and all that pitch? I suspect a pileated woodpecker did that.

Old saltwater farm.

This old house is on the path to the ocean.

Shadows on the wall.

A view of the sea.

Shutters closed for the winter.

This metal pipe is growing right through this branch. The pipe goes all the way to the ground and must be 10 feet long.
If only that tree could talk.

Quilt Show!

2011-12-04T15:01:00.001-05:00

Customize your own free slideshow design

These slides show some of the quilts I have made over the years, some finished, some not. These are pieces that have been stored away in a trunk. I think you will enjoy looking at them, some will be familiar, some not. I quickly took these pictures so my DD can choose which one or ones she would like me to send to her for her new apartment in North Carolina.

The last two slides show what I have been playing with lately, silk ribbon embroidery and regular hand embroidery with cotton floss. I made the base, meaning the solid fabrics with the rubber stamped images, a number of years ago when I did a lot of hand dyes. That little hanging has been sitting and stewing all this time! I'm just having fun with it now.

I've been working on some other pieces, too, but those are stealth projects. Christmas is coming!

I hope you enjoy the show, lumpy quilts and all. :-) Do you have a favorite?

It's A Beautiful Day

2011-12-03T06:57:00.001-05:00

I watched this on LuAnn's May Your Bobbin Always Be Full blog and just had to share it with you. It is the season of love and it all begins with loving yourself, doesn't it? When we open our hearts with gratitude, we shine with love. Enjoy....

Happy Thanksgiving!

2011-11-23T17:46:00.001-05:00

"Over the river and through the woods

Trot fast my dapple gray.

Spring over the ground
Like a hunting hound
On this Thanksgiving Day, Hey!
Over the river and through the woods
Now Grandmother's face I spy.
Hurrah for the fun,
Is the pudding done?
Hurrah for the pumpkin pie."

- English folksong, It's Raining, It's Pouring

Happy Thanksgiving!

I'm grateful for all my wonderful quilting friends and readers.

Enjoy this holiday-make some memories!

2011-11-20T06:55:00.001-05:00

"November comes

And November goes,

With the last red berries

And the first white snows.

With night coming early,
And dawn coming late,
And ice in the bucket
And frost by the gate.

The fires burn
And the kettles sing,
And earth sinks to rest
Until next spring."

- Elizabeth Coatsworth

Picture from The Graphics Fairy

Crazy Placemat

2011-11-13T12:49:00.001-05:00

This free digital slideshow created with Smilebox

Here's what I've been doing this weekend...having fun! I was inspired by a placemat I inherited from my mother which was made by her friend Fran. I'm still fine tuning this. The corner or "theme" fabric looks a bit busy so I am trying it with a hand dyed solid.

Sunday hike in Wolf Neck Park

2011-11-06T16:55:00.003-05:00

This picture slideshow personalized with Smilebox

Another quilt show...

2011-11-04T18:30:00.000-04:00

Quilt Show

2011-10-31T06:52:00.003-04:00

2011-10-27T19:12:00.002-04:00

Five of us from Backroad Quilters worked on a new banner for our chapter over the summer. Carolee came up with the idea and I was enthusiastic right from the start. I read about "slice" quilts quite a few years ago and always wanted to try it. Just Google "slice quilts" and you will find other images that will amaze you.

Karen and her husband Joe came up with an image that was Photoshopped to create a typical house and barn in our rural area. The house, barn, mailbox, and other details were all from different locations. From that picture we had a full size poster made and cut that into five vertical strips. We each took a strip home and recreated the image in fabric over the summer. We did not confer with one another as to what we were doing, what fabrics we were choosing or methods we were using (well Karen and I talked a little bit since our pieces were side by side, but you wouldn't really know that we did!). The idea is to have the strips fit together to make the whole image but each strip is individual. I really like the differences in these quilts! The differences really make the piece so interesting.

Here Carolee is placing a vinyl overlay over her poster slice and fabric slice to show how she put it all together. I did the same thing with mine. You place the vinyl over the photo and trace the outlines with a marker, that makes it easier to line up all the elements and get the right shapes.

Carolee painted her flowers. We all had the same road fabric and the same sky fabric. That brings some cohesion to the final quilt. Carolee and Lori had two halves of the barn and they both chose the same fabric!

I had the far left slice. I used a batik for the mail box that came out quite well, don't you think? I made the house twice, the first one just didn't work out. I pleated the fabric to make the clapboards and it looked really good, but the peak at the roofline just came apart. It's funny that Karen did the same thing and hers looks great. The rock wall behind the mail box was a challenge for all of us. Interesting to see how others handled that. I did not paint any of my slice, but others chose that method quite successfully. I used fusible web for my appliques. The yellow daylilies are waiting to be sprinkled among the leaves around the post.

Lori sewed the slices together. Doesn't she look happy? We all met at the snowmobile clubhouse and worked together one weekend to put it all together.

Voila!

We got it done in time for the Backroad Quilt show which was held last weekend. I think it looks awesome, how about you?

See the little piece above the barn door? That is our old banner-printed from a photo on fabric.

Santa Fe Sunset

2011-10-15T11:11:00.003-04:00

Santa Fe Sunset!

I made this wall hanging for the living room to hang above my new loveseat which is a sandy gold color with black wood trim. I've never been to Santa Fe, but this is how I imagine sunset would look like with a thousand stars in the night sky.

I used Eleanor Burns Radiant Star Quilts book for the basic layout and used her strip technique to sew the star together. EQ7 helped me audition colorways. Believe me I came up with a hundred different colorways! The quilt measures approximately 52x52.

I embroidered the black squares and triangles with DMC #5 perl cotton. Then I added the gold sequins and beads. Lots of sparkle! It really twinkles when the lights are low.

The quilting was done on my domestic Janome sewing machine. I made another lone star quilt a few years ago and quilted it the same way. I used the free motion mode zig zag and stitched through the center of each diamond.

A few more sparklies in the center...

My DD took some macro shots with my camera. Cool!

I free motion stitched the borders with some loopy loops and spirals.

Santa Fe Sunset will be shown at the Backroad Quilters show in West Gardiner, Maine next weekend. Come and see!

October Blessings

2011-10-09T19:06:00.002-04:00

Today DD and I went to beautiful Popham Beach. Apparently it was bring your horse day as we saw at least eight horses there. The horses were beautiful, the day was beautiful. Today was the last breath of summer in Maine and a good day to take in the sun, sand, and sea.

Here's my latest project. I'm calling it Santa Fe Sunset. Never been to Santa Fe, but I would love to go there. I used Eleanor Burns' book Radiant Star Quilts for cutting instructions. I tested many, many colorways on EQ7 before coming up with this one. I made the star and then chose the black background. Black really makes the colors pop!

We bought a new sofa and loveseat this summer so I thought a new wallhanging was in order. The sofa is black leather and the loveseat is a dull gold with black wood trim. When I stand in front of the wood stove in the kitchen this winter I will be able to look at my Santa Fe star.

I've been wanting to add embroidery to a quilt and decided to try it on this one. I used a special pen from Clover that works better than anything I have ever tried before. I love my Chaco chalk marker, but I really like this pen from Clover, too. It is just like an ink pen. You don't see the white line immediately, it takes a couple of seconds for the line to appear. To remove simply run an iron over the lines and they are GONE!

I made a one inch square grid with the marker. I used DMC perl cotton #5 to make lazy daisy Xs in each square. Next comes the sparkle! I am going to add gold sequins and beads. I finished the machine quilting today and added the binding. Now I will sew on, well, best not to count how many, the sequins and beads.

I am trying to get this done for the Back Road Quilt Show in West Gardiner, Maine on Saturday Oct. 24 and 25. I think I can get it done!

Oh, I've also signed up for a silk ribbon class on Quilt University. Lesson 1 started Friday. Behind already, ha ha!

Happy Thanksgiving to all my friends in Canada!

Silk Ribbons

2011-09-03T08:11:00.000-04:00

Ooo, this is fun! I bought a spool of beautiful white silk ribbon and Colorhue instant set liquid dye from Dharma Trading recently. Here is the setup in my kitchen. The tray is filled with plastic cups. I cut 2 yard lengths of ribbon and put the ribbon in the plastic cups.

Pink, rose, greens, lavender, mauve, blue...so pretty! I put a few drops of dye in a cup of water and poured the dye over the ribbon. Voila! Lovely silk ribbon for embroidery.

I use these Floss Away baggies to store the ribbons as well as various embroidery threads, cotton, linen, and silk. The bags are all slipped onto a metal ring for easy storage and access.

I dyed some squares of silk fabric and organza, too.

Silk ribbon flowers and leaves. I'm just learning how to do these, so they are less than perfect. Some are french knots, some are made using the ribbon stitch. The green stitching at the top of the photo is chain stitch using a variegated thread and sequins. The idea for that came from Sharon B of Pin Tangle.

Enjoy your Labor Day weekend!

Luana Rubin

2011-08-21T06:51:00.002-04:00

Luana Rubin from eQuilter shows some highlights from the SAQA exhibit at the Huston Quilt Festival 2010. You can look at more images of these highlights here.

Quiltin' and Stitchin'

2011-08-14T08:18:00.005-04:00

It all started with this...Sharon B's Pin Tangle blog. Above is a small portion of her embroidery sampler. In 2009 it was 33 feet long and growing. Sharon lives in Australia and her embroidery is fantastic. I am so inspired by what she does, I feel the tug of embroidery once again.

It all started with this, but not really...I remember my mother pencilling Xs on white cotton fabric when I was a child. I would used three strands of embroidery floss and stitch over those rows of Xs. Nothing ever came of those rows, it was all about the process.

When I was in Girl Scouts, I remember being at my friend Gloria's house and working on a satin stich letter "S" which became part of a quilt we gave to our leader. The blocks spelled out Girl Scouts in green letters. That's all I remember about that, but I do remember thinking it was so beautiful. I wonder where that quilt is now? Probably it wasn't even quilted, it might have just been backed with fabric and meant for a bedspread.

Then when I was in high school my mother and I signed up for a crewel embroidery class.

It was taught by Thelma Verrill of Bowdoinham. Although we took our class at the high school, I believe she had a shop and sold wool thread and patterns. My mother and her friends went on to learn rug braiding from Thelma, too. From that early beginning they formed a Friday morning stitching group that met for many years. One woman in the group was the librarian in town and since the library was not open until 2pm on Fridays, that was a good morning to meet. For years after Fran left the library, the library still was not open on Friday mornings. I always got a kick out of that, I'm sure the future librarians did not know the "real" reason behind the library hours.

Which brings me to my interest in embroidery all over again, thanks to Sharon B's blog. I've been reading crazy quilt books. I just got a book through interlibrary loan and was surprised to see it is written by a woman here in Maine. It is called Crazy Quilting: the complete guide by J. Marsha Micher. I'm not sure where all this is leading to, I'm not really "crazy" about crazy quilts. I think it is the "craziness" about them that does not appeal to me, so I may have to come up with my own interpretation.

I also recently bought Judith Baker Montano's new book: Fiber Montage. In this book she combines her love of crazy quilting with her love of photography and shows how to create ink and watercolor images for a crazy quilt block or as a stand alone image to embroider and embellish. Oh, such fibery goodness!

In my sample above I have used yellow silk ribbon for the roses. Green silk floss for the stems and leaves. Pink linen thread for the "rosettes" with a white bead in the center. Lots of clear beads sparkle from the tips of the stems. I filled in with tiny purple seed beads sprinkled over the entire motif. Oh, and the dark dots? That is deep purple chenille thread/yarn done in the raised cup stitch. I used Sharon's stitch dictionary and Mary Corbet's videos as well as Fiber Montage for inspiration and directions.

The idea for my piece came from CQ online magazine. You can find the pattern here, which I loosely followed.

Enjoy!

Maine Quilts 2011

2011-08-06T15:51:00.018-04:00

Grab yourself a tall glass of champagne and let's begin! I went to the Champagne Preview of the Maine Quilt show with two quilting friends while I was on vacation. We always have fun and like to stop at every vendor and spread our largesse.

The theme for Maine Quilts 2011 this year was bears. We have black bears in Maine and the black bear is the University of Maine mascot.

I do love a Lone Star quilt and this one is called "Medicine Bear" by Abbie McMillen, quilted by Alice Koroski. I love the way she used the background color in the star, it lends an ethereal quality that seems just right for this quilt subject. Quilting is superb.

Wow, that's a lot of ribbons! Cartoline da Venezia (Postcards from Venice) by Margaret Solomon Gunn. Best in Show! Fabulous. I couldn't do that in a million years. Just enjoy!

Now here's something I could do and have done, well, four of these blocks. This is a Piece o' Cake design done here by Judy Babbidge, called Ruby's Garden Club (I think, the ribbon is covering up the name and since I lost my show book I don't know if that is accurate.)

Judy did lovely work on this quilt. It is not easy to applique all those little pieces and keep the edges nice and round and even.

There certainly is something for everyone at a quilt show. I really liked this quilt. It is called The Maine Quilt and it was made by Jeanne Leland and quilted by Donna Tetreault. All the fabrics relate to something in Maine.

I'd like to make one of these. Anyone want to swap fabrics? Is there a pattern for this? I really like the black sashing strips that tie the blocks together.

And now for something completely different, an art quilt by Rana McConnor called Mom and Aunti Jean Play Gin. I'd like to look at that lampshade up close, wouldn't you? I did see this quilt when Rana brought it to an art quilt meeting. Fantastic!

Another quilt by Margaret Solomon Gunn! I really like the purple ribbon and what you can't see is all the little sparkles on the quilt. Awesome.

Speaking of sparkles, DigiBobbeE 4 by Bonnie Lyn McCaffrey is a gem! I saw this during our lunch break when I was taking a class with Bonnie. The quilt was moving back and forth due to the air conditioning and the rhinestones or crystals she used just winked and glittered! The threadwork is all bobbin work, which I learned in one of the classes I took with her.

Sally Rowe did the crazy quilt picture in this collection from the crazy quilt group. Sally does lots of gorgeous images and I think she probably hand dyed the fabric for this piece.

How's your champagne? Do you need a refill? Almost done. This is called "Seasons" by Jane Sparks. I really liked the colors in this one, very contemporary.

I love the way the trees are made. What a clever idea. The polka dots make it very fresh.

Can you believe this? Yummy! "Heartland Medallion" by Jo Bunker. Love that dachshund!

Last of all, this is my face from the Painted Faces class I took with Bonne McCaffrey. If you saw the previous post, you saw the whole class with our "faces". Bonnie said the goal was to come away with a face that looks like a human face. We all did that!

We started with shading to make the contours of the face. A lot of mine disappeared when I ironed it. Next Bonnie demonstrated how to do the lips. No lips, no lunch. I had lunch. Next we did the nose, the eyes, the eyebrows.

I learned so much from this class and Bonnie is an excellent teacher. She does the demo from her desk with a camera pointed at her work so that we can see just what she is doing on the screen behind her. I guess everyone is doing that these days, but it is very effective. You feel like you are getting one on one instruction. She took the time to come around and critique each and every one of us, too, which was very informative.

Now I need to add hair and clothes and a setting......still thinking about that.

Well, I hope you enjoyed my photos of the show. For those of you who are familiar with the show, I am sure you noticed that there were fewer quilts due to the copyright rules imposed this year. I think it really effected the number of quilts exhibited and the quality of the show. Otherwise, I truly enjoyed most of the show, the classes, and the splendid vendors.

Making Faces!

2011-07-31T19:09:00.004-04:00

I took Bonnie Lyn McCaffrey's Painting Faces class at Maine Quilts on Sunday. It was an all day class and it was so much fun. Bonnie is an excellent teacher, her demonstrations were clear and her attention to each student was wonderful!

(that's me next to Fred, class monitor)

Summer Fun

2011-06-25T18:08:00.006-04:00

This past Wednesday my DD and I drove to Boston where my cousin Lisa drove us to the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum. In 1903 Isabella Stewart Gardner opened the museum she built to house her collection of paintings, textiles (tapestries and lace!), sculpture, and on and on. The museum contains many famous works of art including illuminated manuscripts and much religious art. The building is four stories high and at the center is the courtyard shown above. The galleries or balconies are on all four sides of the courtyard going up the four stories with a glass roof at the top. Oh, how I wished I could walk in that courtyard!

After a delicious lunch at a pub in Charlestown, Zoe, the GPS, and I made our way northward to Maine once again. We stopped at "Knight's" in Cape Neddick, right on Route 1 so it wasn't too far off track. I bought these fabrics and an Eleanor Burns book called Radiant Star Quilts. I've been busy designing my own "radiant star" for the living room. I want to use teal blue and red violet fabrics. My living room walls are a buttery yellow so I think it will look nice. I just bought a new loveseat and sofa so I need something new on the wall.

I've been working on a new applique piece. The original picture is from a fairy book published by Dover. The parrot is just a solid piece of fabric but it is a batik so I tried to take full advantage of the color variations. The flowers are made from "sky" fabric, well a sunset sky. I will make a couple of flowers out of a yellow print for a little variety.

I recently bought a laptop computer and it was fun to sew on my piece this afternoon while watching "The Quilt Show." Life is good!

Have you noticed how dreary the weather has been? I think we have two seasons now: Winter and Dreary. Well, the good thing is my sewing room is comfortable instead of 90!

Enjoy the Dreary!

One thing leads to another.....

2011-06-12T16:02:00.012-04:00

Was it really only last weekend that I sat out in the sun sewing the binding on my hanging? This weekend we are back in the drizzle.

Art Quilts Maine challenge for this year's Maine Quilts show is to create a wall quilt using a favorite children's book for inspiration. I was going to make an Anne of Green Gables quilt, but decided to use "Louhi Witch of North Farm" instead. That book by Toni de Gerez and illustrated by Barbara Cooney was a favorite when my children were small. In it Louhi steals the sun and moon and hides them behind nine iron doors, which is what inspired my quilt

Yesterday was the big reveal of our quilts. Wouldn't you know I did not take a photo of mine? You will have to look for it at Maine Quilts this summer!

You know how one thing leads to another? Yesterday my DH and I went out and bought some new furniture for the living room. We are getting a new sofa and loveseat to replace our 20 year old sofa. They will be delivered next Friday, so when I got home I thought how we will have to move some things out of the living room to make way for the new things. Not wanting to deal with that just yet, I went up stairs and decided to weed out some books from my bookshelf and that's when the major de-clutter and clear out began.

Totes full of fabric and half done projects....

everything sorted into piles on my table......

several hours later-one tidy bookcase (the bookcase with books is on the other side of the room)....

and labeled totes tucked under the table. I divided fabrics according to color-whites, browns, yellow/orange, blue, red, purple, and green. One tote already had mostly reproduction fabrics and I left that as is. One has large lengths of fabrics, pieces of batting, and panels. Several UFOs got tucked in, too. Two more totes are not in this photo.

It's a good thing I didn't take "before" photos, it would just have been too scary. See the long basket? I like to put my current project in that. I can clean up the worktable and put everything away in the basket.

I threw out about four bags of stuff! I have a pile of things to give away, but not much. I threw out all those little snips of fabric that have been gathering over the years. Gone! Whew, does that ever feel good!

I don't think I've shown you this little applique piece. I got the image from a Dover publication of fairies. She's the Queen of the Fairies! I've been reading Suzanne Marshall's applique books and was inspired to make this. Just a little practice piece. Now that I have my room cleaned up I am ready to tackle a bigger applique project. More on that in the future when there is something to show.

Can you see the image on this wall quilt? I made this quite a few years ago. The center image is a photo transfer of my Grandmother when she was a young woman. She's sitting outside with a straw hat on her knees. The panel above her is a straw hat which I rubber stamped on muslin. The one below is a little girl in a pinafore with a straw hat, too. See what you find when you clean up?

Enjoy!

Electric Quilt!

2011-05-29T08:37:00.009-04:00

I've had Electric Quilt 7 for some time now, but have not been able to use it. I tried running Bootcamp on my Mac, but EQ7 kept crashing. It was so frustrating that I finally gave up. Recently my son found a good laptop on Woot and suggested I might buy it and I did! My first pc ever. The laptop is a refurbished HP with Windows 7, works like a charm. I did go buy a mouse yesterday and that makes everything much easier.

EQ7 comes with a series of 10 short videos to get you started. Also, you can print out lessons to learn all that the program has to offer. I enjoyed watching the videos again to refresh my memory. I haven't gone through the lessons yet. One tip I read in a quilt magazine is very helpful. The tip is to find a quilt in a magazine or book and try to recreate it in EQ. This is what I did with the Double Nine Patch here. My inspiration came from Diane McClun's classic Quilts! Quilts! Quilts!

The quilt in the book is made with lovely brown and cinnamon fabrics with a very dark blue accent color throughout. I changed the alternate blocks from brown to blue. The blocks measure 9 inches and the finished quilt is 40x40 inches including the 1 inch border. Enjoy!

P.S. Looking at the McClun book later, I realized her quilt does not have the alternate solid block, so I haven't really duplicated her design, just made my own variation. I do like the on-point setting she used, don't you?

Mystery Trip!

2011-05-16T18:52:00.018-04:00

The long awaited Back Road mystery bus ride has come and gone for another year. It was really fun. I haven't ever been with the group before, but this year may well mark the beginning of an annual event for me.

We met at a Park and Ride in Gardiner at 7a.m. I got up at

4:50 am and was not tired all day. In fact, when I went to bed at 10pm I couldn't go to sleep. Our super leaders planned a wonderful day for us. They met us at the bus with a goodie bag Ann made which was filled with a bottle of water, granola bar

, and an apple. Of course chocolates were passed out at intervals throughout the day.

See the blue woolen flower pin? Each one of us got one! Cut with the "go-cutter" which our chapter owns. In fact, the pin was a clue to our first stop, but I don't think anybody guessed where it was......

We sped out of Maine, over the Piscataqua River to New Hampshire. Our first stop was the Dorr Mill store in Newport, which is near the Vermont border. Some people like to make table mats and little things with wool and embroidery. I haven't tried it, but there were lots of beautiful things to see in this shop. Rug hooking and rug braiding supplies and patterns galore. Lots of wool fabric, large and small pieces and by the yard. Several dolls and patterns by Gail Wilson, who is the doll designer of my doll that I just made. Very tempting, but I didn't buy anything. Also half of this shop was lovely women's clothing, all stuff that we would wear. And jewelry. Again, I didn't buy ANYTHING! Amazing.

Nena did a great job with the itinerary. We had plenty of time at each stop to browse and shop. Next stop: Henniker, New Hampsire...

Next stop was Henniker, NH to Quilted Threads, a beautiful big quilt shop in a house that was featured in Quilt Sampler magazine recently. The shop looked very spiffy because it takes a lot of work to get it ready for a magazine photo shoot. I shopped til I dropped here! I had to remind myself that we had other quilt shops on the itinerary, pacing is crucial, right? This shop has beautiful batiks, fabrics for children and babies, modern prints, reproduction prints, Asian fabrics, a wall of fat quarters, lots of supplies, and most interesting of all Japanese fabrics. The Japanese fabrics are those taupe and brown and gray fabrics they are known for using in their quilts. Most of these fabrics are linen like, they have a texture unlike our cotton quilting fabrics. I have not been a fan of these taupe quilts, but when I saw them in person I really appreciated them much more. Very soft and calming. One quilt was simply horizontal strips of these fabrics. Another was made of blocks done in a gradation of color from brown to light taupe again in strips, one block vertical, the next block the same but turned horizontally. Beautiful.

From Henniker it was a short trip to our final shopping destination: Concord. We stopped at the Golden Gese and then walked a couple of blocks through a lovely residential area with trees in full bloom and tulips and daffodils looking bright and cheerful to the Main Street and Peggy Anne's Quilt Shop.

We had time to browse in a few shops and stop for a much needed coffee in a little courtyard cafe. Then it was back on the bus for dinner at the Common Man Restaurant in Portsmouth. Our homeward journey included watching "The King's Speech." I had watched it before, but it was every bit as good the second time.

Lovely day with lovely friends!

Some of my purchases....

potholder pattern ....Christmas sewing!

thread

Sort of boring choice of fabrics, but I was looking for tone on tone fabrics for applique.

Some lusciousness from Quilted Threads....Japanese fabric with strawberries, sale batik and sale red dot, shimmery blue delicious fabric!

Whew, that was fun, glad it's only once a year!

p.s. sorry about the way this post looks, but for some reason blogger isn't playing nicely tonight.

Quilt University

2011-04-26T23:46:00.009-04:00

I'm having a bout of insomnia, so I thought I would finally post about my Quilt University adventure this winter. I took a class called "People in Places" taught by Linda Schmidt.

We did two "warm up" pieces before working on the main project. The main project was to select a favorite photo of a person in a landscape setting and turn that into a wall quilt.

The first project was a landscape. Linda showed us how to use shimmery chiffon fabrics for surf. She also showed us how to make burnt edges-the mountains are done this way. The tree is made with thread on a water soluble stabilizer in an embroidery hoop, which is quite fun.

Our next project was a figure. I fused mine to this starry fabric. Her hair is made the same way as the tree. This was a quick fun little piece. We spent so much time on the first piece that by the time we got to the main project I was wishing for a break, but I persevered. The class started near the end of January and went until mid-March, although the last few weeks were not classes, just time to work on our project.

At the very beginning in January we all introduced ourselves and met Linda, this is all online remember. Folks joined from all over! Ireland, Ontario, and all over the U.S. Several mentioned that they took QU classes before but did not keep up with the work. That was a big hint to me that if I wanted to get something out of this experience I needed to put in the time. And it certainly did take time, but I am glad I completed each project.

Here's my completed project! It is my daughter when she was about 7 years old at Rocky Pond at Baxter State Park. I think that mountain is Double Top. If you have ever stayed at the cabins at Kidney Pond, you may have hiked to Rocky Pond.

The sky is painted with fabric paints. Can you see the curly machine quilting? I had fun with that.
The leaves on the bushes are made from two fabrics fused together then cut out in leaf shapes. I sewed them on one by one down the middle of the leaf. Some of the rocks have beads sewn on them. Beads around DD and a dragonfly button hovers near her.

Lots of thread painting for the grasses and branches. Little snippets of fabric for the rocks.

Oh, almost forgot! The figure is done separately on white fabric. It is colored with pastel crayons, appliqued to the quilt, then additional thread painting completes her. I really had fun making this whole piece. I highly recommend Quilt University. Check it out, you will probably find a class you want to take.

Color

2011-04-17T20:13:00.002-04:00

I found this video on equilter.com. It is from 2009, but still interesting. Did you know that the color of the year for 2011 is Honeysuckle? It is a real candy pink. Did Luana pick it? I'd love to sit in on that panel, what fun!

Turquoise was the color of the year for 2010. No surprise! Turquoise is everywhere now.

There's a rainbow over the island!

2011-03-26T19:04:00.009-04:00

Welcome to Dyer's Cove. I haven't explored this part of Quilt Island for some time. I looked over my notebook and the last time I dyed fabric here on the island was in 2002. I have dyed fabric at a couple of classes, but for something I enjoyed so much it sure has taken me a long time to get back to it.

Dyeing to Quilt by Joyce Mori and Cynthia Myerberg is very well written with easy to follow instructions. Today I followed the recipe for a color wheel which has 12 colors. I've made this before and have the swatches pinned to my design wall. You may have seen it in some of my pics.

Three primary colors are mixed in jars. Fuchsia, Blue, Yellow.

The first color in the wheel is the pure fuchsia. The next color is mostly fuchsia and a little bit of yellow. After that it's more yellow and less fuchsia. Then pure yellow. So red, red orange, orange, yellow. Each color is mixed in it's own blue plastic cup.
Rubber gloves are a must! Purple gloves are fun. The dye mixed in the blue plastic cup is poured into a bowl. I presoaked 1/4 yard width of fabric strips in a soda ash solution which helps the dye bond to the fiber. The fabrics are numbered 1-12. Strip 1 is dipped into the fuchsia, swished around and squeezed to make sure the dye soaks into the whole piece, then the strip is popped into a plastic bag and sealed shut. Rinse out gloves, bowl, careful not to drip! Onto the next color. Repeat repeat repeat!

The fabric is left in the bags for several hours to cure. I left mine in for 4 hours. Then rinse, rinse, and rinse some more. Then pop in the washer with some soap for wash. I let the washer fill with water before adding the fabrics. The colors don't run into each other, so it is okay to mix them together.

Lovely blues and greens.

Lovely reds and yellows.

I have a project in mind for these fabrics. Art Quilts Maine has a challenge for Maine Quilts in July. The challenge is to make a wall quilt around our favorite children's book. I've got a great idea, but I won't be able to tell you about it until after our June meeting when we have our big reveal. Well, maybe I can show you some bits and pieces, eh?

By the way, the Quilt University class I was taking is finished. I will post all about that soon, there's lots to show and tell. If you are thinking about taking a class, my experience was very positive.

William & Kate

2011-03-20T09:16:00.006-04:00

And now for my next project!!!!

Just kidding about my next project.

Happy Spring!!!

Bill's Hat

2011-03-05T16:02:00.004-05:00

Bill's Hat

Here's an easy hat pattern for an adult. I knit this hat for my DH out of KnitPicks Wool of the Andes, about 2 skeins.The yarn is worsted weight-4.5-5 sts=1 inch on Size 6-9 needles. I used a 16 inch circular size 5 (3.75 mm) needle. Each skein is 110 yards, 50 grams. The hat is knit in the round. Double pointed needles are necessary for the last couple of rows.

Cast on 144 sts. Knit 2, Purl 2 for 9-10 inches. If you want to cast on fewer stitches remember to cast on a multiple of 4 stitches.
Decrease Round 1: K1, K2tog, P1 around.
Decrease Round 2: K2tog, P1 around.

Decrease Round 3: K2tog around. Repeat this round, changing to double points when necessary,

until there are 9 stitches left. Cut yarn and thread through remaining loops. Darn in ends. Fold up edge for warm ears.

ENJOY!

Introducing Margaret

2011-02-21T13:08:00.009-05:00

Last Saturday I took a doll class from Barb Whitehead at the Busy Thimble. Barb is a licensed Gail Wilson dollmaker. I've been planning this day with Barb since November, so it seemed like a long time coming. I've looked at Gail Wilson's website many times and when I found out that Barb could teach me how to make one of these marvelous dolls, I jumped at the opportunity.

This first photo shows the large doll I made in 2002. It has a painted head to look like the china head dolls. This doll is made from a pattern by Judi Ward. The other two dolls were made by Barb. The one in the middle is the doll she showed me how to make in class. Aren't they adorable? I love the dress on the doll on the right, and her hat, and her face. Well, I might have to make one of these, too. My big doll is about 24 inches and the little doll is 12 inches. This photo was taken in Cyndi's shop, by the way.

Introducing Margaret!

As I said, she is a petite 12 inches tall. Barb sent me the pattern kit before the class so that I could sew up the body, arms, and legs beforehand. She showed me how to stuff the doll in class, which is quite a trick. The head has to be really stuffed until it is quite hard. Before painting her face and shoulders, arms, and legs, I sewed her nose. The nose is made by sewing a long u shape and pulling the stitches taut, this pulls together the fabric and creates a ridge.

Painting the face was difficult, such tiny thin lines! Barb helped me with the eyebrows and eyes. Okay, you've got one done, now make another to match. I worked on her some more when I got home. I thought the eyes were too small so I went over those again. I painted over her mouth with the flesh paint and then painted another mouth. She doesn't look quite so much like a sour puss now.

Here she is in her undies-pantaloons and slip. You can see how the paint extends from head to shoulders and upper chest. Arms and legs are painted to elbows and knees. The hair is wool roving, very soft and a great color. Barb showed me how to make the wig and arrange her hair.

Today, Monday, I spent all morning working on the dress. Such tiny seams and pieces, my goodness. The bodice is very sweet with tiny gathers at the bias neckline and at the waist. There are tucks above the hemline, as there are on the pantaloons, too. My dress is sewn together at the back, this is a permanent dress! I can't really imagine sewing on buttons and snaps. I still have to make her shoes, just little brown cotton slippers which should be fairly easy to do.

I've included this last photo to give you an idea of her size. I hope you love Margaret as much as I do! Thanks Barb!

Now I need to get back to Quilt University and work on that project!

Ricky Tims

2011-02-05T19:08:00.003-05:00

Are you familiar with Ricky Tims' Rhapsody Quilts? The latest "The Quilt Show" shows how and I want to make one. I won't be starting one anytime too soon, but I definitely see one in my future. Enjoy this inspiring slideshow!

Mittens and things

2011-02-02T09:24:00.008-05:00

I bought this Interweave kit from Robin Hansen at the mitten show at the art gallery in Bowdoinham, Maine. A friend of mine bought a kit as well. We both found the pattern a bit odd.

The thumbs start further along than usual for one thing. Since I’ve never felted anything before I had no idea if my mitten was really too big or how it would shrink. It did not shrink in the way I expected and is really too big, the thumb too high on the hand, and the thumb itself is huge.

I’ve made the compass mittens in Robin’s book Favorite Mittens and they knit up beautifully. Not sure if Interweave changed the directions or what. I do love the compass pattern and will try these again. Meanwhile, I’m putting these in the washer for another shrink.

Here's my seascape for the "People in Places" by Linda Scmidt class I am taking online at Quilt University. The sky and sea are painted with fabric paints and fabric crayons. See the brown edges on the mountains? That is burnt edge applique, something new for me. You hold the fabric up to a candle flame and sere the edges. I quite like the effect although the process is a little unnerving. By the way, the candle is sitting in a pan of water so you can quickly dowse it if things get out of hand.

The sparkly parts are a sheer metallic fabric. I used one blue crinkly sheer and the other, which doesn't show up very well here, is not blue and is more subtle, obviously since you can't even see it! Those are treated to the candle flame as well. I experimented with a scrap of sheer first. I was a bit apprehensive that the whole thing would burst into a ball of flame and there would be headlines of a house fire in Bowdoin, Maine the next day. Whew, didn't have to explain that to my hubby.

Today is a snow day, a day off work for me, so I am baking bread (James Beard Cornmeal Bread, yummy) and will work on my seascape this afternoon.

World's Tallest Snowwoman!

Bethel, Maine 2008

Have a fun and creative day!

ENJOY!

Russian quilts

2011-01-23T06:53:00.001-05:00

This YouTube video was shown on "The Quilt Show" and I thought you might enjoy it, too. Lots of creativity here.

Enjoy!

2011-01-13T16:42:00.007-05:00

I've been playing around with an idea for a wall hanging. I started with some strips. Blues for sky and water. Yellow for sunshine.

Sewed strips together. Cut through the strips and reassembled offset.

Played around with some narrower strips (on the left). The first set was cut 2 inches wide. The narrower were cut 1.5 inches wide. Lots of orange in that one. Luscious, but not what I was looking for.
Cut greens for strips to add to the side. I'm choosing clear colors for a certain fresh summery look. Lots of play, not sure if this will ever make it to my final design.

I've signed up for a class at Quilt University, my first class! I'm taking "People in Places" with Linda Schmidt.One of the lessons is a seascape. I bought some supplies this past weekend. Metallic organza and iridescent sheer fabric, I think these are for seafoam. Can't wait to see how to use those! I might add some to the above.

Here kitty, kitty. I watched Susan Carlson on The Quilt Show a few days ago. Susan lives close by along the coast of Maine, but I have never taken one of her classes. She showed her method of painting with fabrics using a turtle outline. It looked so easy! I tried with this cat, the pieces are not glued down. This may go in the trash, but it was sort of fun. Another reason not to throw out any piece of fabric no matter how small a sliver, ha ha.

And a Happy New Year!

2011-01-01T13:47:00.007-05:00

"Chickadee Dreams" pattern by Ty Livingston for Bigfork Bay Cotton Company. I used the pattern but there is a kit available, too. Since "Chickadee24" is my username on Ravelry and The Quilt Show, I really identify with this little wall hanging.

The quilt starts with a 14 inch square of black fabric. The pieces that make up the chickadee, the mountains, even the birch bark branch are all cut out and fused to the black background. The fabric pieces are spaced to allow the black to show through. Rather like stain glass quilts or like a woodcut. Now that I understand the concept I would like to play around with this a bit for my own designs. Laura Wasilowski has made some quilts this way, too. Interesting possibilities. Of course the batik fabrics really help keep the edges neat and clean. Not every piece in this quilt is a batik, but most of them are. I used Wonder Under for the fusible.

Just a couple of Christmas vignettes before we pack everything away for another year.

Happy New Year!

Merry Christmas to Dear Daughter

2010-12-27T09:08:00.005-05:00

Last year I made this Kaffe Fasset log cabin quilt at a quilt retreat. I gave the quilt top to Zoe for Christmas last year. According to her account, I whisked it away with the promise to finish it for her and she had not seen it since. Well, I did finish it and she was happy all over again to receive it.
I joined Audible last year and listened to Larry McMurtry's Lonesome Dove while doing the machine quilting. The two are inextricably mixed in my mind now. For each block I started quilting in the center and spiraled outward through each log. It is a little higgelty piggelty but fun.

No work today, we are having a blizzard, which is why the windows are all white. The wind is howling and the snow is swirling about but the chickadees are flitting from lilac bushes to feeders. Yesterday we had 18 turkeys around the feeder. I hope they are safe in the pine trees today.

When I lived in Halifax I loved Boxing Day, the day after Christmas. One day to unwind after the whirl of Christmas seems such a civilized way to live. I'm glad to have an extra day today, cozy and snug at home.

Merry Christmas to DH (and Weasley)

2010-12-26T09:49:00.005-05:00

I pulled this "Turning Twenty" (Tricia Cobbs designer) out of my trunk of unfinished work earlier in December. When I was in Tacoma Lakes Quilters we made these quilts. The blocks are made from twenty fat quarters. Each fat quarter is cut in the same way to give you three pieces for the block and one for the border. Simply, easy, and fast. It was fun to make but I never completed it until this year, which is five or six years later.
I used a wool batt and bought a batik 108" wide backing fabric. This was the first time I used quilt backing fabric and I loved not having to seam the back. There was enough backing fabric left over to make the binding. I did an allover meander on my domestic machine.

Weasely thinks I made this quilt just for him, but it is really for my dear husband to keep him warm on the sofa. "Lap" quilts just aren't big enough for a cold Maine winter!

Merry Christmas!

2010-12-24T08:58:00.003-05:00

Love is what's in the room with you at Christmas
if you stop opening presents and listen.

~Author unknown, attributed to a 7-year-old named Bobby

Merry Christmas to all!

Crazy Quilt

2010-12-20T17:47:00.003-05:00

Isn't this gorgeous? Blue and white, buttons and lace, so many dainty stitches. This piece is so lovely. I found this image at Sharon B's Pin Tangle. Look at her sidebar under eye candy. This collection of crazy quilt blocks is called "I dropped the button box." I've never been a fan of crazy quilts, all those dark velvets and garish colors, but these are beautiful. Each block seems to have a theme and a color palette. Pin Tangle is an embroidery website that is full of information.

Christmas Tree Skirt

2010-12-12T12:46:00.007-05:00

We had a workshop at Back Roads last month and I made this mini-tree skirt. The instructions were for 2 1/2 inch wide strips, but I cut mine 1 1/2 inches. It still made a bigger skirt than I had envisioned. Since mine is for a table, I didn't cut out the center. It is almost flat. I used a collection of fat quarters and a different fabric for the centers. I really like the plaids. I don't think I will ever make another one of these. I'm happy with this one, but making sure everything was precise was a lot of work! The bias binding around the star points was not too difficult, but I still don't know how to do that inner angle. I just jammed the fabric in there and sewed it down. There must be a better way, but I don't know what it is. LOL

Tree Skirt with Cat

Tonks thought I made this for her. The bird feeder is out this bay window and she loves to keep an eye on the world from here. I made this tree skirt thinking that it would look really nice on this bureau. Well, it's a little big, isn't it?

So, I put it on the table. This little tree is one Grammy gave to the kids when they were small. It's a bit of a Charlie Brown tree, but I really enjoy it.

Today I'm cleaning and decorating the house. I've been machine quilting two quilt tops for Christmas presents. Don't quilts look fabulous when they are quilted? These tops have been sitting around my sewing room for several years and now that I am getting them quilted I wonder why I didn't get them finished earlier. I'll post photos as soon as I can.

Stirring the pot

2010-11-26T15:41:00.009-05:00

I just received this statement from Beth Maitland, PTQG President:

Planning to enter a quilt at Maine Quilts 2011?  Read this now or you may be disappointed.
Recent information about copyright law and quilting lead Quilt Show Advisory and the PTQG General Board to review and update the quilt entry requirements for Maine Quilts. Everyone who enters a quilt for public display at Maine Quilts that is not their own original design or a quilt based on traditional quilt blocks or designs must submit written permission from the creator of the design for the quilt to be shown at Maine Quilts.
This applies to all entries – display, judged, chapter challenges and Bear Necessities. Yes, even if you made a quilt from a pattern, book, magazine that you purchased or a class you took, you need to contact the author, teacher and/or publisher to obtain permission to enter the quilt. If the design source is another medium (e.g. photography, painting, illustration, other fiber arts), permission must be obtained from the original artist.
Start now to obtain this permission, don’t wait until the spring. Entries that are not accompanied by written permission for the quilt to be displayed will not be accepted. In addition, proper credit must be given on the entry form.
For more information, you might want to read “Know Your Rights (And Wrongs)” by Janet Jo Smith in the September/October 2010 issue of McCall's Quilting. A follow-up article, “People are Talking,” was in the November/December 2010 issue of McCall's Quilting.
Web sites with information about quilting and copyright laws include:  “Do You Have Copyright Questions?” HYPERLINK "http://www.americanquilter.com/quilt_world/news_view.php?id=154" \t "_blank" http://www.americanquilter.com/quilt_world/news_view.php?id=154. This article has a link to a page about copyright and public domain, HYPERLINK "http://copyright.cornell.edu/resources/publicdomain.cfm" http://copyright.cornell.edu/resources/publicdomain.cfm
AQS Quilt Shows - Do I Need Design Permission? HYPERLINK "http://www.americanquilter.com/shows_contests/design_permission.php" \t "_blank" http://www.americanquilter.com/shows_contests/design_permission.php
AQS's blogspot - HYPERLINK "http://aqsquiltnews.blogspot.com/" \t "_blank" http://aqsquiltnews.blogspot.com/ Monday, November 1, 2010 “Copyrights Getting You Down?”
It is not the intent of the board to make things difficult for our members. Rather, it is important that Pine Tree Quilters Guild and Maine Quilts are in compliance with federal and state laws, including copyright laws.
There are several other changes for Maine Quilts. All donations for the silent auction must be accompanied by written permission from the designer giving permission for the item to be sold at the silent auction. There will not be a Members’ Sales Table at Maine Quilts 2011.
******************************************************************************************

The Area 4 Reps came to a Back Road meeting recently and told us about this new ruling by the guild. We were all upset by this news and more than a little confused. I really think this is going too far. Yes, let's give credit to the designer, but to think that you can't even display your work where credit is given without first getting written permission from the designer is a sad reflection on our society, don't you think?

 
Remember this? I made this after Jo Diggs came to Back Road and gave a trunk show. Yes, I was inspired by her, but I made up my own pattern. I also have a landscape book by Valerie Hearder, which I'm sure influenced my design, too. Should I get permission to show this quilt from both women? Are the quilt police going to come check my bookshelf for other quilt designers I might have missed?
What about my placemat? Do I need permission from the fabric designer to show you this on my blog?

Actually, anything I have ever put in Maine Quilts was my own original design, but this matter really makes me angry. How about you? Will this new rule effect your decision to put a quilt in the show?

I'm sure we could all come up with some far fetched scenarios, for instance say my work was inspired by a Van Gogh painting. Hmm, who owns the copyright on that? How about a Beatles song? Just call Apple? I think it is pretty far fetched that anyone is going to sue me if I display a quilt at Maine Quilts if I don't get their written word first. Sounds like an art piece right there: all the paperwork required, documentation, rejection letters, autographs, returned post-just tuck it into the label on the back, thank you.

Am I being a curmudgeon or does this irk you, too?

P.S. Just to help you out with copyright issues here is a handy little chart.

Happy Thanksgiving!

2010-11-24T17:47:00.001-05:00

T hanks for time to be together, turkey, talk, and tangy weather.
H for harvest stored away, home, and hearth, and holiday.
A for autumn's frosty art, and abundance in the heart.
N for neighbors, and November, nice things, new things to remember.
K for kitchen, kettles' croon, kith and kin expected soon.
S for sizzles, sights, and sounds, and something special that about.
That spells THANKS for joy in living and a jolly good Thanksgiving.
- Aileen Fisher, All in a Word

Happy Thanksgiving!

More knittin'

2010-11-22T18:59:00.004-05:00

On Saturday I took a trip to Halcyon in Bath and bought five skeins of JaggerSpun Maine Line 2/8 yarn. Originally I picked out the unwashed Shetland by Harrisville yarns which comes in bigger cones. When I told the woman at the cash register what I was knitting, she kindly showed my the JaggerSpun. Smaller cones and less expensive. I say kindly because it this the first time I have ever gone to Halcyon and had someone who was friendly and helpful wait on me. Sad but true.

So, with my five cones of yarn: white, green, yellow, black, and red I rushed home and began knitting. I tore out my first effort, too small, then started on another pattern, which may be too big. After washing I think it will shrink and tighten up a bit. The graphs in the book are fairly small and in black and white so I decided to use color pencils and graph paper to chart one of the cuff designs.

I started with a black hem and knit a picot row (yarn over, knit two together) which will fold and make a lovely scalloped edge. Next came a few pattern rows before the first big chart. Three colors in one row-not my favorite thing. My tension is rather loose I think but I hope it will look fine once washed and blocked. I am much better at two color knitting and am looking forward to that.

Here's my latest finished object. It is called Storm Cloud Shawlette by Hanna Breetz inspired by Elizabeth Zimmerman's pi shawl. The knitting starts at the neck edge with four stitches cast on. It is all done in knit stitch. Fine yarn on big needles.

It is really chilly at work with cold air blowing on my neck throughout the day so this little shawlette will keep me warm. It can be pulled up a bit so it looks more like a scarf. I just pulled some yarn out of my stash to knit this and now I realize I don't really have anything to go with it. Time for a little clothes shopping. Speaking of which, have you checked out the latest Google toy? Boutiques.com? You do a little comparison survey to determine what your style is and that is your profile. All kinds of shoes, dresses, tops, bottoms, bags, etc are shown in your style for you to rate and to shop. Click on a dress and it takes you to a website, such as Bloomingdales, where you can order it! Let me know what you think, I think it is fun if not downright funny. I don't know what I picked but my style is "Edgy". For those of you who know me (and as you can see from the photo) most of my clothes come from LLBean, not known for their "edginess". Good for a laugh at least! I was looking at some of the Boutique suggestions for me yesterday and was dumbfounded by a simple spotted scarf that was listed as $591.95. Can that be possible? I just about fell off my chair laughing.

Knittin'

2010-11-19T19:57:00.005-05:00

Last Friday night was the opening night for the Smitten show at the Merrymeeting Art Gallery. The gallery is very small, intimate. On one wall the mittens were hung from tree branches. I got my second pair entered in time for the opening. There were felted mittens, old mittens, new mittens, wonderful mittens knit in gorgeous colors.

My friend Betsy had a display in the entryway of her Irish knit mittens. All were knit with local knitting worsted in the traditional off white color. She made one pair extra big and felted them by putting them in the washer a couple of times. Beautiful cables and baubles.

Angela (sorry I don't know her last name) had a number of pairs of stunning Latvian mittens on display. Very fine yarn, finer than my blackberry mittens which are in sport weight, probably knit in fingering weight yarn like my Fiesta mittens. She knit her mittens based on the designs in Lizbeth Upitis definitive book on Latvian mittens.

Betsy and I took Angela's Latvian mitten workshop on Saturday. There were four of us and we each brought our own needles and yarn to try out some patterns and techniques. I attempted the loopy fringe that is at the bottom of the cuff on some of the mittens in the cover photo. There are many different patterns, many patterns come from specific regions of Latvia. Angela told us that (in the past I suppose) a Latvian woman would have to have knit 250 pairs of mittens before she could get married. Mittens are very important culturally in Latvia. The girls learn to knit when they are old enough to hold needles, about 4 years old. How about you? Were you knitting when you were 4? 250 pairs, that's really 500 mittens! I bet they knit socks, too. I'm such a slacker.

My own copy of Latvian Mittens arrived today from Amazon. I have next week off thanks to comp time. Guess what I plan on doing? Knitting! At the workshop Angela had use four needles instead of three (plus a working needle). I've never used four needles before, but Angela said that the patterns divide better on four needles so I will give it a try.

Speaking of knitting, I came across this slideshow in my web travels. Photos of Shetland complete with wooly sheep and a Shetland pony! What really blew me away are the photos of fair isle samples, drawer after drawer of them. Who says you have to produce something? A swatch is very satisfying. Probably what I should do with the Latvian patterns. Here's the link.

Not forgetting quilting! I'm making a log cabin Christmas tree skirt. It is the pattern where you make six log cabin diamonds and sew them together. I'll take some photos soon.

Smitten with Mittens

2010-11-10T06:59:00.003-05:00

These are "Fiesta Mittens" pattern by Lucy Neatby. These were a fun project. The stitch on the front is the swallowtail pattern. It is made by increasing four stitches in one stitch and on the next row K2Tog, then drop stitches, then SSK, this gives the slant to the stitches on either side. Made with fingering weight wool yarn. From a kit by Blackberry Ridge. I hope I can get these into the show along with my Blackberry Mittens. The Blackberries are in, but I just finished these Fiesta mittens.

Did you know that in Canada they say mitts not mittens?

Please come to the show in beautiful downtown Bowdoinham! Mittens galore and sculptures of hands.......

Smitten: Hands and their Coverings
November 12 - December 19, 2010
Saturdays 10 - 1 or by appointment

** Opening Friday November 12 **
5:00 - 8:00 PM

Merrymeeting Arts Center
Cathance Landing, at the foot of Main Street
9 Main Street, Bowdoinham

Maine Quilts 2010 redux

2010-10-26T21:55:00.004-04:00

J301. Swirling Leaves by Lynn Jourdan, Cape Porpoise. (41 x 41) This quilt was made as part of a year-long round robin. We started out with a center block of our choice and each month received instructions from another member of the group on what kind of border to add to our own quilt. It was a fun challenge! I liked the fact that in this round robin we each worked on our own quilt. Original design. Machine pieced, hand appliquéd, hand quilted.

Did you know you can look at all the quilts from Maine Quilts 2010 online? Yes, you can! All the quilts are grouped in categories-art quilts, display quilts, judged quilts, etc. Have fun!

Show and Tell

2010-10-24T14:36:00.007-04:00

At Maine Quilts this year a vendor from Lancaster, PA had this wonderful little lady holding a mass of holly branches. There were several other designs taken from old lithographs, I think. One was a little girl and a bear done in green which was lovely, too. The red border print came from the same vendor. It was packaged as a 3 inch wide strip and so many yards long, wrapped in cellophane. The vendor had numerous pre-cut squares of fabric all wrapped in cellophane. It was a very appealing display and the fabrics did not get frayed like you usually see.

I designed this quilt using EQ7. My first design with Electric Quilt. I really wanted to make that brown frame around the lady and it worked like a charm with the program. I only had to fudge a little when I actually sewed it together. The fudging part is the border between the red strip and the outer border, just had to make sure it was the right width for everything to fit.

This was a practice piece for machine quilting. It is all very well and good to practice on bits and pieces, but best way to practice is to quilt a real piece and finish it off. Don't you find that when you actually finish a piece it looks so much better than you had expected? Sometimes a ho-hum piece looks terrific once it is quilted and the binding is on.

I free motion quilted around the oval flowers in the red strip and then doodled around so that the ovals really pop up. I like the cross-hatching around my lady, but think it might look better if I had used off-white thread instead of the darker color. Still, it's good to try and see how it looks. If I had used neutral maybe I would be saying I should have tried a darker thread. There's always the NEXT quilt, isn't there?

Overall, I really like this piece. It kind of looks like "instant ancestors". I have it in my sewing room.

I'm thinking of calling this piece "Morris Mountain" because I used William Morris fabrics and there is "Morse Mountain" near Popham Beach where we like to hike.

Back Road Quilters had Jo Diggs come to a recent meeting. She did a lecture/slide show/trunk show with many of her wonderful landscapes. I was inspired to make this piece. It measures 16x26 inches. Hand appliqued. Machine quilted.

Here's a view to show the quilting. I used matching thread for each section; that's a lot of thread changing.

On the needles:
or rather off the needles!

Blackberry Mittens from Blackberry Ridge in Wisconsin. Pattern by Anne Bosch. These are made with fingering weight yarn which is quite finer than the usual worsted I use for most mittens. I really like the braided cuff. These are going into a mitten show at Merrymeeting Art Gallery in Bowdoinham in November. I'm making another pair and will show you those when I finish.

That's all for now! Get out and vote!

A litle eye candy

2010-10-24T07:10:00.004-04:00

So much beautiful quilting! I'll have to remember the squares on the petunia quilt.

Another free slideshow design by Smilebox

Quilt Show

2010-10-23T09:43:00.003-04:00

Here's the news, straight from their webpage.......

Bowdoinham Historical Society Quilt Show

Sat, 11/06/2010 - 10:00am - 3:00pm

BOWDOINHAM – Quilts are not just household linens. They are historical documents marking weddings, births, anniversaries and other major events that touch a family and community. They are also works of art employing a centuries-old craft that continues to evolve with each generation of quilters.

In celebration of that tradition, the Bowdoinham Historical Society is hosting a show of new and antique quilts, including several from its own collection. The show will run from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 6, and Sunday, Nov. 7, at the Town Hall. Volunteers from the Pine Tree Quilters Guild will be on hand from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 7, to document quilts for a statewide database that so far holds photographs and information on more than 2,600 quilts. Maine’s quilts will then be added to a national database.

“We wanted to preserve the original history of quilting,” said Cyndi Black, co-chair of the Pine Tree Quilters Guild’s Maine Quilt Heritage Committee, which is in charge of the database.

Quilters and collectors are invited to exhibit their work by dropping off quilts at the Bowdoinham Public Library from Wednesday, Oct. 27, to Nov. 3 during library hours. (Tuesdays from 10 a.m. to noon, 2-5 p.m. and 7-8 p.m.; Wednesdays 2-6 p.m.; Fridays 2-5 p.m. and Saturdays 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.) Exhibitors may also drop off quilts in the Town Hall during voting hours on Nov. 2. Registration forms are available wherever you drop off your quilt, or can be downloaded here.

Anyone with a quilt made before 1960 who would like it documented as part of the Maine Quilt Heritage project may bring it to the show on Sunday between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. No appointment is necessary.

Admission to the show is $4; exhibitors get in free. Raffle tickets will be on sale to win a quilt donated by a Bowdoinham quilter Sandy Hickey. The winning ticket will be drawn at the Christmas Tree lighting and Caroling on Friday, Dec. 3, at 5:30 p.m. Proceeds from the raffle will benefit restoration of the Jellerson School.

Placemats

2010-10-11T08:36:00.007-04:00

I've had fun making these placemats. The first one is for my husband. I machine quilted around the trails and so on.

I really like feathers so this one is for me. This was the first placemat I made. The nature block and the nest block are from a panel I bought at the quilt show. The dark green is part of the panel, the light green strips I added. Just using odds and ends in my stash. The eggs really stand out because I free motion quilted around them and then did the stippling.

Butterflies for my daughter. I free motion quilted around each butterfly and then filled in. These placemats have been washed several times and the quilting always pops up beautifully.

Happy Thanksgiving to all my Canadian friends!

A bolt of "Ocean", please

2010-10-02T06:45:00.002-04:00

In the Classroom

2010-09-19T13:09:00.008-04:00

Okay, you've already seen what happened to my August, so now I will show you what I did at Maine Quilts in Sue Nickels class on machine quilting the applique quilt. We brought a 12 inch muslin square with batting ready to quilt. We also brought two appliqued blocks using patterns that Sue provided.

This first photo shows the muslin block divided into four sections where we practiced different machine quilting techniques. I'm quite familiar with this kind of quilting, but Sue gave us some useful tips. Everyone's meandering is like your writing, everyone's is different. Also she told us to work from left to right, top to bottom to fill the space. She also introduced us to the concept of boustrophedon, which means ox-turning, where you work left to right and then work right to left. So, start stippling in the upper left area and work towards the right, dipping down occasionally so that when finished each row blends into the next and doesn't read as a distinct row.

Sue's work is very fine and that is something I really worked on. These variations are to show that you don't have to fill space with just the traditional stipple. Sue suggested I increase the top thread tension a lot more than I was accustomed to and it really improved my stitching. She also said a straight stitch throat plate will help eliminate those "claws" that appear on the back of your quilt when you sew fast. I don't have one of those...yet.

I think the best thing I learned at this class was to outline every applique piece before quilting the background. Taking that one step really improves the whole appearance of the quilt. It makes your quilting look neat and tidy by giving a uniform edge and it really makes your applique pop.

If you click on the flower you will be able to see the quilting in the flower and leaves. I'm not thrilled with all of it, but this is practice! It really does add another dimension and interest to quilt in this area, too.

Our second piece was this tulip on the diagonal. We worked on this later in the day and I think I did better on the first piece. All of this is free motion quilting, even the grid. Sue showed us how to go back and forth to make the grid without stopping and starting, but I got a bit mixed up with my to-ing and fro-ing!

The right half of the tulip was done with a straight diagonal line at one inch intervals. Then I added a squiggle on either side of that line. Kind of cute.

See that feather? Sue Nickels drew that! I free motion quilted it! I think it looks pretty respectable.

The second big tip I learned in this class is to keep the quilt facing in the same direction at all times. Don't turn the quilt, learn to sew going in any direction. Well, that is very good advice when you are working on a big quilt, but not so easy to follow when working on a small piece where it is so easy to turn it, however, by practicing that technique on small pieces, you will be able to do it on a big quilt. All Sue's quilts are made on a domestic machine.

Practice, patience, and persistence, the keys to success. Excuse me while I go design my next quilt.

Happy Quilting my friends!

How I spent my summer vacation

2010-09-12T20:03:00.012-04:00

Ida Gold tomatoes and Jet Stars

Tonks investigates the onions.

Otter Cliff, Acadia

Me at Thunder Hole

Sand Beach

Fort Knox

Fort Knox
Esterita Austin?

Observatory at Penobscot Narrows Observatory

The bridge

See how that firm grip keeps me from falling 437 feet to the water?

Yes, there was quilting. More to come!

Sue Nickels

2010-08-07T08:18:00.011-04:00

Last Saturday I had the privilege of taking a class taught by Sue Nickels at Maine Quilts 2010. It was an all day class on machine quilting the applique quilt. Sue and her sister Pat Holly made "The Beatles Quilt" which won best of show in 1998 at Paducah and now is part of the collection of the Museum of American Quilters at Paducah, Kentucky. Sue and Pat made a smaller version of this quilt called "All You Need is Love", which was at Maine Quilts this year. Did you see it? It was very dear; only 43x43 and made with the same vibrant colors of the larger quilt.

I'm just going to show photos I took at the class in this post. I'll tell you more about the class in the next post. (DD and I are going to the Rockland Lobsterfest in just a bit!) Can you believe I do not have a full picture of this quilt? I remember seeing it on the Quilt Show. It is called "The Anniversary Quilt" and was made by Sue and her sister Pat to hang next to The Beatles Quilt at Paducah for a special exhibit. Quite a contrast to The Beatles Quilt.

The machine quilting on this quilt is so fine. Sue explained how she progresses through the blocks to complete the quilting. She always works so that she is moving the bulk of the quilt away from the quilt. In other words, she is moving the quilt "package" further away from the arm of the machine, so there is less and less bulk under the arm. Yes, all of her quilts are quilted on a domestic machine. She encouraged us to sew without rotating the quilt.

I forgot to ask, but I think this pink quilt is "Blue Tulips on Pink Skies" and is the quilt on the cover of her machine quilting book. I just love her color sense, such a modern twist to traditional applique.

Le Panier de Fleurs is another stunning quilt. The navy blue fabric is not a solid navy, but you wouldn't exactly call it a texture fabric either. Maybe it is hand dyed, anyway the variation within the solid color adds a richness to this quilt that is not evident in the photos. Isn't that true with so many quilts? Going to a quilt show, actually seeing quilts is such a thrill, isn't it? Always more to discover.

"Tea at Tenby", another multi-award winning quilt by Sue and Pat. Green and pink, one of my favorite color combinations. Exquisite quilting. See the little block pinned on the quilt? It says touch me, not the quilt. Sue passed this little sample around the class. Tiny tiny stitches. You know she can not have quilted this all in one go, but you cannot tell any difference in the quality of quilting. Sue said she always does a practice swatch first, probably before she sits down to quilt each time, that way there are no surprises.

Seeing such high quality work is an inspiration to me. Maine Quilts is a wonderful opportunity to see what can be achieved in quilting. I'm motivated to improve my own work when I see such lovely examples of our art. Let's quilt!

p.s. Sue was one of the judges at the show this year. She said she was very pleased to see how much machine quilting has improved over the years. She also wanted to emphasize that her quilts are done on a domestic machine and to show others that they can use their domestic machines successfully, too.

Maine Quilts 2010 -Champagne Preview

2010-08-02T17:50:00.011-04:00

I went to the Champagne Preview with 2 quilting buddies last Thursday night. Here are some highlights of the show. The next three quilts are all the same pattern, believe it or not. The first is by Sue R. Isn't it a beauty? The pattern is September Sun by Jinny Beyer and the three ladies decided to make the quilt in different colorways.

Here's Sherry's. She told me she picked all the fabrics from her stash. Nice stash!

Here's Barb's version. Interesting how the different fabrics emphasize different parts of the quilt. I didn't get a photo of Koleen's quilt, must have been distracted by this....

"Affairs of the Heart" made by Marge J. She said "this quilt took about 2 years and several migraines to complete." I can believe it. The workmanship is top notch. Pattern by Aie Rossman, AQS. I saw it in a magazine ad as a block of the month quilt, just in case you want to make one. I'll just stand back and admire this one.

"Retirement Celebration" stole my heart. I absolutely love this quilt. As a former librarian, I can remember most of the books represented in these images. Owned by Audrey Briggs of Falmouth she said the quilt was made by her teacher friends upon her retirement. What wonderful friends!

I see the Cat in the Hat, Bedtime for Frances, Frog and Toad in this closeup. Its just marvelous. Audrey's sister is Jacqueline Briggs Martin, an award winning Maine author of children's books.

And here are my 2 friends who went to the preview with me-Donna and Margo. Margo has her own photos of the show on her blog; be sure to take a look there, too.

I've got more to share in the next post.

Maine Quilts 2010 Stash Report

2010-07-31T18:11:00.007-04:00

I had so much fun at the quilt show! I went to the Champagne Preview Thursday night with 2 friends. We saw some of the quilts and most of the vendors. We spread our money around. I love this chickadee wall hanging. My gmail account is chickadee24 and I use that as my name for several other accounts-The Quilt Show and Ravelry. This pattern is for fusible applique. I think the chickadee is first cut out in a black oval with the white and gray fused on top.

Another chickadee is featured in the green panel. One block has a feather and eggs. Nice little sayings on each picture. The fish and mermaid panel is the green and yellow colorway; it is also available in blues, but I really liked this one better. There is also an octopus which is orange and lovely. I bought a piece of green fabric to go with that.

The little lady in brown on the far right is from an old lithograph printed on fabric. It was hard to choose from the vendor's selection, let me tell you. There was also a green one of a little girl and a bear. I'm regretting not buying that one, too. Just out of the photo is a border print, cut in a long strip and packaged in cellophane. This vendor had many blocks of fabrics cut and wrapped like that. He had stacks of fabrics cut in 3 inch blocks and smaller, all wrapped in cellophane. No frayed edges, very neat. They looked like Post-It notes.

A couple of bundles of fat quarters. I'm thinking of making them into napkins. Also a cat hanger. Wait, does that sound funny?

I took an all day class with Sue Nickels today. We had a 2 hour lunch so I got to see more of the show today. More about that later, I'm pooped!

Maine Quilts 2010

2010-07-25T06:00:00.004-04:00

I've entered 3 pieces at Maine Quilts this year. This first one is called "Trees Are".

I'm sure you remember seeing this. I feel like I've been working on this forever. Can't wait to see it hanging at the show as it is way too big for my design wall. Queen size. Not perfect, but I hope it looks good enough for the company it is in. It is called "Sleeps with Butterflies".

And lastly, my Art Quilts Maine entry for our hardware challenge. This one is called "Who Let the Dogs Out?".

I hope to see you at the show! I'll be at the Champagne Preview Thursday night. I am taking a class all day Saturday with Sue Nickels!!!!!! The class is called Machine Quilting the Applique Quilt. I still have to make some applique samples to take to class and I am going camping for three days. I'll get it done!

July 30 - August 1
Augusta Civic Center

Friday 9 a.m. - 6 p.m.
Saturday 9 a.m. - 5 p.m.
Sunday 10 a.m. - 4 p.m.

p.s. My marvelous son installed Electric Quilt 7 on my Mac yesterday afternoon. It has been hard packing and getting ready for our camping trip. Resistance is futile. I'm going to play right now! BTW, my son installed Windows on my Mac, too. Heresy. :-)

Spoonflower

2010-07-08T18:06:00.003-04:00

Are you familiar with Spoonflower? It is a website where you can upload your designs and have them made into fabrics. I get their newsletter which allows me to vote for my favorites in their theme contests. This week's winner is this fabric in the "cheater" cloth contest. It is SO pretty! Can't you imagine having 5 yards to back a quilt or even make a quilt! At $90 I guess not for me.

You can see the cheater cloth winners here.

America the Beautiful!

2010-07-04T09:09:00.003-04:00

Picnics, families, fireworks, and fun!
Happy Independence Day, America!

Oh, Canada!

2010-07-01T07:01:00.000-04:00

The Quilt Show Contest

2010-06-29T18:15:00.003-04:00

Alex Anderson and Ricky Tims online program, "The Quilt Show" is holding a placemat contest. The theme is summer. I submitted this 20x15 placemat which I called "Thirsty?" If you are a member, I hope you will vote for mine! All entries have to be in by July 1 and they will announce the winners on July 3, so I don't think there is much of a window for voting. Not too many entries so far. I'll keep you posted!

Strawberries=Summertime!

2010-06-26T09:02:00.006-04:00

"That beautiful season the Summer!
Filled was the air with a dreamy and magical light;
and the landscape
Lay as if new created in all the freshness of childhood."
- Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Remember this little quilt? It is about 7 inches square.

I made another one. This one is 12 inches square. I made up my own design for this one.

Here it is with my watch for size comparison. I love these little quilts. So fun to embroider the center and then add a border.

I went strawberry picking early this morning just down the road. Walking through the field, past lush rows of lettuce and squash to a far corner where a group of people were already filling boxes and bowls with juicy red berries. Fragrant strawberries, the best smell of summer. At least until the blueberries come along.

"Kindred spirits are not so scarce as I used to think. It's splendid to find out there are so many of them in the world."
-L.M.Montgomery (Anne of Green Gables)

Enjoy this fine summer day, kindred spirits.

A little trip

2010-06-24T06:41:00.004-04:00

Last Saturday, June 19, we rode to Laconia, N.H. on our Kawasaki Voyager. It was the first time I ever was at bike week! We rode over on Rte. 11 with a couple of friends and their friends, about 18 of us in all.

Boy, was it hot! Boy, were there a lot of bikes! Boy, were there a lot of people! We shuffled up and down this street. Weare's Beach on one side, vendors on the other.

My ears perked up when someone mentioned Meredith was nearby. Because I knew if Meredith was nearby, then Center Harbor was nearby, too! Home of Keepsake Quilting!

After we had our fill of bikes and tattoos, we headed out of town and towards fabric mecca. I was so hot and tired by then, it was lovely to stroll around the shop looking at all the beautiful fabric in air conditioned comfort. Bill sat comfortably on the porch in an Adirondack chair while I browsed. I bought 2 yards of $3.99 sale fabric, a Thimbleberries quilt label panel, a small quilt hanger, and a book on redwork. My treasures! On the way home we stopped in Cornish, Maine for a delicious dinner at Krista's restaurant.

This photo is called "Quilt Dreams" sent to me by my friend Sue. She was freshening up her quilts outside on the clothesline. Isn't it beautiful? Thanks, Sue! May all your quilt dreams be as lovely, my friends!

Pat Sloan

2010-06-13T21:15:00.003-04:00

If you are a Pat Sloan fan you will enjoy her new podcast. I listened to it this afternoon while driving to Rockland to visit a friend. I was going to spend the night and then take the ferry to Vinalhaven, a beautiful large island off the coast of Maine. with my quilt group. Unfortunately, when I arrived I found out that the trip got canceled due to weather, so I came home tonight to my own Quilt Island.

Anyway, on Pat's show her guest was Maria Nerius who is a long time crafter. Maria has a website called FaveCrafts. I just checked out the quilting section and found a free pattern for this:

The pattern is by Patrick Lose and is in Poster Quilts from C & T Publishing. I think someone had this at a quilt meeting and it was very bright and cheery. My niece has a 7 yr old and a 3 yr old and I think she would really like this. It would be fun to make.

Zoe French

2010-06-06T16:09:00.010-04:00

My dear daughter gave me a blog makeover. Zoe recently graduated from UMaine with a BA in New Media. She specializes in webpage design. She whipped this new look up for me in no time. I love it and I hope you do, too. Here she is with her BF Jesse.

I've been working on my Lone Star quilt this afternoon. Quilting diagonal lines through the borders. Once I go all around the quilt in one direction I want to stitch in the opposite direction for a crosshatch effect. If I didn't think I would die of the tedium I might go for a double line, but I don't really think that is going to happen.

Previously, I quilted the star with a free motion zigzag. Love that! I free motion quilted around the roses and butterflies. That was fun.

This is one corner of the Art Quilts Maine challenge quilt I have finished. It is for the Maine Quilts show in July. Can't show any more than this until next week! Next Saturday is the big reveal of all our challenge pieces at our AQ meeting. We had to include a something from the hardware store. This is just a little something to pique your interest

This is a little machine applique project I am playing around with. That means that I didn't really want to finish any of my other projects that have deadlines, so why not start something new? The pattern was from a magazine I got from the library. Probably Quiltmaker. I used a number of pieces from a William Morris collection I bought. I don't usually buy fabrics that are grayed, but I really like these. This piece was on hold while I bought more thread to match and I haven't done anything with it since.

Here's a little redwork piece. These are so fun to make. Quick to embroider and sweet on the wall. Not finished. I-really-need-to-finish-my-star-quilt!!!

Do you like my new look? Leave a comment, I love to hear from you!

Readin' & Roamin'

2010-05-31T17:12:00.008-04:00

Quite a few years ago I read the 5th book in Jennifer Chiaverini's Elm Creek Quilters series. I did not like it enough to continue the series, but recently I was at the library and picked up the first book in the series: The Quilter's Apprentice. I quickly read it and really enjoyed it. I just finished reading the second book-Round Robin. It really pays to start a series like this at the beginning where all the characters are introduced and their personal histories are revealed. Contrary to my first impression, Jennifer Chiaverini can tell quite a good story and I am looking forward to reading the rest of the series. I'm beginning to feel like the Elm Creek Quilters are old friends.

DH and I got up bright and early Saturday morning of this long Memorial Day weekend to head for Millinocket and Baxter State Park. We wanted to make reservations at BSP headquarters in Millinocket for our vacation in July. We will be staying at a cabin on Daicey Pond for one night, then two nights at Lower South Branch Pond in a lean-to right on the water. Bliss!

Luckily, we were able to book a cabin for Saturday night, too. We stayed at Daicey Pond at Blue Lodge, a 2 bed cabin, out of the rain and bugs. Showers fell briefly during the evening and we were glad to be snug and comfortable.

On Sunday we drove to Kidney Pond and hiked half-way around the pond to Lily Pad landing.

We were good stewards of BSP and did not remove the Kidney Stone.

Redwork fini

2010-05-16T15:39:00.002-04:00

Finished object! I used three Jo Morton fabrics to finish off my little redwork piece. It measures 7 inches square. I made a "crumb catcher" border with the yellow. I remember seeing this demonstrated on The Quilt Show once, but I did not know which episode so I just made it up. I cut 1 inch strips then folded them in half and sewed them around the redwork center.

Then I applied the green strips. I used a machine feather stitch all around the green border. How do you attach a wire hanger to your quilts? I made a little bias strip sleeve and sewed it on with the hanger inside. Works for me. This little quilt fits in a small space between a doorway and a bookcase. I like tiny pieces like this tucked into tiny spaces rather than on a large wall.

Redwork

2010-05-15T17:28:00.004-04:00

I've been having fun today trying my hand at redwork. I have not embroidered anything for years. One of the first crafts I tried when I was young was embroidery. I made a wreath of flowers on brown fabric. It was made into a pillow for my mother. It was very lopsided and poorly made, but I was very proud of it and so was my mother. I think the design was from a Woman's Day magazine.

So, while I have done some stitchery since then, I haven't done much, but it does come back to you. I made up this little design from something I saw in a book. I used a chalk-like tracing paper to transfer the design. Then I went over it with a blue quilt marking pen. I used 2 strands of embroidery floss.

The finished wreath measures about four inches across. I cut the fabric to 6 inches and am auditioning fabrics to go around it. I have some green Jo Morton fabric that looks good. Fun!

One if by land, two if by sea

2010-04-19T16:11:00.006-04:00

Paul Revere's Ride
by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Listen my children and you shall hear
Of the midnight ride of Paul Revere,
On the eighteenth of April, in Seventy-five;
Hardly a man is now alive
Who remembers that famous day and year

Patriot's Day! I remember listening to that poem in grade school. I didn't include it all here, it is very long. Traditionally this is the day to plant peas in Maine if want want to have peas to eat at your July 4/Independence Day picnic. My garden is just too muddy to plant anything this year. Maybe next week.

Janet Clement

2010-04-18T11:10:00.005-04:00

Last Saturday at Art Quilts I met Janet Clement. It was her first visit to Art Quilts and she came with a friend. She is having a quilt show at the Merrymeeting Arts Center in Bowdoinham, Maine.

The opening reception was Friday night and the show runs through May 29. She is having a bargello workshop on May 1. FMI 207-841-5914.

I forgot to go to the opening (we were buying a new dishwasher, which is a different kind of fun when you have been washing dishes by hand for two months), but I did visit the gallery yesterday morning.

Let me tell you, these bargello quilts are beautiful! The picture above is a photo of the postcard Janet gave me and the photo is only a portion of this gigantic wall hanging. The colors are vibrant and her machine quilting is exquisite.

Here is the write-up from the Merrymeeting Arts website...
Beautiful Bargellos: Quilted Works by Janet Clement

WhenApr 16 – May 29, 2010

Where 9 Main St., Bowdoinham, ME 04008 Merrymeeting Arts Center, Cathance Landing

DescriptionThe Merrymeeting Arts Center, MAC, announces its second artist-produced show. “Beautiful Bargellos: Quilted Works” by Janet Clement of Richmond. The show will run from April 16 to May 29th. A formal opening of the exhibit is scheduled for Friday, April 16th from 5:30 to 7:30 pm at the Merrymeeting Arts Center, 9 Main Street, Bowdoinham (down by the river in the grey building). Janet Clement is a veteran fabric artist who designs both large and small works, ranging from murals to wallhangings to bedcovers. Her work is regularly on sale at the Merrymeeting Arts Center store. The show will exhibit bargello pieces. Bargello is a quilting process in which cloth is cut into strips, sewn together and then recut. Next these pieced strips are assembled into the finished work, creating intricate patterns. The Merrymeeting Arts Center is open Saturdays from 10 am to 1 pm and by chance. For further information call 841-5914 or go to our website www.merrymeetingartscenter.org.

Happy villages!

2010-04-10T19:27:00.009-04:00

Today at Art Quilts Maine Sally Rowe showed us how to make a miniature village using this book by Karen Eckmeier. We all brought 5 inch squares of fabrics, including a sky piece and many textural fabrics. We also brought "tree" or foliage fabrics. Someone at my table, who had done this before, brought along some chicken fabric which was fun.

We started with a piece of batting cut 4 x 6 inches. Sally gave us a template to use for the building shapes. I started with the sky piece across the top, then filled in with house shapes across and down. Each house had to overlap so that no batting would show.

Carolee gave me an extra piece of batting and I started another little village at the same time. I had so many building pieces cut out that if one did not fit in one scene I could use it in the next piece.

The fun really began when we cut out the roofs. It is starting to look like a real village now. Next came windows, ooh there is life in this town! Of course some trees and vines help, too.

When I was happy with my arrangement, I added a dab of glue to hold everything in place. Actually, you glue the buildings first, then arrange the roofs and greenery, and then glue those in place.

Tulle is added on top and each piece is stitched down. If you have ever tried Susan Carlson's Free-Style Quilts, you know what I mean.

When I was done, I looked at my pieces and thought to shove them together. I like it! Sally showed me a piece she created where she added borders on all four sides with more embellishments. I might try that!

Isn't it exciting to try something new? No wonder we all have UFOs. The inspiration and playfulness when creating something new is awesome and what we humans are all about! Go out and create! (is that enough !!! for one post?)

sometimes he dreams about fabric

2010-04-09T19:02:00.001-04:00

Spray Basting

2010-03-25T17:40:00.001-04:00

Here is a video from Alex Anderson and Ricky Tims, The Quilt Show. I've never spray basted before, but I want to try it. Patsy Thompson answers some questions about spray basting from an earlier tutorial on machine quilting. I think she covers most of the how-to in this additional video which answers other questions that viewers asked.

Paddling 'round the island

2010-03-23T13:16:00.002-04:00

All is well here at Quilt Island. I've been working on a secret challenge quilt. Today I am sewing borders on my lone star quilt. I've been watching Patsy Thompson's free motion lessons on The Quilt Show. I'm tempted to machine quilt my lone star instead of having someone quilt it on a long-arm.

Sophie's Sweater

2010-03-02T18:50:00.003-05:00

Here is my "Sweetheart Cardigan", pattern by Laura Brown. You can get the free pattern here. I participated in the Knitting Olympics on Team Knitmore if you are on Ravelry. I cast on during the opening ceremony and cast off before the closing ceremony ended. What a fun knit this was. As usual, I had a few problems getting the lace pattern right, but when I used stitch markers and paid attention (instead of watching Apolo, ha ha), it came out fine.

Olympic highlights: Short Track with Apolo Ohno, Lindsay Vonn, Bode Miller, Seth Wescott, seeing so many Canadians medal and hearing the very sing-able Canadian national anthem, Kim Yu-Na-elegance on ice, Joannie Rochette, snowboard cross and ski cross-the Beast! I love to watch figure skating but still can't tell a triple toe loop from a fruit loop.

I also really enjoyed the Minute Maid commercial featuring Scooter the bunny. Look it up on you tube if you missed it. I think I should download that for the next time I feel down in the dumps. I laughed harder every time I saw it. Mostly I push the mute button whenever the commercials come on.

So, now I am feeling a little blah, no Olympics, no knitting. Time to quilt!

Fearless Design

2010-02-28T17:27:00.006-05:00

Art Quilters of Maine has spawned another group which I joined. The group is based on the book Fearless Design for Every Quilter: Traditional and Contemporary 10 lessons in creativity and critique by Lorraine Torrance. As the title says, there are ten lessson, which we are going to cover over ten months. We had our first meeting in February.

The first lesson is on balance. The book suggests doing the exercises with fusbile web and making the samples 20 inches square, which is a good sized block. The idea is to work up your sample quickly with the fusible web. The sample is not meant to be a finished product, just an exercise to learn the design principle.

First off I had to choose a shape to work with. The exercise called for three samples using the same shape for all three. I chose this bird after discarding my first choice as being way too complex to cut out multiple times.

This first example is symmetrical balance. I rather like it. Symmetry is very pleasing to the eye. I had to vary it a bit or it would have been too boring. It would be cute to add some legs and eyes to these little birdies, but I doubt that I will ever get it done.

I decided not to crop these photos so you could see some of my stuff. So much more interesting when you get a peek at someone's stuff, isn't it? Actually, I was surpised to see those little hangers, I've been looking for them! The gray piece on the left is the March exercise. You will have to wait for that one.

This one is rotational balance. With a bit more fiddling I could have made the center more of a star between the birds, but I didn't notice that until everything was fused in place. Good idea for future reference.

This one is my idea for mirror symmetry. Some people said to be really mirrored that some of the blocks should be flipped, but I like it as it is.

Tomtens! Tomtens marching through the snowy night. This is the figure I started with. Besides being too complicated to keep cutting out, I thought the image was too small, but I do love him. This one is shifted row symmetry, which could have been done a bit better, oh well. I like the idea of them marching off into the night.

The Challenges of Olympic Events

2010-02-21T14:20:00.004-05:00

Ah, the challenges of Olympic knitting! I guess I should know better than to combine my events. Exciting short track and accurate lace knitting do not mix. Somewhere along the third lace pattern row I dropped a couple of stitches. Time to rip. I'll reach the podium, have no fear!

Art Quilts Maine

2010-02-15T17:06:00.007-05:00

At the Art Quilts Maine meeting on Saturday two members showed us how to make these wavy checkerboards from two fused fabrics. They used a technique described in Simply Stunning Woven Quilts by Anne Faustino. You apply two-sided fusible webbing to two pieces of fabric, mine were about 9x12 inches. You pick one as your "warp" and the other as your "weft".

The purple strip was my warp. (Can you turn your head so that the piece is vertical? Thank you.) I cut the purple first with a rotary cutter in wavy strips. Set each strip aside after it is cut and keep the strips in the same order that you cut. Do the same for the second fabric, but cut crosswise and keep those in order, too.

Pin the warp fabric to a surface to hold in place. Then weave the weft fabric in, keeping the same order as when cut so the wavy pieces fit together. Snug everything up so there are no gaps. Oh, and do this on a foundation of some sort, muslin or batting, as the whole thing will be ironed onto the backing to fuse in place.

It was really fun to do this as a group. Many interesting fabric choices and combinations. A couple of people who had done this before chose to make a circular shape and a dome shape. Very interesting and lots of design possiblitis, for sure.

Here is my block in black and white. My finished piece is about 8x11. These would make fun placemats. Also good for background for an applique piece or a section of a wall hanging. Try it, you'll like it! Send me your pics if you do!

February hodge podge

2010-02-11T19:22:00.005-05:00

Recently I went to the new farmer's market at Fort Andross in Brunswick. I had never been before and parking was terrible. I finally found a spot behind the building and after much manuevering managed to back my car into a tight space. The guard rail was covered with snow. I sure hope there was a guard rail, otherwise it would have been a nasty fall into the black, cold river!
I didn't buy anything at the farmer's market (sorry farmers), but I did bring home this little Asian girl doll for my collection. Her tag says "Ling Ling-Dolls by Pauline". I would like to make her a new outfit someday.

These sock were knit from Nancy Bush's book Knitting on the Road. I bought the book in 2003 and probably made the socks then, too. These socks have finally worn out. Regia sock yarn is very hard wearing, but these are threadbare in spots. The cast-on at the top was very interesting-you actually twirled the needle to get the twist, which is called Latvian twist and comes from Lucy Neatby. I feel sad to discard these old friends, but, you know, I knit the foot too short and that has always bothered me a little bit.

Olympics knitting! I joined the Ravelry knitting Olympics group with the Knitmore Girls. I am going to make this adorable puff sleeved lacy sweater for my grand-niece. The pattern is called Sweetheart Cardigan by Laura Brown. It can be found in Babyknits, but is available as a free download on Ravelry.
The RavOlympics is a knitting challenge where you cast on during the opening ceremony of the Olympics and finish by the closing ceremony. I love to watch the Olympics, so I thought this was a wonderful opportunity.

p.s. Quilt content next time...I do have things to share. Ahh, life is good in Maine, north of the snow belt. ;-)

I've been busy

2010-01-10T20:16:00.013-05:00

Christmas reveal! I made this pillowcase for my daughter using the Hot Diggity pillowcase pattern. I would make the next one differently. I didn't really like how the french seams came out. The pillowcase is made from two Kaffe Fassett fabrics purchased at Mainely Sewing in Nobleboro, where the choice of Kaffe Fassett fabrics is very large. DD loves her pillowcase and went out and bought blue flannel sheets to match.

I knit these socks from Cascade Yarn Heritage sock yarn. 75% superwash merino wool and 25% nylon. One skein contains 437 yards, so I had plenty for size large socks with a nine inch leg. Good thing as the yarn was $18 for a skein! That was okay because the yarn is beautiful and these socks were a Christmas gift for my son.
Sock model: Mr. Quilt Island himself, feet resting on his lap quilt made at a Camp Kieve retreat some years back.

Yes, I've been busy knitting socks, this time using Cat Bordhi's new book Personal Footprints for Insouciant Sock Knitters. If you have not seen any of Cat's knitting videos on youtube, do treat yourself to her unique mind and sense of humor.
This sock is the Discovery sock, knit to the individual's own footprint (the cardboard cutout above my sock). Youtube overview of the method is here.

The sock is knit from the toe up, a method I tried and rejected earlier, but with Cat's method it was a breeze.

After increases around the toe (no grafted toe or seam) the foot is knit with increases as necessary to fit around the foot. The sock is tried on numerous times to ensure an exact fit. Get your husband or someone handy to mark a dotted line on your leg to show where the leg will fit in, then continue to the heel. Two rows for the leg stitches are left on "lifelines", the yellow yarn. The row inbetween the lifelines eventually will be cut to open up the sock so the leg can be knit. The heel is knit next with decreasing rows to a final number of stitches all calculated for a perfect fit. Ingenious and intriguing, I just can't stop knitting! Cat's directions make everything clear and easy to follow, believe me, it just looks daunting.

(the formatting on this post leaves something to be desired, sorry)

Ducks and Ducklings

2010-01-01T18:51:00.021-05:00

As promised, today I want to show you how I drafted a larger block using Marie Henry's Teach Yourself Blocks from the Past book.

In this book the blocks are all 6 inches square. I started by making the applique blocks. I found the 6 inch size was too small for me to comfortably applique. I scaled the patterns up to 8 inch size on a photocopier.

Not thinking ahead, I sewed a number of applique blocks before considering that I would also need to increase the size of the patchwork blocks. I certainly did not want to start over again and try to make the 6 inch blocks afterall.

This block is called Ducks and Ducklings. The block is based on a grid of 25. You can count 5 units across the top. An 8 inch block based on a grid 25 units is hard to calculate accurately. Just how do you measure that unit?

Above is the 6 inch block drawn out on paper.

Now draw an 8 inch square.

Place your ruler so that the "zero" or end corner touches one side of your block. Angle the ruler so that the 10 inch mark hits the opposite side. It really doesn't matter where along the side you put the zero mark.

Place a dot at each 2 inch increment. I am using 0-10 because I want to have five units (25 in all). The next number after 5 which can be divided by 5 is 10. 10 divided by 5 equals 2, so mark along the diagonal every 2 inches.

Draw parallel lines through these dots.

Turn the block around and do the same thing to make the grid.

Here is the grid of 25.

Referring to the block, draw in the diagonal lines to make the ducks and ducklings.

Shade the units and label A, B, and C.

Here is the finished block. You can make templates from your grid or make squares and half square triangles using the grid as your guide.

The blocks in the finished quilt are on-point. Looks very different, doesn't it?

I first saw Alex Anderson demonstrate this technique on The Quilt Show. I didn't really get it right away. I found a photocopy of instructions for this method tucked away among my things. It may have been from a Jinny Beyer book.

I won't have to do this for every block, but it sure was a big help for this one. I'm still learning about this, so if you have any suggestions, please leave a comment.

P.S. Does this only happen to me?? Immediately after posting this I went up to my sewing room. There on my table was a pad of graph paper. On one side the graph paper is 4 squares to the inch. On the other side is a graph at 5 squares to the inch. Never mind. Happy New Year!

Marie Henry

2009-12-28T06:55:00.005-05:00

After Christmas I worked on some pieced blocks to go with the applique blocks I made last winter. From the top: Windblown Square, Duck and Ducklings, Carrie Nation,This and That, and Cake Stand. These blocks were so fun to piece. If you remember, I made the applique blocks bigger than the book calls for. The book has 6-inch blocks and I am making 8-inch blocks. Still small enough to be dainty, but big enough for my applique skills.

However! I did not think about having to enlarge the pieced blocks, too. It was not difficult to draft blocks that are based on four patch, but the five block Duck and Ducklings took some thinking. Alex Anderson explained how to do this on a recent Quilt Show. Between her instructions and some others I finally figured it out. The light went on, so to speak. I will try to explain in the next post.

These blocks are on point in the finished quilt. The book I am using is Marie Henry's Teach Yourself Blocks from the Past.

TREE

2009-12-24T14:05:00.004-05:00

"Trees are the earth's endless effort to speak to the listening heaven."
Rabindranath Tagore

I have been pondering this quote from a travel calendar since I read it in October. The idea of trees speaking to the Universe is one I have considered for some time. All plants and animals do this continually; they simply are one with all that is. We humans are so busy doing most of the time, if not all our lives, that we forget this natural connection.

I used Misty Fuse in this project. All the fabrics except for the sky are batiks. The quilting thread in the sky is a blue and green Mettler variegated; the water quilting is done with a blue variegated thread. Love that variegated thread for the depth and interest it imparts. Oh, the tree is done with brown variegated, too. The piece is 15 x 20 inches. I made a facing for this quilt rather than a bound edge.

Merry Christmas!

Summer in the hallway

2009-12-09T20:08:00.008-05:00

No quilting today. We got sent home from work at noon because of the snowstorm so I wallpapered the hallway. Strawberries and vines=Summer in the Hallway!

My brother has been doing some work for us. He sheetrocked two walls and put in a new threshold for the front door. Last weekend I painted the ceiling and painted all the trim and doors. I went to Tate's in Bath on Saturday morning (with a stop at Halcyon for sock yarn and Mariner's Compass for three spools of thread) and bought wallpaper. They have $8 rolls of paper, just my budget!

I started tearing apart the hall many years ago and I have the pictures to prove it. My son was only a toddler and he helped. Now he is off at college and I finished it up today! Well, let's ignore the floor for now. Hubby made supper including a pudding pie. Now I am going to collapse!

the dog ate my homework

2009-11-30T07:46:00.009-05:00

Okay, so it is the cats, not the dog. I don't even have a dog! I put this quilt sample on the table and by the time I looked through the viewfinder it was covered with cats!

I have been busy planning a wall hanging that I am very enthused about. I was inspired by a line of poetry and designed something simple with a pine tree at the center. The machine quilting will be a strong element in the design.

Here is a mock up of the design so that I could practise machine quilting. The blue rectangle and blue shapes represent the tree. I really wanted to be sure I could machine quilt around the "tree" in a flame pattern before committing to the real quilt.

I have been looking at Leah Day's 365 Days of Free Motion Quilting Designs. If you haven't seen it take a look! She has short You Tube videos every day showing her design of the day. She inspired me for this quilt.

The middle photo (orange thread) is the back side of another practice piece for this wall hanging. On the "front" I fused several layers of fabric so that I could tell what the stitching would be like on my final piece. I started with a wavy line of leaves then just tried all sorts of stitching. Can you tell I was having fun? I really like some open space in machine quilting like this piece has. However, my tree quilt will not have any open spaces, just different types of quilting. I hope you can click on the images and really see my quilting.

I used Misty Fuse for this project. I used it once before at a workshop and was less than thrilled with the result. I have heard so much praise for this product that I decided to try again. Now I am a big fan, too! I thought you needed a teflon sheet to put between the iron and the fusible, but I found using parchment paper works just fine.

Got to make a trip to the store to buy thread, then I will get to work on the real quilt. Stay tuned.

2009-11-26T07:13:00.004-05:00

Happy Thanksgiving! Here is a picture from the quilt retreat I went to recently. I sure am thankful for all the good friends I have met through quilting.

While you are counting your blessings today, take a look at the Kiva link in the sidebar. Make someone happy today!

Love and Blessings to all!

November

2009-11-07T15:31:00.008-05:00

November comes
And November goes,
With the last red berries
And the first white snows.

With night coming early,
And dawn coming late,
And ice in the bucket
And frost by the gate.

The fires burn
And the kettles sing,
And earth sinks to rest
Until next spring."
- Elizabeth Coatsworth

Machine quilting

2009-11-03T06:33:00.007-05:00

I have so many completed projects waiting to be quilted. I was tempted to start something new this weekend, but decided what I really wanted to do was try some machine quilting on my new Janome. I've done allover meandering on a few big quilts on my old Pfaff, but when the thread kept breaking I just gave up.

Quilting on my new machine is so much fun! I borrowed a Ricky Tims DVD from the Back Road library and got inspired. I reviewed a couple of books I have on machine quilting and away I went. I started with the sashing. The first thing I did was free motion leaves and vines. These came out okay, nothing special.

Next I tried a "wave" pattern from the book Quilting Makes the Quilt. I traced the design onto freezer paper, cut it out, and used it as a stencil. Wow, how easy is that!

I decided to quilt each block in a different design. This quilt is the sampler we did together in our Tacoma Lakes chapter. Sampler quilt blocks, so now sampler quilting! I tried Diane Gaudynski's clamshell motif described in her machine quilting book. I penciled in the first or bottom row, then did the "bunny hop" as she describes it for the next rows. A few wonky bits, but my goodness, it all blends in and the overall effect is marvelous. Yummy!
Still working from Diane G's book, I tried this design on the pinwheel block. The design is based on a grid. You make a curve from one point on the grid to the next, making a vertical line from one side of the block to the next. Then you sew up the other side of the same vertical seam, making the oval shape. When the vertical lines are done you sew the horizontal seams. Quite effective, although my ovals are not exactly regular that is what practice is all about!

Three blocks done, six more to go! Stay tuned for more.....

p.s. 3 blocks you say? Yes, I forgot that I don't have a picture of the third. You can see a glimpse of it. he he

Mermaid quilt

2009-10-20T08:13:00.008-04:00

"The Word for World is Ocean" Here is my mermaid quilt. It is going into the Back Road Quilters show in Gardiner, Maine this weekend. Oct 24-25.

Really fun to make, especially the quilting!

Columbus Day

2009-10-12T15:54:00.004-04:00

Does it seem like I only post on a holiday weekend? I really do mean to post again before Thanksgiving. :-) By the way, Happy Thanksgiving to my Canadian friends!

Last month I attended a dye workshop with Sonya Lee Barrington from San Francisco, brought to Maine for the fall PTQG member's meeting. Sonya has been dyeing fabrics for 30 years, so she had quite a store of knowledge and experience to share with us. It was a fun day; I even took a day off work to attend.

At the workshop we were introduced to a number of different techniques to create visual texture with Procion dyes. One method is to take 3-4 inch strips of fabric and braid them very tightly. Immerse in dye and when completed "unbraid". This creates a white (the original color of the fabric) and color spotted fabric. You can then braid the strips and dye another color. Sonya had some beautiful examples of this.

Another technique that is very simple and effective is to scrunch up a fat quarter in the toe of a nylon knee-high sock. Tie the sock and immerse in dye. You get a lovely mottled fabric.

The third method I chose was to sew a piece of fabric into a tube and slip it over a piece of PVC pipe. You then twist the tube and scrunch it down the tube, so it is very tightly twisted. Rubber bands hold the fabric top and bottom. The whole thing is immersed in dye. I had white fabric and put it into yellow dye. The result is a diagonal yellow stripey fabric. I want to sew it into a tube again and immerse it in another color, say orange, to get another layer of color.

This past Saturday I joined the Art Quilt chapter of PTQG. We had Suzanne Drown Trout of Portland give a batik workshop. Another fun day! Batik is a resist dye process. We painted with melted soy wax on our muslin squares. I made sea stars with lots of dots and practiced writing, too. We used Sumi brushes, which are used in Japanese calligraphy. We also got to try a special device called a tjanting, which is especially good for applying fine lines and details.

After drawing our design in wax we were ready to paint with dye. We were given the three primary colors of dye mixed with a thickening agent. I mixed up a peachy orange color and then experimented to see how well the colors mixed together on the fabric. I left some areas open and applied solid yellow next to the orange. A chemical water could be added to the dye to thin it and make it flow more quickly.

I really enjoyed batik and would like to try it again at home. The soy wax washes out easily with hot water and soap. No tedious removal of wax the hot water, scraping, and ironing. That's for me!

After lunch we discussed the December meeting and also challenges to work on. Lots of great ideas and it was so good to be with so many other women who are enjoying the creative process. I felt like I was with "my" people!

Labor Day Weekend

2009-09-08T19:52:00.009-04:00

On Labor Day weekend DH and I drove up to Baxter State Park for two nights of camping. The first morning we woke up to a frosty world. The field our lean-to was in was covered with frost. My toes were chilly, but DH made hot coffee and all was well.

We drove to Kidney Pond, had a tailgate breakfast and went on a hike. We must have missed a sign because we ended up walking in a circle, which was rather perplexing. Our map did not show the trail we were on, but later on we found a map that helped us figure out where we went wrong.

Well, nothing is ever really "wrong" is my belief. We did not make it to our intended destination, but we ended up paddling in a canoe on Kidney Pond and saw this huge bull moose.

He was at the outlet where it is fairly shallow. We watched him for awhile then paddled off and saw a female moose and a youngster at a distance. They were probably a pair we saw earlier in the woods on the way to the pond. We paddled back to the inlet and the bull moose was in the middle of this part of the pond, with great long strings of vegetation dripping from his muzzle. DH paddled around him in a big circle while I held the camera and made a short video.

Now here is my picture of perfection. Knitting mittens, "Cottonweeds" coffee mug, the lake and mountains. Can you hear my sigh of contentment?

Painted Desert

2009-08-09T06:40:00.017-04:00

Pro Chemical & Dye had a booth at Maine Quilts. I have bought dye from them in the past and had such fun creating a rainbow of delicious colors. I remember spending an afternoon dyeing fat quarters with the help of my DD and her friend, but that was 8 years ago. I have been wanting to dye more fabric, but the process uses so much water I put it off. We have a shallow well and I did not like to use so much water. But this year, thanks to all the rain (see a silver lining in this rainy summer?) I feel free to use all the water I want. This colorway is called Painted Desert.

The dyes used are an olive green, a fuchsia red, and a rich purple.

I arranged thirty plastic cups in three rows of ten. Into each cup I crumpled up one fat eighth (9 x 22).

Three jars were filled with the three basic colors, then the fun began! Following the dye recipe each cup got a different proportion of two dyes, either olive and red, red and purple, or olive and purple.

The mottling comes from the scrunched fabric. The more you lift up the fabric and allow the dye to penetrate, the more evenly dyed your fabric. I left mine nicely scrunched.

I used cotton sateen so there is a bit of a shine on one side which adds to the richness. It is subtle but just lovely.

Being a Maine girl, I don't know much about Painted Deserts! Maybe I should rename my collection. Hmm. Tourmaline? Katahdin Splendor?

I bought five yards of fabric which is enough for thirty fat eights and a yard or so extra. I cut 31 9-inch strips by mistake, so I put the last strip with the large leftover piece of fabric and put them in a big basin. The last of each of the three basic dye colors is used on these tail ends. Then the last of the dye activator is poured over the fabric. I didn't have much dye activator left, so I think that is why the color is quite light compared to the color dye I poured onto the fabric.

Still, quite gorgeous! You can leave the fabric in the dye for 4-24 hours. I rinsed my fabric after four hours. I am very pleased with the results. I am going to do this again and it won't be in 8 years!

Coincidentally, the Pine Tree Guild newsletter Patchwork Press arrived in the mail Friday. We are having Sonya Lee Barrington come to give a lecture and workshops in September. She is a textile artist from San Francisco. Her first workshop will be dyeing fabric. I would like to attend, but it is on a Friday which is a workday for me. I might have to take a Personal Day!

p.s. I haven't a clue as to what I am going to do with my dyed fabric!

Quilt Island

TAST Cretan Stitch

Embroidery!

Introducing "Ann"

Take a Stitch Tuesday=TAST

Bonnie McCaffrey

Friday the 13th

Chocolate and Pink

On the first day of Christmas...

Merry Christmas!

Tangerine Tango

TAST

Sunday ramble

Quilt Show!

It's A Beautiful Day

Happy Thanksgiving!

Crazy Placemat

Sunday hike in Wolf Neck Park

Another quilt show...

Quilt Show

Santa Fe Sunset

October Blessings

Silk Ribbons

Luana Rubin

Quiltin' and Stitchin'

Maine Quilts 2011

Making Faces!

Summer Fun

One thing leads to another.....

Electric Quilt!

Mystery Trip!

Quilt University

Color

There's a rainbow over the island!

William & Kate

Bill's Hat

Introducing Margaret

Ricky Tims

Mittens and things

Russian quilts

Enjoy!

And a Happy New Year!

Merry Christmas to Dear Daughter

Merry Christmas to DH (and Weasley)

Merry Christmas!

Crazy Quilt

Christmas Tree Skirt

Stirring the pot

Happy Thanksgiving!

More knittin'

Knittin'

Smitten with Mittens

Maine Quilts 2010 redux

Show and Tell

A litle eye candy

Quilt Show

Bowdoinham Historical Society Quilt Show

Placemats

A bolt of "Ocean", please

In the Classroom

How I spent my summer vacation

Sue Nickels

Maine Quilts 2010 -Champagne Preview

Maine Quilts 2010 Stash Report

Maine Quilts 2010

July 30 - August 1 Augusta Civic Center

Spoonflower

America the Beautiful!

Oh, Canada!

The Quilt Show Contest

Strawberries=Summertime!

A little trip

Pat Sloan

Zoe French

Readin' & Roamin'

Redwork fini

Redwork

One if by land, two if by sea

Janet Clement

Happy villages!

July 30 - August 1
Augusta Civic Center