Camp Kieve and more

Earlier this month my quilt group, Back Roads, went to Camp Kieve again for a retreat. This is what I worked on. This is a kit I bought at Whippersnappers. I had been looking at this quilt on the wall of the shop since the summer and I decided it would be a great project for the retreat. I cut the fabric before leaving and it was very simple to sew. Lots of half square triangles and flying geese units made with the square on a rectangle, trim and flip method. I got the rows all sewn together on the second day. 

My other quilt group, Tacoma Lakes, is having a sew-in/pot luck on Wednesday. I am going to take this quilt and sew the two borders. I'll have to find a second project to work on as those borders will take no time at all. Love the colors and large flowers in this quilt. It is going to hang on the wall in my living room. 

While at the retreat, a group of us made a trip to Mainely Sewing quilt shop in Nobleboro. All the rulers were on sale so I bought two Deb Tucker rulers. I bought a square squared ruler and a V block ruler.  When I got home I played around with them and they are really remarkable. So easy to use and very accurate results. The blocks are made a bit larger and trimmed with the ruler.

 Wow, so accurate! The directions are easy to follow and she has videos for extra help. Watching the videos first will let you understand the directions quite readily.

Here's my practise block with the patches using both rulers.

Then I went to town with other fabrics. I made 5 inch squares for this 15 inch block. I don't really want to make this into anything just yet. Maybe I will make more blocks from my stash and have a scrappy quilt someday. I do like practising techniques. 

We are making fidget quilts for Alzheimer's patients in the Tacoma group. We had a workshop and people brought in lots of odds and ends to share. The fidget quilts are meant to sit in someone's lap and have lots of different textures to feel and things to play with. 

I made a little book of fleece. There is an eyelash fabric, lace, and ball fringe. I've also sewn in a shiny brocade, navy blue fringe, some tassle fringe, and a piece of fur that is sewn on the two ends and is open in between so you can slide your hand in to cuddle the fur. 

This little pocket is something that has been kicking around for years. I think it may have been a tooth fairy pocket at one time. I attached a little stuffed kitty that I made years ago, too. It can be tucked into the pocket. 

I did some all over quilting and bound the edges by folding the backing over to the front. We were told to not make these quilts pretty as they are going to a nursing home. Sadly, members who have made quilts for loved ones in nursing homes have found that their pretty quilts get stolen and are never seen again. My quilt is certainly not pretty!

I bought this bird panel at Maine Quilts one or two years ago. I never got around to making it into a wall hanging until this weekend. I cued up Season 2 of the Great British Bake Off on my YouTube playlist and had a blast. I would like to enter this in the Back Roads quilt show in October, so I will get this one completed!

Happy Quilting!

Who's on your committee? Jane Dunnewold shares her thoughts

I love her last line: It is a privilege to be an artist on the planet.

You can see Jane's website here http://www.janedunnewold.com/

Cabin Fever Anyone?

We sure have had a lot of snow this winter. Recently DH brought these snowshoes down from the attic for me to use. My old snowshoes (the kind with the vinyl) had fallen apart and these were left here by my brother-in-law, so I decided to give them a try. So much fun and so good for getting outdoors after being cooped up in the house for too long. We have so many beautiful sunny days here in Maine. Despite the cold, the sky is bright blue and the snow is sparkling white. Dazzling! Don't forget your sunglasses.

Breaking the trail was a good workout. I make a big loop in the backyard. This weekend DH and I donned skis/snowshoes and went out for the morning through the woods. Whew, it was a great workout. 

Meanwhile, back in the sewing laboratory...here's my busy design wall. I finished month 1 and 2 of the Lynette Anderson BOM on The Quilt Show. Still a bit of embroidery to do on the center panel. I keep forgetting to do it. I used Misty Fuse, which is a very lightweight adhesive for my applique leaves and flowers. I think this piece could be a wall hanging at this stage, don't you? I will continue on with the BOM, however. There will be 12 inch pieced and appliqued blocks around this part, but month 3 has us making the strip above those blocks first. This strip features a crazy pieced heart in the center with flowers made of tiny hexagons on the sides of the heart. I don't really like it that we are making this piece before we do the blocks. I'm not sure mine will fit but the strip is cut extra long to allow for small differences. Month 4 will be a similar banner strip only on the bottom of the quilt. Fun so far and this month won't be so time consuming...at least I don't think so!

To the right of the BOM is the beginnings of my Tacoma challenge banner. We are making a vertical banner 6 inches wide by 60 inches long. Each person has a particular season and colors. I got Summer and the colors are red, orange, and purple. It is coming along and I really like it. 

Yesterday I visited friends in Rockland. We went out for lunch and afterwards we visited a fabric shop on Main Street called Clementine. Not strictly speaking a quilt shop, more of a fabric shop with some uncommon fabrics and patterns. Yes, there are some quilt fabrics but there is more than that. As their website says: Supplies to create your handmade wardrobe, do some home decorating, make a unique event, or craft the perfect gift. 

They have a line of lovely Maine yarn and a selection of nice ribbons and trims. I bought this cotton lace that I will probably dye, organza ribbon (it was difficult to choose which color), and this cream ribbon with a little textured dot. 

Clementine's carries laminated fabric, Amy Butler's 56 inch wide fabrics, lawn, voile, and the fabric that Judith Baker Montano (crazy quilting queen) created called Radiance. That was a big surprise to me as I have only ever seen it in one other store. It is a cotton and silk blend and comes in many beautiful colors. Its hand is just lovely and the sheen is luscious. At $17.95 per yard it is not cheap but compared to silk it is a good price. 

Clementine's has a bin by the counter that is filled with free fabric. Yes, free! Bits and pieces of upholstery and drapery fabric. I brought home this piece of upholstery fabric. So good to get something for free, isn't it? 

I held back on buying more because I am going on the Back Roads quilt retreat to Camp Kieve this weekend. Hurrah! We will be going to Mainely Sewing in Nobleboro, I'm sure, so I will save my fabric purchases for then. 

Happy Stitching!