Blogger's Quilt Festival - Spring 2011

Yeah! Blogger is finally working again!

A big thank you to Amy for putting together this

Quilt Festival!

Such a wonderful event for all of us to share our quilts. If this is your first time here,

WELCOME!

I hope you like what you see.

I am showing my Leftovers, it's what for dinner quilt

I made this quilt in a class I took at the City Quilter in NYC.

The class was about using all of your orphan blocks

and adding fillers to make a quilt top.

This type of quilt is not new to me,

when I started quilting at 14, my first quilt was

an orphan block quilt using all the blocks I had learned

in a class I took back then.

Then when I saw Victoria's Kitchen Sink quilt,

I was inspired to make another all these MANY years later!

This quilt was SO fun to put together,

It was like a big puzzle. I learned how to do partial seams in the process.

One of my favorite blocks is this toppling tree. And it gets the most press too!
Some of the blocks were given to me by friends . . .

Some I made just for this quilt, and some came from classes that I took

where I only made the one block.

I pieced the back with some mermaid fabric I was given.

I really love a pieced back, kind of makes it two quilts in one!

For the quilting, I used a variegated thread and stitched in the ditch.

That was a bit of a puzzle too. I made it a game to see how far

I could go twisting and turning before I ran into a seam I had already done.

So that is my Leftovers quilt.

I hope you all enjoy the Festival and thanks to Amy!

Sunday Projects #19

What a great sunny weekend!!

Pictures outside!!

I finished my Leftovers quilt today.

The scrappy binding looks wondeful.

I am so pleased with the way this quilt came out.

The back is pieced with a sheet I bought a TJ Maxx.
It is a Ralph Lauren, very soft.
I was worried at first that it might be hard to use,
but after a little finangling, it was fine.
I did get a couple of puckers, but I don't tend to
obsess on those kinds of things.


I had a sewing companion this weekend.

I took care of Mocha this weekend, Gidget's little angel.
This dog is spring loaded and can jump up to my waist!


I knew I needed to tire her out big time.

After an hour long walk, she was toast!

She spent most of the afternoon sleeping in her little bed right behind me while
I finished a few things.
I sewed and cut up a bunch of blocks for
a new disappearing nine patch . . .

And I made a few blocks for Beth who is collecting them

for a quilt to donate to Japan relief.

They were very easy to put together, so if you have some time,

jump over to her blog, see what the specs are,

and pop one or two in the mail to her!

on a another note . . . .

I went to a fundraiser Friday night,

Diana Ross.

We had a wonderful time.

Enjoyed the costumes . . .

The music . . .

Her band . . .

The girl still has got it going on!!

What did you do on this bright sunny first day of spring???

Sunday Projects #17

Lots on the plate today!

It's a crumby, rainy, chilly day here, so it's nice to be tucked

away in the sewing room ignoring everything outside!

Not a great day for taking pictures, the light is very low . . .

I basted my Leftovers quilt. I used pins this time instead of the spray,

and I think I like this method better, especially since I am

stitching in the ditch, so there is lots of twisting and turning.

I have been randomly picking seams to quilt,

trying hard not to have to back track over seams.

It is like a puzzle or game to figure out a route that will cover as much

territory as possible, and not have to end the seam line too early.

I think I should have named this quilt the puzzler. Haha!

When my shoulders started to cramp up, I switched to another project.

I was given a lovely piece of suede a while ago and wasn't sure what I would do with it.

I bought some leather needles yesterday to see if my machine could really

sew the leather.

I made a little wallet, like the ones I made here.

It only has the one pocket,

I think I can only sew through two layers

of suede at a time.

This was very easy to make since it is really

just top stitching the two pieces together.

Maybe I'll see if I can figure out a staggering

method, so I can have two or three pockets.

It's very soft and fun.

I am also working on finishing my log cabin Aloha quilt!

I had dropped this quilt off a Roxanne's Quilter's Alley

a few weeks ago . . .

We picked out a leafy pattern that worked really well for this quilt.
Roxanne did a fabulous job on the quilting. Thanks Roxanne!

I love getting a quilt back from the long-armer!

Feels like instant gratification!

Just putting on the binding now.

So what are you working on today?

14 more days until spring!

Sunday Projects #15

Another chilly Sunday!

I did go for a nice long walk with a friend down by the water.

Nice to catch up and get some fresh air at the same time.

I did a very little bit of cleaning . . .

Some laundry . . .

I even went to the grocery store! hahaha.

Then I crawled up to the attic and finished off this beauty!

I am calling this quilt,

"Leftovers, it's what's for dinner"

I am very pleased with how this top turned out.

I think I will keep the quilting simple and stitch in the ditch.

I also tidied up my scrap bin, it was over flowing!

Over at NYC Metro Mod blog, we are being encouraged
to show our sewing spaces.

If you pop over there, you can see where everyone in this group sews!


What were you up to this Sunday?

Color

I don't know about you, but I am craving colors these days!

Some new yarns I bought for another blanket.

This blanket is almost done, and I loved doing it,
so another one is in the works . . . .

The towels at Target grabbed my eye . . .

Some new fabrics I had to have . . .

(I only bought 1/4 yards, trying to behave!)

I treated myself to some rain boots.

I have a really hard time finding ones that fit over my rather

luscious calf muscles . . . hehehe

And of course this wonderful quilt top

has been giving me lots of color inspiration!

Hoping to finish piecing this baby tomorrow!

Where do you find your color inspirations??

Sunday Projects #14

A great Sunday for sewing!

I am now working on a new quilt for a class

I am taking at the City Quilter.

The class is about using your orphan blocks and creating a unique quilt top.

After I saw Victoria's kitchen sink quilt,

(boy she is getting alot of ink, um pixels here this weekend! hehehehe)

I was very interested in learning how design and make this kind of quilt.

This is what I laid out in the classroom.

Judy, our teacher, gave me quite a few of her

orphan blocks to add in.

Just makes it that much more fun!

(This picture keeps loading on it's side . . . )

Hahaha. now I can't change the font size back.

I hope you can all see well enough to read this.

I so need a cute techie to help me with this stuff!

At my house I have a design floor, not wall, so not as easy to move things around.

So, (thank goodness, back to larger type.)

I started to put it together and it was a challenge I have to say.

I put together areas that seemed to be easier to piece first.

As I went to more difficult intersections,

I kinda of ripped the design all apart

and started rearranging.

I have been piecing filler strips and areas,

adding colorful fabric to make things a tad bigger.

It's a bit like playing tetris! I was pretty good at that,

not 14 year old boy good at it, but good enough.

So this is how it looks today,

I'm sure it is going to change as I piece it.

I'll keep you "posted."

Sometmes I crack myself up!

Hope you had a creative Sunday!