I Can Finally Share --


I used to quilt a lot but for a number of reasons, I have sort of lost interest in the craft.  However, there is the occasional baby quilt to make and that is what I have been working on the last month or so.  Since I have been learning the English Paper Piecing technique I decided to use that approach to this project.  Now, granted, this project was just squares and the EPP technique was more work that it needed to be but I really did enjoy the accuracy of it and am glad I did it.  Also, I decided to machine quilt the project instead of hand quilting because it is meant to be used and washed and I just thought it would be stronger.  Ok, that sounded good but the real reason was that this was meant to be a baby quilt and not a kindergarten nap map and I wanted to get it done in a reasonable period of time.  If time had not been a concern, I would have hand quilted it to keep it all consistent.

The new baby is a boy and his mom is doing his room in gray, white and turquoise with touches of red so I chose fabrics with those colors.  I also learned something from the Hubs.  As I was connecting the larger sections, I was having a hard time holding everything together to insure the accuracy so he came to my rescue with tiny binder clips.  They worked beautifully and, yes, he isn't getting them back. 

I also did the binding differently than I had ever done before.  I usually bind each side individually and tuck the ends in and secure. This time I was determined to use a continuous binding and I was thrilled that it worked so well.  I will probably do this sort of binding from now on.

So, here are a few of the photos from the project -- I wish I had taken better ones but you will get the idea of how it went.  I was very pleased with the entire project.

I used a paper cutter to cut my paper squares for the English Paper Piecing

Fabric from designer Aneela Hoey -- yes, they are straight pins but I look at them as just a geometic with lots of color

Binder Clips to hold things together

Continuous binding

Nice design on the back from the straight line quilting

Finished product

So, what do you think?

Rollie All Grown Up

I have decided to add a photo of G. Rollie now that he is all grown up. Grown up, indeed, at the ripe old age of 18 months old, he is on a diet. When he came to us at 5 months old he was a robust kitten. Well, he is now a robust adult and tipped the scales at 17 pounds at his last vet visit. The vet wasn't happy and now Rollie is on diet food and precious little of it. I think he has lost an ounce.

At any rate, the photo is of Rollie enjoying one of his many pasttimes -- helping me with my quilting. He also likes to play with knitting needles and a bobbin of embroidery thread isn't safe anywhere near him. Trying to accomplish anything crafty with Rollie in the vacinity is almost impossible yet, he is so funny, I can't get angry or shoo him away.

So, here he is, showing his patriotism by wrapping himself up in the flag quilt I am making for my daughter's classroom. No surprise that it has taken me about 500% longer to applique those 50 stars than it would have without all the help I was getting.

But, at the end of the day, I am going to have to give him credit on the quilt label because he was obviously an active participant.

Gig em', Rollie!

Quilter's Block

I am a quilter. Sort of. I have been quilting for years and years yet my quilts still smack of "beginner". Oh well, that seems to be my comfort zone -- or rut -- whatever. Two years ago my DD asked me to make her a lap quilt in the form of an American flag for her classroom. I pieced together a lovely flag with the correct proportions and everything. Everything but fifty perfectly placed, appliqued stars. When I showed DD the pieced top, expecting squeals of delight, I was met with a dejected, disappointed look -- where were the fifty stars? Well, I cut out the stars, fused them on and I am STILL appliqueing the stupid things on the blue field which wasn't a solid blue field but rather a blue field with, yes, stars.

Ok, so being the sort of person I am -- I am sure there is a name for it -- I really hate starting a new project before I finish an existing one. I am not saying I haven't -- I have made about four or five other quilts while sticking these stars down -- but I don't LIKE to do it. So, during this whole process, I seem to have lost my "edge". I go to the fabric store but I just don't have the drive to buy the fabric -- even for my stash. The fifty stars seem to have sucked the very life out of my creativity. It is very sad.

In an effort to get past the "block" I am experiencing and to do something completely spontaneous, I dragged A to the Bear Creek Quilt Guild show this past weekend. The weather was lovely. The show wasn't so gigantic that you couldn't find your way around the hall because of the crowds. The theme was exciting -- "Four Score and Seven Quilts Ago" -- showcasing Civil War reproduction quilts.

Altogether there were some 400 quilts on display. Large quilts, small art quilts, old quilts -- all very exciting. I could just feel the urge to sew wash over me. It was a great show, a wonderful way to spend an early morning. We were done by lunch, even browsing the vendor booths. And, I managed to bring home a very special pincushion with much personality -- Miss Buttons. I even think A enjoyed looking at the Civil War "stuff" so it was a good time for both of us.

Well, I guess I should get back to those insufferable stars.