Quilt Gallery Contest

I couldn't resist entering the weekly contest over at the Quilting Gallery again this week.  The theme is People or Faces and I entered the wallhanging I made for Tom called "Some Things Change".

I've blogged about it before and you can read the story in this post.

It's still one of my favorite quilts.  If you like it too I'd appreciate your vote. Thanks so much.   My quilt is the next to last one.  If you don't see it you will need to go to "view" in your browser and change your text setting to medium and not large.

Frosty

This week's contest theme at the Quilting Gallery is Snowmen.  I made this little wallhging in 2003.  It's called "Frosty".  It's my original pattern.  I gave him 3-D snowballs (pom-poms) to juggle and did some sponge painting on the tree.  It's still one of my favorites.  Go on over to Quilting Gallery to vote for your favorite.  It doesn't have to be mine.  There are some really cute quilts this week.

Stop and Smell the Roses

I've fallen a little behind the pace hand quilting my Dutch Treat #2 due to some doctor appointments and other interruptions.  I have three more blocks left to finish on row #10.  I've tried to do two rows a week and had been keeping that up until the last week.  But with only 4 more rows after this one to do, I still hope to finish it, including designing, appliqueing and quilting the borders before year end---  "hope" being the key word.

I've also worked on a few other things in the last week.  Block 3 of Raggedy and Friends

Block 4 has already been posted so I need to get started on it.

I've worked on a couple of other projects that I can't share just yet.

And last but not least I helped Tom with a project.  A couple months ago he spotted some black flowers at Wal-mart and came home with them, a couple yards of fabric and an idea for a Halloween wall hanging he wanted to make.  Little by little he got it designed and pieced.  Yesterday he had testing done to confirm the need for carpal tunnel surgery on his right wrist and he finally realized he wasn't going to be able to quilt it himself, at least not if it was to be done by THIS Halloween.  So he surprised me by asking me if I'd quilt it for him (he does not usually appreciate my offers to help).  I quilted it yesterday afternoon and put the finishing touches on this morning. 

Here's his Halloween Art quilt called "Stop and Smell the Roses"

Since he wanted a curved edge I suggested a "birthing" method of finishing the edge.  That allowed me to roll a bit of the contrasting back to the front and stitch in the ditch to give the appearance of a very narrow piping.  I like the effect.  It did present a bit of a challenge to deal with the bit of extra fabric on the front from doing this but I was able to quilt it in.   

Kind of cute, don't you think?  Happy Halloween!



More Flowers

Saturday I put together another silk flower and tulle wall hanging. It has yet to be personalized for the recipients.

This picture taken without flash shows the quilting a little better, but mutes the colors

And this picture of the back taken before it was trimmed and bound almost looks like a whole cloth doesn't it?

Happy Birthday, Mom!

My mother turned 80 today.

This was taken in 1947, a year after I was born, and is one of my favorite pictures of her.

This was taken in March of this year.

I made this quilted birthday card for her earlier this week.

And sent her this quilt made last year. It's called "Bouquet of Roses" and reminded me of her from the moment I made it. These are definitely her colors and she sounded tickled to receive it.

We aren't able to attend her celebration in Iowa today but send our love and wishes for many, many more healthy birthdays.

My Student

Next month I'm going to be teaching a workshop for my guild on wall hangings made from silk flowers and tulle. Tom thought he wanted to see if he could make one, so Monday he began a project.

Here he is pressing his fabric for the background, borders and backing.


Sewing his background and borders. He really likes my little Featherweight.



Selecting the flowers to use

And arranging them

Layered with tulle and batting and ready to quilt

This was a busy week for us, so he wasn't able to start quilting until Wednesday

He finished the quilting yesterday

I bound it for him this morning (that's his least favorite part of the quilting process and I've convinced him there is no shame in letting someone else do it for you).

Didn't it turn out nice?

It's a Christmas present for his mother. Hope she doesn't read this before she gets it!

Tom thinks if he can do this, then anyone can. Hope the students next month feel the same.

Here's a link to projects made by people I've taught in the past

And some of the many I've made

Chicken Dance

I finally decided today what I was going to do for our guild's challenge which is due at next month's meeting. Each year we get a fat quarter in our membership packet and we are required to use a recognizable piece of it in our challenge project. Every year the challenge is something different. Last year we made new portrait blocks.

This year we were challenged to make a finished quilt that had at least one 3-D element made from fabric (didn't have to be the challenge fabric). The finished measurements could not be less than 12" nor bigger than 18".

I've really struggled coming up with an idea and finally thought I had one only to change my mind again this morning. Last week while sorting through some UFO's I found a leftover from doing this wall hanging in 2006:

It's called "Boots Rooster and Sunbonnet Chick". When I made Chick the first time I didn't allow enough room for Boots on the left. So I had to start all over. That left me with a completely appliqued Chick that I wasn't about to throw out.

So this morning I decide it would be perfect for this challenge...being half done and all...sounded good to me. I added another wing to balance her out a bit and then she looked like she might be doing the Chicken Dance.

Since I love Sunbonnet Sue, have chickens all over my kitchen and lived most of my life in Iowa where I don't think a marriage is official if the Chicken Dance isn't performed, it seemed like a perfect fit. I just added some yo-yos to the bottom of her skirt for my 3-D element. And the challenge fabric was used for the binding.

Now any fellow guild members that might be reading know what I've made, but it doesn't matter much since everyone has seen Boots & Chick and would recognize it anyway.

Can you tell there is actual netting for her hose?

And guess what I received in today's mail..another siggy with Sunbonnet Sue! Thanks, Layla.

Thunder and a spattering of rain rolled through a bit ago. Just a couple miles north in Frontenac it rained like everything. Crazy.

Cindy's Baskets

Not a lot of quilting or sewing going on here lately it seems. But I did get this cute little wall hanging quilted yesterday.

Now if only it was mine! It was made by my friend, Cindy. She always does a spectacular job of piecing. It was fun quilting it for her and I hope she likes what I did.

This quilt was on the cover of Fons and Porter's magazine in 2007 and she bought the kit from them.

Trying To Be Geta

I keep forgetting to post a picture of my one lonely April finish thus far. I finally worked up courage to try my friend Geta's shadow trapunto technique. I learned a lot but I will never approach the level of expertise she has attained.

You can go to her blog and see how the technique should be done. I should have used thicker batting for the trapunto layer.

I should have remembered to use invisible thread for the outline quilting of the trapunto areas.

And next time I think I will try silk thread for the stippling.

The little piece measures 7" square.

It was fun but how I wish I had Geta's skill. I could spend hours drooling over her work.

By the way..I'm also not good enough to have drawn this design..Geta shared it with me. What a good friend she is to me!!

Joe Cool

Sherry commented on the little wallhanging I posted yesterday and asked for a pattern source. Since her account is set to "no reply" I have to answer her here. That's okay as maybe some more of you are wondering the same thing.

The pattern was called "Joe Cool in 1959" and I purchased it from Close Encounterpanes. Chris Gilman, the designer, also has the button I mentioned for sale.

Hope more of you will have fun making this pattern for someone you know. And be sure and check out the policeman version.

Christmas Wallhangings

Some of my favorite wallhangings made in past years.

2006:

2004

"Chillin' With Sue" Original pattern except for Skater Sue

Chennile Snowman



2003
"Frosty..a.k. Fumpity" Original pattern

juggling 3-D snowballs

"Santa In The Trees"

Original 3-D Santa block
"All Tangled Up"