In One Piece

Woo Hoo - I have a whole quilt top - my first ever!!! Well, kind of. I still have to do sashing. The pattern calls for about 6 more, with checkerboards and all kinds of stuff. Not sure I really want to do that much. And of course, I have that color challenge thing going on.

To back pedal a bit, When last I left you, my middle section was 1" shorter than the sides. I hemmed and hawed a bunch, but finally gave in and put Jack to work.

I ended up detaching the center 4 blocks, removing the sashing and re-doing it to add 1/2" to the top and bottom. Then, I reassembled the middle section, and Voila!, everything matched.

Here it is:

Now to pick out sashing….Yikes, I’m beginning to understand the concept of UFO…

I Got BOM’d

If any of you haven't seen the 2012 Christmas Quilt Show - head on over by using the linky button on the left. We have some amazing creative people out there. I don't know about you, but seeing some of those quilts has added about  67 new projects to my list....

Which brings me to my current project...

As I mentioned previously, I am fairly new to all of this.  I was like a kid in a candy store – “I want that, and that, and that,that THAT!”.   One of those “That’s” was learning to applique.  A wise woman (in a quilt store) said “if you want to learn to applique, you should join our BOM class.  I did, so I did.

The quilt is Stitcher's Garden designed by Lynda Howell.  Finished design

Block 1 – Yeah, I am on my way. 

Fast forward 10 months – and I had fallen pretty far behind.  Since each block was a QAYG and a new technique, I found it a tad difficult to keep up, especially when more than 1 block a month was required.  But I was determined to catch up. 

My biggest difficulty was (and is) picking colors, as I couldn’t envision the finished quilt because:

1. I never thought about auditioning or choosing fabrics at the start (this particular BOM runs continuously, and people join throughout the cycle.
2. I had no clue what I was doing
3. I kept finding gorgeous fabrics – I couldn’t help myself.

 

So here is my first audition (on the bed) 

That helped a ton – I started picking colors and moving forward.    2 months later, I had converted my hallway wall upstairs into a design wall. Much better than the bed, and guests are with invited to use my upstairs bathrooms in the hopes that they will tell me what colors will work.  

 

Second audition (on the wall

 

Still not sure I like the position of the blocks, but it’s time to start picking sashing

 

Final Placement, Sashing in Progress

I think I like this arrangement best – It moves the concentration of yellow around.  But Yikes – what is that big greenish block at the top.   Jack (as in – Jack the Ripper” )   will have to be doing some work on that block. 

So, little by little, I have been trying to figure out how to add sashing that will combine all the blocks I made.

I am happy to be joining the BOMS Away linkup.   I think it’s going to keep me from turning this into a UFO.

Thank you for your patience…

Thank you to all of you that stopped to leave comments about my entry to the 2012 Christmas Quilt Show.  If you haven’t had a chance to check it out,  there are some amazing creations.  Use the Linky Button to the right, and you will zoom on over!    I promise you it will get you into the Christmas Spirit.   (I am entry 22) 

As you can tell, I have been playing around with the look of my blog.   It’s basically trial and error (mostly error).  

I promise to leave it alone and focus on some actual blogging!!!  As my boss would say,  “I let perfection get in the way of completion.” 

Coming tomorrow:  a new post about my BOM experience.   As a sneak preview, here is my helper:  Jack

Dashing Through the Snow

I'm so excited!   I just heard about the 2012 Christmas Quilt Show.   Just in time to go from being a blog wallflower to an actual participant!  As luck would have it, I have completed exactly one quilt (2 if you count the ABC class I took, where I made what is now a dog bed).  It just so happens that my quilt is a winter scene, which makes it a perfect fit for the the Christmas Quilt Show.

Be sure to check out the Quilt Show by clicking on   the Christmas Quilt Show  or on the link in the sidebar. 

So here goes:


   This is a quilt I finished this past February.  As you can probably tell,  I loooove machine embroidery.    This quilt was machine embroidered from OESD pattern # 12359. It is a wall hanging measuring 29 1/2" wide x 28" high.   The background is a solid light beige cotton, and the sashing is a solid black cotton.  Everything else is stitched.

 

 It's a bit hard to see the details in the overall picture, so here are some close ups so you can see the stitches. 

 

 
The embroidery was done on 24 individual blocks which were then pieced together, matching the pattern. The snowflake sashing is comprised of 20 additional pieces and 4 cornerstones.   
The horse was over 100,000 stitches.  The one tree was 53,000 stitches
Total stitches for the embroidery was approximately 500,000.

Batting and backing was attached and I did a stitch in the ditch to quilt it all together. Ribbon was attached to mimic window panes. I used a Kona solid in light beige for the background, and a black and gold print for the backing. It took me about 8 weeks to complete (sewing on weekends only).

I hope you like it!

                                                                  

Thanks Without Angst

As a type A personality, this week always marked the start of stress season.  From making the perfect Turkey, to the right hors d'oeuvres, perfect linens, etc, etc, etc.  And to top it off I am blessed with  a family that might as well replace the word "meal" with "drama".

Then 2 years ago, someone told me about their in-laws.  There is actually a family out there who does not stress.  They do not guilt each other into showing up, or excel at one-upmanship.  They simply celebrate the day and invite you to join.  It is up to you whether or not to accept.  Either way, they celebrate.

So I tried it.  "I'm cooking dinner at my house.  You're welcome to join us."  That was it.  It was freeing.  No drama.  Everyone is doing want they want.  Everyone is happy.  I am thankful for my happy family.

And  about that Turkey?  Well, think of it this way.  The worst case scenario is that I will have a total meal disaster and have to order pizza.  I am thankful that no matter what, we will not go hungry this day.  Or any day this week.

And my house will not be perfect.  I will probably have dust somewhere, or forget to perform some crucial act like refinishing  the floors.  But my house will be warm and safe.  I am thankful for that.

And if someone teases me because my linens don't match, I will laugh and be thankful that my mom is still around to help me celebrate this special day.

Happy Thanksgiving.

I hope you laugh today.

Welcome

Hello!  Welcome to my blog.  I'm very new at this, so please bear with me while I stumble through this bloggy stuff.  (I plan to share any insights, and welcome all help.).

I am also fairly new to the world of sewing and quilting.  Well, my mother taught me to sew when I was young, but I strayed, so am not what you would call up to date.  And this quilting thing - I feel like Alice down the rabbit hole.  There's a whole new world I never knew existed!

But I have seen more beautiful and artistic people and creations in this past year than I have seen in a very long time.  Warm people who want to share their art, their knowledge and most of all themselves.  And it all starts with  bits of fabric and thread!

I am most definitely NOT an artist.  But when I sit down at my machine with some of my own fabric and thread, for a little while I feel as though I am.