Sunday, September 29, 2013

Fall is in the air.....

You don't have to feel it in the air, but you know when Fall is here because all the adorable Fall decorations are out in the stores, at the craft fairs and in everyone's yards.
 
I went to the Weekend in the Country Fair in Davisburg, MI at Springfield Oaks.  It is a vintage and craft fair and I found myself some adorable decorations.

 
I got the old rusty bed spring to hold my white gourd and the adorable steam punk doll from The Charmed Gourd. They have a blog by the same name AND an Etsy shop.    I think she is adorable. 
 
Later  I will show you the great pumpkin wall hanging I bought, but first I have to hang it. 
 
This week was busy getting quilts ready for the long arm.  There are four ready to go.  Tops, batting, backings and bindings are all set to go. 
 
 Two of these quilts are for my daughter for the new grandson we will be seeing sometime between now and hopefully by the 11th of October.  That's his due date anyways.  But as you all know, babies come when they are ready to come. 
 
I have two hounds tooth quilts to quilt, the Fancy That quilt (all seen on previous posts) and I just finished machine appliqueing down the words on the "Life Cycle" quilt.  I hope you don't find this one offensive as the original quilt on the Moda website was "Eat; Play; Sleep; Repeat"; but if you have ever been around a baby, you know my version is probably a little more true to life.
 
 
Oh well, it's my sense of humor and I think my daughter will appreciate it. 
 
So, hopefully tomorrow I will be getting started on quilting these on the long arm.
 
Then from here on out, the only other thing I will be working on is the wedding quilt for my son and soon to be daughter-in-law.  Nothing like waiting until the last minute.  That wedding is October 26.
 
I have to get busy.  Thanks for stopping by.
 

Wednesday, September 18, 2013

First quilt off the longarm.....

I have to say...this quilt has been off the rails for a little while and I felt so disappointed with it that I stuck it away. But...I have three quilts that need to go on there like NOW, so I got it back out to put the binding on and it didn't look as bad as I thought.
 
 
I used the "popcorn" panto on it.  Here is a close up.
 
 
I used a busy backing, not only because I liked the fabric, but I thought it would hide any problems that I may have created when quilting it.
 
 
I used white Omni thread on this but that was probably because I didn't have anything else here that would go.  If I had it to do over again, I might have used yellow or a light/med. gray. 
 
This quilt was a result of seeing someone's b/w/red scrappy quilt and I thought I would make it with my b/w stash. Well, that stash wasn't as big as I thought so I went to a shop that was closing and bought a bunch of black and white fabrics.  I CUT THEM ALL UP and sewed them into strips. ...(I don't recommend this).  I made a queen-sized b/w/red quilt; this b/w/yellow lap quilt and I have a bag full of b/w strips all sewn together  that will wait until I am no longer sick of black and white.  I plan on ....in the future...putting those strips together with turquoise or chartreuse.  We will see.
 
So...now on to the three quilts that need to go on the longarm pronto!!!
 
 
 


Saturday, September 14, 2013

Wenge Woodworks

Hi everyone!  This isn't quilt related, but I wanted to share my talented son's first ever art fair booth that is taking place this weekend in Ferndale, MI.
 
He makes beautiful wood bracelets, most of which are his original designs.
 
 
Along with his beautiful bracelets, he, also, has handmade string of wired light fixtures and a hand bent, ultra modern wood lamp w/shade that he is making a limited edition (10....original design). 
 
 
 
 
As soon as the fair is over, he will be opening his Etsy account.
 
 
Please check them out.  They are gorgeous.....if I do say so myself.  :D
 
They would make beautiful gifts.
 
Many women were looking at them for their husband's, too, since many people thought that these were made out of leather.  So, there is a thought for a gift for a guy who likes something different. 
 
Thanks for taking a look. 
 

Sunday, September 8, 2013

"Fancy That"....

I had a sewing marathon today.
 
I cut this quilt out a week or so ago.  It's called  Fancy That.
 
Last night I laid out all the pieces to organize the colors.
 
 
Before heading off to bed, I pinned a few of the pieces together along with using my Marilee numbered pins to number the rows.
 
 
My sewing marathon started at 6:00 this morning and by the end of my day, I had a completed quilt top.
 
 
This is a great quilt for showcasing those fabrics that you love, but don't want to cut up.  It's pretty easy and a fun, contemporary quilt. I have been wanting to do a yellow and gray quilt and when I saw my friend Ruthie over at http://threadsofmine.blogspot.com/  do this quilt at one of our retreats, I knew I had to have it.  I am not usually a contemporary quilt maker, but I do like this quilt.  It's so light and refreshing. 
 
I think I can see this quilt in Christmas fabrics, too.  But for now, I have way too many other things on my plate to think about that....but you never know!
 
Next.....another baby quilt for my daughter. 
 
 
 
 


Monday, September 2, 2013

Rushing the process.....

...is not always a good idea.
 
As of last night, I had nine of the 15 rows sewn together.
 
 
I was doing one block at a time (9-patch) because when I made this pattern before I did it in rows and when it was completed, it was a bit wonky even though I thought I was doing right by stitching in the opposite direction for each row. 
 
Here is the original (baby blue) quilt top.
 
 
 
So, I decided to do that last six rows (although in 9-patch form) by chain piecing.  Here they are all pinned and ready to be stitched. 
 
 
But as dizzy-ing as these  blocks are,  my first attempt was not the best.
 
 
See my mistakes (yes, there are more than one!) in those two blocks up there?  See how easy it is to put this together and not see it until it is done?  "sigh"
 
So I did some ripping.
 
 
OK, now they are right.
 
So from there, I did chain piece, but only one block at a time.
 
So here is my completed top.
 
 
Now I am going to go and check to see if I have anything for a backing for both of these quilts.  I am going to practice on the blue and then I am going to do the charcoal. 
 
I'll let you see once these two are done. 
 
Thanks for following my "process"!!!
 
 
 


Michigan quilters, take note

  Come see us at our first Quilter's to Quilter's sale.   Don't know what that is?  Well, it will be 28 quilters/vendors selling...