Liberated!

I sometimes find it amusing how affected I am by the seasons .... I guess we all are to some degree.  I am not saying I have Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) - but Spring and Summer definitely changes my quilting palette a bit.  With Spring finally here (although we could use some warmer temps!) and the flowers blooming, the grass turning green again, the dreaded danelions everywhere!... I find my worktable covered with less of the subdued tones of reproduction fabrics and more of THIS!

Doesn't this just scream Spring and FUN??!!

I have been working on my Liberated Log Cabin blocks.  They are so much fun and very liberating!!  This is from Gwen Marston's book Liberated Quilmaking II.  "Liberated" because Gwen's technique shows you how to design blocks without templates or patterns.  Yahoo - lots of fun!

My blocks start with a 4" four patch block... you can cut this either straight or wonky.. up to you!

Next I added strips around the 4" block.. any size, doesn't matter - totally up to you!  I tried to make these strips all the same fabrics.  Then I trimmed this block down to a wonky shape... size doesn't really matter! 

The next round is done this same way - this time I used two different fabrics.  Again, any size.  I think I cut my strips from 1 1/2" to 3" wide - just to give you an idea.  And again, trimmed the block to a wonky shape with my ruler and rotary cutter.  Very liberating, indeed!

The final round is done with all different fabrics - so much fun!

Finally the completed block is cut down to a 12 1/2" block.  This too is cut wonky - as you can see by the way my 12 1/2" ruler is placed on the block. 

Done!  Now onto the next one. Fast, Easy, and Fun!

 

Wait until you see the blocks all sew together.  All different, each one unique!

 

And this quilt is on my 2014 UFO list.. so I can sew and cut without any guilt! LOL

 

I hope you find some liberation in your quilting today!

 

Deb

Linking up this week at Linky Tuesday, Let's Be Social, and WIP Wednesday.  Stop by to see what other quilters are creating this week!  You might find some inspiration!
Also linking up at the Small Blog Meet at Lily's Quilts - stop by and meet some new friends!

 

Rainbow Scrap Challenge - April Blocks

I have been a little busy around here and at work lately.. unfortunately not all of it has been quilting related.  But I did want to post my April blocks for my Rainbow Scrap Stash Challenge.  The color for this month is purple.

I really like this block pattern - it allows me to use several fabrics in the color of the month and it still is a simple, fresh look.  The blocks are on top of the quilt on our bed, which is large purple tulip blocks.

Have a great weekend.  Hope you get lots of stitching done!  I am looking forward to the RSC color for May!

To take a look at the other quilter's purple projects - head over to So Scrappy for the Rainbow Scrap Challenge party!

Happy Stitching!

Deb

Happy Easter and a Free Download!

I wanted to do a quick post to say Happy Easter to those of you celebrating this weekend!  Spring is finally in the air.  Even though we got snow this week - but we won't talk about that. 

14 inch pillows

I made these really cute Easter pillows a couple of years ago.  They were so much fun - I made three!  The carrot center is paper pieced from a pattern by Deb Karasik.  She has the pattern on her web site as a free download.  I have included a link below.

http://www.debkarasik.com/userfiles/file/crazy_carrot.pdf

After completing the paper pieced carrots, I just added fabrics around the outside until I got to the desired size.  I added some machine quilting and some big stitch hand quilting and I was done.  Easy - peasey!!

16 inch pillow

I hope you enjoy your holidays and Spring!!

Lucy decided she wanted to make my Easter table topper into a comfortable bed for herself. 

Happy Easter!

Deb

Zero Calorie Birthday Treats!

I celebrated my birthday this past Saturday.  And while it is not something I usually jump up and down about... this was a very nice birthday. 

My DH told me he would take me anywhere I wanted to go.... (that could be big trouble!) - within a reasonable driving distance.  After much debate (a whole week's worth actually! LOL) I decided we should take a drive to one of my favorite quilt shops - Pennington Quilt Works.  LOVE this shop and don't get down there very often.  After a beautiful drive on a wonderful Spring day, we arrived and my DH went about occupying himself (he's such a great guy!) while I shopped and shopped.  Ahhh..... such beautiful fabrics in an amazing store. 

Here are some of the birthday treats that I picked up while there.  Can you believe that most of these fabrics were in the sale room??  Who would have guessed??  



$2 fat quarters!

 And.... they also offer a birthday discount.  I was in heaven! 

We also went to one of my favorite restaurants for dinner and my husband surprised me with a delicious chocolate cake.  Did he bake it himself, you ask?  No, but he was sweet enough to hang up this Happy Birthday sign ... and made sure there were not too candles on the cake! LOL

 

You could say I was spoiled!

 

Have a good week.. I am going to fondle fabric...

 

Happy Stitching!

 

Deb

I'm Late... I'm Late...

I'm Late.. I'm Late...   But unlike White Rabbit from Alice In Wonderland, I don't think I am too late!

Sometimes it takes me awhile to catch on.. LOL.  (no comments please!)  But this week I decided to join the Rainbow Scrap Challenge 2014 at Angela's So Scrappy blog.  I like the idea of working on a project for an entire year.  Like the Sweet Hearts I did in 2013.  This challenge is a bit different in that you make a block, or whatever you choose, in the color of that month.  Colors are chosen by Angela at the beginning of each month!  Now the only problem with this challenge... is that I don't have a lot of scraps.  Shhhh... I know that is against the Quilters Code of Conduct! LOL.  So I have decided to change it a bit and make mine the Rainbow Stash Challenge 2014.  All the fabrics for this quilt will come only from my stash.. no purchasing fabric (at least for this project!).

So I started earlier this week.  I chose an offset Log Cabin block and will make the same block in different colors through the year.  January's color was dark blue.  

February's color was pink.  I am trying to use my more modern/contemporary fabrics for these blocks.  I think they lend themselves very well to update this pattern.

Finally, I finished these blocks yesterday with March's color: Teal.  I love the fresh look of these blocks!

April's color is Purple.  Which happens to be one of my favorite colors!  Oh this is going to be fun!! 

Each week we can link up at the RSC2014 linky party to show our blocks.  I look forward to joining the party!

Happy Stitching!

Deb

Happy Birthday Postcard!

My girlfriend Kathy, who lives in New Mexico, had a birthday last week.  We don't get to see each other nearly enough with that much country between New Jersey and New Mexico!

 I wanted to show you the fabric postcard I made for her.  Doesn't it looks delicious? It is definitley a no calorie treat! 

I couldn't post this earlier, since she reads my blog. These fabric postcards are really a lot of fun to make! ... and really fun to recieve! 

Happy Birthday, Kath!

Miss Suzi (our black and white kitty) had a birthday yesterday.  While it's not proper to tell a lady's age... shhhhh... she's 13!

 

Happy Stitching!

 

Deb

 

Linking up at Let's Be Social