Playing with Baskets

Yesterday I decided to pull out these basket blocks that I have had for quite a while to THINK about putting this quilt together.  The receipt in the bag with the pattern, my finished blocks, and fabrics says November 2008.  Don't ya think it's time???  

This is a quilt pattern by Lori Smith, From My Heart to Your Hands, called Four Seasons: Spring Blooms.  The blocks are 7 1/2" x 7 1/2" finished. 

 I saw it at my LQS and had to make it.  Here is the photo of the original quilt from the front of the pattern. 

First I started playing around with the layout of my blocks.  Hmmm.. what would they look like without that green sashing? And with the little baskets around the sides, rather than in the middle?  Hmmmm.  I kind of like the busy-ness of this.

Then I cut some sashing strips and put them up on my design wall with the little baskets, like the original pattern.  Hmmmm.  Very soothing.

I have only made 4 of those green leaf appliques for the corners (see pattern photo) and probably will not use them after all. 

What if I added some green setting triangles with the little baskets?  Of course now I would have to make more little baskets. :-)  Green would also be used in the corners.

I even threw the border fabric up on the design wall to take a look...

Seems that I have created a design dilemma for myself...  What do you think?  I always appreciate feedback from my blog friends!

I have continued to quilt the red and white Oak and Reel quilt.  I am really loving hand quilting at night while watching TV.

Just a quarter inch around my design and in the triangles.  Next decision will be how to quilt the borders. 

Decisions, decisions, decisions.. I love it!

Happy Stitching,

Deb

Linking up at Kathy's Quilts on Sunday Slow Stitching. 

Happy Labor Day Monday - Mini Giveaway!

I've been enjoying some time at home this week for an extended Labor Day weekend.  It's been nice to spend time in my studio everyday.. just doing what I want.  I don't have pictures of a lot of what I worked on....

 But on Friday I basted my red Oak & Reel quilt together.  Here is the quilt on the floor in my studio.. along with my basting thread.  I hate basting.  It is where my quilting process falls apart.  But I am happy to say I got 'er done.

 Thankfully tropical storm Hermine moved away from the coast and we had a perfect day yesterday.  Blue skies, low humidity.  It was the perfect day to sit on the deck and do some slow stitching.   I have decided to hand quilt this wall hanging....  I have not hand quilted something this large in a long, long time.  Wonder how many years this will take! LOL.  Right now I am loving the process and hope to spend part of this Labor Day doing more of this. 

I have always used Coats & Clark quilting thread.  Barb over at Fun with Barb uses Guterman.  So yesterday when I was in Jo Ann Fabrics I picked up a spool of natural.  I really do like this thread.  

Hilda at Every Stitch uses YLI.  I will have to look for that when I have the chance.

Thanks, for the recommendations Barb and Hilda! 

What quilting thread do you use for hand quilting? .. if you hand quilt.  Leave a comment below on your thread preference and you could win 2 spools of Gutermann quilting thread (white & natural) to try.

Someone on Instagram asked about my quilting thimble.  It is by Thimblelady.  The dimples are on the side  which makes it easier (for me anyway) to quilt without putting all the pressure on your fingertip and a more relaxed position for your hand.  While I have yet to master her technique, it is much better for my arthritic hands. :-) 

Lucy is taking the day off and is just going to relax.  She works so hard the other 364 days of the year.....

Hope you get some time to relax today and do some happy stitching!

Giveaway closes this Friday at midnight EDT.  Winner will be announced on Sunday, September 11th.  Good luck!

Deb

Absence

I'm sorry I have been so absent from blogging lately.  I know some of you have asked where I have been...well I have been here quietly stitching and trying to get things done.  It has been a busy time of year both at work and at home, but I do apolgize for my absence.  

I also have been having trouble uploading photos from Picasa to Blogger or trying to get Google Photos to work.  Is anyone else experiencing these problems?  VERY frustrating.. and what's the point of a quilting blog if I can't show pictures of what I am working on?  Some days I just turn off the computer in frustration and just walk away so I can do more stitching. :-)

Now let me try to bring you up to date on some of the things I have been working on.

 

I finally ... and I really mean FINALLY, finished the applique on my Uncle Sam's Hat table runner and am now working on machine quilting it. 

This came from a  rug design from Minick & Simpson that was in a June 2010 article in BH&G Quilting.  So I have been working on this on and off for 6 years.   Yeeezzz.. time to get it done!

Maybe I can get it done for this July 4th holiday.

I also finished the applique on the red Oak & Reel quilt.  I love the addition of the birds that I made, love seeing birds in quilts. I was going to add a print border to this however, I realized it would make it too large to hang on the wall in my dining room.  So I had to make a decision on the size.  While I usually don't like making design decisions based on where something will 'fit', in this case it made sense.  I will enjoy it much more on the wall than folded on a chair. 

Here is the fabric, Tree of Life my Mary Kovel, that would have been used for the border.  It now will be on the back of the quilt. 

So here are two things I am working on.  If I can get the photo/blogger issues resolved I will be back with more!  But for now, enjoy your weekend!  And if anyone has any suggestions or info on how you edit and upload your photos - I'm all ears!!

If you are on Instagram, you can also see photos of what I am working on.  Follow me there under quiltingartist. 

Happy Stitching!

Deb

NJ Quilt Fest and Update

I have been away from blogland for a little over a week.  I have tried to keep up with some of your posts at least.. but I  haven't always been successful.  It's been a busy week here will all three cats sick with some sort of virus the vet can't identify... but has kept us busy running the kitty infirmary and trips to the vet.  Hopefully we are on the recovery end of this journey, although Gracie seems to be the hardest hit and still is not eating and drinking like she should. 

In the meantime, I have been working on my red and white Oak & Reel quilt.  I decided to add birds to the borders and also the year.  Jury is still out on whether I will add my initials.

Last weekend my husband offered to take me to the The Quilt and Sewing Fest of NJ, about an hour from our house.  He is such a great husband!  Here are a couple of things that I picked up there.  Love this Colorful Daisies pattern for a wool candle mat.  Also got that hand dyed bright green wool for the background.  I also found a cute airplane fabric for a baby quilt that I want to make for a girlfriend at work who is expecting a boy in June.  

So grab a cup of tea and I will share some of the awesome quilts I saw at the show.  These were from an exhibit of the top winners at the recent Mid-Atlantic Quilt Festival.

Beautiful quilt, Ode to Spring, by Margaret Solomon Gunn

This is made of silk.  Amazing, no?

Close up of dragonfly and incredible quilting.

Elizabeth's Garden - A Tale of a Thousand Threads by Elizabeth Frolet

This quilt was truly amazing and the pictures don't do it justice!

A few of my favorite blocks, although it was so hard to choose.  Look at the details on this quilt.. the embroidery of threads, needles, etc. was amazing.

No wonder it won two ribbons at the Mid-Atlantic Quilt Festival. You really have to see it in person.

Quintal Vases by Becky Brown of Montpelier, VA

Her applique was amazing and I really liked those pieced stems.

This won for Best Hand Workmanship - Traditional

Moonflower by Molly Hamilton-McNally. Another first place winner for Innovation.

Another beautiful quilt by Margaret Solomon Gunn.  Gorgeous work!

Silk Road Sampler by Melissa Sobotka from Richardson, TX

I think this was my absolute favorite!  Yes, this is a quilt.  Even my husband was blown away by this one.

It is all raw edge applique.  The colors and imagery are amazing.

This was Best of Show at the Mid-Atlantic Quilt Festival.  Well deserved. 

Hope you enjoyed seeing these amazing quilts.  There was also many, many beautiful quilts in show that I was not able to show you.  So many talented quilters! 

Next week will be the AQS show in Lancaster, PA.  I have not made it to this show in a couple of years.  I am so looking forward to this one!

Happy Stitching!

Deb 

Traditional and Modern Mix for Post #200!

So this is my 200th post!  Yay!..Hooray!...Thank you! 

I tried to think of something really creative to mark this (albeit small) milestone, but much like the weather today, I just seem to be feeling dull and dismal.  So let me just share with you, like I usually do, what a pleasure it has been to meet all of you and share my quilting journey with you.  You are all  AWESOME!

Now let's look what's been going on in the quilt studio. There seems to be a mix of traditional and modern projects occurring at the same time.  So appropriate for my 200th blog because this is the way I roll! LOL

First up - I got the Oak Leaf & Reel blocks pieced together with the sawtooth borders.  Looks nice, no?  I am a little concerned about those borders not laying completely flat... but I will worry about that another day. :-).

So I thought I was done.  Add a nice red and white border fabric that I had chosen, and I was done.  But of course, as happens, the quilt had other ideas.

I started listening to this quilt - your quilts talk to you, right? and it was telling me it needed appliqued borders.  So .... of course I had to listen.

I decided on a vine that included a smaller oak leaf and some larger leaves that were in the blocks.  Not quite sure what I am going to do in those corners... again, another day.  I am open to any suggestions.  I used my Golden Threads paper to make a pattern for the shape of the vine. I am thinking of adding the year and my initials.. but need to think about that.

Next up is the string quilt star blocks.  I have been experimenting with all the suggestions you all were so generously shared. I tried each one with varying degrees of success. 

 I finally decided on the lightweight interfacing.  It is very stable, no odor or residue, it can be cut to any size (my blocks are 6" finished), and it is inexpensive.  It also adds very little weight to the quilt.  It is a winner!

My blocks are now very flat with no stretch on those bias edges.  Yay!

I am not sure how many of these star blocks I am going to make - but they sure are fun!

Check out Bonnie Hunter's blog today on sting quilts for a look at what inspired me to try string piecing. .

Meanwhile, Lucy has been staying cozy under one of her favorite quilts.

Happy Stitching!

Deb

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year!  

I am a few days late with my New Year wishes, but I have been taking some time off during this long Christmas break.  We had a wonderful time in New Mexico over Christmas and spent the rest of our time just relaxing at home... and doing a little stitching. :-)

Snow on the Organ Mountains the day after Christmas.

 Kathy and I have been friends for over 30 years.  We always enjoy our time together!

Especially when we have an unusual snow fall in Las Cruces, NM!  They got about 6 inches of snow.  Which is not a lot for us east coast folks - but highly unusual in southern New Mexico!

Of course no quilter travels without stitching to keep us busy during long flights, etc. I decided to bring something that would be nice to work on for Christmas.  A wall hanging I have started of four Oak and Reel blocks seemed perfect.  Here is my prep before we left. 

Kathy's dog, Bradley, was very curious about this stitching going on.  I think he really just wanted to steal my little pin cushion!

Here is my progress as of this morning.  Not a lot of progress over the past week and a half, but like I said, I have been taking some time off. :-)  I have one block almost completed and the second block about a third of the way done.  I would like to finish the block with half square triangles around each block.  We'll see... you know I rarely plan a design ahead of time!

I will leave you with one more Christmas picture for 2015.  During the week I went down to pick up another batch of quilts from my machine quilter.  This is one of the final finishes for 2015 that just needs binding. This is an old UFO that finally got done this year. It is from the book Tis' the Season by Jeanne Large and Shelley Wicks.  More on my 2015 quilts in my next post!

Happy New Year and Happy Stitching,

Deb