B is for Bells...

I just finished my second snowman block.  This one went fast, because I unexpectedly found myself with a lot of leisure time this week to work on it.

Snowmen A to ZZZZ  "B" Block

It was another fun one to stitch.  The pattern is "Snowmen A to ZZZZ" by Crabapple Hill Studios.  Next up are some some Candy Canes!

I caught David taking a nap earlier.  Don't you just want to reach out and rub that belly?  It's honestly just as soft as it looks...

David Napping

Until later...

Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life. 

Proverbs 4:23 (NLT)

Mid-Atlantic Quilt Festival 2012 - Machine Quilting...

I'm skipping my stash report this week, because, let's face it, the numbers haven't changed!  Perhaps next week I'll finish something.

Instead, I thought I'd share with you some more of my favorite quilts from the Hampton quilt show.  This time I'll show you the ones that impressed me with their quilting.  I'm certainly not at this level and don't know that I ever will be (probably not), but I can fantasize about it!

This first one won a blue ribbon for 'Best Machine Workmanship' in the Innovative category.

'Persistence' by Karen Kielmeyer

The quilt itself is fairly large at 85.5" square and the pattern is simple enough.  It leaves large open areas for the machine quilting and that's where it shines!

'Persistence' - closeup of the quilting

Does anyone else wonder how long it takes someone to do this much quilting?  I'm guessing she has a long-arm, although Diane Gaudynski can do some pretty amazing quilting on a domestic machine.

More closeups of the quilting on 'Persistence'

The next quilt that I was really impressed with won a blue ribbon for 'Best Machine Workmanship' in the Traditional category.  It's called 'Me and My Shadow' by Gail Stepanek and Ronda Beyer.

'Me and My Shadow' by Gail Stepanek & Ronda Beyer

This is another large quilt at 83" square.  I may have taken more pictures of this quilt than any other, just because there was so much to see in the machine quilting.

'Me and My Shadow' closeup

Another closeup of 'Me and My Shadow'

I would imagine that all of that cross-hatching would take quite a while.  Yet again I wonder how long it took to quilt the whole thing?

Final closeup of 'Me and My Shadow'

This next quilt won 2nd place in the Traditional category.  I have to admit that I'm partial to gradated fabrics and love seeing them used in a quilt.  (Do any of you remember Ted Storm-van Weelden's quilt 'Spring of Desire'?  It won Paducah in 2008 and was just amazing!)

'Magic of the Rose' by Kristin Vierra, Joan Waldman,
Gloria Miller, Marie Clark & Sandi Kosch

This was also a quilt where I was impressed by both the applique and the quilting.

Center of 'Magic of the Rose'

I don't think you can tell from the pictures, but there were hundreds of crystals on this quilt too.  I've lightened these next pictures a bit so you can hopefully see the quilting better.

Machine quilting on 'Magic of the Rose'

The quilting motifs here are really appropriate to the quilt.

Another closeup of the quilting on
'Magic of the Rose'

The last quilt I wanted to share here didn't win an award, but was still impressive to me.  It's called 'A Truly Feathered Star' by Karen Sievert.

'A Truly Feathered Star' by Karen Sievert

It's obvious on some of these quilts that they were designed to leave large spaces for quilting.  I have never planned a quilt that way!  Although I admire the work on these quilts, I find it rather intimidating.  I also enjoy piecing and applique much more than the quilting.  That being said, I'd love to find the time, energy and patience to make one that way.  Or perhaps come into a fortune so I could pay someone to do it for me...

Closeup of 'A Truly Feathered Star'

This is another quilt that had beads all over it.  I'm not sure how they were attached, but it had to have taken quite a while.

Another closeup of 'A Truly Feathered Star'

Final closeup of 'A Truly Feathered Star'

Hopefully you haven't been bored with these posts about the quilt show, because I actually have a couple more to share with you (sometime in the near future).  I'm also slowly working on some quilty things of my own.  Perhaps I'll even finish one this week!  Fingers crossed.

Until later...

Do all that you can to live in peace with everyone. 

Romans 12:18 (NLT)

Mid-Atlantic Quilt Festival 2012...

After a couple of years of missing this show, I finally made it back to the Mid-Atlantic Quilt Festival in Hampton, Va.  I enjoy going to this show; it's a nice size and only about 3 hours away from me.

When I first started going to quilt shows, I'd take pictures of every quilt there.  Now I'm much more selective and photograph only those that speak to me in some way.  That's not to say that those I didn't take pictures of aren't beautiful and worthy of winning, my tastes just run a little different these days.  I also found that even though I didn't take pictures of every quilt, I still managed to get quite a few.  So I'm going to break this up into several smaller posts - grouping 'like' quilts.

This first group showcase some of my favorites.  Basically because I'm an animal lover.  With 4 cats and a dog, I have to be!  I'd love to have this quilt hanging in my house.  It didn't win any awards, but was definitely Viewer's Choice for me...

'Caught in the Act' by Barbara McKie

This quilt is 29" x 32.5" and is "disperse dyed digital print, thread painted, trapunto relief, machine appliqued and machine quilted."

'Caught in the Act' closeup

Don't you think this cat looks a lot like my Jack?

My kitty Jack

I also found this donkey quilt quite captivating.  It looks like you can reach out and pet them (although I've heard that they bite?)

'Look Who's Coming' by Deborah H. Droog

This next quilt won a blue ribbon for 'Best Use of Color' in the Innovative category.  (I don't know if I just haven't been that observant, but there seemed to be a lot of ribbons for categories I didn't know existed.)  I think she did a fantastic job of displaying the squirrels.

'The Squirrel's Speech' by Barbara McKie

Would you believe I only just realized while writing this post that the cat quilt and squirrel cat are both made by Barbara McKie?  I definitely like her style.  This one is 63.25" square and is "machine pieced and quilted with hand-dyed cotton and disperse dyed fabrics."

'The Squirrel's Speech' closeup

The last animal quilt I'm going to show today is more whimsical than the others, but I think it's bright and a lot of fun.

'Rare Birds' by Rachel Wetzler

In her description, Rachel says "Rare Birds caricatures my quilt critique group."  It is machine pieced, machine appliqued and machine quilted.  What a cute quilt and so well done!

'Rare Birds' closeup

One of the things I found myself paying close attention to in all the quilts was the machine quilting.  I think because I have so many tops I need to quilt myself.  It's amazing how intricate and detailed the quilting is on most of them.  Next time I'll show some of my favorite machine quilting from this show.  When I grow up, I hope to one day be half as good as they are!

Until later...

“Truth, wisdom, learning, and good sense—these are worth paying for, but too valuable for you to sell.” 

Proverbs 23:23 (TEV)

A is for Angel...

I've been slowly puttering along on a new project.  One I'm doing along with my mom.  Not that we're working on the quilt together, but rather we're each making our own version.  It's called Snowmen A to ZZZZ and the pattern is by Crabapple Hill Studios.  The cover quilt is made in some light pastel colors, but after I saw it done in redwork I really fell in love with it.  (I wish I knew where I got this picture from so I could give proper credit, but I saved it off to my computer years ago.)

An unknown quilter's version of the pattern

I'm doing my embroidery in black, while my mom is going with blue.  So far, I've finished the first block, which also happens to be the largest one (in terms of dimension not the amount of embroidery).

'A is for Angel'  - first embroidery block

I'm using perle cotton #8 for the embroidery, which is slightly thicker than I'm used to.  All the stitches are done using a simple backstitch...

Closeup of stitching

These blocks are fun to work on at night and don't require a lot of concentration.  It also seems to go a lot quicker than my hand applique!

Closeup of stitching

For some reason the pictures look pretty dark to me, but the embroidery is on a bright cream colored background and shows up well in person.  I've already started on the 'B' block, but I know this is going to be another long term project (at least a year).  I'm OK with that though.  I'm sure I'll be just as pleased with this quilt as I was with it's predecessor...

Winter Wonderland Quilt

Mr. Quilting Bug left a notebook on the table and Jack decided that's where she needed to sit.  Why do cats do that?

Until later...

We can make our own plans, but the Lord gives the right answer. 

Proverbs 16:1 (NLT)

Stash Report Week #8...

February 26 - March 3, 2012

This week saw some movement in my stash - both incoming and outgoing.

On the addition side, my local quilt store had a Leap Day sale where you could use your 40% off JoAnn's coupon on one cut of fabric.  I used mine to buy 4 yards of this pink grunge fabric by Basic Grey.  It'll be great for a future backing.

4 yards of Basic Grey by Moda

I have to admit to being tempted by a few other fabrics recently, but thus far I've held off on buying more.  My stash is so large, that I really don't need it.

I finally finished a project this week too.  It's the February Schnibbles project.  I'm calling mine The Night's Sky.  I changed the pattern some and think I used 2.75 yards for the top.

Completed quilt top

I also made some HST's (half square triangles) for another project, but won't count them until the top is done.  Other than that, not much sewing going on over here.  I am hopeful that I can get back to quilting La Maison  this week and potentially even finish it!

HST's for a mystery project

So...
Purchased-this-week: 4 yards
Used-this-week: 2.75 yards
Purchased-to-date: 9.5 yards
Used-to-date: 20.25 yards
Net used: 10.75 yards

This time last year, I had already purchased 42.5 yards, so I'm feeling pretty good about that number.  Of course, I'm using a lot less than last year too.

The cats are still enjoying their fort, although I think it's about time for us to take it down.  They have plenty of other toys to play with so I'm sure they won't miss it.

Jack coming out of the fort

Until later...

'Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful.' 

Colossians 3:15

Nothing like the last minute (again)...

My plan this year is to participate each month in the Another Year of Schnibbles challenge hosted by Sinta of Pink Pincushion and Sherri of A Quilting Life.

The idea is that each month these ladies will pick a Schnibbles pattern.  You then have the entire month to make the quilt (or your version of it).  Fortunately, it doesn't have to be quilted.   To recap, last month's pattern was Full House and this was my version.  (Still halfway quilted by the way.)

La Maison - My version of Full House

This month's pattern is I.S.T.H.  Apparently that stands for "Insert Snappy Title Here".

Picture from FatQuarterShop.com

It took me a while to get started on mine.  I knew I wanted to use my Little Gatherings scraps to make it and I was going to change the pattern a bit.  I started with a couple of test blocks...

Star Blocks

Alternating Blocks

I made the star blocks exactly as the pattern details, but added these alternating blocks instead of the setting triangles and sashing.  I also knew I wanted to make my quilt larger and finally settled on 12 stars.  (Actually, I ended up making 16, but decided that was too big!)

Center of quilt before borders

You can see that all the blocks along the edges are a bit irregular.  I didn't want to deal with all the math and bias edges, so I made them bigger.  I then marked my quarter inch seam with painter's tape and added my border alongside the edge of the tape.  Only after the border was on did I cut the excess fabric off.

Adding the borders to the edges

I realize it's a convoluted way to do it, but I didn't want to have to figure out how to get the little brown triangles by the border to work out right.  Usually I love math, but I was in a hurry to get this done on time!

The Night's Sky Quilt Top

My top finishes at 44" x 36" and is the perfect size for above our bed.

Since I had made so many extra star blocks (and had a couple of extra hours), I went ahead and pieced the backing as well.  Initially this is what it looked like...

Take #1 on the backing

Looks weird, huh?  It bothered me so much, I took it apart and added some more sashing.  I think this is a slightly better version and the one I'm sticking with...

Take #2 on the backing

It was a great way to use the additional blocks and gives me some space for quilt information once it's quilted.  Of course, I now have such a stack needing to be quilted that I have no idea when I'll get around to it.

I'm eager to see what March's choice is and hope to find more time to sew next month.  I'm also looking forward to seeing everyone else's versions.  There are some very creative and skilled quilters out there and it's fun to see how different they all are.

Until later...

And may the Lord make your love for one another and for all people grow and overflow, just as our love for you overflows. 

1 Thessalonians 3:12 (NLT)

Stash Report Week #7...

February 19 - 25, 2012

(Warning: I'm very wordy today!)

Wow, what a week!  Not in terms of quilting though.  Very little happening on that front right now.  I am trying to finish my February Schnibbles quilt, but haven't had much time to work on it.

I traveled out of town last Sunday.  It was just a day trip and the weather was pretty bad.  Monday and Tuesday were spent preparing for another trip - getting the shopping done and the house cleaned and other such errands.  I was supposed to leave for the Mid-Atlantic Quilt Festival on Thursday, so of course, the dog came down with a bug on Wednesday.  And by bug, I mean a bad case of diarrhea.  A really bad case.

There was no way I could leave her alone in the house while I went on a trip, but Mr. Quilting Bug was really sweet and said he would stay home with her.  He also wasn't feeling too hot.  Then on the way home from work Wednesday night, he was in a car accident.  Praise God he's OK!  Although the car didn't fare as well. I really prayed about whether or not God was telling me to stay home, but didn't feel that was the case.

However, while I was gone, Mr. Quilting Bug informed me first that he was sick with a cold and second that we had to go car shopping this weekend.  Ughh!  We had planned to buy a new car in a couple of years, but I definitely wasn't prepared for it so soon.  We spent the entire day Saturday car shopping.  It was stressful and I was worried about making a huge mistake.  However, we finally purchased one, got a great deal and I'm pretty happy with it.  I'm also praying that it lasts me for the next 10 years!

In the end, I'm glad I went to the show.  I was really impressed with the quilts this year.  I'll show you some of my favorites in another post.  I was there both Thursday and Friday.  There were SO many vendors there as well.  Probably 3 times more space was occupied by the vendors as opposed to the quilts.  Like the dutiful shopper I am, I made my way very carefully through them.  And after 2 days, this was the sum total of my fabric purchases...

Fabric purchases from the Mid-Atlantic Quilt Show

I bought the little bundles of pink and blue 6" squares to use on my Ladies of the Sea quilt.  The FQs of Little Gatherings is for a lap size quilt I have planned.  The thread is Kimono 100# silk thread.  I've heard some good things about it and want to try it out.  So that's a total of less than a yard.  I'm surprised I bought so little fabric.

I did make a few other purchases at the show.  I bought a couple of Creative Grids rulers.  I'd like to slowly replace my existing rulers with these, because I think they're so much easier to use.  Of course, the key words are slowly replace.  These rulers are definitely not cheap!  It was almost $40 for just the two.  If anyone knows of a great place to purchase these online, please let me know...

New Creative Grids rulers

I also picked up a few more purse stabilizers.  These are great for the bottoms of bags, much sturdier than using cardboard.  I do plan to make some more bags/purses in the future, although I don't know when I'll get around to it.

Bag bottoms

My big purchase during the show was some thread.  They had a great deal on So Fine thread.  I like to use this when I'm quilting on my frame.  I also picked up the color charts to order more if I need it.

New threads for the quilting frame

I did have a great time at the show, but I was surprised by a few things.  Most of what I was looking for, they didn't have this time.  There were tons of Fqs and lots of Civil War and novelty fabrics.  There were very few Charm Packs, Jelly Rolls or Layer Cakes and most of those were older lines of fabric.  Fabric prices were also much higher, which I did expect.  The cheapest I saw FQs for was $2.85.  I had hoped to pick up some of the Blueberry Crumb Cake or Rouenneries Deux  fabric, but didn't see a scrap of it there to purchase.  But like I said earlier, there were some gorgeous quilts!

So back to the Stash Report...
Purchased-this-week: .75 yards
Used-this-week: 0 yards
Purchased-to-date: 5.5 yards
Used-to-date: 17.5  yards
Net used: 12 yards

I'm still hopeful that I can finish my Schnibbles quilt by the end of this month, but I'll have to work on it a lot over the next couple of days.  We'll see if it works out or not.

By the way, Mr. Quilting Bug is quickly recovering from his cold and poor Gabriel is also on the mend.  Although she still looks pitiful, she no longer has the screaming meemies...

Gabriel, recovering from her tummy bug

Until later...

Give thanks to the Lord and proclaim his greatness. Let the whole world know what he has done. 

Psalm 105:1 (NLT)