Come Visit Some of My Quilts at the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship

OH BOY, OH BOY, OH BOY!
My quilts are being featured in a small quilt show during the months of January and February in the Founders' Hall at the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Lawrence. I am sooooo excited. I'm also giving a small talk on January 8 at 9:30. It would be great to see some friendly faces there - just don't make faces to make me laugh.

So how did this come about? you ask. Well . . .  In 2015 I was the featured quilter at the Kaw Valley Quilt Guild quilt show. It was so fun to show my quilts, think about my quilting life, and basically wallow in quilting for two days. Someone from the UUFL was there and asked if I would hang some quilts in the church fellowship hall. That seemed so long ago, but of course time flies and now its here.

I hung the quilts this morning and they will hang through February.  It was so cool was seeing my quilts actually hanging somewhere - not just draped over a chair!

I'm totally nervous and excited. On the one hand it seems like a big deal, on the other hand, it's just me and a few of my quilts - no big deal.  They asked me to write an artist's statement - I know it sounds a bit pretentious, but it really is helpful for me as I'm setting my quilting goals and priorities. You know I love my lists! So I took this opportunity to revisit some thoughts I wrote several years ago, and come up with some 2017 quilting goals.
So, I hope you come out and see me on the 8th, or if you can't make it then, come out and see some of my quilts. 
OH BOY, OH BOY, OH BOY!!!!! (Doing a happy dance!)

Zen Garden Quilt Update

Here's a finished one for you! 

I finally finished Step-Daughter Lynne's Zen Garden Quilt. If you missed the first posting about this quilt, you can check it out here. 
Yahooooo!  I really liked how it turned out. Lori Kukuk did a great job with the quilting. 
It hung in the KVQG annual quilt show last April. 




I was going to use a BL Sashiko machine to stitch the water lines, but decided to use perl cotton and add the stitches by hand.



Lori's quilting added little flowers into the cherry blossom hexies. 




This was fun in so many ways - using Daiwabo Japanese taupe fabrics, EPP, working from a picture instead of a pattern, adding in my own touches like the clamshell river rocks at the lower edge of the quilt.

I love moving a quilt from "a work in progress" quilt to a finished quilt. It hasn't made its way to Lynne in Portland yet, but it will soon.

Here's to a finish!

Fabric Bowls - Possibly a New Addiction

I've always loved those fabric wrapped coiled clothesline bowls. I've got bowl envy - big time. My Pinterest "Fabric Bowl" board is full of bowls of various colors and sizes, and most exciting for me - handles. I love handles!

So if you want to join the bowl craze, here is what you'll need:

•  Fabric - make it scrappy or use just one or two coordinating fabrics. I've used both batiks and quilting cotton. Batiks tend not to ravel as much. I cut my strips 3/4 inch wide. You can also use jelly roll strips or Fat Quarters if you want.
• Lots of thread.
•  Fabric glue - I like Roxannes Glue Baste-It.
•  A few pins.
•  A few Clover Clips.
• Clothesline - 3/16th inch cotton or cotton-poly clothesline. Something not too stiff or too soft. You can find it at your LQS as well as your local hardware store, or big box discount store.
• Machine capable of doing a zigzag stitch and one that has some piercing power. My Bernina had no problems getting through fabric and clothesline.
• A 90/14 sharp needle.

There are several good tutorials out there, so I won't go into a lot of details on the how-to. There are also a few books available. I own this one - It's A Wrap.  Just know that it takes some practice getting the sides of your bowl at the angle you want. It's basically a matter of wrap, coil, sew, repeat. The wrapping takes the most time, but its a good TV watching activity.

I've made three bowls so far - one for our Sassy Strippers Club at Mea Bernina, one for my living room to hold potpourri, and a little bitty one to hold my cards at an upcoming show of some of my quilts (more to come about that). I've made each one a different shape and size and am experimenting with different handles. I'm also playing a bit with buttons and other embellishments. So, now I have a reason to look at awesome buttons when I'm out shopping.

I'm curious about all the various shapes and handles I can make! How about you?

Houston International Quilt Festival - Quilts, Classes, and Vendors, OH MY!

Do you have a quilting bucket list? Yeah, me too! 😁
Quilting Cruise
Paducah
QuiltCon
Ricky Tims
Kaffe Fassett
Road To California
Retreats
Paula Nadelstern
Susan Cleveland
Bargello quilt
Self-Portrait quilt
Victoria Findlay-Wolfe
Double Wedding Ring quilt
Among other things.
HOUSTON! Check it off the list!

Yep, I went to Houston International Quilt Festival this year. Not only did I go, but did the whole enchilada when I got there. It was a a super experience all around.

We (Shari, Cyndy, Jeri and I) started planning this several months ago. We sent in our class requests on the first day - lesson learned: don't mail it in, fax it next time. I didn't get all the courses I asked for, but I did get some really good ones.

Shari reserved the hotel - a great one on the shuttle bus route. We tried all three restaurants in the hotel ($$$, $$ and $) - they were all great.

Classes - I'll do a separate post on each class, they were all fantastic. Laura Murray's paint sticks and stamps on fabrics, Paula Nadelstern's Simple Blocks with Complex Fabrics, Gyleen Fitzgerald's Bent Star, Catherine Redford's Introduction to Wool Applique, Ricky Tims' Six Weeks in Six Hours, and Saturday Sampler.

Quilt Exhibits - Festival winners and entries, Lion King, Passacaglia Millifiori quilts, Houston Quilt Guild . . .

Vendors - Oh my word. I've never seen so many vendors at a show of any kind. 25 rows of vendors. I spent way too much money, of course, but I came home with some really special goodies.



And we had soooo much fun. Talking, laughing, sipping, eating, shopping, sewing, beading, learning. Quilting friends are the best!

Sedona Star Update

Yes, I am STILL working on Sedona Star . . .
But I am making good progress.
I am currently working on a series of 3 different applique blocks. I've finished two sets so far and they are really cool. What makes them so cool? Added applique goodies from Sarah Vedeler!!!

Of course Sarah designed Sedona Star and it uses applique shapes from her Heather Feather #1 Die from Accuquilt GO! But she also developed an embroidery design that either stands on its own or enhances the Sedona Star - its called Sedona Surprise.  I have loved doing these on my Bernina 830 and super large hoop. See all the little circles, hearts, eyelets, and outlining satin stitches? Don't they add a lot to the block?

Using the embroidery machine did present a challenge for me - and I do love a challenge.  The first challenge was a really fun one - deciding on colors that complement the Red Rooster fabrics I am using. The second challenge was a little more difficult - rehooping. Even with the jumbo Bernina hoop, I had to rehoop to get the entire design stitched out. Good thing Sarah included positioning lines that really helped. So now, although not an expert, I am at least somewhat competent at rehooping. I've done six of these blocks (three of two different layouts) and have three more to go.

Next update I'll add pictures of these blocks sewn onto the center medallion. Can't wait!
Keeping Curious!

Quilt As You Go Hexies

This year, I've done a couple of sew/quilt alongs. Fun, Fun Fun!

One of my favorites is Katja Marek's Blocks on the Go for Quilts of the Grow. There are 52 different EPP (English Paper Piecing) hexies based on Katja's book The New Hexagon.  The year is almost over, but I'm still working on August's hexies. Not too far behind I'd say.

I decided this project would be a perfect use for some of the Asian fabrics I've been collecting - of course I had to purchase some additional fabrics to go with what I had. Since the blocks are hexagons, if I want to fussy cut (which of course I do), I'll need 6 repeats of the fabric.

My friend Kim is doing this project too, so we combined orders for the papers from Paper Pieces. The papers are sized to make a 4 inch block.

As the title of the quilt along implies, the hexagon blocks are quilted as they're made. So after doing the fussy cutting, glue basting, whip stitching the pieces together, and finally removing the papers, I appliqued the blocks onto a batting-filled background. A little stitch in the ditch quilting and the blocks are ready for some big stitch quilting around the edges with perl cotton.

I love doing these blocks. Picking the fabric, paper piecing, and working to get my big stitch quilting stitches nice and even. I haven't started putting them together yet - I want to get them all done and then lay them out to see how they look together. So far, I am stoked!

Here is a little sample of some of my hexies.
I'm ready to go cut some more fabric so I can baste and whip stitch the hexies during TV time.

Thanks to Katja. Can't wait to see next year's quilt along!



 

To Quilt or To Write? I choose quilting.

Oh NO!

I see its been over a year since my last post. Where did the time go? 
I've worked on so many cool quilts this past year that I want to write about.
OK - so back at it. Once a week.

Are you Curious?