May progress report and June goal setting

Have you ever noticed that sometimes when you are SUPER busy, you are also more productive in general?  I feel like I have had a lot fewer sewing days this month, yet I am very satisfied with what I've accomplished.

And the best part is that I'm not just talking about my sewing list.  I've also made a few dinners and even exercised a couple of times!  GASP!  Yep it is true.  Esther at Threads on the Floor, who I find inspiring in so many ways, once mentioned that she had started a Couch to 5K program on her new phone.  I have had the app for a while and even made it through the program about a year ago before I promptly stopped exercising completely.  Well, I started it up again and it feels good.  But, this is a quilting blog so let's get back to that sewing list....

May  UFO's

I was determined to do something with my fusible rose project - a project that started back in, oh the beginning of 2011.  Now that I have the blue and white OBW done, this was probably the oldest UFO I had.  I am happy to report that it just needs the binding sewn on!  I would love to show it to you, but I have to save it as a surprise for my day on the "Say it with Flowers" blog hop  - June 4th will be here soon!

May New FO's

I wanted to start and finish my quilt for the Hands2Help Charity Quilt Drive and hooray!  It is done!

It just needs a label and it is off to Happy Chemo.


Now for June.....I'm declaring June for Jen!  I've made a few charity quilts and quilts for others the last few months, and as good as that feels, I plan on being a bit selfish in June.  Since I haven't actually started any projects for myself in a while, June is going to be heavily weighted on the NewFO side.

June UFO's

I will continue to work on piecing the backing for my Beginner QAL quilt.  I am using this is a leader/ender type project so a little gets done every week, but I fully admit that this one isn't really striking my fancy these days.

I have also decided to go back and machine SID some of my Handstitched Medallion Quilt.  After reading some blog posts about hand quilting not keeping the quilt layers together forever under some circumstances, I felt I needed a little reassurance.  I don't know yet what I am going to use the quilt for, but just in case it gets more wear and tear than is meant, I would at least like the layers to stay together, especially since my quilting is not 10 stitches per inch quality.

June New FO's

I was glancing around my sewing space (AKA the dungeon) the other day and I noticed a few areas of need.  For example, I have completely worn holes into my ironing pad cover and what isn't holey is somewhat scorched.  I desperately need a new one.   I could buy one, true, but I want to make myself one.  I've got tons of fabric, even some home dec weight stuff.  Surely, I can figure it out, right?

I also need a sewing machine mat with pockets and it would be really nice if it had a thread catcher component.  I keep shoving all kinds of stuff underneath my machine's quilting table, but it looks terrible and sometimes it isn't even convenient to go digging under there.  I should also make myself a machine cover while I am at it.  My machine came with one, but it is pretty plain.

I am also going to get started on some of those bucket list quilts that I've been putting off way too long.  The Swoon craze is nearly over and I haven't even started mine.  I'm going to get started this month if it kills me.

I've also shown interest in the Impromptu QAL at I'm a Ginger Monkey.  My interest generally comes from having at least 2 layer cakes languishing around with absolutely no plans for them.  The Impromptu pattern is cute, looks easy, uses a layer cake, and would be perfect for the big girl bed I ordered for Olivia's room!

So here's a quick summary of New FO's I hope to tackle in June:

• new ironing board cover
• sewing machine mat and cover
• Swoon
• Impromptu

A quick look ahead to July.....we are going on vacation!  I hope to have made enough bee blocks, etc. to pre-schedule posts for Building Blocks Tuesdays, but other than that posts are going to be rather sparse.  I want to take a hand sewing project with me, but I doubt I will post any progress until we return at the end of the month.  

Thanks for reading today,

Jen

Linking up with:

Don't forget - Say it With Flowers is in full bloom!

While I was away for the long weekend, the Say it With Flowers Blog Hop got started and is now in full bloom. The full schedule is HERE. As always, there are some truly wonderful projects shared.  Here are the stops for the next few days:

May 30^th

A Quilt Lady

The House On The Side Of The Hill

Ella & Nesta’s Little Room

CLF by Nailaa

Atelier De Handwerktuin

Life, Quilts, and A Cat Too

Marjorie’s Busy Corner

Celtic Thistle

Elizabeth Coughlin Designs

Dreaming In Patchwork

Around The Homestead

May 31^st

Squawk That

How Art You?

A Little Bit of Lorene

Handmade By Mama

Blooming Where I Am Planted

Jane’s Quilting

Just Quilt It

busybeequilts

Lisa In Port Hope

Les Quilts

Quilts My way

I hope you will stop back by on June 4th for my day!  I've been slaving away on my project.  Hmm, I better get back to it if I am going to finish.

Thanks for reading today,

Jen

Instead of WIP Wednesday, a Thank YOU!

I've been busy working on something I can't show you until next week (Say it with Flowers Blog Hop item), so instead of a WIP Wednesday report I would like to shout out a BIG Thank You to all my lovely readers!

I was so delighted when I returned from my holiday weekend to emails telling me my One Block Wonder quilt had been nominated for Viewer's Choice in the Blogger's Quilt Festival over at Amy's Creative Side.  I know people always say, "It is such an honor just be nominated", but it is true!  I was a mixture of shocked, excited, anxious, delighted, oh and did I mention shocked?  And that's just me!  When I told my husband, he puffed up with pride and mumbled something like, "Well of course".  Voting continues through May 30th and the quilt is also entered in the 2 Color Quilt category too.

I think it is safe to say that a Quilt Along will happen.  There are plenty of people interested, and it will give me something to do and plan out while on vacation in July.  I should have the details worked out by the end of August, so I hope you will join me.

And thank you again to all who nominated my quilt and voted.  I truly appreciate your support!

Jen

Over the river and through the woods - Building Blocks Tuesday

WAY back in February, the lovely Fiona of Celtic Thistle Stitches, who I know through my Star of Africa Bee, requested a "house block" for her month.  Simple enough right?  Well, not if you have an overactive, overachieving brain like mine.  At first I really wanted to show her something typical of the area I live in currently.  I drew up a simple sketch of some houses down on "The Strand", which is a sidewalk that runs alongside the beach.  Houses on the Strand are built right next to one another in close proximity - like maybe no more than 3 feet between.  You can pass a cup of sugar out your window to your neighbor.  And the styles of the houses vary widely.  You can have a Victorian little cottage right next to an ultra modern minimalist house, right next to a Tuscan villa.  I thought it would be funny, and still typical, if I made a few houses and then threw in a Starbucks in the middle.  But, this design had issues from the start.  Fiona wished for 12.5 inch blocks and there was no way I could fit a few beach houses and a Starbucks into the frame of the block.  Idea number 1 - scrapped.

Enter idea number 2 - a paper pieced block, very similar to the idea above but with no Starbucks.  I tried to fussy cut some of the windows to add interest too.  But I got distracted while making the blocks and while trimming one of the sections, I inadvertently sliced through one of the houses that had stuck itself to the bottom of another piece.  Doh!  I also realized that while cute, these PP houses really didn't fit me or my area or really anything.  They weren't special.  Idea number 2 - scrapped.

I once had a teacher who said that sometimes when you are trying too hard, creativity gets blocked, but when you allow yourself to relax, good ideas will present themselves and shine in your mind.  I asked myself what was special to me and like a shining star, the happy memories of my time spent at my grandparents house in Connecticut presented themselves.  I grew up in hot, humid, South Florida.  Each summer, my mom would put me on a plane (by myself!) to travel north to Connecticut to visit my grandparents.  It was like visiting a different world in the eyes of a child.

The air smelled different up there.  Fresh.  There were trees everywhere and I really believed that they were making extra fresh air just for me while I visited.  And with the forests came birdsong of all types.  I should tell you now that I am still describing what it was like to step off the plane at the airport (in "town").  My grandparents actually lived in the real woods - really in the middle of nowhere.  I likened their house to something out of the Hansel and Gretel story.  You needed breadcrumbs to find it.  They were surrounded by thick woods.  I would spend hours staring out the windows because you never knew what wildlife would just stroll by.  It was very exciting as a kid!

I created Fiona a likeness of my Grandma's house from my memories:

It has many of things I remember.  The evergreen bush right in front that each year the robin's would nest in.  Tons of flowers planted all around the stone foundation and along the flagstone path leading to the front door.  And a rather large stump of a tree in the corner of the yard which Gram would place a huge black kettle onto when I would arrive and we planted annuals inside for the summer.  The sunporch off to the right is where Gram would sit and read when it was cool enough and I sometimes slept out there in my sleeping bag.  That room had windows in every direction and I was sure I might see a bear in the middle of the night if I could only stay awake long enough.  Of course all that fresh air made a kid rather sleepy.

This little house is very special to me.  Although it is no longer owned by anyone in my family, I will forever keep its memories close at heart.  This house is block-worthy.

It took me a while of going through hundreds of old photos, but I finally found one of the house in the fall.  I visited one Thanksgiving and it had just snowed.

Except for the chimney, I almost remembered it right!  Too bad the stump didn't make the photo.

So what have you been working on this week?  I want to know!

Link up your fabulous blocks.  You put a lot of hard work into them - show them off!  This free linky will stay open for a whole week.  And spread the word!

Rules:

1) Please link up only to the page in your blog showing your wonderful blocks, not just the blog homepage.  Flickr pictures are also OK.
2) Make sure to put your blog name as the description so people know where they are going or the name of your block!
3) Please grab my button and post it in your blog post or sidebar.
4) Visit other linky participants!


Thanks for reading!

Jen

Inspirational Sunday (15) - via the 2013 Road to California Quilt Show

Alas, this quilt show must come to an end today.  I am all out of pictures.  But as I mentioned in an earlier Sunday post, there is another big quilt show coming up in August.  I plan on taking a few Sunday's off between now and then, but hope to sprinkle in a few book reviews before the next show.

Today I want to share some applique and embroidered quilts.  I do not do a whole lot of applique and embroidery myself, but I really appreciate looking at the quilts completed by others.  I just can't imagine all the hard work (and hand cramps) that must go into some of these quilts.  Of course, there are machines now that do a lot of embroidery, but usually someone is still drawing the subject matter by hand.

The first quilt today is called "Roses for Mary" by Ken Berg of Port Orchard, WA and quilted by Joyce Ross.  It is the 3rd quilt that they have made together. The design basis was "Roses for Mary" by Jenny Haskins.  Densely embroidered rose stems and flowing ribbons adorn Jenny Haskins'.  Background roses were drawn and quilted freehand using embroidered flowers as examples.

I really like the quilting.  Here is a close up.

And now for one of my favorites (probably because of the color).  This one is called "A Pocket Full of Paisleys" by Lorilynn King of Longmont, CO.

She says, "I decided to really learn my embroidery software.  All the paisleys are my own design.  My private name for the quilt is the LOUD quilt.  It originally was to be multiple bright colors but it was easier to do single colors when testing the embroidery.  I did a turquoise paisley, it told me THIS IS WHAT I AM SUPPOSED TO BE!  It kept doing that through the whole construction process.  The end result is nothing like what I had in mind when I started!"

Well, have you ever had a quilt speak to you that way?

Thanks for reading today, I hope you were inspired.

Jen

Jacob's Ladder - a Friday Finish

Hooray, hooray!  I have actually finished something!

This little quilt is about 48 inches square.  I used a layer cake of Deb Strain's "Spa" fabric, plus a few squares of solids to round it out.  I quilted it quite simply - just SID and then 1/4 inch on either side of each seam.  I am sending this quilt off to Happy Chemo as my contribution for the Hands2Help 2013 charity quilt drive.

I also spent quite a bit of time this week putting together a display of the art work that Ashley's class created as part of the school's Open House event.  At the beginning of the school year, we are told which art project to hold onto for Open House.  I was disappointed that our class had to display this project, but only because it was a difficult project to complete and the students did some fabulous art in other projects throughout the year.  Here is the display:

The project entailed scraping a black paper (with some sort of clay surface) with engraving tools so that the white surface showed through.  It was supposed to be a night scene, but the docents got fair warning ahead of time that the supplies chosen for the project weren't easy to work with, so we allowed the kids to basically draw what they wanted.  The engraving tools were difficult to work with.  You had to scrape at a special angle to get any of the black off and then if they scraped too hard, the paper would end up with holes in it.  I teach 1st graders.  Like I said, it was a tough project.

I am so happy that this part of my volunteer job is over.  I stress so much about the display even though it was only for ONE hour.  Some of the docents really go all out, spending hundreds of dollars on supplies for their displays.  I had to remind myself several times not to get too caught up in the competition.  Still, the kids deserve to have their creations exhibited.

I have one more project to teach - a Picasso inspired painting!

Thanks for reading today,

Jen

Linking up with:

Mommy brain strikes again, and again, and again - Building Blocks Tuesday

I've got another x plus block to share today.  This one is for Audrey in the Make it Modern Bee.

Hmm, something just isn't right.  I followed the same instructions from last time, but I didn't look at the diagram I drew.  Brilliant.  Although, I suppose if you were making a quilt all by yourself with just 3 fabrics, this wouldn't be a bad layout.  A few unpicked seams later and it looks much better, for Audrey.

Mommy brain struck again (something that has been increasing in frequency lately, I might add)!


So what have you been working on this week?  I want to know!

Link up your fabulous blocks.  You put a lot of hard work into them - show them off!  This free linky will stay open for a whole week.  And spread the word!

Rules:

1) Please link up only to the page in your blog showing your wonderful blocks, not just the blog homepage.  Flickr pictures are also OK.
2) Make sure to put your blog name as the description so people know where they are going or the name of your block!
3) Please grab my button and post it in your blog post or sidebar.
4) Visit other linky participants!


Thanks for reading!


Jen

Inspirational Sunday (14) - via the 2013 Road to California Quilt Show

Today's quilts are "innovative" in some way.

The first quilt started with a challenge fabric that was Oriental looking.  It is called Grandma's Stellar Array by Ann L. Petersen of Surprise, AZ.  She only used the green areas [of the challenge fabric] and added a mix of Civil War reproduction and fabrics that looked like that era to make a traditional quilt.  She says, "This was very far out of my comfort zone, but lots of fun."

I found it to be a pretty innovative use of fabric all around.  That cheddar in the center gives it so much texture, I thought she quilted the design.  And those tiny little star pieces are amazing, then you throw in the appliqued vines.  It's a pretty cool little quilt!

This next quilt is called "Determined to Use Those Scraps" by Claire Victor of Palm Springs, CA.  This quilt was started with scraps left over from another projects.  She was determined to use them all and only use other scraps and fabric from her stash.

I really love the color (even the orange!), and I wish I could be as determined to use my scraps to make a show-worthy piece like this!

It seems no show is complete without a quilt made from unusual materials.  This one is called "YoYo 11" by Helen Remick and was part of the Reflections on Changing Technology exhibit.  She says, "As one technology replaces another, some things are preserved, others lost.  CD's in yoyos hold manuscripts, family history, rituals, and vacations."

Talk about reuse/recycle!  There was also a collage on the back made from some of the images on the CD's, but darn it if I didn't get a picture of that!

Have you been innovative in some quilty way recently?  Tell us about it.

Next week, we wrap up this show with some embroidered quilts.

Thanks for reading today.  I hope you are inspired.

Jen

At the water's edge - Blogger's Quilt Festival

It's a wonderful time of year - time for the Blogger's Quilt Festival over at Amy's Creative Side.  I remember reading through my first BQF shortly after I found blogland.  It was amazingly inspirational!   I've gotten so many good ideas and found new patterns to add to my bucket list, etc.  I look forward to seeing what everyone has to show this time too.

I would like you to consider my Blue and White One Block Wonder for this go-round of the Blogger's Quilt Festival.

Yes, I posted about this quilt when I finished it in February, but for those of you joining me just for the festival, let me tell you a bit about it.

Believe it or not, this quilt is actually made with one fabric - well, one fabric with a tiny little bit of white solid for that little border.  The technique is found in the book, One Block Wonders Encore by Maxine Rosenthal.  I finally finished the quilting in February, a simple stipple on the center portion and a rope type design in the outer border.  The pattern of the top is elaborate enough, so I kept the quilting simple.

As much as I love how this quilt turned out, when I first pulled out the top from the box it had been languishing in (aka the UFO box), I decided I was going to donate the finished quilt to Happy Chemo.  Happy Chemo is an organization, that among other things, donates quilts to those going through chemotherapy.  Most of the time, when I make up my mind to do something, I do it.  I admit, however, that I considered keeping this quilt more than a few times once I saw how nicely it turned out!  What can I say, I am selfish.  But, it was needed by someone else.  Emily at Em's Scrapbag  (who collects the quilts for Happy Chemo) once said that she needed more masculine friendly quilts, so I sent her this one, and I know that it is making someone feel better during his/her treatments.

Quilt Stats:

Size: I forgot to measure it before I put it in the shipping box!  It is roughly 68 x 76.
Special Techniques: it is a Stack n' Whack technique outlined in both One-Block-Wonders Encore by Maxine Rosenthal and Joy Pelzmann and Stack-n-Whackipedia by Bethany S. Reynolds.
Quilted by:  Me!  on my Janome Horizon (machine quilted)
Best Category: 2 Color Quilts

Thank you for considering my quilt,  now go see what other quilty inspiration there is at the festival this year!

Jen

UPDATED: 

PS.  I have had such a good response to this quilt that I am considering hosting a quilt along in the fall.  Is anyone interested in joining in?

Time Out! - WIP Wednesday

I declared this week to be a paper piecing week.  I have so many projects that needed to be paper pieced, but I get a little worn out sometimes by the process AND the mess.  But I knew I needed to do it.  Only 2 days in and I want to quit.  This is mainly because I manage to mess up 2 different blocks yesterday!

The first one was a bee block for the Make it Modern Bee.  I put together a pretty darn good-looking Lone Starburst block - completely put together - only to realize that it wasn't to size.  My printer settings had been altered somehow and though I checked the little inch line (which appeared to be to size), the block pieces were actually 1/4 inch short.  If it hadn't been for the pattern designer's blog post, telling me the length the sides needed to be, I would probably still be scratching my head.  A second block is now complete (below).  The short one will likely be made into a journal cover one day, or a pillow.  Can't have anything go to waste, right?

The second block I screwed messed up was my house block for my Star of Africa bee.  This block is ridiculously overdue.  I chose a difficult paper piecing block - not my own design (maybe that is breaking the rules for the bee??) - and tried to fussy cut some things for the windows of the house.  All was going well until I accidentally sliced through an entire section of a house.  Needless to say, I had to put THAT block away for a little while and go sit in the time out chair to cool down.  I'm really starting to wonder why I even choose to paper piece this block when I could have appliqued it more easily.  Plus, the block wouldn't have really represented me or my country very well.  I think I may go back to the drawing board on this one.

There is a 3rd paper piecing project that I have all printed out and ready to go, but now I am doubting whether I should even start it.  I am not sure I have the patience.  But then again, perhaps 3rd time is a charm?

I also put together the backing for my Hands 2 Help quilt.  Now everything is ready to be basted.

This Wednesday...

Completed Projects:

• Bee Blocks - We Bee Learning (4 blocks), Simply Solids (1 block), Make it Modern (2 blocks)
• It's for the Birds Blog Hop items - you can see them here

On-going Projects:

AKA - "stuff I plan to touch this week or next".

• Bee Blocks & BOM blocks - Lucky Star May (1 block), Guild BOM for charity (2 blocks)
• Star of Africa Bee - I have really slipped behind.  Need February, March, April, and one more done.
• Beginner Quilt Along at Quilting Gallery - Piecing the backing is in progress
• Quilt for Hands 2 Help Charity Drive - basting in progress
• Items for the "Say it with Flowers" Blog Hop starting at the end of May (my day is June 4th) - I have a plan, but haven't put in into action yet.

Back, Back, Back Burner:

These will likely be touched sometime in the future - I should really rename this category to "I want to remember that I have these projects, but realistically they won't be touched till 2015 because I'm too busy doing other stuff"

• Handstitched Medallion Quilt - quilting in progress.  This is the project is going to take FOREVER!!
• Discontinuity 2 - crib sized top is complete, but now I am thinking it really needs to be twin sized as all the girls are about to be in big girl beds.  On hold for now.
• Curves Class goodies - catch up in progress, but on hold for now.   
• Skill Builder BOM blocks (now 3 months worth) - I am saddened by putting these down here, as there are some wonderful blocks to make, but I just don't have time right now.

This week's stats:

Completed projects - 1 plus a handful of blocks
New projects - 0
Currently in Progress - 6 ish

Don't forget to link up any blocks you have been working on to the Building Blocks Tuesday post!

And as always, thanks for reading,

Jen



Linking up with
 

Orange you glad I didn't say "Banana" - Building Blocks Tuesday

One of the few knock knock jokes I remember from childhood is:

"Knock, knock?"

"Who's there?"

"Banana"

"Banana who?"

"Knock, knock"

"Who's there?"

"Banana"

"Banana Who?"

"Knock, knock?"

"Who's there?"

"Banana"

"Banana Who?"

"Knock, knock?"

"Who's there?"

"Orange?"

"Orange Who?"

"Orange you glad I didn't say Banana?"

I think I remember it because it was so annoying to keep saying Banana as many times as the other person would continue.

I may have mentioned more than once that orange isn't exactly my favorite color.  So, when I opened Chelsie's package and instructions for this month's Simply Solids Bee, I was a little apprehensive.  But once I got going, the block and even the color, started to grow on me.  I rather like the results, and I am eager to see her finished project.

This block is called mod mosaic and you can find the instructions here at Elizabeth Hartman's blog called Oh Fransson.

So what have you been working on this week?  I want to know!

Link up your fabulous blocks.  You put a lot of hard work into them - show them off!  This free linky will stay open for a whole week.  And spread the word!

Rules:

1) Please link up only to the page in your blog showing your wonderful blocks, not just the blog homepage.  Flickr pictures are also OK.
2) Make sure to put your blog name as the description so people know where they are going or the name of your block!
3) Please grab my button and post it in your blog post or sidebar.
4) Visit other linky participants!


Thanks for reading!

Jen

Parade of Winners - just a brief announcement

I just wanted to make a brief announcement to let you know who has once all these little giveaways here recently.

The winner of the Quilting Quickly magazine and Sophisticated Stitches book is......

#50 Margaret!  Who said, "Free Motion Quilting with Angela Walters" was her favorite quilt book right now.  I agree completely!  It is one of my favorites too and I refer to it often.  Margaret, your package will be in the mail soon.

A whole bunch of you recommended Sunday Morning Quilts also, and that's one book I don't have yet.  But after so many of you recommending it, and hearing a little more about it on the American Patchwork and Quilting Radio podcast recently, I've decided to get my hands on it.  Thank you everyone for the tips!

I also recently gave some mug rugs away from the April Showers Blog Hop.

They went to BizyStitches aka Janelle in Kansas, Rhonda in TX, Crickets Corner aka Rita, and Mystica in Sri Lanka!  Everyone has already received their little packages.  I was sorely disappointed that my post man didn't even raise an eyebrow at my mailing a package to Sri Lanka.  I guess I will have to keep trying.

Thanks to everyone who entered the giveaways and congratulations to the winners.

Now I better get back to work.

Have a super sparkly day!

Jen

An excuse to try new things - It's for the Birds Blog Hop Stop

I don't know about you, but I have really enjoyed all the creativity that the participants of this blog hop have shared.  There have been some AMAZING projects!  I want to thank Mary at I Piece 2 for being our cheerleader, and of course Madame Samm at Sew We Quilt for putting these great hops together.

So what do I have to show you today?  Well, I really enjoy using these blog hops to try out new things, whether it be a new pattern or new technique.  Yes, on occasion this strategy has backfired on me, but in general it seems to be good for me.  For this blog hop, I tried out a new pattern AND a new technique:

I made a little paper pieced bluebird using a FREE pattern from Liljabs, available at Craftsy.  Liljabs has some amazing free paper piecing patterns at Craftsy.  I was sorely disappointed I didn't get to finish the sandpiper looking one she has for this hop!

I've only seen a bluebird once in my life, so it sounded reasonable to make one that I could look at every day if I wanted.  So, that's the new pattern I tried out, now for the new technique:

I made this "robin" (it looks more like a really fat finch to me), using a McKenna Ryan pattern found in the April 2013 issue of American Patchwork and Quilting magazine.  It is a fusible applique pattern.  I've used fusible applique before, but I normally then machine applique around each piece.  McKenna skips that step entirely and instead outlines each piece at the quilting stage - effectively securing it in place and quilting at the same time.  I must admit, it did go together much more quickly than my old way!

Please don't forget to visit other participants.  Here is the rest of the schedule:

Monday, May 13

http://www.quiltsmiles.blogspot.com

http://sewdarnquilt.blogspot.com

www.cindycraftycreations.blogspot.com

http://madebymeinred.blogspot.com

http://featheredneststudio.com

http://cmyprims.blogspot.com

http://ukcitycrafter.wordpress.com

www.gracieoliverarts.blogspot.com

http://quilterinthecloset.blogspot.com

http://quilttotheedge.blogspot.com

http://aroundthehomestead.blogspot.com

http://sewpeacetopeace.blogspot.com

www.caliquilter.com/blog/

http://pamela-kieffer.blogspot.com

Tuesday, May 14

http://www.intheboondocks.blogspot.com

http://mychellem.blogspot.com

www.thimblemouseandspouse.blogspot.com

www.quiltingandsewingarts.com

http://Sewgratefulquilts.wordpress.com

www.aquiltingsheep.com

http://tricia-ramblingsofaquilter.blogspot.com

http://sewmanyyarns.blogspot.com

www.moosestashquilting.blogspot.com

http://bethstrand.wordpress.com

http://quiltoo.blogspot.com

http://teatimecreations.blogspot.ca/

http://secretlystitching.blogspot.gr/

Wednesday, May 15

http://cariboucrossingchronicles.blogspot.ca

www.notionnanny.blogspot.com

http://crookedgulleyartquilts.blogspot.com

http://Karamino.blogspot.com

http://celticthistlestitches.blogspot.com

www.sewmolliesue.com

http://devotedquilter.blogspot.com

http://mystitchin-n-stuff.blogspot.com

www.quiltscapesqs.com

http://kocanquilt.blogspot.com

http://createinthesticks.blogspot.com

http://terrysquiltingtime.blogspot.com

http://Sewwequilt.com

As always, thanks for reading,

Jen

PS. I love owls!  Here's a little pic of one of my first quilts:

Inspirational Sunday (13) - via the 2013 Road to California Quilt Show

Happy Mother's Day!  I hope you are all celebrating in some special way.

I can't believe it, but I am nearly out of pictures to show you from the Road to California Quilt Show.  But don't despair, the International Quilt Festival in Long Beach is right around the corner in August!

Today, I promised to show you some paper pieced wonders, and they truly are amazing.

This first one is called, "Mistaken Identify" by Gail Stepanek and Jan Hutchinson of New Lenox, IL.  This is their original design, but it came about by trying to identify a block from an antique quilt labeled as a Mariner's Compass.  They found the block to have 21 spires and be more like a Sunburst pattern.

The blackish background makes the quilting hard to photograph, but here is a close up.

Amazing, right?

This next one is called "Euphoria" by Marilyn Badger of St. George, UT.  She paper pieced this using silks, hand-dyed cotton sateen, cottons and Sew Batik graduation fabrics.  It was quilted with Superior Kimona Silk and Floriani polyester.  Couched with Superior Razzle Dazzle and embellished with jewelry findings and hand-sewn crystal beads.  Original design was inspired by Jacqueline De Jong's Circle of Life with the makers own applique, border and quilting designs.

It was nearly impossible to get a shot of it from the front as there was always someone looking at it up close (the woman in blue managed to get into 4 of my attempted shots of this quilt, she even bumped me on the next one).  Here is a close up of that amazing quilt work.

Up next week, how about a little innovation?

Thanks for reading today.  I hope you are inspired.

Jen

Scoot down a Jungle Path - a Friday Finish

Yippee!  A finish to share!

Remember these?

I know you thought that was going to be one yellow quilt!  Well, they turned into this:

I used a free pattern on the Moda Bakeshop website called Jungle Path by Jessica Kelly at Sew Crafty Jess.  The fabric is "Scoot" by Riley Blake.

These blocks came together pretty quickly and I even with my directional fabrics, I only had to unpick one seam and turn it.  The only trouble came when deciding how to quilt it.

I stitched in the ditch all the seams, and nearly left it at that.  I loved how those little center squares puffed up and felt so soft.  But, I felt obligated to do some additional quilting.  I ended up with wavy lines in the colored sections of the outer squares and some of that right angle square stippling in the yellow sashing areas.  Then I left the center squares untouched.  Here is a close up.

I just love those center squares popping up.

And of course, the obligatory back shot:

I had all that yellow to work with for the front, and I like how it kept things nice and soft looking.  For the back though, I knew I was going to be using those off white prints, and in big chucks, so I felt like it could handle a little punch of brighter color.  I just made up some HST's to create the chevrons and added some additional solids where I was short on yardage of the white prints.  I'm pretty happy with how it turned out.  I'm even happier to say, other than a few random charms squares and some small strips, I used all the fabric I had in this line.  Poof!  Gone!  (Room for new fabric, right?)

I will be labeling this one up next week.  The baby shower is on the 20th, and I hope the mama likes it.

Thanks for reading today,

Jen

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