Happy National Quilting Day!

Though I haven't written for a while, I really have been busy at the machine when possible.

Here is what I'm working on this week.  It is a super secret project, so am only showing you wnat is under my needle.  It is further along as I finished the all over quilting on 2 of the sections this week.

I've also made a few of these Foster Care Bags that our church ministry called Seams of Love has been working on.  Foster kids often leave their homes with their belongings in garbage bags if they even have anything they can take with them.  These bags will help them carry some of their essentials and give them a bit of dignity!

It is purely coincidental that both of these projects have a lot of blue and red in them!

Next time I'll tell you how these came to be and where I'm going with them.

You may remember that I started a 4-patch project at last year's Friend's Mini Retreat.

I'll tell you about my tumbler leader ender project then, too.  Here is a preview.

Hope you are having a super National Quilting Day and, yes, that is an actual day and it is always the 3rd Saturday in March.  Happy Quilting!

Until Next Time,

XOXOxoxoXOXO

Lois

Vines and Stars Quilt Top Finished - Finally!

At long last, the borders have been added and this top is done!  Great feeling!  As I told you, this quilt began as a demonstration piece for classes I was teaching on how to applique' vines and leaves.  There are a few tricks to making those sharp points on the leaves and having a vine stay even as it curves.  I used it as a demo at the AQS Show in Nashville way back in 2005 for the first time.  While it's been fun, I'm glad to have the top finished! 

 

Sorry about the telescoping of the photo.  The quilt is too large for the design wall.  It is 94" x 99". It will shrink some with the quilting, though.

 

Do you remember that I nearly ran out of the black background used for the applique strips and the 8-pointed stars? I told you about it here.  Well, I found what I think is the perfect solution for the borders.

 

 

The blacks actually match better in person than they look like in the photos.  Can you see the musical notes?  Originally I found a black with a treble clef, but it seemed too close to the other black and really didn't "pop" as a border even with the colorful striped inner border.

 

 

But this print seemed to bring it all together.

 

 

It works for me.  What do you think?

 

Sorry for the odd angles on the photos.  I was sitting on the loft rail and not feeling all that secure!  It is a rare rainy day in the desert, so the light wasn't very cooperative either.  I won't complain about the rain, though, we certainly can use the moisture even if it isn't an ideal day for taking photos.

 

Hope you have enjoyed the story of the vines and stars quilt.  Have an awesome day!

 

xoxoXOXOxoxo

 

Lois

 

 

 

A Sew Day and What I've Been Doing

My sister called a couple of weeks ago or maybe more to ask where I've been.  She says she keeps up with what I'm doing mostly through my blog.  Yes, that means I'm not a very good correspondent and I rarely call anyone.  It's not that I don't want to, but we live across the country from each other and there is that whole time difference.  Arizona doesn't participate in Daylight Savings Time, so half the year there is a two hour difference and half the year it's only 1 hour.  By the time I decide I should call in the evening, it's too late where she lives.  That's my story and I'm sticking to it!

Seriously, I've just been busy with this that and the other.  Here are a few of the things I've done in the past few weeks.

First I was invited to a sew day at Evelyn's.  Evelyn had just returned to Arizona from Wisconsin where she spends part of the year.  She is not exactly a Winter Visitor as she has a home here, but it is just a lot cooler in the Summer in Wisconsin and she has a home there, too!  She and several others get together occasionally to sew and this time, they asked me to join them.  Though I was only able to stay part of the day, it was a great time and I got a lot done, too!

 

This is Evelyn busily stitching away.  Evelyn does mostly art quilts.  She is collaborating with a Wisconsin quilter and they enter quilts in shows together.  Her house is chock full of quilts on the walls and draped over furniture.  There is a LOT to see at Evelyn's house!

 

 

This is Judi.  She makes the most incredible miniatures you would ever want to see!  She was hand piecing the most amazing mariner's compass block.  And it was for Sue!  Judi's work is accuracy with a capital A! Tiny pieces with sharp points to die for!

 

 

Tari was piecing blocks. Her lamp is in the way, so we cannot see them.  I cannot remember what block she was working on. She kept her nose to the machine and worked away all day!

 

 

Sue was busy squaring up her applique blocks.  Sue also is a long arm quilter and probably produces more quilts or quilt tops in a year than anyone you know.

 

 

Here is a close up of one of the blocks Sue was working on.  There are pieced blocks in the quilt as well.  It is a lovely soft palette and will be beautiful when completed.

 

Also present was C.J.  She is Sue's cousin and arrived later in the morning.  Her name isn't really C.J., it is Judy.  Since there was already a Judi in the group and since this Judy is Sue's cousin, the group refers to her as C.J. which is short for Cousin Judy as it's less confusing that way.

 

And what was I working on that day?  Sewing the blocks together for this quilt.

 

 

Since that day, I have set the strips together and shortened the vine strips as the star block strips were not quite as long.  Remember I did the vine strips when I was teaching vine and leaf applique so the quilt had not been designed at that point.  I just randomly selected a length for the vine strips.

 

 

The first border has just been cut and placed on the design wall.  It is not stitched yet.  I really like the multicolored striped on the black for this inner border.  Stay tuned for what the outer border will be.  I also have a tutorial almost ready on how to hand piece eight pointed starts that will be coming soon as well.

 

In addition to doing that, I unstitched in excess of 1,200 inches of quilting in the border of another quilt.  I was just not happy with the way it looked so it had to go.  Here is what replaced it.

 

 

It is finally bound and ready to go.  As it is 100" by 100", it took a bit of time to do all of that picking out stitches and re-quilting! I cannot show you the rest of the quilt as it will appear in a magazine.  I'm still working on the directions for it.

 

So that sort of brings you up to date.  I will try not to take such a long leave from my blog again.  I really missed you and hearing from you.  You make my day when you leave a comment so please let me know what you have been doing or what you think about what I've been doing.

 

 

Until Next Time,

xoxoXOXOxoxo

 

Lois















More Progress on Vines and Stars Quilts

Surprise, I'm back sooner than you may have expected.  Between job and family and working on two quilts simultaneously, there never seems to be time to tell you, dear friends, what is happening in my studio and life.  I'm trying to do better, honestly, I am!  You have no idea how much I miss you when I am unable to connect with you through this blog!

Autumn Chains is being quilted on my Bernina during the daylight hours when I can see to quilt better.  So during the evening hours when it is too dark up here in the studio to quilt confidently, I spend time on Vines and Stars. I'm really trying to maximize the hours I have when I'm not at work.

Last week, I showed just the applique strips and the stars completed at that time.  You can see photos in my last post  here.  Here is a look at what has happened since then.

 

There are two more blocks than there were in the last post.  That doesn't seem like much progress, but all of the remaining 16 blocks have now been cut.  All of the background triangles have been added to the design wall as well.  If things seem a bit off, remember that all of these pieces are separate pieces placed on the design wall. The quilt looks a bit "wonky" at this point, but it will be fine when everything is stitched together.

 

See all of those white spares?  Yep, 16 of them to be filled in yet.  Do you notice what is missing?  I mean besides those 16 blocks?  There is very little blue and yellow !  How did I miss that?  That is why a design wall is essential -- you get to see the big picture before the blocks are sewn together.  I've actually added very little more blue, but there are several yellow blocks waiting to be stitched together.

 

You may remember that there was some doubt that there would be a sufficient amount of the black background fabric.  It was purchased when we lived in a different state several years ago, so purchasing additional fabric was not an option.  Here is what was left once the background pieces and remaining blocks were cut out.

 

Yikes!  The largest leftover chunk is 9" x 12-1/2".  Enough to go back and re cut the block in the lower left corner.  Did you notice it?  Nope, you can't see it.  There is NO contrast in the photo.  In person, I can see it is a block made with a dark rust star, but it disappears in the photo.  Maybe there will have to be a blue block to replace that one.

Design walls and taking photos in progress are a good thing in quilt making!  It is far better to see a problem before all the pieces are stitched together.

Hope you are having an absolutely awesome week!

 

Until next time

 

xoxoXOXOxoxo

 

Lois

 

 

 

Vines and Stars Progress

Since my machine is busy with a machine quilting project, I've been needing to stitch something.  My friend, Julie, over at Julie K Quilts has been taking older UFO's and focusing on them which has been an inspiration as she gets those done.  She inspired me to bring out this ongoing project and spend more time on it again.

 

Yep, it has a ways to go to be pieced.  The applique strips have been done a very long time. These strips  began as a carry along project when I was doing a lot of teaching and traveling. They served as a demonstration sample on how to applique leaves and stems. They were worked on in quite a few states! This is my first strip quilt and I am liking it a lot!

 

 

Once the applique strips were done, I started working on the hand pieced 8-pointed star block.  The pieced bocks finish to 6 inches. I've gone back and forth on how to set them, but this is my preferred way to put the blocks and strips together.  I  need to make 17 more blocks for this setting of the quilt.

 

 

There may not be enough of the black, so I'm thinking of other ways to fill in the triangles.  Once all the blocks are done, I'll measure what is left to see if I can cut the quarter-square triangles or if I need to be creative by string piecing or something along those lines.

 

This quilt is using up a lot of bits and pieces left from other projects.  A true scrap quilt, except for the black which was bought as yardage too many years ago to think there might be some in a quilt shop somewhere!  I do love the multi-color leaves and stars.

 

Any suggestions for a different way to set the stars or a creative way to extend the black?

 

Do you ever have projects that get put away for months at a time?  What motivates you to get them back out and start working on them again?

 

Inquiring quilters want to know so leave a message about your experiences with UFO's.

 

Hope to be more regular in blogging than the last couple of months.  I miss you!

 

xoxoXOXOxoxo

 

Lois

 

.

Antique Des Moines Star Quilt

Hello friends!

I really am trying to be better at sharing before a week has past.  Today I'm sharing this antique quilt.  Actually, just the top is antique.  My dad found the quilt top or maybe even just the blocks at a farm auction.  My dad LOVED to go to auctions.  And you know what?  I loved it when I could go with him.

My mother quilted the top in the 80's and gave it to me.

It was used on our daughter's bed and she really loved it.  It did look wonderful on her four poster bed. 

Maybe she loved it a bit too much!

One day, I noticed that the blocks that were made with black fabrics looked like this.

The blue blocks did not disintegrate as badly.

I must have been hurrying too much as this photo is really blurry.

I would re take the photos except, this quilt was given to her for Christmas.

She was supposed to get this one and the duplicate that I am making for her.

I've been working on the "clone" of this quilt for many years   a while now.

The "clone" kept being put on the back burner so to speak.

My mother died the year I started it and I spent a lot of time in another state.  I was working on this quilt while my mother was in surgery to, hopefully, rid her of the cancer that was attacking her.  Even the "clone" has history.

Last night I finally took the last quilting stitch in the "clone"  It still has to be squared and the binding put on so there aren't any photos of it yet.  There will be another post on it.

It took some research to find out the name of the pattern used.  It's fitting that it is called Des Moines Star as our kids consider Iowa "home" as we lived there many of their growing up years. Another name I found was Lily, but Des Moines Star seems more fitting for an Iowa girl's quilt.

The block wasn't made quite right in the antique quilt, so I duplicated the error so the clone would actually look almost like the antique.

From a distance you don't see the flaws.

Do you mind the flaws in quilts?  I don't in antique ones -- the ones I make, well, that's a different story.

Hope you enjoyed seeing this quilt.  Soon I'll reveal the "clone" now that it is finally quilted.

Stay warm, my friends!

xoxoXOXOxoxo

Lois

.

Vine & Stars Progress

The vine and stars quilt top is still in the works as well as the stacked bricks.  Although, I don't work on this one as much.  Since the stars are being hand pieced, I work on them only when I'm sitting which doesn't seem to happen all that often when I'm home.  Of course, I do sit at the sewing machine.  It's dark when I leave for work so no sewing in the morning.  I can read when it's not quite so light, but sewing with black thread on a black fabric -- not so good!

This is how you saw it last.  There were a few stars done.  Actually there are 4 strips with vines and leaves.  There just isn't room on the edge of the design wall for all of them with the Stacked Bricks quilt up there too. 

I haven't decided on the layout of the stars.  With this on-point layout it will only take 55 stars.  But it will also take at least 111 setting triangles.  I'm not sure there is enough of the black I purchased when I started this quilt to do those plus the corner triangles and all of the 55 blocks. 

So I put the star blocks straight.  It will take a LOT more star blocks to set them straight.  Probably about 20 more.  I haven't really done the math yet.  Which do you like best?

The brighter stars work better, too.  There is a love rust on black star that doesn't show up much from a distance as the values are too close.  Up close, it is a lovely block.  It is the second from the bottom on the photo previous to this one. See?  It just disappears!  I'll be more careful of the values from now on!

It's been a busy weekend with two grand kids spending Friday night and most of Saturday with us.  We love having them here, but it sure does cut the time for getting things done down to almost none!  How did I get the stuff done when our own 3 kids were around full time?  Hmm, I even baked all the bread then, too.  Of course, I didn't work full time away from home.

Hope you had time to do something creative this weekend.

We haven't had any rain.  It's still hot and a bit on the humid side.  I do wish it would just start to rain.  We sure need it!

Until next time,
Lois


Choices

We make choices every day.  Some are easy and some are hard........What shall I wear?  What shall I cook?  Where should I go to school?  Which job should I take?  And on and on.  Not only that they change as we grow older.  What game do I want to play is much different than what course of study should I take in college!  Who should I marry to a Jr. High student much different than the same question to someone seriously looking for a life mate.

Fortunately, some choices are much more fun.  The choice of which quilt to work on is one of those.  This past weekend I looked at the two parts of quilts that I had on the design wall -- one on the left side and one on the right side.

On the left was this one that you've seen before.

These rows are not sewn yet and I have 6 more rows on the design wall now, also not sewn.  I have the ends figured out also since these pieces are angled.

The other one on the design wall was one you've seen the 8-pointed start, but not the vine applique that it will alternate with.the stars.  The vines were done during classes I was teaching on appliqueing vines and leaves with sharp points. 

The choice in how to set the stars might depend on how much of the background fabric I have.

There are four of the vine strips done and there will be 5 rows of stars.  The stars may not be set on point if there isn't enough of the black.  They may or may not have sashes between them.  Again with the choices.  The fabric choices were easy -- scraps!

So which quilt am I working on?  Both, of course.  The stars are being hand pieced when I sit either in the car or in a waiting room or watch TV.  The stacked bricks are machine work and until I start quilting on Jeff's quilt, I'll start sewing these together.  Well, I'll do all of the end bricks first and then start sewing the bricks in the strips together.

There are a couple of more choices to make on that quilt too.  I know that there will be strips between the rows of bricks.  I'm not sure what color, though.  The width of the strip is still to be determined and whether or not there will be another border beyond that.

Lots of choices!  I'm so glad to have this kind of choice.  It's a lot of fun.

What choices are the easiest for you?  What are the hardest?

Hope you are having a lot of fun choices in your life.


Until next time,
Lois

When Friends Gather For Tea Quilt

Tea is so comforting.  Mom gave us tea and toast when we didn't feel well as kids.  Summer always meant iced tea and carefree days.  Is there anything better than sun tea on a hot day?   When we lived in Alabama, though, we had to remember to tell the server that we did not want "swaight tay".  We grew up with sweet tea, but somewhere along the line -- probably too many years in the upper Midwest, we lost our taste for the sweet part.

Now, my favorite iced tea is green tea with honey ad lemon - yep, it's a bit sweet.  My all-time favorites for hot tea are Earl Grey and Lady Grey.  No, it doesn't have anything to do with the fact that one comes in a yellow box and one comes in a blue box, although that doesn't hurt.

I have fond memories of tea with Bonnie and Lorinda in Iowa.  Jo and Joan preferred coffee so I was good with them, too.  Tea in Arizona brings back lovely days spent with Linda L and Linda Y.  Joyce prefers coffee, Diane likes neither, but loves diet Coke and diet Dr. Pepper.

What is your favorite "go to" beverage?

Our church ladies have been having an annual tea for several years.  One year I was asked to make a quilt that would be displayed at the Christmas Tea and the ladies would have the opportunity to win the quilt by giving a donation to help with our Missions program.

Please forgive the quality of the photos.  They were prior to my owning a digital camera and were taken with two different cameras.  Some were taken with flash so the color on the quilt is not true.  Since the quilt went home with someone else, I don't have access to it to retake the photos.  These were scanned into my computer which also affects the quality.

This photo was taken in full sun on the garage door.  The quilt is really washed out in this photo.  Since this was taken, I have purchased a hanging system so the photos can be taken in better locations taking into account where the sun is at the time.

The color is much better in this photo that was taken on the design wall in my studio.  The tea pots were based on both some I own and some I had pictures of from magazines, etc.

Another shot of the quilt in progress.  You will see below the triangles don't remain empty.

Teacups were added to the triangles, but this photo was taken with a Polaroid and the color is way off.  It is far too yellow.  The true color or the background was more like a soft butter.  The pattern was soft roses.

Though you can really see in this photo, the words were on computer paper.  I auditioned several fonts and sizes before deciding on this as the final version.  The letters were then cut from black fabric and hand appliqued to the final border.  I'm very fond of the checkerboard borders dividing the sections.  

Here is a detail shot of the top part of the quilt.  Again, it is washed out.  You may not be able to make it out, but there is a fairy on the pink and green teapot on the right hand side.  She was quite cute.

And here is a detail of the bottom part of the center of the quilt showing the chintz teapots.

When the quilt was finished and bound, I had an AQS certified appraiser fill out two appraisal forms -- one for the winner and one for me.  I was pleased when the quilt brought in slightly more than the appraised value.  I wanted the winner to have an appraisal so they would appreciate that their donation was worth far more and treat the quilt with respect.  You have not control over what happens when a quilt leaves your hands, but my hope was that this quilt would be hung in a place where the winner could see and treasure it and remember when Friends Gathered for Tea that Christmas.

Isn't it about time to go enjoy a glass of iced tea or brew a nice cuppa?  If you've never had tea and scones with a friend at a tea shop, it's time you did!  Even my grand kids like to have a "tea" once in a while.  Of course, they mostly don't drink tea and have lemonade instead, but that's okay -- it's the gathering of friends and family that is important!

Enjoy!

Until next time,
Lois

P.S. Aren't you glad my photography has improved!  Please forgive these photos!