Waiting for Spring.

I made this quilt last winter in anticipation of spring. It is from Applique Outside the Lines by Piece O' Cake. I love all of their quilts and as soon as I saw this one I just had to make it. I love how it graduates from the light colored backgrounds to the darker blue backgrounds....it is exactly like the book.

Here is a close up of the quilting which is just outline quilting around each leaf. I started to quilt the individual leaves (2) and decided it would take forever and quit.
This was a lot of fun to make and so easy. I think it is a good first applique project.

Kelly

Untitled

I made this quilt over the past 2 days while it snowed and snowed and snowed. I know it is a little "out" there but it has meaning to me. I like the bright yet soft colors and the hard edge of the black and grey. The ric rac gives it that extra edge even though we associate it with being sweet and nice.

The center is Our Lady of Guadalupe the patron saint of Mexico, I have had this fabric for a while and was waiting for a project. When I was a kid I would sit in mass and read all about the saints in the back of the missal. Most of them were being stoned to death or worse! I think I liked Our Lady of Guadalupe the best because her feast day is the day before my birthday.

Here is an up close picture of the quilting I did. I used a thread called Precensia on the flowered background and LOVED it. I can't believe how good it made my stitches look.

This is a detail of the fabric used in the borders, I added the X to both eyes.

This is the original iconic image which holds lots of symbolism. The one I thought was interesting is the light that surrounds her. Here is what I found:

The Indians worshipped the sun god. If the sun did not shine each day, they felt they had offended their god and would offer a human sacrifice, usually children. This shows that because she is surrounded by the sun, her God is more powerful.

Okay class is over for the day!

Kelly

Day to Sew

Yesterday they were predicting snow. We were in the 3 to 5 inch range.......a perfect day to sew. Everyone is gone, I can't go anywhere and the snow is beautiful. The plan was to quilt the basket quilt until I realized I had no batting. Scrambling to figure out what to do now. Time is ticking away.

I decided to redo my block because I wasn't so sure about the vase. Now I am happy with this one, it seems to ground the whole design. But I was not exactly in the mood to sit and applique, I try to save that for when I am hanging out with the family at night.

I put together a quilt that is very different. It went together fast and I started the machine quilting yesterday. This is another UFO of sorts that I wanted to get done this year. I will try to finish it today.

Needless to say they were wrong about the forecast. We ended up with 16 inches of snow. It's ok, another day to play in the sewing room.

Kelly

Color My World

My next basket quilt is ready to  be put together. I think the name of it will be Color My World. This was how I originally was going to set it...but changed my mind.

I decided to set it with 4 patches using some of the colors in the baskets. I divided the fabrics into 2 piles, hot colors and cold colors. I will use 2 of each "temperature" in a block.

I wanted to show this cutting mat that was a huge help cutting the squares.

It spins! I bought this over the summer and this is the first time it has been used. Because all the square were from scraps and all different sizes I cut them in sets of 4. It was super easy using the spinning mat.

My blocks are all together and today I hope to get the top sewn and be quilting it by tomorrow, fingers crossed.

Kelly

My Quilt in a Book

My friend Cheryl Lynch has a new book that just came out called "Quilt Fiesta". I made this quilt for her book. I must say it is exciting to see your work in a book! Stay tuned I will be giving away 2 of her books in the near future.

I used wonder under and machine buttonhole stitch around the applique. This had to be done in a relatively short amount of time...no time for needle turn! I love the happy colors and of course, polka dots.

I also recieved my first bee block today. I really like it and look forward to seeing the rest. Thanks Tracy!

Kelly

Bee Blocks

I am participating in an online block exchange...my first.

Each person picked out the colors they wanted, I picked the pattern. I hope they like them!

Kelly

Do You Remember This Quilt?

This quilt is called Celestial Dream and was designed by Susan Powell in 1995. It was a quilt that was very popular at the time. Summer House (now named Lady Fingers), a quilt shop in Oley, PA sold this pattern in kits and I think it was a block of the month too.

I did the center panel in the late 1990's. It was fun to do and is quite large. My applique was pretty good back then!

But this is the reason I want to finish the quilt....this panel is my absolute favorite part of the quilt and took me a long time to do. These are the only 2 sections of the quilt I have done. I want to finish it in some way but will not do it the way it looks in the original picture. Stay tuned!

My Blue Basket of Happiness is finished! I set a goal to finish it over the weekend and got it complete. That is now 2 finished quilts for 2011, I don't think I can keep going at that pace!

Here is a close up of the quilting. This is always the hardest part for me, trying to decide how to quilt it. How do you decide on a quilt pattern? I am always amazed at the people who know how they are going to quilt it before they even make it! Now that would be a fun to try.

Kelly

Winner(s)

The official has picked a name for my give away and it is Ann Champion of  Ann Champion's Blog! I very much admire Ann's applique so I am sure she will put it to good use. Congratulations Ann!......but wait the official decided she wanted to pick two names out, so how do you so no to this little sweetheart? You don't so I just let her pick another name. Ailsa of Not Enough Time To Craft. I will be sending Ailsa a charm pack of Moda's Chocolat.
Congratulations ladies!

Kelly

Blue Basket of Happiness

The top is finished now I need to decide how to quilt it. My husband named it Blue Basket of Happiness, he is always so positive.

At first the thought was to have the flying geese flying! I wasn't feeling it.

I turned them this way and liked it much better. Spikey!

This pretty pile of scraps was left over, they will go in the scrap bag for another project.
Hopefully this will be quilted over the weekend!

Kelly

This Is Very Inspirational

My friend Cynthia sent me this link from Youtube about a blind quilter. I guess you never know what you can do until you have to....

Kelly

Now Why Didn't I think Of That?

I found this amazing idea for half square triangles by the Missouri Star Quilt Company on Youtube. I thought I would do it to make sure it really works and see how accurate this is......

First take two charm squares.

Stack them up, right sides together.

Sew a 1/4" all around the outside edge. I started on a side but now realize I should have started in a corner, but it doesn't make that much difference.

It will look like this....you can see my little wobble on the left hand corner...

Use your rotary cutter and ruler and cut from corner to corner.

Flip them open and voila! you have perfect half square triangles.....One note of caution, the edges are on the bias. It is most important to PRESS not IRON your finished square. This is a cool idea and I will use it in the future.

If you measure a charm square they are a little bit over 5", as you can see in this picture. If you cut your own charm squares exactly 5" you will get an exact 2 1/2 " finished square. My friend Terry just emailed me and said, if you cut your own  on the bias they would turn out with the edges on the straight of grain.....another good reason for friends!
I am just a little slow on the uptake or have you heard of this technique before? Isn't it always the simple things that amaze us?
Or maybe it is just me!!

Kelly

My First Give Away!

Ok this is my first time doing this so here goes.......

Here are some of the leftovers from the Procrastination Quilt, I am also going to throw in one of the chopped up blocks. There are 13 fabrics of various sizes. The smallest piece is 9 x 9 and the largest is a 1 yard piece. All you have to do is a leave a comment and tell me what kind of quilts you like. I will draw a name on Monday, January 17th. Please be sure I have an email so I can contact you.
Good Luck!

Kelly

Quilt Fiesta!

Today is the release date of the book Quilt Fiesta by my friend Cheryl Lynch. It is a fabulous book and worth taking a look at, you can check it out on Amazon. You can also go to her blog here Cheryl Lynch Quilts Blog . She is very talented and a good friend! Congratulations Cheryl!!!

Kelly

First Finished Quilt of 2011

My quilt as you go project is finished! It feels wonderful to have a UFO done. This block was from the Piecemaker's Calendar from the '90s, I remember being so excited that I found that basket fabric. I also put some antique buttons on it.

There were a couple of blocks that did not fit into the quilt. I decided to cut them up and use them as fillers.

I am happy with the effect, it adds to the scrappiness of it.

These were just chopped off at the edge. Again I like how it is very random and seems not real thought out (not)! It did feel weird to cut right through that appliqued sunflower!!



Procrastination

Here is the finished quilt. The picture is not that great, it was still dark this morning and everyone was leaving for the day. While these are not my favorite colors or style any more I am happy with the results.

Here is a picture of the back. As you can see all those left over pieces of reproduction fabrics got used up!  The quilt as you go method was a good exercise and I think it will be something I will use again. Especially with more "custom" quilting where I need more control. I am not sure how much time I saved but it is flat, square and finished! I am going to try and get some more UFO's done now that I see it was not too bad.

Kelly

Random Things

I found this adorable little scarf on a blog called Happy Together. Check out Jessica's tutorial if you want to make one too. It was very fast and easy. I love the pom pom trim.

I also found some new Amy Butler fabric that I really really like. It is called Soul Blossom.

I just may have to get some more of this lovely.

Every Sunday I check out a blog called Post Secret . It is really amazing to see what people are thinking and very profound. Check it out I think you might like it.



Today is a big game for football fans in our house. We will be parked in front of the TV at 4:00 so I better go finish the Procrastination Quilt. Go Birds!!

Kelly