Design Wall Monday

I've been working on my Castle Wall blocks...  once I actually got them on the wall where I could step back and take a good look I've decided they are a little dark. So now I'm adding some lighter corners.

On the Wall

This last week I just couldn't find any time to make any more Dresdens for my Wild Flower quilt. Nothing new to show you there...

On Wednesday I meet with several ladies for applique...  At the end of last year they decided they wanted me to teach them my beginning applique hearts class.  For some it's a refresher and for our newest member it's all new. Over 9 weeks we are making applique heart blocks each with a different technique. 

We started with needle turn. I like needle turn because there is no prep work...  You mark your shape. Cut it out and applique. 

Then we did cut away needle turn...  It's basically the same, but you don't cut your whole shape at the beginning. You cut a little as you go.  This is great for Hawaiian type applique.  Sorry not pic... of this block.

The third block is freezer paper on top.  This is fabulous for when you have a busy print and you can't find a pen that will show in the light area or the dark area at the same time.  Every one always gets nervous with this one.  I tell them...  just keep going.  It will turn out!

Looks good ones the paper is off...

The Fourth week was needle turn over freezer paper.  This is also good for fabrics you don't want to mark, but not good for shapes with tight areas.  I like have the edge of the freezer paper to help keep the edge of the shape sharp while turning, but I don't like removing the paper... opps...  no pic of that one either.

Then last week we did starch over Templar and glue baste the shape down.  I like this technique because when you sit down to stitch everything is ready and all you have to do is stitch.  I don't like all the prep work tho!!!

Here's four blocks completed...  not sure where the fifth heart is.

If you have time...  pop on over to Judy's to see what everyone is working on!

Design Wall Monday

I haven't posted a Design Wall Monday in many, many moons!!!  So today I thought I would show you what I've been up to.

I've been working on these Castle Wall blocks...

They are all hand pieced!!!

Call me crazy...  but I really enjoy hand piecing!  I bought the perfect templates for the Castle Wall from Mickey Depre.  She has instructions on how to assemble the blocks and a gallery page that show cases her customer's and student;s blocks!!!  Check it out!

It's a great project to work on while watching tv...

If you want to see what others have on there wall you can head over to Judy's....

Design Wall Monday

Man these Mondays come around fast!!!

Being Christmas last week, I did not do anymore work on my Log Cabin Quilt.  I didn't work on anything to tell the truth, but I thought I would share a hand project that I have going.

A month or so ago I start piecing these Castle Wall blocks.  They are pieced by hand.  Over at MDQuilts you can see a picture of Mickey Depre's quilt top...  Which I fell in love with and just had to do!  She also has templates for sale....  I believe the price is going up January 1st, so you better get then now!  There is also a 3 part tutorial on piecing these fabulous blocks!!!

I have four blocks finished...  Here are the 1st three.

And number four...

I am really loving the process of hand piecing these...

If you have time...  take a look at what everyone else is working on over at Judy's!

Design Wall Monday... Scrappy Log Cabin

I belong to a group of ladies that meet every Wednesday morning....  Kind of a Sit and Stitch. No dues. No rules. Some people bring hand sewing. Some bring knitting or crochet.  Some just come to have coffee and visit, but each of us are quilters at heart.  We have a quilt show once a year...  usually the same time as the big car show in hopes to bring more people in to take a look.

Every year we have a challenge quilt that most of us try to participate in.  The idea is that everyone has a quilt done for the quilt show.  This year everyone is to make a log cabin quilt.  Again, no rules.

I've always wanted to make a scrappy log cabin quilt every since I started making quilts in 1990.  When ever I'm done with a project I cut the left over fabric into 1.5" strips in the hopes to one day make my scrappy log cabin.  I separate these strips into small bins.  One for dark strips and one for light strips.  Well....   these bins were starting to over flow!!!  Annndddd, this challenge is just the push I need to make my quilt!!!  Wooohoooo

I've finished 22 blocks so far.  Here's 20 of them laid out on my bed.  (I should of made my bed before taking the pix!)

I haven't decided yet how I'll lay them out...  this lay out is just to see how they look together.

I don't know why I'm surprised by how many purple scraps I have!!!  Well, actually I'm not!  If you are, then you don't know me as well as you thought you did.  LOL

While sewing my blocks together every so often I come across a light that is really darker than what I want for my light side of the cabin.  Instead of setting it a side...  I turn it over an use the wrong side, or the back side.  Someone once told me that I paid for both sides of the fabric so there is no reason not to use them!!!

See the top light log...   that is the back side of that fabric!

Here's the back side of the block...  see how much darker that fabric is!  Too light to go in the dark bin, but darker than I wanted for my lights.

If you have some time...  go on over to Judy's to see what everyone has on their wall!!!

Design Wall Monday

I've been working on my gradation quilt....   I have big plans for this quilt when it comes to quilting!  Excited to get it to that point :-)

Unfortunately I'm having a hard time getting the colors to show correctly in my pictures....  Also, it take a lot of yardage to get those corner triangles!!!  So I thought I'd put the big left over pieces together!

 

I think this will make a good background for some applique...  don't you?

It's Monday and you know what that means...  Head over to Judy's to see what everyone is working on...

Design Wall Monday

Besides all the wonderful customers, one of my favorite parts of working at Quilt Harbor is getting to make shop samples.  The owner pretty much lets me play!!!

I started this new project last week...

 

I'm playing with the effects of gradation fabric...  Yes, this is all from one piece of fabric!  Hope to get more done tomorrow :-)

Join the over at Judy's to see what is on the wall....

Design Wall Monday

I really, really want to get back to my selvage quilt....  I seem to need a lot of space to work on it and sense Quilt Harbor as moved into a smaller store front I haven't had room to really spread things out.  Maybe in a couple weeks when we get the new class rooms.

So in the mean while...  at the store we have a scrap bin.  Us and customers put all our bits and pieces in the bin.  You can come in and fill a lunch bag full of scraps for $3.00.  Well, it's over flowing!!!!  So I decided to make a crumb quilt to use up some of the scraps.

 

This is almost as much fun as the selvage quilt!!!  

 

Trying to use up scraps makes more scraps!!!!   LOL

Pictures were taken with my tablet so they are not the best...

You can go on over to JudyL's too see what others have on there wall.

 

 

What's on your Wall???

Or table cloth as the case might be....

I've been intrigued by all the Hexie quilts I've been seeing all around the internet.  It got me thinking of the second or third quilt I ever started...  The second quilt class that I took back in 1991 was a hand piecing class.  I had grand illusions of making a whole quilt by hand.

At the shop I took this class there was this template that I had to have...

 

Then I promptly started buying fat quarters of every fabric that appealed to me and started making Granny Flower blocks.  You have to remember I started making these in 1991.  At that time I thought the only fabric one could use for background was muslin...  Don't ask me where I got that idea cause I don't know.

I made blocks and I'd put them away and make something else.  Then I would get them out and make a few more...  A lot of these were made while the Hubster was in the hospital (but that's another story...) 

Then at some point I decided that I'd start putting them up on my design wall which consisted of a flannel backed table cloth.  They stayed there for who knows how long...  until we were getting ready to move.  Then they got folded up and packed away.

These blocks have been packed away for 7 years since that move....  until yesterday.

I was going to press them and make them all nice before I took pix, but then I thought "why?"  They are probably going to be folded back up and put back in their container...  I feel like I should start putting them together, but when?  Between making socks and applique my time for hand work is already taken up.

Oh... I did fussy cut many of the blocks.

Some of the fabrics came from my Grandma's scraps...  like the green and rust print in the center of this one.

And some of the fussy cutting wasn't the best...  my light house are a little bit wonky.

And some newer fabrics crept in as the project progressed...

 

But the big,  BIG difference that I notice between my granny's and the new hexies...  are mine are hand pieced.  Not English Paper Pieced, but hand pieced with set in corners...

So I use to joke and call this "My forever quilt"  cause it's taking me forever to make!  You never know..  now that it's out of the box I may work on it once again.

As on every Monday...  you can head on over to Judy's and see what others have on their wall.

Design Wall Monday 2/18/13

A bunch of miscellaneous projects....  that's what's on my wall!

Yes, I'm still working on my selvage quilt, but I got distracted.  I've been wanting to make a cowboy boot quilt for a very long time. 

When I first started quilting in the 90's and taking classes at The Quilt Barn in Puyalup they were offering a class to make cowboy blocks.  I had signed up for it....  but life happened and I could go.

Later I found the pattern in a magazine....  and it renewed my interest in this block.  I know I saved it in my inspiration binder, but who knows were that binder is?  Not me!

Then I saw some blocks that Sue Hecker had on her design wall a couple years ago....  Again my interest was renewed!

So the other day while looking for directions for piped binding in stack of my files guess what I found?  Yep, my saved copy of the magazine article....  I couldn't resist but to start making blocks right away!!!

I love these....  They make me giggle!!!

  

My plan is to off set them with applique blocks of brands.  You know like 'Lazy S Ranch'.  I've been serging the meaning of brands and will probably come up with a few of my own...  

So if your so inclined... you can go on over to Judy's and see what others have on their wall.

Design Wall Monday

My selvage quilt has made some progress....

Making these blocks just makes me giggle...  I will have to get some close ups of some of the sayings that are on the selvages.  It will be a quilt that you will have to get up close and read.  The more you look at it the more you find, and finding just the right saying make me giggle out loud!  So far it has "Are We There Yet?", "Made with pride in the USA", "Lady Bug, Lady Bug", "Trippin", "Before the Kiss", and many more...

This quilt has been named....  My Friends Bring Me Dots!

 

Because my friends really do bring me dots!!!

I have joined a group of ladies that get together once a week to work on hand projects and give encouragement to one another, plus show and tell.  We are an informal group.. no dues, no name, but we do a raffle quilt once a year and donate it to The Emerson Building (senior apartments) for letting us you their conference room.  

Hope to start quilting this later this week....

Since it's Monday (at least for a couple more hours) you can check out what everyone is up to over at Judy's.

On the Wall 1/14/13

Or should I say "On the Table"...  since all my wall space is taken with projects that have been up there forever!

Anyway, I've been saving selvages and have had others saving selvages for me...  So last week about this time I went to get something out of one of my closets and 5 (yes!  5) grocery bags full of selvages came tumbling out and spilling all over the floor!!!  You know what that means.  Time to start my selvage quilt!

 

 I am loving this....  so much fun!

 

 

If you want to see what others have on their walls (tables, beds and floors) head on over to Judy's and check it out...  :-)

 

Design Wall Monday (NOT)

Today is not a design wall Monday for me...  because the quilt that has been on the wall is now on the machine!  YES!  I'm quilting something for ME!!!  (that doesn't happen very often and when it does I get excited...  VBG)

 

I'm using a few of the designs that I will be teaching in my new class Heavy Metal Quilting....

Design Wall Monday 12/10/12

It's Monday again...  and that means it's time to show what on the wall.

 

I finished piecing my Granny Square quilt...  now to find time to quilt it!  I may have time between Christmas and New Years.

What's on your wall?  You can see what other are working on over at Judy's....

Design Wall Monday 12/3/12

I have all my Granny Square blocks done and ready for sashing.... 

Not sure on sure lay out yet...

You can head on over to Judy's to see what  everyone else is up to.

Design Wall Monday, 10/29/12

While working at Quilt Harbor one of the benefits that I have is getting to choose and make store samples...

We had gotten blot of Laurel Burch Flying Colors fabric...  love it!  It sat on the self for a couple weeks without much notice, so I decided to make a sample.  I chose the Granny Square quilt block to make the best of this fabric.

I made one block....  and once customers saw this block...  out the door it went.  That's right!  I all sold in one day!!!  WOW! 

The colors are a little brighter than what the pic shows...  and I really do like it!  Now I need to find time to get the rest of the blocks done :-)

Head on over to Judy's to see what others have on their wall...

Design Wall Monday

With all the excitement of going to the Antique Roadshow last week I didn't get much sewing done...  I did manage to piece my Rose of Sharon blocks together.  This is going to be an asymmetrical wall hanging...

I had planned on using the medium pink where the solid turquoise fabric is but I didn't have enough, and somebody bought the rest of the bolt at Quilt Harbor!  I tried several other pinks, but they all seemed to bright so I settled on the turquoise.  Not sure if I'm really liking it or not.  Will have to see once the border is ready to go on how I feel about it then.

This project has been a intermediate to advance class that I've been teaching at Quilt Harbor.  We are now working on our borders....

This has been a learning experience for me as well as my students with designing the applique border...

One of my students is already done with hers!!!  I'm so far behind and I'm the teacher :-0

Design Wall Monday

Or should I say design bed?  I don't really have a big wall at home to use for a design wall... Big picture windows on all the outside walls and closets and such, so I laid these blocks out on my bed.

I started these blocks in the mid 90's.  I'd only work on them a little here and a little there.  I didn't think my applique was 'good enough' so they would get put away.  After going to the different quilt shows I realized I was being to critical on my workmanship.  My applique is just fine and since that realization I've been teaching applique techniques to beginners.

So anyway, I found these blocks that had been put away and finished the 4th block the other day...

 

When I went to block it the green started to run so I soaked it over night in sythralpol.  I remember this happening on one of the other blocks, but like I said it's been since the mid 90's so the memory is not fresh!  All the green came out of the background fabric so I'm happy...

I thought I would make another block but I know longer have the same background fabric.  The fabric I cut for the setting squares is close, but just a touch darker.  I think it will be fine once it's quilted.  (I have big plans for the quilt...)

I have enough of the pink left for a small border then a larger ecru border (for more quilting!)