Let me introduce my latest project - I'm making the Paisley Parade quilt designed by Laurie Simpson that was on the cover of Quilt Sampler magazine last year. Look here to see what the finished quilt will look like. I absolutely adore the Prairie Paisley fabrics, and am already planning a second quilt with my leftovers.
I've never made a medallion-style quilt before and I am really enjoying this one.
Here is the second block of my Wool and Needle Snowmen thru the Year by Buttermilk Basin.
I hope you are all enjoying this holiday weekend. I've had the last 3 days off from my "real" job and will have Monday off as well. I will be working at the quilt shop tomorrow, but I don't mind - that's my "fun" job.
This morning I finally finished the shop sample I've been working on with Moda's Wonderland fabric. It was not a fun project to piece and I'm glad that I'm done and now have all the possibilities of my fabric stash and my sewing room at my disposal for a more "fun" project. I'm already excited to get started!
I've made quite a lot of progress on my Wonderland quilt, but now it is getting too big to photograph. Take the last photo I posted of the blocks and multiply it by 4, and that's the progress I have made on that project. I can see the light at the end of the tunnel!
I started a new stitching project. I found this cute pattern - Wool and Needle Snowmen thru the Year by Buttermilk Basin. Each piece is 4-1/2 x 5-1/2 and can be entirely stitched, or you can add wool applique pieces, which is what I am doing with mine. I will frame these with quilt fabric and make a wallhanging.
I used Sandhut fabric for the first time as my background, and it's great for stitching. It's substantial enough that I don't need a hoop, and the thickness of it means I don't have to worry about threads showing through to the front. I followed this wonderful tutuorial to transfer my design to Solvy and it works really great! This will be my warm up project to Winter Wonderland.
Wow, I cannot believe it's been more than 2 weeks since I updated my blog! I have finally finished the second of my stunt sewing projects that I couldn't blog about and now I am making a sample for the quilt shop using these cute Wonderland fabrics by Moda. Here are the first 4 blocks - they are 15" blocks, so this will be one really big quilt!
I have my first stunt quilt back from the quilter, and as much as I would love to give you a sneak peek and show off the fabulous quilting like Nicole did with hers, it doesn't photograph well (and I completely blame *that* on my photography skills). Rest assured, the quilt is absolutely gorgeous. My 2 coworkers at the quilt shop wanted to make sure we laid in a supply of the fabric so they could make the quilt, too. But wait until you see the second stunt quilt - it will take your breath away. It's one of those rare projects where, every time I finished a block and put it on the design wall I said "oh that's my favorite block" until I finished the next one!
Park City Girl is hosting a virtual Quilt Festival, asking folks to post a photo and the story behind their favorite quilts. My Kowabunga quilt has to be in the top 5 of my favorites - you can see I even turned it into my blog banner!
In 2006, I gathered some terrific orange fabrics which were so completely out of my comfort zone. I started searching for the perfect pattern to use with them, and decided on a pattern called Zuzu's Petals, designed by Carrie Nelson of Miss Rosie's Quilt Co. Putting the scrappy orange and white blocks together was so much fun, and the colors just made me smile the entire time I worked on it. There are some really sparkly orange fabrics in it too, and I really love the added pizazz (like an orange quilt needs extra pizazz!!).
I found a wild surfboard fabric for the border. In retrospect, I think it detracts a little from the orange and I wish I had stayed with something more subdued, but I tend to overthink these things.
When I finished the quilt in early 2007, I emailed a picture of it to Carrie Nelson. Later that summer, I was lucky enough to take 2 classes from Carrie at the Buggy Barn in Reardan, WA. One of the participants asked her how she felt about different interpretations of her pattern designs, and she began to tell a story about a wonderful quilt she had seen made from her Zuzu's Petals pattern in wild oranges and pinks. It took me a few minutes to realize it was my quilt she was talking about, and I've never been so flattered.
I think I might win the prize for the most boring quilt blog ever! It's not that I am not sewing, but I am working on another TOP SECRET quilt that I cannot blog about.
So how about I distract you with pictures of my adorable daughter? She had her first basketball practice last night. She did very well for never having played before - about half the girls on the team haven't, so she is not alone, but she seemed to be having fun and even made a few baskets. If nothing else, she is the cutest player ever (not that Mom is biased or anything)!
It seems like I blinked and the next thing I knew, my baby boys turned 12! I remember when we brought them home from the hospital - it took their dad, my mom and me about a week before we could tell them apart - they look so different, there's not a chance of that happening now! Happy Birthday to 2 of the sweetest boys a mom could ask for - they are smart, funny and talented as all get out, and next year they'll be TEENAGERS! Happy Birthday Boys!
