A little of my own sewing

Here's my November batch of blocks for the flickr QBE - Quilt block exchange. There's a pinwheel in pink, white and soft green for Mary. Pink and green block for Wendy. More red and aqua for Jennifer. Black & white is for Alicia - with a hit of color too. And pink and green for Rachel - Sweetteamom. It's always nice to have these done. And next is a showing of the blocks I have received over the last 2 months. I asked for 12-1/2" pink and orange. I totally love how they all go together. Hopefully in the coming months I will find time to get these quilted.

I took a day last week before my flood of quilts arrived to longarm quilt one of my own. It's one of my favorite tops, in some of my favorite fabrics. I held off doing it sooner because I didn't want to mess it up with utter inexperience. Now it is all bound too. It's lots of Kaffe Fasst and Carla Miller prints.

This was my first time using the pantograph patterns. This one is called Splash, from Willowcreek designs. It took about 4 hours to do this measely 60"square quilt! I didn't realize how dense it would be quilted! The quilt back is very textural. I like that.

And here's the whole quilt, but before binding. It's called "Sophie's Garden" - all the flowers just remind me of a summer garden.

And lastly, here is my holiday quilt for the Four Seasons Quilt Swap. My partner does not celebrate Christmas. I selected her specifically so I didn't have to sew something red & green. I loved the challenge of designing this. I used EQ6 to design the top, so that it had the candleabra and the snowflake. The snowflake and dreidle's, which are appliqued on, are in shimmery Fairy Frosts.
I had to do a little research on the internet to figure out what Hebrew letters to put on the dreidles. It has reached my partner, but I don't know what she thinks yet. I spent a long time designing and paper-piecing (which is NOT my favorite thing) this. I just hope she likes it.

Colorful Block Swaps

Here are about 70 blocks I now have from a 9-patch swap hosted here. These are all 6.5" square blocks, or sort of. I have been kind of pokey about doing/starting anything with them. What you don't see, is the other pile of these blocks that are anywhere between 6" square and somewhere under 6.25" square. There are 18 mis-sized blocks out of a swap where only 48 were sent!!! And this is AFTER I took many of them apart and tried to fix them too. Apparently they were cut incorrectly and are unsalvageable. I will however try to connect them and use them on a quilt backing. Oh, and a great thank you to Vanessa, who sent me her 32 blocks (with about 10-12 bad ones of course - which do factor into that 18 erroneous blocks) after the first two of three rounds of this swap. She, too, got tired of the complete lack of quality controls and sent me the blocks last month. I hate that the hostess said she'd send back undersized blocks and in the end, did absolutely nothing. It goes against everything that I believe in, sadly. It bothers me to send blocks back to people, but it bothers me more to send along blocks that are most evidently unacceptable.

Here's another set of blocks. These are from my Colorblocks swap. OK, the swap made only 40 blocks (a few people did 60) - I. personally, made a ton (ok, about 100) of blocks! They are fun, colorful and very nearly all 6-1/2" square. Who would have thought that they could mostly all be sent the correct size??? ...snicker of sarcasm. I have not really decided what I am doing with any of these blocks, but they will likely all become donation quilts when I procure more batting.

It's 11th hour now, but if you are interested in joing a monthly block swap, check this one out on flickr. I will post August blocks I received there later this week.

Join Me for Another Quilt Swap

The Four Seasons Quilt Swap is hosting it's first Holiday Swap...If you think you may be interested, have a look here.

Up to No Good

OK, not so much "No good", just not overly prolific sewing going on here. Last week I sent off some of my birthday block swap blocks. This one went to Debbie - she wanted a depiction of our favorite vacation place. Duh...France.

Here's a 12" NYB for Michelle in what have to be some immensely bold batiks. Honest, it is square and not as wonky as the picture looks.

And a birdhouse for another swapper (Connie). Obviously, birds are not my thing. Or I should say, sewing birds isn't. We've actually been spending a lot of energy lately watching dueling hummingbirds outside my kitchen window.

And for my version of the Four Seasons swap this summer, we are making sets of 20 of these "Colorblocks". I have actually made up close to 40 of them now. Just trying to get things off my list of To-Do's.Someone special's birthday is soon to pass and I have not made a gift. I envisioned this as a summer table piece, perhaps with a flag and slice of watermellon, etc appliqued onto it. In the end, I pieced it and I'm not sure how much it actually resembles a watermellon. I am toying with embroidering the seeds in black, but making them resemble ants. Perhaps this is nuts. I hope ot quilt it this week once that plan is finalized.
I also made my next part of a ALQS3 quilt this weekend, but I won't show it just yet. I still have this sinking feeling I may change my mind and keep this one. Sigh... OH how I love to create work for myself.

This week's sewing agenda includes...

~make double hanging sleeve for Little Dresses quilt. Needs this before it can be submitted for Maine Quilt show in July. It'll give me some evening hand work to do.

~Maybe make last couple June birthday blocks - something with texture and a purses-shoes block (that should be a hoot!)

~I have a round robin and a row robin expected to arrive any day. I have plans for both so these should only take a few days. Just need to see them in my hands to match fabrics.

~Find a design for an appliqued Orca. You'll have to stay tuned for what this is for!

Looking for a simple and colorful block swap?

Then look no further. The Four Seasons Quilt Swap is branching out on a different venture. Won't you join us?

Better Late than Never

The original Four Seasons Quilt Swap piece that I made for Liliane has yet to arrive, sadly (click on "original" to see the first one I made that is missing). A couple weeks ago, I decided it was time to design a replacement. She chose black as her color of choice...remember that this is a monochromatic quilt swap this session. I could use black & white and shades of gray, plus one accent color, for which she chose lime green.

I managed to use all my half decent "shades" of gray on the first quilt. All I had left in my stash were B&W prints. Now, these are pretty decent prints, but not as artsy as the shading can yield. Remember too that I really wanted to send Lil a nice quilt because she did such a fantastic job on a quilt for me recently in the SFRR2.
I designed a table runner that is a combination of drunkard's path blocks and a pointier version (added in because I thought that these may take less time to construct). When I designed this in EQ6 I loved the look of the circles and triangles too. Fortunately my stash of bright greens is almost endless. It was fun pulling lots of whimsical limes greens and using them here.

The black and white areas are mini-stippled, while I did a spring-leaf free flowing pattern in the green winding area. I'm pretty happy with the quilt overall, and absolutely ecstatic that it has arrived (and after only 5 days - as I mailed on last Thursday).

I'm a little sad that I didn't take or feel I had the time to do applique. I really just needed to get a good quilt sent to Lil. I'm feeling better though because she told me she really loves this table runner.

Current Workings...

I'm in a bit of a holding pattern right now. My oldest is off from school this week. Plus, we have a number of doctor, dentist, haircut appts that we are trying to get taken care of. On top of that, I have a nasty sinus infection and my youngest awoke with a 102F fever, and is very clingy today. Joy!

I got my Diamonds quilt trimmed and added the outer border. It is ready for quilting, but I am sending this out as it is larger than I like to do on my machine in 1 piece. I'm delighted with how it turned out. It has great color, noce point matchings, and is super girly.
Here's one of my April birthday blocks that I just finished. I somehow goofed up and did my May blocks instead of these. I'm not totally in love with this "By the Sea" block, but it is OK.

This flag is for the start of a Yahoo groups round robin. I want a patriotic mini that I can hang during June-July. It won't come back to me for 15 months, but here is the starter 4"x4" (sorta!!) block.

Other things...I have pieced another and the last of the Linus tops from the SFRR3 donated blocks. It still needs quilting. I have even added my 2nd border to the SFRR3 flimsy. That I canot show at all. I'll do a sneak peek in a couple weeks. I remade Lil's (yes, the secret is out) 4SQS5 monochromatic quilt and it will be posted (hopefully to arrive this time) tomorrow. I won't show any pictures yet though so as to keep something secret. It's great though - I'd love to keep it!

My 4SQS5 Monochromatic Quilt

I have been waiting to show pictures of this table runner I made my partner for the Four Seasons Quilt Swap Mono-5 for ages. I mailed it 3+ weeks ago and am presently in a panic since it has not yet arrived. My partner is on vacation until the end of next week so I have decided to share the pictures (and everyone cross their fingers it arrives before then!).

This is the back...I actually already showed this picture as a teaser a week or two ago, but I just LOVE that Alexander Henry black & white print. When my partner said she wanted black as her color, I was taken a back because I was not sure what season I could portray in black, and I was already committed to this particular partner. As hostess, I have the luxury of selecting my own partner. I chose winter and I chose green as my accent color. Despite a great number of swappers actually interpreting the directions of the monochromatic swap wrong and using more than one color, the intention was to use one color family and a black OR white accent unless your selected color was black, then you could use a different accent color.
Here is the front. I made the feathered star in December 07. It's about 14" square, so those little triangles are VERY tiny (and it is not paper pieced either). I used a swirling batik around the star/snowflake because it reminded me of a winter storm at night. The other fabrics in the background of the runner and the star are grey and black Fairy Frosts - so lucious. I LOVE how they shimmer.

I needle-turn appliqued whimsical green trees around the edges of the runner. It was fun designing these, and using all different green fabrics for them. The tree trunks are in striped and polka-dots - a little more whimsy. The snow at the bottom of the trees has a shimmer in the fabric - not a Fairy Frost, but slightly sparkly and snowlike.

Here's some closer shots of the trees and the machine quilting. I was a bit nervous quilting this one, as my partner is an accomplished quilter. I think it came out pretty good though. It was hard to send away. I have had many comments about the nice binding. It's just a bias-cut binding, which I agree, went on flawlessly.

Now, just cross your fingers that this makes it across the ocean to it's destination soon. I am out of Fairy Frost. I am out of time. And I tossed this pattern!!

4SQS5 Sneak Peek

You didn't actually think I was going to show the front, did you?!

My Dining Room Steps into Spring

As hostess of the Four Seasons Quilt Swap, I knew that a quilt was coming, as I have all others, but I had no idea what I was getting. I think I even forgot that I'd requested a table piece! Gina made this as a part of the Monochromatic challenge of this swap - a slight variation I devised for this session to make quilters try something different. She chose (or perhaps I did, I have since forgotten!) the winter season to go with the purple color. I have it poised atop my favorite antique alongside a couple Easter decorations. Yes, spring IS coming, someday!

It's marvelous! She entitled it Ice Crystals. The quilting is in a metallic thread, which I rarely bother with because I end up pulling out more threads and hairs from my head out of frustration. I thought I had a closeup of the quilting, but I guess the camera ate it. Despite this being a part of my new and improved "Spring" dining room ensemble, it does resemble snow flakes very nicely. And since our yard still looks like this, I think it is appropriate!!

It is a great size for a table topper - not big so that it has to go on my dining room table. I love how it does not smother my antique buffet, but allows the top to show. Gina's done a fantastic job. Many, many thanks!! Oh, and the above shot shows it along with a piece Kate made last year. Do you see a trend??...I LOVE purple.

Here is my other spring decoration addition "Spring Baskets", and one of my NY's resolutions in action (get table runners for all seasons made this year). It's simple in design, but bright and utilizes colors I don't often gravitate towards. It is all from batiks too.

Here's a closeup of the leafy quilting in the larger triangles. I just love it, about as much as much as I love working with King Tut threads.
...a glimpse from the back. I couldn't rationalize using batiks on the back, so it is just ivory cotton. This is the leafy pattern in the basket area.

...and a pic from the front of the same area. For the most part, I am pleased. I want to rework 3 of the corners to improve them, but that can be done with time.

Happy Spring, wherever you are!

FSQS5 mono sneek peek

Here's a sneek peek at the quilt I am finishing for my 4SQS5 partner. I took it usung the sepia feature of my camera to mask the color that it really is (not what you will expect!!). You'll have to wait a few weeks until it is received later this month for a full reveal. I just completed the binding this morning, and have a few threads to knot and bury and I think it is mostly done. This was a deliciously fun & whimsical project! I hope the new owner will appreciate it (despite my many machine quilting anomalies...).

Four Seasons Quilt Swap New Session

I have posted the sign ups for the Session 5 of the 4SQS. Go Look-see if you think you might be interested!!

My link function will NOT work. So go here...

http://www.fourseasonsquiltswap.blogspot.com/

Swap Quilts

As challenged by Toni to show what swap quilts I have done and received in the past year...Here goes (I'm down to the wire, as today is the last day!)

Here's My Four Seasons quilts...
I made this for Linda last Fall, entitled "Fall in Love with Fall".


and received this from Luisa. It remains my all time favorite, being hand appliqued, embroidered and quilted. It just flows.


I turned around and made this for Luisa pf Portugal for the winter. It has a snowflake quilted into the design. "Let it Snow"


For the winter, I received this from Maria, of Brazil. It is more lovely than the picture, entitled Birches in the Snow.


I made this for Tami in CA for the spring. It's one of my favorites that I made, all hand embroidered and hand - quilted. "First Blossoms"


I got this from Janice in New Zealand. It's gorgeous raw-edge applique. This quilt whet my appetite for trying that techinque om my summer quilt. "Spring Tulips"


Here's the summer quilt I made for Ginger in IN. It is raw-edge appliqued, and reminds me so fondly of my home, Maine.

I received this "Plant in Full Sun" from Emma of Adelaide Australia for the summer.
For the Miniature Booty Swap 1, I made this for Lisa. My partner was a flake and did not make anything. I received the quilt that Jan sent to her (but I dont have a picture of it). This is Lucky the Turtle.

I made this for Marlene for Miniature Booty 2. It is hand sewn, appliqued and quilted. I absolutely LOVE this piece! It is named "Stop and Smell the Flowers". I have not yet received my Booty 2 quilt.
FOr Kate's Another Little Quilt Swap, I made this in May for Lynda of the UK. I called it "Frog in a Blender" because the red and greens. The name may be a little sick and twisted, but I thought it fit the quilt perfectly. It has some fantastic green fabrics Janice sent me from New Zealand.


I received this bold lovely from Kate in return.
I did the Doll Quilt Swap 3 this past spring. This top was initially pieced for my partner, who has 2 young daughters adopted from Asia...the angels represented them, whereas the red hearts represented China. She bailed from the swap so I finished the quilt for my neice.

Though not a swap piece, I finished this for my other neice. The one below is what I actually sent to my partner in the DQS2 - Marianne. It's called "The Lazy Lily".
Here's the piece I received for the Spring Fling Round Robin Session 1...made by Julie, Tami, Jeanette and Marisa.

I did the quilting on this quilt in that RR, (also sewn by 3 others) - It went to Dorian.I participated in Ginger's About Forum Doll Quilt Swap also this summer. I made this for Christine in Florida. It is all of 1930's and is hand quilted. I named it "Memories of Summers Past", as it felt very nostalgic and old fashioned.
I received this sweet number from Ginger. Hand quilted, it graces my daughter's pink bedroom beautifully.
Most of these quilts are hung up my stairs, except for Kate's which is in the dining room, Ginger's that is in my daughter's and a couple other's that just are not up yet! I use straight pins in the corners and dbl stick tape to hang.