Happy May Day

And a happy one it is. I learned this morning that I was selected for an award from my department. It comes with a very nice $2500 check too! Cha-ching (the fabric bells are going off!). It was a complete surprise considering I only teach classes part-time. Now I have to get myself a respectable thing or two to wear before next Friday, as there is a banquet to attend.

The rest of my materials for the Bento Box quilt arrived this morning. I discovered earlier this week that I likely did not have enough Kaffe prints to do the entire quilt, especially if I expand it from a twin to a queen. So a nice shopping trip was an order. I also needed a few Kona solids, but really wanted to order all of this from one place. I opted to try the Moda Bella solids instead, hoping they'd look and feel close to the Konas. And they do - they are a nice weight, and sew beautifully. I just lOVE the Kaffe Fassett Millifiore (on the right) - I tried to get a couple more colors, but it's sold out in many shops.
Here are the first nine of these 16" Bento Box squares. I have made them larger than the typically seen 12" block. I like the look with the added row of color. Individually, each block is wildly colored, busy, and borderline scarry. In person, however, this is looking so nice - reminds me of looking at a grove of trees, with the clear blue sky showing through the greens and browns. It's boyish and loud, without being garrish.

I still hope to somehow incorporate this feature fabric - the one that all of the others were chosen with which to coordinate. Perhaps a binding. Maybe somehow on the border. Or just on the back. Don't know yet.

I have been remiss this week in a major way. Last week I signed on to Lisa's Pay it Forward. I failed to post this sooner, but the first three people that comment, and agree to also send three people a handmade gift in the next year, will also receive one from me. Long winded and convoluted sentence, but you get the idea!

I also signed up with a easy little swap that Anina of Twiddletails is hosting. We are swappign 6" 9-patch blocks. I love the look of a little old-fashioned 9- patch quilt. We should get either 32 or 48 mostly different blocks from the swap. Worst case, they are quick and easy to make and it's a sweet donation quilt.

Row Robin

Is anybody interested?

I signed up for this. It runs through the fall, and sounds interesting. Take a look, I think signups end today. Would love to see some of you there!

Swap Frustrations

Many of the people that read this blog have been participants in swaps, so they are able to share in my frustration. In fact, some of them have even hosted swaps as I do. You know the challenges of satisfying all people even more.
My round robin is coming to a close soon. People are finishing the quilting on their pieces, and sending them out to their final recipients. And then we anxiously await the happy email saying how much they like their quilt.

Or maybe not so much like that. This particular quilt did not really suit the taste of it's new owner, much to my disappointment.

In this round robin session, I allowed preferences as to what they like or dislike, and each of the 4 partners working on a particular quilt were given these. The intention was to more closely customize a final quilt to the end recipient's taste. It seemed good in theory. The problem is when quilter's take their own liberty to ignore these preferences, as is permitted (though not preferred). People come to expect a quilt that adheres to their stated preferences, forgetting that this is still a swap. I'd like to think that when people state things that they definitely dislike, a quilter will read these as a requirement for the quilt. Problem is, some people apparently dislike some colors that may be requested, and chose their own.

As the hostess of this swap, I feel somewhat responsible. But in reality, all I actually did was the quilting & binding. The center has a lovely applique. Simple, but still leaving the door open to make this in the requested colors. Because the borders are basic, I was stuck trying to be creative with the quilting (a position I prefer not to be in!!).

I used an ivory rayon thread in much of the center, and a variagated rose-red King Tut for the outer border. The center has some additional patterning, and is filled with a small stipple. Double click and you can see the details.

I mimicked the center flower on the outer border to try to carry the design through. This shows a little bit from the back side.

It's hard to blame anybody here. I hate to do that. Swaps by nature incur risk. I know that better than most, having a number of crappy swapping experiences this year. I am sorry you do not care for red. I am sorry that this was not specified in your preferences. On behalf of this quilting project, I did all I could to ensure that you received a nice quilt. That's all I can say.

Back With Batteries

OK, now that the battery-hog camera is fed, I can show pictures of what my mail lady brought me while I was off at the beach today. Despite having two rather unpleasant recent swaps, I decided to torture myself one more time (I actually did not know about the other two when I signed onto this swap). It was an About.Forums swap hosted by Ginger, who is truly a wonderful host. She's attentive and was immensely accommodating since I unknowingly sent her my swap info a day after the swap actually closed!


So while I was off at the beach with my 3 little wild things (getting a different form of torture!), this arrived. The colors are not entirely true, but it is genuinely lovely. It's old-fashioned and traditional. And totally summery. The fabrics are lovely Moda's and blues from Bleaker Street (one from this teal line which I have but have yet to decide what to make with!). She has hand quilted it too, which everyone knows gives me a real warm fuzzy. People that machine quilt nicely are everywhere, but to hand quilt takes time and patience. It's becoming a lost art.

Many thanks, Ginger, this was a treat to receive. You've rejuvenated my swapping faith again :-)

And onto another topic...My summer swap quilt for the Four Seasons Quilt Swap...
So I posted last week that I had decided to keep the summer beach quilt that I did (on the right below). I was a bit frustrated and defeated about this decision because I felt pretty good about actually having my quilt finished a month early. I redesigned another in most of the same fabrics, same beachy icons. I even bound it in the same blue stripe because it reminds me of awnings or umbrellas. I think I know which one is staying and which is going, but I thought I'd ask the gallery. Give me your comments...It has a long way to go, so I will likely mail it next week.

(BTW...those ugly feet get to stay)I did a "McTavishing" effect along the edge. It kind of gives the effect of waves (if you squint your eyes it does).
This one has 2 umbrellas rather than just one. And no adirondak chair as that was a lot of time, and I am uncertain if it has enough value added for the effort. I did love the lobster traps though so the second quilt has four. They really are very "Maine", as we are known for our lobsters.
And lastly a couple shots of the back. The fabrics are very simple, but they show the quilting. I strive to be one of those machine quilters that have backs that look as good as the fronts. I know I am not there yet (especially since much of this was quilting was done before I discovered the ton of gunk under the bobbin cover).

Next time I will post about a couple of Project Linus tops I have assembled and another source of migraines...Anne's Mariner's compass for Kate's birthday block swap :-) ...grumble, grumble...

The Blue Scraps

The blue scraps are going to this queen-sized bed quilt. MANY thanks to Amy and Julie for passing along some great blue pieces to my cause. I have heard that there may be a couple more packages of blues coming - and they will be most appreciated.
The top of the bed quilt will be made of 12 of these 18" heart blocks. Each block will be sashed in strips of scrappy yellows. I haven't decided what the sides of the quilt will be yet, but I have a lovely Asian-ish blue for a wide border. I have four different blue & yellow small prints for the backgrounds of the heart. I know that the picture here does not show the print very well. I am trying to make myself do 1-2 of these weekly so as to get them done! They do not take that long. In fact it takes longer to cut all the squares. But I get side-tracked and bored too quickly. So far I have six finished.

Other projects...
- preparing for this Saturday's garage sale (YUCK!) - make a little fabric $$!
- I remade the ocean for the beach quilt that I showed last post. I decided my 1st attempt could be improved upon. I am also searching for a nice sailboat picture (with spinnaker) to replicate.
-I have joined Ginger's quilt swap on the About.com forums. I stumbled upon the posting yesterday, but had my dates confused. I thought it had not closed yet since there were still 5 slots open. Turned out it closed the day before. But, many thanks to Ginger for making an exception for me! Like I really need to make one more thing!! The ideas are a-flowin'. I just need to get my partner's preferences before I start anything.
-My Spring Fling RR still needs it's label and to be packaged. It will get mailed Saturday to somebody!
-My middle man is turning 4 on Sunday so we have a little family party to prepare for. Oh Lordy...it better be sunny so we can be outside, otherwise I have to clean 30 yards of fabric pieces off of the dining room table :-O
-And for all inquiring, there is still no DQSIII quilt in my mailbox, but I have given up hoping for it. Now I am looking for that Miniature Booty quilt that should be mailed by now. Despite already knowing who my partner is (she made a goof and posted it to my blog, with her identity), I am still excited to see what was made for me. BTW, Lisa...I miss Lucky! I hope he likes his PA home.

The week's events

in no particular order...

Yesterday I attended an annual Project Linus Make a Blanket event in my area. I was easily the youngest person there, but it's a great day of fun, happy quilters. I dug out 2 of my unfinished tops to sandwich & bind. My mom and aunt came too, and I knew they wouldn't bring projects so I was able to put at least one of them to work for me! Here's one of the lively tops that is now a finished quilt. The other is here, although this is not a finished picture, as the quilt is already packed away downstairs.
One of the other tremendous perks of going to the Linus events is that there is usually free fabric, and copious amounts of it. I was able to get many, many pretty pieces of at least a quarter yard, some as much as a couple yards, 2 pieces of red (from Red Cross) fleece that are for a king sized bed - probably 15+ yards of fabric not counting the fleece. It's fun to supplement the stash for free!

A week or so ago I got a bit of fabric (I know, shame on me!) from Ebay. It's mostly batiks and Kaffe large prints - drop dead gorgeous, but the larger prints are challenging to work with for me. Here's part of a mini-quilt top that I will pbobably not use for a swap. It's more just a fun play with color, but I don't think it's my partner's taste.

So here is onto my 3rd try at a quilt for Kate's ALQS. Without giving away too much info about my partner's likes, dislikes & style, I am trying to do something unconventionally, traditional (if that makes sense), in simple colors (or not too many), yet modern fabrics. Several of the ones I have used came from the AWESOME little packet of squares Janice sent me with this. They are leafy and swirly and I just love the little kiwi's (she's from New Zealand). It was kind of hard to use them to make something for someone else, but they do look good. It kind of reminds me of a frog in a blender, but I will probably need to come up with a better name!
I'm going to use some of these too. Not sure of the exact placement of the curves yet.
And some curvy paper pieced flying geese. How fun!
Phew...
Something simpler.
A little skirt in some fun, flirty fabrics for my daughter. I made the pattern so if anyone is interested, let me know. It's not hard, and doesn't take a ton of fabric.
Once I get the elastic in the waist, I'll take a shot of her in it. She loves to twirl in circles, so I knew it needed to be a full circle skirt. At 20 months she couldn't care less that we can see her undies!
The rick-rack remindes me of more flower petals.
And when the ruffle flares up, there is fun orange swirls underneath.
Enough for the pictures...Here's the rest of the week's accomplishments/events:

• I was lucky enough to inherit 40-50 quilt books and old quilty magazines from my aunt, who is clearing out her sewing room. These are awesome.
• I mailed my block of the month block to somebody
• Mailed my Doll Quilt SwapIII to somebody. I'll post about this quilt after it is received.
• Lucky got his binding. I'll show pictures of him soon enough. He's quilted now obviously.
• I am also pushing away with my Amish star hand quilting. It's nearing the half-way point.
• doing all the fun (ha ha) quilt tracking for the 4-Seasons quilt swap which is nearing it's shipping date.

For those of you that opt to leave comments, thank you. I love to read them. Even if I do not respond or always comment myself, I do enjoy snooping at what everyone else in the quilt world is doing. It is a source for wonderful inspiration.

What I'm Up To

Not too much posting lately. The 2 classes I am teaching are sucking my precious sewing time. Plus the weather has been nice lately so we are outside more. Here's a few recent projects...

It's my take on a more modern looking Amish quilt...uses simple dark jewel-tone prints and batiks.

This is the 3rd of my Legacy Quilts. There are three in all, made for each of my kids to someday have. They are completely different styles, but all share similar fabrics. One is complete and hanging in the living room. The second is all pieced and partially quilted. This is like whole cloth quilting and is very relaxing. I recently got several large stencils for if from here. I highly recommend them - great selection and good price.
The heart is a 2' x 2' for our nanny's anniversary. And to just say thanks for being so great. With my school year coming to an end in 3 weeks, I don't know what will happen next fall. Sure hope she's free!! This is scrappy pieced, and I practiced my machine quilting, which is definitely getting better.


Here's one of my swap quilts. I have several swaps in the works right now so I won't sway exactly which it is for so as to tip off the new owner. I had pieced the disappearing 9-patch of the quilt a month ago, and just put it aside. After learning of my partner's likes & requests, I decided it'd be perfect for her once finished. She likes these colors. The fabrics are a little funky & retro too. I added the "Lazy Lily" (as it is named) for a burst of orange color.
It is hand-quilted in overlapping concentric circles in the center. The ivory backing and use of sage green quilting thread makes the circles show up more in reality than they do on the picture. I'll show the label and more about this quilt in a few weeks once the partner receives it.


There's a few other things on my sewing table too, just too dull to photograph!

• I'm sewing 28 feet of binding on my middle son's new bed quilt. UGGH! Boring.
• I am playing with a couple little quilts made from some Kasse Fasset squares. The colors and fabrics are wild - I love them. One of these will likely be for Kate's ALQS. I have time still as it is not due until July.
• I am brainstorming my next border for the Spring Fling round robin.
• I am contemplating finishing the Lucky Turtle quilt. I think he just needs a binding.
• I am dreaming of doing some New York Beauty blocks
• I want to make my daughter a skirt from Kaffe Fassett's Dahlias
• I am about to start a quilt for my son's kindergarden teacher with artwork by each student. This will be very fun; I'm excited. Have to gather the last 6 pictures though this week.
• I am sure there are more, but I need to finish a few of the WIPs first!!

I have been Missing

I know, I know. I have been missing. Not posting. Absent. sorry...

Truth is, life got a little hectic. I went back to work after having nearly a month off. That is my excuse anyways.

Reality is different. I have not had the attention span to sew for 6-8 weeks. I have had good intentions, but I haven't followed through. I spent as much time with my seam ripper than I did on the machine. I have so many projects started I can hardly decide which is least frusterating to finish. As I read recently (and laughed at it's appropriateness to me), "I have had the attention span of a gnat".

With that said, I have not been totally void of any accomplishments. I got a knitting book for Christmas. I promptly went out, bought some yarn and started knitting a sweater for my daughter (only her because the project is much smaller than if it was for me, who really needs a sweater). I quickly discovered I did not like knitting the pattern I was doing. The stitch was overly time consuming and not as attractive as I liked. Knitting is fun - it comes out way easier than rogue seams do! I resorted to the internet, looking for patterns. In the end, I discovered she had a sweater (different color) that actually had a similar gauge, so I copied this pattern. It is 99% completed - lacks the last 3 rows to complete the buttonhole placket. There will be a picture soon, promise.

Before this sweater got nearly finished, I vowed I wanted to learn to do fair isle knitting (cables will be next). So last weekend I got some colorful balls to make her another sweater, for next fall - a little larger. The back of the sweater is knitting up nicely. IT is about 6" now. UNfortunately it is smaller than the other and thus may not work next fall. UGHH... Do I start over?? the quandries... Further, the yarn is a rather slippery micrifiber. It has a lovely sheen, but doesn't grip the needles well. One of my needles fell out a few days ago, and as I fumpled to get stitches reloaded, several rows un raveled. Setbacks...

Back in December I did do more on my intricate star quilt. I made one mistake that needs taking out and it's been sitting at the end of the ironing board ever since. My son's twin quilt has had progress too (though like an inch worm progresses). I have added a 2" inner border around what is shown in that link that looks like train tracks. I have also pieced almost 90% of the back. It is, again 90% done. That last small % kills me! Part of me is hesitant to complete it because it will open another door of "Need to do's" - Namely, completing his new bedroom, painting, buying a bed, etc. He's something of a napping beast right now. I have not resolved to him in a normal bed where he can get up as he chooses.

I have pieced 90% of the tops of a couple scrappy Project Linus quilts. I have not been much in any mood to actually sandwich and complete them though. Right now, I think there are 6 tops ready to be finished. I have been a good girl, not buying fabric this past month except what was so desperately needed. Anything I am making except for the 2 big quilts is from stash.

My partner Luisa has received her 4-Seasons Quilt from me. She does like the color and design. The piecing is very precise. It is really prettier (I think) than the pictures show. Snow in Maine, I think, can often look shades of soft lavendar. I am glad she likes it. I wanted to send her something as an appreciation of the lovely one she sent me last fall.

Here's the inspiration fabric for a small project(s) I am starting... The camera/computer does not do it justice. It has happy sage-apple colors of green in the leaves. It's the epitomy of spring, and coordinates awesomely with the pattern I am doing...
And lastly, of course I have another project started (above). For me, the joy is in the starting, not the finishing. I am making a mini quilt that may end up being for the spring quilt swap or it may be made for me and a duplicate/similar one made for the swap. It is the Tea Leaf pattern that comes from this book. I have looked on the internet, and there are many interpretative designs called Tea Leaf. This is a very old, hand appliqued pattern. I can do them in front of the TV (ie out of the basement). I'm making it in shades of purple and green. This one I love thus far. Oh, and if you don't have the Quiltmaker books (there are 2), they are gorgeous! They are based on 2 children's books. My kids have the books, which have amazing graphics and nice quilt patterns throughout. Joanne Larsen Line adapted the books to quilting books, based on the patterns in the children's books. These are dreamy. I highly recommend them.

Check back soon - I am going to add some more pictures to this blog entry later.

Swapdex

Please note that http://www.swapdex.blogspot.com/ now is a site available that lists available swaps.

New Blog Page

For those of you interested in participating in the Four Seasons Quilt Swap (FSQS-fall), I have established a separate blog page: http://fourseasonsquiltswap.blogspot.com/

All future updates and information will be posted here.