More Jennifer Paganelli quilting

If you are thinking I can't get enough of this Jennifer Paganelli fabric, you are right. I had to make two baby quilts (both girls) and these JP fabrics lend themselves perfectly to that end. This quilt is the fraternal twin to the one I finished earlier this month. I cut enough star parts for two quilts at once and pieced all the stars at the same time. And although they are put together similarly, I had to do something a little differently the second time around. It sure did turn out cute. I had delusions of getting this quilted before Christmas (yes, I was definitely delusional or real drunk), but that didn't happen. But hey, there is always the week after Christmas. (Hope springs eternal here in Austin, Tx.) Merry quilting to you all! Me? I'm cleaning bathrooms, cause I got company coming.

The cutest teacher gifts, ever!

Back in May, I made some cute teacher gifts. I thought they were pretty stinkin cute. However, I have made the absolute cutest teacher gifts in my own history of making stuff (and I've made alot of stuff). I, of course, started out with a quick little sketch, pulled some scraps and I had something going. (I so want to mention that the red solid was a remanent that I paid $.99 for, Yipee!)






I machine appliqued these babies up lickety-split! And it didn't take a hour to machine quilt both of them!




I there anything about quilting that doesn't just make your skirt fly up?
Merry Quilting and happy teacher gift making!

Counting my blessings

I try and count my blessings every day and today I thought I would share a few of them. First on the list, sunny 70 degree weather. Yipee! It has been soupy and in the 40's for days (which would be fine if this were Seattle, but this is Austin, a place known for friendly people, live music, good mexican food and SUN!) Second on the list, a finished quilt. Quilted, bound and washed, it looks good!




Third, feathers. Luv em!!





And lastly, in my world a quilt is not a quilt if the back is not pieced. Oooh, what is not to luv about a pieced back?
Enjoy your blessings today and merry quilting!

Balance

Life is all about balance and being out of balance makes it difficult to get everything done. I have been out of balance but I have taken steps to get back into balance. And hurray! I'm back with a post!
You didn't think I had completely given up quilting, did you? Absolutely not! I still found time to squeeze it in. One of the things I did as a stress reliever was what I like to call "itchy finger sewing". I made a quick sketch. (Didn't spend more that 2 minutes on it.) I then took some of my favorite (of the moment) scraps and came up with this little cutie!




I zipped this up in a few hours and then it took maybe an hour to machine quilt it. And it is CUTE!!





The scraps for this were made from leftovers from these stars.



That went to make this quilt. A baby quilt for a new baby girl.

Happy quilting!

More Machine quilting

I can't believe it has been two weeks since I have posted. Yikes! I have had some stuff going on in my personal life and sewing has been hard to get to. (I have been sewing a little bit, I just can't seem to get anything finished in a timely manner.) This quilt is finally finished! The quilting looks good but I can't seem to take a decent picture to save my life. So for better or worse, here it is! Happy sewing!

Home from Houston

The Houston Quilt Show is a spectacular show every year and this year was no exception. Especially since I got to see the show with Victoria. Funnily enough, this quilt was probably the favorite for both of us. (Great minds think alike.) The maker was Japanese (and I wish I had gotten her name) and it was spectacular! It had the look of an old hankerchief and the hand work was STUNNING. And although this is not necessarily the direction my work is going, I loved this quilt.


Two other quilts that literally stopped me in my tracks were very vibrant and colorful. What's not to like about a quilt that has movement and an "in your face" color palette? Makes my skirt fly up!





This quilt was made by Roberta Horton and hung in a special exhibit. In my opinion, this quilt was just about the best use of fabric I've ever seen. The design was really simple, the quilting was okay (it worked for this quilt but was nothing special), and the fabric did all the work. I LOVED this quilt!



And then there was this antique quilt. It hung in a special exhibit also. I loved this quilt!! (Hey V, how many times did I say I loved this quilt?) I love a quilt that looks like the maker had a great time making it. It made me smile. There's alot about quilting that does that to me.
Happy quilting to you!

My Process

I'm working on a quilt that is absolutely not "me" and very much "me" at the same time. How can that be? It is the process, my friends. I work like this on almost every quilt I make, especially the bigger projects. It starts very often with a rough sketch on paper. (I have sketched on napkins, backs of envelopes and backs of greeting card.) This particular quilt is for my step-sister. It is much more structured but at the same time I tried to give it movement within the structure.





And then there is her color palette. She is an "Autumny" person. She likes the warm browns, golds, and greens. Not really the colors I work with alot, however when I went to put colors together, the ones I chose look like a collection I would put together. (Am I speaking Greek?)




And of course once this quilt started coming together, it looks like my work. And after I quilt the dog out of this top with some feathers, it will look like "me" but in a different direction. So if you are sewing today, do something that is not "you". It feels really good. Happy sewing!