Saturday, February 23, 2013

Clutter busting start

I figured rather than stashing this away in a bag that I would load it for quilting. This is the 4th quilt in this pattern that I've quilted. We are sending 5 of these to Romania to the Brasov Children's Hospital. Almost done!!

Well the ironing board has one less thing on it. Moving forward with the sewing room clutter. Love this feeling!

Mavis

Sunny Saturday...

The sun is shining in my neck of the woods and I think that it's a great day to get the leash, the dog and her sweater and hit the pavement for a walk with my friend.

Later I plan to spend some time tidying up the plant pots outside the front door.  After that, I'm hoping I'll still have some energy to tidy up my sewing room.  My DH said the other day, giggling as he entered my sewing room...sure is getting cluttered in here.

Can't deny it.   When it gets this bad, it sucks any creative urges down the drain.  See for yourself!  If Bonnie Hunter can show you her messy studio, then I'll do the same.  I'll show the 'after' picture too.  But before I can sew with a clean conscience, this mess has to be addressed!


So, check back later.  Let's see how far I get today.

Until next time,
Mavis

Sunday, February 17, 2013

Amish Block Party quilt finished!!

Yippee!!  This is my second finish for 2013.  I posted the story behind this quilt here.  And tonight I finished writing up the first draft of the pattern.  I'll be uploading it to Craftsy soon so you can purchase it there by download.  You can also purchase by emailing me.  Price will be available soon.




I quilted the black areas with a medium spaced meandering stitch.  I stitched in the ditch for the hexagons so that every diamond and the setting triangles are outlined plus they have one quilted line in between the purple and the black rows in the diamonds/triangles.  I used my Janome 6500 for all the quilting.  For batting I used Warm & Natural.  I have two reasons why it's not overly quilted.  Firstly, experience tells me that if you quilt too densely with Warm & Natural, it doesn't drape very nicely.  My DH also suggested minimal quilting so as not to take away from the striking design.  I backed it in a soft charcoal flannel, also at the wish of my DH, who happens to also be the recipient of this quilt. 

You see, it's just the right size for the bed in his camper van.  Pictured here is the beloved "White Wonder".  Isn't she pretty?  This home away from home has been a part of many a camping trip of my DH and his best friend (not to mention our honeymoon).  They have been venturing out to the woods together for at least 30 years and they have it down to a fine science (from the solar shower to their gourmet camping dinners).  You can't see in this picture his buddy's rig but between them, I don't think they suffer too much at the hand of mother nature.   You also can't really see it too well in this photo but the interior of the White Wonder is teak and the bench seat, which you can almost see, folds out flat to become a bed.  DH did the work himself many years ago (like before we were married which will be 25 years this August!).  Add to her beauty the Porsche engine in her belly and this baby is a camping dream machine.  And since these guys go out in October, not in the heat of the summer, the flannel should keep him warm.  They are usually chasing fall colours and they always come home with tons of beautiful photographs. Maybe if I ask nicely he'll take my quilt on a photo shoot in the woods.  :o)


I'm very pleased that one of my quilts will be accompanying DH on his next trip out to the woods.  And for me, now I'll move on to the next UFO.  I'm not sure which one will call to me the loudest but I'm quite sure I will figure out which one is next.

Until next time,

Mavis

Saturday, February 9, 2013

Baby Quilt UFO finished

This quilt is called "Crocodile Teeth" and it's for a baby in my church named Levi. It's a Moda bakeshop pattern for charm squares.

http://www.modabakeshop.com/2009/03/pinwheel-baby-quilt.html

I quilted it with an all over meander stitch on my Janome 6500 and B-Line quilting frame.  This was started last summer and is my first UFO done for 2013.

Friday, February 8, 2013

Quilt Top Finish!!

This one is an original design and will be a pattern for sale as soon as I finish writing it up:

 





I'm calling it "Amish Block Party".

My husband suggested I create an optical illusion quilt and printed out an image of the tumbling block in gray tones.  I started playing in EQ7 and this was the result.  I originally thought it would be a small wall hanging but it's not quite queen sized but would definitely fit a double bed.  My husband suggested it would be a great quilt for his camper van.  Great idea !!  It was his idea for the quilt so it will be a perfect man quilt for the man van when he goes camping with his buddy.  Tomorrow I will be on the hunt for a dark charcoal backing.  That's what he wants; and that's what he'll get.

2013 is my 'skill building' year so in this one I had plenty of practice doing Y seams. I can't say I've 'mastered' them but I'm a lot better than I was before I started.  Anyway, I will now write up the pattern and list it on my etsy site.  I'll put a link in my blog once it's done.

Until next time,

Mavis