Next stop on my U.F.O. mission...

Hey, remember these??  120 eight-inch scrappy log cabin blocks, all piled up, waiting for a little attention from me.

I found a little time to bang them together, and Rhonda Loy (Dexter, Michigan) did the machine-quilting.  Now I just have to find a little more time to get the binding on.  (I need either a house with more floor space for taking pictures or to work on smaller projects.)   :o)

  

 

 

It would have been fun to have hand-quilted it, but sometimes a girl just has to be practical!  I'm working hard to get some of these big U.F.O.'s done so I won't feel so guilty when working on my new projects (like Civil War Bride - hmmm).  Still working on the binding of another large scrappy quilt...maybe I can share that one later in the week.

Even with cutting strips for this big project, I didn't put much of a dent in my blue and neutral scrap bins (I've got some of your scraps in this quilt, Mary Jones!!).

Scrapiness rocks my world!! (AND keeps me from having to make picky little fabric selection decisions!!).  And it is great therapy to fiddle around with all those little scraps.

Question of the day:  Which is less expensive, cotton therapy or real therapy??

In stitches,

Teresa  :o)

Tough choice for a devotee...

My 12-year-old daughter, Riley, is a HUGE Harry Potter fan.  She has been ever since we read the first book together when she was 4-5.  I made this "HARRY POTTER" quilt for her when she was 5-6 years old (I designed the blocks and drew some of the applique motifs...the others came from The Quilting Season in Saline, Michigan).  I don't remember who made the wizard fabric that I used for the borders, but at the time it was perfect (even looked a little like Dumbledore...).

Don't get me wrong, she is still a huge Harry Potter geek, but now her number one love is HORSES.  She picked out all the fabrics for "ALL FENCED IN" ("Poker Run" from Buggy Barn).  It is my first Buggy Barn effort, even though I have been collecting their books and patterns for years.  (I want to do the one with the cats and flowers next!).  I had this one machine-quilted by Rhonda Loy of Dexter, Michigan in a simple, small stippling pattern...there are only so many hand-quilting hours in the day (sigh).  All I need to do is sew on the buttons for the eyes (they look strange with no eyes...).

 

There are still three quilts waiting for me to bind them, but I have to say that all I want to do is work on "Civil War Bride Quilt" blocks.  I guess I should pace myself, but it is hard not to be thinking about fabric choices and dreaming of the groom block that I am making up in my head.  (Check out my blog list for a link to a group of very talented quilters from all around the globe who are working on and sharing this project journey together.)

In stitches,

Teresa  :o)

The Civil War Bride journey begins...

Here is block one of "THE CIVIL WAR BRIDE" quilt, adapted by Corliss Searcey of Australia from the civil war era "Bird of Paradise" quilt top, located in NYC in the Folk Art Museum.  Check out progress of people making this quilt (and also see pictures of the adaptation and the original) at http://thecivilwarbridequilt.blogspot.com/.  There is a link on this blog to The Threadbare Quilt Shop, if you are interested in emailing and ordering the pattern.

It is challenging, but really makes my heart sing.  Maybe it will be Riley's wedding quilt...let's see...she's 12 years old now, so maybe I have10-15 years to finish it?!?

Fall, my favorite season, is in the air in southeast lower Michigan!  On my way to stitch at The Quilting Season this morning, I passed this fantastic tree on Textile Rd.  Just one or two branches have turned.

I don't know that I have ever seen a tree like this depicted in a quilt...hmmm.

Time to get out all the fall quilts and house decorations!!

In stitches,
Teresa  :o)

Bottom layer on my design wall...

I removed some things from my design wall, and guess what neglected project I found??

I had forgotten all about these cute little guys! This pattern is called "BUNNIES PREFER CHOCOLATE" by Anne Sutton of Bunny Hill designs.  I only lack doing the hand applique on 2 or 3 of them, and a little embroidery on most of them. That shouldn't be that hard!

I wish I was the kind of person that started something and worked on it until it was finished. But I tend to layer my projects...lots of things started that are at various degrees of being finished. I don't know if that shows that I have a short attention span or if I'm easily bored. I try to be pretty organized...each project in a bin or box until the mood (or a deadline!) strikes me. Some days I don't feel like piecing...then I hand quilt, or cut, or bind. Sometimes I'm too tired and it is too late to do anything more than just stack stash fabrics together and "pet" them (dream, plan, scheme, etc.). Is that nutty or what?? (I bet some of you are nodding your heads in agreement. See...I'm not the only one!!! :o)

I think I just need a 3-D design wall.  Or maybe at least a REAL design wall...I am using an old thermal blanket that was purchased in 1978 for me to take off to my freshman year at college.  I thought it was awful then, and those feelings have not changed.  But it is sturdy and I didn't think twice about stapling that sucker to the sill.  The sturdiness allows me to keep pinning projects on projects and the design wall does not sag from the madness.  Did I mention that it used to be hot pink?  Now I just call it "not-so-hot" pink.

Now comes the dilemma...finish the bunnies or start the "bride" blocks...hmmm.

In stitches,
Teresa   :o)

Back to Blogging...

Yeah! Summer is over and my daughter is back in school...maybe I will be better about posting!  On my first posting, I included of a block from "BIRD PARADE," an original quilt I made for my newest niece, Eliza. After some questions about what the rest of the quilt looked like, here it is...

I had to come up with a design to match the colors and the bird theme that had been chosen. It was a fun project, although hand-quilting all the little curly-Q's in the backgrounds behind the bird blocks nearly drove me insane!

This summer, I have been trying to finish some UFO's. Although I am a hand-quilter, I had to face the music and realize that I had something like a "log jam" of tops that needed quilting. I decided to have some machine quilted by Rhonda Loy, of Dexter, Michigan. I am trying to get the binding done on those, then I will share them.

One very large quilt that I've finished the binding on is called "1930's Windmills." I pulled the pattern from a quilt magazine some time ago, but resized it down to make smaller units (and use more scrappy 30's fabrics!!).
























I love scrappy! As far as I'm concerned, the quilt with the most different fabrics wins! The added bonus is not having to make eliminating decisions concerning fabrics...they all work for me.

I am very excited about the new blog and buzz concerning The Civil War Bride quilt. The site was started by Lizzie McMahon and supports creative people making this beautiful quilt, adapted from a US civil war quilt top by Australian quilter, Corliss Searcey.

Lizzie's blog site has only been up about 6 weeks, and there are already many beautiful blocks posted by some very talented quilters. So far, I've managed only to pick out my background fabric (very important and more difficult that I thought it would be!!) and trace some patterns on freezer paper. Check it out...you, too, might be bitten and just have to make this quilt!

In stitches,
Teresa :o)