Rhythm

 I've been working on this one...trying to decide on block placement.  Right now the blocks are clinging to this huge (120"x120") piece of batting.  Stitching will begin on the columns/rows this weekend.  Racer Dog (bottom left) supervised the layout until it was nap time.

pumpkins, lemons, lemonade

I don't want to be a blogger who only posts projects that come out as planned.  I believe that pobody is nerfect.  So I'm showing these adjacent quilt blocks.  Notice anything...er...strange??  My intent was to stipple around the pumpkins so that after washing they would 'poof' up.  I guess it's a case of not seeing the forest for the trees when I began stitching inside the pumpkin outline on the top pumpkin.  So instead of ripping it out, I though I'd continue and let this particular pumpkin be a little different....you know, like real pumpkins in a patch aren't all alike.  I guess you could say I made lemonade out of the lemon/pumpkin square.  Hum-m-m....lemon pumpkin squares sounds like something I might find in my recipe box.  

pumpkin puffs

I'm doing some small stippling stitches around the pumpkin outline, making them puffy.  Hopefully they'll puff even more after the quilt is washed.  I chose a low loft batting so the finished quilt wouldn't be too heavy for Alannah.  Seven pumpkins are finished with eight to go.  Then I can cut the plaid binding and have the quilt finished soon.  I'm finally getting the hang of free motion quilting on my Janome machine (which I love)!   

Halloween "Boo" quilt

Blogger is acting up (it might be me), so I haven't posted in a week...but I have been quilting.  Right now I'm working on the Halloween "Boo" quilt for my granddaughter.  She'll be 5 this October and I hope that she grows to like Halloween as much as her Mommy and I do.  I'm using 'stitch in the ditch' as the square outline and later I'll add pumpkins in the center of the orange squares.  I'm still getting used to my Janome machine...I love it more every time I use it.  I actually started pieceing this top last October after I picked up the black and orange "Boo" fabric.  So it has been an UFO for awhile.  Thanks to Leah Day at www.leahday.com for nudging me into finishing it.

It's a gorgeous day in Tunnel Hill

It's a gorgeous day in Tunnel Hill!  I decided to take the log cabin quilt for a photo shoot.  My friend, Sandra, helped me drape it over a rustic fence.  It's 115"x115" so it's hard to handle -- at least for me, since I'm barely 5 feet tall.  I managed to climb onto the lower railing to hoist it over the top.  Workers were busy getting the grounds ready for the annual "Battle of Tunnel Hill" Civil War reenactment set for September 8th and 9th.  The 82 acres are lovely with rolling meadows and woods. 

Summersville quilt idea

I'm sure I'm not the only one who saw the chance to grab colored pencils and visit the little town of "Summersville".  I'm making up little stories as I go...wondering who's driving the bus or the tractor and who lives in the three blue houses.  I'll start cutting into this layer cake soon after I get the Halloween quilt a little further along.  

life's a circus ... and why I don't grow marigolds

...repairing a 20 year old clown suit for "The Circus Comes to Town" at the Dalton (GA) Senior Center on Tuesday the 21st...
















I grew Toesey Cat instead of marigolds...

place holder...

 While hand stitching the log cabin quilt binding, I had to step away for a few minutes.  When I returned, Bunch was holding my place (taking a nap) after tiring of her quilt inspecting job.  She is a rescue...all of my 4-footed furries are.  I named her Bunch because she's a bunch of fur, a bunch of colors...and a bunch of noise.

monster log cabin and its binding

 ...starting to stitch the binding on the 115"x115" log cabin quilt...The roll of binding would have worked better if I had done it differently.  I think next time I'll curl it into a plastic bowl, and unroll it from the center outward, like unrolling a skein of yarn...lesson learned for next time.

...stitching along...You may have noticed the phone book on the floor.  I rest my heel on it when using the foot control...it works wonders. 

13 strips

It's just past 9:00 pm, and I'm sewing 13 strips together for my log cabin quilt binding.  I wish I knew why I tackled sewing this dark fabric at night (maybe I like a challenge?).   The quilt finished at 115"x115"...and that's a lot of binding, especially since I'll be stitching it by hand.  It's a Christmas present for my daughter and her dear hubby. 

smells like pickles

 ...pre-washing/shrinking solids to be mingled with a "Summersville" layer cake by Moda...and since I'm using salt/vinegar/water solutions, it smells like I'm making pickles...

to be finished...

 The two borders are attached and the Curious Cats twin size quilt top is finished.  The wind was blowing when I snapped this photo, so it appears that the borders are wonky, just like the cats.  The inner border is actually tiny fuchsia polka dots on black.  The outer border is the same print as the purple framing fabric.  I'd like to say it's finished.  However, there is still the quilt sandwich to pin together, the actual quilting and a binding to be stitched.  I'll try not to let it be a UFO...

I used Pat Sloan's "Crooked Cabins" book as inspiration.  This won't be my last crooked cabin quilt.

two to go

Two squares to be tilted, then rows to sew, then borders... 

cats on parade

 It almost seems like these kittys are parading across my design wall.  Five squares are completed, with framing and tilting.  I want the quilt to seem like it was a "happy little accident" (to quote Bob Ross), but it requires planning to appear haphazard.

more curious

The blue and purple framing is done and set in a predictable pattern.






















And now for some wonky placement.  This might be it...not sure just yet.






















Some of these fabrics won't make it into the finished quilt.  Two of the yellows are a bit too acid green...I think.  Again...not sure, but still thinking...

curious...

 The cat squares are on my design wall.  Deciding what to do takes longer than actually doing it.  I'm hesitant to cut fabric until I get a clear idea of where I'm going with the idea.




















I think I'll make them wonky...






















Auditions...I think there'll be lots and lots of different fabrics in this one...

Curious Cats

The next project is Curious Cats...just thinking...imagining...


UPDATE --- the fushia pink fades terribly!  I'm so glad that I prewash/preshrink my fabrics now -- I didn't always, so I guess I've dodged several dye bullets.  The dark yellow/brown batik faded a bit, but I've set all the colors with a vinegar/salt water bath.

Summer hat

I'm making a bucket hat for my granddaughter to wear on the beach.  The pattern books didn't have exactly the hat I wanted, so I used Pellon grid fabric to made an adjusted pattern.
















Iron on interfacing gives it extra body.  Most of the seams require grading, clipping, notching.














...and pinning...lots and lots of pinning.  The top lining is hand stitched to the crown...tiny little stitches...

















A fashion statement for 4 year old Alannah...

binding, then it's finished!

 ...machine stitching binding to Funky Flowers...then hand stitching to the back...and it's (finally) finished...

prewash??

Should I prewash my quilt fabric?  Absolutely!!  This is a half yard of quilt shop fabric I'll use for binding.  It is quality fabric...but quality fabric can (and will) still fade.  It might be excess dye...or maybe not.  In any case if I hadn't prewashed, the finished quilt would be tinted a lovely rose color.

getting back on the horse

Quilting seemed to be going well...













The second pieced border was going well...

















Then the 3rd border suddenly rebelled with monstrous waves...Rather than let it dictate what it wanted to do, I decided to slice it off and use only two borders plus the binding.










I cut off everything except the last eighth inch, which will be enclosed in the binding seam.  Problem solved.