A Flowery Surprise!

I came down the stairs this morning and found this special flowery surprise waiting just for me! It was cleverly arranged by my thoughtful son when he came in from his walk. The joys of motherhood!

My Finished Bible Bag

I finished my Bible bag!

My Finished Bible Bag

I like how it is so finished on the inside….

The inside

This is what it looks like with my Bible in it!

Here is the back….it has a pocket….

See the pocket??

All the info for it is in this post

Happy Father’s Day!

Wishing you a special day….

A Day at the Lake

Doing the things you enjoy…..

Ben’s Landscape quilt

I must say my son is braver than I am when it comes to quilting- actually when it comes to many things….. but back to quilting. He created this landscape quilt today…

Ben's Landscape quilt

It took him about 5 minutes to choose the fabrics and about 15 minutes to draft the design. I find myself easily stalled when it comes to picking which fabrics really ‘go’ together, and over-analyzing my design ideas to the point that I am unable to actually start the project. I could really learn a lot from my son…..

Ben's Landscape quilt with the pieces appliqued on

Bible Bag

I am making a pretty little bag for my Bible that I can carry to church.

Components of my Bible bag

I am using a pattern from Annette Unrein with fabrics from Amy Butler- her Charm collection from Free Spirit Fabrics and Valori Wells- her Sole collection also from Free Spirit Fabrics. I am using Superior Threads Rainbows in a variegated pink and brown- it is shiny and the colors match perfectly! I’m just getting started on it…. I will show you some more pictures as I make progress

The Rose of Ben

My son, Ben, made this fabric interpretation of a rose this morning. He used alternating layers of red fabric to create the petals and he frayed a strip of green fabric to simulate thorns. Isn’t it beautiful???

The Rose of Ben

Thymes Square Quilt

Thymes Square Quilt

Thymes Square Quilt Detail

Here is my most recent project- the Thymes Square Quilt made from a kit that was given to me by a sweet, dear friend of mine– Thank YOU!!!! It is my first quilt using many Kaffe Fassett fabrics – and hopefully not my last! I used Ricky Tims’ technique for the piped border from his DVD Grand Finale, which I borrowed from the same sweet, dear friend

Moving on to Paper-Piecing

Paper-piecing opened up a whole new world for me in my quilting. I love the look of sharp points and perfectly matched seams but I never quite have the patience it takes, or the willingness to rip out anything less than perfect. So most of my quilts had an element of fudge factor to them– until I discovered Paper-piecing. Once you attach that fabric to a paper base, you can match everything up perfectly! And, you don’t even need to be that precise with your cutting! Now that sounds like my cup of tea soda. I made all kinds of random blocks trying out different patterns. Finally I decided to actually commit myself to a pattern and make all the blocks it would take to complete a quilt.

Cindi’s quilt is my first completed Paper-pieced quilt.  I originally intended for it to be larger- but it takes a long time to make all those blocks It hangs on our stairway now. 

Each star is actually made up of 4 blocks turned in 4 different directions- here is a close-up:

 

Cindi’s Block from 40 Bright & Bold Paper-Pieced Blocks by Carol Doak 2002

Pine Grove Quilt

After a few quilts, my skills improved and I began to love spending time on my sewing machine and at the quilt shop. I worked diligently on building a stash (maybe a little too diligently).  I never did the same pattern twice- always trying something new- and I made a lot of quilts! I didn’t keep any of the quilts I made either- I gave them away to friends with babies, aunts with chilly bedrooms, or anyone else that I thought might enjoy a quilt.

Eventually I made this quilt, Pine Grove, probably during my second year of quilting. It was a pretty ambitious project- at 88 X 106 inches- and I wasn’t really making it for any purpose. I followed the pattern almost exactly (which is how I know it was very early on because now I find it difficult to stick to the pattern) and it is the perfect size for a twin bed. I added the prairie points (my only detour off the original pattern) just to try out the technique.

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