Tuesday, April 30, 2013

I Spy 4 Patch

Yesterday i pieced my I Spy 4 patches into a top. my friend, Brenda, had an I Spy like this for show and tell at class and i really liked it....so i stole her idea. thanks, Brenda. LOL

I have been cutting up fabrics for I Spy quilts. just stacking up the blocks until i get an idea of how to set them. this seems to be a good use of fabrics that wouldn't otherwise get used.


There are some baseball and football squares...and a basketball border.


There are cowboys and candy


Sports teams and houses


Love this iguana...or lizard...whatever he is. i had a piece of fabric that was about a yard that i was saving for 'something special'. hahahha  every once in a while i cut a bit of it ... until there was hardly anything left for 'something special'. so now it is I Spy blocks.


Some cats and baseballs. and dog bones and penguins


And my favorite puppy. that fabric is about all gone. i love those little dogs


The basketball border came from my truckload of fabrics that i acquired. the man said his wife made pj pants for the grandsons out of this ... but i don't know. it is a thicker cotton fabric ... almost an upholstery weight. perhaps they were winter pjs.


I like this I Spy top a lot. now i have to come up with another design for I Spy. gotta think on that .... do you have an idea for me? 

Let me know

Saturday, April 27, 2013

Mermaids

The mermaid machine embroidery blocks are now a quilt top. i got tired of setting these blocks in the same old way....so gave it some thought and came up with this.


I cut the embroidered blocks to 8 1/2" and then pulled all my blue and green fabrics and cut 2 1/2" strips from them. 


Put a couple log cabin rows around the blocks


and made some shorter rows for the outside edge


And a couple larger blocks in the middle.


It was still quick and easy to put together but just a little different.

Will see what i can come up with for the next one. because you know there are more embroidered block sets finished and ready to become a top. perhaps ....

tomorrow

Saturday, April 20, 2013

Friendly Folk

In my flurry of piecing UFOs ... i pieced a small wallhanging kit last night. it is called Friendly Folk and is a folk art quilt. i saw it hanging in a quilt shop in Edwardsville, IL some years ago and bought it on a whim. i finally got it put together.


It was a simple top ... with good instructions.


All the fabrics for the top and the binding were in the kit.


The little pictures was a panel that you cut apart.


I don't know if you can see the dark green flange between the last border and the white border.


It just looks so cute ... i am going to hang it at the Duck ... when it gets quilted... and the Duck has walls to hang something on. hahahaha


It came to about 40" x 60"


I like when things come together quickly and easily. wish all of life were like that. now my next project is going to take some thinking and figuring and scratching my head.

If i make any progress, i'll show you ...

tomorrow

Birds and Blooms

While i was piecing flower garden strip blocks the other day i had a brain fart. i was thinking that they would look good as a border around a quilt. then i remembered having this piece of fabric with birds on it from my truckload of fabrics that i got some weeks ago. i dug it out and this is what happened.


It's a heavier fabric .... could be upholstery stuff. i cut off the striped borders and cut the middle to 36 1/2" square to have the 6" strip blocks fit. the birds and flowers look pretty cool. i'm thinking i will do some trapunto around them when i quilt it and it will get some fancy background quilting.


I used 28 strip flower blocks for the border. i still have about 60 of those ... and i'm still making them.


Once it was finished i wished i had put a small orange border between the center birds and the blocks....or an orange flange. but i am not taking it off and re-doing. that's not how i roll. LOL


The orange border seems to go with the colors of the flowers in the middle. the more i look at it...the more i like it. it was quick and easy and went together in a few hours.

Another quicky top is coming...

tomorrow

Quilts for West, Texas

Along with the quilt tops that i sent to Jo yesterday to be quilted for the folks in West, Texas .... i also dug out and mailed 3 finished quilts to JudyL over at www.patchworktimes.com   She asked for finished quilts .... she will deliver them to West.

These are the 3 that i sent.

These blocks came from my Aunt Sophie stash. kind of old fashioned looking. i think i will be working on the Aunt Sophie stash the rest of my life. hahahahaha  i love you, Aunt Sophie


This wild lime green and bright blue thing was pieced by making tubes of fabric and then cutting them into pieces. new technique for me.


This one is a large one. the red and white blocks have various fabrics that morph from a square in a square at the beginning to a pinwheel at the bottom of the quilt. a brain fart that i had one day. LOL


I hope some families in West, Texas get some warmth from them and feel the love.

Now ... back to my regularly scheduled programming ...

tomorrow

Friday, April 19, 2013

Quilt tops for West, TX

My friend, JudyL, over at www.patchworktimes.com   is organizing quilts to take to the families in West, Texas that lost loved ones in the fertilizer plant explosion. she also organized quilts for Joplin, MO after their tornado. she is a very giving person and organizes the rest of us.

I am going to box up some quilts and send them to her. Judy wants finished quilts to send.

But, Judy's friend, Jo......is willing to take quilt tops and she will quilt them up and send them on to Judy for distribution. what a great way to lighten the load in my to-be-quilted cabinet....and help out some folks who need it.  

So, i got together 5 quilts tops with some backings and bindings and am going to ship them out to Jo.


On the top is Retro Lines....along with a backing and binding.
In the middle is a red, black and yellow machine embroidery top...with backing and binding
On the bottom is a disappearing 4 patch...with backing


Then i found a red, white and blue selvage quilt. but don't have a backing for it.
And the Japanese Ladies top that i don't care for .... with backing and binding. 
Is it wrong the send one that i no longer like?  LOL  i think it will have a better home ... with someone who appreciates it more than i do. hahahahaha


Now have to dig out some finished quilts to send to Judy. we are gonna cover West, TX folks in quilty love.

Thursday, April 18, 2013

Gingko Goddesses

I do like Asian fabrics. this was a panel that i had in the stash. no idea where i got it. but i cut it apart and put it back together simply. the magic will come with the quilting.


They all have their names on them at the bottom.



On the left is Empress Mari


In the middle is Goddess Barbara


And on the right is Lady Lisa



I was thinking of coloring the blocks .... haven't decided yet. thought about appliquing over them, too. but i think they will just get magical quilting.

I wanted to keep it simple so the background quilting can shine. i will put a sleeve on it and it will be a cool wall hanging. it's about 43" x 48".

Going to sleep in the to-be-quilted cabinet. don't know what i will do when nothing else fits in that cabinet. LOL  but, i'll worry about that ...

tomorrow

Git 'Er Done April Challenge

The Git "Er Done April Challenge with JudyL over at www.patchworktimes.com  is completed for the month.

My 4 goals were:

1.  make 50 brown scrappy strip blocks. not only did i do that....i pieced the top, too.



2.  Piece I Spy quilt top ... got it done ... and made it a matching game. there are 2 of each block to find. plus 2 singles that don't match anything.




3.  Quilt Spiderman ... Done




4.  Finish piecing Japanese Ladies 4 patch posey top ... done. i still don't care for it...but it is a top ... ready for quilting.





My goals for May are:

1.  Piece 2 more usable battings from batting scraps

2.  Finish piecing red/black/purple scrappy top

3.  Hand quilt at least 10 blocks on Dear Jane.  she has been sorely neglected for months.

4.  Finish 1 quilting memory box.

I hope i can get all that done. it seems do-able. gardening and mowing might get in the way .... but the way things are going now .... it is raining quite heavily.... we might be building a boat.  the driveway is under water and there is a stream going through the property to the neighbors. coming down the hill through the gully you could go white water rafting.   gotta love Spring. but summer will be here soon ...   it will seem like ...

tomorrow

Brown Scrappy Blocks is a top

Finally .... i have finished piecing brown scrappy blocks .... actually rectangles .... 3 1/2" x 12 1/2"..... 90 of them. took fforever. or so it seems.

I was debating what to use for the alternate blocks. the choices were red, green, purple or yellow. i liked them all. it finally got down to what i had enough fabric for sure and wouldn't run out. so red it is.


I wasn't going to put a border but hubby insisted it needed a red border. so there it is.  it seemed much larger but is actually only 80" x 98".


Quite a few blocks have dogs in them.


I love those dogs. leftovers from a quilt for the vet.


Gingerbread men cookies and dog bones. cookies leftover from things in jars quilt.


Peanuts in the shell.  leftover from I Spy quilt


Potatoes ... also from the I Spy blocks


This is going to be a weighty quilt. the scrappy brown sections have a foundation ... plus there are many seams on those blocks.

It was one of my goals for this month so i am happy to have this top pieced. now it moves into the to-be-quilted cabinet with all its cousins. not to be seen again for a while .... for sure not ...

tomorrow

Wednesday, April 17, 2013

Scrappy Stars

My sis sent this top home with me the last time i visited her. she said to just quilt stars all over it. i hope she meant it ..... LOL .... there are about a gazillion stars. 


I used my Quiltazoid star plate. but first i SID around the stars in the blocks.


Then i made a pass and did Quiltazoid stars in between the blocks and through the sashings.


Then another pass to fill in different size stars in spots that needed something.


The border got parts of stars all around it.  i changed the orientation of the stars as i went so they are not all sitting the same way.


I tried not to let anything overlap...but a couple did just a bit. 


I think it turned out pretty cool. some stars are just one outline....some up to 5. 



Next up i have another one of hers.   this time a raggedy hearts quilt. wonder what i can create with that.


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