Piecemakers Calendar Quilt 2002 - April

April is up next. I like how Brenda stitched the names of the trees in their block.

Check out the 'barb wire' on this fence.

April #10 UFO .. Winter Games

The UFO for April was a doozy....i only had a couple of blocks pieced and i had to read the whole thing again to figure out where i was and what i was doing. but it is now finished. it is called Winter Games.

I quilted the devil out of it....gave up counting bobbins after 30. i used 5 different colors of Glide thread. most of it matches pretty well and the quilting doesn't show a lot. i'm never sure if that is a good or a bad thing.

I was trying to quilt something different....sort of expand my horizons. LOL

But i had to go with the usual CC in the black and white checkerboard blocks.

The setting triangles look a bit complicated but i figured out a path to quilt the whole thing with only 1 stop and start. you have to work from the inside out.....and finish the corners as you come to them. i couldn't decide how wide i wanted the cross hatching.....so there are various sizes. hahahaha

It would have looked better with a wider border but that is absolutely all i had left of that fabric. so....it is what it is.  that is the trouble with old UFOs....you pull fabric out of the project and use it for something else.....or you don't allow enough fabric to finish the job properly. i sincerely hope after i finish all these UFOs that i stop myself from accumulating so many of them in the future.

The back is a wide back of black and white flowers. i figure it matches the black and white blocks on the front.

I used the backing as the binding, too. and i used every inch of that, too. all there was left was selvages and a couple of small strips.

I like this one now that it is done but it took me a while to finish it up.

May's UFO is #2.....another one that i only have 2 blocks pieced.....but it is much simpler than this one. so, off to start on that one so it gets done sooner rather than

Later

April Color Palette Challenge

I have my April color palette challenge pieced. this month was a very strange inspiration.....a picture of a moldy pie.....forgotten in the back of Judy's refrigerator. LOL

I couldn't for the life of me decide on a design...i had about 4 or 5 in EQ but couldn't commit to one. finally i decided i wanted to make a 'pie'. so i made one large block....crazy quilt fashion.  this is my EQ drawing

This is my pie. i think when i quilt it at the end of the year....along with all the other palettes for the year....i will applique some moldy spots on this pie. LOL

It's a bit strange but i actually like it. don't know what that says about me. this was my first time to paper piece this lage a block....15". that was a challenge in itself.

So, i got to check one thing off this month's to-do list. i need to quit playing with other things and get more crossed off that list.

I almost have a customer quilt finished....another day or 2.

I'm leaving town the 24th and will be gone the rest of the month....so things better get hopping around here....sooner rather than

Later

April Crazy Quilt section

As promised, here is the completed April section for my crazy quilt. a few browns and blues mixed with the greens.

Block 1 .. some cone flowers for the center...some tiny pale green rickrack for the left side and some dyed green lace for the right. and a small lace round floral at the bottom.

Block 2 .. this center was rescued from a thrift store. it is hand embroidered and trapuntoed. 2 beautiful birds feeding their babies. it was in a wooden circular frame when i found it. there is some dark brown lace clusters at the top...look like grapes to me. LOL  and a brown wired ribbon bow at the bottom with a tiny metal heart over the 'knot'.

Block 3 .. this little basket of flowers in the middle was a piece of fabric that i had in the stash. Some tan rickrack at the top..a pale green ribbon on the bottom left and a dyed light green lace on the bottom right.

Block 4 ... another scenic piece of fabric from the stash. light green rickrack above the picture... wide black velvet rick rack on the right...and some green see through lace on the left..over a piece of velvet fabric.

Block 5 ... the middle crazy block. I think the birds in the middle inspired the birds in the other blocks. did you notice that cute little black cat..down at the bottom...by my initials. you can't have birds without a cat. hahahaha

Block 6 .. fishing lures in the middle..LOL...wide dyed green cotton ribbon at the top, with dark green embroidery french knots holding it down. some dark green lace trim on the bottom left and a piece of white satin ribbon on the right..that really shines here.

Block 7 ... look at this cool bird i got on a piece of fabric from a friend. love that feather tail. some dark green picot lace at the top...green trim to the left...and a bit of light green lace at the bottom right.

Block 8 ... had to include that cute little donkey with the hat. LOL  notice the piece of camo fabric above that. the upper left corner got a piece of dyed doily...tacked down in various places with dark green embroidery thread. and under that a piece of brown velvet ribbon. and a piece of brown and red trim at the bottom right.

Block 9 ... the sunflower block. more fabric from the stash. actually..this was from an Aunt Sophie piece of fabric. and the lovely tasselled trim at the top. this is the same piece as is on the middle block...i just left the tassels on this one. some green dyed lace under the sunflowers and some pale green lace on the bottom left.

So, there you have it. April is done...and February isn't over yet. i love that i am so far ahead of schedule. of course, about July i might be that far behind schedule. LOL

It takes about as long to sew down the trims as it does to construct the blocks. i have to go and dig out all the various colors from various sources throughout the house and studio. and then put them all back when i am finished. i have stuff everywhere. i like to think i am organized....but i can do better.

I am going to the big bad city on Thursday...with a visit to JoAnns...and some time at the Duck . i hope to find some organizational boxes at Joanns to help me out with my plethora of goodies. and, weather permitting, get a dumpster delivered so i can empty all the demolition crap out of my garage...for the second time. i believe there will be 1 more dumpster load to go before it is all said and done. it's amazing how much stuff you tear out when you are taking a house down to the studs.

If i do anything exciting before I leave on Thursday..i'll be sure and show you. otherwise, you'll probably hear from me again ... when i am back from the Duck...

Later

CQJP for April

I have finished my block for April's entry into the Crazy Quilt Journal Project.

This one doesn't seem to have as much embroidery on the seams...but i did do some waste canvas stitching in the sections. i like this one a lot. i actually wound up taking some stuff off after i looked at it...and switching to something else. LOL as you can see...this is the green section.

I found these birds with flowers and thought it would make a nice middle. they were colorful on their own and didn't need my help.

The coral colored half suns is a waste canvas design. it seemed really bright until i put those blue french knots in there...that calmed it right down. another waste canvas design is the variegated blues at the bottom with the dark green stitches crossing at the corners. i really liked doing that one. i also added my initials and the date to this block.

The leaves on these flowers is some trim that i found and just cut it down for individual leaves. the flowers are silk ribbon. to the left is a little green hand button with a heart. on the right is tan rick rack couched down with a brown thread...and pink silk ribbon buds and dark green leaves. the green ribbon flower in the middle is something i found online.

Yet another waste canvas stitching here with pale green silk ribbon...2mm.  then i added little pink french knots and pink straight stitches. perhaps i need a flower or something on the top of those straight stitches. that's probably what i was going to do and forgot. LOL  i'll probably go back and add to that. funny how you don't notice things until you take a pic of them.

Over this velvet corner is a heavy green braid and a pile of buttons. the braid actually had tassels hanging but they kind of got in the way and seemed superfulous so i got rid of them. i like it better without the tassels. but i have another piece of this and will add it ...with the tassels...to a piece in the April section.

I like the little flower garden under that....a pink silk rose in the middle...a pink feather flower on the right (i made that up..hahaah)  and some blue french knots in the sprigs of grass on the left.

Wow...i really love waste canvas...this little pink triangle was made from silk ribbon. the dragonfly seems at home there.

This blue piece had that flower stitched into the fabric....i just over stitched it with embroidery thread...and then added the button caterpillar. i love him.

A closer look at the initials and the stitching on the bottom.

And a closer look at my little garden. the rose even has thorns.

I already have the 8 blocks finished that will surround this one. just need to add some trims to them and piece the section together. i expect to have it finished tonight...and i'll show you

Later

#4 UFO finished .... Our Town

Just this morning i got the binding on my #4 UFO Challenge quilt from Judy LaQuidara's 2011 Challenge. i wasn't sure i would get it done before leaving town on thursday but i persevered and TA - DA!!

This was designed by our quilt teacher, Marilea Boushie. she gives us some great quilts to work on. i believe this one was from last year. It is 90x100". i used a light green striped background...mainly because i had a lot of it. LOL

The first row is applique flowers....Marilea does like her applique. i made my quilt a big larger than her pattern....so i made 2 applique swags.

Row 2 has stars and 16 patch blocks. we are always making blocks with itsy bitsy parts. ... not my favorite.

Row 3 has the church and some trees.....   i embroidered the word 'Believe' on the church and an angel. the top of the chimney is 3D. the trees were actually supposed to be little 4 patches but i didn't want to do tiny pieces so i just did the squares.

Row 3 also has connected stars blocks...2 of them.

Row 4 might have been my favorite.  There is a school and another tree. the top of the bell tower and top of the dorrway are 3D. i added an embroidered school bus and a couple birds.

Row 4 also has a farmhouse....complete with mailbox and rooster.... and a barn filled with hay bales...along with a cow. those do look like hay bales...right?   they are the middle of sunflowers

And row 4 has a couple of applique wreaths with 3D buds.

Row 5 is full of 3D flying geese....going in opposite directions and meeting in the middle.

Row 6 has cathedral window blocks....i had never done those before....they are kind of cool because you fold the fabric over and stitch down the edge....so it is 3D, too. plus some 4 patch blocks.

Row 7 is double wedding rings. some people made 2 rows and made their quilt longer. but i had enough of those and just made my sashings wider to gain some length. LOL   they are pretty quilted up but the construction of them gives me fits. you can tell that they are not straight.

The borders got quilted with lines.....kinda, sorta straight....but with no regard to width....just willy-nilly. i like them that way.  no measuring, no marking, no mess, no fuss.  just kind of quirky

And, finally, the back. i used a dark green thread so absolutely nothing shows on the back. it is a bright floral flannel. again....the best thing i had that i had enough of...9 yards to be exact. but i think it works just fine. this quilt does have a bit of weight to it.

And in order to get it quilted and done before i leave town in a few days i did some quick quilting on it....rather funky and folksy looking. not too concerned about technicalities or correctness. a case of 'done is better than pretty'.

So, challenge #4 got done in time for the month. now i can go on vacation and have fun and not fret about it.