Design Wall Monday -- 1/31/2011

Only one big block has been added to my design wall this week, but that doesn’t necessarily reflect on my productivity.  We have just returned from four days at the ranch where I have had a project loaded on the HQ16. 

I’ll post a final picture once I can add it to my “Bound, Labeled, Done” list.

Lots of inspiration can be found on the Design Wall Monday postings at Patchwork times.

Design Wall Monday -- 01/24/2011

This weekend I pulled out the completed blocks from one of my UFOs.  This was a $5 block-of-the-month sponsored by a nearby quilt store in 2010.  It is on my “goal list” for completion in 2011.  I will try to kit-up some of the remaining blocks to take with me to Sit N Sew day this week.  Each block is 12 inches and there will only be 6 blocks total, making it too big for a wall hanging and too small for a functional throw.  I will have to figure out how to set the blocks and border it out to compensate for this.

Work continues on my hour glass quilt.

Thank you, Judy, for hosting Design Wall Monday at Patchwork Times.

Another Finish

My autumn table runner is finally finished and ready for next fall.  It always feels good to finish a project that has been waiting its turn for years.  The two pot holders that needed to be bound are also finished.  Progress.

Design Wall Monday … Tuesday evening

When Bob spontaneously offered an outing to “the big city” Monday, I jumped at the chance and set aside my quilting plans for the day.  Since retiring in 2006, we’ve become quite comfortable with our small town lifestyle, so a trip 50 miles down the road to Austin is a pretty unusual event. 

So here, a day late, is what’s on my design wall.  It is a 16 inch (finished) center block for the Civil War Chronicles BOM for 2011.  There are only three fabrics in it, but all of them are directional and it took some practice before I got the hang of doing half square triangles and flying geese with fabrics positioned consistently.  I can tell already that this is going to be a challenging project. 

As always, check out the Patchwork Times' Design Wall Monday posts for lots of inspiration

Bound, Labeled, Done

I almost always do my own quilting.  On two occasions, however, I chose to call on the services of a professional long arm quilter because of a project’s complexity.  This quilt is one of those two.  It is a spiral lone star (though in the case of my quilt, it's hard to see the star outline) adapted from a design by Judith Krentz. 

I had the opportunity to participate in a sew-in at the local quilt store last year.  All of us worked on quilts using this design.  Because we adapted the pattern rather than following the exact design, some of the templates had to be hand drafted.  This was definitely a stretch for me and I would never have attempted it without the encouragement of the more experienced quilters in the group.  The quilt came back from the quilter last weekend and I finished the binding last night.  I’ve named it “Spiraling Out of Control.”

Here is a close-up of some of Angela's quilting.  She quilts really pretty feathers.

2011 Goals

During the last two weeks, I have read, with growing respect, numerous blog posts in which the authors posted their personal goals for 2011.  Originally, I did not intend to formalize my list, but as a friend of mine once said, only a fool never changes her mind.

So, I have added a side bar item in which I list the UFOs on my active list.  There are others that are, at least for the time being, abandoned projects.  I also have numerous projects I want to do in the future, but before I start them, I would like to move seven items on my current list to either completed or flimsy status.  The Civil War Chronicles quilt is a 2011 BOM, so it cannot possibly reach the flimsy status until year end.  My Dear Jane quilt has been languishing as I have missed several club meetings, but I like it and want to move forward with it.  Some items on the list are not quilts, but are gift items that I like to stockpile.

Here are two very scrappy pot holders that only require the binding to be completed.  They will count against my list.  I’ve made prettier ones, but they have all been gifted.  These will probably live in my kitchen.  I am especially fond of projects like these because they are quick, functional, and use up scraps that would otherwise be tossed.  I suppose they could be considered “green”.  They are made using the flip and stitch method.  The insulating material in the center is comprised of old terry cloth towels that are no longer serviceable. 

Design Wall Monday 1/10/11

Mondays are my favorite blog reading day, because of all the inspiration found in the Patchwork Times Design Wall Monday posts.

I have been anxious to resume work on my Hour Glass quilt for a while.  Work on it paused last fall because I needed more plaid fabric and other projects moved to the top of my list.  If my calculations are right, I will need 10 blocks of 36 plaids in order to get the diversity and size I want.  So, I still need to find 3 more plaids.  I really like the cozy country feel of this project.  It should be a good one to work on during winter.

A Fun Quilt

This was a fun and easy quilt that I did in 2009.  It was made using a jelly roll that I bought and then rejected for a particular project.  I loved the fabric, however, and went looking for a way to use it.  I modified a free pattern I found on-line at Mary's site: Mary Quilts.com.  It has since become my carry along quilt to retreats. 

Bargello Quilt

Not much sewing is going on here this week, so I will take the opportunity to document some of the quilts I have made since I resumed quilting in 2007.

This was an early quilt that came out of a class at our local quilt shop.  As luck would have it, the teacher moved forward with the class even though only two students enrolled.  That meant I had a lot of one-on-one assistance from the teacher both with the technique and fabric selection.  It is a wall hanging and I have named it Hill Country Sunshine.  The inspiration fabric featured Texas Bluebonnets.

Design Wall Monday

I pulled this table runner kit out of my stash last night and started putting it together.  The center braid is done, but there are still two borders to add with reds and blacks that should give it more punch.  I picked this kit up on impulse two years ago while travelling in Wisconsin. I will be glad to move it off my To Do List.  It is a quilt as you go project using what I've heard called the stitch and flip method. 

Be sure and check out Patchwork Times for lots of quilty inspiration.

My First Completed Top for 2011

I intended to add a border with a woven ribbon effect to this Carolina Chain pattern, but after piecing and auditioning some of the blocks; it just wasn’t working for me.  Also, it became evident that I was going to need more of the background fabric.  I decided to do a simple border, instead and move on to my next project.  This pattern taught me a lot about the importance of value.  So…since scraps have color and colors have value, I decided to call this one Scraps Have Value.

My Christmas gift arrived Thursday and here it is.  I was late ordering it because I could not decide between a  new boom box and a Kindle.  Since I love to listen to audio books when I’m in my sewing room and our library is now investing mostly in books recorded with the MP3 format not supported by my old player, I opted for the entertainment center.  It also allows me to connect my smart phone and listen to playlists or audio books stored on it.  Some day I hope to get the Kindle as well, but the checkbook will have to recover first.

My Favorite Quilt

Every once in a while I do a quilt that just seems a little more special to me.  This is Stars for a New Day, which was a block of the month kit sponsored by The Quilt Show in 2009.  Several of my friends purchased the kit at the 2008 International Quilt Festival in Houston.  I think three of us finished it.  I knew I did not have the machine quilting skills to do it justice and paid a professional quilter to do the work for me.  She did a masterful job and I am very pleased with the results.  Every time I look at her work, I am inspired to keep practicing.   

The Texas Hill Country has had an extremely dry fall and we are already listed as being in a severe drought.  Last week we had our first shower in many weeks.  It was good to see water flowing through our rain chains.