A Breath of Fresh Air

Perfect for cool evenings relaxing in the garden, I am just finishing up hand piecing my spring time lap quilt.  The fabric is from two different collections that seem to go well together, Faded Memories by 3-Sisters and Poetry by April Cornell.

Camellia

I'm calling it a mini quilt (16 inch square), but it is actually meant to be one block in a quilt, from Kumiko Sudo's book, East Quilts West.  Hand pieced and appliqued.

Until next time.....happy quilting!

Karen

New Work

My new work in progress.

"The little dissatisfaction which every artist feels at the completion of a work forms the germ of a new work."

~Berthold Auerbach

Have you seen this vintage photo?

Wonderful, yes!

Icicles

As the last of winter melts away.....

Small Studies 2

Icicles through the Window

Small Studies 1

You may remember, some time back, I purchased Gwen Marston's book, 37 Sketches.  My intention was, one day stitching a series of Small Study quilts.  Well, around the end of summer I pieced together my first one, Small Studies 1.

Also, stitched the June Sweet Nostalgia block, Let's Play Ball.

And, appliqued my Fish Challenge quilt.

Today I finished stitching the July Sweet Nostalgia block, Fun at the Beach.  I am going to prep and start right into the August block as this is the last block.  It only took me what, four years?  Now I am rushing to finish!

Worked a bit on my Postage Stamp quilt and now have 992 stamps pieced together.  Small Studies 2 is almost finished. And, well thinking about warmer days to come, I prepped two quilts for spring, a small applique and a mid-sized quilt for hand piecing.

Still to show you, the center of my new hexagon quilt, Recipe for Friendship.  I stopped working on it back in the fall to take a picture before continuing on.  That's right; I have yet to take that picture!  Or a picture of my mini quilt top called, Camellia, or my latest Hocuspocusville block.

Besides quilting I have been working on crochet and slowly learning drop spindle.  My rug hooking is back out and will be completed  by the end of March.

Hope you are enjoying your winter as much as I am and all is well.

Until next time.....happy quilting!

Karen

Flower Garden and More

There you have it; Karen's Flower Garden quilt top is complete.  I decided to remove the border and go borderless.  But, not to worry, the hexagons will not be wasted; I need them for edging the back of the quilt. 

See Finishing Your Hexagon Quilts

500 289 Klosjes

It had to be done if I was ever going to see a finished quilt.  So, I reduced the number of Klosjes and ended up with a lap size quilt, perfect for a chilly evening.  Once it's quilted that is!

And, the hand quilting is complete on my Tiny Thimble quilt.

Because it is hard to see the quilting, I will show you the templates.  I stitched a single wave in green thread across the thimbles and red thread was used for the border. 

So, what I am up to now? 

I'm down to the last couple of hours of hand quilting my Friendship Star quilt.  And, I have been testing out my double bladed X-Acto knife as I prepare a template to use on Red Delicious, which is next in line for hand quilting.  My teatime project is Love's Young Dream, the February Sweet Nostalgia BOM block.

Until next time.....happy quilting!

Karen

 

Snow Days and More

Well, actually, everything I am about to show you was completed long before the snow started to fly.  As summer turned to fall I began stitching Snow Days, the January block of the Sweet Nostalgia BOM.

 

The last time I showed you my Kansas Dug-Out, I was deciding on border and binding colour.  As you can see I went with a black border and coloured binding.  This little dug-out was hand pieced and quilted, in the ditch, with black thread.

My third Hocuspocusville block, Spooky Lou's.

And, a long time coming, but now finished my Amish Stripe quilt.  Machine pieced in 2008 and recently hand quilted with a variegated thread.

I also machine quilted my free-form quilt and decided not to square up the edges before binding.  Letting it  remain in its free-form state seemed like the thing to do.

Remember Jeanneke's Building Houses with Scraps from last year?  Well, here is my mini version.  I hand pieced a house or two each month and put it all together before the end of the year.  Once hand quilted the binding will be done in the same fabric as the corner squares.

And, what I spent most of my time working on, my Shades of Autumn POTC quilt top.  The blocks were hand pieced in 2009-2010, but I still had a long way to go added the sashing and borders.

The colour in this photo is more true to the fabric I used for the Shades of Autumn POTC background.  So, try and image this earthy yellow colour instead of the washed out white (damn the camera) in the quilt top photo above,  Much nicer, yes?

That was autumn and it's on to winter, more to tell you another day.

Until next time.....happy quilting!

Karen

Country Comfort

From Rosemary Wilkinson's book, Quick Quilts to Make in a Weekend came Country Comfort, a nice utility quilt perfect for big stitch quilting and homespun fabric.

What I like best about Country Comfort is the big flower template used for quilting.  And, what makes it interesting is you center it over the seam of two joining blocks, instead of in the middle of each block.  Now, it was pieced together in a weekend, but hand quilting it will be a whole other weekend or two.

Every fall, as the weather starts to turn I think about crocheting again, but never do. Well, this year out came my crochet books and a few balls of yarn to practice with. I started at the beginning, reviewed all the basic stitches and was surprised how much I remembered.

Deciding what to crochet is proving to be difficult, as I would like to use up the odd balls of yarn I have around the house first.  How easy it would be to just pick a pattern and head off to the yarn shop, but I'll try not to do that.

In the meantime, I have been happily working on one of my Hocuspocusville stitchery blocks and joining together my Shades of Autumn, POTC blocks, which is looking pretty good, but very slow going.  So, it looks like my fall project will continue right into winter, if need be, to finish it.

Until next time.....happy quilting!

Karen

Last Bloom of Summer

Bloom

A summer applique ready for quilting.

 

Building Houses

A house for August and September.

Autumn Aster

Popping up in the garden just in time for fall.

It seems fall has arrived  a week early and when I feel a chill in the air, comfort food comes to mind.  So, I made some Indian Pudding, served warm, with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.   

Now, it's time to work on some fall projects and I have two things in mind, my Hocuspocusville stitchery blocks and finishing my Shades of Autumn, POTC quilt top.

Until next time.....happy quilting!

Karen



October Moon

Fall is fast approaching, my favourite time of year.  Crisp flaky crust and smooth, creamy custard, pumpkin pies will soon be here.  During this chilly season I also like to delight in a warm cup of hot chocolate or, how about the tempting aroma of homemade applesauce as it is simmering on the stove.  Oh autumn, I welcome you,  it is none too soon for me!

My intention a couple of weeks back was to prepare October Moon for a later date, but Pumpkin Patch Cat said I should start right away.  A wise cat he is, as September 23 is the first day of fall and now my little wall quilt is ready to hang.

October Moon

15" x 25"

Machine pieced, hand appliqued and quilted

Pattern by Sandy Gervais

A fun applique project, I like how the cat is pieced with different strips of fabric.  October Moon is a two part pattern, I made the Pumpkin Patch Cat, but there is also a second wall hanging called Moon Cat, which is very cute as well, maybe a project for next fall.

Until next time.....happy quilting!

Karen

Veranda Views

Veranda Views had me excited from the start, because I love to spend time in the garden.  Fabric selection was pretty easy.  I had a few pieces in mind and just added to them.

Then I stitched it all together and didn't like the end result.  It was way too busy with all the different fabric and the stitchery was lost.  I took it apart (January 2010) and used the pieces for Quilters' Compost.

Since then, I selected three fabrics that went nicely together and hoped for the best.  It only took a little over a year to attempt it a second time, but it turned out much better than the first time and the focus remains on the stitchery. 

Click on photo for clearer image.

I did change it some from the original pattern by adding more sashing and I tried not to increase the overall quilt size too much, so as not to tip the balance.  It looks nicer in person then in the photo and I am pretty sure I will not be taking it apart again. 

Well working on Veranda Views, I had a chance to test out my Center-to-Trim Guide by Dritz.  Normally I work on blocks that have already been cut to finished size, but for Veranda Views you cut them larger and then trim back when finished.  This was a first for me and I was pleased with the ease of the Center-to-Trim Guide.

In the close-up photo you can see a series of measurements and dots.  First you find the center of your block and mark it, through the hole, with a wash away pen.  You continue to mark in the same way, for the size of block you desire.  Then, with a ruler and rotary cutter, you trim down your block.  So fast and easy!

Do you remember my Brother PC3000 sewing machine ordeal?  I drove by the repair shop the other day and guess what; they have gone out of business!  Now, doesn't that explain a few things?

Until next time.....happy quilting!

Karen

Elegant Nine Patch

As I was organizing my projects for the New Year, I happened upon my nine-patch quilt.  Pieced by hand, a little over five years ago, and patiently waiting its turn to be hand quilted.  I love the simplicity of the nine-patch block and would say it is one of my favourites.  The border fabric added a bit of elegance to this uncomplicated block. 

I have been without my sewing machine for three weeks now and probably will be for another week or two, as it needs a new electronic touch pad, a pricy item indeed.  Buttons 0 to 3 are not working and my needle is locked in the left position.  Due to a backup of machine repairs, the service man just looked at my machine last week.  The order for my new keypad went in yesterday.  So, my plans of finishing off a few more quilts, by machine, before the year ends will have to wait until next year. 

Being without a sewing machine got me thinking about my grandmother's Singer 301, manufactured in 1956, and last used by my mother almost six years ago.  Weighing about five pounds more then the Singer Featherweight 221 and is referred to as the featherweight's big sister.  All that is required now is a little TLC (a good cleaning and oiling) and then I can take her for a spin.

Until next time.....happy quilting!

Karen

Louisa

I just couldn't resist a few simple pleasures, Valdani thread and an old wooden bobbin.  I'm not sure if the other is a bobbin, but I found it wrapped in thread.  My bedtime reading is a book by Janet Bolton called Patchwork Folk Art and now I drift off to sleep with ideas stirring in my head. 

Though not the most exciting quilt, my Louisa is finished.  I just wanted to test out my new pyramid ruler, but really didn't have a plan, so my pieced pyramids sat for almost a year.  I never did come up with a really good plan, but I sure had fun needle turning all the circles! 

To always have a plan is my lesson learned.

  

From the top of the Porcupine grass.....

to the bottom of the Japanese maple,

Signs of Autumn's near End.

Until next time.....happy quilting!

Karen



Gee's Bend Inspired

Several years ago, I checked out a book from the library called, Quilts of Gee's Bend.  It was a very interesting read.  Well surfing the web,  I had noticed a renewed interest.  This inspired me to borrow the book from the library again and make my own Gee's Bend inspired quilt.

So, off I went to root around in my fabric bins.  I had spring on the brain, at the time, and decided I would name my quilt Waiting for Spring.  After selecting fabric, I sat down with the Gee's Bend book to study the quilts.  One quilt that caught my eye was by Annie Mae Young (born 1928) called Center medallion strips with multiple borders.  Circa 1965.   This was all the inspiration I needed to get me started.

Waiting for Spring

As I pieced together my version of a center medallion strips, I noticed in the book that many of the Gee's Bend quilts looked a little wonky.  You know what I mean, the pieces not appearing straight?  I may be wrong, but I think over time and because of the different weights and types of fabric, they used, the quilts have pulled out of shape.   So, I went with straight cuts of fabric and colours that felt spring like.

I liked the way Missouri Pettway from Gee's Bend quilted one of her quilts, in 1942 and decided to try it on mine.  What I did was stitch a series of soft, natural flowing lines, on an angle across the quilt.  Without question, mine is a little wilder then Missouri's. 

I prefer to quilt by hand and am not really a big fan of the sewing machine.  But, every now and then, as I walk past my sewing machine it asks me, why did you buy me?  So, every now and then, I feel I must use it.  Waiting for Spring was all machine made and I even got myself out of the ditch and did what I call, free motion with walking foot.  I also tried a new batting by Eco Craft, called Eco-Friendly Batting Blend.  This is a 50/50 blend of cotton and corn-based synthetic fiber (PLA), that looks and feels like a polyester/cotton blend. It stitched up nicely and wasn't too puffy.  

Waiting for Spring was a new adventure for me and I liked it!

Until next time.....happy quilting!

Karen

Red Delicious

After much consideration, I decided not to proceed with Red Delicious.  It's not that I don't like the quilt, it is absolutely beautiful and I am very pleased with what I have accomplished.  I do plan to make, at some point, my two favourite blocks, Ruby Tea and Cherry Basket.   So, what I have done is turned my completed blocks into a wall hanging.  Better to get these beauties up on the wall, then sitting in a project box.   Quilting will be done by hand, with yellow thread, to match the background fabric.

Until next time.....happy quilting!

Karen

A Tisket A Tasket

A Tisket A Tasket

Have you seen my baskets? 

It sure feels good to finish a quilt and it's a nice way to end the week.  I went with a green/brown combination and am pretty pleased with how it turned out.  I think it works well with the different coloured baskets.

The weekend with hopefully be a relaxing one. I plan on working on my Civil War Bride quilt and maybe even start piecing Veranda Views. 

Until next time.....happy quilting!

Karen

My Country Calendar

When I think of country, I think of homespun, so that is what I went with to finish my Country Calendar quilt.  As a child, I lived in the country, on a large wooded lot, with a creek running along one side, a pond on the other and Mayapples covering the ground. We tapped maple trees and played in the woods for hours.  Nature was our toy box.  Today I'm a city girl who longs for the country again.  For the trip down memory lane, I thank you Ellen.

Green acres is the place to be

Farm living is the life for me

Land spreading out,

so far and wide

Keep Manhattan,

just give me that countryside.

Until next time.....happy quilting!

Karen

Twist of Lemon

From an Eleanor Burns book called, Egg Money Quilts, came this quilt, I call Twist of Lemon. I wasn't much interested in 1930's fabric until I came across a display at a booth, during the Creativ Festival, in Toronto, October 2007. I fell in love with the yellows and greens and knew then I would make a Dresden quilt. I was half way through hand quilting around this time last year, when I stopped working on it. How fast the year went by, but I picked it up again and finished it!

I hand quilted around all the inner circles, blocks and Dresden's. Then I quilted up the edge of each blade to the edge of the block. That made for a very pretty pattern on the back and front of the quilt.

Up next for hand quilting will be my Farmer's Market quilt. Times Remembered really should be next, it's just so big! Once the Farmer's Market is completed, I'm pretty sure I will be ready for the big one. Then that will leave two, even smaller quilts, waiting to be hand quilted.

It's hard to believe it is December already. Last Wednesday I worked in the garden, raking up the last of the leaves, did some pruning, cleaned and oiled my garden tools and cleaning out the eaves. Then, I had to cut the lawn again!! Such a warm November we had and December started off in the 50's. Please let this be the last cutting!

I should have taken a picture, but I didn't. My sister likes to scrapbook and so she made me an Advent calendar. Instead of being chocolate filled, it is Cosmo embroidery floss filled! Isn't that the best!

Until next week.....happy quilting!

Karen