Quilted musings

2011-12-31T20:36:00.000-08:00

HAPPY NEW YEAR! Farewell to 2011, it's time for to fade away. 2011 was a busy year many good things happened, the two best being the birth of my granddaughter, Laela and the engagement of my son Kyle to his Ashley. We are blessed, our grandson Trevor turned 1 year old in November.

I've been super busy with family, dogs, knitting, finishing some holiday UFO's and quilting some quilts for customers. Then of course there was Thanksgiving & Christmas!

While we were in Hawaii in October I contacted a quilt instructor named Kathy Tsark, owner of Kwilts 'N Koa in Honolulu. Kathy teaches traditional Hawaiian quilting, which is basically 2 fabric applique. Hawaiian quilts are made in two colors and are all handmade, no machine sewing or rotary cutting.
Kathy was super friendly and knowledgeable, she wants to preserve the Hawaiian quilting style and is happy to teach it to anyone interested.

The Breadfruit

Kathy Tsark, Kwilts 'N Koa

All basted and ready to needle turn applique

Beginning the hand quilting

Kathy came to my hotel for two lessons, the first on the history of Hawaiian quilting, tracing and cutting the Breadfruit design, basting it onto the background and beginning the appliqueing. Over the phone we discussed color options as well as what notions I would need. I had brought along a sewing kit so I was semi-ready for this.

The designs used in these quilts all have a meaning, Breadfruit being the first, the food to start the quilter on her journey. Pineapples are well know around the world to mean 'Welcome', so there is a progression to the designs, all steeped in tradition.

I really enjoyed my lessons and working with Kathy, she's a sweetheart and so knowledgeable. If you ever get to Honolulu and want to learn from Kathy please contact here at KWilts 'N Koa, you can check out her web site at www.kwiltsnkoa.com

I now own a quilt hoop as well as a Roxanne thimble, I haven't completed my breadfruit yet but I will!
I had Kathy prepare a crib quilt with pink & white fabric so that I can make a Hawaiian quilt for my granddaughter, Laela, who is Hawaii born to have.

I had done some hand applique but nothing of this scope, Kathy helped me to understand the applique as well as the hand quilting. I won't be expecting to win any ribbons with my new found skills but I will definitely enjoy the process as well as the completed projects!

Thank you again Kathy! Aloha!

Aloha #2 from Waikiki

2011-10-16T10:46:00.000-07:00

Aloha again, it's early morning here and I think the jet lag is all gone, we actually slept until a normal time this morning. Now to go to my daughter's and help her out so that she can nap.

Here is our little Miss, Laela, fresh from her first bath. Isn't she just gorgeous?

Out hotel has Hawaiian quilts on every floor by the elevators. These are a cultural wonder and so beautiful. If you've never seen one they are made from just 2 fabrics, usually a light solid for the background and a darker solid for the applique. The applique is one piece for the entire quilt, no matter how large the quilt it's one solid piece of applique. They are hand basted, then appliqued and then hand quilted with either an echo of the design or with stitching that compliments the design. Pineapple and breadfruit are often included in Hawaiian quilt design.

Above are 3 of the quilts from the Hale Koa. I plan to go to the Bishop Museum to see more and get a pattern or two!

Don't you think that these quilts are stunning in their simplicity of color and intricacy of design? Can you imagine appliqueing one of these, all of those points and corners to master and make perfect! I hope that I get to make one, just a small one to start and see where it takes me.

I went into a shop at the Hilton Village here and it was all "Hawaiian" quilt items. Uhm, well not to be picky but the stitching was not good and upon further examination they are labeled 'authentic Hawaiian quilting" made in polynesia. Definitely for the unknowing tourist. I left without making a purchase. If I know that I can stitch it better I won't ever buy it!

Aloha, have a great Sunday!

October in Hawaii

2011-10-14T18:05:00.000-07:00

Aloha from Oahu! My husband & I are here with our daughter, her husband and their daughter, Laela who was born 2 weeks ago! Yes grandchild #2 is here and we now have a boy and a girl.

This is the farthest I've ever flown and my first trip to the Pacific Ocean, it is beautiful and the flight wasn't as bad as anticipated.

While we are here we will spend a lot of time with the kids and some time sightseeing and shopping. I've already looked up quilt shops and yarn shops and really what else do I need to shop for? I brought a quilt for Laela with me on the plane, it's made with Winnie the Pooh fabrics along with bright read-as-solids prints. I hand sewed the binding on while flying west and handed it over shortly after arriving. My daughter has washed it and it has crinkled up just right to look warm and snuggly. For the most part Laela won't need a warm quilt while living here in Hawaii but it will be a play mat or stroller cover or a fort, who knows? I needed to make this quilt for my granddaughter like the several that I've made for my grandson, Trevor, who will be getting another quilt for his first birthday. This is Laela's second quilt, the first was pink Peter Rabbit fabrics with hints of turquoise.

Often grandchildren amass quite a quilt collection early in life and I can't stress the importance of labeling these lovingly made bits of history. Stitch a label, write one with permanent fabric ink or embroider onto the quilt but do label your work!

I promise to share a picture or 2 of Laela as well as Hawaii when I have a better internet connection!

Mahalo for reading along!

Intersting summer continued

2011-08-30T07:54:00.000-07:00

Hello again, can you believe that I am back so soon? I realized that I had barely touched on the many things that made up my interesting summer! Below is a picture of my guild's raffle quilt for this year. This quilt was designed by Gina Gempesaw for County Line Quilters, pieced by guild members and machine quilted by me, Sally Malley finished it with her perfect binding. Our quilt guild hosts a non-juried show every 2 years in the spring, it will be in late March this year at Archbishop Wood High School. Isn't it beautiful? I love the bright, happy colors in this design and the large blocks really stand out! Oh I'd love to win this quilt! On a very sad note our Beautiful Morgan has gone to the Rainbow Bridge, I'd always asked her to make it to 13 years and she did, she turned 13 in May a left us in late June. I miss her so much!
This is Morgan on Trevor's bed, wasn't she just gorgeous? I used to send Morgan and Daisy in to wake Trevor up, they'd jump on the bed and play around. Trevor was not easy to wake up!
God Bless you Morgan, you made our lives so much richer in so many ways and you are missed my beautiful girl!

As I write this I am watching my Ninja Hummingbird guard the feeders, she is fierce in her desire not to share the nectar! The chases are comical and I could watch them and their beautiful shiny green feathers all morning. Mr. Rusty is at my feet, he never goes far any more it's like he's decided I'm his since Morgan left us.

In looking at my red golden retrievers and the green hummingbirds and can see a beautiful copper and green quilt, the colors are rich and would really shine together. Isn't it amazing how nature inspires us? Look around you and be inspired, after this hellish summer with it's prolonged heat waves and then the devastation of Hurricane Irene we have much to be thankful for. For me autumn is a wonderful season, the colors, the scents and the crackling leaves on the ground. I love the shorter days and cooler nights. I am inspired to create quilts and food. Autumn is a time to gather and prepare for the possibility of winter, I relish this time.

Our guild will start meeting again in September as will many guilds, we are starting off with a Tea Party this year! I can't wait to see everyone and what they have created over the summer!

I will get to have lunch with my good friend, Donna Lynn Thomas this week, she will be coming back east to promote her newest book and visit family. Spending time with her is amazing, she is so creative and inspiring!

Enjoy the last official weekend of summer, your family and friends and maybe you are inspired to create something for yourself to remember your summer of 2011 by.

Interesting Summer...

2011-08-29T18:34:00.000-07:00

Hello, it's been awhile since I've blogged, as usual life gets in the way! My family is growing, my 3rd child, Kyle became engaged to his Ashley while in Cancun, Mexico last month. Congratulations! A July wedding is planned for next year.

My grandson, Trevor, Jr is almost 10 months old, that's him below on the boogie board. He's a beach baby and loves the sand and ocean. He loves the sand so much he wears it all over himself! We were blessed to have much of our family with us during our week in Sea Isle City, NJ or "down the shore"!
My daughter is expecting our first granddaughter this October, she will be born in Hawaii where they live while her Dad is stationed there, he is a U.S. Marine. I'll be traveling to Hawaii when she is born to meet her and help out the new parents as much as I can in a short time.

I'm still quilting and working on my own projects, sew much to do! I plan to make a Christmas gift for everyone, quilted, knit, crocheted or crafted. I love making or buying a special gift, knowing how well it will suit the person that I've chosen it for. The look of surprise and joy when they open that special gift makes it all worthwhile for me.

In my business I am fortunate enough to see the beautiful quilts made for beloved family members and friends. Below is an example of a special quilt made by a good customer of mine, Karen W. This alphabet quilt is for her grandchildren's play room, it will be hung on a wall and taken down to practice their ABC's.

There are dozens of machine embroidery designs in this gorgeous quilt and in quilting it I didn't want to take away from the embroidery but highlight it. I chose a very small stippling to nail down the backing and make the embroidery POP! It worked and the designs all stand out beautifully.
I am honored to be able to finish so many wonderful quilts that will be around for generations.

Keep piecing and quilting and remember to always include a label with your name, date and location as well as who the quilt was made for on each quilt that you create!

Happy Stitching!

Sometimes you just need to say 'Uncle' to a project!

2011-06-20T19:58:00.000-07:00

Tonight I ripped out a baby afghan that I had started in April. It was a sampler, which means different patterns of stithies alternating through out the blanket. I loved the cotton yarn that I chose, it's a Celadon green, very light and airy. This was to be for my Granddaughter who's supposed to arrive this October, they live in Hawaii at the moment so light weight was important.

I saw the quilt on the yarn shops web site and loved it, went in and signed up. the first class had us casting on over 200 stitches and then making a 2' ribbing pattern. This took awhile. the next class I missed because I was at MQX in Providence. Then the instructor realized that more time was needed to get this done so she put the last class off until after a trip abroad.

Today was that class, this pattern requires perfect attention, there isn't much repetition that you can just go over and over.

I had to un-knit the same row 4 times....enough said, I don't have the time or the concentration this pattern requires so I ripped it out and will make an easier pattern with the pretty yarn.

Mentally this is a load off my mind and work wise, I have more than enough on my plate.

It's okay to drop a project that doesn't work out, we shouldn't be beating ourselves up to finish something this is frustrating or time consuming.

So, feel free to rid yourself of that albatross project and move onto something that you will fully enjoy!

2011-05-15T11:32:00.001-07:00

Happy Spring!

Dresden Plate Quilt back and front to show quilting.

Hello Spring and the quilting has been flowing. Once I got past all the stitch-in-the-ditch work on the Dresden Plate quilt everything leveled out!

My customer LOVES the quilting and how it made her quilt look. The blocks were a hand me down from a neighbor to another neighbor to my customer who sashed them in red and blue. The fabrics were all from the 30's and not reproductions & hand pieced. This was a use it up quilt as there was seersucker and rayons in the mix as well as the feed sack prints. While I am still not a big fan of the red & blue sashing I do think that the quilt looks good and I am so happy that my customer is happy after all the stressing that I did over this job!

I have been knitting & crocheting for my grandkids, Trevor who is now 6+months and the new baby that is due this October. I try, struggle actually with time management...there are so many things that I want to accomplish or create and I never seem to get as much done as I'd like to! Any tips would be greatly appreciated!

My guild, County Line Quilter's has a challenge every year, with the results shown during our November meeting. This year it's a get it done challenge, you have to finish a UFO or WIP and us a small piece of cream fabric provided by our challenge master, Gina. You can use the fabric in the quilt or as a label, whatever works. I've got many UnFinishedObjects or WorksInProgress and hope to actually participate in my first challenge! Wish me luck.

With the nice weather coming make sure to have some hand work ready to go so that you can sit in the bleachers, on the beach or in the car with something to do!

Is it Spring yet???

2011-03-24T06:13:00.000-07:00

Have to wonder what's up with Mother Nature, we are still getting snow & sleet! This is the winter that won't quit! I'd love to have a normal spring with cool temps gradually warming up, time for the trees to bud out and the flowers to bloom without freezing.

The studio has been rather stagnant these past few weeks, I had a cold that turned into bronchitis, my husband had surgery on his foot so I had to pick up what he couldn't tend to and then just a general lack of motivation! I need a kick in my creative butt! Oh yes, I've been reading, a lot, many books. Reading is my first passion and can consume me to the detriment of anything else getting done! Time to put the books down for a bit, or my Kindle!

Today I will be cutting up Patty's wedding dress to make a Communion Dress for her daughter Katelyn. The gown is satin with a lot of trim and cut outs but plenty of fabric to make the simple dress that Kate wants. Pictures to follow.

I will be working on the quilt mentioned last time, yes it's still there. Turns out it's getting Stitched in the Ditch, very time consuming and boring for me. Must get it done, must get it done!

I did complete my grandson, Trevor's hooded knit sweater and will hand sew the zipper in today too!

Sew many plans, wish me luck!

Procrastinating.....

2011-02-18T06:54:00.000-08:00

I am guilty of procrastinating in many things but nothing makes me wait more than a quilt that isn't speaking to me. It can be the design, the colors, the style of the sashing....a creative block ensues and I am on the fence.

I've had a Dresden Plate quilt for awhile now, it's been on the frame for over a week and it's just sitting there while design ideas percolate in my head. I've looked for other Dresden Plate quilts to see how they were quilted to no avail, they are almost all meandered! UGH!

The story of this quilt is that the actual plate blocks are old, given to my customer, Karen by a neighbor. They are 30's prints, hand pieced. Karen added a triple sashing with 9 patch blocks at the junctions. My problem seems to be the sashing---it's red & white, the 9 patches are red & blue, solids, all of them. The border is rather narrow for this quilt but also red. She asked for me to come up with quilting that will enhance the blocks, (the easy part for me) and do something that would go with the period to match in the sashing and border.

Today I will work on this quilt, I will bite the bullet and go for it. I know that once I get started it will flow nicely (usually), rarely will I start quilting if I am not sure about the design. I will draw it on my white board and maybe even on a clear acrylic square that I can overlay on the quilt to test my ideas.

Wish me luck! I will post pictures as I go on this one!

More snow coming and I am getting projects done!

2011-01-20T05:32:00.000-08:00

The top photo shows the baby afghan that I've finished and Ashley's Just Desserts quilt which has gone home with her.

This past week I finished the borders on Ashley's birthday quilt, quilted it and sewed the binding on! It went home with her Tuesday!

I've been working steadily on Trevor v2's Hooded sweater and have the hood & cowl collar completed, now onto the sleeves and then sewing in the zipper. This one is a rush as he is growing so quickly!

Yesterday I went to my friend Gina's for a sewing day, which includes a fair amount of chatting and eating...we had a delicious soup and sandwiches. There was trail mix, cranberry bread biscotti & Pepperidge Farms Dark Chocolate Nantucket Cookies, my favorite!

I took several WIPs with me, Trevor's Owl quilt, a pajama outfit that needed some additions-a long story about ordering personalized clothing that arrives wrong and too close to change-snowballs on the union jack flap on the rear, the Golf diaper bag that I've been making for Trevor the Dad, it's made up with golf fabrics and looks really good but I goofed up cutting the lining and it's been waiting and a project from a class taken in 2005, Sweet Emma Rose quilt that I mis-cut something on but don't remember exactly what and have to find that to fix so I can go on with it.

I worked on the first 3, only Sweet Emma didn't get touched, if only I hadn't gotten stuck in so much traffic that one might have been put aright too! Oh well, next time I hope!

2011-01-12T12:51:00.000-08:00

Hello 2011, it's been awhile since I've Blogged. So much has happened since September, my daughter was married, my cousin was married and my grandson arrived on November 4th. With all of those happy, glorious events I still managed to quilt all of my customer's quilts on time for Christmas and make some things for our new Trevor.

My son Trevor with his son, Trevor v.2

I don't believe in resolutions, like a diet it's setting yourself up to fail, I have however decided to straighten out my house, my files, my pantry, my fabric stash and projects.

I've had an overwhelming need to clean, which is so uncharacteristic for me! I don't believe that cleanliness is next to Godliness but the clutter and disorganization after so many huge events has got me down.

Do you have a great organizational tip? My favorite is to sort the mail as soon as it comes into the house, each persons mail, my bills, magazines, the recycling bag is next to me and then anything that could be used to steal our identities goes to the shredder. If you have a tip to share post a comment!

I like lists, shopping lists, to-do lists, Honey-do Lists (my favorite!) and now a project list. My need to create and to collect is a big part of who I am, always has been. So I have a list of my Works In Progress or WIPS, some are quilting related, some knitting and some cross stitch. I've promised myself not to start something new, a very overriding need of mine, until I complete 5 WIPs. Can I do it, or even remember where I parked my list? Time will tell but I am off on the right foot.

A crocheted afghan for Trevor is now done, Ashley's birthday quilt (from August) is ready to be quilted now, the borders complete. That's 2, sew far sew good!

Wish me luck and my next post will list my current WIPs, at least the most recent and then I will post pics of them as they get done.

I won't mention all the books I want/need to read, that's another story!

Enjoy the snow, winter will be gone soon enough, use the cold weather to get things done inside so that you can get outside when it warms up! Or you can be like our dogs and LOVE the snow!

September and it's finally cooler!

2010-09-13T13:09:00.000-07:00

Hello, happy almost autumn, back to school or whatever it is you like about this time of year! I LOVE fall, it is my absolute favorite season, the smells, the colors, pumpkins & apples, shorter days and cooler nights when I can use my quilts again!
I've mentioned before that my daughter is getting married this fall and my son & daughter-in-law are growing a family. Our first grandchild is due to arrive in early November, right around election day! Our family is so excited!! We had a surprise baby shower this past Saturday and it really was a surprise! Andrea was shocked and happy, she settled into the baby's great-great grandfather's rocking chair to chat and open gifts. Our families and friends were exceedingly generous and the kid is off to a good start!
This is the Diaper Cake that I made for the shower, no calories and can be used for baby!

I've been spending most of my quilting time on baby items, a valance for the nursery, a dust ruffle for the crib and a diaper bag for my golfer son.

My friend Joyce just called, she was at the shower and gave me a beautiful brag book and storybook for me & the baby. She commented on how nice it was to watch my boys on Saturday, how they interacted with family and each other, all of the generations. It is nice to have everyone together, a lot of work but well worth the effort!

I had a dental procedure this morning which has caused quite a lot of pain so this is my limit for today, I promise to post some quilt pics next time!

Enjoy September!

Summer time and the living is busy!

2010-08-02T04:43:00.000-07:00

Hello again, it's been awhile, please forgive me but my daughter is getting married this fall and we just had the bridal shower here at the house this weekend. What fun it was to plan it with her matron of honor and bridesmaids! I am truly enjoying this adventure and the adventure of my first grandchild arriving this fall as well! Life is good!

Quilting has been on the back burner in July, I did a lot of quilts in June and will post some pictures of them here. I did crochet 2 baby afghans and have a knitted one started. I need a cute but easy sweater pattern to knit! Any suggestions????

I have almost completed the wedding quilt that I've written about before. I used a jelly roll from Moda to make the quilt but added a couple of other fabrics, they were a bit richer in color and I thought that they'd make a nice accent, but NO! As I joined the blocks the 2 'read as a solid' prints just jumped out at me, overshadowing the soft florals and stripes in the rest of the blocks! Now some people could maybe live with that, I couldn't so it was time to FROG the blocks, rip it, rip it! I un-sewed the offending squares and now have to put my puzzle back together, soon, because I have so much more that I need to get done!

Can you spot the square that doesn't belong???

My friend, Donna Lynn Thomas writes quilt books, Stripples, Portable Patchwork are just t 2 that's she's written. She's written a new book that will be out this fall and asked her quilting friends to help with testing the concept and designs & for me to quilt 3 of her projects for the book....that was in January. I took the 3 quilts and had them done by May, but never got to finish choosing the fabrics for my sample. Time was running out so when I had my friends over for a stitch & bitch day I asked for some help with color choices. I'd decided to make the entire quilt using only my stash and my colors had to all be different from Donna's for the book.
When I asked Sally, Gina & Joyce for help they jumped right in, now who wouldn't love to play in someone else's stash???? They were terrific, each one added to my choices to make the colors shine as the sunflower design that I'd planned. Part of the quilt is pictured below. I pieced the top, leaving the borders until the end and that's where I got stuck again. Nothing in my stash was right for the quilt, it needed a frame, nothing to detract from the body of the quilt. My browns were all wrong, I fussed and asked my family but it just wasn't working for me so I called Gina.
Gina has a pretty large stash too and she lives 30 minutes away. My SOS got her moving, she gathered up a bunch of fabrics that looked like they might work with my quilt, (I'd sent photos).
Yes she had the ONE, THE fabric that this quilt needed, so it got finished using only stash fabrics, but just one wasn't from my stash! :) Who could understand this predicament more than another quilter? I love my quilting buddies!

I mounted the quilt to the frame, quilted it with leaves and sunflowers and then bound it. The hardest part was shipping it off to Martingale to be photographed. I tracked it and it actually arrived early, whew...now to wait for it to come back! The quilt is called "Brianne's Sunflowers" and I'll post when Donna's book is out!

I joined a group on the internet this summer, a challenge to make a 9 Patch block every day for June, July and half of August. I haven't been making them daily but in batches, here are the ones I've done so far-Many of these fabrics are from quilt made long ago and recently...sew many memories! This is a great way to use up your scraps and fat quarters that you don't know what you were thinking when you bought them years ago! My friend Susan S. is making the 9 patches and is planning on using them all in one quilt sashed in black. Sounds like a good idea to get all of these different fabric combinations into one quilt!

This is the first quilt that I've made for our grandbaby, I used a panel by Deb Strain for MODA called Love U. My DIL Andrea loved her snail fabric from this line so we are going to use it in the nursery and I wanted her to have the colors so that she can match them to other items for the baby's room. I just added charm squares from the same fabric line to make the panel wider. I used 2 layers of batting, Dream Wool and Dream Cotton to make it thick and puffy. I wanted a quilt that the baby can lie on and not be on the hard floor.

This is Barbara D's Fig tree strip quilt, very soft muted colors. Cross hatch quilting in the borders, which she wanted scalloped and Sally did a wonderful job on! The body of the quilt is free motion leaves and loops. It's a very pretty quilt!

Time for me to get to work on Joyce's tan, beige & black quilt which I loaded on the frame last night! Enjoy the day!

Memorial Day 2010

2010-05-31T08:11:00.000-07:00

Remember that our Freedoms don't come from our Government but from the Military personnel who pledge to defend them every day all over the world!

Hello, it's been awhile again! I spent most of May catching up on my customer quilts and getting ready to go on vacation with my husband. We had a glorious time cruising to Bermuda on Celebrity's Summit.
I did get several quilts quilted and sent home with their owners as well as making a panel for the Parkinsons Disease World Quilt Project. The panels had to be 2'x2' with 6" added around. I chose to show my husband's family and his hobbies past & present. It arrived in NY last Wednesday.
I have a new toy/tool for my Millie, it's the Quiltazoid. Think of it as a spirograph for quilts! I haven't tried it yet but this week I will finally have time to get to it, look for pics as soon as I can get them done!

Did you know that Bermuda doesn't have a Quilt Shop? or a Yarn Shop? How sad is that! I know it doesn't get too cold there but imagine life without being able to go and pet fabric or yarn! Oh NO! Those poor Bermudians need a quilt shop, they just don't know it!
Here are a few pics from the latest quilts....

Thimbleberrie's 3's Company, a combination of pieced and faux applique blocks. It was a BOM at Country Quiltworks.

This is Joan W's wedding quilt for her son & his wife.
There were 3 more but I can't show them to you yet as they are going to be in Donna Lynn Thomas' new book...I'll keep you posted as to when it will be published and then post my pics of the 3 quilts that I quilted for her!

Have a safe Memorial Day!

2010-05-03T10:05:00.000-07:00

Happy May!

Yesterday was my sister's 50th birthday and we all helped her celebrate at the Windlass Restaurant in Lake Hopatcong, NJ. This cake not only celebrates her b-day but her first year of being cancer free. Celene had a double mastectomy last January(09) and completed her chemo last May. At this point she is doing great, her reconstruction was amazing and we all pray for her to remain healthy and for a cure to be found for breast cancer.

Now as to quilting I was going along, getting quilts done for my customers when LIFE interrupted. Family is important and when they need you, you need to be there for them. My husband's parents are now living in a senior apartment looking out over Red Bank, NJ and the Navesink River. It's a huge change for them but a necessary one, here's to hoping that they enjoy a healthy and happy life together there!

These are pics of several quilts that I managed to get quilted before the bump...
Above is a strip quilt made with a Jelly Roll, very happy and bright, Dream Wool batting was used and very small stipple as my customer wanted the quilt to be squishy.This is a cotton and Minkee quilt with Moda's Snuggle on the back, Snuggle is Moda's version of Minkee. It's very cute, I used Dream blend batting and outlined the bunny with meander in the body of the quilt to support the Snuggle's weight.

Below is a basket quilt made by my friend, Marcy as a gift for her friend in Nebraska. It's made with traditional colors and custom quilted. I stitched a trio of leaves in the center of each basket, did a small meander around the baskets and a sunflower in the setting blocks which run along the center of the quilt.

This is a large twin sampler made with all Batik fabrics, Fairfield Bamboo batting was supplied by my customer. I'd never used this batting before and was pleasantly surprised with it's stability, softness and how well it looked after quilting. The second quilt in the teals is the same sampler just done in different fabrics, they are college graduation gifts.
Notice how the contrasting fabrics in the cotton quilt show the blocks more clearly than the busy batik prints do. They are both pretty quilts but the cotton really shows the piecing.

March is marching on to spring and April!

2010-03-18T09:25:00.001-07:00

Hello again, I hope that you all survived the winter to end all winters and are enjoying this little taste of spring! Bandit Queen of the Quilting Studio, above sends wet kisses!
I've been busy with family, planning a wedding and birthdays. I've quilted a couple of quilts for customers, two for grandkids, Grace and Emily. They were both bright, happy quilts and a pleasure to quilt for Joyce H. and Betsy P.
No photos yet, I took pics of Emily's quilt without the data card in my camera! I will take some at my guild's quilt show this weekend at Archbishop Wood High School. County Line Quilters are having their bi-annual show, it's all members quilts with no judging just a lot of beautiful quilts with the stories of why they were made.

Below are 2 quilts that I finished, the first is Ruth's Spring Birds stack'n'whack, a very pretty and well made quilt. In order to not detract from the designs created by the fabric we opted to do continous curves in the stars and then stipple the background to make the stars pop.
This is part of a layette set made by Millie, she used Winnie the Pooh fabrics to make a quilt, a quilted pillow cover and a wall hanging. I quilted feathers in the pinwheels and cross hatched the center of the quilt. It's a very sweet baby quilt!
Happy Spring!

Rainy Days & Mondays by Melimba & Beccabury for Riley Blake Designs - Fat Quarter Shop's Jolly Jabber

2010-03-18T09:25:00.000-07:00

Rainy Days & Mondays by Melimba & Beccabury for Riley Blake Designs - Fat Quarter Shop's Jolly Jabber

February--Groundhog Day, Sally & Mary's birthday!

2010-02-02T05:53:00.000-08:00

Good Morning, it's cloudy here and we had a red sky this morning so I guess Phil was right and we are going to have more winter! I am not surprised since spring is on the calendar for late March anyway! :)
I am happy to announce that Julie of http:www.jaybirdquilts.com has her first quilt published in Quiltmaker Magazine http://www.quiltmaker.com/patterns/index.html !
Congratulations Julie! Cornflower Fields is beautiful and I was fortunate to be able to quilt it for Julie last fall! It was marathon quilting!
I worked with Julie at Country Quiltworks in Montgomeryville, PA and she is so energetic and excited by all things quilty!
Julie has several Moda Bakeshop projects on their website as well as quilts that were hung at Fall Quilt Market in Houston. Her Hunky Dory pattern is being kitted and sold by Fat Quarter Shop and Hancock's of Paducah! Way to go Julie! I am looking forward to see what else Julie has coming!
I was pleasantly surprised to receive an advance copy of Quiltmaker in the mail, just because I was listed as the quilter! How nice is that????

On my to do list are several baby quilts, I need to sew the last 2 rows of my Farm Fresh quilt that I am going to teach as a beginner class at Country Quiltworks www.countryquiltworks.net this spring. It's so bright and happy, all fruits and veggie farbics with had dyed solids, makes me yearn for my garden.

Helping Haiti - A Silent Auction - Fat Quarter Shop's Jolly Jabber

2010-01-23T07:27:00.000-08:00

Helping Haiti - A Silent Auction - Fat Quarter Shop's Jolly Jabber

Happy 2010

2010-01-10T16:20:00.000-08:00

Hello again, it's been awhile. I spent a good part of December finishing up my customer quilts, decorating, baking and getting ready for Christmas and my nephew's wedding the day after up in CT! It was crazy hectic but fun. Christmas was different with a blizzard here the day before we were to go to my sister in laws so we missed out on that! We did a quick exchange in the hotel the morning after the wedding. The bride was beautiful, the groom very handsome and the reception was fun!
For New Years we crashed John & I. We stayed home in the quiet and took care of the pups, all 4 of them.
New Year's started off fantastic after that as our daughter became engaged at midnight on the beach in Honolulu! We'll soon have a new family member as the wedding will be this October!

I don't make resolutions but for my quilting I'd like to finish as many WIPs as possible and with that goal I spent last Weds at my friend Sally's cutting and pinning several projects. I put the borders on a Pumpkin wall hanging that's been languishing for a few years! Now to back it and quilt it! I am almost done with the binding on Flower Show, a kit from Benartex that I bought at spring quilt market a few years ago, it's going to my daughter-in-law, Andrea to add to her collection. So that's 2, I cut out a veggie fabric quilt and the hand dyed solids that go with it, I can't wait to sew it! I also cut up Kaffe Fassett fabrics that really aren't 'me' to get them out of my stash and they will make bright quilt for someone! That's four!!! I am giving 2 flannel quilts to a friends 7 &9 year old daughters and the labels are ready to be sewn on. I machine sewed the binding on a Thimbleberries tree skirt that needs to go to Alaska and the newlyweds which just needs to be hand sewn down.

So far 2010 has been productive, I've made a list of what needs to be done for birthdays, weddings and other special occasions. Here's to getting them done! Keep warm and keep piecing!

December 8th Already! Holy Cow!

2009-12-08T11:35:00.000-08:00

Hello, I'm still here, been sidetracked by family needs and Thanksgiving! I've been plugging away on the customer quilts as well as my decorations for Christmas. Both are moving along, slowly but making progress!

I've quilted a quilt made from men's clothing, it had shirts and pants in it, very nicely done and easier than I thought to quilt. It was quilted with a basic meander in Superior's Rainbows thread to match the quilt.
I just finished an Oriental quilt made for a lucky granddaughter, the pattern is Terry Atkinson's Snapshot & I'll post a pic when I take one!
More to come later, just wanted to catch up! Enjoy the season, there's snow still on the ground here from Saturday!

I've been bitten...

2009-11-18T18:55:00.000-08:00

Okay I haven't posted for too long and I blame it on Facebook, I'm hooked, watching what everyone posts and playing Farmville. I have been cleaning the studio and working on my customer quilts running a lot of never ending errands and spending time with my family.
I have to make a wedding quilt for my son and his wife who were married last April. It's been sitting and sitting on the work table just sighing and making it known that I need to get to it if I'm to make it before their first anniversary. I finally cut out the strips but am still having decision problems with the background, can't decide which fabric to use and went looking in Doylestown today and the selection was sparse! I suppose all of the quilt & fabric shops are feeling the pinch of this terrible economy. I suggest that we all try to shop at our LQS' so that they stay around for us.
This quilt was a challenge, every time I'd look at it to design the quilting I'd see something different. The designer & Piecer is Susan Shiveley, she's a mathmatician and she loves creating her designs using math. Her piecing is always spot on too! I wound up creating several different feather designs, stippling the background and doing some continous curves.

This weekend we put up our Christmas lights, it was 60' and sunny, not Christmasy feeling but a good day to get it done! Here's a pic of The Bandit, she is getting so big!

Everything happens for a reason...

2009-11-11T11:55:00.000-08:00

"Everything happens for a reason" a favorite quote of mine from the movie "Life As A House". Many things have happened in my life these past few weeks and some have me wondering what the reason could possibly be, I sure don't know. I suppose all will be revealed in time and I will be patient. I will plan ahead and do my best, comfort those in need and rely on my support system of family and friends.
In the mean time I've been working on a couple of projects and organizing the decorations for the outside of our home. This year I'm getting the whole crew here onboard and make some fun, take some many pictures and bake some cookies for all the little Elves!
In my studio I continue to work on my customer's quilts and get them done for Christmas, I also need to get some of my projects done for Christmas as well! Wish me luck! The two pics below are just 2 that need finishing. The ornament quilts needs it's borders and the Christmas block was from an exchange that I did on the APQS forum last year, those I'm still trying to decide on how to set them! There is the snowman laps from fats pattern that needs borders and some others that I can't think of. I need to buckle down and get sewing and quilting! Ta ta for now!

Spooky Halloween wishes to all!

2009-10-30T13:43:00.000-07:00

This was what fall looked like for one day last week, all the color's almost gone now, like the daylight that will change with the clocks this weekend!

Hello again, it's been a very busy week in the studio! I quilted several large, think queen & large twin size quilts in marathon quilting sessions! The latest was for my friend Julie aka jaybird quilts and is her design for a magazine. Hey Julie, hope that the binding is done before the wedding tonight! :)
This is one of the quilts that I finished this past week, with the help of my pal, Sally, the binding queen! It's for a 6yo Grandson, lucky boy!

Here's a new picture of Kevin's pup, Bandit. She is growing so quickly!
We are having a few friends over for a Halloween party tonight so I've got to get ready, more this weekend when I can get more pics of the quilts that I've done and maybe some of my studio!
Have a 'SPOOK' filled Halloween, may all your tricks get you treats!

Another Rainy Weekend!

2009-10-23T17:13:00.000-07:00

If it's Friday, it must be raining in Plumstead! Yup it is but it's okay we are inside, warm and dry. Everyone is home and it sounds like we are going to watch 'The Shining', I'm not sure which version but it's a good movie for the Halloween season!

This week in my studio I quilted two large quilts, an ocean waves with meander quilting and Bear's Paw with custom quilting. Both are for grand kids! Judging by the number of quilts that I get to do for grand kids there are many warm and well loved grand kids out there!

I've got the next quilt loaded, it's an over sized double for my pal Joyce's granddaughter, Ahna. It' all pink in varying hues and some purples.

I've been using a lot of Dream wool batting, my customers love the loft and the breatheable warmth of it. It's washable and holds up well as far as I've used it. It quilts wonderfully and everyone that's used it comes back for it again and again.

Please remember that this is BREAST CANCER AWARENESS MONTH! Do your self exams and get your annual mammograms! (isn't she the cutest thing???!!!)

Have a good weekend!

Time Flies!

2009-10-17T09:57:00.000-07:00

Hello again, it's been a busy week in the studio and at home. I entered a quilt into the Keystone Quilter's show, which ends today. I have never entered a quilt in a show for several reasons, afraid to have my work scrutinized, not organized enough to get them registered on time and just lacking confidence in my work. My Mom thinks I am wonderful but she's my Mom! Anyway I dropped off my quilt expecting to get some useful feedback from the judge,nothing else. Yesterday I went to the show and looked at all of the beautiful quilts and read thier stories and went thru the entire room and didn't see my quilt! I looked again and then asked one of the white glove ladies who sent me to another room that was marked 'More Vendors' and here was my quilt! My quilt that I made for my husband, John, with a 3rd place ribbon on it! WOW!!! Boy was I surprised! I was grinning from ear to ear!
Here's a pic of the quilt with the ribbon. Today the entire gang here is going to see our quilt hanging with it's ribbon!
This week included Ashley finishing her first quilt, a Rail Fence and me puppy sitting the Bandit for 4 days straight! I forgot how much time puppies require! Below is a picture of Ashley & her quilt and 2 of The Bandit, who is growing so quickly!

Along with all of the excitement of the ribbon and crazy puppy doings I managed to get a couple of my customer quilts done. I am beginning to be caught up which is a wonderful feeling! Gotta run and get the borders done on a quilt that I need to deliver tomorrow.

One week into October! Already!

2009-10-08T05:33:00.000-07:00

Wow here it is October 8th already! Where does the time go?? It's been a quiet but productive week here at home and in the studio. I had Kyle's sweet girlfriend Ashely here all day Monday learning how to sew! What fun to share my hobby! I let her start on my little Janome Jem machine and a box full of 2.5" strips. She is going to make a rail fence quilt. One that I think is great for beginners and by midnight she had over 30 blocks made, trimmed and pressed! I was getting tired but I think Ashley could've kept going! Oh to be in my 20s again and have all that energy!

Kevin my youngest and the owner of Bandit the shepherd pup has been working days this week so I've been puppy sitting and she is growing by leaps and bounds! We've nicknamed her 'Roo as she bounces a lot! She also wants to be the alpha dog and that doesn't sit well with my golden, Daisy. Every once in awhile Daisy puts the Bandit in her place and she seems to be the only dog to do it out of the other 3 here!

John & Kyle have been on the Queen Mary 2 this past week with John's parents, sister and her daughter Kate. They cruised New England and Nova Scotia but had to miss St. Johns due to the high winds yesterday, so they spent the day at sea and are heading to NY today for arrival tomorrow morning.

I finished a few customer quilts this past 2 weeks, one for Halloween, two for Christmas, a sampler the Times & Seasons that I've mentioned earlier. You can see them below-

I've signed up for a Saturday Sampler program at Pennington Quiltworks in New Jersey, so far I've got 3 blocks done and the fourth one started. It's using Christmas fabric from Benartex. It's really pretty and the shop has the quilt in four colorways with over 700 people signed up for it! If you're not familiar with Saturday Sampler aka the $5.00 quilt it's a program where you pay for the first month's block and then each month you go for a demo and bring your completed block from the prior month. If your block is done then your next one is free, if not you have to pay the $5.00 for that month also you have to go at the demo times. If you finish them all then you really can make the top for the initial cost of $5. or $10. depending on the program. I am trying to do that, make the quilt for the initial cost but I did buy the finishing kit for the one layout that I like so much so it's more than $5.00 but you do have to add sashings and borders to finish it! Stay tuned to see if I can get them all made on time! Saturday Sampler block #4

This week is the start of Quilt Market in Houston, I went last year and it was amazing. My friend Gina is heading out there and so is Julie from the quilt shop who has been making samples and doing demos for the Moda bake shop kits.
I know that they will have a great time and see all the new goodies that will be coming out next year! Wish that I was going again!

2009-09-30T13:22:00.000-07:00

Here it is the end of September already and I am enjoying how cool it's gotten! I love fall and went today to buy some pumpkins, gourds and Indian corn. I feel so energized!
Today out power was out for over 4 hours and instead of wasting time I went to my studio and cut. I cut out a kit that I'd bought from Fat Quarter Shop, it's made with reproduction fabrics designed by Jo Morton from Andover Fabrics. It's all golds, greens, turkey reds and browns, just yummy fall colors. I cut the binding out as well and then I cut out a table runner that will be a Christmas gift and legs & binding for a Spider table topper that I am making. I will post pics of these projects and my customer quilts later, just wanted to get something up since it's been awhile!

It's been a very busy week, my daughter, Brianne celebrated her 30th birthday last week and had company for the weekend. I've also been puppy sitting for Bandit while Kevin works, which is a good thing since she gets me out and walking! Exercise, need to do it? Get a puppy!

2009-09-19T06:28:00.000-07:00

These are 2 of the quilts that I completed for my customers this week The top quilt is a Terry Atkinson pattern pieces with many paisley fabrics and quilted with Highlight's thread from Superior Threads. The quilting is a freehand all over design of leaves and loops and some feather meander in some of the larger blocks to complement the paisley prints.

The second quilt is the Carpenter's Star or Wheel that is free hand custom quilted. This quilt had some issues, mainly that the backing is dark blue and the batting was very thin in places. I had to use light threads on the back to maintain the integrity of the quilting. I told my customer about the thinness of the batt and she states that it is Dream Cotton, select loft. The only thing that I can say is that it was a king size batt and she opened it and maybe laid it out on the quilt which
distorted the batting and then
when she refolded it it stretched even more, causing thin spots.

Lesson to learn, leave that batting in the package and just give it to your quilter!

Second lesson, don't use plain, dark backs on light quilts!

That being said, with all the difficulities I encountered the quilt
turned out beautiful.

Busy Week

2009-09-19T06:21:00.000-07:00

Good Saturday Morning! It's quite chilly here with a north west breeze. Fall is running in it seems.
We have a new family member, my youngest son has adopted a 10 week old German Shepherd, her name is Bandit. She's been the center of attention for most of the week and not just because she's so cute, the crate training and house breaking are all consuming. She's doing pretty well with the potty biz but is very vocal about the crate, not her happy place at all and boy does she have a set of lungs!
She's beautiful, the older pups aren't thrilled with her yet but they will come around I'm sure, I just hope that I can handle them while we wait for this to happen!

Wrist Purse

2009-09-13T12:43:00.000-07:00

Happy Sunday! The sun is out and it's beautiful, fall is coming day! We've had days of rain, again so today is a blessing!
I was at Country Quiltworks to meet some of my customers. It's nice to run into shop customers that I used to help when I worked there. Today there were 2 regulars and I said hello and remembered their names which was quite a surprise to the one lady! I made her smile.

I dropped off my sample for the wristlet handbag class that I will teach next month. It was fun and easy to make. I met the designers in Pittsburgh at Spring Quilt Market this past May. Nice ladies with some really neat patterns, Purse-O-Nalaties of Palm Harbor is their name if you want to see their other patterns!

I think that this little bag would make a great gift for a young woman, a teacher or babysitter!

2009-09-12T12:28:00.000-07:00

Today I am working a 104" square Carpenter's Square quilt. Each block is 20" square and they are sashed with no real border. It's for one of my customers who has been making quilts for all of her children and grandchildren. She usually goes to Florida for the winters and leaves me with 5-7 quilts to do over a period of months. It's a bit overwhelming sometimes but I do my best and work my stitches to make her quilts more beautiful. She's a sweet lady, Colette and her good friend Dottie does all of her bindings for her. Here's a pic of one of the Carpenter blocks-

Magazine quilt pictures

2009-09-11T05:15:00.001-07:00

Here is the sun with rays from the upper left corner. I didn't get any photos that really show all of the quilting. Since this was for a magazine the quilt needed to shine without the quilting overshadowing it so I matched the threads to keep it subtle.
The quilt was designed by my friend and it's called 'Indian Summer', this was taken prior to quilting.

Credit where credit is due, maybe....

2009-09-10T17:13:00.000-07:00

Today I received my copy of Quilter's World magazine, with my friend Gina's quilt in it. It's called 'Indian Summer', it's a very striking design as are most of her quilts. I quilted this quilt, it was custom work, a pictorial design with a sun and rays, clouds, butterflies, corn stalks, flowers, vines and leaves.

I've quilted several quilts for Gina to put in this magazine and in the beginning my name, in very small print would be listed as the machine quilter. Now it does not get listed in any way, the editor, per my friend said that they don't put the quilter's names but the magazine tells a different story. Some of the quilts in this issue have the quilter's listed and some do not.

I get paid to quilt these quilts, it's what I do, BUT I always go above and beyond for magazine and book quilts. I don't expect anything extra but it's sure nice to see my name attached to a quilt that I worked hard on to increase the beauty, to make it shine it's best for the designer.
I guess I am steamed but not sure who to be steamed at! I will write Quilter's World and probably cancel my subscription.

I personally love to see the quilts and the quilting and I really appreciate the magazines that make it a point to show how the quilt was quilted. It's all inspiring to me, like going to a mini-quilt show!

So if you get the opportunity to quilt for a designer ask them to make sure that you are credited with the quilting!

Times & Seasons quilt views

2009-09-10T04:56:00.000-07:00

Here are some snapshot views of the Times & Seasons quilt in progress. My customer really did a fantastic job with her machine applique and embroidery.

Breast Cancer Awareness

2009-09-09T12:22:00.000-07:00

Got this on the 'net, a cause that is near and dear to my heart as my sister is now surviving breast cancer...
Let's hope she gets her wish!

2009-09-09T12:10:00.000-07:00

This is Janice's 'Winter Rose' quilt, I used a pantograph to quilt it all over. It was a kit that I originally custom quilted for Anne at the quitl shop.
Rosemary's Batik Diamond quilt, all over leaf and loop quilting. It's so much more beautiful in person!
Ruth's 'Romantic Heart" colorwash wallhanging. I quilted feathers around the heart.
Joyce's Monkey quilt, for her first grandson, very cute!
A wedding signature quilt made by Barbara, lovely sentiments written in the light rail fence blocks. A lot of stitch-in-the-ditch, leaves and dogwood flowers.

2009-09-09T12:03:00.000-07:00

Above is one of my recent customer quilts, it's Mary's 'Walk About' quilt, made from Andover fabrics. I quilted fern feathers in the printed zig zags and concentric triangles in the black triangles. In the red sashing I did a freehand pineapple and loopy meander in the B&W border.

Daisy Bear

2009-09-09T10:19:00.000-07:00

This is Daisy, she will be 7 this November. She is very intelligent, can figure out how to get out of cages at the groomers and she watches TV looking for animals to bark at.

My Morgan

2009-09-09T10:05:00.000-07:00

Here's a pic of my 12 year old Golden, Morgan. She hates having her picture taken, loves to be petted and chasing squirrels off the bird feeders.

2009-09-09T09:17:00.000-07:00

Well here goes, my first blog entry. I am in the process of quilting a beautiful pieced and appliqued quilt for a customer. The pattern is from The Piecemaker's and it's Times & Seasons. It's very well comstructed and she's used so many beautiful fabrics. I am trying to highlight the piecing as well as stabilize the quilt as it is to be a wall hanging. I'm making a lot of thread changes to match the fabrics and it's just a really great quilt!