It's been busy!

I guess I had better get a post in before April gets away from me!  March was a very busy month for me, with our quilt guild retreat at Lake Williamson.  I fully intended to have several posts on the retreat, but my intentions didn't make it into reality.
I had promised hubby that I would work on a quilt for him at retreat.  It was a Kansas Troubles Quilters  pattern called "Candle in the Window".  He had seen the quilt made up at A Quilting Bee in Mahomet, and wanted me to make it.  Not exactly an exciting thing for me, but I told him I would work on it at retreat.  Well, it is done, and is at the long arm as I type.  Pictures to come.

I did get the binding done on this quilt, also made for Wayne! The pattern is from Elisa's Backporch Design.  It is called Earl Grey, but I added an extra round to make it bigger, as well as a border, so I am calling it The Duke of Earl Grey, a nod to Wayne's teen years in the 1950s!  If you go to Elisa's website, she has a great video for doing those curves.

I did make some more of those mini pieced baskets and made a miniature quilt!  I was labeled as the crazy one at retreat...but I really enjoyed the challenge of working with small pieces and seams!  Sally Collins' technique made it so easy!  I will be taking an Heirloom Quilting class from Millie Sorrells in June.  I am going to wait until then to quilt this, as I am going to ask Millie for some advise!

I also finished up the cherries from Nancy Prince's class.  I used Sally Collins' technique to add that 1/8" border.  I used silk thread and silk batting.  Wayne thinks I should just frame this instead of finishing it off with binding.  I may just do that....eventually!

Speaking of Wayne, he is the reason I have been so busy!  Wayne had lost nearly 100#, and was feeling lots better physically.  So he traded in his motorscooter for Yamaha 250cc motorcycle.  Less than 24 hours later, he fell while getting off said motorcycle, fracturing his femur.  He spent almost 3 weeks in the hospital, and is home.  But he is to be no weight bearing on the leg that was fractured.  Fortunately, we had a power chair from when he fractured his proximal fibula (small bone in the lower leg just below the knee) last year.  So I have been doing private home care duties.

The weekend that Wayne fell, we were going to go to Shiisa Quilts in Bloomington, IN to take a Hexie Class from Mickey Depre.  I needed a hand project to do while in the hospital, so I taught myself to English paper piece.  I designed a little wall hanging on EQ7.  I am going to add some hand stitched embroidery ala Laura Wasilowski.

Wayne's accident also truncated my planned trip to Paducah!  I did manage to get down for Tuesday and Wednesday!  Circle of Life didn't get any awards or ribbons, but I am just thrilled to see it hanging at the Paducah Show!

So this brings us up to the current date.  I have been working on a few things.  This is my independent stab at thread painting!  I traced a picture that my nephew Logan Ingold had posted on his Facebook site, and followed Nancy Prince's instructions!  Not too sure what I will do with this. Probably quilt and bind it, and hang it in my sewing room!

Indiana Heritage Quilt Show

I just spent a fantastic long weekend in Bloomington, IN at the Indiana Heritage Quilt Show.  The only sad note is this weekend is also marked with deadly tornadoes through southern Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, and on and on.  My heart and prayers go out to those affected by the storms.  Please remember that this tragedy will go on for these people long after we have put it out of our minds, so continue to keep good thoughts going their way.

I first was introduced to IHQS when Mickey Depre was teaching down here a few years ago.  We had been internet friends, and I wanted to take a class from her, so that was the perfect opportunity.  I passed up last year because of time constraints (well, I was going to Paris, and needed to save my shekels for that trip), but I couldn't pass up this year's show!  The instructors for this year's show were all people that I had either taken a class with, or had their books and was wanting to take classes from!  What to choose?  It was difficult!

Bloomington, IN is about 3 hours from my home, so we came on Thursday to travel leisurely.  After getting checked into our hotel, we went to Shiisa Quilts.  Being the smart woman that I am, I encouraged my hubby to go into the shop with me!  He saw lots of things that he thought I should do!  I did buy a batik for another project, and one kit for a cool wall hanging that he liked.  I only wish I had the time to do all the things he wants me to do, and all the things I want to do!

I got to meet Janet Meese, another internet friend, who is the owner of Shiisa Quilts!  What a delightful lady, and very welcoming!  I will be traveling down the end of the month to take a Hexie class from Mickey Depre, and staying over for an all day sew the next day!  What fun!

I was craving pizza, so asked Janet a recommendation for a good pizza place!  Without hesitation, she recommended Lennie's Pizza.  And why not!  Lennie is her brother!  It was so great, that we went Thursday night, and again on Saturday night!

Of course, I had to have a stein of the home brew from the Bloomington Brewing Company.  On Janet's recommendation, I tried the Java Porter.  Good choice, Janet!

My first class with Nancy Prince.  I was first introduced to Nancy from The Quilt Show with Alex Anderson and Ricky Tims.  I love the look of thread painting and was wanting to experience all I could!  Nancy is a delightful instructor, and helped all of us do our best with our class project!

Hubby was impressed!  It was lots of fun to do!  I am still amazed that I actually did this!

In keeping with the eccentricity, or eclectic, style that defines my quilting experience, the next day I took a class with Sally Collins.  Sally is known for her precision quilting, and her miniatures!  Another awesome instructor who took the time to explain how she gets her precision work done.  And spent time with all of us to make sure we would come away from the class with the tools to improve our quilting, whether on a minature level, or on a more "normal" sized level.

Yes, that is my class sample we are holding!  I was the over achiever and got two done in class!  I see a miniature quilt in my future!

Oh, Yes!  There was also a quilt show there!  This was the Best of Show quilt!  All the quilts were awesome, and I got lots of inspiration from them!  And a great group of vendors, too!

Central Coast, California!

 My hubby was a career Air Force long before I met him. His most talked about base was Vandenberg AFB, which is on the central coast of California near Lompoc (who else remembers Roger Ramjet!) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dZIjT3S7wvc.







So when we started to talk about where we wanted to take a short winter vacation, we decided that we would go there and let him take a trip down memory lane!  And the bonus was that I have an internet quilting friend who lives in Santa Ynez, which is just a hop, skip, and a jump away.  Bonnie was thrilled to have us come visit her.  Our hubbies hit it off like they had been old friends forever!  And honestly, have you ever met a quilter that you didn't like!

Our first stop was Creation Station in Buellton, CA!  What a fun and energetic shop!  Lots of great store samples to get your creative juices flowing!

And look at this bathroom!  Not just an afterthought here!  There is even a little motion sensor croaking frog in the corner!  Love it!

After a delightful lunch, we went to Roxanne's in Carpinteria, CA!  Bonnie maintains Roxanne's website, so is very good friends with the owner.  Who, by the way, drives a spiffy blue 2002 Thunderbird!  We are soul mates!

Roxanne greeted us each with a hug and a little gift!  What a welcome!  There were a couple of jelly roll strips, a small KitKat bar (one of my faves!), and a cute needle keeper!

Right inside the front door is a great fireplace!  And next to the fireplace are framed newspaper articles about Charlie Chaplin.

And this plate was on the fireplace!  Oona was his fifth and final wife.  It just takes some people a couple tries to get it right!  It is so great to feel connected to the history of a place!

This is Roxanne's cutting table!  I could just sit and look at this all day!  Everything in the store was fresh and bright, just like the owner!

Work with Passion, Exceed Expectations, Encourage Creativity, Build Relationships, Have fun!  Live Inspired!  Great words to live by!

After eating Chinese for supper, we cruised on to Bonnie's quilt guild meeting in Santa Barbara!  Bonnie is also the webmistress for her guild!  There was a great speaker on judging quilts.  She gave a little bit of history on her quilt journey, and then "judged" a few quilts for guild members!  Very insightful!

We had an awesome day with Bonnie and Jerry!  Thanks again for taking the time to show us a bit of your world in California!

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Ellen Anne Eddy

One of the best benefits of belonging to my local guild is the great speakers that we have come to give lectures and workshops.   Our next big name speaker to come will be Ellen Anne Eddy.  I had not heard to her, but when I heard the names of the workshops (The Color Cookbook Approach, Gilding the Lily, Bobbin Work Applique Flowers, Thread Magic Mastery: Working with all Kinds of Threads) I knew that this was going to be a great.  Then, I was reading Subversive Stitchers: Women Armed with Needles and she had done a review of Ellen's latest book.  I knew I had to get this book before Ellen came.

I consider myself pretty savvy as far as ordering things from the internet.  But the morning I went to Ellen's site, was not one of my better days.  I erroneous ordered two of her newest book, Thread Magic Garden, and I tried to correct it, but my computer was giving me some fits.  I decided it would be okay, as I could always gift the extra one. 

Okay, to quote John Melloncamp, I'm still hayseed enough to say look who's in the big town.  So when my cell phone jingled, and showed an unfamiliar phone number, I wondered who could be calling.  It was none other than Ellen Anne Eddy herself!  She had seen that I was having some difficulty, and just decided to call and straighten up the situation!   What a pleasant and congenial person.  We chatted about computers, and her upcoming appearance in Champaign.  I even ended up buying a third book on her recommendation, that would help with one of her workshops.

Her newest book explains how to do thread painting, and speaks of the stabilizers, interfacings, and threads that she likes to use.  She also explains her technique, so that you can try your hand at thread painting.  This is a my attempt to do a free hand flower.  A bit of puckering, because I didn't have it well stabilized, but I was pretty happy with the results.

The best thing is that she breaks down how to create different kinds of flowers, and shows not only the finished product, but also what it would look like before you add the stitching.

I tried my hand at the zinnia that is pictured above.  I love zinnias, used to grow them in my flower garden when I was growing up.  They always remind me of my Aunt Zola.  Here's my attempt.  I think is not a bad job!

I love thread painting.  I will be taking a class with Nancy Prince at the Indiana Heritage Quilt Show next month.  And I love Ann Fahl's work.  If you love thread work, I really think these books are for you!

Hubby's Quilt

Last week I was not feeling the best, and elected to not take my embroidery machine to embroidery club at Threads of Time in Danville, IL.  I asked hubby if wanted to go with me, as he likes to talk with one of the owners and he agreed.  After I get my kit and talk with the group leader, I join hubby.  Hubby decided he is going to look around to see if he sees a quilt he would like for me to make for him.  This is the quilt that caught his eye.

Okay, I have been eyeing this top everytime I go to Threads.  I get the pattern and the required templates.  I was able to pull all the fabrics from my stash.  Including some fabric hubby had purchased a few years for me to make him a quilt (that quilt never got made, as he saw a small wallhanging, and wanted it made into a king size quilt.  Give me a break! SHEESH!)

I checked out her website, which had a great video on how to sew a Drunkard's Path block.  In all my years, I had never done one.  I think I was scared of those curves.  Getting fearless in my old age! Sewing a Drunkard's Path block  I found that using a stilletto on the smaller block was easier than using my finger to guide the fabric.

The templates made cutting out the blocks very easy.  By folding a fat quarter, I was able to cut out 4 blocks at a time.  I used a 5" by 22" strip folded in 4ths to cut the 3 1/2" templates.  And the revolving rotary mat, and an 18mm rotary cutter helped also.

So this is what I have laid out so far.  Hubby is helping with colour placement, and I think he is enjoying the process as much as I am!  I am adding another row all around, plus three borders.  Stayed tuned for further details!

The extremes of my quilting

I love quilts!  And I love learning all kinds of quilting techniques.  I have come to realize because I am so eccentric/eclectic in my tastes, that I will never totally be expert in any one area, but pretty darn good in a lot of areas.  This is so well reflected by my last two completed projects.

If you remember from last month, I had used swap blocks from a disappearing nine patch exchange to make my nephew a quilt.  I had some blocks left over.  I also had recently received "Create your own free-form quilts" by Rayna Gillman.  Following her information, I slashed the two leftover rows, sewed in new strips, slashed some more.  The above quilt is the result.  I call it "Shattered disappearing nine patch".

I had a lot of fun with the quilting.  I did an angular meandering, which was really very cool.  Then had fun with the turqoise King Tut thread doing the broken fern in the black sashing!

And, so onto something completely different!  Last summer I purchased this kit with a pattern called "Sunday School Singers".  It just spoke to me of my childhood days going to the Rankin Methodist Church for Sunday School.  Singing all those wonderful little songs!  I bought the digitized embroidery so I didn't have to do the hand redwork.

Jesus wants me for a sunbeam!  Wouldn't life be better if we all decided to be sunbeams!

Zacchaeus was a wee little man, but his love and faith for our Savior was huge!

The B-I-B-L-E, YES, That's the book for me!  I know I don't stand alone when the word of God is by my side

If you're happy and you know it, clap your hands, stomp your feet, say AMEN!  Don't keep your happiness to yourself!  Don't be a light that is hidden under a barrel.  What good is that.

So this is the first of at least 4 baby quilts that I need get to make this year!  After all, babies are the greatest blessing that God gives us!

2012 TQS BOM Sedona Star

Am I a glutton for punishment, or do I just enjoy looking forward to the small monthly challenges of completing a block of the month (BOM)?  I think it is the latter, as I do like doing things in small manageable pieces.  Although sometimes I do get excited for the next installment!

I have not done a block of the month for a couple of years, and now I find myself in two!  One is with a local group of quilters, and we are calling ourselves the Chocolate Chicks.  The quilt blocks we are working on comes from A Quilter's Box of Chocolates.  I will give more information on that one in a later blog.

The one that has me really excited is the current BOM through The Quilt Show with Alex Anderson and Ricky Tims www.thequiltshow.com.  I have been a member since Jan 2007, and find that I have gotten more than my money's worth out of this website.  Besides the loads of information, I have made so many international friends in the quilting community!  And the icing on the cake is the free BOM patterns!  The detail of the various patterns, and the support of the online forums, just cannot be replicated!  The current design is  by Sarah Vederler sarahvedelerdesigns.com.  The name of the quilt is Sedona Star.  But as I am doing it in my colour way, taking a cue from Jacqueline de Jonge, who was the designer of Circle of Life, I am thinking I should give my quilt its own special name. 

I was thinking of name if Colours of Sedona, but I am really thinking I should call it Sedona Joy.  Because working on this quilt, and with these colours is truly been a joy!