THREADBENDER

2010-06-02T21:24:00.002-04:00

OK, here are the two that I painted. I am NOT experienced at this technique and I have to say I don't really enjoy painting fabric and it might be from lack of experience. Anyway, this one is a paint wash, water added to paint, the colors were mixed to change the shades. The purple is not as dark as I was working for but you can't get perfection from your first try...right? Then I made a stamp from cardboard and clothes line rope and the ever trusty hot glue gun. I love the way that worked. Judy already had one made up with a different design so hers was my inspiration. This one is called "Blazing Onions". I like it...I think. Jeanette has encouraged me to finish this one with a lot of embellishing and free motion quilting. I'm waiting for inspiration. LOL It was also colors that were watered down to get the different shading. Very easy but not really my cup of tea..

I hope this inspires someone else, if it does please let me know, I would love to see what idea you paint onto fabric.

Today I basted "Blue Moon", I really don't like to baste......have I mentioned that before? It is ready to start quilting!! Now I am excited.

Hope your week is going good. If you have any questions, please feel free to ask! :-)

Hugs, Marsha

2010-05-26T11:29:00.004-04:00

Painting on fabric...that is what we tried for the first time yesterday. I have to say I think we learned a lot...Jeanette is more talented than she thinks, Judy is just a natural and me...well, I must admit I plan on sticking to free motion quilting for my projects. All of our styles were as different as we are. Geometric seemed easier than a free style painting, atleast to me. Stamps are fun to make, paints are pretty easy to mix to get the color you are wanting. Paint brushes are just fun to own in all their different sizes and design. LOL

After a couple hours we took time for lunch and a glass of wine, a tour of my gardens and visiting. Back to work on the second painting/design and then time to let them dry so we could take pictures. What a wonderful day! The weather was beautiful, the company...the best, life is good.

Have you tried to paint on fabric? What type of paint did you use? Did you heat set it, if so, how? Would you do it again? Let me know what your experiences were, I'd love to hear about them.

Now when I get the nerve up I just might try to free motion quilt, bead and embellish these, especially the "Blazing Onions" in my left side.

Hugs, Marsha

Once in a "Blue Moon"

2010-04-23T19:59:00.003-04:00

Blue Moon by Karla Alexander is such a beautiful quilt...to me. This is the one I made.

This is only the quilt top, I still need to baste, quilt and bind it. I really had fun picking out all of the colors that varied from dark purple to pale green. I lost count on how many colors there are but I sure would have liked to use more variety. Batiks are so much fun to work with, there are so many choices in colors and designs.

Now that I have three quilt tops finished I need to get busy basting them all (I hate that part of the process) and free motion quilt all of them (I love that part of the process).

The gardens are taking off plus I started a large vegetable garden too. I know, too many "irons" in the fire but I love fresh vegetables. Hopefully I will have enough to can this fall.

Hope you are all enjoying your spring weather!

Peace, Marsha :-)

A Couple of Quilt Tops

2010-04-06T18:13:00.007-04:00

This blog has been so terribly neglected. Life has been so busy and productive in many ways. The weather is finally Springy and the gardens are coming to life. I love this time of year even though there is soooo much work to do outside. The other thing that has kept me busy is...I am getting married in June. Wish I could just blink and everything would be planned and ready to go! Plus, we adopted an 8 month old Boxer Female named Kenna. She is just wonderful but again takes up a lot of time. It is important to play a lot with them which also helps train them. She is coming along nicely. Pictures next time.
Anyway, back to quilts...

This one comes from the book Color shuffle, new quilts from Karla Alexander...it is titled Critical Mass. I love the colors and think it will be fun to quilt....but first is the basting.....

The next one I have started is Blue Moon. I love the design. I am still putting the blocks together. They have not been sewn into a quilt top yet.

This is the Drunkard's Path that I started early last fall. If you look back through my blog you will find pictures of the blocks I started with. Blue was the primary color I was wanting however it was looking so bland that I just started putting colors together. This is what I came up with...

I love the colors and am really looking forward quilting this. Basting it is another thing, not my favorite thing to do. Does anyone else feel this way about basting? Uck!

Facebook has taken over a lot of my time too. How did I let that happen??? So I deleted my aquariums and am concentrating on the gardens again and quilting...and the wedding.

Hope your flowers are blooming beautifully and life is good for you all...

Marsha

Sailboat Quilt

2010-01-25T19:27:00.004-05:00

Here is the Sailboat Quilt I have been working on for The Quilt Shoppe. I was not so sure about it when I was piecing the blocks and appliqueing the boats on but when I added the sashing it all came together. This is such a cute pattern although I did change the applique to fusible applique. Much easier for me.

The name of the pattern is Ocean View and came from The Pattern Basket, Margot Languedoc Designs. I love it.

I am also putting the blocks together with the sashing to my Drunkards Path. As soon as I get the top together I will post a picture. I'll just say it sure doesn't look like it did last time I posted a picture.

We had a nice weekend with the weather warming up in the mid-high 40's and a lot of the snow melted off. Temps. dipped again today with brief snow showers and no accumulation. Tomorrow is suppose to be different, more snow, acculable amounts. I saw a Blue Bird checking out the bird houses today, it is the second time he has been here in the last 2 weeks. I really hope he builds a nest here, I love to watch them feed their young. It is a bit early to start watching for them but rushing spring is always one of my specialties. :-)

Have a great week!

Hot Summer Night

2010-01-19T16:50:00.002-05:00

This is my interpretation of a "Hot Summer Night". It is an art quilt that was made from a flash of an idea and was so much fun. The free motion quilting is from variegated thread.

I am still working on my Drunkards Path however I am happy to say that the blocks are finished and they are getting sewn together with the sashing. This has been the most difficult quilt to finish which is so ironic because the blocks are the easiest to make! Why, oh, why is this quilt refusing to be created???

I am looking forward to the next project. I'm sure it will be much easier.

Hope you are all staying warm and sewing up a storm...

Peace,

Marsha

Liberated Quiltmaking II

2010-01-14T09:42:00.002-05:00

We just got Liberated Quiltmaking II by Gwen Marston in!!! Love it!!! Come by and pick up a copy! Oh, and 4 more bolt of Batiks and the whole line of "Love U" fabrics by Deb Stain for Moda. Too Cute!!

Gotta go to work, hope you all have a great day.

Just a bit of a post...

2009-12-16T08:35:00.004-05:00

It has been a couple of weeks since I last posted. The Christmas season is so busy for all of us and on top of that life. It has been 10 months since moving into my home. I love living here and have so many blessings to count. I hope everyone remembers their blessings this season. There is so much to be thankful for, I especially thank our troops for protecting us with their lives.

OK, that being put into print, here is a sample of the free motion quilting I have a passion for.

I am thinking of doing a whole cloth quilt in this, maybe some more focus on design, maybe not. Am I crazy???? Probably but this is what my heart beats for when I think of quilting. Well that and Batiks!!

Off to work............oh, really now......;-)

Threads of my quilt...

2009-10-07T10:20:00.002-04:00

Hey Everyone,

I just have time for a quick note and then off to work at The Quilt Shoppe, in Bryan, Ohio. We just got in some Presencia thread in the 60 wt. Has anyone else tried this? I love the 60 wt!!! I have tried the 50 wt. which everyone seems to have but it is a bit heavy for the type of free motion quilting I do so when the 60 wt. arrived I dove right in and tried it. It is wonderful, wonderful.

I would love to know what you all think of the 60 wt.

Have a great day!! Gotta run...

Marsha :-)

Sew Much Happening...

2009-09-16T20:19:00.005-04:00

This is one of the finished quilt tops from our group. Brenda really matched up some wonderful colors and I love her sashing, the little corner stones colors run in a diagonal pattern. Neat!

Jeanette has also finished her top but I did not have my camera when I saw it.....keep tuned, I will post it soon.

I have 4 more blocks to make a king size so I am still working on it. Here is a peak...

I have 4 more blocks to make and was going for a predominantly blue however I can see where I would like to rearrange some of the blocks. Always more to do...now what color sashing?

OK, I often post about the creatures who visit my gardens and here is one I really liked.

This beetle was not real happy with me for messing with her. I carried her in the house so I could get my camera and then back out for several poses. Gee....such an attitude! Beautiful, isn't she? I took a picture of her on my hand so you would get an idea of how large she really is.

I am really enjoying working at my LQS. We are always getting in new fabric and Jean has ordered more Batiks. I just can't wait to get them!!! Classes are starting up too.

Hope you are all having wonderful weather like us.

Peace,

Marsha

Seasonal bounty

2009-08-12T16:38:00.004-04:00

First let me explain I am not an experienced canner. The last time I "canned" anything was approximately 20 years ago.

Now that I have the time and room I am going to can all of the vegies I "can". A dear friend, Brenda, loaned me 2 pressure cookers, I already had a lot of canning jars but borrowed a few from Mikes Mom. She has a million of them! Yesterday morning I went to the local Farmers Market and purchased a bushel of green beans. It was all I could do to carry them back to my car. Why didn't someone tell me to take my wheelbarrow??? Geesh!

After 3 hours of snapping green beans we went to dinner then Mike was nice enough to offer to help me finish snapping so from 7 - 9 pm we worked on them until they were finished. In the fridg. they went for the night and out this morning to be canned. There is a young lady who I know that likes to keep busy so I called Ashley this morning asking for her assistance. Just so I could teach her how to can green beans. Believe me, she knew more than I did.

This is the product of our labor... Twenty seven quarts of beautiful beans.

Monday night and Tuesday morning I picked Elderberries and cleaned them, 12 cups, for jelly. Now I just have to find a really good recipe that will set up right. I love Elderberry syrup but I would really nice some Elderberry jelly. Anyone...

Sunday we put up Corn, found a dozen ears for $2. Made 7 pints. These ears were so full the kernels were trying to jump off the ear!! Look at the tip of the ear!

I would love to get some sewing in, maybe tomorrow....nope, mowing and have a few more plants to get in the ground.

Peace,

Marsha :-)

Sewing Again and Plants

2009-08-09T21:47:00.003-04:00

Everyone wanted to learn curve piecing so we took on the Drunkards Path block. It is a very simple block and will quickly take your fear out of curve piecing if you just dive in and try it. I have made two quilts with this block, my oldest son is the owner of one and I love this block. It is a fun block to free motion quilt also. As we get to that point I will post more pictures.

Jeanette is contemplating what color to use as the sashing with a turquoiseish blue behind her pink and yellow blocks. The request was for a quilt with pink in it so I think her colors came out great. I am not sure if she will be using a corner stone or not. That is yet to be seen.

Judy did the blue and yellow, Brenda took off and did 3 blocks , mine are the two upper left. I love the black and blue block, this is a color combo that I might persue.

Today was in the low 90's and so muggy the moisture just hung in the air but I managed to go to a nursery I have not been to this year. A girl has to do what a girls has to do! 3 plants came home with me, a weeping cedar, cobweb houseleek and a very tall ornamental grass like the one I did not get moved. I am not sure where this little beauties are going but with 2 acres to play with there is always room.

I will post pictures tomorrow of the plants. I also picked up fresh corn on the cob to cut and freeze. Got 7 pints out of a dozen ears for $2. I hope to get about 2 dozen put in the freezer before the season is over. Green beans seem to be scarce right now, I would like to get a dozen quarts canned, if I can find enough.

Hope all is well with you!

Camperdown Elm

2009-07-23T22:21:00.009-04:00

This is one of my favorite trees.

It is a Camperdown Elm aka Ulmus glabra cv.Camperdownii and a very lovely tree. A fairly fast grower and as beautiful in winter with its artistic branching habit as it is in the summer with the wonder umbrella habit it has.

An Elm you say??? Why would anyone plant an Elm? This is not the "run of the mill" Elm. This one is great as a Garden Anchor. In time it will make a beautiful umbrella over the garden.

I have moved over 100 Daylilies and purchased a few more. Not to mention the many other plants that have been moved also. This spring has been too busy with planting and I hope to spend more time enjoying the gardens next year.

Quilting is on the agenda with so many new patterns out and so many ideas running around in my head. Some I have taken the time to sit down and draw out. Now...I just need to express them in fabric.

Hope you all are enjoying this beautiful summer. Our temps have been great but we could use just a bit more rain.

Peace,

Marsha

Sewing?

2009-07-19T22:46:00.006-04:00

First things first. I found a Bumblebee sleeping on the job!! This, of course, was last spring when the Daffodils were in bloom. I had been working around the Dafs and noticed he was curled up, evidently sleeping, and stayed there for a couple of hours then out he buzzed and on his way. The gardens give so much enjoyment and so many things to learn about.

Now, I am sure many, many of you (probably everyone but me) have made the cool bowls, mats, hot pads out of cloths line and 1" fabric strips. Well, I'm new to this and have really enjoyed making them. The tea dyed one is made from fabric my cousin dyed. I just love it and am going to make it large enough for a 9x13" baking dish.

This one

is from a wonderful blue Batik to go in my new kitchen. The next one is also made with a Batik, spotted and oh, so cute! I love that fabric.

Now that my new place is pretty well finished I will be able to get back to my quilting. I just purchased a new bed and am in need of a king size quilt. I am excited to get started but am having a hard time deciding what colors to go with. More later...

My blog will be moving soon. I'll let you know when I get it set up. Hope all is well with all of you. I will be catching up on all the blogs I miss so much!

Peace,

Marsha

I'm Back!!

2009-06-04T09:33:00.004-04:00

Hi Everyone,

As some of you are aware, I have recently moved and in doing so my life has changed quite a bit. The last few months have been VERY busy with a lot of joys and frustrations. There was some remodeling that I decided to do which started as I moved in. Nothing every seems to go according to plan!! Anyway, not to bore you all, the remodeling reached the finishing point. Yeah!! I finally had internet service installed and don't have to go to the neighbors house to email and all that jazz.

Of course my sewing room was the first room set up, :-), but there has been little time for sewing. The best part is I finally went to some quilt shops with Brenda and bought some more.............yes, you guessed it.............BATIKS!!!! My Janome 6600P was due for a tune up so we dropped into Edwards Sewing Center in Ft. Wayne, IN (my first time there) and guess what!?!?!?! They have fabric!!! Batiks!!! WoooooHooooooo!!!! Yes, I bought some. What was a girl to do?

:-)Edward's Sewing Center

Great, helpful, fun staff.

So much to look at! Maybe I need another sewing machine....hmmmm.

My sewing machine is back and working beautifully. The flower beds have been a never ending source of work and fun. 200+ plants have been moved and are getting tucked into there new beds. A few trees have been purchased and planted.

I am working on before and after pictures of the inside of my house. They will be posted in a few days.

It is nice to have internet again, I have missed my online relationships. Thanks for checking on me and I hope to get caught up with all of you and what you have been doing.

Peace,

Marsha

Crazy Quilts and Quilt Shops

2009-02-19T09:29:00.005-05:00

OK, so I am suppose to be packing up to move in 3 weeks...right? Then what am I doing going to more quilts shops and collecting "do dads" for a Crazy Quilt??? Does that word "Crazy" apply to the person making the quilt or the design of the quilt? Don't answer that!

Jeanette...a wonderful member of our group The Pin Heads took me to a womans house that she knows who has everything. Well, no Batiks but everything else. I was just going to purchase a few bits of lace, really, to add to my collection of embellishments for the Crazy Quilt I have been planning out. 170+ buttons, 9 yards of fabric and who knows how many yards of lace, rhinestones and such later we leave. Jeanette!!!!!!!!! What was I thinking? Part of me is sooooo excited and part of me is saying "Shame on you, you have boxes to pack and don't need more things to pack!" So I ignored the second part of me and bought some of the coolest buttons I have seen in a long time.

See what I mean? What was a girl to do?

However, let me go back to last week, dare I. The Ohio W.O.T.M. Midyear Conference, hosted by The Zanesville Chapter #663, was held in Cleveland, OH. Since I was attending, I decided to check out a local quilt shop, Abigayle's Quiltery Quilt Shop in Cleveland. Oh, dear...what they don't have you probably don't need. Of course I purchased some Batiks (I was very good) and scooted right out of there. This shop has the friendliest most fun women I have met in a long time. If you have a chance to go, please do, you will also enjoy all of the other shops in this little group. I only went to the bead shop for a moment. There were still places to go and people to meet. ;)

BTW, the WOTM Conference was great, fun and informative. Thanks #663!

As always, please feel free to comment, I would love to hear from you and be introduced to your blog.

Now, back to packing...

Not for the Squimmish & Shipshewana PJ Party

2009-02-08T10:24:00.011-05:00

The temperatures have been around 35 - 40 degrees here today so I took "The Girls" for a walk and was surprised to find a Cut Worm crawling, ever so slowly, across the road. Now I am not sure I would believe anyone if they told me they found a Cut Worm, in NW Ohio at 35 degrees in February, crawling across the road so I picked it up and yes, put it in my pocket.

Since I have already been informed on numerous occasions that I am "weird" I was not afraid to post this on my blog. So...here is a picture of the Cut Worm...

Not to worry, it did not get a reprieve. My DF, Mike, is a farmer and told me not to let the little bugger get away and as an avid gardener I knew what a bad bug this is. Let's just say the fish in my little water feature were very happy to have a fresh (headless) breakfast...delivered. :-)

OK, on to quilty stuff, Saturday was the Annual Pajama Party in Shipshewana, Indiana. It starts at 6am soooo our group "The Pin Heads" got up at 3:30am and were on the road by 4:30am...all 7 of us. That is the time in the morning to be watching very carefully for deer and after seeing about 13 deer we arrived safely. We always hit Lolly's first, they are so efficient there getting the fabric cut and every checked out in a timely manner. The place was packed with Quilters in Pajamas. You do not get a discount if you do not wear your PJs. Here we are at Lollys

After we shop for a while we head to Blue Gate for breakfast. They always have a wonderful breakfast buffet with everything a quilter could possibly want including lots of fresh fruit. Here we are after breakfast, and here is a festive group of quilters I just couldn't resist getting a picture of,

Don't they look great!! Hey, if any of you quilters in the picture read this, please let me know what the name of your group is and I will be happy to post it. Of course we couldn't leave without our carousel ride!.And then all of us together...

We left with great fabrics and goodies, if you ever have a chance to join in the fun, this is one event not to be missed. Please leave a comment, I have found some great blogs from your comment! Thanks!!
Until next time...Smile!

February and Placemats

2009-02-01T18:23:00.008-05:00

This is a picture looking south out the kitchen door. With all of the snow and very low temperatures I have been staying inside a lot more than usual. I really do like snow...really. It is those temps in the teens that keep me inside. Not that I am whining, I'm not.
I just bought a house so I will be moving in about a month. This means I will start packing up my sewing room soon and before I do I wanted to share pictures of the finished placemats. The dishes I use for dinner are square, I really like them. I wanted something that would accent the plates so this is what I came up with.

Then I wanted to show the placemats with round bowls because I like the way the round bowls look with the lines of the design.

As I usually do, I always like to show my most unique mistakes...
This is an example of why it is so important to make sure your sewing table is clean. Nothing to inhibit the movement of the item you are trying to free motion. To correct this mistake I can either take out the stitches that overlap this beautiful scrap of fabric or...........I can cut the piece of fabric along the stitches and pick out any threads that try to stay put. I am going to choose the latter of the two. Since this is not the first time I have done this I know that is the easy solution for me.

Here is an example of the free motion quilting design I did on these...
I chose this design because I thought the geometric design would go well with the design of the placemats however I think I would try something different if I did these again. Not sure what but something else.

As always, I love to hear from everyone so please, please leave comments. I love to see the blogs of the quilters who leave comments and sometimes that is the only way I can find some blogs. You are all so talented, I want to see what everyone else is doing.

Hope winter has been treating you good.

Stripped Place Mats

2009-01-04T19:41:00.003-05:00

With the holiday season over I am able to focus on my quilting again. I have been working on some place mats for my kitchen and have used the left over strips from my Squiggles quilts. I want to make 8 of them and as you can see there are a lot of strips that make up one place mat. 8 of these are proving to take a long time to make :-). This mat is laying on my sewing table amongst all of the strips, cutting mat, ruler and such. I will post more pictures when these are finished. I am trying to decide what to work on next....should I finish a UFO or should I start something new... What do you do when you face this quandrie? I have some star quilt blocks but cannot decide on the background fabric. I usually wait until the inspiration strikes to match a fabric with them. I was going to use multiple fabric that would go with the border fabric but it was all just to busy looking for me. Something a little less busy would let the star block be the focal point. I'll post some pictures of the blocks tomorrow.

The wind is blowing pretty hard tonight and I am hoping we do not get anymore sleet. Hope your weather is agreeable for you...

Squiggles In Blue Waters

2008-11-30T18:51:00.005-05:00

Finally, finally, finally...I have finished Squiggles In Blue Waters. This is a quilt I thought would be finished a few months ago but life has a way of derailing plans no matter how determined you are to accomplish what you set out to do. There was so much work to do in the gardens this fall, much more than I had originally thought.

It is nice to get back to my quilting, it is so much fun and really helps me get my head on straight. There are still a couple of unfinished projects to work on this winter and I really have no idea where to go from there.

It is fun to organize my stash of Batiks. Some of the prints I have had so long I really don't remember when I bought them. Well over 5 years ago but they are still so beautiful and will come in handy on the next project. This year I am going to concentrate on using what is in my stash and am excited about the challenge.

OK, enough rambling....here are some pictures of the finished quilt...

Here are some of the blocks with the free motion details. I love to free motion quilt so this is what I spend most of my time on. It is fun to free motion quilt designs that compliment the fabrics in the blocks. The color came out really good on this picture. There are times where the picture exposure is not very consistent. I think that calls for a new camera, don't you?

The background of the quilt is a blue/black batik. Very beautiful with the vibrant colors that make up the "wonky" blocks and the Squiggle blocks.

I am looking forward to the next project, something different from Squiggles. I am hoping to get back to posting on a more regular basis. Winter always gives me more time to work on my quilts and blog. Maybe even organize some of my quilt magazines and books too. :-) Hope everything is good with all of you...

Quilts from the Pinheads

2008-11-13T21:22:00.006-05:00

A long time has gone by since I last posted. I haven't been able to sew much but I have worked in the gardens and have everything put up for the winter. A big tasked taken care of...for now.

Our quilting group "The Pinheads" usually meet on the second Saturday of the month however since we have all been going different directions we have not had a meeting for a few months. We had a great time with Show and Tell sharing all of the new projects. Here are some of the items... This is Jeanettes quilt, is so cool. I love the striped inner border, it really sets the quilt off, don't you think? Click on the picture so you can see it in more detail. She did a great job with the points, they are really pointy! Next...

Judy made this cute House quilt and this is the reverse side... How adorable is that!!! She plans on using it to lay across the foot of her bed. Then she showed a little Whirly Gig table runner and a Bullseye quilt she modified the blocks to a smaller size.

She has been a busy quilter!

I had nothing for show and tell. I was working on Corn Bags which is not much to see. Brenda was working on her Foundation Pieced blocks and Alyssia worked on free motion quilting her Squiggles quilt.

Hope everyone is doing well!!

Basting A Squiggle

2008-09-23T19:59:00.014-04:00

Squiggles In Blue Waters is finally basted. This tutorial will show you how I baste. This is only the way I do it, you can do it any way you would like. I really dislike basting. REALLY dislike it. I liken it to cleaning the bathroom. Out of all of the creative steps in the process of the art of quilt making this one is the toilet cleaning step. Yep, I said it. I will not repeat it but that is my feeling. Now on that same thought I do take pride in everything I do and want to do a very good job no matter how I feel about it. So here we go...

The first step is a clean working surface so I move out the kitchen furniture, dust the floor and mop it. See....clean floor.
Next the pressed quilt backing is taped to the floor. I love having a floor with a design that makes a grid. It makes it so much easier to lay everything out square. Here is the backing, taped to the floor with masking tape.

Make sure you press your backing fabric out so it will lay nice and flat.

The batting...this is a matter of preference however there are two brands of cotton bats that I really like. One is cream rose by Mountain Mist the other would be Quilter's Dream Cotton-Request Weight. That being said I will also use other brands depending on the type of quilt I am making and what it will be used for. A childs quilt that will be washed a lot because it is used daily is one I would be tempted to use Quilters Dream Poly. There are wonderful brands of batting out there so try several out and see what you like. I like to use a fairly lite bat I usually quilt fairly heavily and I still want a supple quilt, not one that be stiff from the quilting. Oops..looks like I got a little sidetracked on the batting. An easy thing to do.

Smooth the batting out and trim to fit the backing. You should lay the batting out a couple of days ahead of time to let it relax.

The excess batting makes an excellent pillow too!!

After the quilt top is smoothed out over the batting pin all three layers together around the edges.

I pin one side of the quilt then the opposite side, next pin the other two sides. I start basting across the center of the quilt. Once lengthwise and one crosswise. Then I go back to the lengthwise with the rows approximately 5 inches apart. An easy rule of thumb for me is the width of my hand, including thumb of course. This step takes a couple of hours and oh, yes, I wanted to mention when I am basting I use a basting needle. When I am sewing the running stitch I make sure to take a l o n g stitch on the underside of the quilt sandwich and a short stitch on the top, as seen in the photo below.

Free motion quilting is a joy to me, it is mesmerizing so I often get the darning foot caught in the basting stitches because I just don't notice them. To avoid that I take a 1/2 inch (approximately) on top. This way the darning foot is not as apt to catch the stitch and slow me down. Don't you hate it when that happens??? I know I do. Your darning foot will seek out and try to grab every basting stitch it can find, one of the more important things I have learned in life :-).

After you have finished basting lengthwise from the center out. Then do the same on the quilt sandwich crosswise. "From the center out" - basting in a row, left or right of the center row, making the rows 5 inches apart until you reach the edge of the quilt then baste the other side until you reach the edge. I usually make my last row one half inch from the edge that way. This row also gives me an approximate place to stop free motion quilting. No reason to do all of that quilting and then sew the binding over it...such a waste.

When you are finished basting, pull all of the pins around the edges, pull all of the tap off of it and the floor and feel how wonderful it is to have that job finished. WoooHoooo!!!

Here is the basted quilt sandwich, ready to be free motion quilted. Hopefully I will get started on it this Friday but if not then it will have to wait until next week. I have a full weekend so no time for quilting.

Thanks for all of your questions and comments, I really appreciate knowing you all are out there in the Quilt Web.

I am sure I have things to adjust about this post, it is always scary to read it a day later and think "What in the world was I trying to say??" Please keep me on my toes and feel free to ask questions and make comments.

Peace

Death Of A Rotary Blade

2008-08-31T12:38:00.003-04:00

Sunday Morning 10:26am

A new rotary blade just place in the rotary cutter had been killed. No more than a few cuts old the death came as quite a surprise and great dismay to me.

Having finished the "Squiggles In Blue Water" quilt top I anticipated piecing the quilt backing today so I replaced the rotary blade for easy cutting. The selvages of the backing fabric are always my first plan of attack. It is a real damper when the selvage does not fall away after it is cut off, I hate it when that happens.

This is not the first time this accident has happen in this location. I have taken every precaution to avoid it, I thought. A straight pin had been laying under the fabric by the time it was discovered it was too late. Oops...that was it. It only takes one time, a simple oversight.

Pictures would have been posted but the scene of the accident is not for the faint of heart.

Thank you for your attention, now back to your regular blogging.

Squiggles, Frogs and Door Knobs...

2008-08-27T19:49:00.009-04:00

Rain, rain.........we have none. The flower beds are getting regular doses of water with the sprinkler but the yard is toasty brown. As I was showing a girlfriend around the yard one evening she commented that one of my door knobs looked like it was missing a piece. Now this was right as the sun was setting so it was starting to get dark. At a second glance I could see a tree frog perched on it. Of course I ran in the house to retrieved the camera and this is the picture of the tree frog.

The next night here is another one on the other white door knob. I am not sure if they just like the white ones or if the bugs at night are attracted to the white so the tree frogs post themselves there but so far I have not seen them on any of the other knobs.

The water lettuce keeps taking over the water feature. Does anyone else have this problem? I think I throw out a gallon bucket of it every week because it grows so quickly. I do like the way it looks. The fountain is usually on but the little pump was clogged............with, what else, water lettuce roots. It is now clean and running nicely. The gardens are getting cleaned from all of the spent flowers and dead Daylily stalks. I need more mulch but that will have to wait until things die down a bit.

The top is finished to Squiggles In Blue Waters. I apologize for the picture, it is not so good. I will try to get a better one posted tomorrow when I am thinking a little more rationally. Today has been a very unusual day but I think quilting can always bring you back to earth. :-)

I enjoy catching up on everyone's blogs, you have all been so busy!!!

Wonky Block - tutorial

2008-08-20T14:21:00.010-04:00

First, pick out three fabrics you would like to use for your block, one for the center, second for the center border (frame), the third for the outside border. I like to pick a fabric of interest for the center of the block, something I can build on from there. I will cut this block about 3.5" X 4.5" then make a two more cuts to make the start of the "wonky".
The cuts are not even in width, one side will be a bit wider than the other and they taper to the bottom of the block so it is still 4.5".

Cut your inner border fabric 1" to 1.5". If you cut them wider than 1.75" you will end up with very narrow border to your block. Not really pretty.

Now sew your "inner" border fabric to each side of the "wonky" center. Trim off excess as shown in the picture.

Next sew the top and bottom strips on, trim them with the angle of the sides.

This is what they should look like...

Next, cut your outside border strips...usually about 3.25" wide. Sew your outer border strips on the sides and trim both side so it measures 9.5" across, making sure your center block is centered at 4.75". Now sew the top and bottom strips on. Trim so it will measure 9.5" top to bottom. Try to trim the border strips so that the center block is.........well, centered.

Like this...

Here is your finished block. Nice job!!

Tips: On your inner border fabric, you can cut them anywhere from 1" to 1.75". You really do not want to go any wider that 1.5" because you will end up with very narrow border fabric, doesn't look very pretty that way. IMHO

I hope this helps. I have been ask for instructions for this technique but really you can start out with a smaller center. It can be more square or less square. Please experiment with them and most importantly...have fun! I would love to hear from you all when you try this.

Disclaimer: I'm sure there will be questions. Since I have made so many of these I probably left something out so please feel free to ask. No, I did not make up the term "Wonky". Several quilters have used this term, I am not the originator.

Enjoy!

Horse Pooh and Door Knobs

2008-08-20T13:28:00.006-04:00

Wow, what a summer! I do not think I have ever seen a summer nicer than this one. OK, we do need rain but the gardens are going wonderfully. I have been watering the flower beds and new trees with well water. Not as good as rain but it will have to do for now. The frogs in my water feature, up to 7 last count...good number, go out bug hunting when the sprinklers are watering the flower beds. As the gardens dry out the frogs all head back for their little oasis. It is almost time to start digging some of the Dalilies and dividing them. I am sooooo happy to have several buckets of horse pooh to dooh this with. Once they are dug and divided, hp is mixed with the existing soil so they get a little food to start over with. It really pays off next year when they flower.

More door knobs...a df gave this one to me. It is off of one of his buildings. I love it. This is the only oval door knob on the post and it sure has a lot of personality, don't you think?

This is one I picked up yesterday at an antique mall. The door knob was pretty rusty but with a little steal wool and then a little oil and it looks much better.

Cheryl, aka partner in crime, has started a Door Knob Post in her flower bed and found 4 great door knobs and a great old Singer oil can.

I am working on a tutorial for the "Wonky" block I used as the alternate block to Squiggles. I will post it later today. Until then........

Mini Road Trip...

2008-08-12T18:29:00.006-04:00

Today, again, we had unbelievably beautiful weather. This could really spoil a girl when she wants to take a little drive for batiks!!! So my partner in crime (Cheryl) came over and off we headed for Shipshewana. If my Cooper had a convertible top it would have been down. :-) Traffic was unusually heavy, which should have been my first clue...then it hit me. It is flea market day and everyone was going to be in Shipshewana. Too bad, there was fabric to be had.

We stopped first at a store that sells items to decorate your yard with including puppies to sun rooms. There were Boxer puppies, the most adorable Brindle Boxer female you ever saw and sweet right down to her eyelashes. That puppy breath is so hard to resist! I walked away, yes I did.

After Cheryl picked up a bobble for the yard as a gift we were off again to have lunch at the Blue Gate and then on to Lolly's. One of us bought only a few batiks, you can guess who it is because this is a picture of what I bought.

Yes, that is it.........OK, maybe it looks better this way...

Yes, much better, don't you think? The colors of the Dark Chocolate wrapper go very well with the fabric, even better when the wrapper is empty!

Then we went to Yoder's so I could buy my cousin a hat for his 54th birthday. He is older than me and I like to buy him gifts to remind him that he is older. All in good fun, he loves to tease me for the 14+ days we are the same age.

So, how do you like the the hat? I think he will love it. He has a large vegetable garden so he will use it a lot.

Oh, yes, I wanted to feature another tree in my yard, the Weeping Willow "Scarlett Curls"

This willow started out as a 5" cutting 4 years ago. When I moved to Ohio I gave my sister a Scartlett Curls with the promise she would send me a cutting. It was planted in the flower bed to protect it from getting mowed off, left for 2 years and then transplanted to the yard. Maybe your lawn mower does not make that mistake but it has happened in my yard. I usually get a replacement tree the same weekend! LOL

Hope you all had a wonderful day!

August draws an end...

2008-08-09T10:21:00.006-04:00

to the Daylilies blooming.

Apache War Dance

DH is playing golf this morning so I have uninterrupted time for sewing and gardening. I wake at 4:45am this morning with my mind just going wild over different ideas. Finally, I jumped up at 5am so I could make a pot of coffee and do some sewing. I am have just about finished up all of the blocks for the next Squiggles at night (I will post pics later today). The gardens were calling my name so with a bucket of horse pooh in hand....I headed outside. I am not sure how many of you perennial gardeners use HP in their gardens but I, for one, just can't seem to do without it. It is a lot like black gold to me....well if it has set long enough. This wasn't quiet black but the plants love it all the same and will be thrilled with a fresh dressing of pooh.

The Daylilies are next to be divided and reset. Some will go to my cousin and some to a DF who is reworking her flower beds. I have new door knob for my door knob/Downy Woodpecker post!! I was so excited since it is oval shaped instead of round. The post is just about full as I want it so another post will need to be chosen to display knobs.

Acapulco Night

Curby is doing well but still not quite old enough to go up for adoption but oh I do miss the little one.

Hope you all have a great weekend.....I promise...pictures later today. :-)

As promised, this is a picture of the Squiggles quilt I am working on now. I noticed the alternate blocks are mostly blueish backgrounds so it has been named "Squiggles In Blue Waters". I love your emails and comments so please feel free to contact me. :-)

The Curby Update

2008-07-28T15:20:00.003-04:00

We went to the Vets office today and came home with eye medicine. Funny thing is...they have a litter of kittens the same age and same coloring as Curby! They look like siblings. The Vets office offered to take Curby as soon as he is feeling better. Yippie!! He will be with Kittens his age until they are old enough to go to the Feline Rescue Shelter.

Will I miss him? Yep, I will probably cry my eyes out but I only took him in to save him. He is such a sweety and smart too. (My Vet laughed at that statement) He slept all night last night so hopefully this is going to become a habit. We will start solid food today. I'm learning so much. LOL

That's all for now...........:-)

Hot Fudge Sunday and A Kitten to go please...

2008-07-27T14:21:00.005-04:00

Last night after supper we decided to treat me to a Hot Fudge Sunday with a little Caramel to decorate it with. DH had a Coke. On our way over there we stopped at a stop sign and started turning when we both heard this screaming. Loud, frantic, pick me up I lost my Mommy scream. Now, I must first say I do not have a cat in our household, Cats do not like me for my lack of trainability (my word) and I am not as obedient as I should be. The Mommy in me is far to powerful to reason with. Before the truck got stopped I was out of my seatbelt with the door flung open watching for the pavement to quit moving. Following the SCREAMING I scooped up the tiniest black and white kitten leaning up against the Curb.

Oh, my, what a sore eyed little critter he is. No where for him to come from, not afraid of being handled so not ferrell so evidently dumped. How heartbreaking is that! We stopped and asked the neighbors, only two houses and no one knew where he could have come from. This did not get me derailed however...we went straight for ice cream as soon as we decided he was stuck with us. Next stop was for kitten formula and all natural cat food in a can. I do not know how old he is but he still thinks a bottle is a good thing and isn't so steady on his feet. Home again home again, jiggety jig.

The Girls think I should just turn him over to them...when they realize that isn't happening they just take him with a grain of salt... Jade says and a side of fries please!
Here is Curby....

and Phoenix, yes, she is all legs. You can see some signs of her surgery too.

I don't know a lot about kittens but he is doing better today and will be going to the vet in the morning. As soon as he gets the "All Clear" from Dr. Darcy he will be going up for adoption or to the shelter. He has an eye infection and probably upper respiratory problems too. I'm going to make sure he is neutered by offering to pay for it when he is old enough or give a donation to the shelter. I'm just not sure how we will handle this surprise visitor.

So.....how was your weekend??

Gardening in July

2008-07-25T20:24:00.005-04:00

This summer has been exceptionally wonderful here. Mild temperatures, plenty of rain and cool nights so the air conditioning is rarely needed, The last week has been a bit dry so I have been watering the gardens as I dead head the plants. The soil in our yard is very sandy which is a real blessing because if it was not sandy it would be gummy clay. Really gummy clay. Anyway, the plants grow like crazy and seeds take off like a flash. It is hard to pull up plants that I love but have too many of. The trees in our yard grow very well, this is a picture of the Paper Bark Maple planted 2 years ago. I have been thrilled by how happy it is here. The more the bark peels the more it has grown. Gorgeous shiny bark which is also fun to fuse to fabric and use in
Postcard Quilts.

This is Daylily Christmas Is...so appropriate that it would bloom in July. Christmas in July, get it?

It grows underneath the Umbrella Catalpa...

This is what I am doing when I am not sewing. I have finished 13 alternate blogs and 7 Squiggle blocks for the new SAN quilt. I decided to add another row to the blottom of Many Moons Ago too. I have finished two of them. Well, that is all for now. Hope you all are having fun sewing and hope to hear about your projects.

2008-07-17T19:36:00.007-04:00

I have been hiding inside the last few days as Phoenix is recuperating from surgery. She had 8 cysts removed, all benign, some were "fatty" cysts and some were the brown lumpy ones that are usually suspect for cancer. She is doing fine now and will be getting some of her stitches out in the morning. When she came home after surgery I felt like I had betrayed her by putting her trough this, ever get that feeling? Like taking your little ones in for their shots, not a fun job but as caretakers...a girls gotta do what a girls gotta do. I would post pics but I am sure someone would not appreciate it.

Sew! Since I have been taking care of her I have also had time to do more sewing and working on arranging all of my photos on my computer. Sounds exciting doesn't it. Not! OK, the sewing is fun. I have a lot of block finished for the next "Squiggles At Night" and a lot of ideas for a new design, one of which I am going to sew up tonight. But nothing to show on my blog yet except for garden pictures so....here goes...

OK, I am in the picture to give an idea of the size of the tree. This is its 3 summer in the garden. It will get much larger and make a wonderful canopy. The grass behind me is Blue Oat Grass, a lovely blue with beautiful leaves, a great accent plant. I was also growing a couple of seedlings of the Camperdown Elm however I just read that they will not grow "true" or as the parent plant looks because it is grafted. Oh, well, that settled that, now I have to dig them up and pitch them. The Daylilies are just going crazy, they love all of the moisture we had so far this year and now the heat is making them bloom like crazy.

This is one of my favorites....Missouri Memories.
Lovely, isn't it. Every morning I go out and pick about a 2 gallon bucket of dead blooms from the previous day. Nice relaxing task that goes good with a cup of coffee. Hope you had a wonderful day, the sun is getting low in the sky so I think it is time to put all of my tools away.

Thanks for stopping by and as always, please comment, it is so nice to hear from you all.
Peace

Many Moons Ago

2008-07-10T15:44:00.007-04:00

OK, I have set all of the blocks together however I have not decided what to do with the borders. At this time it measures 70X61". Your comments and ideas would be greatly appreciated. :-) I loved making these block, very fun and easy. Since DS#2 has already claimed this quilt, he will also have some say in how it is finished. I am looking forward to free motion quilting it but, there again, I have not made any decisions on what design to use. Yes the picture was cropped a bit too much but I'm sure you get the idea.

There is another project on the cutting table, another Squiggles At Night. I have started an Etsy account under the name ThreadbenderMarsha and will have it up for sale in a couple of months. It will be a large wallhanging size however I will consider custom orders if there is interest.

I rearranged my sewing room this week and my back is paying for it. Here are a couple of pictures, please pardon the mess. :-)

Of course this arrangement is only temporary, it has been arrange 4 different ways in 4 1/2 years!
A girl can change her mind........can't she?

I have also been working out in the gardens, there is a constant need for deadheading and such. Very therapeutic work.

Today is our 32nd Anniversary so I had better get ready, we are going out for the evening. Strange to realize we have been together so long but as DH said, We have at least another 25 years to go! From his lips to Gods ears. :-)

More...tomorrow...

Squiggles and Gardening

2008-07-08T13:37:00.006-04:00

We went back to the KC, MO area for a week and had the best time. We had so much fun it was hard to come home but like any great vacation, it had to come to an end. I did a lot of sewing with my cousin, Sandra. (We share a passion for sewing machines too!) We Squiggled our little hearts out!! With everything that was going on I still managed to get 12 blocks sewn. She got 10 sewn and loved learning the two blocks. I took a whole rolling tote of Batiks with me and then we went to the LQS. ;-)

There is another place I had to go was
Powell Gardens,

this worked really well since it is only about 20 minutes from my cousins house. If you ever have the chance to go and are really into perennial gardening, don't pass up the opportunity. It is a fantastic Botanical Gardens with prime examples of how to garden using colors, textures, heights, embellishments, groups......well, you get the idea. Here are a few pictures from our trip...

This is a fountain that has been added since I moved to Ohio. I was really surprised with all of the plants, hard scape and trees that have been added in the last 4 years. It is even more spectacular than I remember.

Santolina rosmarinifolia

An ornamental grass

A Helenium species
I have this in my gardens too. Love it!
I took a lot more pictures but I know you get the idea. They have so many Daylilies, I love them. I came home and got my new plants snuggled in the flower beds and then we had a severe thunderstorm with lots of rain, 6/10" in just about 1 hour. WooHoo!!

Well, that is about it for now, I will post the blocks I have started on...tomorrow. I have also redesigned what I have did to the Many Moons Ago. Let's just say I am not fond of ripping out and resewing. LOL It does fall under progress though. I like progress. Hope everyone had a wonderful 4th of July here in the States and to everyone else, hope you had a great week!!

Garden Work

2008-06-26T07:52:00.003-04:00

We have had wonderful weather this last week which has given me the opportunity to spread mulch and divide Iris. The Iris have not been divided since I have moved here 5 years ago. Growing unchecked is not so good. The rhizomes are getting smaller and smaller. They are growing over each other and tangled together and then there are those awful Iris Borers. It is fun to dig, trim, separate and label Iris. Something relaxing about sitting out there in the evening just trimming leaves and writing the colors on them. They also were soaked in a bleach solution to kill the pests that have invaded them. Now....what does a person do with all of the left overs. It doesn't feel right to give these sad plants to other gardeners even thought they will grow vigorously now. They are beautiful colors, almost black, stop the bus yellow and a blue/violet that calls to you across the gardens to...come look at me, have you seen another Iris like me? I think not. :-) So with much pain they will go to the compost pile. The Iris Borers have tagged them for death. I do not use chemicals in my gardens if at all possible but I will keep up with the transplanting and keep a better eye on them.

The Blue Birds are feeding new chicks now. This is the second "family" they have raised in this house. Not designed as a Blue Bird house but they love it all the same.

I am going back to Kansas City next month to visit family. I'm sure the weather will be hotter than we are use to here but a visit to Powell Gardens and maybe a few quilt shops will make the heat more bearable. KC, MO is a great place to visit, so much to do and the most wonderful restaurants. They also have Sonics Fast Food (I love their Limeaids ) everywhere. There are only two within an hours drive here. But that makes a nice little trip out on the Harley. I really miss the Limeaids!

As I laid in bed last night I could see where my Many Moons Ago quilt is going. I really should have jumped up and sketched it out but, alas, I just laid there like a potato. Now to bring the design to reality. More to come...

Closing of the Downy Chapter

2008-06-13T15:44:00.003-04:00

With great excitement and sadness I want to update the Notes of the Downy Woodpeckers. They have all left the nest. I am not sure how many chicks they had but usually 4 eggs are layed with Mom sitting on the 11 days, Dad takes over at night. The chicks are fed around 25 days before everyone is ready to take off for the woods to learn to hunt for their own food. We noticed last weekend that there was a strange "vacancy" in the gardens. Downys only raise one brood a year. Funny how you get use to having new residents in the gardens and miss them so much when they leave. What a blessing and great experience this was.

On another note! Mr. & Mrs. Robin have 4 very robust babies in the nest. This is their second brood already this year. The Blue Bird family is finished building the nest and hopefully we will have 3-4 chicks soon.

Thanks for your attention.............now back to your regularly blogging programing...;-)

Tag...your it!

2008-06-05T19:21:00.012-04:00

I have been tagged by Cinnamongirl so I will be tagging 5 quilters blogs that I enjoy.

The Rules:
Each player answers the questions about themselves. At the end of the post, the player then tags 5-6 people and posts their names, then goes to their blogs and leaves them a comment, letting them know they’ve been tagged and asking them to read your blog. Let the person who tagged you know when you’ve posted your answer.

1. What I was doing 10 years ago:

Let's see...I was living in KC, MO and really enjoying quilting, collecting sewing machines and gardening. We just adopted an abandoned female Boxer, Jade. She has been a total blessing to our family. I have a hard time remembering what happened last week so my recollection of 10 years ago could be a bit boring. LOL

2. What 5 things are on on my to-do list for today.

Hmmmm...I really needed a list today. You see, I get side tracked easily. I know I was going to do something important or necessary but I took the girls for their morning walk, visiting with some friends for a couple hours this morning then ran a few errands, had lunch with my DH, sewed a little bit.

Tomorrow's list...

1. Walk the girls.

2. Clean the house. Friday is "clean the house day" otherwise I would have something else to do. :-)

3. Sew in the afternoon.

4. Have an evening out with DH.

5. Be happy if I have accomplished the other 4 items on my list.

3. Snacks I enjoy:

Apples, Ice Cream and Bananas

4. Things I would do if I was a billionaire:

Hire an accountant, take care of my church and some very important charities, build a Log Home in some remote lovely location. Take care of my family. Swim with the Dolphins. I'm sure many more things that I can't even think of right now.

5. Places I have lived:

This one is easy, KC, MO for the first 48 years of my life and nw, OH since 2004.

I am going to tag...bubble babble, The Quilt Journey, Ravelly1, Linda quilts too. I have really enjoyed these blogs and "meeting" each of them through their blogs. I hope everyone enjoys being tagged and please let me know if you enjoy their blogs. Please leave comments on their blogs so they know you enjoyed visited their blog.

Working on too many....

2008-06-02T15:20:00.006-04:00

We are suppose to get rain tonight. It will be a blessing as the ground is so dry right now and some of the flowers are looking a bit wilty this afternoon. White Vinca, the annual, is one of my favorite accent flowers. A few here, a few there and at night during the full moon they just glow in the gardens.

Speaking of moons..I have been working on a different quilt, it seems that once you Squiggle you just can't get away from it. Please tell me what you think. Our youngest son, 21 this month, has already laid claim on this one but we'll see...;-)

This afternoon there is little to do in the gardens, I need mulch to spread in the gardens and that will wait until this weekend. Maybe it is time to sew some more moons...oh, yes! Here are some pictures of the Yellow Japanese Tree Peonies in my gardens just before the storm hit Friday night and blew all of the petals off!

Downy Woodpecker Update: They are always in the nest and if you are really quiet you can hear them softly tapping in the nest. Tap, tap, tap...is this the way they "talk" to their chicks before they are hatched? (As she asks retorically) Are they bored stiff so this is their way to keep busy? Exciting isn't it. I have also been scolded for being too close when the parents need to change places on the nest. I very quickly head for the deck, like a good caretaker. We also have a Dove nest right here....

Can you believe this??? It is in the gutter right above the front door. So now we have the Downys, Blue Birds, Robbins, Chipping Sparrows and I think some Purple Finch.

Hope everything in your world is blooming and wonderful.

Japanese Tree Peonies

2008-05-19T19:25:00.009-04:00

I have spent all day outside today starting at 8am taking a 2 mile walk with the girls then back home to start the yard work. Plant a new bush, water the newly planted trees, trim branches, feed the frogs and plant the new flowers. It was still fairly cool here today with the high around 60 degrees. I want to be inside sewing however I have to act like a responsible adult. It is exhausting!! I want to play!!! Maybe Wednesday will be the day to play, I have plans tomorrow to go to a local quilt shop after I run all my errands, of course. :-)

Here are some of the Japanese Tree Peonies that are blooming in the gardens (not to be confused with the Herbaceous Peonies that Gramma had)... this one is out front and has 8" flowers that look like crepe paper. This next one loves to flower with 44+ buds in different stages of blooming.

I love this red and white striped Tree Peony, it is always fun to see it bloom.

I am never sure how stripy it will be or how red the red will be. It has 7 buds on it now and they will all be different.
Last but not least is a "purple" Tree Peony. Lovely soft color.

I don't know the names of the Tree Peonies I have, most of them moved from KC, MO to NW, OH and the name tags were lost in the move. I also have some Tree Peony seedlings starting to bloom. I am so excited to see what they are because the seeds came from my plants and were cross pollinated by the honey bees. They are not giving up any of their secrets. ;-)

The Downy Woodpeckers are still taking turns watching their nest. So much excitement in the gardens.

Hope you all had a great day.

Downey Update and Miscellanious Bits

2008-05-18T20:07:00.008-04:00

Spring is such a beautiful time of year with the excitement of new growth, flowers and sites. The Downey Woodpeckers never leave there nest alone now. This is the male getting ready to change places with the female Downey. He had been spending his time preening for a while but now she will get a chance to take a break and spread her wings for a while. She is a bit more shy than he is so I am having to work harder to get a photograph of her. Maybe tomorrow...

The wind has been terrible here this weekend. It calms down nicely in the evening and hopefully it will be nicer tomorrow. :-)

Rhonda came by today and left a comment on my blog so of course I went to check Rhonda's out again and tag I'm it so here it is...

5 Things you would find in my purse.
Tiny scissors for nipping threads..........now really...I know you all must have those.
Chap Stick
Camera
Note Pad
Sun Glasses

5 Things in my room which I would interpret as My Sewing Room.
Design Wall
Picture of my sister
Dazor Floor Lamp
Sewing Machine (s)
My Granddads Humidor
OK, so this did not work so well in my sewing room because I wanted to list everything in there but this will just have to do.

5 Things I have always wanted to do.
Go on an Archaeological dig
Parachute
Swim with the Dolphins
See Africa
See England

5 Things I am currently into...
Quilting
Gardening
Door Knobs - I just bought a few more to add to my Door Knob Post after the Downeys are finished living there.
Sewing Machines - 27 and counting...
Collecting Batiks

OK, there it is for what it is worth. Probably not so surprising if you read my blog very often.

I am so happy you stopped by and as always please feel free to leave comments.

Peace...

Just a quick note...

2008-05-02T09:34:00.002-04:00

This week has been really busy and I will be happy when it slows down a bit.

I wanted to jot a quick note to say I saw the first Hummingbird here yesterday May 1st! This morning the Blue Birds were back checking out a house they raised a brood in the summer of 2006. Rain is falling now and the housework is calling.....

Life is good!!

As the wind blows....

2008-04-26T14:58:00.006-04:00

The winds have really been gusting here since the middle of the night and temps are dropping here today, we started at 61 degrees this morning with 41 is suppose to be the overnight low. Monday night and Tuesday are forecasted near 30. Hang on little flowers!! This too will pass!!!

This is the south side of the large "Door Knob" post. Tuesday morning I was sitting on the deck eating breakfast and notice a Downy Woodpecker pecking at the post. Thinking he was also looking for breakfast I was not to concerned but later that day I was looking for the bug holes and found a perfectly round hole large enough for my thumb to fit in. Could this be the beginning of a nest hole? By the next morning it was obvious this was exactly what this little pair were up to. I took this photograph Friday afternoon. If you click on the photo you can see tail feathers and on the right side of the tail feathers are the tips of wing feathers. One of them was busily shaping the bottom of the hole and they already had it so deep that they just disappeared in there. We are so excited! Right in the middle of the garden of the sw end of the deck. We mowed while they were carving out their new home, gardened while one would watch the other work and yet they stayed not too concerned with us at all.

Mini Iris Ornamental Peach

I love these little Iris, they bloom early with the Daffodils and have soooooo many blooms. Since they multiply so quickly I now have several clumps of them in the gardens. If you notice the difference in color from the first picture I posted and this one it is because I adjusted the color. This one is correct, the last picture is too purple.

I am feeling aimless in my quilting right now. When I feel this way I know I need to get back to my Free Motion Quilting. FMQ is therapeutic to me. I can really get lost within the design and all of stitching. Hopefully I will have something to post by the end of next week. Hope you all have a great week and please post any comments or questions. I really do love to hear from you all!

Garden News

2008-04-21T12:28:00.009-04:00

We were socked in by fog this morning. It was so thick I could hardly see the neighbors house which is close enough to throw a rock at and hit. I couldn't hit my husband standing at arms length the other day when we were working in the garden together but that is a whole other story. :-) The fog has lifted and it promised to still be a beautiful day with hazy skies and temps close to 70.

I love old door knobs, they are fun to look at and I was lucky enough to get some from my Grandparents home before it was knocked down. I wanted to display them because their colors are interesting and they look pretty when the sun hits them. I was looking around the gardens and this is what I came up with......

I love the little amber cabinet knobs down the side of the hedge post. A bit of a different color in the garden.

Daffodils are blooming now but I wanted to show this tiny little jewels, they are mini Iris. To give you an idea of the size I put a ruler next to the bloom. The little hairs of the lower pedals are so fine and pure white. How do you like my technical flower talk? :-) These multiply like crazy so I have several clumps. I will try to share pictures when the clump is in full bloom, pretty dazzling. I don't know the real name of these, a dear friend gave these to me several years ago and she could not remember their name.

Back to sewing..........

"Wild" Squiggles Tutorial

2008-04-15T09:52:00.008-04:00

A questions was posted on the How To Squiggle - Illustrated post in my blog by Nzlstar. It is a good questions so I thought it deserved an Illustration of its own.

OK, I have this block left over from "Squiggles At Night". Let's say I want to add a "Wild" Squiggle that wants to go off sharply to the left instead of Squiggling with the flow of it all.

This is the fabric I have chosen for the "Wild" one. Reminds me of a school girls skirt print. Very orderly yet it is going to be a bit wild.
I have place my Squiggles block on top of the fabric I want to use and then with my rotary cutter I make a fairly sharp cut to the left...

through both fabrics together...

Then I move the larger part of the block back 1"and rotary cut again, using the block as my guide line, for my Squiggle. I use the larger side of the Squiggle cut to measure with because I want the 1" Squiggle section long enough to fit. A little left over is best.

Now I run to my machine and sew the long side of my Squiggle to the large side of the block...

when I get ready to sew the shorter side to the other side of the block I pin where the new Squiggle is going to cross the other Squiggles because I want them to line up just perfect. Also, at the end of the seam try to line up your background fabric before you start and pin it. This way the background fabric will line up when you finish the seam. If I think there is going to be a problem I will use a long basting stitch first and if everything lines up correctly I will stitch with my regular stitch length.
This is what the Wild Squiggle looks like finished. Notice the two Squiggles it crosses are lined up so their flow is uninterrupted. Now the block is ready to Square Up. Always square up your blocks, they will sew together so much easier.

I hope this is helpful. I love questions and hope that my answers will make the process easier for all of you. Please feel free to ask questions about this technique and please leave comments on what I have posted.

I want to thank Lisa of That Dorky Homemade Look for all of her encouragement and wonderful comments on this quilt. She is such wonderful spirit in the Quilters World. Her blog is a stitch!

Peace...

Fabric for the Next Project

2008-04-14T16:30:00.004-04:00

These are some of the Batiks I have collected for my next Star quilt. As I have stated so many times....I love batiks so of course I had to go out and find more Batiks. No, really!! I did, I had no choice!! Please let me explain...I usually collect more of the tone on tone batiks, water marked, smudgy and "solid" batiks. For this next project I wanted a more "wild" floral style Batik. Do you know how hard those are to find? I had to go to several quilt shops and look at several online stores to find the ones I like. I do have a quilty friend that is my "Partner In Crime" that is going to make this quilt too. It is always nice to have someone to blame, I mean share the hunting and purchasing fabrics with. It was a hard task but so far I am happy with my choices. :-)

Here they are...

This is the border fabric...
This is one of the star I have made so far...

And last but not least I was walking around the flower beds this afternoon and look who I found hiding in the mulch. Now our temperatures have been in the 40's today with a brisk breeze from the north so I was surprised to see him at all. The Mommy in me went and found a large rock to place on the north side of the toads burrow so it could block a bit of that cold breeze. I'm sure Toady is much more comfortable now.

OK, so I was a Tomboy growing up and raised two sons also. I love just about anything that hops, crawls, flys and walks. Warmer weather is coming all week, 70's by this weekend. Maybe we can go for a ride on the Harley! Yippy!

Alyssia's Squiggle

2008-04-12T13:02:00.008-04:00

I could hardly wait to get home and post this. We had our quilting group meeting this morning and Alyssia bought her "Squiggles At Night" quilt for me to photograph. She is 15 and has really taken on any task I have presented to her with "no fear". Her background fabric is an inky gray/black, a gorgeous batik.

Didn't she do a great job!!
Comments welcome!

Please check out Lisa's Squiggles on her blog Dorky Homemade Quilts: Look Marsha, I'm Squiggling!
Squiggles are sooooo addictive. Like chocolate. :-) Thanks for mentioning Squiggles At Night on your blog! That is too sweet!

The Girls

2008-04-10T11:56:00.003-04:00

I don't usually post twice in one day however I just had to share this. It started sprinkling today and the girls can't go outside to play. I was hoping for a little rain today (Thanks Barb!) and a gentle rain just started. But this is what the girls think of it....

Jade is pouting

Phoenix has her nose pressed against the window.

Oh, my....another rainy day with nothing to do.......

Newest Squiggles by Jeanette

2008-04-10T09:11:00.006-04:00

Here is the newest Squiggles Quilt by Jeanette from our quilting group. It is so beautiful and I just love it!! I am a star person anyway so I really love the Friendship Stars she used as her alternate block.

All of these quilts have turned out so wonderfully. We have one left in the group to post, it is Alyssias, she is 14 yo and still manages to fit quilting into her busy, busy social schedule! As soon as I can get a picture of it, of course, I will post it too.

We have two more projects coming up in this group, one is the Ohio Star and the other is a NYB style block. Everyone is using batiks so the colors should be wild!

Spring is starting to make an appearance here so I expect the quilting to slow down a bit but hopefully there will be other quilts to share.

Today is dreary and cooler so I will get the housework finished then I will play in the design studio and hopefully come up with the next project.....

Peace

Purple Featherweight

2008-04-09T16:30:00.003-04:00

Well, I warned you all that I love sewing machines and since I am 'tween projects I thought I would share a photo of my lovely little "Plum Crazy" purple Singer 221.

Waaaaayyy back in 1976 I saw this purple Plymouth Duster with a 340 strip down the side. I fell in love with that car, loved the color. After owning the car for a while, I fell out of love with it. Have you ever had one of those cars that just nickel and dimed you to death? This was one of those cars. Fix one thing....something else broke.

OK, now jump forward to 1999 or about there. I have this little anniversary model featherweight and I hear about this man who just started painting featherweights and puts the decals back on. Without much more information than the mans address I shipped off my 221 to be painted "Plum Crazy" purple. This is what my little doll looks like now...
The guy that painted it, Gerald in Hot Springs, AR, thought I was "Plum Crazy" to paint it purple but later on told me it was his most requested color. :-)

Yes, I use this machine, is sews beautifully and free motions lovely.

Spring is Springing

2008-04-08T18:15:00.004-04:00

I am working on a couple of projects but nothing that is far along enough to share so on to gardening. I have worked in the gardens all weekend and went out again today to see if anything has changed. We are suppose to have rain tonight and I think the gardens would be happy to be freshened up a bit with a splash of rain water. My water feature is still full but evaporating ever so slowly and Mr. Frog has made his appearance for the Spring. Now, I keep a heater in the water feature for a couple of reasons......first, so the birds will have drinking water during the winter and second, so Mr. Frog won't freeze solid. :-) I'm sure he appreciates my thoughtfulness because he stays all summer and winters over there too. His color is so different when he first emerges, more black than anything else.

There were also a couple of flowers blooming in the vast quiet of the gardens....

Dutch IrisAnd a lone Snow Crocus.

It is starting to look like rain outside, I am glad to see it, I need a reason to stay inside and sew for the next couple of day.

Peace

Irons I know...

2008-03-28T11:50:00.003-04:00

As I was browsing through some wonderful quilter blogs I came across a post about irons in Paula's blog the quilter . It got me to thinking about the irons I had stashed away. I dug a couple of them up and photographed them with my everyday Rowenta Iron. I love my Rowenta, as you will see in the picture it has a very pointy point. The point to this is ... it gets in very precise places that a more bluntly pointed iron would not. The little General Electric travel iron next to it is a little doll and doesn't look like it has ever been used. Shame on me, I will change that today. It has a setting control, unlike some of the older ones...............like the Winsted Hardware Iron to the left. That one just shows how hot it is with a little guage on the deck of the iron. Not sure what good that is because there is no way to control how hot it gets other than turning the iron off. Maybe that is what that cute little handy dandy on/off switch is for. Too cute. The Winsted needs to be cleaned which I will also take care of today.

See what happens when you are just innocently cruising thru the quilting blogs?? Someone always gets me motivated to do something else that needs to be done. Thanks Paula! Maybe next I will show all of my favorite scissors......that is a scary thought. :-)

Yes, we did get a couple inches of slushy snow with ice on top last night. I am hoping it will all melt away today, all of it, today, melting. Please.........

The finished Squiggles At Night

2008-03-17T14:56:00.011-04:00

Hi!!! It has been a while since I have posted and I am so happy to say that "Squiggles At Night" is finished. I love this quilt and hope you will too. It was so fun to make and is just happy. :-) Here are a few pictures of the free motion quilting in the alternate blocks.This one has a flower free motioned in the center and the one below (this is so funny) is the exact same block but with my finger over the flash! I love goofing like that with pictures.

This is one that has a grid and the next one has a sun quilting into it. Now I won't bore you with all 20 alternate block designs but you get the idea. Each block is different in the fabrics and the quilt design.
If you click on the photo above you will see the white chalk lines that I drew to create this grid quilting. I will spritz these out now that I have photographed the technique.

The binding is a multi color batik which really went well with all of the other colors. If you would like to see more of the alternate blocks just let me know and I will post some more. Now.....on to what not to do when you quilt your quilt...I bet you all have never seen this wonderful technique!!! Fancy, isn't it. I call this the "Didn't get the thread through the tension discs" technique. I know, I know, it is something every quilter strives to accomplish but there is a nack to doing this. There are a few ways of accomplishing this....let me share.

1. Thread your machine in a really big hurry with the presser foot down, not making sure the thread is through the tension discs completely.

2. Leave your presser foot up when you try to sew.

3. Bump your tension gauge so it is on a very low number or better yet on zero.

4. Have your knee resting against the knee lever that lifts your presser foot.

Yep, you too can accomplish this technique!!

Seriously, I do like to share my goofs with others because then you don't think you are the only one with this talent and you learn from my mistakes what not to do.

Hope you have enjoyed this mini tutorial of what not to do's. Comments always welcome!!

Peace!!

Free Motion Quilted Table Runner

2008-03-10T20:56:00.002-04:00

This is a table runner I made a couple of years ago. It shows, I think, my passion for free motion quilting. I played off the water marks in the Batik fabrics with feathers, echo quilting and micro stippling. Free motion quilting is one of my favorite exercises in quilting. I just finished quilting the last block of "Squiggles At Night" and will start on the borders tomorrow. I am still a bit undecided on how to quilt them but when I sit down at the sewing machine it will happen. Isn't it funny how quilts just "tell" you how you need to quilt them.

Brenda's Squiggles

2008-03-09T13:14:00.004-04:00

Isn't is great!!! Another quilter in our group, Brenda, finished her "Squiggles" quilt top. This truly reminds me of winding bobbins. Think we should name it for her??? LOL Please notice that each of her Squiggles block are done with fabrics of like colors and that the inner border colors graduate to the next color. A lot of thought was put into this one. I love it.

This group of women that took on the Squiggles technique has just gone wild with it. They have really enjoyed learning it and have commented that it is a technique for beginners. We have discussed many applications for the technique and I am not sure what will be made next.

I am almost finished quilting my "Squiggles At Night". I will show more of it when it is finished.

Thanks for looking!

OK, I love sewing machines....

2008-03-07T15:19:00.002-05:00

I have been thinking of cataloging all of my sewing machine, not sure why but it would be nice to know what I have and what goes with each machine. This is my white Featherweight, son #2 has tried to claim this one but I still have possession so far. LOL It is a nice little sewing machine and sews beautifully....

Singer 222k

2008-02-24T20:39:00.005-05:00

Sewing machines are one of my weaknesses. I love sewing machines. The smell of them, the looks and all of the little attachments that come with them or can be collected for them. I have quite a collection or at least some people I know think I do. I think my collecting is a little lacking. :-) They are like some snack foods, there is always room for more.

Last week I came across this Singer 222k that is in excellent shape, in fact it still has the electrical label on the spool pin stating..."Double Insulated to B.S. 2754 need not be Earthed. I think the B. S. stands for British Standard and Earthed is Grounded. There is not a mark to be found on the machine and no thread on the bobbins so I am thinking it has never been used. Which really wouldn't be too much of a surprise since it has a 220v motor. Needless to say I bought it since it was at a steal of a price. It is such a sweet little machine and came with a manual and a lot of attachments including the darning ring and darning foot and oil can. It is so hard for me to say oil can without trying to sound like the Tin Man. LOL I should say I have not taken time to clean and wax my new baby. That will make a big difference too

Now I need to purchase a 110v motor to go with this machine so I can use it. The only thing missing with this set is the little red accessory tray in the case. I'm sure time will take care of that.......:-)

Free Motion Quilting

2008-02-19T15:10:00.005-05:00

I love free motion quilting with my sewing machines. It is a technique where I really relax and love to play with just designs in my head. Some are designs I see in fabrics, some in nature, some from jewelry. Today I was trying to do some structured art exercises and realized drawing with a pencil is no different to me than drawing with my sewing machine. This is a flower that grew out of a blue line in the batik fabric I used.

Here are another one of my "drawings"
Now, I just need to arrange a whole design. To be continued...

Saturday Quilting Group

2008-02-17T17:05:00.005-05:00

Our quilting group meets one Saturday out of the month. It varies which Saturday because life gets in the way and we really like to have everyone there....if possible. Anyway, half of the group has at least the quilt top finished, the other half are in different stages which is fun because we get to change our mind along the way and the ones who are almost finished can give those oh so valuable.........."if I had it to do over again" tips. I can see a few more color combinations that would be fun to make and Cheryl is already starting a Patriotic Squiggles. Here is the first one in the group finished.....
Each of us chose a different alternate block. They are all great blocks and give each quilt a different personality. More to come!!

One cold and snowy day............

2008-02-12T09:43:00.000-05:00

OK, it is snowing again this morning. I must say I have a beautiful view of the snow from my sewing room window. This can be a good thing or bad depending on how productive I want/need to be.

I have been playing around with a new design inspired by Nancy Crows work. After playing with "Squiggles" for two quilts now I am wanting to take it a bit of a different direction. More and smaller squiggles with bits of black. Black has been an excellent background fabric to work with since it really lets the colors play with each other......a bit like the Aurora Borealis. You just can't go wrong with what God puts together in the heavens. The moon, stars and northern lights just wouldn't look the same against a pale blue sky.....would it?

So today, with the snow flying outside, I will be stripping fabric this way and that looking for that "combination" that talks to me. Hopefully you all will have a wonderful day full of fabric creations.

Peace, Marsha

Alphabets for Paige

2008-02-08T10:52:00.000-05:00

I have finished the "Squiggles At Night" quilt top and needed to do something different so I worked on a little quilt for my Granddaughter Paige. One afternoon to piece and baste, one afternoon to quilt it and that evening the binding was finished. It is nice to have quick projects once in a while.

Some of you are familiar with this fabric panel and for the life of me I cannot remember the name of it since I bought it over a year ago. Each picture has several items in it starting with that letter of the alphabet. Paige really loved the search. :-)

It has been lightly snowing all morning with very little accumulation and with the temperature warming up I hope it will melt off of the driveway and sidewalks. I really don't want to shovel snow today. LOL

Now I must look for some fabric for the back of Squiggles At Night. I love pieced backs so maybe a combination of the fabrics on the front will work. Hopefully I will have pictures of the finished project to post in about a week.

PAJAMA PARTY!!! At the LQS :-)

2008-02-02T18:46:00.002-05:00

OK, here we are at the Pajama Party at the LQS. Well, let me back up to 5am this morning.......my eyes popped open 5 minutes before the alarm went off so I got up and made coffee. With great anticipation of how today would go I started getting ready. We were going to our first Pajama Party at the quilt shop and they were picking me up at 6am. Why is it so much easier to get up for something crazy like this than to go to work????? Hmmmmm

Anyway, what a great day!!!! All of the business in town were open and there was hardly a parking place to be found. Women and a few men were running around all over town looking for wild discounts yet to be found. You only get a discount if you are wearing your PJ's. It was a blast!! I came home more batiks, my favorite fabric. We also road the carousel......those pictures will be posted later.
OK, so I couldn't just get on a horse. I have two Boxer girls so it had to be a Boxer!! Brenda is to my right and Cheryl is pink.
Here is Alyssia and Jeanette. Sorry Alyssia...............you can ride but you just can't hide!! LOL

Wild Weather and Quilting

2008-01-30T19:51:00.000-05:00

After listening to the wind all night I was quite sure I would get up and find the outside of the house ripped off and over in the neighbors yards however the only thing missing is the grill cover so not all was lost. There was a very light dusting of snow and too cold outside. This weather is always great for sewing and I was able to get a few more blocks finished for my quilt. Our son has had this cold going around and, sure as the world, as soon as he got rid of it his Dad came down with it and was home today totally wiped out. What a wicked, wicked cold. Hopefully I will be able to avoid it. :-)

I am looking forward to this Saturday as one of the local quilt shops is having a Pajama party sale. Wear your PJ's and you get a bigger discount! Hopefully there won't be enough snow to keep us all from going. Several women from our sewing group are going.........LOL

Yes, I will be taking pictures so more later.

Squiggles at Night

2008-01-16T16:37:00.001-05:00

These are the blocks I have sewn so far for Squiggles at Night. This one has been just as much fun as the yellow Squiggles. I like making a quilt a second time because it gives me the opportunity to change things that I didn't think of the first time.

The alternate blocks are different in this quilt. I like them too and the batiks are so much fun to work with. The back ground fabric, black, is a batik also.

I am sharing this technique with some girlfriends this weekend so I will try to post pictures of their projects as the go, if they will let me. :-)

What do you think about the black? What other colors would look as a background with this design? Would love to hear your thoughts.

New Year..........New Projects

2008-01-10T14:49:00.001-05:00

This new year has started out with a bang! More like a fizzle.......the dreaded "blue screen" hit my computer and down she went. I am trying to keep busy as I wait for my computer to be delivered. Don't ever, never, let your 20 year old son help you order a computer, it will cost twice what you expected to pay!! LOL Anyway it is suppose to be shipped the 15th and it won't get here a moment too soon. I now use (share) my sons computer when he is not glued to it.

I am working on my black Squiggle quilt. It is so fun to see each block take on a life of its' own. The colors just dance thru the black and push me to start another block. There are 12+ blocks so far......I'm not sure how many more I will make. I need to start on the alternate blocks but I just can't push myself to that spot yet.

The weather this weekend was just fabulous, upper 60's and beautiful. It is 39 degree now and breeze which is just fine, better sewing weather and I am not so tempted to go out to the gardens to collect dead leaves to get a jump start on spring. Next week, 20's, yep, sewing time gone wild. LOL

Posts will be without photos until the new computer appears, my apologies. After the new arrival, I'll be making up for lost time.

Peace.........

Weekend Winter Storm

2007-12-19T09:54:00.000-05:00

Over the weekend we were hit with a Winter Storm.....sleet, snow, blizzard conditions and 35 mph gust of wind. It ended mid Sunday with 6-8 inches of snow and drifts in places of 30+ inches of snow. Since I do not have to get out everyday in the snow I really enjoy it. Sunday we shoveled out taking about 2 hours and then I played in the snow with the girls.

Here is our snow.....

The girls, both Boxers, are very different about the snow. Jade would rather stay inside and watch for the warmth of any window she chooses, Phoenix wants to dive into the snow, run like a wild child and enjoy every snow flake. I have to make her go inside for a few minutes ever so often to keep her from freezing. I'm not sure she would notice if her feet fell off from frost bite!!!

Sure is wonderful sewing weather....

How To Squiggle - Illustrated

2007-12-18T16:13:00.001-05:00

There have been so many wonderful questions and comments on and off my blog that I thought I would try to put together a little demonstration on "How To Squiggle". Now I want to say first, there are books out there and I am sure web sites that also tell you how to do this. Some are pieced and some are appliqued but instead of making this difficult I thought I would just show how I make them.

Here is a 10x10" approximate piece of black batik fabric with two squiggles already pieced in. If you will notice, the "squiggle is a little bit longer than the background fabric.

Next I rotary cut a free form squiggle. (All squiggles should be free!) Anyway, don't be shy, just slice thru the fabric!

Next I take a 1" strip of the next fabric I want to squiggle with the block. Not all colors squiggle together. I cut the 1" strip about 1" longer than the back ground fabric.

When you start to sew the squiggle to the background fabric the squiggle fabric goes on top and the back ground fabric goes on the bottom. This helps reduce the chance of a pucker.

Wasn't that fun!!! Don't you just love this!!

Press this flat, as sewn, first then fold the squiggle fabric over and press into place. Steam is your friend here.

Next piece the other side of the back ground fabric to the squiggle remember to place the back ground fabric on the bottom. It is sometimes helpful to pin the fabric at the end if you have a piece with a large curve so you can ease the fabric together as you sew. The back ground fabric is easily stretched to fit with the 1" strip and visa versa. A little practice and you will learn when to ease who at which point.

If you use a 1" strip then when you iron our seam allowances they should just meet in the back.

As you see here.
OK, there you have it. Questions? Please feel free to ask or make comments. Hopefully you will have as much fun with this technique as I am having. Can you guess what the next color quilt I am making with Squiggles???

Peace.

Tablerunner gift exchange

2007-12-13T12:34:00.000-05:00

This is a tablerunner I had to get sewn up this week for a gift exhange on Thursday morning. It is a pattern I used before so it went really quickly. It is foundation pieced which is another one of my favorite techniques. :-) Always perfect points.
The fabrics are batiks in pine needle and cones to some type of leaf design. Quick, easy and works well with the Christmas theme or wonderful for lake cabins and log cabins.

Squiggles finished

2007-12-11T19:05:00.000-05:00

Here are pictures of Squiggles finished. The "squiggles" are pieced in, not appliquéd. The technique is fun and fairly easy with cute results. I love the way all of the colors dance together and provide so much movement for the quilt. Of course it is free motion quilted.

Squiggles

2007-11-25T18:52:00.000-05:00

As the sleet is hitting the window I am reminded why I love winter so much. More time to sew, play on the computer and enjoy browsing through all of the quilt magazine I have collected over the summer. It is dark outside by 5pm and even with the cool temperatures I take the girls outside a few times a day, once for a walk and the other times just to get them outside although it is good for me too.

Bright yellow fabric is very inspiring to me when I start putting other colors with it. I wanted to sew something with my new sewing machine and this is what I came up with.

City Lights finished.............

2007-11-15T17:36:00.000-05:00

This is the finish project and some of the details.

It was so much fun to create with all of the embellishments.

City Lights

2007-10-30T13:57:00.000-04:00

I wish I had taken photos from the beginning of this project but alas, I did not. Her is some wish I had taken photos from the beginning of this project but alas, I did not. Here are some photos from about 1/3 way through. I started with a large section of felt, dark gold in color. From there I used a layer of fusible web and then arranged pieces of fabric until I felt there was a good balance of colors. I pressed all of the fabric to bond it with the felt then started sewing decorative stitches, free motion quilting and layering more fabric and leather.

When I was happy with the first layering I took a rotary cutter to it and cut up irregular sections. This is where the embellishing started. As the project developed, as with most, it seem to take on a life of its own.

Embellishments included but not only are buttons, beads, copper wire, cording, netting, Angelina fibers and yarn.

Most fabrics are batiks with purple and black leather. Oh, some ribbon and bells too. I love bells.

After the embellishing started there was just no ends to the ideas running through my head. My heat gun even came in handy. The netting held items in bulk and a needle and thread held them individually.

Photos of the finished project tomorrow.

2007-09-29T11:38:00.001-04:00

Here is some of the free motion quilting on the SOC quilt. It is slow going because of all the corners but I really love the effect and the design really goes with the style of the quilt. The colors do not look as vivid in the pictures as they are "in real life" but you get the idea.

I think there should be other ways to do the design of this quilt but for the life of me they escape me.

The quilting is almost finished in the color areas, next the black areas. That should be fun for the eyes!!!

Strips of Color

2007-09-17T19:35:00.000-04:00

This is a quilt I have really enjoyed piecing. The colors were so much fun to work with, add, pull out, and match. Most of the bright color of fabrics are batiks, there are a few that are not but I find it very hard to buy something other than a batik. :-) The "blacks" are a collections of blackish purples, blues, charcoal grays, greens and yes a few true blacks. The strips are cut 1.25 inches to 2.75 inches with everything in between. The colors are cut random lengths. This measures 80x100 inches.

I love to free motion quilts and have decided to FMQ this in a geometric design. I will post pictures of the quilting as I go. I won't be able to start this for a couple of days so more later......