Want to Play?

Cindy from Live a Colorful Life is conjuring up all kinds of fun on her blog...and today I am playing!

Pop over to see what Cindy has been up to!

 mary

This House....

It has been a very busy weekend...Memorial Day...work....visit with my mom :)

My mom lives in a small town.  A town where my dad grew up....a town where his family lived for generations...

A few months ago my mom showed me the house where my dad worked...his first real job.  It was a part of the American Art Works...they produced lithographs, painted enamel trays and signs.  He was fresh out of Art School....

If my dad were alive he would be turning 87 this year....I can just see him as a handsome young man in his twenties climbing the steps to enter this house....

I adore this house....

This house needs some work...but the windows are lovely...absolutely lovely....

They remind me of quilting designs :)

Not much sewing this weekend....but I did get to visit this house...

hope you had a fantastic Memorial Day!

mary     

Painting With Thread....

I did a little painting today....with thread...giving my Christmas scene a little detail...

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My stitching is intentionally sloppy organic to give this a child like appearance.

I used my free-motion foot, dropped the feed dogs and, in most cases, used Sew-All thread {Gutermann}

I would usually choose the lovely YLI 100% cotton thread for a project like this, but I have found with the layering of fusible adhesive.... the Sew-All holds up a little better.  It is not so bad on small pieces, but on the longer stretches of stitching the YLI is just shredding....

Also....a little tissue paper under the areas where I am stitching directly on the background fabric...helps eliminate some of the puckering...the tissue paper acts as a stabilizer {you could also use a light stabilizer}

Hope all is well with all of you.  We have had some fierce storms the past couple of days...nothing compared to poor Joplin though.  It breaks my heart to hear the stories. 

Take care...

mary

***my blogger is still not letting me leave comments on blog where I must choose a profile.  It works fine on the pop up window for comments....I have changed my comment section to the pop up type...I have my fingers crossed that all will be resolved soon :)

   

Simply Satisfying....

I love quilting.  I love almost every style of quilting.  For me the joy is truly in the process.  I am eager to learn different techniques and more fully develop techniques I already have in my arsenal.  It really is the process...

 For me...hand work is so rewarding....I enjoy the quiet times to sit and let my hands go through the motions while my mind just thinks....about everything.  I clear up all the unanswered questions, make plans, dream of the next project...all in that little space of time while I lay my stitches down without a thought.  I really am not concerned when it will be finished....if it will be finished.  It is the process.

When my kids were little, I would take my sewing outside and sit in a lawn chair and watch them play.  This Carolina Lily quilt was made during one of those summers...it was one of my first quilts....

The mauve is a dead giveaway that this was made in the 80's!  I hand pieced this quilt and hand quilted it.  For the longest time it was on my Maggie's bed...

Then one night the corner slipped into the gerbil cage...and the gerbil had a good chew!

When I look at it now...I think how 'cutting edge' I must have been to have these simple solids on a white background! LOL!

It is very simple and yet as a whole probably took me a very long time to finish....

Today I tried a different design {same technique} using English Paper Piecing.  I followed a tutorial by Clare from My Selfsown Life    to create this lovely star flower block {don't know if that is the true name}

   

I used Denyse Schmidt voile for the star...if I continue, I am not sure I would use voile.  It is a bit flimsy in the center.  But I love the delicate design of this fabric.  And I actually like the black background....it is a lovely block.  Clare did an entire quilt with this block and I have enjoyed watching her progress.

Quilting is so simply satisfying....

Have a great Wednesday!

mary

PS.....I have had more than one issue with blogger lately...ugh....at the moment I cannot comment without my profile being anonymous....are any of you having similar issues?   

         

        

It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like......

I am not a big fan of Christmas songs in May...but I am working on a Christmas project in May...

Hoping that the visions in my head turn out to be just as magical in fabric....

Do you make presents for Christmas or Holidays?  And when do you start your little elf- like activites?

mary

244!!!

Want to know what 244 hexagons looks like?

 

Almost enough to make a full row!!!

And a few cute grabs from this weekend!!!  Love gingham and dots :)

Hope your weekend has been fantastic!

mary

New York Beauty-licious!!!!

Whew!!!  I can't tell you how happy I am that this top is finished!

When I looked at this all pieced together....my first thought was Willy Wonka....or Carnival!!!

So maybe this will be my Willy Wonka Quilt....hee hee!

On each corner I added 3 quadrants...

And for the center of the corner blocks....I used a smaller black and white polka dot...the centers are hand appliqued....

Between the corner blocks, I paper foundation pieced {freezer paper} 10 inch spikes...

The center of the quilt is just 4 New York Beauty blocks, measuring 20 inches each....the borders and corner quadrants measure 10 inches...

The entire quilt measures 60 inches square....

This is one I can check off my list of quilts 'to do'.....Yay!!!!

Now to decide how to quilt it...by hand, by machine, both?  What design for the quilting?  Any suggestions? 

mary

A Sneak Peek....

I have worked all day to piece my NYB together....

 and I am pooped...

 so just a peek tonight and I will take proper pics tomorrow...

see you tomorrow!

mary

In The Zone.....

I am on the home stretch....

All four corners of the quilt will be flanked by 3 NYB quadrants....

Then the borders will have the large spikes...

oh - how I would love a design wall rather than a design floor!

I am loving this black/white dot I picked up last week....Habitat....there is just something about it I am really liking...

I thought I would share with you the plates we hung on the wall in our family room...they are all {but one} from Anthropologie....the bottom middle one is an old small oval platter....from my husband's family....

Have a great Monday!

mary

For My Sister....

In between working on the New York Beauty quilt....I wanted to put together a couple of quick projects.  To clear my mind before I finished up the Beauty...hee hee

I grabbed my Essex linen and the cute little kitty trim...and put together a little {very little} tote for my sister....

My sister loves cats...she has two...so when I saw this trim in the shoppe, I knew it was purrrrr-fect for her!

Only about 3.5 inches tall...this will be just right for her tea...

Happy Sunday!

mary

We Are Back! And Just In Time!

Well, that was fun...I wasn't sure if I had totally messed something up with my Blogger Account, but hopefully all is fixed and the fun can begin!

What fun, you ask???? 

 Why Amy's Bloggers' Quilt Festival of course :)

That clever Amy holds her festival twice a year....to coincide with Quilt Market....

It is easy to join in on the fun!  So be sure to head over to Amy's!  

Here is my entry for the Spring Festival...

Gypsy Kisses!!!!

This is a pattern by Kathy Doughty from Material Obsession 2.  It is a pickle-dish, one of my very favorite designs.

  

I think I love this so much because it combines all of my favorite elements.  The use of light and dark, and high contrast fabrics.  Inherent in the design is lots of movement with these long spokes that swirl around and are connected by four large squares.  Pickle-dish just screams vintage so I was able to play with lots of vintage looking fabrics....including this fabulous Betty Dear for the background...

   

Along with the bright bright fabrics, adding black to a quilt is always key for me.  The large black and white eyes with the smaller black and white binding gave this quilt an added punch!

Two sides have a piano key border.  And I hand quilted it with red and black perle cotton.

Thanks for visiting and enjoy the Festival!

mary

Slacker....

I feel like I am so behind on my projects and my blog reading!  The man of the house will be back to work on Monday and then Katie Bar The Door!!!  It is back to the normal routine!

We have painted and today I hung plates on the wall! 

I will post pictures soon....

but tonight I have to visit a friend.

Here are some of the lovelies outside my back door....they will be gone all too soon....

I did work on the NYB last night and made some decisions regarding the borders...I am hoping to get some sewing time in tomorrow and maybe I can share with you.  The boy will be out of the house for a while :)

Hope it is sunny and lovely where you are today!

mary

Sharing Something Sweet...

Last night we wrapped up our final Modern Quilt Class.  The women in my classes are so inspiring....I love sewing with all of them....every single one!

So I thought I would share some of the creations....

Janelle has such an eye for color!  She used this gorgeous red/orange shot cotton for the background and lots of Anna Maria Horner {crush} for the fanciful wings!  I love this design!

She is hand quilting this with perle cotton in a pattern of circles....fantastic!

Jenny worked on a star quilt with various shades of green for the background fabric and the sashing....

Isn't it amazing!  She is working on a spiky border and will machine quilt her new bed quilt!

The fabrics and colors she chose are so much fun....and so bright!

And Melody wanted to do a quilt that had a circular feel....reminiscent of a double wedding ring.  Melody had never quilted or pieced a quilt before....so we found this Flowering Snowball pattern.  A traditional pattern with gentle curves.  

Can you believe she has never put a quilt together before?  And isn't this just the cutest pattern?  Melody used re-purposed fabrics for this quilt.  The pink fabric she dyed at home and is from old shirts!  How great is that!

And finally, Lora worked on a quilt that will become a gift for friends....somehow I missed getting a good picture of her color block quilt....I think I was mesmerized by the yummy cupcake resting on her sewing machine!

Thank you Janelle for providing the sweets :)  And I will post a proper picture of Lora's quilt when she is finished quilting...she plans to machine quilt and add some pick stitching!  Yay!

Then when I got home last night I had an email from another student who just can't get enough of quilting....warms my heart :)

Jennifer made a larger version of this quilt in our beginning quilt class....then she made a mini- me pinwheel quilt!  

You are a rock-star Jennifer!!!

Isn't quilting great :)

mary