A Year of Finishes....Part One

As my first full year of blogging is coming to an end...I thought I would recap the finishes and some beginnings of 2011....

In the Quilt Category.....

We have one of my favorite quilts of all time and certainly my favorite quilt design. 

Gypsy Kisses is a pickledish design from Kathy Doughty of Material Obsession fame.

This is a multiple techniques quilt....paper foundation piecing, patchwork piecing, hand applique, and hand quilted.

A popular theme this year was the Union Jack....

 

 

And Molly helped with the label.



Another Material Obsession quilt started and finished....although not completely quilted yet....

Strawberry Fields - which I call Tea Party

I love the sweet feminine nature of this quilt, but for some reason quilting it seems like such a chore for me....does this ever happen to you?  Here is the best thing about this quilt....it was while making this quilt that I emailed Susan {I didn't know her at all but I knew she had made this quilt}.  My copy of the book had errors and I wasn't sure why things weren't working out properly.  Enter....Susan to the rescue!!!  What a lucky girl I am :)  Good reason to finish this one, right????  

  

I was so fortunate to be able to do a couple of quilt samples for the shoppe using Suzy Ultman's fabric lines.....Appleville and Critter Community...

  

In May I was in a New York state of mind....a New York Beauty that is....

A whole cloth quilt...

made from flannel on the front and linen on the back....

  

A baby version of my Coin Quilt made from Birch organic....

I love this quilt....with the straight line quilting and then pick stitching...

   

Molly {my oldest daughter} decided to try her hand at quilting.  She does fabulous embroidery and loves crazy quilts.  So I thought she would enjoy a little hand applique and then to quilt in crazy quilt style!!!  Well, she did a marvelous job....

   

Then Lark {from Amy Butler} arrived in the shoppe....

  

Most recently, I have finished the Wonky Little Houses Quilt...again a sample for the shoppe...

It has been a fun year of quilting and making good friends!  I have a few more finishes to share later in the week....

Hope you all had a wonderful holiday weekend :)

mary

Quick Quilt....

I started and finished a quilt top yesterday....this is a sample for the shoppe.

I wanted to show off our lovely new Birch fabric....

I will be teaching a Coin Quilt class this Fall and this is a baby version...Coin Quilts are wonderful quilts for beginners {and more seasoned quilters}....this line of fabric is perfect for a Coin Quilt....

Hopefully today I will get it quilted and can share more....

Molly is still quilting away...and so thrilled with all you encouraging words!!!  I think I have talked her into doing a sampler of stitches and to post little stitching tutorials....Yay!

Enjoy your Friday!

mary

Crazy Quilting!

You may recall, my daughter, the lovely Miss Molly is making her first ever quilt...

The vision in her head was a Dresden Plate in the center surrounded by quarter Dresdens....

And, of course, the best part of it would be the crazy-like embroidery she would add to the top...

Well the top is together and the mayhem has begun!

Trust me...this process has been very dicey at times!  I really expected to find it shredded and in the trash last weekend.  There were desperate texts describing how nothing on this quilt worked....points didn't line up, blocks didn't line up....oh my!  

But it is coming together and I can't wait to see it finished....

After we she had started this Crazy Dresden {and I mean that with love in my heart}...my friend called me to tell me her mother had given her a Crazy Quilt and maybe Molly would like to see it....

     

It would be pointless for me to try to describe to you how beautiful and detailed this quilt is.  The quilt is about 130 yrs. old and was made by my friend's Great Grandmother shortly after she married.

Crazy quilts of the Victorian Era were not large.  And they almost always consisted of just a top and a backing fabric.  Instead of being quilted they were held together with embroidery stitches.

And boy did she know some stitches!  She embroidered the most intricate scenes in the odd shaped pieces....

Like this.....

The fabrics she used were fabulous.....silks, satins, a chenille looking fabric, velvet and even a piece of her wedding dress!

And then there was the painting!

It was a thrill to see!

So take heart Molly....you are in very good company indeed!

mary



The Progression....

Molly is working on the embroidery for the center circle of her Crazy Dresden Plate Quilt...

I love to watch her mind at work....

How she builds...layer by layer.....

 

More to come....stay tuned....

TGIF!  Have a happy and safe 4th. of July Weekend!

mary

Whole Lot of Crazy Goin' On!

Molly mastered applique without a problem....today we work on needle turn applique!

With her background chosen and her Dresden appliqued to the square....she took off with the embellishing....crazy quilt style!!! 

This was the part she was itching to work on!

Molly loves Embroidery......

And she loves the crazy quilt style....with a little more structure...I think this idea is brilliant!

Today she will appique the center...I can't wait to see the stitches she adds!

mary :)