Returning to the Web....

Some time ago....before my mother became ill...I began a spider web quilt.  My quilt is based on the pattern by Kathy Doughty in Material Obsession 2.  

 

 

 

But of course, life got very busy and I folded the quilt up for another day.  I would pull it out every now and then to stitch a few lines.  

 

It isn't an easy one to pick stitch. The strips are sewn to a fabric foundation....so it is very heavy and very thick.  

 

 

I really didn't have much left to do....

so I pulled it out last night before the Oscars.

 

The quilting is finished and the binding is on!

 

  

Just in time for my binding class tonight!  I will be able to show the class a quilt ready for hand stitching the binding to the back!  Yippee!

 

 

As I held it on my lap quilting last night....I thought about all the little pieces of fabric in this quilt.  Some of them are long gone but well loved....

 

 

Maybe these bright colors will entice Spring to make an appearance!

happy monday!

mary

Monday Makes....

The Spiderweb is in the hoop and I quilted while watching the Grammy's last night!  Love hand quilting!  I am using a nice dark blue perle cotton from Valdani.....my all time favorite perle cotton thread.

And this morning I began a new quilt - a sample for the shoppe.

It is one of Denyse Schmidts new quilt patterns....Point Me.

  

I was tempted to wait for Flea Market Fancy....but I couldn't wait....

And, finally, I am so pleased to announce the winner of the Fugly Fabric Giveaway....

Molly was given the task of choosing a number

And so.....

The winner is.....

Zoe from Sydney, Australia!!!

I will be sending you an email Zoe to get your mailing address :)

Thank you Lucy for hosting such a fun giveaway!

Happy Monday!

mary

Spidey Mayhem!

Whew!  This seemed like a forever project....but the top is together....

This is Kathy Doughty's pattern from Material Obsession 2.  Although, I used the Marti Michell kite template which translated into smaller blocks than the Material Obsession quilt.

Even so...it is a healthy twin bed size.

Shortly after piecing the webs together I dismissed any notion of getting the strips to line up perfectly....who needs perfection?  I love the free-spirited nature of this quilt. 

However, I did pay attention to the points in the stars so I didn't lose the spiderweb shape in the end. 

This one is for Maggie....Scrumptious Scrappy Fun!

 Now to baste and hand quilt.  I am considering something a little different in the quilting of this one.  So many seams!  Stay tuned....

And to help me - just in time - I received my giveaway win from Kelly at Pinkadot Quilts!!!

I can't wait to test out these pens for marking.  I have heard so much about them.  The little piece of fabric is just precious and the candy bar.....yum!  It was just the right touch!

Have a wonderful weekend!

happy friday

mary {and flanders}

An Earnest Attempt.....

I am going to make an earnest attempt to finish the unfinished projects that have been calling to me....

I began this Spiderweb quilt, called Pop Stars by Kathy Doughty , eons ago....

.

I can actually see the end in sight....I love how this quilt is coming together and it is no little wisp of a quilt.  This one will end up about 75+ inches by 80+ inches.  It is a bit smaller that the quilt from Material Obession 2.

   

 My slow progress by no means is a reflection of my attitude towards this quilt....I just get distracted way too easily....

But I am doubling down my efforts and am determined to finish this one soon! 

I have also added block 6 and 7 to my Rose and Star Portfolio....

I like how this project is coming together.  The happy kitchen-y fabrics are fun.

  

I have purchased several of the Michael Miller Kitchen Collection fabrics....they fit well with the flavor of this quilt!  Get it!  Flavor!  hee hee.....I should go on the road, right???

And I am having a great time piecing these....they go together much more quickly than the Grandmothers Flower Garden {my other unfinished project}.....oh well....

Happy Tuesday!

mary

Blogger's Quilt Festival...Fall 2011

Amy has been hard at work again organizing the fabulous Blogger's Quilt Festival!!!

My entry is the Stashbuster Quilt!

This is a pattern from Kathy Doughty and is found in Material Obsession 2.

There are so many things I love about this quilt.  The bright colors, combination of warm and cool colors, the dots, the piano key border, the stitching and the yo-yo's.

The pattern suggests the Kaleido-ruler from Marti Michell.  What a great ruler!  I have used it over and over, so definitely money well spent.  

Stashbuster is a crossed canoe block done in a piecey fun way!

Sew together strips, from your stash of course, and use the Kaleido-ruler to cut the large triangle.  Flip your ruler and use the other side to cut the small triangles!

   

Once the quilt was pieced and a piano key border added, I hand stitched the entire quilt with #8 perle cotton.  I stitched around the triangles and then added this strong red line of stitching from point to point.  The borders are stitched in a zig-zag pattern.

Finally, fun yo-yo's were added at the point where the 4 smaller triangles meet. 

    

And there you have it.....The Stashbuster!!!  Pattern by Kathy Doughty found in Material Obsession 2.

  

Pop over to Amy's Creative Side and have a look at all the wonderful quilt and add one of your own to the line-up!!!!

Cheers!

mary

A Quick Spin....

I am still working on the Spider-web quilt....along with all the other projects....

This quilt is very similar to all the other spider-webs you have seen on blogs.  And very similar to the one in Material Obsession 2.  The difference from the MO2 is that my kite ruler {from Marti Michell}  is smaller than the template in the book, therefore my webs will be smaller as well.  

It is a bit tedious with all the ironing between each strip, but I do love this quilt....and adore the Flower Sugar in the star section!

Hope you are having a great weekend!

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

2011 Is Off to A Great Start!!!!

The arcs are pieced and the "eyes" are appliqued.....

(excuse the stray threads)

This is a pickle-dish pattern from Material Obsession 2....called Gypsy Kisses....

The pattern calls for 12 blocks (each block is about 24 inches) - and the finished size of the quilt is HUGE!!!  Much larger than I need...so I am making mine a 9 block quilt.

The next step is to applique the arcs to the background fabric....the lovely Betty Dear....

Hope everyone had a lovely and safe New Year's!  Ours was very low key....although with college age children about it is a bit worrisome - they will understand when they have children of their own :)

And here they are goofing off at their cousin's wedding....from left to right....Mary Mac, Molly and Maggie....cousin Joe in between....yep....those are my girls!!!

Welcome 2011!

Mary ;)



Busy Week!

I was away for a few days this week helping my mom.  I love visiting my mom overnight...she pampers me terribly - even though I was there to help her.  We always have a good time together.  Lots of laughing and plenty of conversation :)

I did make a trip to the local fabric store and then on Thursday, we went to Charm and Mrs. Miller's...I did my part to boost the economy.  Not only did I find fabric, but I also found Marti Michell rulers (which was a fantastic find since I have to order them from Georgia).  And a little finger rotary cutter...might be useful for little templates.

Then on the way home, I stopped at Sew To Speak and continued my spending spree....

But just in case you thought it was all play...I continued working along on this....

And just a little peek at my quick project from today...it just needs some binding and I will take proper pics...

Okay...that's it for now!  Just one more thing...thanks for all the wonderful comments on my entry for the Quilt Festival!  I love getting comments...so you made me one happy camper!

Mary :)  

  

Wordless Wednesday....

Gypsy Kisses....Material Obsession 2....**basting stitches**

Mary

Foundation Paper Piecing....

Here is a quick how-to on foundation paper piecing....

This is a great method for piecing when you have irregular shapes or edges cut on the bias...piecing in this manner results in perfectly pieced blocks.

I am working on the pickle-dish (Gypsy Kisses) quilt from Material Obsession 2.  The instructions call for light and dark strips - 2.5 inches by 5.5 inches....

I copied the pattern on foundation paper...you may copy by hand or run it through the printer as I did....

My darks are marked on the foundation paper...I will place my strips right sides together to the back of the foundation paper...with the dark strip closest to the paper...my strips will extend 1/4 inch beyond the end of the foundation paper....

I will stitch directly on the first line of stitching drawn on the foundation paper...in this pattern the arcs will be appliqued on to the background fabric...so I will begin my stitch line at least 1/4 inch above the paper edge and end 1/4 inch below the bottom edge....shorten your stitch length so that the stitches stay secure when you remove the paper...

First finger press the top strip of fabric back and then iron press...now fold the paper back at the next line of stitching...and trim the excess fabric 1/4 inch from this line...place the next strip of fabric with raw edges together and right sides facing...fold the paper back down to reveal the next stitching line....and stitch again on this line....

Continue until you have completed the entire template...then trim 1/4 inch from the last edge...I then trimmed my arc leaving 1/4 inch at the top and the bottom...so I have enough to turn under for applique...

So there you have it!  A couple of tips....you will need to keep the needle you use with paper piecing separate from other needles - this will dull your needle...and there is a lot of up and down to trim and get to the ironing board - so I would keep your mat and rotary cutter close as well as the ironing board and iron.

Hope this helps if you have ever had the notion of trying Foundation Paper Piecing!

Mary