Things are coming together

Last week was hectic. The week literally began with a bang. We had a storm, lost power and several trees took down our deer fence and some smaller trees and shrubs. My hubby sweetly reminded me  I was the one "who wanted to live in the woods".  It was some what of a mess, but it was resolved and the fence temporarily repaired.

...and he reminded me "you are the one who wanted to live by the woods"

We had an inspection at work. All went very well, but that was the focus for the week, and little time was left for sewing. That made this weekend especially enjoyable. Jana was here and we used our weekend to pull several projects together. Jana had two projects she wanted to complete and I had one.

Jana's first project was a baby quilt for her Aunt. There is a baby shower next week and she finished the quilt just in time. This weekend all that was left was the binding. and to trim treads and wash it. It turned out adorable and I am sure her aunt will appreciate the love she put into this quilt. Jana also did most of the quilting. This was made entirely from scraps. The pattern is Square Dance. The pink border is 2 1.2 inch squares. The original pattern alternated colored and white squares. Jana decided to do it in pink and sewed strips of her favorite pinks together and cut them into 2 and 1/2 inch rows to make the pink border. It's adorable!

For Sophia

Project two is the Bear Crosses the Mountain quilt. She started this several months ago as a gift for her mom, who lives in South Carolina. When they went to SC they drove to the mountains and actually saw a bear. This quilt was a bit of a bear to complete.. There was difficulty with the thread and some of the piecing was just a little wonky. She decided to add an additional border to the quilt so it would be large enough. I think the sunset fabric added the perfect touch and added a lot of vitality to the quilt.

Bear Crosses the mountains against the setting sun.

I completed an UFO. I hate to admit I actually had one because I  usually  finish a project. This just got put aside to complete Lazy Sunday and before I realized it I forgot about it. The pattern is St. Augustine's Garden. I made it for a gardening friend.  I hope she likes it. The fabric is not my favorite. However she picked it out (without knowing it was for her). I got it back from the long-arm quilter, bound it and washed it. It's ready to go into the gift bag. I am sure she will be surprised. She has no idea I have made her a quilt.

St. Augustine's Garden.

This morning as we cleared our sewing area we pulled out some Christmas fabric. I told Jana about Mug Rugs. Her interest was peaked. We  found some examples  online and decided to see what we could do. We had no pattern, no rules. Just fabric, stuffing and our rotary cutter.

I decided to fancy cut an angel. I went wonky with some stripes. I made my mug rug oblong so there is room for a cookie along with the mug. I am thinking about giving this to my friend with a mug and tea for Christmas.

Wonky Angel-mug rug.

Jana went in a different direction. She decided to do a four patch with a border. Her mug rug is a square. I just loved her fabric. I think she called it snowflake mug rug. All I know it is cute and she is proud of herself. She took it home to show her dad. We are now dreaming up all kinds of mug rugs to make; and thinking about who to make them for. It is fun, fun, fun.

Jana's mug rug

 With all this fun our Craftsy Quilts are getting behind. My quilt is basically together, but I still have to  piece the border, etc. Jana has to do her flying geese and make her border of half square triangles. I think we needed a break from it, but we will get back to it before the end of the year. This project has to be completed before the next year comes along.

It was enjoyable trying something new. I think Jana is hooked, so am I. Thanks for checking in. Have a great week.

Quilting Together in Port Clinton

It's a tough life, but somebody has to do it! This weekend was spent learning from Pat Pauly and quilting with friends. If that was not enough fun. I stayed with my friend and host Sandy Erwin at Our Sunset Place. The winds where brisk and the lake too rough for my hubby to throw out a fishing line, but it was gorgeous as expected. Imagine eating breakfast during summer and watching sunsets from that deck; and at the end of the day being lulled to sleep by the sound of the waves. On yeah!

The view from the window (too cold on the deck).

First task for our visit was to complete the current Round Robin. I had my border on, but have only appliqued once before. I knew what I wanted, but could not get there. I can do the stitching, but the design had me stumped. Luckily Sandy is not a newbie, and had a book on flowers and applique. She helped me design the flower, which is supposed to be a Lily of the Valley. Personally I think it looks more like a snow drop. Sandy assured me it does not need to be that realistic.  We made the applique patterns from freezer paper, which ended up being good practice for class the next day.

Lily of the Valley applique.

Friday night we attended a lecture with Pat Pauly. It was both fun and interesting and really set the stage for the next day. Everyone was very excited to learn from this talented artist.

This quilt is still a work in progress. I have to determine fabric for the darts on the left side. As we drew the pattern on the freezer paper Pat recommended we put dashes on each side of our patterns so we can put them together correctly. Well I guess I forgot to do that on one side. It made assembly a little tricky as I tried to find the right pattern pieces to mark the missing dashes.  Overall it is going together okay. I have a lot to learn about color and fabric selection. I was not supposed to let the white paper peak through the design. I am sure you all get the idea. Over all I am pleased with how this is turning out, especially considering this was made from scraps I just picked up and tossed in a container. I will finish it before the end of the week and do the quilting too. It is only 2' by 2'. I can handle that.

Big Leaf - pattern by Pat Pauly

My head is full of ideas about how to use the things I learned. The next project  is to use this technique is to make a pattern for the "Christmas Morning" quilt I am to make as part of the Ohio Star Quilt  challenge. I have lots of ideas, but we will see if I can translate those ideas from my brain to the board....Hey...I just realizes my daughters s/o is an artist. Weather permitting they are coming to Ohio for Thanksgiving....hummmm..that gives me an idea.

Next week Jana and I will be back, quilting together. Thanks for checking in.

Enjoying fall colors, then heading north for a workshop with Pat Pauly

This past weekend was a busy one. Jana completed the quilt top she was working on, and I started to quilt it. It's not my favorite thing to do, but this is a small quilt, so it should go quickly (I hope). One fun thing about this project has been finding a different way to use a quilt pattern. Here is a small peak at the quilt...Yes I know it's upside down. She does not care. Hopefully she will be ready for the big reveal in a few weeks.
This is the same pattern I used for my green snowman quilt a few posts back. I also plan to try a holiday table runner. I think it should be fun.

This coming weekend we won't be quilting together. I am heading north to Port Clinton for a Pat Pauly work shop. I think we are making a pattern called big leaf. Very appropriate for this time of the year isn't it? This is the first quilting workshop I have attended and I am looking forward to doing a different kind of quilting together with the Port Clinton Ohio Star Quilt quilters.

I think fall is one of my favorite times of the year. The colors are fantastic and I love staring out my great room windows at the woods. The colors are so inspirational. I have promised myself to do some quilt that reflects the fall splendor. Just not this year, with Bonnie Hunter on the horizon. I do know my limits.

Deer fence guards the entrance to the garden.

One of the quirks of nature is that while some plants are going to sleep others are setting buds for the next year.

Stinking Hellebore sets new leaves and flower buds.

One plant has inspires me to think about planning an art quilt is the Sassafras. Did you know that each tree can have three different shaped  leaves. I love the colors and the form of the leaves. They also display interesting flowers in the spring. I would love to do a four season wall hanging with Sassafras theme.
Four now we are packing the car to head north. Our youngest is at home cat sitting. It should be an interesting weekend. Thanks for checking in.

Sassafras trees

 

 

 

 

Getting Ready for Celtic Solstice - Bonnie Hunter's next Mystery Quilt

When the leaves begin to change and the temperatures drop some think of Thanksgiving, pumpkins, turkey and dressing. For many quilters the coming of fall is met with a different kind of anticipation. Fall is when Bonnie Hunter announces her Mystery Quilt.

This year's quilt will be very exciting. Bonnie traveled to Ireland this year. That trip inspired this quilt, including the colors. I had been secretly hoping she would make an Ireland themed quilt. A bit of Irish blood run through my veins. I am especially excited about this quilt. I must admit that initially the colors did not make me shout out with joy. However as Bonnie says they are partially inspired by the colors of the Irish flag, so I am embracing them.

If you are new to Bonnie Hunter"s Mystery you should give them a try. There is a link on this blog. Just look for the green bear. I plan to follow her color scheme very closely. She provides names and number of paint chips to use as a guide. This year they are Olympic paints. It is very helpful to use the chips when shopping your stash or at the store so you can keep your colors in the same value. I learned this the hard way with my Easy Street quilt. My greens where all over the place, so I lost the pattern in some places. I still love the quilt, but it was a lesson learned. When I did this summers Lazy Sunday I changed the colors a little, but learned to keep the value consistent.

Here are the fabrics I'm starting with. I am sure I will add and subtract a few before the quilt is done.Bonnie uses a variety of fabric patterns in her backgrounds. I am not that brave, plus I don't have the diversity in my light scraps, so I am doing one fabric for my background. It's a Moda Grundge.

I am happy with my blues, no changes expected here.

The greens on the left will probably go. I have another green with small shamrocks to add.

Many of my oranges are a little darker and brighter than the sample. I have another two pieces on the way.

I will most likely edit out the two on the right. I have another yellow on the way.

Moda Grundge-Sugar Cookies-The background

When my new fabrics arrive I will post the remaining selections Then I promised myself to put everything away until the first step is announced on 11/29/2013

My granddaughter, Jana is here for the weekend. Today we did some cutting and tomorrow will be a sewing. We can't post pictures now because she is working on a present for someone. Have no fear her progress will be revealed in a few weeks.
Thanks for checking in and have a great week.