Work In Progress

When not reading this book

I've been making progress on the Daisy blocks. 16 down, 4 to go!

Using Stash

I just listened to another of Annie Smith's Quilting Stash podcasts. This episode was particularly good, full of creative ideas for using (or busting!) your stash. She gathered ideas from her listeners and even quoted from the email I sent her. Wow, was I surprised when I heard my name! Nearly fell off the treadmill! You can download it from iTunes or here.


On her blog, Annie included a few photos of accumulated fabric sent in by listeners. Wow, after seeing a few of those pictures, I think my own stash is not so extensive after all. In fact, I need more fabric!

Quilt On My Kitchen Wall

I made a seasonal change to the quilt hanging on my kitchen wall. We are now living with Watermelon.

I made this a long time ago. It was the first quilt I sent to a long-armer to quilt. Prior to that, I hand quilted all my quilts. Sending it out to be quilted was so liberating! Much as I love hand quilting, it is exceedingly time consuming and was such a constraint on my output. Now, I can spend more time designing and piecing. Having some my quilts machine quilted has also made me more eager to tackle bed-size quilts.

On Watermelon, I used a border technique that I really like, which is to include a narrow edging between two borders. The bright pink edging is about 3/8" inch wide, made out of a wider strip folded in half and sewn into the seam between the two borders. It is not sewn on the folded edge. I like this as a way to add a pop of color in the border. I find it easier than trying to accurately sew a very narrow border and I like the finished look.

The Bucket List - Quilting Version

I've been reading this book:




It is about how setting and achieving goals leads to greater happiness in life. The author encourages readers to make a list or lists with goals to achieve, both short-term and long-term. The act of writing it down is the first step toward accomplishing it; sharing your goals with others is also important because your social circle can help or hinder the accomplishment of your goals.

So I am sharing this list here - my list of quilts I've seen on the internet that inspire me to make something similar someday.


Anne's A Tisket A Tasket Block-of-the-Month quilt
So cute, perfect for my kitchen quilt wall-hanging holder, and I've been wanting to try applique again. I have most of the fabric, just need the background. And I need to start!


Megan's wild applique
I love the bright colors on brown so I put the Aunt Millie book on my Amazon.com list.


Heather of Anka's Treasures has a brand new book with lots of great looking ideas. I don't know whether I'll make All Wrapped Up or Chain Reaction first.


Bookcase quilt
This is such a creative use of selvages. Something like this would be a fantastic gift for my husband, the bookworm and high school English teacher. But I would have to substitute Corgis for the cats.


Kellie's Circles quilt
Kellie has a distinctive style that is very unlike my usual thing. I am taken with the exuberance of this design and it would be a big challenge as it take me very much out of my comfort zone.


Hanne's Nearly Insane Quilt
Ninety-eight 6" blocks! Are we clear on how this quilt got its name? So intricate and gorgeous, and a real testament to Hanne's skill. I look forward to the day when my piecing skills are such that I have the confidence to take on something similar.


Grandmother's Flower Garden hexagon quilt
The quilt is shown in a photo taken at a quilting store so I'm not sure who made or designed it. I've long wanted to paper-piece one of these, even have a few "flowers' started. Neutrals are unusual for this design but I very much like the look. This would make a great portable or carry-around-to-work-on-while-waiting-here-and-there project.


By the way, I admire women who blog in English when it is not their first language. I took French in school but I would not get far with a blog consisting of "Ou est le biblioteque?" and "Je m'appelle Cathy." I'm starting to pick up a few Spanish phrases from repeated exposure in our local bodega. I think the sign at the cash register translates as something along the lines of "If you spend $15 you get a free can of black beans."

Essential Quilting Books - Quilting Design

So the top is pieced and you have a flimsy. How to quilt it? Even if you send most of your tops out to a longarm quilter, you will find plenty of guidance in these two books.

A Fine Line : Techniques and Inspirations for Creating the Quilting Design, by Melody Crust and Heather Waldron Tewell - This book covers both hand and machine quilting techniques but the main focus is on how to select a quilting design that will enhance your piecing or appliqué and is achievable according to your skill level. There are lots of examples and what I particularly like is how the authors have shown the different effects achieved by quilting identical tops in different ways. Quilts used as examples include both traditional pieced and appliquéd as well as contemporary pictorial and abstract designs.

Quilt It! by Barbara Chainey – This book uses illustrations to show the different effects achieved by using different quilting designs on the same pieced top. It is a fabulous resource for different quilting designs, leaning towards the designs found in traditional, hand quilted quilts. If you want an alternative to meandering or pantograph designs, you will find it here.

Let's Talk Rotary Cutters

A few months back I was experiencing pain in my right hand and began to worry that I might be getting arthritis. I am much too young for that! Plus it could seriously mess up my quilting! Fortunately, the pain was mild, eased over a couple of days, and went away completely. Until last week. Same pain back, particularly in the palm of my right hand. When I tried to hold a rotary cutter it got worse, with the pain concentrated in the area where the rotary cutter handle meets my palm. This got me thinking that it might be caused by overuse or pressing too hard with the rotary cutter. I put cutting on hold for a few days and went easy with the computer mouse too but it took five days for the pain to go away completely.

Have you experienced anything like this? I use the old version, straight handle Olfa. Maybe I should try the new ergonomic version.

And The Winner Is...

Me!

I was one of the door prize winners in the drawing Amy of parkcitygirl held for her Bloggers’ Quilt Festival. This was pretty exciting, especially as I so rarely win anything. My prize arrived today; these eight fat quarters from the Woodland Bloom collection, donated by the twiddletails store. I like these fabrics plus they will force me to do something new because they are not my usual palette. Thanks so much Amy and Anina.

Take a look at the twiddletails store. She carries a lot of what I call the “modern look” in quilting fabrics and has her own patterns and block-of-the-month offerings.