First Meetings...are a blast!

You may recall back in January I shared how one of my local sewing friends and I were laying plans to start up a local modern quilt guild. Well, we held our first meeting last week and it was a total blast! Who knew meeting up with other like-minded modern quilters would evoke so-much-laughter!

Discussions ran the gamut of whether it really matters if points get cut off and seams don't exactly match up  {in other words...how OCD are you} to whether or not steam should be used when ironing. We had lively pantomime demonstrations for emphasis! 

There were eight ladies in attendance with a wide range of experience levels and quilt preferences. It should prove to be a group rich with diversity :o) We all agreed our Number 1 reason for seeking out a group is sharing our quilts with others who appreciate the time and effort put into the work even if personal tastes differ.

We had a time for Show & Tell and saw a wide range of beautiful quilts! To my fellow Faith Circle members...should you be asking yourself, "Why does Debbie still have the Row Quilt?" I kept it just long enough to show it to the new quilt group and it went out in the mail right after that :o)



It really was a great evening and I can say we are all looking forward to meeting again in March where we will be learning various techniques for flying geese blocks...I can hardly wait!

Clever?!

Do you ever marvel at the clever creations found all around us? It can be seen everywhere. For example, here is a fabulous succulent wreath from the Christmas display at Longwood Gardens in Pennsylvania. This wreath is so amazing because of the the precise placement of texture and color...so clever!

Debbie of A Quilters Table is the host for the February Faith Circle quilt. She selected the Vice Versa block by Gen X Quilters. This block design is just so clever! I love it :o) Here are the two I made for our bee quilt:

I look at things like this and I wonder...how did AnneMarie think of this? Was it a sudden inspiration or did she ponder, sketch, cross out, and finally arrive at this Vice Versa block? She says blocks for this series were studied for positive and negative space and the inverse relationship that can be created. Clever, clever, clever. 

In one of my previous posts I mentioned my desire to someday be a designer. I've tried a bit of designing while crocheting socks. I've combined toe, heel and cuff construction from various patterns, and used my favorite stitches for the foot and ankle/leg sections to make these socks. 

Socks I made for me :o)

Socks made for my brother-in-law :o)

It's been fun (and at times frustrating) and takes me quite a while to get a finished product that actually fits. I find that one of the hardest parts of the design process is writing down what I did so I can actually replicate it again. I might call this mish-mash of sock parts a kind of franken-pattern for socks (taking from several different sources), but is it clever? I don't know. 

Back in the fall I started sketching out some ideas for my own quilt block design and then creating layout options for it. I've found that it take time, and it takes quiet. One of my layout options is pretty straight-forward and what might be expected of the block, but dare I say it...I think my second layout option just might be clever :o) It will be fun to make up these quilts and see just where they stand. 

Meanwhile, here are a couple of pictures from the huge snowstorm we had today. I just love snow and never tire of the beauty and wonder it creates in the world. Enjoy!

February in A Lovely Year of Finishes

I can hardly believe we are already up to February 2014! January was one of the coldest months I remember, and here in the shadows of the Blue Ridge Mountains we had a fair amount of snow. With all of the snow days off school I was able to breeze right through my January ALYoF goal...we'll see how I do for February :o)

This month my goal is to finish this vintage patchwork quilt. There is a story behind this patchwork. This partial quilt top was found among the craft items belonging to the mom of a sweet friend from church. It is made of bits of fabric from her children's clothing and dates back to about the 1950's. 

My friend asked if it could be made into a finished quilt. When I looked at it I knew it would need to be disassembled and reassembled in order to make a sturdy quilt. Many of the seams had been stitched with less than 1/8" seam allowance and were already coming apart. It took several sessions with the seam ripper, but with perseverance I got them all apart. 

I knew these bits of fabric would look lovely in a granny square layout. (The little flowers are tablecloth weights--it was bitterly cold and extremely windy when I took this picture!) Most of the the fabrics are soft shades so I used Kona Cotton Bone for the background. I love how visually soft the top now looks!

My February goal is to complete this quilt. I purchased additional Kona Bone for the backing and DS Quilts Farm Stand Dots in beige for the binding. I plan on doing diagonal straight lines for the quilting using an off-white thread. 

I'm looking forward to getting this one off my work-in-process list. I'm linking up the the February Goal Party for A Lovely Year of Finishes!

January Finish - A Lovely Year of Finishes

I'm happy to report that I have a finish for the month of January! My goal for the January 2014 Goal Party (link No. 79) was to complete the Row Quilt for the Faith Circle of do. Good Stitches. I am linking this post to the January Finish Party ;o)

I asked each of the Faith Circle ladies to make a row using the block of their choice. Rows could be as basic or intricate as they desired and should be 4, 6, or 8" in height by 48" long. To add a bit of visual interest I set two rows perpendicular to the others. The quilting is an all-over meander except for the area around "hope."

A special part of our quilt is the "hope" row. I wanted it to be quilted just a bit different so I used yellow perle No. 8 cotton to hand quilt around each of the letters.

I'm happy with how the plaid looks on the quilt back...and thrilled to have used up several pieces of fabric that have lived in my stash for a couple of years now :o)

I am especially happy to have used this striped fabric for the quilt binding! I am often challenged for how to put large prints and stripes to use...especially one as bold as this. It really made for a nice binding and I think turned out to be a great use for this fabric.

This quilt will soon be on it's way to Restore Innocence in Colorado. This wonderful non-profit group works to rebuild the lives of those rescued from human trafficking. 

Rice Bag Snuggles

Don't you just love a soft, snugly-warm rice bag wrapped around tired shoulders at the end of a long day :o) We use rice bags a lot here at my house.

Over the Christmas holidays my dear friend made two nicely-sized rice bags for her family using a good sturdy fabric. As she was showing me her supplies I told her that I could make covers for them if she'd be interested. I just love fun projects that allow for small bits of creative expression.

My friend picked out this wonderful red plaid (goodness I love plaid!) flannel to use for the covers. I prewashed the flannel just in case of shrinkage and looked through my fabric stash for some fun accent fabrics to add in.

My choices include: Sew by Sweetwater, Rain in cherry by Timeless Treasures, and Dark Blue Color Weave by P&B Textiles. I wanted to add just a bit of fun to each bag. 

I decided on a simple line of pinwheels in blue, and a zigzag in red. I probably shouldn't have a favorite so I'll keep it to myself which one I like best :o)

On the back I did a simple envelope closure. To guard against fraying I zigzag stitched all of the seam allowances. I'm so please with how these rice bag covers turned out! Final measurements for the covers are 8" x 22". I hope they will bring cozy comfort for a long time. 

What's up next?

What's up next? This is a questions I seem to always be asking myself. Sometimes I don't want to finish a project because of the void left behind once it's done. I have a deep need to always have something (or several somethings!) in the works at all times. 

Last night I finished working on a pair of crochet travel slippers to keep in my suitcase. I don't know about you, but I can't stand to walk around in a hotel room without something on my feet...especially on the always-cold bathroom floors! 

These slippers are an easy pattern by called Bernat's Super Value Family Slippers by Bernat Yarns and the pattern is a free download. The pattern has sizing for adults-both men and women, and for children...very versatile! I've made several pair now using various yarns. If they are to be a gift I usually add a pretty crochet flower on top :o) This pair is for me and I'm not a frilly type of gal so I left them plain. I love this super-cushy Baby Blanket yarn by Bernat!

Crochet is one of those things I find is easy to carry along with me so I always have something to do if I find myself waiting somewhere. A couple of years ago I bought way to much yarn to make these pillows for a sweet friend from church who shares the same birthday with me: 

As a result of this huge investment in yarn I've been trying to work my way through it...using up the stash, so to speak. I have made a bit of a dent in some of the skeins. For example, this Starling bag by Alice of futuregirl craft blog has been my go-to lunch bag for the past couple of years:

Next, I used up more of the yarn on this handy crochet hook/supplies case. For all of the pattern and design links click here to go to my flickr post which includes all of the details in the photo description.

 Finally, I've used a nice bit of the yarn up making storage bowls. These bowls are so handy for holding project supplies in my sewing room! I am going to try to make a dent in some of this sage green yarn by making another one of the large bowls. The large bowl is a free pattern called Al Fresco by Drops Design. The two small bowls begin using the base from Rainbow Nesting Bowls Kimberly of Seriously Daisies, but the remainder of the construction is my own design. 

So, that is what's up next for me...how about for you?