International Quilt Festival

Going to Houston for the International Quilt Festival has been a dream of mine - and my best friend, Rhonda - for many years and this was the year to go!   

I thought I'd share a few of the many photo's I took over several blog posts.

Rhonda and I.  :)

The convention hall in Houston is HUGE.  I've been to the show in Paducah before but this is much bigger. 

 We started with the quilts in the main show on the first day, then did the special exhibit quilts on the next day. So much beauty and inspiration.  

This is the Best in Show winner.

"Chihuly's Gondola" by Melissa Sobotka.

Such an amazing quilt.  My photo does not do it justice.  All that shading, etc, was done in fabric.  No digital photo's on fabric or painting. 

This was my favorite of the ones that just delight me and make me smile.

"You are what you eat" by Kathy York. Honorable Mention in the Art - Whimsical category.

Here's some examples of detail and texture that is achieved with fabric.

"Cock of the Walk" by David Taylor.  Third place in Art- Pictorial category.

"Did You Wash Your Beak?" by David Taylor.  Judges Choice award.

The machine quilting was phenomenal.  I didn't get too many great pics of it but here's one that shows up.

Close up of "Zen Magpies" by Helen Godden. Honorable Mention in Art - Painted Surface category.

And the only pics of hand quilting that I have were from quilts in the special exhibit.  I'll share some of those in future blog posts.

You can see all the winning quilts here.  Go look.  They are amazing.

Dala Horse and Flower Pot

Two more paper pieced blocks for the Penny Sampler done and checked off the list.

This is the Flower Pot block. Measures 12x18 inches.  I altered this one quite a bit as I've gotten tired of paper piecing and wanted to eliminate as much as I could.  The pot had lovely diamonds as part of the design.  I left them out and just used a single piece of fabric.  That fun text print was perfect for it.  The stems were also to be paper pieced....I thread sketched instead. The two border pieces are different sizes than Rachel used. 

The Dala Horse has probably been the most anticipated block in the quilt.  It's 12x12.  He is so cute.  There are suppose to be two but I only made one.  I'll fill in with some other block that's not paper pieced.   :)

I have some diamonds to paper piece and then will be DONE with those pesky papers.  After that a couple of pieced blocks and assembly.  The end is in sight. 

More Paper Piecing

I'm getting closer to catching up on my Penny Sampler blocks. 

 Here is the teapot. It was suppose to be bigger with some borders and corner triangles but I preferred it like this.  Turned out really nice.

And this is the top border.  Pieced diamonds with some of the Penny Candy blocks sewn below. 

 Onward my sewing goes!   :)

Apple Cider

We have several apple trees and usually end up giving most of them away.  There are only so many apples two people can eat!    This year we bought an apple press and decided to make cider.  We had the grand kids over, the weather was perfect and boy was it fun!

First up - picking....  

....and carrying them back to Papa in the garage.

Even their dog, Rusty, got in on it....though he was more about fetching and eating!  :)

Back in the garage grinding and pressing.  We ended up with 8 gallons.  Hubs and I pressed another 4 gallons on a different day.

Sent several gallons home with the kids.   Reduced a half gallon down to 1/2 cup and made apple cider caramels with it - soooooo good!  And the rest went in the freezer. 

Oh and a week ago a mama black bear and two cubs came and ate all the apples that had fallen on the ground!  Got to actually watch them do it...such a treat.

Tea Cups

Its been a busy month and I keep forgetting to blog! The Penny Sampler is almost over and I'm behind!  We got into the paper pieced blocks part.  I'm not a fan of paper piecing (I do it when I have to) so procrastinated to the point of being weeks behind.  Ugh!  

 I finished two tea cups and the top border diamonds but only took a pic of one of the cups.  I was able to fussy cut one of the sayings....fun!

I'm hoping to catch up but with the holidays fast approaching I'm not sure I can stay disciplined.   Here's to trying!    :)

Whirl and Framed

I know I keep saying it but I LOVE this Penny Sampler quilt!!!!

Here are the latest two blocks.

Whirl is a 6 inch block.  I did more fussy cutting.   :)    

Framed is also a 6 inch block.  And surprise...more fussy cutting.

What will next week bring?   :)

Crossroads and Boxed In

Penny Sampler time again! :) I made two new blocks yesterday.  There are two more for this week but I decided to post them separately.     

This one is called Crossroads and is 6 inches.  I love when the block allows fun fussy cuts.  

Another 6 inch block called Boxed In.  And more fussy cutting. 

Both blocks were fast to make. Choosing the fabrics took longer than cutting and sewing!  Which is what I need to do now for the next two blocks!   

Penny Sampler - 3 more blocks

I have the next 3 blocks to show you. 

This one is called Stacked Pine and is 6 x 12 inches.  I made it really super pale and I love it...especially that bears nose!

This is a 12 inch block called Snowflake.  Took a while to cut all that text background fabric to make sure it was reading all in the same direction.   ;)

I couldn't get a good picture of the last block...which is actually a border.  So here it is in a group pic.

It's called Hanging Diamonds.  Pretty neat, huh?

And just for fun here's a pic of all the blocks so far laying on the bed. I have the fabrics that I'm using for borders laid out also. The blue fabric with the trees and deer (on the right hand side) was my inspiration fabric for colors.   Its all coming together nicely.

3 more blocks to make by Monday!  Such happy sewing!!!!

A little bit of paper piecing

Its a rainy gray Sunday here in the Northwest.  Been spending my day sewing.  Decided to work on my rainbow Bitty blocks....all that color cheers me!!!  

The Bitty Block Committee took the summer off but is active again now.  I signed up for the rainbow paper pieced block group for September.  Rainbow is what I wanted.....paper piecing I could have done without.  So not my love.   As today is the 29th and this is all the progress I've made so far, its safe to say I will be late.  No way I'll be done and mailed by tomorrow. Besides I got bored after this bit and am now on to something else.  :)

Penny Candy blocks and some Birds

 More Penny Sampler blocks!  Yay!!!

These are called Penny Candy blocks.  Cute, huh?  They are only 3 inch blocks and will be scattered about the sampler.  I love them. 

We had two birds blocks from the previous week that I forgot to post.  

This one is Dilly Bird and is a 9 inch block:

This is called Little Bird and is a 6 inch block:

I can't wait to see what's in store for this week.  I'm having a ball with this quilt.  

Pin It Hop - Meet Mr. Gray Owl

Today is my day to share on the Pin It blog hop.   I had the hardest time deciding what to make for the hop.  My pincushion bookmark folder is loaded with the cutest projects.  Should I make the crab...the blow fish....the purse....the kite....the cowboy boot....so many choices!!!!    In the end I decided on a multi-purpose pincushion called "Owl You Need" sewing buddy that I saw here.

Meet Mr. Gray Owl:

Isn't he cute?  Plenty of room for pins!

And here he is being my sewing buddy:

He has two pockets on his tummy that can hold sewing items. His wings are tacked down and other items can be slipped into that space. 

I followed the tutorial  except that I basted the feet to the front and tacked on the beak before sewing together with the back.

 Made more sense than gluing them on the front after it was all sewn and stuffed. 

Be sure to visit my fellow hoppers today to see the wonderful pinnies they have created.

September 13

Quilting In South Carolina

Negligent Style

Debby Kratovil Quilts

Sew Many Yarns

News From Bear Hollow

Around The Homestead

Living with Purpose

Buzzing and Bumbling

Colorpoint Quilter

Scraps of Life

Daisy Days - You are here!

Stitchduchess

Life @ RuffHaven

AnnieOak Designs

Grandmama's Stories

Suebee's World

Handmade by Mama 

Thanks to Madam Samm for organizing another fun hop and to Kristen for being a great cheerleader!

More Penny Sampler blocks

I have gotten a week behind in my Penny Sampler blocks.  Sigh.  Hopefully I can catch up before it ends up being two weeks behind!!!

These were the Sunflower blocks. I decided to fussy cut the wonderful fox fabric from the Timber & Leaf line to be the flowers. Funky but I really love it.  Both are 6.5 inch blocks.

This is the Vines block. It's also 6.5 inches.  My thread color for the sketch stitching is so light its hard to see in photo's.  The little leaves were a bit tricky to get smooth edges and pointy points...they are tiny.

This is the Spruce Forest block. Its 9.5 x 18.5.  I enjoyed making this one.  Rachel had a clever way of cutting the pieces for those elongated triangles that was new to me and worked great.  The background fabric is a lovely pale yellow.  My pics do not do the fabric justice.  Trust me, though, its soft and lovely.

Now to catch up and get this weeks blocks started.  I still have till Monday, right?   :)

Little Village block

This was my favorite block of the sampler and I'm so glad I love my own! :)  

Trying to get the points pointy was really fussy.  I know it would have been just as fussy if I was needle turning but its so easy to think that what I know best would have been easier.   This sketch stitching is definitely SO much faster than needle turning.  I'd still be sewing if I was doing this by hand.

As a little P.S.....here is a screen shot of my finished Retro Sapphire top that was on my design wall last Monday.  I never did get a pic but they took one at work to put on Instagram. 

That's a quick finish for me!!!  Who knows, though, how long till I get it quilted.  LOL!

Two More Penny Sampler blocks

This week we've had more fun with machine applique and sketch stitching.

This is my mitten block:

I really like it!  There is only one in the quilt but I like it so much I may add another.

This is the Clover block:

I thought the aqua thread I am using for the sketch stitching was too hidden on the gray background so I used darker thread...but now I'm not so sure.  

I'm finding that photographing these soft colors with my little point and shoot just isn't showing the fabrics off very well.  Sigh.  

I am working on another block we were assigned this week.  Its more complicated but I hope to get it at least pieced tomorrow....then maybe get the applique done on Monday.

Design Wall Monday - Retro Rubies

I haven't done a Design Wall Monday post in ages!  Mostly because I have the same quilt on my main design wall that was there ages ago.  Yikes!   Too many distractions with other projects.  

I do have an alternate design wall and that's where I'm gonna show one of my distraction projects. 

 Back in May I got excited about the Retro Rubies quilt a-long which I wrote about here.

I cut everything out but never did finish the top while the quilt a-long was happening.  I decided it was time to get that project done so I worked all weekend!

All the blocks are done and most of the sashing is on too. I just have a bit more sashing - 5 to be exact - and then I'll be done.  Woo hoo!  I'm calling mine Retro Sapphires.  :)

For some reason I sewed way too many curved blocks and had extras.  I used them to make another flower (with no sashing) and a label for the back.

Linking to Design Wall Monday with Judy here.

Penny Sampler Heart block

This weeks Penny Sampler lesson was on machine applique.  Rachel did a lot of "sketch" stitching on her applique blocks. Since that's something I've never done, I decided to use that method for my blocks.  The applique pieces are turned under using starch and ironing over a template.  Then you just straight stitch around three times...in a "messy" or not perfect way.  That was actually hard for me!!!   I naturally found myself going over the first line exactly and had to work at missing it.   LOL!    

I am using a blue Aurifil thread that I got in one of my goody bags from Spring Market.   It goes wonderfully with the blues I chose for this quilt.

This is a 6.5 inch single heart block....just one in the quilt.   There is also a 12 inch block with four hearts in the quilt but I'm not a fan of heart blocks so I think I'm going to skip that one.  Will decided later what will go in that spot.  

Can't wait for our next blocks!

Penny Sampler

Happy summer!   I have been absent from blogging for a couple of months.  I haven't done much sewing...a few odds and ends but nothing I care to blog about.  And summer has been fantastic here in the Northwest.  Clear blue skies and more clear blue skies.  That calls for lots of outside relaxing.  

I'm excited about a new project I'm starting.  One of my favorite blogs to read is Stitched in Color by Rachel Hauser.  I have taken two of her online classes - Curves and Handstitched - and totally enjoyed them. She is a really good teacher.  Her current class is called Penny Sampler.  The main focus is a wonderful Scandinavian inspired sampler quilt that Rachel designed. She is going to cover machine applique, paper piecing and precision piecing during the months of this class.  While I already know those three skills I am still taking the class because I LOVE the quilt.  :)

That deer fabric in the lower right hand side (Timber and Leaf by Sarah Watts for Blend Fabrics) was my focus fabric for pulling prints and some solids for the sampler.  Some I'm not 100% sure of....may use a tiny amount or may leave out altogether.  I love this stage of starting a quilt.   Class starts tomorrow and I can't wait to get started!

Lunch Boxes

I offered to make a quilt top for a project my boss is participating in and finished it in record time!   It's called "Lunch Boxes" by Modern Quilt Relish.   

I got the fabric on a Thursday (Kona solids in Mariner colors) and finished it on the following Monday....and that included having grand kids over on the weekend.   :)     Its a simple pattern so I knew it'd go fast.   I didn't volunteer to quilt it (not my thing) so it will be fun to see what it looks like when quilted.

It's "distractions" like this that keep me from finishing many of my own tops!!!!

Fabulous Little Random Things

Round two of the Fabulous Little Random Things Swap (FLiRTS) is over and now that my partner, Susan, has received her gifts (and loved them....phew!) I can show you what I made.

One of the items on my partners list was a fabric basket and round if possible.....and that's the one I chose to make.  Purple is her favorite color.

So tada:

Pink Chalk carries this great pattern called the Special Occasion Gift Tote by Sew Fun.  It was easy to follow and easy to make.  I'll be making another some day.

It's a nice size and has these dividers all around the inside.  I left half as dividers and the other half I made pockets.

In the swap we only need to make one item on the list (we list 5 things) but when I saw this zombie zippered pouch on Happy Sew Lucky blog I knew I had to make one!  My partner also listed a zippered pouch for a first aid kit and she has wonderful sense of humor....so I knew she'd love him as an extra.

Aren't his insides hysterical?   Oh how I wish I could have found some zombie band aids to put inside!

I also had chosen a fabric basket on my list of 5 things.   The wonderful gal who had me made this incredible basket for my collection of Perle cotton threads.  I was in love with it the minute I saw it in the Flickr pool.  

Sil does amazing paper piecing. I am always so impressed with the blocks she makes!   Can you see the cute spool quilting she did?  Love it.  Everything about this basket is perfect.  

Can't wait for the next round of swapping!   :)

Mail Sack

I made myself a new bag using the Mail Sack pattern by Pink Chalk Studio.

I've made this bag 3 times now and love how easy the pattern is to use.  My boss is a great pattern writer!  I made the smaller size this time and added an outside pocket.  Took a bit of time to fussy cut the outside fabric where I put the zippered pocket so you couldn't see the seams.  Turned out pretty good.

Retro Rubies

When I first saw Alyssa's Retro Ruby quilt and the announcement for a quilt-a-long, I knew I was going to participate!   I like the quilt....love piecing some curves....and I wanted to try out some of the new In The Beginning solids we got in at Pink Chalk.   This is the bundle I chose:

 I can never have enough blue!  

The blocks are very straight forward. Only two curves to sew.  They sewed up fast....love that!!!

Four blocks make one "flower" shape.  This is them together without the sashing between.  I'll be adding that once all my blocks are done and arranged how I want them.   I'm making the wall hanging size so I only need to make 20 more.  You might actually get to see the finished top before too long..........if I don't get distracted by another "have to make it" quilt.  LOL!