What Are Quilters Blogging About Today?

 We all travelled back to England this week to see friends. Before we went, I made 2 more baskets as gift.

A Barbie pink one for my youngest to gift to her friend

and a blue one with horses for my eldest daughter to gift to her friend too

After my first basket following the tutorial for the binding, I didn't like the bulk at the junction so I decided to join the binding with a 45 angle and it is much neater.

I also serged the seam of the lining to have a neater finish there too ...

My basket runner is complete! I really love it. I kept the quilting simple and I like that it compliments the baskets and there isn't so much quilting that is takes away from the applique design. I'll be teaching this class this summer in Dayton, Oregon. It should be fun!

Let's have a great week!

Rope Basket Tips & TechniquesLearn my tips for making rope basket with multiple ropes and cords....

A Quilter’s Faith & Calling

This week in Quilt Conversations LIVE! Episode 17, by request, I shared my quilting journey. This was first shared with Stafford Piecemakers Quilt Guild, Stafford, Virginia. 

WATCH

WATCH

Be inspired by a story of faith. Learn how the latter part of  a photographic career and an artistic eye navigated to quiltmaking and teaching. The story weaves a tapestry of faith that encourages the hearer.

From photographer to quilter - Getting to know women in her community after a move began in a quilting group.

Learn how a brief encounter and a quilt for Jessica’s son ...

International Women’s Day - Amazon Handmade Celebrates!

Join the celebration. Amazon Handmade celebrates women and shines the light on Amazon Handmade Artisans with curated collections!

Model, designer, wife, mom and founder of Women of Today, shares a curated collection of her favorite handcrafted items.

A Handmade by Living Water Quilter basket set is included in Camila’s curated collection!  Help lift up women artisans and entrepreneurs and shop from women makers and businesses.

2020 REVIEW - A Basket Making Adventure

2020 was a year for new online ventures and experiences. I joined many who transitioned more personal and work activities to online platforms.

It was exciting to start a new venture with an Amazon Handmade shop!  Living Water Quilter, is not just quilts!   lol  There are baskets made with cotton and nylon rope accented with Kraft-tex, batik fabric and/or beads.

Kraft-tex is one of my favorite accents. I like to use the pre-washed designer colors.  The best value are the rolls available by CT Publishing.

Baskets are functional, fun and add color and ...

Level up Handmade Baskets with Kraft-tex

Wow, blue sapphire Kraft-tex is making a bold statement in a cotton basket and tray set.

Kraft-tex for this project was provided for by CT Publishing. As an affiliate I received a small commission when you click a link on this website and make a purchase.

Pink, blue and yellow variegated pastel thread emphasize texture and pattern against the pre-washed and hand-dyed sapphire Kraft-tex.

Shop Small Business and SAVE

Would you like one of my handmade baskets?  Visit my Amazon Handmade Artisan shop for a beautiful selection.  Amazon Prime members receive a $10 ...

Handmade For the Holidays

  Are you looking for unique handmade gifts or home decor to add warmth and charm to holiday celebrations?   Are you ready to SAVE and support small businesses too?

AMAZON PRIME DAY - OCT 13-14

To celebrate YOU and Handmade by Living Water Quilter AMAZON is offering a special promotion.

Prime members in the US who spend $10 or more on items sold by select small domestic brands and makers in Amazon’s store from now through October 12, 2020, get a $10 credit to use on Prime Day.

Visit my Amazon handmade Artisan shop, purchase a basket ...

Life has been very disjointed and moody lately. We have deadlines and 'have-to's' out the kazoo. Things happening that seem quite heavy. Or at least it seems that way. It could be that our get-up-and-go is feeling recalcitrant, and everything seems to take an extra dose of effort just to get done. Our kids and grandkids came to visit last weekend, so that was a wonderful window of good times. Nothing like the honest joy of little children to make everything seem just a little bit brighter for a moment or two!

The quilts in my collection are not pristine museum quality quilts by any stretch of the imagination.  Sometimes I've bought quilts that are not, well, very sturdy anymore.  (For example, the stars quilt that I have been gradually replicating.)  And sometimes lovely people give me very, uh, well-loved quilts.

Lots of hand work in the last several weeks. I finally picked the 'Melon Patch' applique back up and just slogged my way through. Why am I doing this? What in the world was I thinking? And then... Oh my, I just love these colors and fabrics. This is gonna be great! And that's generally the gist of this quilt every single time. 

Melon Patch petals all ready to sew onto the background now

Basket of Hope

I am on a basket making frenzy!  Why?  I will submit an application and hope to be accepted in a local outdoor art festival this summer. The artist application requires a photo of your booth/table set-up. So, it means I need to make baskets for the photo as well as for the festival.( Assuming I am accepted.)

I try to design/make a few baskets each week to meet my goals.  Since my schedule is over-the-top full, I often double or triple dip projects. One project will cover more than one commitment.  This time I decided ...

Gather Ye Roses is the first finish of the year! Yay! This quilt is the first in my big basket series, but somehow the last to be a true blue finish. For some reason, I was intimidated at the thought of quilting all that 'blank' cream space around the basket. After stitching on the other two though, then it all felt so much easier. Amazingly enough, procrastination does occasionally pay off...

These quilting lines are 'eyeballed', not carefully measured out for accuracy and precision....

2019 - A Fruitful Year

Is it possible I made all these quilts in 2019?!  A year for me is 10 months. I don’t sew in November and December.  I have been a busy bee!

Let’s take a gallery tour.

1) I see a small theme of light backgrounds in some Island Batik Ambassador projects.

2) These smaller projects were fun first-time techniques.

3) Geese Gone Wild made the priemer issue of Modern Monthly, an online magazine published by the Modern Quilt Guild.

4) Mini art quilts are fun between big projects. 

5)  It’s also been a year ...

Like the characters of the Winnie-the-Pooh stories, I do love a useful pot (bag or other container) to put things in.

If you are unfamiliar with the story about Eeyore’s birthday and useful pots to put things in, here is an snippet.

Who would not be as happy as can be with a Useful Pot to put things in?

In the last few weeks, I made:

• three tote bags
• two divided baskets
• one lined basket.

Yes, I love storage!

The three tote bags used the basic bag pattern from Nicole Mallalieu’s The Better Bag Maker. After making my ...