What Are Quilters Blogging About Today?

In quilting today, we have thousands upon thousands of fabrics in an ever-changing palette available to us. When we enter a quilt shop, we find that beautiful array of color and fabric irresistible. As a result, it is rare that we meet a quilter who does not have a substantial stash. Have you noticed, though, for many of us, when we go to put fabrics together for a quilt we never seem to have quite what we need? There always seems to be something missing but we don’t know what.

It is no secret that I love color and ...

Boredom – something I do not experience. Except for yesterday. Oh my, it hard! Way too hot to go outside. Wasn’t feeling the sewing vibe which resulted in unsewing. Became a couch potato for a while and that was really not fun – increased the boredom a gazillion percent! Cleaned up my studio – oh boy, that took all of 30 minutes! Couldn’t work on the computer because Hubby was rebuilding it. Finally, I pulled out my bin of polka dot fabrics.

And do have a fair amount of polka dots because I really love them. I laid them all out ...

An Island Batik Ambassador Adventure

Our Ambassador challenge for July: Baby and Crib quilts. Wonderful timing as there is a family I know expecting a baby and of course I wanted to make a quilt. I decided to go with a mountain theme, “baby bear,” and picked out some great tan, brown and green Island Batiks. The piecing was done using Aurofil Thread and for the quilting I used two Superior Threads’ Fantastico, both variegated. They absolutely quilt like a dream!

This was not looking like your typical baby quilt with bright primary colors or batiks, but I really liked ...

This is the second in the Creative Color Selection Series.
These posts share helpful ideas to choose colors and give you inspiration for your next creative project – no matter what medium that is!

Taking a walk is a great way to pick colors or get ideas for your next project.
I’m not talking just quilts – this can work for anything
Writing, Music, Painting, Quilting, etc…you get the picture.

While my blog focuses on on Quilting and Baking -my mission is to inspire all creative artists.

Taking a walk does wonders with or without a camera.

• It’s good ...

A couple we are quite fond of are getting married this fall and I was so excited to make them a quilt. Did you get that – they are getting married this October and the quilt is done!! Not only did I really want to make them a quilt, but I was excited about the design I chose and the colors to go with their décor.

There were quite a few gray fabrics in my stash and I had fun picking out several more. The oranges were a little more challenging. I didn’t want a “Halloween orange,” but more of ...

This week’s episode is all about color and what your choices say about your personality. My baby sister, Wenonah, is an acrylic artist and has been fascinated by color for most of her life. Thanks sis, for joining me on my podcast!

Recently a quilting friend was going through some medical difficulties.  As a show of support, a call went out for 12 inch finished blocks. Within just a couple of weeks the blocks were assembled and a long arm quilter, who also made a block, quilted it. As soon as it was bound it was quickly delivered. The recipient is such a kind, warm and generous person and is also a very talented quilter. Below is the portion of the label with a message. The names of all who participated were also listed on the label.

Here are just a few ...

The sewing table is ready, but I still haven't gotten back to sewing.  We have cheatgrass in the yard, which is pretty, but terribly invasive.  It dies off and turns brown by early July and does not provide adequate nutrition for the deer and elk, so it goes ugly fast.  DH weed-whacked most of the wild grass (no formal lawn here), but I am pulling the cheatgrass by hand from about 1/4 of the yard.  Then, we wait and see what happens next year.  Why am I telling you this?  My poor body is getting badly abused from ...

An Island Batik Ambassador Adventure

Whew – posting this with only hours to spare! Haven’t missed an Island Batik Ambassador Challenge deadline yet, and don’t want to find out what happens if I do!

June’s challenge is curved piecing. My sofa has been crying out for a quilted pillow, so here was my chance. I chose brown and gold. One half is a checkerboard and the other side is curved piecing.

Laying one piece on top of another, gentle curves were cut, pulled apart, the two to be pieced marked, pinned, then pieced. If the curves are not ...

Last week was my residency – a truly remarkable gift. I had a beautiful cabin all to myself from Monday to Monday. Now, I love to vacation and I love to go to retreats, but this was just something else. The days floated. I was afraid they were going to go by lightening speed! There was both a serenity and creative energy in the cabin. No internet – need I say more? There was a full kitchen, although three meals a day were available to me on the main campus. Each evening another resident and I hiked the 1/2 mile up ...

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Hi Everyone! Happy Summer!

Saturday I had the pleasure of teaching at BERNINA World of Sewing in Raleigh, NC. We had 6 fearless ladies, including the owner of the store!  They all brought ambitious projects and we got to work right away making their freezer paper pattern from their enlarged photo.  We paid attention to dark and light values to get the realism and depth.  And of course, their cute little faces!

Here’s a progression so you can see Drogo, emerging made by Sona:

Toward the end of the ...

My flower garden is now in full bloom with a riot of colors.

Green is natures way of setting off all the colors in a garden,

I love the colors of stain glass in this old window frame. It picks up the green of nature and also flows into the blues with red as accent.

More red directly below the deck. The smoke plant is a nice variation of the red from the globes.

On the other side of the sidewalk there is more red.

Red mosaic mirror balls on the deck.

A collection of pink gazing globes.

Variation in ...

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Hi Everyone! Happy Summer!

Summer is officially here in North Carolina, with all the heat, humidity, and thunder storms.  I love all the lush vegetation and flowers around me too.  But, I am determined to get in some quilting time in along with the pool time. How about you?  Are you getting in any quilting time?

Last time, I talked about deciding how to quilt your quilt.  And I spent the last week or so getting Opal 2 ready to quilt.  I long ago abandoned safety pin basting my quilt ...

How exciting to see Round 2 of our Round Robin! The creativity has just blown me away. My great hope is that each of the other participants is half as happy with my contribution to each quilt as I am with what they have added to mine!

First up: Judy’s quilt. The fabrics are so pretty and soft. Helen took the little scraps and did one inch squares. This was a lot of sewing and has added so much to this creation.

Second: Helen’s quilt. Judy added the curved border which really complimented all the squares and triangles ...

So the overwhelming consensus from you guys is that I should go with the design I shared yesterday for Lars's Quillow Ceremony quilt.  I played around with recoloring it in EQ7 again today to make it look more like a stained glass window:

Final Design, Maybe.  68" x 102" XL Twin

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Hi Everyone! Happy Spring!

Whenever I get to the end of making a new piece, I’m always a bit nervous (still) about how to quilt it.  Can you relate?  And then I tell myself, go back to the steps you created for your students (duh).  They work. I wrote this 5 Step Free Motion Quilting Blueprint a few years ago, but I thought I would share it again now, because I have finally finished piecing Opal #2 or “Dancing Colors”.  This blueprint is very good at the overall technical ...

I was going to wait until this quilt top was quilted, but I am so overwhelmed with the generosity of having received this quilt top, I needed to do it now. Recently Jo’s Country Junction added a page to their blog for charity projects. I posted that I would receive quilts, quilt tops and/or blocks for the Hospice group I quilt with. I immediately heard from two quilters and very quickly received this quilt top. A very big thank you to Jackie who sent it all the way from Canada!

I really like this pattern and am going ...

We had lots and LOTS of rain this past month. In one week alone we had five inches at our home! Yes, the rain is great, except it makes it a bit soggy to garden. So, what to do? Sew! I’ve also been getting my projects ready for the June week long residency I will be enjoying. Normally my end of month wrap-up’s progress list shows all. However, I’ve prepped six charity projects to bring with me for the residency, and will group them together for now. (Note: Below list updated May 31, 2017)

Yes, I am ...