Note to self

It is not a good idea to edit pictures and blog while your breakfast is cooking. My hasbrown ended up pretty darn crispy......

Mary's Deacon Stole part 3

The angle on this thing is going to kill me. I have another of Mary's stoles to use as a pattern and I've still taken this apart twice and will need to do it just one more time at the join in the middle. Frustrating, but...the end result will be worth it.

Journal Quilt #4 - a little late

A Little Darkness - much light
stamped, apliqued

Here's what the writing says
Friends are angels who lift us up to our feet when our spirit has trouble reembering how to fly

I like this one - finally. One of the things I am trying to do with this is only use scraps in my scrap box. I may not always be able to because it doesn't have that many larger pieces in it, but that's part of the challenge.

Mary's Deacon Stole part 2

Mary's hoping this will be done by the 14th of February. I'm thinking the chances are good. Here's a small sample.

5" square quilt

I picked up two sets of 5" squares that just happened to go together beautifully. I was a little short to do the size I wanted, so i added the inside panel and will do some kind of applique in there. It's not my usual type of fabric choice, so it may sit awhile till I figure out what belongs in there.

Journal quilt #3

Sunshine
painted fusible web, machine quilted

My camera battery died and I've spent a while searching for my charger. Someday I really need to get organized!!

Mary's Deacon Stole

Here's the fabric Mary choose for her green stole. I've been look at pattern options - I'm looking forward to working on this this weekend.

Michael's Stole

I had a lovely day off today and spent some time in the sewing room and finally finished Michael's stole.



Here's a close up of the dove, the cross and the flames

Journal # 2

Life is for living
painted fusible web, stamped, quilted.

This one was good - till I went overboard with the embellishment - but it is what it is. Next time I'll do more of the embellishing of the base fabric before applying the other elements.

Cat in the Studio

This is Gideon, the fat black cat. Poor guy, to get stuck with such a descriptor... His favorite spots to hang out include piles of quilts, in my scrap basket, or under the comforter on my bed. He's a funny guy and loves to walk over and sit on what I'm sewing (as it goes through the machine). I don't know what I'd do without him.

French Braids - almost finished

How exciting to get to this point. The colors don't look quite the same in this pictures - the blues are really purples, but I do like how it looks. I need to find the book for this pattern so I can figure out how to cut the edges off (right now they are layered over one another to see how it will look when it's done. So I'm off to the library tomorrow. I will need to figure out what to use for the quarter square triangles at the top - obviously, something dark to go with the purple. Then it's a question of whether to sew them directly together or do a strip of some kind between each of the long rows. That's the fun of quilting!!

New Years Eve Class - progress

On New Years Eve, Julie and I went to Cornerstone Quilts in Fairfield, CA for an overnight class/sew in. I decided to try the french braid class. All good and well, but we had signed up late and I didn't get the supply list so I came with a set of batiks and another grouping of fat quarters. Luckily the pattern called for fat quarters (although, as I found out - you had to cut very specifically or get another fat quarter [I think I did that 3 or 4 times!!!]. Several of the gals helped me with fabric selection. One in particular was absolutely excellent at it.

It wasn't one of my best nights: the sewing machine I brought had issues, I had cutting issues, I was tired from all the holiday hoopla....excuses, excuses. I was able to get most of my cutting done, but when my machine failed at midnight I decided to give it up. I had booked a room at a local hotel so I didn't need to worry about being on the road after midnight - which was a great idea. We stayed till about 12:30 and were the first to leave.

There was food, giveaways (thanks to the P&B Textiles rep) and lots of fabric to fawn over. Many thanks to the owners and staff at the shop.

The picture above is where I am on the french braid quilt. I have another 6 braids to add for the full 12 color run, then I'll do it again for the second run. I think it's going to be a gorgeous quilt when it's done.

Journal quilt #1

Hope is another four letter word
dupioni silk, beading, leaves, trim

This is my first attempt at journal quilting. I did a small drawing first and the thing I wanted to convey was hope - for the new year, for life in general, etc. Then I found a stamp that said "Be Merry" and though that Be Hope was offering more of a challenge to myself. I'm still thinking maybe it should say be hopeful - but for now it is what it is. 1 of 52 - we'll see how far I get with this.