Lynda’s Quilt

Here is another customer quilt.  This one belongs to Lynda and will be in the East Cobb Quilt Show in three weeks.  Her cousin gave her the fabric for Christmas and when she was coming to town for a visit, Lynda decided it was time for her to make the quilt.  I like how it turned out.

This last photo is the back of the quilt.  I had a hard time getting the quilting to show in most of the photos so thought you might be able to see it on the back.

I delivered it to her at the guild meeting this morning and she said she liked it a lot!  Now all she needs to do is bind it and put the sleeve for hanging on it.

Melinda

Beginning Machine Piecing – Second Class

Yesterday was the second class of the current Beginning Machine Piecing Class.  We started working on nine patch and nine patch variation blocks.  Also I had one student that had to miss last weeks first class so tried to get her caught up.

Here are her fabrics

and here are her first blocks

The next group of photos is of the homework that was done – lots of rail fence blocks.

Here are some of the nine patch blocks that were made during class.

Many of them are still struggling with a “scant” 1/4 inch seam but they are working on it.  I really like the variety of blocks that are being made.

Melinda

Progress on Halloween Quilt

I worked a little on the Halloween quilt this morning before going to work (Tiny Stitches is open on Sunday’s from 1-5).  This is a very easy pattern called Wacky Devine Nine from Two Wacky Women (my sister’s company).

Somehow, while sewing the fabrics together I mixed them up so had to do a little unsewing before getting them resewn in the proper order.  Here is is on my design wall in what I think is the final setting.

This is such a quick and easy quilt to make.  I have a striped inner border and orange polka dot outer border.  I still need to pick up a backing – I forgot to get it today so will try to remember to get it on Wednesday when I go to teach the wonderful beginners.

Melinda

Exactly the Same Only Different

My sister Robin and I frequently sew together and make quilts that start out with the same fabric but when we end up, we have quilts that are very different.  Several years ago, we decided to make a Hidden Wells quilt from a Mary Ellen Hopkins pattern.  We went to M & L Fabrics with Billie Lauder (long story there) and she helped us pick out fabrics.  She pushed us to use fabrics that we ordinarily wouldn’t even think to pick.  We started with exactly the same fabrics but as you can see below, they look quite different.

Each of us have one daughter and they have the quilts now.  The one on the left belongs to Robin’s daughter and the one on the right is in San Francisco with my daughter.  It is on the bed in their guest room so I sleep under it when I visit.

This is a fun quilt to make and we had a great time doing them.

Melinda

Sewing Fabric – New Pillowcases

I absolutely love this new sewing fabric.  I am attracted to almost any fabric with a sewing theme but I really like this line.  I admit that I bought a couple of yards of each fabric without knowing what I might make out of it.  I finally decided I wanted a couple of pillowcases so of course I needed to buy fabric to make them.  Here it is!

I plan to use the pattern on the left for the pillowcase cuff, the small light piece for the flange.  The pillowcase main fabric will be the spools of thread for one and the bolts of fabric for the second one.  I hope to get them made tomorrow.

Melinda

Beginning Machine Piecing – New Classes

It is time for another 6 week session of Beginning Machine Piecing at Tiny Stitches.  I have two classes – one in the morning and a second one in the afternoon.  For some reason, several of the students were told not to purchase fabric before the class.  I always encourage them to get the fabric ahead of time.  Anyway, it was very busy but we managed to get through the first class and they all did great!

One of the things I enjoy is seeing the different fabric choices people make.  Here are the ones that were worked on today.

Aren’t they all great choices?  We worked on learning to press, iron and cut the fabrics accurately and how to get a 1/4 inch seam every time.  They also started making rail fence blocks.  I teach from an Alex Anderson book called Start Quilting and we make a simple little quilt with 6 inch blocks.

Next week we move on to nine patches.

Melinda

Carol’s Fourth of July Quilt

I finished another customer quilt this afternoon.  Carol took the same class I did last year with Judy Niemeyer.  Unfortunately, my quilt is still in about a million little pieces instead of being a beautiful quilt like Carol’s.  Just one more project on my UFO list.

Anyway, here is Carol’s quilt now that it is quilted.

Melinda

Two More Blocks for my BOM

Most of the people at guild have finished their 2009 BOM but I am still plugging away.  I still have several more blocks to make plus the feathered star for the center of the quilt.

Here is the cover of the pattern as a reminder.  Almost everyone is doing a two color quilt using a light background and either red or blue for the second color.  Most are doing controlled scrappy quilts with several different reds or blues or whatever.

This is my stack of neutral fabrics.  I don’t think anyone else is using a dark background and I am sometimes confusing myself reading the pattern and mixing up the background and color but the finished blocks make it worth while.

Here is my other color – lime green of course.  I am really liking how it looks with the dark background.

Here are the two blocks I made today.

I have discovered that making this quilt really scrappy is much more time consuming than just using a few fabrics in each block.  I have done this many blocks being very scrappy so that I guess I need to keep it up. 

Melinda

Doggies

Both of my little doggies are getting to be senior citizens.  Max (Yorkie) will be 15 this year and although we don’t know exactly how old Chula (Chihuahua) is because she was rescued.  We have been in the South for 10 years now and we got her soon after we arrived here.  She is probably 12 or 13 now.

Max takes a heart pill every night and doesn’t have many teeth but he does have a strong personality and is convinced that the world (at least our house) revolves around him.  Chula seems to agree with him and waits for him to eat first, drink first and then happily goes after him.

Can you tell that we love these little dogs.

Melinda

Yet Another Customer Quilt

I have been busy quilting this week.  This is another very nice quilt by Liza.

I did feathers in the two borders and dwirling in the center of the quilt.  I really like how it fives definition to the quilt with the quilting but doesn’t take over.

I started quilting on another customer quilt that is a lot of fun.  It is a Judy Niemeyer pattern and is out of wonderful bright batiks.  I am enjoying quilting on it.

Melinda