Guacamole Quilt

I am working on a quilt for Tiny Stitches It is a sample for the shop so we can make kits available, plus I am planning on teaching it in a class. It is made from the beautiful Ramblin Rose fabric by Marti Michell. This fabric is used for a BOM that we have at the shop called Ramblin Rose meets Jamestown and the link above shows you her latest book called Kaleidoscope ABCs. The quilt I am making is on the cover of the book and is called Ramblin Rose with Guacamole and Extra Salsa on the Side. Quite a long name for a beautiful quilt.

This first photo is of the focus kaleidoscope blocks. These took me most of a day to cut and complete. This quilt requires a design board or in my case a design tablecloth that I can spread out on the floor. The guild had a one day retreat late last month and this is what I finished on that day, along with getting all the other pieces cut, which was a major job in itself.

Here is the quilt after laying out some of the alternate blocks. The next step is to add the guacamole (the green triangles) to each of the alternate blocks. The salsa on the side is the pink/read small triangles that fill out the alternate kaleidoscope blocks. I am working on them, in between guild meetings and quilting on customer quilts.

I am currently in the middle of quilting the Angels Among Us quilt for Tiny Stitches. It is a fun, fusible applique and embroidery quilt and I am custom quilting it.

Spent the morning at a guild meeting. The President called this morning and since she was not feeling well, I ran the meeting. Everything went smoothly and we had a great show and tell session with our challenge quilts. Unfortunately, I did not finish mine but many others did. The challenge this time, was to use a specific block (log cabin, pinwheel, sawtooth star, bears paw, Dutchman's puzzle or churn dash). They were assigned a block by having them numbered and they rolled a die to select the one they had to use. This block needed to be used at least once in their quilt. In addition to the block, they needed to use a stripe and some kind of embellishment. We saw crystals, rickrack, buttons, embroidery, dimensional applique and probably some others that I can't remember now.

Everyone seems to enjoy the challenges we have done. Time to start thinking about the next one.

I am back!

Sorry I have not been posting but I got a new car, lost my camera again - this time for good and bought a new one. I took two longarm classes out at the Gammill dealer's studio with Jamie Wallen. He is great and I learned a lot.


We did one day of what he calls Mystical Cotton Tracks. Lots of freehand overalls and his wonderful flurry of angels. We spent a long time drawing and drawing. He really pushes you to fill sketch pads with designs and then they come much easier when you get on the machine. He is right.

The next day, we did a day of thread painting using the sketch pads again and the longarm. It was great and really fun. I actually did a great dragonfly! The way he described it - it was easy.

PT Cruiser

I bought a new PT Cruiser yesterday. I went to get my camera to take a picture of it to post and guess what - I can't find it again. I know I had it at the quilt show on Sunday and have been through everything I brought home and still can't find it.

Anyway - the PT Cruiser is red and very cute. I had done a lot of research about cars on the internet so actually buying it was fairly easy. I spent the afternoon looking and drove it home last night. Even got the rental car turned back in before I had to pay for it - the insurance covered 8 days and that is how long I had it.

I guess I will go camera shopping again. I looked at one place today and found a lime green camera but it used AA batteries and I won't buy one that doesn't have a rechargable battery.

Raffle Quilt and Quilt Show

Here is a photo of me with the raffle quilt at the Nashville Show. Today was the last day of our quilt show and we held the drawing for the quilt. It was won by one of my quilting customers, Linda. It was thrilling to have her win. She had been at the show earlier in the day but had gone home. I was able to call her to let her know that she had won. She was so excited. She drove back to the show and we were able to give her the quilt to take home.



She just sent me a wonderful message about how much she loves the quilt. It is so great to have someone win that appreciates all the work that went into it and will treasure it.



It was really exciting to have someone I sold a ticket to, actually win. I do thank the rest of you who bought from me and I wish each of you could have won - especially me! It is great that the quilt will live with someone who loves it and since it is based on a landmark here in Marietta, Georgia, it is nice that she lives here in Marietta.

Prize Winning Quilts

Here are my ribbons from the quilt show. Aren't they beautiful?


The quilt above was pieced by Charlotte and won second place in the Two-Person category. It is a wonderful quilt and quite well pieced. Each curved seam was flat and the bright stars are wonderful.

I quitled a feather border and chalked the spine for the first time. After chalking it, I did freehand feathers on it. In each of the different background fabrics, I did a different freehand fill. I used black thread for all of this. Also stitched in the ditch around the stars and on each side of the small inner border.

I then switched to a King Tut multi-colored thread and did each star as it spoke to me. They are all similar but different, if you know what I mean.

The above quilt by Jan won first price in the Two-Person category. This quilt started out in a workshop earlier this year by Sharyn Craig where we made glorified nine-patch blocks. Jan is so good with color and has a great imagination and is so much fun to quilt for. She added sashing to the quilt and set the blocks on point, creating a flower look.

I then quilted fern feathers in the red and did a continuous curve in the nine patches. In the outside border, I did a larger feather fern border. I used variegated black/white thread for the whole quilt.

Tomorrow is the last day of the show and I will take more photos then and post them. I have photos of my two individual entries and more of the other quilts that I quilted for others.

Camera Found

Well, I hate to admit it, but my camera wasn't really lost - it just got misplaced. Thank goodness Office Depot was out of the one Bill wanted to buy last night. When I came home from judging on Monday - at 10:30 pm after leaving home at 9:30 am, I apparently put my tote bag into another larger tote for some reason that evidently was clear to me at the time, but not now.

Anyway, the battery is charging and I will be leaving to work Saturday Sampler at the shop and then on to the quilt show for the rest of the day and should have photos to post tonight.

Quilt Show Update

I am really excited today. Last night was the preview at the quilt show and two of the quilts that I quilted won! Unfortunately, I also lost my camera during the judging on Monday so can't take a photo to show you but I guess I will have to go buy a new camera since I can't stand not having one.

Anyway, in the two-person category, quilts that I quilted won both first and second place. This category is the largest one and had 95 entries so it is quite a compliment to share these prizes. After much discussion earlier this year, we decided to award two ribbons so each person in the two-person category gets one. The piecers ribbons are hanging on the quilts at the show but I got to bring mine home.

Hopefully, I will get a new camera before the quilt show is over so I can get photos of them while they are hanging. Both Jan (First Place) and Charlotte (Second Place) are wonderful piecers and both give me the freedom to use my imagination and creativity on their quilts. I love to quilt for both of them.

Goodby Little Car

Well, the insurance company called today to let me know that the car is a total loss. Even though I knew that, it is sad. I have been saying that I was going to drive the car until it died but as my friend Danielle pointed out - I did and it is dead now.

Next on the list of things to do is to buy a new car. I am not in the mood to buy a car, I don't want to but I do want to go places so I guess I will have to. Bill is busy reading car ads and he and Mike plan to go car shopping for me. As long as they don't actually buy one for me, I guess they can do the shopping. I think it is a man thing to like to go car shopping.

Bad Day Yesterday

Yesterday didn't start out as a bad day. I put a quilt on the frame that needs to be done for the quilt show and got it started. I had an appointment to get my haircut so hopped in the car to go to Marti's house. At the end of my street, I turn left but this time, a speeding car didn't see me and hit me - hard.

I called 911 right away but fortunately an officer just happened to drive by right after it happened. My car got turned completely around and headed back up my street again. I have heard that most accidents are very close to home - this one was just about 1 block from my house.

Also, the fire department and an ambulance came. Luckily Bill was close by at the dentist and I was able to call him and he also arrived very soon. I decided not to go in the ambulance but agreed to go to the ER.
I don't really think the car can be fixed but the insurance company will hopefully decide that - and soon. I think the frame is bent.

I actually broke the driver's side window with my head. Once we got to the ER, they put my neck in a brace and did a cat scan, as well as x-ray's of my neck. After about 4 1/2 hours, they decided I disn't have any damage that they could identify except for bruises and abrasions. They gave me some pain pills and sent me home.

The quilt show is next week and I still have a couple of quilts to finish. I got one done today that was fairly simple but still took quite a while. I have my color rainbow to finish.

I still have a sore head with a lump on it and seatbelt bruises, a stiff neck and assorted other pains but overall, it wasn't bad. Fortunately, the young man who hit me didn't appear to have any injuries at all.

Quilting

Pholph's Scrabble Generator My Scrabble© Score is: 35. What is your score? Get it here.

I have been quilting since I got home from Nashville. I finished a quilt for my sister and a baby quilt for a customer. I am finishing up a custom quilt job for a quilt for the quilt show and have 2 more to work on this week. I still have my color rainbow to quilt in time for the show so will be busy for the next week or so. I will try to post some pictures soon.

I foud the scrabble score generator in another blog so did my business name.

Linda's Comfort Quilt

Here is Linda with her comfort quilt. She came here to Atlanta so we can go to Nashville for the quilt show. I finished the quilting on the quilt a couple of weeks ago, finally got the binding on and gave it to her. I had put it on the bottom of the guest room bed but gave it to her before bedtime.

The blocks were made by different Quilting Sisters and were put together by Jan. I quilted it with a freehand feather and used a light purple toile for the backing. I bound it with the same light purple.

Great News! Semi-finalist at Nashville

I am so excited! We just found out today that the raffle quilt I quilted for the East Cobb Quilt Guild is in the semi-finals for an award at Nashville. I know I have talked about the quilt before before but I am so excited about it going to Nashville and now to hear that it is being seriously considered for an award that I had to talk about it again!

Once again, the quilt was designed by Tiny Stitches . It was pieced and appliqued by members of the guild and then I quilted it. It is a beautiful quilt and will be given away on September 16 at our quilt show. I have bought a lot of tickets and hope I win it!

Last year, two quilts that I quilted were in the show at Nashville but didn't get a ribbon but it was still exciting to go see them. I am going up on Thursday to Nashville but the awards are actually being given out on Wednesday. I can't wait to have my picture taken in front of the quilt. Even if it doesn't win anything, it is such an honor to have it being considered as a semi-finalist.

Two Quilts accepted in Guild Show

I got my letter today from the East Cobb Quilt Guild about what quilts were accepted into the show. I had entered 3 quilts and 2 were accepted. I guess this means that I have to finish quilting the Color Rainbow. The Black and White is finished and is hanging at Tiny Stitches. I am going to teach it in a class in a couple of months. I do need to add a sleeve to it before the middle of September.

I have three more customer quilts that need to be finished before the show so will be busy quilting for the next couple of weeks. I delivered one today but the next ones are larger and require custom quilting so will take much longer to finish.

Crazy Quilted Teddy Bear

I belong to a Crazy Quilting list for Georgia called, of course, GeorgiaCrazyQuilters. One of the members was talking about making a crazy quilted teddy bear and I remembered that I made one when I was living in Australia. Originally, I was going to give it to my daughter but realized that she wouldn't appreciate it so decided to keep it. It sits on a quilt rack/shelf in the guest room and I had almost forgot about it.

I took a class at the local patchwork shop (what is know as the LQS in America) and we made teddy bears. The pattern was made out of brown paper so mush have been made by the teacher. I think there were 4 or 5 weekly classes in all.

Here is the front of Teddy - I used quite a few pink and green fabrics and did embroidery on all the seams, plus added some lace and ribbons. I also did silk ribbon embroidery on some of it. The Teddy is nicely stuffed, quite firm and is jointed so that his legs and arms move freely.

Here is his backside. I am quite proud of him.

Christmas In July Bling

Here is one of my Christmas in July quilts for Tiny Stitches It is a small wallhanging only about 25 inches square but was a lot of fun to make. It is made with 2 inch strips and is a quilt as you go bargello. If you can keep the strips in the right order, it goes together easily.


After quilting it, I added crystals! I did a star on top of the tree and then rays of crystals falling out of the star in the corner. Then I added more on the tree. I only stopped when I ran out of crystals. The photo is not very straight because it is hanging fairly high at the shop and the angle is bad but you can get the idea of the quilt. I plan to teach this in a class since I think it would be a fun one to make with others.

Another Project from Las Vegas

Along with Mary Ellen Hopins, Jan Krueger taught for one day. She has worked with Mary Ellen for many years but does great work on her own. The photo that follows is her sample quilt that she brought to Las Vegas. The name of the quilt is "When Law Meets Order" and is the second of a series of three patterns.

The following is a photo of my blocks on the design wall. Since I forgot my fabric at my sister's house, we went out and bought some new fabric - of course in my favorite color, lime green. I also used black and white and purple as an accent. Robin made one block and decided not to make the whole quilt so I used it in my quilt. By the end of the seminar, I completed all the blocks but haven't had time to get them sewn together so it joins many of my other UFO's.

The pattern is basically a log cabin but it is a hexagon log cabin so is different that any other one I have made. Keeping the 60 degree angle is a bit of a trick but once I figured that out, they were easy and fun.

Doll Quilt Received

I opened up my package from my swap partner Michele after I got home from mailing her doll quilt to her. She beautifully wrapped up my new quilt and packed it so nicely - better than Christmas.

Here is the front of the quilt - it is heavily quilted with lines about 1/4" apart except for the circles. They are appliqued on and then quilted with more circles. It is a very nice quilt. The colors are not very good in the photo as the green is much more green than what is shown.

Here is the back of the quilt - you can see all of the quilting. By the way, she washed it before sending it to me so all my worry about washing hers was a waste of time - she likes the crinkly look like I do. I am very pleased with this swap and would love to do it again.

More Fun in Las Vegas

We drove to Las Vegas on Monday morning after getting off the cruise ship on Sunday morning. First we had to pack up and take my husband to the airport to send him back to Atlanta. He left Sunday afternoon and we had a quiet night. We got up early and loaded up the car for Las Vegas and 5 days of sewing.

I had an extra suitcase that didn't go on the cruise that was filled with my projects for Christmas in July at Tiny Stitches. I had two projects that needed to be completed and since Christmas in July was scheduled for 4 days after I was scheduled to go home, I planned to work on them in Las Vegas. Of course, when we got there and started to unload the sewing machines, design boards and sewing supplies, I discovered that we had left the extra suitcase at Robin's house. Not good. I had no sewing supplies or fabric - what was a person to do - we went to the quilt shop and to JoAnn's. Of course, I also used Robin's supplies and fabrics as well.

Here we are - in all our glory. Not very flattering photos but unfortunately that is what we looked and felt like after a day or two there. I am the one standing and my dear sister is seated at the sewing machine.

As long as I am posting unflattering photos, here is another one of us at our sewing machines. Fortunately, Robin has an older Pfaff besides her good one and I always use it. Can't remember what model it is, but a very nice older machine.

We worked on lots of different projects other than the log cabin that I posted yesterday. I will show a couple more in the next few days.

We packed up and left Friday morning to drive back to Seal Beach. It was very hot, as usual but we wanted to get back to Southern California in time to visit one more time with my son and his family before they flew back to Sweden Friday night.

We were about 10 miles from Baker (approximately in the middle of nowhere) when we had a tire blowout! Robin is an excellent driver and managed to pull off the road with no problem. The same thing had happened to her a few months ago on the way to San Francisco with the other back tire - apparently the tires were defective but who was to know. Anyway, she called AAA to have them come and help us. She talked to a dispatcher who wanted to know where we were - which we had a pretty good idea that we were approximately 10 miles south of Baker. She kept asking us for landmarks so I took a photo of the type of area we were in. I accidentally deleted the photo and blogger will only let me put it back in at the top of this post so that is what that photo is. There are no landmarks in the desert - just more desert.

The temperature was over 100 but fortunately, we were able to run the air conditioning while waiting for the nice man to come rescue us. It took about 45 minutes. A highway patrol officer stopped to make sure we were OK and said he would wait with us but we were fine. He promised to check on us as he did his patrol. We also had one good Samaritan stop and offer to help but we thanked him and sent him on his way.

The tow truck arrived and our tire got changed. We had one of those little spare tires, but were lucky enough that we were only two miles from a place that sold tires. We got back on the road and drove those two miles with the emergency blinkers going and not going over 45 mph. Of course the average speed in that area is over 70 but we made it safely. Fortunately, the tire place had a tire that fit the minivan and Robin bought it at an outragous price and they were able to put it on right away so we were only about 2 hours late at this point.

We did make it in time to visit with Joe, Karin and the kids for a couple of hourse before they had to head to the airport for their long journey back to Stockholm. By the time we got home, we collapsed and had wine for dinner - didn't even eat real food.

Of course, the Christmas in July projects still needed to be done but that was for Saturday - I will talk about that in the next post.

Log Cabin Fun with Mary Ellen Hopkins

After the cruise, my sister and I went to Las Vegas to spend 5 days with Mary Ellen Hopkins. She has been holding this seminar in Las Vegas called the Las Vegas Strippers for 20 years. One of the women, Aggie, has attended all 20 of them. Robin and I have been to 5 or so over the last 10 years. I think Robin has attended a couple more than I have since it is within driving distance for her and a plane ride for me.

We always have a great time with Mary Ellen and the other friends we have made over the years. The first time we went, there were only 9 people attending and this year there were about 45. It is a lot of fun. Of course, July in Las Vegas is hot, hot, hot but since we spend most of our time in the sewing room, it doesn't really matter if it is 108 or 111 outside.

We worked on several projects over the 5 days but I have posted just one here. Actually two photos, but one project by Robin and one by me. Mary Ellen has a collection of small log cabin quilts/wall hangings that she has made from very large scale prints. We have always liked these quilts but never actually got around to making one. This year we decided to do it.

The quilt above is mine. The fabric used has a brown background and bright pink and green flowers. It cuts up very nicely doesn't it.

Here is Robin's uilt. She used a wonderful Asian fabric with flowers and cranes on it. These are very easy to make, the strips are cut 1 1/4" so finish at 3/4". You need to cut small to get the right look. We both decided to set ours on point by making two larger log cabin blocks to use as setting triangles.

I hope to get mine quilted and will donate it to the Small Treasures auction that will be held at the ECQG show in September. I have a couple more pieces of fabric that I want to try this project with. I will put the original fabric on the back so you will be able to see what it looks like before being cut up.

Back from Vacation - Doll Quilt

I am finally back from vacation. We had a great time and I will post some photos in the days to come. Everything is so far behind and I have so much to do to get caught up at home so I am just going to post my doll quilt and cover more in the days to come. Here is the doll quilt. It is about 20 24 inches. I made it from some of the blocks that we traded at guild last year. I added a plain border with simple blocks in the corners. I had fun quilting it - it is so small that it was very easy to quilt.

You can see the quilting better from the back. It has a crinkled, old-fashioned look. I tried to use spray adhesive to baste it and it got all globby on the borders so after the quilt is done, I had to wash it. Actually, I like the look of quilts after they are quilted much better than new fabric.

I hope my trade partner feels the same and likes it as much as I do.

Quilt accepted at Nashville

We found out the the guild raffle quilt was accepted at Nashville. How exciting is this! This will be the second year that a quilt that I have quilted is hanging there. Last year, 2 quilts that I quilted for Jan were accepted. I know I have posted photos before but just can't resist posting them again.

We are leaving in the morning to fly to California. On Sunday we are going on a cruise with my family. There will be 17 of us, including my son and his wife and two children who live in Sweden, my daughter, her husband and son who live in San Francisco. Also going are my sister and her husband, her daughter, husband and two teenagers. Lastly, my kids father and his wife are going. We are going to have so much fun for 7 days going to Mexico.

The following week, my sister and I are going to Las Vegas, while my poor husband comes home to go back to work. In Las Vegas, we will be sewing with Mary Ellen Hopkins for 5 days before I come home the following week.

I am not taking the computer on the cruise but may have time to post from Las Vegas. I am planning on taking lots of photos.