Piecemakers

We had another good meeting at Piecemakers yesterday. Usually we have a specific topic or class but not yesterday. We all just visited and shared what we are working on. Here is several of the group watching a brief demo by Michele for a fat quarter gift bag that we are going to make for Christmas. The idea is that each of us will make a bag and fill it with approximately $10 worth of goodies and then we will have a gift exchange. Should be fun!

After that, Jan arrived and brought some of her composition book covers. She has made a lot of them and has a pattern available to make them.


On the one above, she used ribbon to make the stripes and then quilted designs between each stripe. If you have a embroidery machine, you could use stitches from that.

On this one, she used some golden treads paper to draw the design on and then quilted right over the paper. She says the paper was easy to remove after that.

This one is made from batiks and she quilted around the design on the fabric. She did a great job.

Here is one that has an allover quilting design.

The last one is the one that Shannon made for Jan last Christmas. She made it for our gift exchange and Jan was lucky enough to get it. Be sure to notice Shannon's beautiful feather quilting on it. Jan modified it and calls her pattern "Shannon's Book Cover."

My Sister's Birthday Present

I finally got a photo of the table runner that I gave to Robin for her birthday. I have been wanting to post a photo of it ever since I bought it for her. First I waited because I was taking it to her last month when we went to Las Vegas. Then after it was on her table, I forgot to take a photo of it. I talked to her today and finally remembered to ask her to take a picture and send it to me.

This is made entirely from fabric selvages. On this table runner, the selvages used all have writing of some type on them.

Next is a closeup showing the variety of selvages used.

On page 48 of the September/October 2008 Quilter's Home magazine there is a selvage quilt. I have been trimming selvages for just a couple of months now but really want to make something like the quilt in Quilter's Home so I need to cut more or find friends that will give me their selvages.

The quilt in the magazine uses red as the neutral. I love it!

Fiber Art Fusion Round Robin

I have been working on one of the Fiber Art Fusion 9 by 12 pieces every month but for some reason keep forgetting to take a photo before I pass them on to Carmen. We started this in January and each piece measures 9 by 12 and is based on Timtex so is very sturdy.

The meeting is tomorrow night so I finally got this months done tonight. I added the inchies and a couple of larger plus sized inchies. I also attached the small bottle on the bottom. It has a scroll at the top that says "By the Sea we forget to count the days". I don't remember where I got it but it seemed to fit the scheme very well.
This is month 8 of 12 so there is still lots of time for others to add to it. I think we have all been somewhat intimidated by the work done before us but I am hoping that mine will come back full, not well thought out but everything added.

I also went to the second week weigh-in at Weight Watchers and lost a little more. So far I am down 3.4 lbs. So far, so good!

I also went to my Piecemakers Bee today and took some pictures but will post that soon.

Another Day at the Quilt Shop - Batiks

Well, today was another day at the quilt shop. Sharon was teaching an art quilt class and everyone was so excited and did such a great job. This quilt is what they were working on. One of the students bought green fabric for the witch's face and hands and it is really good creepy looking. They traced the basics of her face and then Sharon taught them how to paint the details. I can't believe how good they all looked.

There was a fat quarter sale and both Mary and I ended up buying fat quarters of this wonderful fabric collection. They are all batik and wonderful shades of red. The greens are nice and the blacks are really great. Of course I have no idea what I am going to do with these but they had to come home with me. Working at a quilt shop is dangerous!

Americana Quilt

I made this quilt several years ago and it has been hanging over a door for quite a long time. It is bright and cheerful and I think I might donate it for a soldier's quilt. I have always called it a picnic quilt but since we never go on picnics we really don't need one.

We had a very busy day today at Tiny Stitches. I guess now that now that school has started or is going to start this week depending on where you are in Georgia, people are starting to think more about quilting again. We had several people in from out of town that come once a year or so. It is nice that we are close enough to a major north/south highway (I75) that we get a lot of travelers.

I took the first dog quilt block into and it got a lot of interest. I hope to work on the next one this week.

I find it hard to believe that school starts at the beginning of August here in Georgia. When I was going to school in California, we started the week after Labor Day. Here they will be in school for a month or more by then. Also, it is so hot here and miserable for the kids. There must be some reason for it that I just don't understand.

Dazzling Dogs - Block 1

I finished the first block for the Dazzling Dogs block of the month that we will be having at Tiny Stitches. I embroidered his mouth and sewed on his eyes during the beginning of the Olympic Opening Extravangaza.

The fabrics I chose are a little brighter than the pattern but I am using the pattern for color inspiration. I love how this is starting out. I hope others do too.

Longarm Quilter Fabric

I am still putting away all the goodies I bought when I was in Southern California and Las Vegas. I found this fabric that I really love. I bought a kit to make a tote bag and then finished off a bolt of this fabric. I think I ended up with about 3 yards of it. I have no idea what I plan on doing with it but I really like it. I think I need to cover a notebook with some of it.

If you can't see the details, the fabric is all about longarm quilters. These ladies have realllllllly long arms. Some of the things that are written on the fabric are

A fat quarter is not a body part
Long arm quilters live long lives
She who dies with the most fabric wins

After I got home, I found out the the shop I work at - Tiny Stitches - got a bolt of this fabric. We still have some if anyone is interested.

Quilt Trail in Powder Springs

I found another interesting article in the Atlanta Journal Constitution this morning. Apparently Power Springs has a Quilt Trail. There are 9 quilts painted on buildings near the downtown area. Looks like another road trip in the plans. First the chickens and then the building art. What next?

Beginning Machine Piecing Class

I taught the second class of the beginning machine piecing class today - actually two classes since one is in the morning and the other in the evening. I took some photos of the first blocks/fabrics that they are using.





I thought I had taken a photo of each persons fabric but only got 5 of them. They are all doing so well. I love teaching beginners and seeing them grow and learn each week.

Last week they did rail fence blocks and we moved on to nine patches this week. Next week is log cabin.

Big Chicken and Little Chicken

You may not have heard of the Big Chicken but if you live in Marietta, Georgia you know about it because so many directions are given like "two blocks west of the Big Chicken" or go past the Big Chicken and turn right.

What is the big Chicken? Here it is.

It started life as a diner but has been a KFC since we have lived here. The Big Chicken sounds kind of exciting. It might not be exciting but it at least is fun. At Tiny Stitches our beginning paper piecing class is the Big Chicken.

I read in the paper yesterday that there are now little chickens around the downtown area. Here is a copy of the ones that were in the paper.

Here are 3 more. According to the article there are a couple more in process of being finished. They will be around until October so I definitely plan on going down and taking pictures of them.

Sandy Springs had turtles a few years ago. I believe Chicago had cows. The chicken is a natural for Marietta, home of the Big Chicken.

Wonderful Gift from Jan

Last Christmas, we had a gift exchange at my guild meeting. Jan received a composition book cover from Shannon. She had found a pattern in a magazine and then modified it. At the time, I told Jan how much I loved it but never imagined she would make one for me.

Jan decided to modify it further and this is the result. She picked out this wonderful bright fabric and quilted it using her Bernina BSR. Look at the great binding.
Here is the book opened. She made it to fit a standard composition book. She was able to find one that has squares rather than lines so it is great for quilt designing. The pen holder on the right is only attached at the binding so it can be moved out of the way, or used to hold the pages open. She even included a ruler so I can make straight lines.

This is the ruler pocket. Look at the alphabet beads that she decorated the pocket with. I absolutely love this gift. What a wonderful friend Jan is. Aren't I lucky.

Skip Caray - Rest in Peace

Skip Caray, announcer for the Atlanta Braves died yesterday. According to the news report, he took a nap and never woke up. He was 68 years old. If you are not from the South, perhaps you don't recognize Skip but if you follow the Atlanta Braves, he was the voice of the Braves for 30 years.

Harry Caray was Skip's father and all Cubs fans remember him fondly. He was quite a character. I remember going to one of the last Cub games that he announced. He always sang "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" at the 7th inning stretch with quite possibly the worst voice to ever sing. But he did it with such enthusiasm that everyone enjoyed it. After he died, his grandson Chip (on the left in the photo above, with his grandfather and father next to him) did the broadcasting for the Cubs. After a couple of years, he joined the Braves and now is one of the voices of the Braves. What a family tradition!

Thank you Harry and Skip - may you both rest in peace.

Elm Creek Club Today

Today was the monthly Elm Creek club at Tiny Stitches. We have been assigning 4-6 blocks every month and most of us have not been keeping up but at least we have a direction to head towards.

This is one of Roxanne's blocks. She was having a challenge getting the pieces of this block the right size. It was her birthday (and she brought a birthday cake to share) and she finally got the block done and done very well.

While Pat was out doing a little shopping, we got a chance to look at her binder of finished blocks.

While most of us are behind - she is ahead.

Don't you love the colors she is working with.

This is one of my favorite blocks. I absolutely love grandmothers flower garden blocks.

This is another block that I really like - her handles are so nicely done.

Pat said this is one of the hardest ones she has made so far. It sure looks great and lays perfectly flat!

Tomorrow is my first week weigh-in at Weight Watchers. It has been pretty easy to stay on the program but I do realize that I need to plan more for the weekends when I work. I am too tired when I get home to make good decisions and fix good food.

New Block of the Month

Busy, busy day today at Tiny Stitches. It was Saturday Sampler so lots of folks showed up.

Maetha announced a new Block of the Month and surprised all of us. It turns out that the Blocks will be Dazzling Dogs by Amy Bradley. I actually bought the patterns for this several years ago at the Nashville Quilt Show but of course never did anything with them.

I picked out fabric today for the first block and got kits cut. I hope to make the block tomorrow morning to show Maetha. Doing a sample for the shop is probably the only way I would ever get this quilt made.

Here is the first block - Don the Dane!