Friday, July 31, 2015

Lisa Calle


Lisa Calle has a quilt hanging in the Brigham City Museum.  She is also the featured guest on The Quilt Show which debuts August 3rd.  You can read more about her on her website:

http://www.lisahcalle.com


Summer is zipping by!  I've been working on quilting baby quilts, which I'll have ready to show soon!












(See trailer for The Quilt Show featuring Lisa here)
https://thequiltshow.com/daily-blog/142-newsletter/23574-trailer-1703-lisa-calle-youngmin-lee?utm_source=Infusionsoft&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=2015_07_31_Weekend_Fun_4&inf_contact_key=94c0d4b6c2bb6ef974de8eaf2c621d8f67770c12b2374b67488ea6d0d0bb6989

Thursday, July 30, 2015

Barn Quilts

My brother drove across Wisconsin and saw several of these barn quilts!  He sent me this picture along with the website:

http://www.greencountybarnquilts.com

I believe this trend started in the Midwest but is spreading in popularity.  We have one not far from us that I see on the way to Denver, but we're always driving by too fast to get a picture!  We'll have to stop and do that sometime.

If I had a barn - there would be a quilt on it :)

Wednesday, July 29, 2015

Melissa Sobotka


Here are two quilts by Melissa Sobotka that are displayed in the Brigham City Museum now through the end of August.

You can read more about her on her website at:

http://www.msfiberart.com





This photograph hardly even makes this look like a quilt!  But it is!  It looks more like a window display.  Very artistic.


Tuesday, July 28, 2015

Linda C. Anderson


Linda C. Anderson has three quilts on display at the Brigham City Museum.  Remember you can see this exhibit until the end of August!



These three quilts all feature hand-painted cotton fabric, raw-edge appliqué and machine stitching.  There are amazing - like looking at a painting.

You can read more about Linda and see more of her work at:

http://laartquilts.com



Monday, July 27, 2015

Practice, Practice, Practice!


I finished three more POTC blocks!  I really like these and enjoy making them.  I'm wondering how it will be putting them all together, as I will do that by hand also. Could be interesting!




I have quilted two baby quilts on my new Bernina!  It's SO nice to have all that space!  I don't know if it's making my machine quilting any better, but it's definitely making it easier!  I just need to keep practicing :)

Sunday, July 26, 2015

It worked!


Several months ago I wrote about a friend who wanted me to re-create a quilt that was made for her in the 1980's.  She had used it on her bed for years and it was showing signs of wear, but she loves this quilt and couldn't bring herself to part with it. She asked if I could make another very similar to it, however (thankfully!) she didn't want the sides, just the top, because she's going to fold it and lay it at the foot of the bed, just using when needed rather than as a bedspread as this one was used.

I say "thankfully" on the sides because it would have been a lot more complicated to figure out how to do those.  I did not have a pattern for this quilt - I was just figuring it out based on measurements she sent me.  The one block is Courthouse Steps and the other one was fairly easy to draft, however each of the petals (192) and the flower centers (24) were hand appliquéd on, so that took awhile.

So.... the first two photos are of her "old" quilt and these bottom two are of my "reproduction"!  I am very pleased with the way it turned out!  In fact, I like it SO much, I'm tempted to make one in a different color way for me!

She picked out the fabrics and did an amazing job matching what she had, considering the fabrics in the original quilt were all bought in the '80s.

Now I need to figure out how to quilt it.  Hers was hand quilted and I told her I wouldn't be able to do that.  She is fine with it being machine quilted - so that is next!  I'll keep you posted on the progress :)

Saturday, July 25, 2015

Eager "Helpers"


My friend Leota came over the other day because she needed a little bit of help squaring up her quilt.  After she showed me these pictures of her attempts to square it up at home I realized she has all kinds of help!  Maybe a little more than she needs, but eager helpers all the same :)

Snoopy here looks like he's settling in a for a long winter's nap.







Clyde looks quite comfortable as well!



This is my favorite picture because Tetsu here really does look like he's ready to be a helper.  So cute!  I love hearing "quilting with pets" stories - they are always so entertaining.  I have one "quilting with baby" story.  When my youngest was a baby he crawled under my sewing machine while I was piecing and sat on the presser foot - I've never sewed so fast in my life!


Back to my sewing room to practice on that new machine!!

Friday, July 24, 2015

It's Here!


Well I did it.  I bought one of those Bernina Q20 machines that I've been drooling over!  Actually my husband SPOILED me and got me one for my birthday!  I told you he is the best quilter's spouse ever.
I can hardly wait to try it out!! (Maybe it will improve my machine quilting.... I'm counting on it! :)

A big thanks to Jeff from Hi Fashion (and my husband for helping him) for spending the morning here setting it all up and teaching me how to use it!







Pretty sweet!  Better go play!

Thursday, July 23, 2015

What I've Been Doing


A friend of mine sent me a thimble from Canada for my collection!  It was so nice of her to think of me while on her travels!

I have been working on POTC blocks! (Patchwork of the Crosses)  I am amazed at how quickly these go together by hand.  I think I now have 13 blocks sewn together with another 10 or so cut out and ready to sew.  Here are my most recent two.


The consensus was to pre-wash that flannel that I am using for batting!  I actually had a hunk left so I measured it, washed it, dried it and measured again and it shrunk 2 1/2 inches!  So yesterday I unpinned this quilt, inserted the pre-washed flannel in place of the flannel that hadn't been washed and re-pinned.  I feel much better about quilting it now.

BIG NEWS tomorrow!  Stay tuned!

Wednesday, July 22, 2015

Melinda Bula

First of all - my friend Phyllis made me aware of Joann Webb's (see July 20th post) website:
http://www.jwebbquilts.com
She sells patterns for her work and you can also watch a video interview with her Heralds of Spring quilt which won an award in Paducah. Go check it out!

Melinda Bula was also featured at the Brigham City Museum quilt exhibit. I am not seeing the kangaroo paws in this quilt so if you see them, please point them out to me!




I saw Melinda on The Quilt Show awhile back - she's very artistic!



I've seen this one in a magazine and love it.  It was fun to see it in person.  It looks like a water color painting doesn't it?  I love how she did the water reflections - so pretty.

You can learn more about Melinda Bula at:
http://www.melindabula.com


Tuesday, July 21, 2015

Quilter's Spouses are the Best

I bet you can't guess whose birthday it is today! :)

I'm sharing a couple of things I've read on the internet recently.  The first is a funny speech on quilting written by the husband of a quilter.  I think quilters' spouses are the best.  I find them to be very supportive of this fun quilting adventure that brings joy to their loved ones.  You can read his speech at:
http://kaythesewinglawyer.blogspot.com/2015/06/a-speech-on-quilting.html?m=1
I read this on Ami Simms newsletter which you can find here:
https://madmimi.com/s/426746



Do you ever put pins in your mouth?  I do ALL the time!  I won't now, after reading this woman's story:
http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2012/jul/13/experience-inhaled-pin-into-lung

So, no more pins in your mouth!  Appreciate your spouse!  And have a GREAT day!!
P.S.  (My husband is the best quilter spouse ever :)

Monday, July 20, 2015

Joann Webb


Joann Webb from Missouri has at least four quilts displayed in the Brigham City Museum.  I didn't take pictures of ALL the quilts hung there but these four are hers.

Bird Plate Collection


Hand appliquéd and hand quilted.  Absolutely AMAZING detail and beautiful work.  I'm so impressed.  It looks like needle turned appliqué, I'm just wondering what method she uses.






Look at the three dimensional flowers on this block.




Not So Far East


At first I thought this one had some machine quilting, but no - it's all hand quilted.  She used glue and glitter to enhance some of the quilting lines.
















Glass cabochons for water droplets.




Morning Glory Madness


This quilt makes me want to get started on my Baltimore Album quilt.  The one I'm going to design.  The one I've been planning for years, but haven't started yet.  Oh yeah, I need to finish Dear Jane first!




Absolutly beautiful.  What an artist!