Christmas in May?

Not really, but a fantastic quilt -- Antique Christmas Memories. The book is by Judy Hansen of the Quilt Shop of Deland and it is an absolutely adorable quilt!

Happy Hauntings

In case you're new readers... I LOVE THIS QUILT! I should rephrase and say I LOVE HALLOWEEN! So, of course, I would love this quilt. This is the "Happy Hauntings" quilt (pattern by Verna Mosquera of The Vintage Spool) and it is the second one I have had the pleasure of quilting. This one belongs to Dianne and she has been "patiently" waiting for it while I slowly fall behind on work, life, and so forth! Thank you Dianne for being SO very patient!

I am slowly pulling my fabrics for this quilt. Perhaps if I am diligent with my applique over the summer I will have one of my very own for Halloween this year! Yes, a girl can always hope!

Altar Cloth Update...

The altar cloth has been shipped and received by Mary! WooHoo... Mary stated "...it is beyond my wildest expectations... you did such a magnificent job and I can not thank you enough for your beautiful work... It is just magnificent..." Gotta love those words of praise! No really, this was such a special project and I was truly honored to be a part of it!


Here is the finished piece

and I can't wait until Mary sends a picture of it at the wedding -- yes, I will definitely post!

Here are a few detail shots of the back

Apparently, I am turning into a weekly blogger - it has been a full week since my last post. BUT, I have been super busy with a special project. It belongs to Mary and will be used as an altar cloth at a very special wedding next month. The parament was designed especially for the bride and groom by their friend Gary Anderson, a Seattle artist (photo of his original is on the left).

Mary did a fantastic job in "recreating" the piece in fabric. To the right you'll see a picture showing her choice of fabrics and oh so perfect layout. You couldn't ask for a closer interpretation of the original.

Here are some pictures so far of the quilting I've been working on -- some initials, wordage, and loads of background fills.

Almost a week...

Wow, my apologies for neglecting all my blogger fans. I've been posting away on Facebook and not here -- so here's my week in review:

Well, I spent a lot of time working on Sheila's bargello, which is an awesome quilt. The pattern is "Diamonds Jubilee" by Nancy A. Smith (QuiltnNana Creations). This was a recent class held at the JaM Patch(http://jampatch.blogspot.com/ or http://jampatch.com/). I'm sure we'll be seeing a few more of these awesome quilts once some of the others start to finish (haha, strange play on words) their piecing. I already have a few "hold" spots on my schedule.

Okay, Sheila's quilt leads us into the weekend. I just loved her quilt SO MUCH, I had to grab the fabrics for one for myself. Here is a picture of two hours worth of therapy at the JaM Patch...

for those that don't know me well... I have a problem with brown and green. So some of you were worried when I had picked out this border fabric a week or so back. I really don't feel it is much of a problem (hehehe) -- it just matches my decor. Perhaps I like these colors??? I am a true "earth" -- dirt and grass! Anyway, I think the quilt is going to be more blue than brown and green. BUT, the fun part of bargello quilts is that you really don't know how it is going to look until all the pieces are cut and sewn and you see the magical transformation happen.

Okay, last but definitely not least, is Patti's quilt -- so cute! So much color going on and loads of applique. This quilt has received loads of comments on facebook -- check it out! I do not know the name of the pattern, but have been informed that it is a Fassett pattern, feel free to comment with more info!

Virtual Field Trip!!!

Today I found a super fun site -- and it is actually QUILTING related! Can you believe it, I almost couldn't and I "wasted" my lunch goofing around creating all kinds of quilts. It is the called the Patchwork Pattern Maker and it is part of the website of the Victoria and Albert Museum (great site by the way). So, let me explain... you upload a picture (any picture) and then go through some simple choices like number of colors and number of blocks, and you get a layout grid for a quilt of the picture you just uploaded. The program allows you to print out and/or download the grid and color chart. WOW, oodles of fun and loads of amusement. And even some awesome quilts if you start and finish (hehe) them!

Here is one of the "quilts" I created -- original picture and then grid layout --

And here's another one --

Make sure you check out the websites! I can see so many fun uses -- hope you can too!

Quilt Shop of Deland - class sample

Here is a little beauty belonging to Judy of the Quilt Shop of Deland (http://www.quiltshopofdeland.com/) -- it is a store/class sample (I don't know the name) but, if you are interested make sure you contact her.

Piecing Dilemma Solved (over a year later)...

Wow, I didn't realize that I had left this project for that long! Remember way back (April of last year) I had posted about my ambidextrous piecing dilemma. Well, last month I started (continued) with this project in an attempt to finish it for my Mothers birthday. It turns out I sashed the "right" blocks to make up for the size since I donated the "wrong" blocks to another project. It turns out the quilt is about 78x78 - not too shabby for a jelly roll. Well, it was a jelly roll minus 1 fabric, plus 4 others, sashing, and a border. But needless to say, it turned out great and my Mom is quite pleased with her gift!

Also, a peek at the binding before it went on. I have to send a shout-out to the fabric fairy because I didn't have any more of this fantastic stripe left! Gotta love those fabric fairies!!

No longer a mystery...

Shay's Wheel of Mystery quilt is complete. WOW, it is such a stunning quilt -- the colors, placement of the colors, and quilting make this quilt an all around winner in my book. I really love this quilt. I love how Shay "hid" some borders and you really don't see them at first glance. I chose to only make the first one stand out -- I wanted to keep the other hidden border set in with the background. It takes several sweeps of the eye to notice everything in this quilt.

One day I'll finish my scrappy Wheel of Mystery wall hanging -- it is a kit consisting of many pre-cut batiks. Even if I quilt the heck out of it, it just won't have the pizazz that Shay's quilt does. See blogger fans, once again we are shown about the importance of color placement!

No new eyes and Shay's Wheel being started!

My newest find still hasn't arrived (my Restaurant Readers). I received an email stating that my color choice (shiny brown) weren't available at this time in the power I ordered. Not knowing how long the back order wait would be, I decided to go with the shiny black in the correct power. At this point I just want them to arrive so that I can start using them -- I am willing to sacrifice my original color choice.

On the quilting side of life... I have started Shay's Wheel of Mystery quilt. Shay choose many shades of turquoise with a deep brown. I love her careful color placement, it created an awesome hidden border. It was just screaming for me to do something different in there... so I did! Here is a peek -- more pics to follow once it's done.