Monday, September 27, 2010

Memories of Galveston

You have no idea how happy it makes me to have some quilting time again.

I purchased the fabric for this quilt in Galveston, I believe it was in 2005, when Onalee and I had a magical day there after having our fill of the Houston Quilt Show.  We spent a couple of hours in Quilts by the Bay before enjoying a meal on the waterfront watching the world go by.  I’ve decided to name this “Memories of Galveston”.

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It looks more than a little wrinkled in this picture and the reason why is slinking off in the background.  Why is it that no matter where in the house your pets are, the minute you lay something on the floor they have to lie on it?

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This could explain some of the wrinkles!!!!

I also finished up this little Christmas table runner made from a Charm Pack.

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I quilted this with metallic thread and as always, Tilly was very co-operative and I didn’t have any problems at all.

Christmas Tablerunner 005 I also finished this little strippy quilt called “Nursery Rhymes”.

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You might notice two little paws on the right of the picture!!!!

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I got another quilt quilted this weekend too but I am still hand sewing the binding so I’ll wait until it’s finished to show you. 

Monday, September 20, 2010

Seminar Part Two

On the second day of the seminar, I took Debbie Caffrey’s Open a Can of Worms  and Another Can of Worms class.  We were working with 2 1/2” strips cutting half square triangles, quarter square triangles and trapezoids.  I’ve been playing around with her methods since coming home and I like them!!!! 

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This is her Road To Oklahoma quilt and it was hung on a folding screen which is why it looks funny in the middle.

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This one is called Four Patches and Friends.

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This last one is her Bluebonnets quilt and the fabric was just stunning.  Once again, the pictures don’t do it justice.

If you ever get the opportunity to take one of Debbie’s classes, I would highly recommend it.  I can honestly say I learned more USEFUL information from her on basic quilt making skills than any other class I’ve taken.

Since Leo has been away fishing all weekend, I’ve been busy trying out all the techniques I learned.  I just need to get some pictures taken so I can show you. 

Saturday, September 18, 2010

Finally – Something Interesting!

Every year, for the past 5 or 6 years, I have attended a quilting seminar hosted by the Amherst Quilters Guild in Amherst, NY.  They bring in nationally known teachers for a 4 day seminar of full day classes.

This year, the teachers were Debbie Caffrey and Sue Nickels.  Since I’d taken classes from Sue before, I took 2 of Debbie’s classes this year and I wasn’t disappointed.  That lady has so much knowledge and information and she is so willing to share.

The first class was her Power Cutting class and I learned a whole new way to cut so that you are moving your ruler, and not your fabric.  It makes a huge difference when you are cutting strips and eliminates the need to constantly be squaring up your fabric.

We learned how to make half square and quarter square triangles using the Omnigrid 98L and 96L rulers and the techniques she taught have convinced me I’ll never use Thangles again!

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I also learned that it was Debbie that convinced Moda to sell 2 1/2” strips of fabric, now known as Jelly Rolls and also the 10” square Layer Cakes.  She was also quick to point out, though, that all the other weird shapes they are selling had nothing to do with her!

She explained that Moda’s strips are the most accurate as they are cut where they are manufactured, whereas all the other strips are cut after the manufacturing process.  This would explain why I’ve heard so many complaints about Bali Pops being so irregular.

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Debbie’s quilts are not what I would call showstoppers, but she is more interested in teaching techniques so you can go and make your own showstopper.  I love the border treatment on this quilt and look how easy it is!

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She used sashing in this quilt, not only to add interest, but so she didn’t have to worry about matching seams and adding bulk. 

On Wednesday night,  we attended Sue Nickels lecture and trunk show.  I think I’ll just let you drool over the eye candy!

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Look at the unique border treatment on this one!

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The pictures of this next one really don’t do it justice.  It’s called Tea at Tenby and the machine quilting (all on a domestic machine) is just unbelievable.

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And another unique border treatment.
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Sue is a wonderful, entertaining teacher and we got to hear the story behind The Beatles Quilt and The Space Quilt and saw slides of the various blocks.  Both of these quilts are now in the collection of the Museum of the American Quilters Society in Paducah, Kentucky.

I’ll save the rest of my pictures and tell you all about my other class with Debbie another day.

Sunday, September 5, 2010

It’s A Little Chilly Outside

Nothing improves my state of mind more than a little quilting time and I was able to get some of that in this weekend.

I quilted this simple little baby quilt with a panto called Dragonfly Pond and I’m really pleased with how it turned out. 

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You can see the pattern better on the back.

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I sewed all my leftover strips together for the binding.  I’ve never done that before, but I think it worked.

I saw this quilt on the back cover of a quilting magazine at the beginning of the summer and fell in love with it.  I e-mailed the fabric requirements to Rachel at The Old Country Store and a week later they were in my mail box.  Now usually, I don’t start something I buy right away – it has to age, sometimes forever, but I was anxious to get this one started and I finished it today.

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I used a panto called Paisley Playtime on this one as the centre fabric is a paisley (although you certainly couldn’t tell from this picture).

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Again, the quilting shows up much better on the backing.

Mayfair 004 We’ve had a gloriously hot summer, but yesterday we had a dramatic drop in temperature.  The jeans and sweatshirt came out today, but I’m not ready to put my sandals away just yet.