A Good Weeks Work

May 24th, 2008

This has been a week for wrapping up projects and some quality time in the studio. One of my assignments was to make some fabric postcards for the Wish Upon a Card Project, a fund raising event for Wendy’s Wish and sponsored by the popular Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show in Sisters, Oregon.
This was my first experience with Timtex and it was a blast. No raw edges to worry about or layers to cut away and the threads were a cinch to bury in the spongy material. It was so much fun that I am planning some larger panels for framable wall pieces. To learn more about the sale and silent auction of the fabric postcards visit http://www.SistersOutdoorQuiltShow.org
The next project was to bind the two LeMoyne star quilts which I had sent out to be quilted. They both returned home from different quilters on the same day. Some days are just packed with nice surprises! And I loved the way they each turned out.

I had the Turquoise Star quilted by Jean Leeson of Park Ridge, Illinois in a neutral “flame” pattern to blend it all together. The back of the quilt is done with a mixture of Hothouse fabrics and fabrics from the archives. It is essentially a simple log cabin block arranged in a light and dark checkerboard pattern.

The Cosmic Star, which is the most dramatic of the two, needed more detail in the quilting to define areas instead of blending them. Jean Shute of Blackbird Quilting in Otis Orchard, Washington did a beautiful job, as always!
I really like the back, too. Clean and simple and not a flower in sight.

Then I needed to finish quilting the Folk Art Silhouette quilt because it is going to hang on our living room wall and because I plan to publish it as a commercial pattern and need a finished piece to photograph.

It is the sister quilt to Spring Divas and is made by combining four Simple Silhouettes into one quilt.

All together it was a very satisfying week. Next week I am going to the North Carolina Quilt Symposium in Wilmington. Hope to see some of you there! http://www.ncqsi.com

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A Good Weeks Work

May 24th, 2008

This week I am going to the North Carolina Quilt Symposium in Wilmington.

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May Dance

May 16th, 2008

Each year we learn more about our eccentric little plot of land. It is easy to see it’s “bones” in the bare winter, but now the earth is truly quivering with life and we are snapping on our seat belts because there is no turning back once the growing season begins! Native mayapple, trillium, bluebells, shooting stars, bloodroot, Solomon’s seal, bleeding hearts and columbines are a few of the regulars that are dancing in clusters all around us. The air is fresh and clear with an occasional whiff of lilac… thanks to Greg who regularly renews the fragrant purple bouquets throughout the house.

So, of course, the girls have to get into the spirit of the season with outfits perfectly suited for a Maypole Dance. Both skirts are made from an original pattern with elastic waistband, three gathered tiers with pleated details and a finish of ruffles at the hem. Although both skirts are identical in construction, the choice of fabrics contribute to a unique statement… but they are both undeniably “over-the-top” with optimism! 

I’ve become very fond of combining contrasting prints to create “misfits” with unexpected energy. So, of course, the happy prints paired with the striped socks and boots just make me SMILE!

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May Dance

May 16th, 2008

Each year we learn more about our eccentric little plot of land. It is easy to see it’s “bones” in the bare winter, but now the earth is truly quivering with life and we are snapping on our seat belts because there is no turning back once the growing season begins! Native mayapple, trillium, bluebells, shooting stars, bloodroot, Solomon’s seal, bleeding hearts and columbines are a few of the regulars that are dancing in clusters all around us. The air is fresh and clear with an occasional whiff of lilac… thanks to Greg who regularly renews the fragrant purple bouquets throughout the house.

So, of course, the girls have to get into the spirit of the season with outfits perfectly suited for a Maypole Dance. Both skirts are made from an original pattern with elastic waistband, three gathered tiers with pleated details and a finish of ruffles at the hem. Although both skirts are identical in construction, the choice of fabrics contribute to a unique statement… but they are both undeniably “over-the-top” with optimism! 

I’ve become very fond of combining contrasting prints to create “misfits” with unexpected energy. So, of course, the happy prints paired with the striped socks and boots just make me SMILE!

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Reversible Wrap Arounds

May 2nd, 2008

This weeks news is all about “tightening our belts” because of rising prices and a fluctuating economy. Although in our household of freelance artists, frugality is old news to us. But as long as belts are being tightened they may as well be good to look at!
So this week we are featuring some thrifty fun belts which will make you feel extravagant and look fabulous. This design is not only economical because it is reversible, but because you can finally use some of those fancy fabrics in your stash. 
In truth, I designed these belts to save space. As a traveling teacher, I prefer to fill my suitcases with quilts instead of clothes, so I try to keep my wardrobe simple and compact. These wrap around belts pack easily and two belts give me a weeks wear by mixing and matching them with solid colored skirts and shirts.
Here Fair Claire is  wearing the belt wrapped and tied in the front, but they can also be worn cumber bun style and tied in the back.

This belt was made from two colorways of the Freckled Lily fabric from a few seasons back. The body of the belt is 3″ wide and the ends made to meet or gently overlap. The ties are approximately one and a half the length of the belt body.

Here is the reversed belt. I like the look of the two different fabrics working together. The contrasting patterns and colors make it more interesting.

Here is another nice combination of complementary fabrics. This tiny creature really needs a belt to hold up that skirt.

 Yes, that feels better. Those were the days! One of the many nice things about having a daughter is living vicariously in those young bodies.

Here is another reversible belt in a simple slimmer style. These would look great with jeans, Capri’s or a wonderful June Cleaver shirt dress.
So “tightening your belt” can be an act of creativity , if you let it be!

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Reversible Wrap Arounds

May 2nd, 2008

This weeks news is all about “tightening our belts” because of rising prices and a fluctuating economy. Although in our household of freelance artists, frugality is old news to us. But as long as belts are being tightened they may as well be good to look at!
So this week we are featuring some thrifty fun belts which will make you feel extravagant and look fabulous. This design is not only economical because it is reversible, but because you can finally use some of those fancy fabrics in your stash. 
In truth, I designed these belts to save space. As a traveling teacher, I prefer to fill my suitcases with quilts instead of clothes, so I try to keep my wardrobe simple and compact. These wrap around belts pack easily and two belts give me a weeks wear by mixing and matching them with solid colored skirts and shirts.
Here Fair Claire is  wearing the belt wrapped and tied in the front, but they can also be worn cumber bun style and tied in the back.

This belt was made from two colorways of the Freckled Lily fabric from a few seasons back. The body of the belt is 3″ wide and the ends made to meet or gently overlap. The ties are approximately one and a half the length of the belt body.

Here is the reversed belt. I like the look of the two different fabrics working together. The contrasting patterns and colors make it more interesting.

Here is another nice combination of complementary fabrics. This tiny creature really needs a belt to hold up that skirt.

 Yes, that feels better. Those were the days! One of the many nice things about having a daughter is living vicariously in those young bodies.

Here is another reversible belt in a simple slimmer style. These would look great with jeans, Capri’s or a wonderful June Cleaver shirt dress.
So “tightening your belt” can be an act of creativity , if you let it be!

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May 2nd, 2008

Here is another reversible belt in a simple slimmer style. These would look great with jeans, capris

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Pajama Party

April 25th, 2008

This week the girls are having a party to celebrate SPRING… a pajama party! So, of course, they have to break out the happy colors for their festive “sleep” wear.

Willow’s jammies will be perfect for a midnight giggle fest since they almost glow in the dark! I doubt if they’ll get much sleep, an any case.

The contrasting details make these simple PJ’s special. I think the perfectly cut pocket and the pant cuffs are the icing on the cake. These would be just as exciting in the black and white or green and yellow Starry Night combination.

Fair Clair indulges Burnt Toast in her favorite pastime wearing sleepers made from the Willow Leaf fabric and jazzed up with some red hot Dots.

I really LOVE this color combination! In fact, I long to have a small overstuffed reading chair covered with these fabrics. But then we’d lose Fair Claire altogether… yikes, it’s a little hard to find either of them on the duvet. Sassaman camouflage!

Thanks to Susan for bringing these designs to fruition- hope your eyeballs are OK.

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Pajama Party

April 25th, 2008

This week the girls are having a party to celebrate SPRING… a pajama party! So, of course, they have to break out the happy colors for their festive “sleep” wear.

Willow’s jammies will be perfect for a midnight giggle fest since they almost glow in the dark! I doubt if they’ll get much sleep, an any case.

The contrasting details make these simple PJ’s special. I think the perfectly cut pocket and the pant cuffs are the icing on the cake. These would be just as exciting in the black and white or green and yellow Starry Night combination.

Fair Clair indulges Burnt Toast in her favorite pastime wearing sleepers made from the Willow Leaf fabric and jazzed up with some red hot Dots.

I really LOVE this color combination! In fact, I long to have a small overstuffed reading chair covered with these fabrics. But then we’d lose Fair Claire altogether… yikes, it’s a little hard to find either of them on the duvet. Sassaman camouflage!

Thanks to Susan for bringing these designs to fruition- hope your eyeballs are OK.

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Spring Sprouts

April 11th, 2008

This week was a typical midwestern spring… 65 degrees and sunny one day and cold with driving rain the next. The weekend was wonderfully warm and bright and the whole world was optimistic again. Happy crocus and enthusiastic daylily sprouts poked through the thick cover of oak leaves.

Our property is divided between areas of native prairie and sections of cultivated garden. Every spring Greg burns the prairie, a ritual of renewal. But the timing must be right. If you wait a day or two too long, you risk singeing the new growth and this weekend seemed to be the perfect time. It is a dramatic and exhausting event because you must guide and contain the fire. And the results are always a bit shocking. The once wildly textured landscape is suddenly black and bare- as if a meteor has crashed on your lawn and disintegrated everything in sight!

But when you look closely at the sooty remains, tiny buds and shoots are peeking through. You can’t beat spring in the lands of four seasons. It’s always worth the wait!

Daylilies are always one of the first plants to break the surface each spring and I am always amazed by their hardy life force and lovely growth pattern of alternating leaves. Infact, I admire their energy and design so much that I once made a giant quilt based on those tiny tufts of life, Tree of Life: Spring.

As Greg was out of doors this weekend I was in the studio, as usual. I’d been wanting to try a LeMoyne Star quilt with the Hothouse fabrics, thinking that the symmetry of several designs would work nicely. But I have never made a star quilt before, so I thought of my friend, Jan Krentz, who is the Queen of Diamonds and discovered she has designed a wonderful “fast 2 cut” large diamond ruler, the Fussy Cutter Ruler, 45 degree Diamond Guide.

Jan’s ruler is perfect for working with large patterned symmetrical fabrics like mine. When the fabric is wild it needs to be used in big pieces with simple piecing because the fabric is the star of the show. Along with the Diamond Ruler all I needed was a 9″ square and a 9″ half square triangle. Here you can see the beginning of the first star, next to last weeks project on the work wall. I started by fussy cutting the Ruffle fabric and exciting relationships started happening right away. I was hooked! So I just kept fussy cutting and building on with other symmetrical fabrics from the same colorway.

I have to admit that this piece is hard to absorb up close. But when you stand back the kaleidoscopic effect is awesome. I was having so much fun that I took it’s picture to record the placement of the pieces and started another one immediately.
By this time I knew how to position it on my wall so it was straight. This one is quieter and kind of sunny because of the turquoise and yellow tufts of grass throughout. I am planning to miter the corners

For the first top I used 3 yards of Tree of Life, 3 1/2 yards of Lily Pad, 2 yards of Ruffles and 2/3 yard of blue for the border. For the second I used 3 yards of Cabochon, 3 1/2 yards of Lily Pad and 5 yards of Grass.

I can’t wait to start another quilt top, but in the mean time I have other things to look forward to, as well!

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