Just Do It...I Did

I did it. It's done. My first free motion quilted quilt. It's a baby quilt and it's my baby. I'm so pleased with how it turned out. I can hardly believe I did it. I dreaded for months learning to do this, now I wonder why. Don't get me wrong, it wasn't a breeze or easy, but I enjoyed it. I have a long way to go, but I'm getting better and better. The quilt is my fractured pinwheels (tutorial really is coming). I used a combination of a vintage sheet and quilting fabric to make this one. I used a couple of leftover blocks to piece the back. I had a little scissor incident when I was trimming threads and I accidentally sliced one of the blocks right on the seam, but since it was on the seam it was a pretty easy fix. I didn't freak out about it, I just did my best to repair it. I love this quilt...the whole wrinkled quilty goodness of it. I so wish the pictures were better, but the sun was setting and I couldn't get a good shot, but there was no way I was waiting for tomorrow.













































































Some of you have asked a bunch of questions about my free motion quilting experiences. With my vast experience (hear the sarcasm) of ONE quilt under my belt, here is what I've learned so far:
*no one can really tell you how to do this. you have to experience it for yourself. the more i asked the more frustrated i became. i really wanted someone to tell me how to do it.
*a good machine is a must. my machine wouldn't do this kind of quilting even if you talked nice to it for a year. you have to be able to lower the feeddogs and have a darning foot. i used my mom's bernina. (thanks mom!!!)
*relax! easier said than done. i imagined everyone quilting away and never stopping till the quilt was done. i have no idea if this is the right way, but i stop often, to relax, to see where i am, to adjust the quilt, to think about where to go next, and most importantly i stop if i'm getting flustered. as long as your machine stops with the needle down you can stop as much as you like. learning how to coordinate hands and foot so that the needle stops without a hop, skip or a jump is a skill to practice. i think i stop my hands and then lift my foot.
*look ahead - not at the needle. again, easier said than done because that needle is mesmerizing. the more i look ahead the better i do.
*find your style i've found that i move to the right. i started in the center of the quilt and just started. i'm more comfortable moving to the right and i found myself going round and round the quilt working to the right. i can make smoother curves and more even stitches when i work that way. if i force myself the other way, it's sort of like trying to write left handed. so, i guess what i'm trying to say is find what works for you.
*practice for real everyone told me to practice, so i did, but i practiced on scraps. when i finally did a mini quilt which was for real, i did better. when i was going to throw my practice away, i didn't pay as much attention or really try my best.
*slow and steady hands i found myself moving my hands too quickly and then i got jerky and flustered which made for some interesting shapes. i'm finding that slow and steady hands and a moderate rate on the machine works for me. it's a bit like rubbing your tummy and patting your head. (not the most natural motion!) slow hands, quicker foot speed on the pedal. that's what made the nicest curves and the most even stitches.
*attitude you know it's what they say about everything, if you think you can, you can.
i'd love to hear about everyone's experiences with free motion quilting. are these the things you experience? Lastly, thanks for answering all my questions and for the encouragement and support. I'm gearing up for the next one!

Gifts and Giving...Better Late Than Never

My birthday was earlier this month and I knew I'd be getting some money (thanks mom!)and so back in August I spent some of it on some of Kajsa's work. I got these two lovely prints. Though I would love to have her actual work, these are a pretty nice substitute. I framed them in these frames where they float under the glass. They hang on the wall in my studio as inspiration and to put a smile on my face whenever I look up. Her work is so whimsical, cheery and original. My picture doesn't do it justice. If you haven't visited her blog Syko, head on over, you won't be disappointed. Kajsa's work was also the inspiration for my little quilty neighborhood. She inspired me to give raw edge applique a try.

Late is the theme of this post, so first a late thank you. I actually won a giveaway at Amy's blog, Park City Girl...yes, it does pay to enter. I don't usually because I never seem to win and sometimes I don't because I don't want folks to think I just visit to get something. (that's a whole other post) These arrived last week when I was on jury duty. Talk about mail that makes your day. I popped the bookmark into my book and put my cards in the wallet and I was ready for another day in the courthouse. The bookmark was a topic of conversation throughout the day. Isn't it just the cutest? The little wallet is perfect for me. It's light as a feather and the fabric is so "me". I love them both Amy and be assured they will get lots of use!






















I know you all have been waiting for the results of my giveaway. I did actually do the random number thingy on Friday, but with my folks coming home a week early I ran out of here before dawn on Friday and didn't have a chance to post. Late again, arrg! I would so love to send one to everyone, but the little quilty neighborhood is going to Hawaii. Yup, it will be zipping to Lisa Boyer of Dorky Homemade Quilts. Lisa hasn't been posting much lately, but you'll definitely enjoy her blog and her books are fabulous. So take a minute to check her out. Congratulations Lisa!

Let's see, what else am I late for...hmmm...been awhile since you've seen a Fit Friday post. I'm hanging my head a bit...two weeks ago I made it to the gym every single day...last week...I'm sad to say not one day...not even one. I know that tomorrow is going to hurt, but I'm going. I have to make this a priority and not let weeks like last week sabotage me. I could have found time if I really wanted to.

I caught up on most of my blog reading driving back from my parent's house. I can feel my head getting back above water. I have lots of sewing plans this week. Maybe even a quilt finish. One should always have hope!

Pillow Party

My hubby jetted off to Chicago and my son headed to his girlfriends for dinner and the evening and what do you know...a house to myself...didn't have to cook or do dishes, so I got productive. Got lots of work done quickly and had time to sew. I decided to have a bit of a pillow party so I could do a little more free motion practice before I tackle a quilt. I've had these sewn and sitting on my design wall for weeks so it was great to quilt them and have new pillows for the family room. My quilting is getting better. I'm learning to look ahead and not at the needle and I'm starting to get smoother curves and more even stitches. I'm still wondering how to handle the bulk of a quilt, but as many of my bloggy friends say, "just do it." So a quilt is next up.

















These pillows are made from a vintage quilt I picked up dirt cheap. It was terribly damaged and I could barely stand the ride home because it stunk so bad. I soaked it and hung it in the sun daily for over a week and now it's pretty much fresh as a daisy. These will be Christmas gifts. I think I can get maybe 3 more pillows from the quilt so I may make some for myself too. The hand quilting on this quilt was simply amazing, so it was definitely worth saving. I have a bit of an obsession with rescuing vintage quilts. I hate to see someone's beautiful work languishing and so many can be saved with just a bit of effort. The fabrics in this one are so interesting too.

















I played a bit with my hourglass quilt to come up with a layout that I liked. I didn't have enough of the hourglass blocks to make a quilt, so first I added the solids in lime, black, pink, and pomegranate. I loved their addition. I finally decided on a layout where I used a strip of the hourglass blocks, then varying widths of 3 of the solids, another section of the hourglass blocks and then a large section of the pomegranate solid. I like it. I think it takes a traditional block and gives it a modern twist. I will tell you this quilt is not for the faint of heart or color shy. It's bold and bright and may even enter the wild category. I scheduled this to post at noon so I hope it happens. Thanks for the response to the giveaway. I'm slowly catching up on my blog reading. See you soon!

A Quickie

My company is gone, but now it's jury duty. Still pretty nutty around here. I'm eeking out tiny bits of time to sew and I've been working on making progress on this hourglass quilt. Maybe a top later this week.




















Since my folks are in Canada, the Bernina is staying at my house. I've only had one chance to sit down at her. I dove head first into free motion quilting on my little quilter's neighborhood mini quilt. It's not perfect, but I'm proud that I finally took the plunge, and I learned a lot doing a piece that wasn't going to be tossed out. I was hoping for a quilting marathon while I had the machine here, but so far no such luck. I am still going to try to get to it.

I feel bad that my blogging routine has been totally messed with and I haven't had a chance to visit many of you, so since I wouldn't have made this without your help, how about a little giveaway? If you would like to own the little quilty neighborhood just leave a comment on this post. I'll do the random number thingy on Friday morning. (Hope the trial is over by then.) Let's be flexible folks...it's a bit crazy around here. Let's try to keep this small...just between us if you know what I mean. Thanks for being patient and staying with me!

A Gift and a Show

I'm a proud mama. This is my oldest son's band, The Letter Division. My guy is the one on the far right. They are a fun, talented group of musicians. Sunday night my hubby and I and Ben's Grandma Bev all attended his band's show at the Jackpot Saloon and Music Hall in Lawrence, Kansas. It was a great show and he would want me to tell you that this is the first time they played a show where you could get tickets on ticketmaster. How uptown is that! The venue was pretty nice and they had a really good crowd. The show didn't start till 9:30 (you can tell it's a show geared for the younger set...i guess those kids are just getting up around that time). That's a bit close to my bedtime, but we sucked it up, found seats at the bar and had a ball.




























I have had time for a bit of sewing. Did this tablerunner project from start to finish. Maybe I'm turning over a new leaf??? My folks are heading to Canada Thursday and they'll be stopping to see and stay with some family friends in Fargo. Mom asked me to make something for Claudia as a small hostess gift. This is what I made. I hope my mom is pleased and that it's something that will fit in Claudia's house.

The fabric is a combo of Amy Butler, Sandi Henderson's Farmer's Market (I adore that fabric) and some Flea Market Fancy (ooh and Joel Dewberry too thanks to Two Dogs and a Quilt!) I tried to make it fall-like, though I don't much like the traditional fall colors or that dark feeling. The back is the first block I made, which I didn't really like, but I combined it with yellow flea market fancy and it makes a nice back. I used orange thread to quilt it and that thread looks so cool on that yellow fabric. My mom said to make something like me, so I did. I love how it turned out. In fact, I'd love to keep this one. I tried a little something different for the label. Kinda cute.

My mom-in-law came on Friday and is here for the rest of the week so things are a bit topsy-turvey here. Not much time for sewing or blogging. I'll catch up with all of you when things settle down a bit. Till then, have a fab week!

Fashionista

I purchased this Alexander Henry fabric last January when I was in the initial stages of stash building. I loved it for lots of reasons. It has a bit of diversity, the women exude strength and confidence and the colors are fab. It took me a long 6 months to figure out how to use this in a quilt. I saw the Michael Miller "button up" fabric and knew they belonged together. I fussy cut the "fashionista" to highlight the women and some of the clothes and accessories and framed them with kona snow and the buttons. I love how the top came together. This is for a very "fashionable" friend of mine for Christmas. I can't wait to quilt it.

Since it's Friday I'm due for a fitness report. Pretty good this week. I made it to the gym 4 out of 5 days and had some pretty good runs. I did 1.75 miles for the first time this week. The receptionist at my gym also said how good I was looking. I almost fell over. She said she really sees a difference. Now that made my day!

It's raining and cloudy again...dang it affects my mood. Could really use a bit of sunshine. Looking forward to my hubby coming home and a good weekend. Have a good one!

Reflections

on a great birthday...

a sparkly clean house
flowers on the table
dinner with my family and my parents
talking politics and world affairs with my teens and hubby till late in the evening
good wishes from so many of you...thanks!

on the day...

september 11th is a bit different for me. in the whirlwind of the attacks on the world trade center and the horror unfolding on the television life went on, work, school, driving kids here and there. on the way home from picking up my son at school i came upon an accident on our gravel road about a mile from home. i was the first on the scene and it is a scene that is burned in my memory, a flipped over car, two girls laying on the road, a twisted neck, the labored breathing, the wheels of the car spinning, the quiet of a country road, the roaring of the helicopter as it landed nearby. the oldest died on the scene while i was holding her hand, the second died later that week, the third daughter walked away without a scratch. she was the only one in the car wearing a seatbelt. a family was devastated that day along with so many other families.

every time i buckle my seatbelt i think of that day. buckle up, buckle up your children. talk to the teens in your life, your own, and others. that seatbelt could save their life.

i know i take for granted the blessings in my life, but on days like today i try to remember how blessed i am to live in a country where the founding fathers crafted a system which established order and embraced change all at the same time. Brilliant!

"We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America."

How cool is that!

Oh Happy Day!

I was finally able to put these fractured pinwheel blocks into a quilt top. I abandoned my obsession with pink and used a blue pindot as setting blocks and a green dotted fabric as the border. I think with quilting it will look fine. Hope to get the back done tonight. Since so many of you asked I'll be putting together a quick tutorial on the fractured pinwheels too.

I'm trying so hard not to start new projects. I am working my way down the WIP list to see if I can get everything to the quilting stage. (I'm psyching up for a marathon quilting when I can get access to my mom's machine again.) I made 16 blocks for the Fashionista quilt. Pictures of that soon. Maybe it will be a top tonight!

Lastly, it's my birthday today. Ran 1.66 miles this morning in 20 minutes. Two days running so far this week. Only did 2 days total last week, arrrg! That's in the past so I'm moving on. I'm off to clean the house. My birthday present to myself. Hope you are having a happy day too!

Welcome to My World

Kajsa, Sarah, and Lisa live in the polka dot house with all the windows. They are quilty house mavens and provide inspiration for the rest of us with their fabulous work. Lynn and Joanna live next door. Everyone needs applique experts and all around good eggs on their block. Ellen and her "snarky seam ripper" live in that little blue house. Who wouldn't want an girl with a fabulous eye and a quick wit as a neighbor? She would probably be a good drinking partner too. See that cheerful little yellow house bathed in sunshine? I think Amy, Nettie, AmandaJean, Nanette, Tine and Nicolette might like to live there. Those ladies always have a kind and encouraging word. Of course, we might have to build an addition on the back to house all their fabric and all of their quilts. Wanda lives in the house on the end with the double doors. She needs some room for all that fabric, all those projects and 50 plus years of quilting experience which she doesn't hesitate to share with the rest of us. And then there's those high rise loft apartments on the end. Kris, Em, Melissa, Victoria, Audrey, Janis, Rebekah, Stephanie, Madge, Dawn...there's room for everyone. Every apartment is equipped with a sewing machine, large cutting table and housekeeping. Oh, I think I forgot to add the local quilt shop...maybe it could be just around the corner.
Emily of Ravenhill probably said it best, "quilting is such an adventure..."

This is just my funny way of saying thank you for all of you wonderful folks who visit this little blog and provide the knowledge and encouragement that is helping me become better at what I love to do. Check out the comments from my last post, you can find the links to all these wonderful folks and even more that I haven't mentioned. I appreciate every one of you.

Oh, and Wendy, maybe you'd like to live here too? Would you be interested in personal training? I think we'd be able to pay you in fabric.

There are more houses under construction. Want to move in?

What Next?

Ever feel that let down after you finish a big project? Hannah's quilt was quite a challenge...my biggest, my first pieced binding, plus that extra pressure of wanting it to be my best cause she's such a great kid. It's like getting that adrenaline rush and then the big crash...mentally and physically. I can't seem to get my brain working or those creative juices running. I started the day with a plan to whip up some extra squares from this quilt. I'd made them into half square triangles awhile ago. The plan was to be pinwheels, but my machine couldn't handle the bulk of the polyester sheet in the center of that pinwheel, so I fractured them. I offset the half square triangles by about an inch, sewed them up, trimmed and came up with this. I think the block is nifty, but that happened weeks ago when I was merrily humming along. I only had a few (15, I think) so I needed to add either setting blocks or frame them...something to make it baby quilt size. I'm on my 3rd attempt. I tried this ugly green (way too overwhelming), then this bubble gum pink (what was I thinking?), and I framed a few in some Kona snow like in the picture. (the pic is cruddy...it's raining and dark) I guess I'm ok with that, but it needs something. I've held up every fabric in my closet. The studio looks like a bomb dropped with all the piles of fabric everywhere. I did all that folding yesterday, for whose benefit? I've rescued these blocks from the trash can once already. They may be heading that way again. I'm not sure I can face that seam ripper again. Does your seam ripper look at you with an evil grin? Mine does.






















So, with grim determination I turned my focus elsewhere. I have to make a treehouse block for Betty in the Common Threads Virtual Quilting Bee. Applique will be involved which I've never done, so I thought...how about a practice session. I thought I'd make some little houses and turn them into Christmas ornaments. Working small is not my strength. They could be ornaments on King Kong's tree. So, I used fusible web for the first time and fused these houses. Now what? I have no idea where to go next? Do I sew around the edges now? How? I wonder if my little machine can do this? It sure can't handle anything fancy. Wendy said something about stabilizer? Am I too late for that?

Hubby is out of town for the rest of the week. I think I'll open a bottle of wine. Drinking alone in the middle of the afternoon...it's come to that. Hope your day is going more according to plan.

Pictures Say It All

I'm so happy. It's on its way to Hannah today.