A Prairie Home Quilts

I *really* haven’t accomplished much on my WIPs since last Wednesday. [sigh] I finished 3 more blocks for my Mom’s wallhanging today–row 2 is officially done. (Last week’s picture shows the duplicate blocks I’m making.)

I was going to sew the rows together today but decided to wait until all 9 blocks are done in case I decide to switch a few blocks around. The nice thing about this project is that I’m actually getting 2 done.

I decided today not to enter anything in the Fiber Arts Show in February. I don’t have the one quilt done that I really wanted to enter (Please Pass the Ranch), and I don’t have the money for the entry fees for the others. Hopefully I’ll have something spectacular to enter next year to make up for it. :) I got my current leader/ender project(s) out and sorted out where I was with those. I also got the borders cut for Jessica’s Montana Hugs & Kisses, and I got a few small pieces on the frame to machine quilt for Rachelle. Today was a productive day.

Piecing: 12 days of 20

I think the only thing I’ve managed to accomplish this week is to spend all of my extra money at the LQS. I *did* only buy fabric that I needed for current projects. I found backing material for Jessica’s Montana Hugs & Kisses on sale @ $4 a yard. (She leaves on 17 February so I need to get busy on her quilt!) Since she is my missions-minded world traveler, I found fabric that has world famous landmarks & “around the world” printed on it. I got all the material I think I’m going to be using for the Psalm 8 quilt background. I will probably need a few other small bits of fabric for some of the applique figures I have planned but I should be able to get quite a bit done without spending more money. :) I also got the grocery shopping done this evening so I don’t have to worry about that for another 9 or 10 days. Tomorrow, I quilt!

I got the full-sized drawing for my Psalm 8 quilt top done. Here’s a picture:

I realize you really can’t make out the details very well… you’ll just have to wait for the fabric unveiling in stages. :) I picked out quite a bit of the fabric for the major portions of the background from my meager stash. I’ll only have to get a few FQs or 1/4 yd pieces from the LQS to get started on the background.

I’ve been reading through some of my landscape piecing books for tips to get me started. Ruth McDowell’s book had a tip on piecing the “S” curves for the two sky fabrics that will be a great help. In Mary Hackett’s, A Bridge to Landscape Quilts, I found this bit of wisdom:

“You have the quilting skills. The rest is simply the willful act of allowing your mind to let go of what you think you can or can’t do. It entails getting past what is “right” when it comes to quilting, of training yourself to really see the natural things around you, and employing well-loved quilting techniques to simulate them.”

And, so, let the process begin!

Piecing: 11 days of 17

I’m searching for my niche this year… someplace that feels like a comfortable fit. As I’ve spent time over this last week or so updating my quilting journal, setting up this blog and then answering the questions posed in the “ABC’s of My Quilting Style” meme, it’s given me a chance to pause and reflect on my quilting.

I’ve tried to take some of these thoughts that are swirling and twirling around in my head and put them down on paper and make some sense of it all. A task much more daunting than I think I’m up to. LOL Definitely a project that requires chocolate! Just looking over my list of WIPs and Some Day Quilts made me realize that I have a lot of ideas of my own that I need to persue. (As a side note here: A dear friend and I used to refer to ourselves as “the idea women” during a stint as business partners together–we came up with dozens of ideas for products but didn’t even get half a dozen into production. LOL I will probably never be at a loss for ideas!) I’m having a hard time trying to get my thoughts down in words, though; so I’ve decided for now to just leave it as a vague inclination. I’ll just let the process evolve and unfold.

I want to create and play and experiment like a “mad” scientist in his lab; only instead of chemicals, test tubes and such, I want to create, play and experiment with quilting fabrics, tools and techniques. And I want to put the ideas in my head into motion and onto fabric. I know what I like to see in quilts, and I know what I want to try out in my first “experiment.” :) I guess that’s good for now.

I can relate to several comments Roberta Horton says in her book, Scrap Quilts: The Art of Making Do. One thing she says is:

“People often become folk artists when they retire. First of all, they have more time to do the things they’ve always wanted to do. With age comes confidence. We know who we are. At some point folk artists cease worrying about what others think. There’s an honesty to folk art. The maker is saying, ‘Here it is, like it or lump it.’”

I’m going to be “officially” done homeschooling in June. Although I’ve really not had to be totally involved in schooling for sometime, it feels like a “retirement” of sorts. I think I’m ready to become a quilt folk artist. :)

Piecing: 11 days of 16

Last night I finished the top from the Christmas mystery at A Pocket Full of Mysteries. I can’t wait to add the paisley fabric borders. :) I’m really pleased with the color combo Jessica and I picked out for this.

This is the border fabric. The borders are wide so I might play around with scalloping the edges… something I haven’t done before. This is the year to play & learn. :)

Woo… That’s an extreme closeup. LOL I need to work on my picture taking skills. What you can’t see in the photo of the top is the small pink flowers in the background fabric. The pink and the turquoise in the top and paisley fabric match better than the photos show also.

And finally, here is Mom’s wallhanging… the other project I’ve been working on. It’s hanging on the temporary design wall that I managed to get set up the other day with a piece of gray fleece.

I was auditioning the border fabric with and without the small yellow flange. I think I like it better with the flange.

Piecing: 10 days of 13

on this blog, at least. :) I saw this on Julie W.’s blog, but Debra has tagged us all.

THE ABC’S OF MY QUILTING STYLE

• A- Artist? Yes, I am and you are, too! One hundred years from now any quilts you or I have made will be hanging on someone’s wall or in a museum (if it’s well-preserved enough) as art. Therefore, you and I are artists–quilt artists. (I realize you were looking to read about my favorite quilt artists but I’m going to save that for another post.)
• B- Best Blogging Buddies? I don’t have one yet, but I do read a few quilty, homesteading, and spiritually uplifting blogs on occasion.
• C- Crazy or Sane Quilting? Hopefully somewhere in between; somewhere that will let me go either way when the mood hits.
• D- Dyeing or Stamping? Would like to try dyeing some day.
• E- Essential Item? A sewing machine in good working order.
• F- Favorite Fabrics? Definitely batiks. I could buy them just to buy them but I don’t because I’m committed to not acquiring a large stash… I *will* use what I buy and I *will* only buy what I’ll use!
• G- Great Quilt Design? Uses a range of tints, tones, and shades in each color (or hue, if you prefer) and a large variety of fabrics… if 5-6 is good; 50-60 is better! (I hope I used all those color terms correctly. I can never remember all that color theory stuff. LOL)
• H- Hand or Machine Quilt? Both. I love to hand quilt; but being practical, I saw the need for a machine quilting setup. I want to get more quilts done!
• I- Indispensable Notion? A sharp blade in my rotary cutter. Oh, and my rotary cutter must be able to cut both for left-handed as well as right-handed people without turning the blade because I switch hands rather than turn the fabric.
• J- Janome or Bernina? Bernina and Brother
• K- Kits or Original Designs? Original designs. I agree with Julie W., who said, “Picking fabrics is my favorite part of quilting!”
• L- Life in the Studio is? Better than chocolate.
• M- Most Projects Made in One Year? I haven’t really been quilting that long (since 2003) nor that consistently until last summer (July 2006) so the answer is five. (See “Completed Quilts 2006″ in sidebar)
• N- Number of Gadgets? Hmm, I dunno. Do I need to count? You can’t make me. LOL
• O- OH, I wish I hadn’t. . . . .? Joined three different email groups in 2006 that were all working on year-long quilting projects because I haven’t kept up with the pace.
• P- Pet Peeves about Quilting? I *do not* enjoy putting binding on a quilt in the summertime. It’s just too hot here in the desert to be sitting under a quilt even in the air conditioning.
• Q- Quilt Show? Would like to go to Houston or Road to CA some day. I will go to the local one put on by the quilt guild and one in Henderson, NV put on by the larger guild our local one belongs to.
• R- Reason to Rip Out? I like to be precise, but only rip out when the mood strikes. Life is too short and I want to get quilts done!
• S- Sewing or Knitting? I can knit, but quilting is my passion!
• T- Tag, you’re it! If you haven’t already done this one, consider yourself tagged.
• U- UFOs? I don’t like to think of them as UFOs… I have 20 WIPs (that’s all I’m admitting to) and 3 UFTs.
• V- Vexing Quilt Pattern? Would probably be something with a lot of curves that required more pinning than I like to do.
• W- Wishlist Item? Max Throat for my PC Quilter
• X- Xtra Fabric you will never use? Around twenty southwest-looking FQs and about 8 yards of other southwest fabric that I bought to make a quilt for my parents’ southwest decorated bedroom, who later decided to go with a northwoodsey, cabin-like decor in their new bedroom. [sigh] I don’t like southwest decor…
• Y- Your Biggest Goof? Marrying my ex-husband?? No, no, just kidding… He’s really an all right guy and I do have 4 charming and beautiful children as a result of my marriage. You meant quilting, right? I try to forget them so I can’t think of a *biggest* goof; however my *latest* goof was telling DD-R that I’d machine quilt her 110″ x 110″ quilt on my machine quilting frame (see post: The Quilt That Was A Bear)
• Z- Zip! (and voilá it’s done!) That would have to be my springtime garden because I don’t see how I’m going to get *it* done and quilt, too!