My Dear Jane-Block J-10 Chieko's Calla Lily

This little gem was a bit of a challenge. Very small appliqué!! 

The fabric is adorable, little cats playing the banjo, fiddle, and tambourine!! Cute :-)

Now, I normally would iron the pattern pieces, which have been copied onto freezer paper, onto the right side of the fabric. But in my haste to get these ready, along with getting us ready for our trip to Phoenix, I put them on the wrong side. So I cannot do my glue stick prep without taking them all off and adhering them to the proper side. You need an iron for that and I didn't have one in the beginning of our trip!!! Oh well, haste makes waste as they say. Or for quilters, a change in plans!!!

I cut each pattern piece out then finger pressed the edges. Yes, I know I could do needle turn on these, but my skills in needle turn are nil and void, so I choose the hard way :-)

Once I have finger pressed the edges, I baste them down.

After that, they are pinned and hand appliquéd into place. I am using Superior Threads, Masterpiece, 50wt. It reads thinner, works well with my appliqué and comes in this really cool bobbin thing which makes travel easy!!

This is me sitting at Josh's kitchen table, my uncles artwork behind me, working on my appliqué!!

And done!!! 

We went to Prescott for the first part of our trip, now we're back in Phoenix and Josh does have an iron. I have another identical block to make in pink for the Jane's Little School quilt!! So I am going to redo the appliqué pieces and see if I can get them done a little quicker with the glue stick method. 

My plans were to get 4 blocks done on this trip and so far I have 3 done. We go home in2 days, so I am thinking that it shouldn't be a problem finishing!!!

I hope this post reads ok. I have been posting from my iPhone and iPad which is a lot different than working from a computer!!!

Until later, take care, Happy Quilting, and keep those pins sharp!!!! Martha

My Dear Jane-Block H-12, Hannah Lou's Hearts

We are in Prescott Arizona for a couple nights and I brought some appliqué along. This is my view from the deck while I am appliquéing. My brother in law and his wife own a little cottage here!!! Fun times!!!

Can you see the rain in the distance?  As I am writing this the thunder, lightening, and rain are getting closer to us!!

So this is H-12 Hannah Lou's Hearts. Hand appliquéd!!  

This one is for my 1930's quilt!

And this one I will use in one of my school house blocks. I love the fabrics in both blocks :-)

I will leave with this beautiful view!! Prescott is a great place to visit. I can see why everyone loves it here!!

Take care friends, Happy Quilting, and keep those scissors sharp! Martha

Yaquina Head Lighthouse Quilt

We are visiting our son in Phoenix AZ, and this quilt is hanging in the guest room!!

Yaquina Head Lighthouse is on the Oregon coast. 

To be totally honest, I have no idea when this quilt was finished-no label on the back!!! I made it probably 7 years ago, could be more, and hopefully I have some better documentation at home!

I tie dyed  background fabric when my DH was still teaching. At the end of the school year I would teach the kids how to tie dye t-shirts. I decided to make some pieces of fabric this year since I had made so many t-shirts in previous years. 

I was just teaching myself how to do free-motion quilting at the time. It's good to see that I have improved since then :-)

So,lesson learned!!!! Label those quilts!!!

Take care, Happy Quilting, and keep those needles sharp!!! Martha

Shading done on Left front vest

I finished the shading on the Left front vest and did the echo stitching. Almost done on the back of the vest, still working on the feathers. Then I will echo stitch around everything, then shade it. It will be a bit different from the front. I still am working on the designs for the other vest front.

You can see that there are still a few feathers to finish!! I am just having a bit of  trouble due to one of the curves being kind of wonky. I want the feathers to flow smoothly and I am not liking them at the moment. But I will continue working with it until I am pleased. More to come :^)

Take care, have a lovely weekend and Happy Quilting!!! Martha

Quilted Vest Update

I have the feathers on one front done and will start shading the background. I still have the other front to design and the back to finish.

Here is the back. My feathers were not well made on the back, but I am working on that now. I did the front panel after the back and I am learning to SLOW DOWN!!! It seems to help :^) !!! You would think that I already knew that!!!

So here is a sequence of events for the vest:

Drawing out some ideas above and below

I got inspiration and ideas from two amazing quilters, Diane Gaudynski and Marelize Ries. If you have time, visit their blogs, they are amazing!!!! And truly inspiring :^)

Cutting out the pattern pieces. I am using a unisex pattern and cut a medium size out. I know it will shrink a bit when quilted. Then when the feathers are all done I may be re-cutting the vest to a small so that it isn't too big on me.

My plans are:
1. Design
2. Quilt feathers
3. Shade
4. Sew vest together
5. Quilt background
6. Make a lining with inside pockets
7. Bind

I've started to shade the vest front this morning. This is something I can do while watching TV with my DH!!

The shading will help the feathers to POP out!!!

More later!!! :)
Have a lovely day, Happy Quilting and keep those scissors sharp!!!
Martha

I should be in Sisters Oregon!!! Instead, I am making an Urban Deco Block

I wish I was in Sisters for the annual, huge quilt show. But instead, I am home sewing and ready to go out into the backyard to get some to-do's done!!

This is what I made today!!! I am so pleased with this block. I love the colors and the design, so awesome!!

I used to sew my own clothes, but I do much less now that I am quilting. I found this fabric in one of our quilt guild yardage sales and fell in love with it!! I think I spend $1.50 for a yard and a half.

I thought that this fabric would make a really cute summer top, so got going on that first!! AND, I actually finished the top!!! Wahoo!!!

Of course, with the left over fabric, I must make a quilt!! The colors are so awesome together. So I needed to figure out what pattern first. I chose the Urban Nine Patch designed by Jenny Pedigo at Sew Kind of Wonderful. I bought her ruler for this block over a year ago and made a couple blocks, but never finished that quilt.  (It is in the UFO stack at the moment)

Here are the fabrics I chose to go with the feature fabric.

I didn't have enough of the light purple to do six blocks so I chose a darker purple to accent the lighter one. I also decided to advance the block to the Urban Deco block, also designed by Jenny.

This is the Urban Nine Patch above. And this is the ruler for making this block below.

You can find this ruler and lots of patterns here at Jenny's website!!!

I love this block and look forward to seeing all six sewn together. Quilting it will be fun too, I already have ideas swimming in my mind!!! I hope to have this quilt completely done by the end of September for our quilt show!!!

I should mention that the green fabric is Dupioni silk. It is a little tricky to sew with as it shreds easily, or frays. Shredding is more appropriate, so I just sew with great care!!

The curves are so easy to sew with Jenny's instructions, so if you are interested in trying her ruler out, fear not!!!

Well, that's it for today. Happy Quilting Friends, Take care, and keep those scissors sharp! Martha

Sketching designs for a quilted vest!!

We're camping, so I brought my sketch book to work on a design for a free motion quilted vest. 

Still not sure what I'm going to do, but I've got a good start to the designs!!

The first photo is the fabric for the vest. I think I will quilt with black thread.

My plans for the back include my son's Harley Davidson Motorcycle. The feathers will be emerging from the pipes. 

Tomorrow we return home, so I have today to continue the planning process. When we get home I'll get started on the quilting!!! :-) FUN!!!

Have a great day Friends, happy quilting and keep those pencils sharp!!!! (I forgot a pencil sharpener!!)

Martha