Quilt by Association

My first GS blanket...

2011-08-01T03:40:00.000-07:00

old style granny squares...

2011-07-23T06:19:00.000-07:00

In addition to being a quilter, I've become a crochet freak. I learned how to crochet in 1971 but rarely spend much time on it. For some reason I've picked it up again and have become hooked (pun intended). I'm working on granny squares because they are a lot like quilt squares...I can carry a few in my purse and work on them all day long.
My favorite yarn right now is Lion Brand "Amazing" because there are many different, beautiful colors. On one ball of yarn I can get 5 or 6 separate shades that go together perfectly. With 21 different color schemes there are over 100 different colors to use in one blanket (or whatever you want to make).

I've measured 4 different lengths of heavy string to use as guides so I can cut the 4 lengths of yarn needed to make a basic granny square. I've tried the fancy square (and triangle, and hexagon) but always go back to the classic. It's the color combinations that I get creative with. Take a look at this yarn I've cut into pieces for the squares...

Orchids...

2011-07-20T03:27:00.000-07:00

Have you seen these in your grocery store? My Kroger regularly has a big table full of orchid plants for sale. I always thought they were beautiful, but not worth $10 or $15. How often do they flower? Even if they bloom a couple of times a year, I wouldn't pay that much money for a few days of flowers in my house.
Well,...if I see a cart in the back of the store with wilted, drooping $3 orchid plants (no more flowers) looking like unwanted puppies, I have to take some of them home. Six months later...after water, a good window seat, and lots of music...

The purple one bloomed in early June, the pink one bloomed in February! The flowers last for months on these orchids! I would not have believed it if someone had told me...but it is true!

2011-07-17T07:26:00.000-07:00

over two years later...

2011-07-17T07:21:00.000-07:00

I can't believe I'm still here! Just a couple of new pictures...me quilting, my new granddaughter. I am crocheting again, granny square blankets that will match my quilts (pictures coming soon).

I missed this...

2009-03-01T10:30:00.000-08:00

I can't believe I've been away so long. Even though I'm 58, I only voted for the second time in my life. Now I'm deep into it, but it's not so good for me to spend all my time on "current events" and leave my quilting and playing behind. So I have come back to the creative and fun stuff! NEWS FLASH: I'm going to be a grandmother for the first time! And my daughter (who never showed any interest in sewing) sat with me and looked on line at all the available fabric for her baby's quilt. It was the closest thing to working together on a sewing project. Hey, I'm not complaining, it was great! Here is the first fabric that caught her eye. And when she was sure, this became the theme for her nursery. Forest animals. The colors will be warm and woodsy...

I'm away for a while...

2008-10-19T09:06:00.000-07:00

As much time as I had spent looking at hundreds of other blogs, and fretting over my juvenile attempt at a blog, it hit me the other day that I hadn't even thought about this stuff for a month now. I am 58 years old and I am going to vote for the first time in my life. The debates, the news reports and updates (newspapers, magazines, and TV) have taken over. This is an incredibly HUGE thing and I can't get enough of it. It's also a disturbing thing that keeps me up at night. Thank you all for quilting, sewing, creating, blogging, and being here when I come back for a quick peek every once in a while. I probably won't post anything till after the election. Thanks for being here.

Back to work...

2008-09-08T06:03:00.000-07:00

I'm spending too much time on the computer. Ever since I started my blog I've been looking at other sites, going into "recommended" sites, leaving comments (a few) and watching for comments on my blog. In all that time, I haven't been doing very much creating. Kinda' silly of me. My favorite sewing projects have been on the back burner since I started my blog. I never asked for comments ("Please, please tell me how wonderful I am!") I like getting them, but mainly because I know someone is looking at my stuff. I look at other blogs and many times I'm blown away by what I see, but I don't comment very often. Maybe I'm supposed to compliment everything I like. But when I consider saying a few words, I see that there are already 27 comments at the end of a post and I think it's rather overkill to add another "I love it!" "The colors are so vibrant!" "Where do you get your ideas?" "My grandmother used to tat!" "Sweet face!" "What detail!"...

I would be happy just to know you are looking. That's why I installed a counter. Simple. And then I found out how many people are visiting my blog. In 15 days I've had seven hits. Nothing to write home about. In fact I bet some of Jude's posts got seven comments in 15 minutes. I'm going to quit watching, and get back to work. If I do post anything, and you happen to see it...that's nice. That's all I ever wanted.

I found some faeries...

2008-08-24T08:17:00.000-07:00

Look at this fabulous creature! I can't find the original site now, but a few years ago it was one of my favorites, even though it had nothing to do with quilting.

My sister's quilt...

2008-07-20T07:59:00.001-07:00

This is the latest from my sister. I just got back from a vacation with my family and I had to post these pictures. She is very talented and this is one of several quilts that she has done. She is the person who inspired me to start quilting about four years ago.

Look what I found in the yard...

2008-07-06T07:22:00.000-07:00

It's a rock. You don't see ones like this very often.

Pictures of the Kimono Fabric...

2008-06-25T15:54:00.000-07:00

Does it upset you to see someone cut up something beautiful to make something else out of the pieces? I have seen angry comments on other blogs after someone cuts up an old quilt to make something new...and I hope I don't make anyone that mad! How about this: Let's discuss it.

Kimono Fabric

2008-06-22T07:07:00.000-07:00

I found a buried treasure way at the back of a shelf in one of the bedrooms. A box of pieces of old kimonos that I bought on line about ten years ago. At the time, I was making doll clothes and requested small prints of very light fabrics. They won't work in a full size quilt so I think I'll try my hand at doll quilts instead of clothes. I wish I had a camera this morning so I could post some photos. The coolest piece is cream colored with pink cranes that look like they were hand painted onto the fabric. The funny thing about it is that they are flying in different directions, and a few look like they are colliding in mid air. I fussy cut three perfect cranes to be the focal point of the quilt. Those three pieces are only about 2-4" including seam allowance, but everything in a doll quilt has to be scaled down so these might end up looking big in a tiny quilt top. As soon as the camera comes home, I will post some pictures of all the kimono fabric.

My Studio aka My Sewing Corner

2008-06-21T14:04:00.000-07:00

I saw such a perfect work space, on Maria's "Shallow Thoughts from Iowa" blog. (Right here I should have a thing you click on to get there, if I knew how to install one. Kinda' like "you can't get there from here.") Anyway, Maria has a big porch that's all enclosed and decked out like I remember my dream playhouse...
Here's my sewing room. My sister says we can call these rooms our "Studios". Okay, but it's really more like a corner than a room. The cabinet is a kit from Lowe's that the girls and I put together. I have way more fabric upstairs and under the beds, but only so much of it will fit in my cabinet. For now this is fine, but it would be nice to have a place big enough to have my ironing board and sewing machine set up 24/7, and all the things I'm working on spread out and ready to be grabbed.

Taking Care of the Stash

2008-06-15T06:10:00.000-07:00

My collection is huge. What you see in the pictures is a fraction of it. Most of the pieces are fat quarters or remnants, so the variety is tremendous. If you are like me, you love your stash even if some of it won't end up in a quilt. I would never say "This is a nice piece, but when would I ever use it? It doesn't go with anything." The pieces are beautiful things all by themselves. Since I have about six more years till I can retire, and I can only make a finite number of quilts before I die, some of my stash may never even get to audition for a quilt. But I love all of it! Antique tapestry repros, cream fabric with pink ducks on it, Asian border prints...

If you have a large stash that is packed away for future use, take it out at least once a year to love it all over again. But the most important thing you can do for your stash is to refold it. If the pieces are quarter folded, refold them into thirds. Smooth them flat on the table or bed while you fold so you don't get any hard creases. My sister taught me this trick. It keeps the pieces from stressing at the fold line if they are packed tightly for many years. It's also a wonderful way to see what fabrics you might have forgotten you had.

Cut the Corners

2008-06-14T12:06:00.000-07:00

I saw a block called "Cut the Corners" in a calendar of quilt squares (a different one every day). The more I looked at it, the more I saw something like an opening box. I'm afraid to post the picture from the calendar because of copyright laws... But here are photos of three blocks I was inspired to make that look like the design (from box to opening box to open box).

Here are a few more I've started, using different fabrics. As you can see, the blocks are in the process of being completed.

Pink Willy Nilly Quilt

2008-06-12T15:24:00.000-07:00

Here is a quilt I call "Pink". These photos are so out of focus (not to mention rotated!)...I will try again this weekend. Grrrrr...

I like to see the details...

2008-06-08T11:51:00.000-07:00

My favorite view of someone else's quilt is up close (and personal). When you hang your quilt on a wall, it looks so much like all the others. I want to get close so I can see how the pieces touch and compliment each other.

These are photos of one of my quilt tops. Too bad I can't work my daughter's camera very well. These look a little pale and out of focus.

All hand stitched...

2008-06-06T08:16:00.000-07:00

These pictures show the progression of a quilt top I've been hand stitching for a while. The first photo, of the center square, has pieces from the "Civil War Anthem" and "Bound to the Prairie" fabric collections.

In the second photo, you can see pieces I have added from "Empress Woo" and April Cornell's "Sonnet".

The close ups show in detail just how many different fabrics I used: Civil War Anthem, Bound to the Prairie, Serendipity, Shangri La, Allspice Tapestry, Dominique (inspired by antique French textiles), Oak Leaves and Reel, Roman Holiday, Momoyama, Regency (designs from the era of King George IV), Sonnet, Madeira, Chez Moi, Empress Woo, Jacob's Ladder, Snow Blooms...and several more from my stash. The moon piece is my signature. In the 16 quilt tops I've done so far, each has at least one little moon piece sewn into the design.

When I tried to edit this post, I deleted the first two comments I ever received. I feel sad that I lost them...

2008-05-24T21:06:00.000-07:00

I have been sewing since I was ten, but didn't attend my first quilt class till 44 years later. So I haven't been at it very long. In the 2+ years since my first class, I've made dozens of quilt squares, and have 16 quilt tops that I am working on. It's amazing how addicting this craft is! I will post more photos in the next few weeks.
I am hand stitching one that I started on Christmas Day 2006. To me, stitching by hand is way more enjoyable than by machine. I would like to hear from any of you quilters out there, especially the hand stitchers.