Sunday, October 15, 2023

Evolution of quilting style


These are my favorite quilting books.  They encouraged me to be freewheeling and creative with my quilting. 

I love ad-libbing with patterns and fabrics and colors.


  When Gwen Marston died, I made this quilt - remembering her and the weeklong  class I took with  Asilomar in California.     I ususally quote her in my workshops - "If it's too long, cut it off.  If it's too small, add a piece on." 
Recently, I joined a Facebook page and found Jo Anne Merrill-Duckworth, who has evolved a style based on wonky log cabins.   She usually uses one basic color, very scrappy, but with a limited tonal range.  She adds lots of small pieces of contrasting color for visual interest.

My current work in progress is my attempt to do this same thing.    I'm using greens, with forays into blue and yellow.   It will be tagged for my great-grandnephew Rowan, for his high school graduation.
Making these blocks is highly addictive and really satisfying.
Can't wait to start another colorway.





                         



                 




 

Thursday, October 12, 2023

Life is a Song

Yesterday I really 'saw' the piece of counted cross stitch that has been hanging on my bedroom wall for many years.   It's at least 30 years old, maybe older.   I made it before  I discovered quilting.

What it says still rings true for me.



 

Wednesday, September 27, 2023

Bye bye quilts

I had too many quilts around the house.  

Scrap quilt to Donna

This weekend I gave some to my nieces.   Others are tagged and ready to go to my nephew, grandson, and bonus granddaughter

Debbi has mine from Oma

 

 

  
 
Debbi got my wedding quilt from 1996
 

 

Kathy has this one now

 

 

 

Martha chose this one - the Women of the Bible
Michael will get the 12 days of Christmas



d
Natalie will get Dear Jane Light 

Kathy  took this one

Donna took the Red, Green, Purple one     

Mike has the first quilt I made 


Jack gets this one





And Granny's Star has been returned to Jack.


Kathy took the one from Gruene


Saturday, August 12, 2023

Hibiscus - raw edge applique with thread painting


I recently took a class from Susan Knight and made this sweet hibiscus applique block. 

As usual for a class, I used fabric that I already had, but this time I think it worked well.


Since most of my walls are full, I turned the block into a pillow for the recliner in my living room.
 


Friday, August 11, 2023

Texas Landscape

 When I saw this Moda panel, I was quite taken with it.  I ordered it online and was very pleased with it when it came.  

As quilters do, I made finishing it up into a quilt a lot harder than it might have been.  I made four strips of flying geese, in four different sizes to frame it.  At least I had the good sense to put in cornerstones of bluebonnet fabric, rather than the curved flying geese that I first thought of.  

It's a real pretty little quilt.



Sunday, July 30, 2023

Starting my Ninth Decade



 I celebrated my fifth sixteenth birthday.  (I do love the hexadecimal base system. )

Instead of a big party, I had several small ones.   

First, I had a visit from my grandson Jack.  He made a very quick visit from Minneapolis.   We had dinner at his Mom's house, cupcakes with candles, and he gave me a planter with an unknown green plant.  The planter is in the shape of a bull and the plant is kind of ivy-like.   It's growing nicely.


At the monthly  meeting of my Round Rock quilting group, the Pebbles@Round Rock, we had Texas sheet cake for me and Marilyn, who will turn 75 before the next meeting.




On  the day before my birthday,  my friends-of-long-standing Carolyn and Susan treated me, my daughter Martha, and my friend Susan to lunch at Gloria's, at the Domain.   We had a great time.    
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That afternoon,  Tiff's Treats  delivered. cookies from my son-in-law Luke.  Still warm.

That's them on my table with the planter  from my grandson Jack  and the birthday table mat that my friend Rita made for me many, many years ago. 



On the  morning of my birthday, my neighbor and friend Brady brought me a bag filled with goodies from him and his husband Daniel.  A purple plush elephant. Incense.  Body lotion.  Puzzle book.   That was a real surprise.   It's really nice to have neighbors that become friends.


There was a text wishing me a Happy Birthday from my first ex-husband (Dick) and an email from my second (David).

My grandson Aaron called from Louisiana, with several of his children chiming in on the birthday song.

My cousin Shirley, who is 89, called, as did my former sister-in-law Laura.


My sewing friends took me and Marilyn to Austin Creative Reuse on the actual day of my birthday for some shopping and a Tex Mex lunch.   Thank you, Linda, Kitty, and Jude!

My last celebration was lunch at the Top Notch, with my sister Diane, my brother-in-law Frank, and my niece-and-goddaughter Debbi.

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Turning 80 isn't so bad !




Friday, July 14, 2023

Cherrywood Challenge 2023


At last year's International Quilt Festival in Houston,  my daughter talked me into purchasing one of the Cherrywood fabric bundles for their yearly challenge.

The theme was Monarchs, and I had previously done a fragmented monarch butterfly.

The rules are pretty involved.  This is my submitted entry.


Sadly, there were 475 entries for the 200 available spaces, and mine was not selected.

Can't wait to see the display at the Festival in November.