That Time of Year

Canning season is here.  This is the first batch of green beans that I canned.  Did 10 pints.  Did another batch today and only had enough for 7 pints.  I'm getting a smaller canner that does 10 pints at a time.  It seems rediculous to be canning so few jars in a canner that holds 20 pint jars. 

The tomato plants are loaded with green tomatoes.  Some fried green tomatoes is sounding good.  Wonder if I have any cornmeal.  I'm pretty sure I have the rest of the ingredients.

 I saw this block at http://quiltinggallery.com/2012/06/23/my-next-scrappy-project/  .  I do like a   scrap quilt and am always on the look out for patterns.  The little center 9-patches are my new    leaders and enders project.  The original block called for using 1.5" squares, but I only have a very  small collection, so decided to use 2" squares for my blocks.  This is the block I made to make sure I  had all the   sizes right.  the sashing is 2" x 5" rectangles and I used 6.5" squares cut once on the diagonal for the corners.  My block is 10.5" finished.  When I'm cutting scraps I will try to cut   1.5" squares so sometime I can do the smaller 7" block.       

Don't Tell Mom

Don't tell mom, grandma will get in trouble for letting me eat cheese puffs.  Mom says no junk food, but they sure are good. 

October Quilt Camp

The EVQG had another quilt camp in October.  I had fun as usual.  I really enjoy the three times a year that our guild does the week long quilt camps.  It is a good time to catch up on UFO’s, finish projects, or start a new one.  I did a little of each, plus took the fabric basket class.

This is the little fabric basket that I did in the class.

My “new project” was a purse.

 

My new black and white purse.  The hounds tooth print made me dizzy when I was working with it, but I love it now that it is made.  The other black and white print is a paisley, of course. 

Other projects I worked on where a 9-patch quilt that still isn’t finished and binding on the polka dot and stripes Turning twenty quilt. 

 

This is the finished T-shirt quilt that I made for a client.

A few of our guild members decided to form and Art Quilt Bee.

This was my inspiration for my first art quilt.  To me, it looks like a vortex.  Maybe a glimpse of another universe.

A work in progress.

Our art bee met for the second time last Saturday.  We did cool aide dying.  It was fun.  I ended up with some pretty pink fat quarters.  The red was more pink than red.  The green turned out a light lime green and the purple is hard to distinguish from the pinks. I’m going to wash my fabrics and see if it is really permanent or not.  If it is, I might try it again.  It was easy to do, but it takes about 5 or 6 packs for each color, plus 1/4 c. white vinegar.  Dissolve the cool Aide in a pot of hot water, add the vinegar, fabric and simmer until the color has absorbed into the fabric.

T-Shirt Quilt

This is the T-shirt quilt that I’m currently working on.  This is the top.  I did get it quilted.  Although half way through quilting it the clear polyester thread that I used started breaking on me and gave me trouble quilting the last half.  Now to get the binding on it so I can get it to the customer.

Finally, I printed all the pictures that I have of T-shirt quilts that I’ve had a hand in making.  There are two that I’d really like to have pictures of that I can’t find.  One is the first one I pieced, a king size made from baseball shirts and the other is made using  college shirts.  I even used the pockets in the borders and some of the blocks.  I’m wanting to make a portfolio. so I will have something to show prospective customers.

This is the fabric that I’m going to use for the One Block Wonder quilt.  I’m anxious to get started, but have to wait.  I don’t know if EVQG is going to do a class, or if Sandra, Jean and I are going to do it as a challenge project.  As we are still working on our polka-dots  and stripes, it will probably be next year before we do it.

 

Technorati Tags: T-shirt quilts,quilting

Quilt Show

Last weekend the East Cobb Quilt Guild had their quilt show.  Sandra, Jean and I went.  We had a great time.  Of course we visited all the vendors first.  I bought a few things.  At Fibers on a Whim, I got 4 fat quarters on sale and some items for art quilts:  2 half yard cuts of hand-dyed cheesecloth, hand-dyed batting grab bag and 2 fancy fabric scraps.  At Schoolhouse Quilts I purchased a holder for rulers.  It is the ring that fits over a closet bar.  I hung it from one of the hooks I have in my quilt studio for my rulers.  I have more fullers than hooks.  At the booth for Elaine’s Attic I bought 2-1yd cuts and a 1/2 yd cut of batiks.  I saw some patterns and kits that I liked, but didn’t get them.  I have lots of patterns already and kits I haven’t made yet.

I didn’t take a lot of pictures.  Although there were lots of pretty quilts.

I took took these looking down from the balcony.  There were over 400 quilts in the show.  A friend of mine got a 2nd place ribbon for her appliqué quilt.  I should have taken a picture of it but didn’t think too.

This is the only quilt I took a picture of and that is because it is a One Block Wonder quilt and I’m planning to make one.  I see it won a ribbon too, but can’t remember for what category.  There were several One Block Wonder Quilts in the show.  It fascinates  me how one fabric and one block can make such an interesting looking quilt.  I have both of the books.  I bought the 2nd one first and it only confused me.  The 1st book tells how to make the basic kaleidoscope block and the 2nd book tells how to do the tumbling blocks that can be used as accent blocks to add a little more interest to the quilt.

When we left the show we ate lunch at the Marietta Diner.  It was good and they have generous servings.  I took half my meal home. On the way home we stopped at Red Hen Fabrics.  I got the last of the fabrics for the Paradise Piecers birthdays and Christmas gifts.  I also found fabric to use for my One Block Wonder quilt.

Technorati Tags: quilting

Guest Speaker

This month’s EVQG guest speaker was Claudia Wood.  She makes art quilts.  I really enjoyed having her speak to our guild.  She taught a class, but I didn’t attend.  I would have liked to, but ECQG had there quilt show this weekend and I couldn’t do both, so chose the quilt show.  I did buy Claudia’s book, but it is folk art quilts which she started with, and then went into the art quilts.  There are a couple of patterns in the book I liked, so I bought it.  Wish she would write one on doing the art quilts. 

This is Claudia with one of her poem quilts.

This is one of her folk art quilts that I thought was really pretty.  I didn’t take any pictures of the art quilts.  guess I didn’t think a picture would show the details to be helpful to try to make my own art quilt.  Besides, I don’t want to copy hers.  I want to make my own.

A few of us from the guild are thinking about starting an art quilt guild or club.  We are wanting to do it on a Saturday and that will make it hard to find a place to meet.  I could maybe accommodate a couple extra quilters in my studio, so it would have to be a really small group.

Finally, I finished the 2nd Saturday Sampler from 2005.  Got the label on this week.  It is a wedding gift, but the couple have been married long enough to have two children.  Better late than never, I guess.

This is the only year that I completed.  I started going in 2006, but fizzled out half way through.  There are duplicate blocks, because I made two of each.l  I wanted a queen size quilt.  The other four blocks I used to cover pillows.  I’m not sure where they are.  Don’t know if they are in the attic, or if I gave them away.  I just noticed, it looks like I sewed the flag block into the quilt upside down.  Wonder how I managed to do that, and why it took to just now to notice it.

I’m making a little progress on the T-shirt quilt I’m supposed to be working on.

Some progress is better than none.  There are 3 more shirts to cut into squares.  They already have the interfacing on them.  Than I can cut my sashing strips and corner stones and start putting the top together.  It shouldn’t take long once I get started back on it. 

 

Technorati Tags: quilting,T-shirt quilts

What I’ve Been Doing

It must have been last month when AGQ did an apron class for the special projects.  I really wanted the apron.  It was a free pattern from Jo-Ann's web site, so I went ahead and made it on my own.  I would have like to have gone down for the class, but it is just so crowded and no room to work.  That apron had big pieces to work with and I just felt more comfortable at home. 

 

This is my canning apron.  It will also work for Christmas.  I used the red print so tomato stains wouldn’t be so noticeable.  I’ve already made good use of it and have washed it.  Originally I had an orange paisley print picked out for a colorful, fun apron.  Than I realized that I would be upset if it got stained.  I’m on a paisley kick and collecting them.  I’ve bright ones, bold ones and pastels and muted tones.  I’m saving them for several special projects, as they won’t all look good together in the same project.  This was an easy apron to make.  Maybe it would make a good Christmas gift.  I’ve already got ideas for this Christmas, but there is future Christmases.  Maybe I should start a notebook of patterns for gift ideas.  Otherwise I’ll misplace the patterns.  Like I did with the pattern I planned to use for next year’s challenge project and it is no longer on the web site.  I’m going to have to do some hunting or hope someone else knows where their copy is.

This coming Tuesday AQG special projects are quick Christmas gifts.  They will be doing coasters, notebook cover, and a loyalty wallet.  The coasters we’ve done before and the notebook cover sounds like the steno pad cover we’ve already done and I gave as Christmas gifts a couple of years ago.  The loyalty wallet I’d like to do.  Those instructions are free on the web and I’ve already printed them.  Think that will go in the notebook for future reference.   Doubt that I will make it down there for the class.  Next month special projects will be a journal cover, but it only fits one brand of journal that Wal Mart carries.  The cover won’t fit other brands that are supposedly the same size.  We had to sign up to get the pattern and I signed up, so maybe I can make it down to that class.  Wish they would do the classes in the other room that is bigger.  They use it for day long sew-ins.  Wish I could find the notes I made for the class. 

I had a few projects I wanted to finish up before starting the T-shirt quilt.  One was quilting and putting the binding on a community service quilt for AQG.  I sewed the blocks into a top, but didn’t make the blocks, then quilted it and put the binding on.

I think it turned out cute.  I used 16 of the 17 blocks that were completed.  There are enough triangles and squares to make about 20 more blocks.  Think I’ll take them back and let someone else make them.  I also quilted and put binding on another top that was already made.  I didn’t take a picture of it.  I didn’t have anything to do with the making of the top.    Figured I should get them done, it is about time to give them to the recipient of of our community service. 

Yesterday I went to Jo Ann’s looking for backing for the T-shirt quilt.  It poured down rain on the way down.  It was nerve wracking driving down I-75.  It was raining so hard I couldn’t see the tail lights of the car in front unless I was close to them.  I wanted to keep my distance, last thing  I wanted was to have to slam on my brakes to keep from rear ending someone.  I was so glad when I finally got to Jo Ann’s.  Thankfully the rain had let up when I left to come home.  I couldn’t find any black with green fabric.  Everything with green had other colors and was either a bright or a floral, nothing masculine.  I ended up getting a green with a little black.  Hope it will be alright with the lady who asked me to make the quilt.  I’ll look at Red Hen on Saturday and see if they have anything.