Cats and Wastepaper baskets

I think if cats were to become people, they would mostly be quilters. It is obvious that most cats love fabric and quilt tops as much as their owners. In addition to always being on top of any project I have on my floor, my cats are always jockeying for position as close to my sewing machine as possible, and typically crawl under any project that I'm lap quilting.

As I watched my cat Bernie lounging with my DH this morning, I realized that cats (as quilters) also really enjoy quiet time with a good book.







When I was in college, one of my professors said you could tell how good a photographer was by the size of their wastepaper baskets -- the bigger the garbage pail, the better the photographer. You have to realize that not everything is quality and only hang on to (and share) the truly special pieces.

I am wondering if the same applies to quilters. Today (I think for the first time) I threw away some flying geese that seemed beyond repair. In the past I would have tried to force these into a quilt. I'd think about how much time it took to cut, sew and press the pieces and not want to do it again. I'm learning to enjoy the quilting process as much as the finished product and, as a step toward improving my skills, I am glad that I chose to ditch substandard work and take the time to remake these geese. More of this quilt later...

Yearly Recommended Dose of Purple

I've had a diverse quilty day. I started by purchasing 2 yards of this darling black and white fabric for a FQ swap.

I also worked a bit on all purple blocks for row robin. I'm not really a purple kind of girl, so this was new to me. After making 4 all purple blocks, I feel as if I have met my yearly quota for the color. :)




Finally, I did a bit of hand quilting on my queen-size bed quilt. I'm using wool batting for the first time and am really enjoying it. I think it is fairly forgiving and shows the quilting really well. It's just very comfy-looking. I figure I can reasonably quilt 7-8 blocks per week, so I should (could) be done by the end of the year...

NZ Travel quilt

For my 30th (!) birthday in March, I went to New Zealand for a couple of weeks with my DH. It was an amazing trip and I hope to write a post just about the trip soon. While we were walking around Auckland, we passed this building which (of course) reminded me of HSTs. I knew as soon as I saw it that I would have to make it into a quilt.

I picked up fabrics all over New Zealand and here is the Auckland building quilt in progress (on my classy design floor). As it gets further along I'll take photos of the gorgeous batiks I found that you can't see very well in this photo.

Lap quilting

I am hand quilting this enormous queen-sized monster -- without a hoop or frame. I've tried both hoops and frames and just can't seem to get the elusive rocking motion down. I have a theory that the whole thing is made up to trick new quilters; a hazing of sorts. So I ditched the frame and hoop and just take my time lap quilting.

My favorite part about hand quilting is spending so much time, so close to the quilt. I think hand quilting is when I become most attached to projects. This quilt is extra special because many of the bricks are old cloths of mine and my DH. Flannel shirts, linen skirts, khaki pants, even an old camisole. It's going to take me a while to finish, but I know I'll love the result.

In Yesterday's mail...

This is the result of the ugly FQ I sent away for a partner swap. My creative partner could make whatever she wanted from this yellow, 70's-ish FQ I sent her, and I got this lovely pincusion bonnet -- complete with bees. It was quite a surprise and, I think, a lovely result.

Also in yesterdays mail were two sets of blocks for a yellow and blue block swap that I am hosting -- the Chinese Coins and Pathways to the Stars.


Going out in tomorrow's mail are these Sunbonnet blocks. I'm in a "block, block swap" and my partner will take these 12 blocks and make a top for me with them. Previous rounds of this swap have been very successful and I can't wait to see how this one goes!

Ugly FQ and scrap bag swaps.

For the past week, I have been working on two swaps for internet groups that I am in. The first was a scrap bag swap where my partner sent me scraps she no longer wanted and I was charged with making them into a project. Fortunately, my partner has an amazing stash, and she sent me the lovliest fabric, which I turned into this wall hanging:




I am sending this back to my partner on Monday. I hope she likes it!

The second swap I have been working on was an ugly FQ swap. My partner sent me the ugliest FQ in her stash so that I could turn it into a "swan". This is the fabric I received:

At first I didn't think the fabric was too ugly. (We had bonded.) But gradually, the ugliness came to the surface and I realized what a challenge this would be. I decided to make simple coasters and tried to chose fabrics that kept to the ugly theme. When I was done, I made a ribbon with the leftover ugly fabric and tied the 4 coasters up into a special package of ugliness. Did I make a swan? I guess we'll find out if my partner likes them soon!

Starting out...

Like all quilt addicts and fabriholics, I love looking at other quilter's work....UFOs, WIPs, and just purchased fabrics. I hope this blog will introduce me to a new community of quilt bloggers.