My First Log Cabin

Every year in November I travel to the Sisters of Ursula in Rhinebeck, NY, for their quilters retreat.  It is a peaceful place on the Hudson River that is free of distractions like television and cell phones.  Here, it is possible to work quietly and in a focused way on quilts.  I love going there.

Under the guidance of expert quilters, this baby quilt took shape.  Nine traditional Log Cabin blocks, each 11” square comprise the body of the quilt.  It is rendered in non-traditional colors to bring it up-to-date.  The finished size of 45.5” x 45/5” includes a darker pink sashing, a pink dotted stop border, pink plaid outer border and pink-dotted binding.  The backing is a nice soft flannel.  The quilt is washable, sturdy and meant to be used as a blanket, carriage cover and play mat.  

It was a joy to make. :)

 

"Jersey Shore, Winter 2012"

This is the quilt that I am donating to the Nutley Thriving Survivors this year.  It will be a door prize at their brunch on Sunday, October 27, 2013.

"Jersey Shore, October 2012"

Quilt size:  64” X 65”    Date Finished:  April, 2012     Machine pieced and machine quilted

The ocean in winter at the Jersey shore was the inspiration for this quilt.  The miles of boardwalk and blocks of homes are mirrored in the linear design.  The colors are those of winter at the shore.

Standing on the boardwalk at dusk in the off season, dark power was visible in the colors of the sky, the water and the beach.  There was a feeling of quiet energy.  I tried to capture all of this in these colors.  The purples represent the sea.  The tans and browns bring together the sand and boardwalk.  The pinks and greens are the colors of closed boardwalk businesses and homes.  Aqua squares are the bright spots in the view – the wave caps, last rays of the sun, lights coming on along the boardwalk.

Now, after Hurricane Sandy ravaged the shore in October 2012, I think of the aqua squares as bright spots in a storm – the volunteers, neighbors and public safety workers who were there to lend a hand.  In that way, aqua symbolizes “community,” the same kind of “community” that helps survivors thrive.

Explorations: Barron Arts Center

On Sunday, 9/22/13, I visited Barron Arts Center to see "iView: Analysis."

 Featuring 16 fiber artists and their impressions of our world, the exhibit was an amazing presentation of 64 pieces that each measured 4" x 6". The size of postcards. Each artists presented four related works representing their view of "i". Some type of rug hooking, punch hooking or Russian needle punch had to be present in at least part of one of their four pieces. Each artist created a story that brought viewers into their own visual world.

This series was my favorite.

The artist is Kim Dubay from Maine.  Here is the description in her own words.
"These hand-stitched merit badges are reminiscent of what young girls in scouts would earn. My hope is that the viewer think about these "lost arts" and realize our lives do not need to be taken over by technology!" Pictured from top left and going clockwise are:  Letter Writing, Making Things by Hand, Talking Face to Face, and Reading a Book.


And, the Arts Center was an interesting building too.  This was my first of what will be many visits.

"Girlfriends" Quilt

Honoring the special relationship women share with their girlfriends, this whimsical and inspirational quilt pays tribute to women who are challenged by breast cancer. 

The fabric is "Girlfriends, Sisterhood of Quilters" by Jody Houghton for Lyndhurst Studio complimented by gingham checks in pink, black, tan and green.  The quilt design is by Patti Carey.  The quilt is machine-pieced and quilted by me.

I loved the fabric when I first purchased it but had no immediate ideas about a quilt design.  Later, I saw Patti Carey's design in the Summer 2010 issue of Fons and Porter Easy Quilts magazine.  I remembered and located the article when I decided to use this fabric for a 2012 Thriving Survivors quilt.

I made it with love, send it into the world with a hug, and hope that it will bring comfort to someone dealing with cancer. 

It will be donated to the Nutley Thriving Survivors for their 10th Anniversary Brunch.

Quit Odyssey @ Hershey, PA, July 26, 27, 28, 2012

I love road trips.  My sister Jackie and I met at Quilt Odyssey on Thursday for a few days of fun.

The Hershey Lodge was wonderful. I can imagine family gatherings here for kids to visit Hershey Park and grandmom and great aunt to enjoy the quilt show.  We would all do what we enjoy and meet for dinners to recap the days.

 Back to the quilt show, my favorite quilt was "America, Let It Shine" by Sherry Reynolds. It won the Best of Show Award here, the Best Machine Workmanship Award at the Lancaster show, and prizes at other shows in 2011-2012.  "Masterpiece" is the best word to describe it. It was featured on the cover of "Quilter's Newsletter" in June/July 2012.

We stopped at Burkholder's Fabrics on Saturday morning before driving home.  What a great store.  Jackie is now all set to create Christmas projects and I have the fabrics for Kyle's new quilt in his swim team colors.

Internation Quilt Festival, November 2-6, 2011, Houston, TX

It has taken me a while to get around to this post. There was so much to say about this fabulous show. And, it was a great trip with quilting friends Rosemary, Dale, Catherine and Regina. So, let me describe it chronologically.  From Wednesday through Saturday night, I stayed at the Embassy Suites Hotel three blocks from the George R. Brown Convention Center.

George R. is the largest convention center I have ever seen.  About three blocks long and three stories high, it was vast.  The vendors' booths were located on the first floor. Here is a view of about 1/3 of the vendor floor space.

The Houston skyline is spacious and new.  It seemed that everything in Houston was fairly new.

On Thursday, I took an all-day bus tour to see a bit of Texas.  We visited La Grange, Giddings, and Round Top. LaGrange was the most interesting.

It is the home of new Texas Quilt Museum.  The Museum opened just to give us a sneak preview that day.

We were not permitted to take photos inside the museum.  The quilts on display for the inaugural exhibit were all made by Texas women.  They were pretty amazing.  I liked the courthouse steps borders that were favored by many of the quilters and will definitely try my hand at creating them in one of my future projects.

The Museum is right on Courthouse Square in La Grange. Great care was taken to restore the building to its original condition.  It is about 100 years old.  We were treated to baked goods when we were settled back on the bus.  The area was settled by  German, Czech, and Moravian immigrants.  And their baking skills have survived and thrived here.  I would come back here just for the bread and pastries!

In Round Top, we spent some time at the Copper Shade Tree, an artists' boutique for quilts, jewelry and other handcrafts.  This shop was Texas outside and 5th Avenue inside! The hand-crafted jewelry was really pretty. I dropped a bundle of money for Christmas gifts here :)

Did I mention that all of the items were crafted by men? Yes, indeed, there were no women allowed.  This is a men's art collective.





On Friday, I spent the day in a class taught by Charlotte Angotti of Quiltmaker's Studio. What a hoot!  This talented lady should be a stand-up comic.  In one day of instruction and non-stop sewing, she walked us through an almost complete construction of one of her latest designs, "Amber Waves of Grain."  I just got mine back from Janice Jamison (great long-arm quilter, jjam061454@aol.com) and will tell you more about it after I get the binding on and take some pictures.

Saturday was a time to spend viewing the festival quilts, meeting Alex Anderson, and ending the day by enjoying the concert performed by Ricky Tims.

At home, I want to find a couple of the fabrics featured: Robert Kaufman's "Florentine" and "Jewel & Earth" as well as "Etchings" by Moda.

I purchased a CD with professional pictures of all of the winning quilts.  There are restrictions on posting the quilt pictures on a website. So, if you would like to see the quilts, I would be happy to lend you the CD.

It was a great trip.  I can cross "Attend the largest international quilt show" off of my to-do list :)

Jackie's School Bag

Finished in time, this school bag is the same as the project bag that I made for my friend Linda.  When Jackie saw that bag, she thought that the same pattern would make a great school bag for her.

She had little time left to take on a new project before school opened.  She was thrilled and I was happy to offer to make it for her. She even had fabric that she thought would be perfect.  And, after I realized that the raindrops should fall down rather than sideways, it turned out to be one of the cutest projects I have ever made.  AND, it is soooooo Jackie. 

I made that little tuck-inside purse from leftover fabric from the same line - Tula Pink's Prince Charming.  It will be so convenient when she just wants to leave the big bag in the car while she runs into a store.

Waste not...

 My sewing room is a little cluttered with fabric leftover from recent projects.  So, I was inspired to make a few small gift items last night! Here is a crochet hook folder for Linda.  It matches the tote I made to give to her for Christmas.

 These are small purses that are great for carrying ID, a bank card, and a few dollars in a pocket when going for a walk or a quick trip to the grocery store.  They are nice holders for gift cards as well.

                                                                                                     

I have to get a storage bin for all of the gift projects I have completed so far.  Perhaps there is room in the garage.  Hmmm....

Linda's Bag

My friend Linda Fisher is an avid crochet crafter. When she is not grading papers for her high school English students, her hands are busy crocheting.

Her family traditions include gifting her with sock monkeys.  When I saw this whimsical sock monkey print with a coordinating brown banana leaf print and a banana yellow banana print, her Christmas present was "in the bag." There was even enough fabric for a little wallet and purse tissue cover.

The pattern for this bag is "Cindy's Bag aka The Monster Tote" by Marlous Designs, The Cross Town Carry Collection.

Now, I need to make one for myself! 

When things go wrong, don't go with them - The Debt Ceiling Quilt part 2

I first wrote about this quilt on August 2, 2011. I had been working on it and watching the debt ceiling controversy unfold on TV (hence the quilt name).  I went back to this quilt after I got lost about how to put it together, put it up on my design wall and figured out how to make it into something.  Surprise, an original design was the result.

My quilting buddies loved it when we got together. So, I spent the next two weeks quilting it.  When Grace saw it draped over a chair in my sewing room she matter-of-factly informed me that it was her quilt and asked if I were going to put a princess on it! So, now, it is most certainly her Christmas gift.  The jury is still out on the princess. Maybe I can work one into the label :-)

The moral to this quilt project came from a fortune cookie munched earlier this month: "When things go wrong, don't go with them."  It worked for this quilt and works well in life generally.

When things go wrong....The Debt Crisis Quilt part 1

This quilt-in-progress is the unveiled "mystery" quilt from the workshop with Janice Jamieson last Friday.  She put it up on the flannel wall to show us how to lay out the blocks.  This is a very interesting quilt to build.  We all took pictures, notes and asked questions.  Laying out blocks that are not square or rectangular was going to be a challenge.  I was ready. With this picture, the layout diagram that Janice provided and all of my blocks completed, I went home for a weekend of sewing and watching the debt crisis coverage on MSNBC and other networks.

At some point in the crisis, I lost my way laying out this quilt.  I sewed half of my blocks into rows on the diagonal at home on Friday night.  After the Republicans passed John Boehner's bill that night, I put the rows away for more work on Saturday. Rising early, I sewed the rows together with a plan to fill in the other half of the blocks to create the layout in the picture. Legislators were still haggling in Washington and analysts were still prognosticating on TV.  I learned that Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid was working on a plan.  Later, I heard that Senate Minority Leader McConnell refused to meet with Reid and went directly to the President to negotiate a plan.  Mr. Reid prepared to introduce his bill in the Senate.  Meanwhile, the House voted down his bill before it even reached the House.  With all of this going on, I discovered too late that my plan for sewing the blocks into rows was flawed.  I went for a walk.

To be continued....

"Interlocked Squares" for Kathryn

I wanted to make a green quilt, not too traditional, for Bobby's friend Kathryn.  I think she is the love of his life. Green is her favorite color. So I am so pleased with this quilt from the pattern "Interlocked Squares" by Brenda Henning for Hoffman Bali Pops.

Using the "Green Tea" collection, I removed the yellows and substituted a few other batiks found at Aardvark in Morris Plains and a gentle Asian flower print from Fabric Inspirations in Englishtown.  My friends at the Cozy Quilt Shoppe in Maywood were the arbiters of the final border arrangement.  Their good advice is always appreciated.

 I quilted it in sections.  It was challenging and rewarding to make. At 69" by 78.5" it is a very big throw suitable for reading or napping on the couch.

Next, it goes into the wash on a gentle cycle with cold water and then into a gift box for Christmas.  I have enough fabric to make a big matching pillow.  Hmmmm, perhaps this afternoon....

Charity Quilt - "Light and Shadow"

This quilt is destined for donation to a local cancer support group.  I like pink as the color for cancer support groups.  It has a warm feminine quality.  The little flowers in the border fabric really appealed to me.  They soften the geometric construction of the body of the quilt.

The pattern is "Light and Shadow" by Brenda Henning for the Hoffman Fabrics Balic Pops line of fabric strips.  I will use the pattern title as the name of the quilt when I make the label.  I began to work on this quilt at the Spring Bed, Breakfast and Quilt weekend April 29 through May 1, 2011 in Wildwood Crest, NJ.  I finished it on June 7, 2011 at the Cozy Quilt Shoppe, Maywood, NJ quilting bee.  The quilt is machine pieced and machine quilted by me.

I made it with love, send it into the world with a hug, and hope that it will bring comfort to someone dealing with cancer.

BBQ Spring 2011

Let me catch up on posts about weekends.  During the last weekend in April, my sister, my daughter and I traveled to the Adventurer Inn in Wildwood Crest, NJ for a Bed, Breakfast and Quilt (BBQ) weekend.  It was the first time that we all spent a weekend together!  It was fun.

Little Jackie (my daughter) completed a baby quilt, a charity quilt top and began stripping together Moda Candy Bars for a ladder quilt.

Aunt Jackie (my sister) stitched a complete quilt top for her friend Nina.  It will be a Christmas gift.  We spent the previous Friday together shopping at Pieceful Choices, having dinner with my friends Tom, Linda and Vic, and cutting out the pieces for her quilt.

I worked on an applique project and a pink project for a thriving survivor.  And, I am still working on the quilting in hopes of having it finished it time to donate in October.


We took a break to travel to Ocean City to make a quick trip to Calico & Cotton. and to Somers Point for lunch at the Crab Trap.

Garden Sampler

Collecting fabrics printed with vegetables was a lot of fun.  My sister even found some for me during her travels! 

This cute rabbit started it all when I saw this little wall quilt in "Quilter's World" magazine.

I am hanging it in my dinette for the rest of the Spring and Summer :)

World Quilt Festival, a Road Trip with Jackie to New Hampshire

August 18-22, 2010, Jackie and I drove to NH for the World Quilt Festival.  On Thursday, we participated in an all-day class taught by Barbara Barber from the UK.  BB is famous for her circular piecing techniques and her book "Really Sharp Piecing."  This is the block that I began in her class and just finished today at home. Clovis, my quilting companion, was very curious about this block.  She had never seen me quilt anything in a circle.  I was pretty pleased with the result.  It took some trial and error to get this one right. Now, I think I could do another easily.

On Friday, we devised our own "shop hop" and visited four shops on our way up to Center Harbor, the home of Keepsake Quilting which Jackie dubbed "mecca for quilters."  Our first stop at The Quilt Patch in Bedford set the playful tone of the whole day.  The proprietor, Sue Trask, had just opened the store and watered her garden as we arrived.  We spent a ton of money, laughed, consulted, pondered, drove, criticized the GPS and even had a wilderness adventure that will go down in family lore. ;-) Getting to Keepsake Quilting was so much fun.

Jackie entering Peggy Anne's Quilting & Sewing Co. in Concord. Found great SALES

Cute country shop in Andover.  All quilts in the shop go on sale at half price after Thanksgiving, and they were beautiful.  Good place to get holiday gifts.

After our "off road" adventure, we arrived at The Quilting Corner.

Finally we arrived at Keepsake Quilting in Center Harbor, a beautiful resort town.

AQS Quilt Show - Lancaster, PA

The highlight of last week was a two-day visit to the American Quilting Society show in Lancaster.  It was by far the largest quilt event I have ever attended.  Here are some pictures.