Monday, August 15, 2016

A feeble attempt to feel cooler...

I am so tired of hot humid weather... my naturally curly hair is a giant frizz ball... my petunias have bolted and look scraggly...and while the rain today has brought the temperature down it just took the humidity higher...ugh.... so in a feeble attempt  to feel cooler I got out these Fall-ish blocks which last saw the light of day back in February.


The blocks are Charm Pack Churn Dash and you can see the pattern here.  When I started these blocks I thought I would make 9 of them and make a bed sized quilt... as you can see I have reconsidered that plan and I am going to settle for 5 blocks.  I always like setting blocks on point because they grow (I know that this isn't actually true but it seems that way to me,. so don't feel the need to set me straight...ohhhh...bad pun... I am happy with my delusions...LOL)  The blocks finish around 18" square... mine a tad smaller. I will say if you make this pattern you need to use a scant 1/4" seam to come out close to 18". I did use a scant 1/4" but I'm still a bit small... its ok ...they are big enough for me.

All the fabrics are from various Sandy Gervais Fall collections... she does wonderful Fall collections and they all go with each other... it reminds me of the hey day of Debbie Mumm fabrics (I LOVE Debbie Mumm fabrics)... the collections all went together until she did that pastel collection.... NOT one of my favorites. Anyway, where was I headed with that thought....oh it is nice that the old collections meld nicely with the new stuff.


The sashing and the cornerstones are from Sandy's current collection call Beauty Fall... which you can see here.  I really love that diagonal plaid and the cornerstones are dotty... if you click on the picture you can see it better.


I choice this larger scale print for my border  which I picked up last week at my favorite quilt shop Fabric Shack. And if you are a fan of Fabric Shack there is news that they are opening an annex in addition to their main store, both in Waynesville. I don't know all the details but more square footage should mean more fabric and how can that be a bad thing! Okay... it may be a bad thing for my budget but it sure makes me happy!

Well I like the look of this on my design wall, which is a good thing, as  it may end up staying like that for a while. This week is super busy with lots of running around... and why is it whenever I have a week like that all I really want to do is stay home?

Hope your week runs smoothly and you get to do what you want to do!
happy stitching-
carol fun

Sunday, August 14, 2016

Flowers, fruit and a finish....

Hello everyone... how is your Sunday going?  I was up early (early for me) to have breakfast with my son and daughter-in-law... now I'm stuffed and want an afternoon nap, except it isn't afternoon yet! Details, details....

Watching the Olympics has given me time to do some stitching and progress was made on Sampler Hill by With Thy Needle & Thread.


I got all the flowers/tulips stitched and both the big and little urns with flowers, and I got the fruit baskets stitched too. Still need to get some leaves on those naked trees and get the birds and people stitched in.... it is prettier in real life than the photo shows... I'm a lousy photographer and my cheap camera doesn't do this piece justice.

And for a finish... ta dah!!!!



Summer House Stitche Workes "Fragments in Time" is framed!  I took this to Bev who use to work at my Joann's and now is working from her home with her business Frames of Reference.  Years ago Bev had her own frame shop so she's returning to her roots. When I visited her to bring this over she immediately showed me this frame. As soon as she put it down I told her don't show me anything else... it is perfect!!!



It is a very detailed frame with gold highlights. I love how the inner part of the frame echoes the stitched frame of the piece.  Not sure where I'm going to hang it yet... I have plans to expand this gallery wall in my spare bedroom ...


but the OCD in me needs to add pieces equally on both sides so it is balanced. More stitching needs to be done!!!!!

Well dinner is in the crockpot... beef tips to put over egg noodles... so I have my afternoon free ... perhaps more Olympics watching and more stitching... sounds like a plan.

I'm linking up with Kathy's Quilts today for Slow Sunday Stitching... and tomorrow I'll link up with Super Mom - No Cape for her stitchery party. Hope you have an enjoyable day!

happy stitching-
carol fun

Thursday, August 11, 2016

Something to talk about...

Okay, to be perfectly honest I always have something to talk about... but it doesn't always seem to be something blogworthy to talk about... but today it does! Last week I got 3 quilts back from my long arm quilter, Terry and today I have one bound and hanging in my living room!



I'm calling this one Spiral Star, all the hexagons were cut Stack n Whack fashion from that border print. This is a different setting than I usually go with and I like the stars that appear in the negative space. I chose a small scroll-y panto which echoes the "swirliness" (is that a real word? I might have made that up) of the fabric and the variegated thread picks up the colors in the hexagons nicely.


And this quilt shows the value of having a well aged stash... look at the brown/black fabric of the inner border and binding...


An eagle eyed friend saw it and asked, "Is that a Mary Ellen Hopkins fabric?" Yes, yes it is... which makes it about 20 years old!  It was the perfect inner border and I had just enough to eke out a binding... I love my stash!!!

As for some decorating I may have shown this before but I'm showing it again... this is my 3 tier trayed decked out in bird stuff...


I love this display piece and look forward every season to decorating it... I'm pretty sure that I'll be switching to Fall stuff in early September as a way to think cooler thoughts... another week with 90 degree temperatures and high humidity...ugh!!! I thought we would get past it since July was so hot but no luck... I'm not looking forward to seeing my electric bill or my water bill this month... hate to spend money on those items when there is so much lovely fabric and yarn and thread out there calling my name...LOL!

Hope you are staying cool ...

happy stitching-
carol fun

Monday, August 1, 2016

Monogamous quilt making...

I haven't gone down in my sewing room for over a week... I started a quilt... and I like it... but I lost interest... something that happens a lot to me... I do not usually commit to a project and work on it monogamously from start to finish... I usually bounce from project to project and then come back around and finish things up... that is what will happen with the quilt I was working on, as another pretty looker came along and said  "make me"... and I did!


And I was monogamous with this one... I started this on Friday and the top was finished yesterday... I need to get a back together and pass it off to my long arm quilter, Terry, at tonight's guild meeting. Now this was EASY...  and it isn't real big.. .about 65" square... which is quite  an accomplishment for me as I have a real problem with quilts gettting away from me and going from lap size to king size in a blink of a eye... hey I once made a quilt that started out as a potholder and ended twin sized... it happens... hangs head in shame. And piecing doesn't get much simpler than a 4 patch, now does it???

This quilt is part of my personal challenge to use up some of my stash of Layer Cakes by making simple quilts that use one Layer Cake and a small amount of background fabric... say under two yards. This one fits all the criteria I set for myself.  The fabric is Basic Grey Persimmon by Moda and this particular Layer Cake was a bargain I picked up at Fabric Shack. I am very fond of Basic Grey fabric collections, as I am also very fond of Basic Grey paper collections, which is where their designs begin. Their paper collections usually contain more prints than the fabric runs but I'm happy either way.

Luckily when this fabric line first came out  I purchased a jelly roll (which is still maturing in a plastic bin) and I purchased some yardage of that background fabric with the little birds... I LOVE birds!!!   There were about 5 pieces of Grunge in this collection too... I used them to make little 4 patches for the cornerstones... here are some close ups of the fabrics in this collection.


Love the leaves...



And the combo of an ikat looking prints and a sweet calico is hard to resist...


Modern prints...



And another mix of modern with vintage...


More birds...


I feel that Basic Grey collections are quite eclectic... bohemian...  a mix of modern and vintage that I would never think of putting together but they work!!

Soooo... I'm starting the week on a productive high note... Terry is bringing me 3 quilts she quilted and they all need binding and one needs a sleeve... and I haven't got any of those parts made yet... so maybe that is a good place to start... lots of running around this week and next weekend is jammed packed... I will start with the best of intentions, but we all know where that leads... as my sainted Gramdma use to tell me "the road to hell is paved with good intentions"... and I think I've been on that road before... LOL!!

happy stitching-
carol fun