Chomping at the bit...

Being away from home without my sewing machine -- what can I say? It is a patience-builder, at least. However, there are quilt shops! Yesterday we went to two, and one of them is still whispering to me, "Come back, come back..."

The shop is Sunshine Sewing Company in Margate, FL, near Fort Lauderdale. It is tucked away into a business park and almost invisible. Without a big WE ARE OPEN sign on the door, we might have missed it. However, Fay Nicoll knows her stuff. I asked for "geraniums" and she took me to five places in her humongous collection (at least 12,000 bolts) and found exactly what I wanted in the "end of the bolt" section. 

Some of this I bought in other shops, and I did buy other pieces, but love this set and am eager to get home and sew! I also bought some quilt books and another Patsy Thompson DVD.

We have to go home early (as in Monday) because one of our kids got a long-awaited call for repair surgery on a very painful shoulder. While it is 80 degrees here and below freezing there, we are okay with that.

Merry Christmas

The quilting is nearly finished on Mariner's Sunset. I'm about 1/3 finished stitching another Celtic Table Runner for my daughter (she specifically requested it). So no new pictures. 

This is the Christmas quilt finished last year and now hanging in the foyer of the church I attend. I received copyright permission to sell the pattern for this one, so am refining that. If you are interested, let me know. I can offer only a few copies.

(ALL PATTERNS ARE SOLD. Sorry to those who wanted one. Email me if you want to be notified when I have other patterns available and include your contact information. This pattern will not be repeated.)
Jan 1, 2016 UPDATE. This quilt was based on a painting that was used for a Christmas card. The copyright holder gave me permission to use the design in a quilt and sell a few patterns. I complied (this is a legal requirement). With so much interest, I tried to get added permission so I could sell more patterns. However, the original copyright holder no longer owns it and could not tell me who does. I tried to find out, but was not able. This means I cannot sell any more patterns for this quilt. So sorry, but I value the right of the owner of the original art to restrict its use. Hope that explains why there are no more patterns!

THE BEST NEWS! As of April 8, 2016. I've managed to secure worldwide, exclusive copyright to use this design in a quilt pattern... so this pattern is for sale again. Please check my Etsy Page for details! 

To all who read this blog, I wish you a Christmas filled with joy, knowing that God so loved the world that He sent His only Son...!

A small Lighthouse

 

This little project was done way back last April, but I finally got it in a mat and frame, with a label, so now consider it finished. It started out as a patch for Julie's lab coat, but when I found out it was too big, I was kind of glad that I got to keep it. (Sorry, Julie... I know you liked the bird instead...)

Actually, it isn't quilted, but tacked down and sewn to a bit of background. I would love to make more of these landscapes. It is like a postcard only larger,  6 1/4" by 11 3/4" and took about 30 minutes of madly diving into my stash for just the right bits and then madly cutting them up. 

Progress Report: Mariner's Sunset

No, I've not died or moved out of cyberspace... just busy. Some of that busyness is quilting progress on this 101" wide by 75" deep quilt. The sky and most of the sea is done, as is the "sun" --- so I'm working on the rocks and the foreground water. After that is done, I still have to applique leaves on the sky and then quilt them. To see a full view, click here. This is a big project, so I'm about ready to make more postcards!

Progress report

These are five blocks for a quilt group - we are each to make floral strip sets in "quilt as you go" fashion. One of the leaders will use narrow sashing strips to join them. I made nine, four in medium tones, five in darker fabrics. She will arrange them by graduation of tones. This will be a charity quilt. 

The other picture is a close-up of some of the quilting on Mariner's Sunset. This shows about 10" in the middle of the compass where the "sun" meets the water. The water has not been quilted but will have horizontal lines of reflection, etc. Now that this is on the machine and square, and controllable, it is more of a "tamed monster" instead of being so intimidation. It's a pleasure to work on, a bit each day, in my style of free motion doodling.

K-6 Scraps from the Strata

This small table topper was inspired by my Scottish heritage that has trouble throwing away leftovers that are large enough to become something else. When making K-4 and K-5, I had triangles and shapes that fit on a smaller version of the triangle normally used to make these Kaleidoscope quilts. So I fiddled with them until I thought they would work, made the pattern to fit the pieces, and this was the result. It was a bit picky, but satisfying in the end. It measures about 21.5" across the widest point. I put a facing on the back instead of a binding around the edges. 

Unfettered and Postcards

This quilt is applique, 27" x 23" and quilted in the ditch. It started with a photo of an old gate. The fence and everything else in the photo was falling down and ruined, but the gate stood, an image of strength. After several sketches and value studies, I picked colors from two favorite paintings, raided my stash, and this is the result. The gate turned sideways, in spite of the power of the uprightness of the original image. It just looked better this way. I don't know where to hang it, but am enjoying the results. I also learned that if pieces must hang down, they need to be carefully planned.

These are postcards that I made and will be sending one a month to a "secret sibling." Since she doesn't know me, I doubt she will see them on here, so decided to post them. They are 4" x 6" and were lots of fun to make. I've received two from whoever got my name. When I have all six from her, I'll post them. She is doing a holiday theme. They are yummy!

This is a great way to use bits and pieces. I love the sky in the upper right (I put in the birds with a pen) and the rocks in lower right. That one curled up on me for the photo, but it isn't in real life. A friend ran with this idea and is making all her Christmas cards from bits of fabric leftover from last year's gift-giving!