Tuesday, November 24, 2009

I haven't spent much time online lately. There just hasn't been a lot of time to fill by following fabric and yarn related rabbit trails. It's starting to bug me, so today I made some time.

I'd like to make a Lamplight Quilt, nevermind how much I hate laying things out on a design wall and sewing them together one bit at a time.

I could spend the next week following links from How About Orange. Far too many things there to get excited about, especially with a creative twelve year old sitting next to you.

Like the half eaten gingerbread man ornamets from Elsie Marley's Blog. I like these! There's not a scrap of brown felt to be found in the house (not that I've looked -- I just know that I don't use much felt) so I can't even consider making one until after our next trip to town. I'm thinking he might look even cuter using the cinnamon bread dough recipie the kids and I tried a few years back. Or Fimo, not that I've got or know how to use that either. Today's post makes me wish I knew how to crochet.

And the Cute Birdie Bookmarks, which we've actually printed and cut out. And NaniBirds. We can do stuff like that now that (after more than a month of doing without) we've got a new printer. With full ink cartidges -- yippee!

Alex was looking over my shoulder when I stumbled across Mod Podge Rocks. She knew she liked Mod Podge. She didn't know what the potential was -- I think I should be scared.

I'm blown away by this papercutting blog and wondering if it could be combined with freezer paper stencilling.

And I've got a new baby quilt started, but just barely. It should go together quickly, if life cooperates.

Monday, November 23, 2009

I'm starting to think differently about my quilts. Before, having the top assembled was done enough and I could let it sit around indefinitely until I felt like quilting it. Now, though, I've got the desperate urge to see what it's going to look like when it's completely done. Probably because I can do most of them on my own little machine and don't have to wait around for the longarm.

My replacement rail fence is together and waiting for me to either free up some safety pins or make it to town to buy another few packages.



I'm not sure if I like this one or not. It looks clunky -- or is that just me?

This one felt clunky too, but now that it's quilted and bound I think it's fine. Maybe because it's going to a new home and I won't have to look at it anymore.



Oh, and I've been knitting just a tiny little bit.

Monday, November 09, 2009

I've been playing with fabric, having too much fun with my limited time to drag out the camera and take pictures. Without pictures of what I'm up to, it didn't seem worth writing and trying to explain.... so it's been a while since my last entry.

This is the one I wrote about last time, all assembled and quilted. It still needs a binding, but it's mostly done.



And this is the one I started cutting little squares for before the basket blocks were finished. I found the pattern in a book about vintage fabrics and it was similar to another quilt pattern I'd been too intimidated to try (hundreds of 2 5/8" inch squares? -- not a chance. I'm at least using a measurement that's marked on my rulers!)



This is the most applique I've ever done on a quilt, just fusible and machine zig-zag around the edges, but I love the way it came out. I can do this! My next new project is going to be that butterfly quilt I've been thinking about since I first started quilting.

The little squares, all five hundred of them, went together much faster than I would've imagined possible. The real fun started when I trimmed them to put the whiter border on and left myself with a zillion bias edges. The whole top shifted every time I looked in it's direction. So I got it pinned and quilted densely enough that it isn't going ANYWHERE.

I got both quilts (except for bindings) done start to finish in just over two weeks. I almost never do a quilt start to finish without working on something else, let alone two in a row.

Now I've got the replacement rail fence to finish piecing, and butterflies to trace and cut, and a hundred and some snowballs to make out of my Root of the Madder fat quarters...

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