Rainbow Quilt Giveaway !

It's been one of those seasons when almost everything that can go wrong...does!  I'm feeling like I need to put some positive energy back into the universe. So.......

Here's a giveaway!

I purchased this kit about 10 years ago at the Lancaster County Quilt Show. It has been sitting in a stash bin ever since. At this point, I'd rather see someone actually make it than have it sit here any longer.

This kit has never been opened. It is a Rainbow Star Quilt designed by Kathleen Starr. It measures 79" x 99" and the kit includes everything for the top...even the binding :)

So, here's what you need to do to have a chance to win...

Simply send me a quote in your comment that has helped you stay strong during a rough time in your life. I will  be using Mr. Random on  Saturday, June 30th, which gives you plenty of time to be thoughtful about your entry and share this incredible opportunity with all your friends.

Please make sure that I have an email address to contact you if you are the lucky winner!

Good Luck and have a great day!!

Tangerine Dreams...

It is a rather gloomy Sunday. No sun and chillier than our recent days....but perfect for finishing up a quilt.

Using Eleanor Burns book, Quick Trip Quilts, I put together a quilt for my daughter's best friend's baby girl.

It is perfect for showcasing the Pretty Little Things collection by Dena Designs for Free Spirit.

Bright and cheery, I kept thinking Tangerine Dreams...a fitting name.

Now..on to choose a backing and make decisions about the quilting...
Happy Sunday :)

Sunshine...

So, the rain has finally left and brought with it a gorgeous sunny day...not too hot, not too humid. I would accept this all year long. It was a beautiful day to photograph the Aboriginal wall hanging that I completed last night.

After a heavy rain, everything is so green. It's very difficult not to smile and appreciate the earth we live on on a day like today.

As I was walking around the property looking for a place to shoot a picture, I realized that my lilies had begun to bloom. No matter how many years go by, I always get excited when my flowers show their beautiful faces.

I've said it before, but this quilt was a pleasure to make. Every step of the way, I looked forward to watching it come together. These prints are so great to work with. They present you with so many possibilities.

The colors really grabbed me, too. So rich and saturated....and the background blue looks like the sky today...bright with scattered clouds.

Keep it simple....

I'll keep it simple...I am having so much fun :)

By the way...if any of you are wondering about my new blog header...no, this is not my house or my dog! The owners were gracious enough to let me use their home to photograph some of my quilts. The dog, Barber, stayed in that position the entire time I was taking pictures. I think he secretly wants to be a model...

For the love of fussy cutting...

I have never been really crazy about fussy cutting. I guess I generally stay away from patterns that would call for it. However, when I began choosing fabric for my little medicine men, I was amazed at how I could cut the pieces for this pattern. When I put one fabric up to the body, I realized that it looked exactly like the musculature of the torso. There were the pecs, the abs, and even the quadriceps. It made me giggle. How perfect could that be? Then another fabric had these goofy circles and dots that were perfect for the face.

So, here are my four silly guys lined up in a row. I plan to set them around the center of the Aboriginal quilt (wall hanging).

Next, I will plan the border. When I purchased the fabric for this piece, I couldn't quite imagine the outcome. I am absolutely loving the colors, loving the patterns, and loving the way it is all coming together.

Sometimes, when we're creating......we get wonderful surprises!

Color, thank you!

The colors live a remarkable life of their own after they have been applied to the canvas (or quilt).  

                                                               Edvard Munch

So, I wanted color? Well, I couldn't ask for more right now. I am a very happy person when I am surrounded and inspired by every value and every hue. I spend a small amount of every day on the internet being inspired by other artists of all kinds. When it comes to quilting and use of color, I am most inspired these days by Wanda of Exuberant Color. Check out her blog  http://exuberantcolor.blogspot.com/2012/06/gallery-tour.html

The next block for the BOM quilt is a variation of the color wheel. Everything is all cut out....

organized.....and ready to sew!

Before I got too involved in those blocks, I decided that I should begin the wall hanging that I've planned with the Aboriginal fabrics. I am loving every moment! Here are the first four blocks on my messy drafting table...

The block is called "Amber Stone" from Mary Jo Hiney's out-of-print book called Beautiful Foundation-Pieced Quilt Blocks.

The few things that make or break my day are three....my children, my art, and my dog, Mr. Darcy. There is no question that he rules this house and everyone in it. Nothing is sacred...he can go anywhere and do anything he wants, or so he thinks. He has recently decided that he wants to share my pillows. His dog bed doesn't quite suit him anymore. So when I crawl into bed at night...I get a face-full of dog-smell and dog-hair. The pathetic thing about it is that I don't mind. He is the love of my life. That's all!

Color, please!

"To read a poem in January is as lovely as to go for a walk in June." Jean-Paul Sartre

Anyone who knows me well knows that my favorite color is purple. The trim on my house is painted purple, and almost every flower in my gardens is purple. I absolutely love this time of year when all this color springs forth and greets me everyday. 

Walking around my house, even on the gloomiest of days, makes me smile. Flowers can take a very dark moment and turn it around if I let it. I simply have to give in to its beauty.

Today, I finished the snowball nine-patch using David Butler's Curious Nature line. I can't deny that I struggled a bit as I worked on it. So many one and one-half inch squares. I thought I'd go crazy!

In addition to the tedium of the construction, the monochromatic scheme left me running on empty. I was absolutely craving COLOR!

However, I must say that when it all came together, I appreciated its simply beauty. I'm hoping to find a border fabric that gives it a final touch....and then done.

Then, I gave myself just what I needed when I needed it most....a rainbow! These fabrics will become the next block of the BOM quilt that I will be working on over the summer. I wanted color? Well, color I got and plenty of it.

I can't wait to begin...

Summer's coming...

I find it hard to believe that the first day of summer is less than a month away. It has been a beautiful spring with lots of rain to make everything lush and green. My garden flowers are loving it. However, in my time, I wonder where it has all gone. Maybe it's my age, but each day runs like a river into the next. I often have to look at the calendar to know what day of the week it is.

I got to spend some time at the Cloth and Bobbin on Wednesday talking to Johanna about possible summer classes. I sat on the floor looking at patterns and fabrics, having very little time constraints....a rare thing, indeed. Our first decision was to use some of David Butler's fabric. We chose 4 fabrics from his "Curious Nature" line. As I began to cut the initial squares, I realized that they all really needed to be fussy-cut due to the bold design and the nature of the pattern. 

Next, we chose a cool paper-pieced wall hanging that will be done in these fabrics, some of which are from M & S Textiles Australia. Rich colors and crazy Aboriginal designs are enough to get my creative energies flowing.

I've also been working on a quilt from Karen Combs' book, Celtic Pieced Illusions, using a yellow to orange range of batiks for the background with a beautiful fall-colored ginkgo leaf batik for the interlocking design.

So, how many projects do I have going on at the same time?......oh no...too many. I also just got my Block Swap partner for June, so add that to the list....oh, and keep working on the BOM for the fall....deep breath!

Create something....anything!

I was so excited when Sarah finished my placemats. I made a set of twelve.

She chose a beautiful Sashiko quilt pattern to enhance the bamboo Paintstik panel and the fabric my mom brought back from Japan 15 years ago!

Now, I have my work cut out for me binding them all, but I'm getting started.

I've had a new project in mind for a bit, and yesterday, while working in the shop, I found the perfect combination of fabrics for it. I believe I'm already thinking fall....wanting to just skip the 98 degree humid summer days in Philly.

I finished the center piece for the new block-of-the-month that I am working on for the fall (there it is again...my favorite season). Now, I will begin the twelve blocks that will surround this. I'm ready to go...

My days are simply filled with looking for time with my machine....but the cat littler is calling again, and the dishes are begging to be cleaned....not to mention that my children want to eat. I could go without food and sleep just to be in my studio creating something...anything! 

Color Wheel...

Who doesn't love color?! As a child, didn't we all love that new box of crayons or colored pencils? Before one ever came out of the package, I know I hesitated for at least a few seconds to take in the full array of untainted color. I have not changed a bit. A new stack of fabric, a new set of Prismacolor pencils, a new set of fractals for a canvas...I have to allow time to take it in. Color is mesmerizing!

I have this color wheel hanging in my studio...a constant reminder of what I love.

So when I found this pattern at Stitched in Color, I knew immediately that I wanted to make this...for me!

It was a great way to play with all of my batiks. I'm not sure if this will replace the color wheel on my studio wall or find a home on some other wall in my home. I wouldn't even mind it on the ceiling above my bed so that it is the first and last thing I see each day. Color inspires me!

I have just begun working up a sample for the new BOM class that will hopefully begin in the fall. Paper-pieced stars again in a very different setting. Should be fun!

Our online selves...

In general, bloggers keep their private lives off their blogs. We all put our best foot forward and choose not to talk about the problems that are an inevitable part of life. I have noticed that this has been a recent subject of two blogs that I follow....both bloggers decided to be adventurous and get personal. The responses were numerous, thoughtful, and genuine.

Quilting, sewing, creating....these are the things that keep my life in balance. These are the activities that help me manage the rocky terrain of life. So, this is what I talk about. However, here's my moment of disclosure. Lately, life has felt like a game of dodgeball, and when I was least expecting it, I got blind-sided with a ball and got up stunned. It happens...and it hurts like hell. I haven't even had the energy to take the cover off my machine.

Recently, I have become greatly inspired by the work of a lovely woman, Masha Novoselova. She is a remarkable fiber artist. Through her, I have become interested in the revival of the Crazy Quilt. I haven't done embroidery work in many, many years. Last night, after making a small crazy quilt block, I got out my needles and floss and began.

Masha had given me some general direction and ideas for stitches and placement, but I realized that as you work, the fabric begins to speak to you. I found myself asking, "What do you want and where?" In the process, I learned the blanket stitch, the cretan stitch, and the threaded back stitch.

I have only begun. I have a lot more to do. If I add beads, I will need to go get a tiny needle. Not everything that I stitched stayed on. You just have to love your seam ripper and embroidery scissors for removing everything that goes awry. I am hoping that I end up with something that I like. Regardless, it was fun to begin something new that progresses at a slow pace. I need slow right now!

Last week, I got the border on my morning glories. I think maybe the French knots was the beginning of something new...

Holding the World

A new friend recently shared with me the artwork of Nicholas Roerich. I was particularly struck by one piece called Holds the World. It is currently my desktop picture. I have decided to name this new quilt top "Holding the World." I photographed it this morning on my grass that desperately needs to be cut, so the quilt did not lay flat. I'm planning to enlarge it a bit with a border of some kind but have made no definite decisions. At least the bulk of it is done, and I can begin putting together something for a new BOM class that will probably start in the fall.

This pattern comes from an old Quilts with Style magazine from 2006. The 12 block patterns can be found here. My first one was done in batiks and set like this...

What a difference!

One-third of the way...

I'm sitting at my computer on a Friday afternoon thinking about the fact that one-third of the year is already gone. It's actually difficult to wrap my head around the movement of time. Four months ago, I decided that blogging might help me get some work done around here. I think that in many ways the idea has brought success. However, the prime idea was to finish projects that I had already started, and what I've accomplished has been a mixture of many things. So, I started putting my sewing into categories. I have real unfinished projects, I have stash projects, I have brand new projects where I grudgingly have to go out and buy fabric (hahaha), I have class prep projects, and finally the Block Swap Adventure.

Although I felt as if I kept very busy during April, I don't have that much to show for it. I made a ribbon quilt top for a friend, made a Judy Niemeyer quilt top, "Reflections", made the red and white New York Beauty for a class, bound four quilts, and participated in my first block swap..

So May is here, and I'm plugging away at the new setting for my brown star BOM class. I only have one more piece to construct for the corners.

Then, I need to go over to the shop and pick up the other six star blocks and put it all together. This is what I have so far...

I also finished constructing all of the morning glory squares, put them together, and embroidered yellow French knots in the center of each flower.

Now, a border?

I guess I need a new stash pick, don't I? hmmmmm...