shams for double wedding ring quilt

I did finish something this week.  My cousin asked me to make her some shams to go with the quilt I made her last year.

I didn't do such a great job getting photos.  My cousin sent this one to me after the fact.  Guess it was such a relief to finish, I plain forgot to get pics.  

thank goodness I had a couple of blocks (bits and pieces of blocks, anyway) leftover.  I made two of these shams.  

You can almost see the quilting here, it's the same design used in her quilt.  It's from a stencil made just for DWRs.  

Another finish,  this strange little project is from a workshop that I took with Hollis Chatelain last spring at Asilomar, Empty Spools.  It started with a cute photo that my bro-in-law took at his local pool with his underwater camera.  He played with the original on photoshop a little, so this is what I had to work with. Isn't she cute?

So, in Hollis' class, we learned to make and use her paints, how to paint strokes, etc... and then how to quilt the finished project.  

Needless to say, my painting skills are pretty sad.  And the paints were kinda hard to come by.  It took a long time to prepare the dye paints, so when you ran out, you had to find someone who had some of that color left over.  I guess that's why her face is cantaloupe and her chest and arms are hot pink.  oh well, it was a learning project.   It's about 15  by 18 inches.  Hard to tell in this photo.  It's still kinda cute and I always wanted to do something with that picture.  It reminds me of my daughter, even though it's not her.  I could always find my daughter at the pool, because even when she was 4 and 5, she always had her goggles on!  (None of the other little girls that age wore goggles)

Those are bubbles on her chin and in her nostrils.  Might need a little paint or something to look a little more like a bubble.  I trapuntoed them and everything.... sigh 

on the last portrait quilt I made, the quilting was so dense that it made the quilt too stiff.  So on this one, I thread sketched it...  I put some of that wash-away applique paper under it and went to town with the quilting on her hair, face, flesh, and swimsuit... everywhere but the background water.   I even stitched the word Speedo :)

Then I basted the whole thing with blue tulle on top and a thin cotton batting. My plan was to quilt the water swirls all over her face and everywhere.  Ooh, bad idea though.  I ripped it off of her face and just quilted her features and then gave the water some ripples and bubbles.  She just needs a binding or facing and I can move on to another project. There are many to choose from.

Oh yes, update on the auction.  I did not win the bid on my wholecloth quilt, shoot!  But I got another lovely quilt in the auction.  Well, I was talking to the gal that bought "my" quilt, and she really wanted the quilt that I got.  She has a shop and it would make a great sample for her pattern and fabric line.  I suggested we make a deal as we got the quilts for the same price, isn't life weird.  maybe she will let me take the wholecloth to my trunk shows and workshops, and I will let her hang the one I got in her shop for a while.  It was a good auction with lots of pretty quilts and supplies.    I got this quilt at the boutique for $25... (after I bargained at the end of the show)

I loooove this... hand appliqued and hand quilted and loved on so much.  There are a couple of tears and some brown stains.  But who cares when it looks like this on my stand, right?

A little motherly bragging now.. My son just completed his hike of the Pacific Crest Trail, from the border of Mexico all the way to Canada.  He left last April and has been keeping this amazing blog along the way (using only his phone, no less).  Take a peek at the mountains in Washington... wowzers...  Ken Lambdin's Walkabout

He likes that quote thing too... but I was first:)

The purpose of art is washing the dust of daily life off our souls.

Pablo Picasso

Happy quilting, Karen

Wholecloth feather wreaths

Today I thought I would write about this little wholecloth quilt.  I started out with a 36 x 36 inch piece of white Kona cotton divided into fourths with a circle drawn in each quadrant.  That was the basis for the feather wreaths.  This was a project suggested by one of my students in a 5 month free motion quilting class that I taught.   

We learned several different kinds of feathers, top left is a paisley feather, top right - I don't know what that feather is called, but it is going around :).  bottom left is a bump-back feather, and bottom right is a swirl feather (easy-peasy and pretty).  

The next month we learned different fills, some pebbles inside the wreath and pumpkin seeds around this wreath.

This wreath has a curved spiral (not too perceptible) and a paisley fill.

The inside border design with the curving feather is from a stencil (another lesson was using stencils...)

A filled grid around the top wreath and a stencil fill around the bottom one.  

The borders were another lesson - designing your own borders.  I demonstrated how to use curved rulers to design a border for the quilt, then played with different fills to accentuate the border.  

Can you see the stitched binding?  We even learned this technique that I learned from Melody Crust when she was in town last year.  I love putting embroidered designs on bindings.  I have done this many times since I learned it (and I got a new/used Viking with lots of pretty designs).  

The last touch is a piece of an old linen (damaged in some places) for the sleeve.  Ooh, I love this quilt!

And do you know what I did?  I donated it to my guild auction.  I figured I could always make another piece for classes, arggghh.  I have decided to bid on it myself - I want it back...  The money will still help the guild, it doesn't matter where it comes from, right?  So if you are going to be at the Alamo Heritage Quilt Guild auction on October 10, and want this quilt, be prepared to pay out the nose for it!

I am linking up with Whoomp There It Is... linky party.  Check it out, there's lots of great Saturday finishers there.  

Greater San Antonio Quilt show

 I am pleased to report that I won a few prized ribbons at the show this weekend.  This one called "The Chemist" won first in the challenge category, where we had to use this piece of blue starry fabric.  This quilt was made from a selfie my daughter, Nicole, took right before she got her degree in Chemistry last spring.  So proud of her.  It even has periodic table fabric for a back.

"Swingin' "  got a second place in the art category.  This is from a photo of my grandson, Alex, taken by my niece, Evelyn.  

"Nebulous" a wholecloth piece won a third in the Other category.

 I'm really pleased with this award.  Linda's round robin quilt took a third in the group category.  I was especially pleased to get the Stationary Machine quilting special award for the quilting I did on this quilt.

Our "Remember..."  quilt, a fractured quilt done by 5 members of my bee won a Judges Choice ribbon and an Honorable Mention in the group category.  I took the photo and enlarged it, sliced it into 6 slices, gave it to 4 other friends, put it together after they finished it, and quilted it.  so I am thrilled with the result and the Judges recognition.  

I finally finished this quilt, just in time for the show.  It is called "Gigi's Garden", that's my grandma name...  This one got a first in small applique.  

And another winner!!, my round robin also got a third place ribbon.  Borders added by members of my quilting bee, and I quilted this.

I'm going to keep going and show you some of the other show stoppers.  

  This is called Flanders Field by Vonnie Maglinte.  She won this award 2 years ago. Check out Vonnie's quilting, she is amazing! 

I loved this vintage linen crazy quilt by Deb France.  She does amazing quilting also.  

And here is Vonnie Maglinte (who made the quilt 2 pics above) with her challenge quilt.  It was a wowzer of a quilt.  

Now for the quilt that won Best of Show.  Made by Judy Wolff of Lincoln, TX and quilted by Angela McCorkle.  Loved it!

Hope you enjoyed the show, can't wait till the next one in two years!  Karen

Busy busy summer

Excuse me for my month (and a half) long silence.  Been cruising the Rhine, going on quilting retreat and helping my father with surgeries.  Lots of quilting going on also.  I am preparing for our Semi-annual quilt show (is that how you say every other year?)   I am rushing to finish the yellow applique' quilt that I showed you last month - dang I'm slow.  But hey, what's the hurry (quilt show in 2 weeks!) I quilt for enjoyment right?  Here is one I played with at retreat:

 I looked at several examples of graffiti quilting and thought,"I can do that! and in an hour!"
Well, it ended up taking  whole day of my retreat, but oh, what fun it was...  It's about 15 inches square and would look perfect in your sewing room!

I will be donating this to the silent auction at the Quilt show - BTW it is the Greater San Antonio Quilt Guild show, Star Gazing, Sept. 25 and 26, 2015 from 9-5 at the San Antonio Event Center, 8111 Meadow Leaf.  Come out and check out the almost 300 quilts and over 40 vendors. 

Hope to see you there, Karen 

fillers, fillers, and more fillers

I am delving into all my filler books and lessons to help me fill the outer border of this quilt. I am filling it in with triangles with a different fill design in each one.

 So I am finally putting all of those books and websites to use.  I usually just use the same fill designs over and over - I like bubbles, paisleys, swirls, and grids.  For new ideas, I am inspired by Leah Day's Free Motion Quilting Project and by the fills in my Craftsy class with Cindy Needham.  I am also looking at designs from the awesome online book I bought from aussie quilter Helen Godden, Fifty Shades of Quilting.  There are so many ideas out there.  And believe it or not, I can actually come up with some myself, see the radiating triangle in blue below? - all mine

 Sue Heinz' book Fill Harmonics has some wonderful ideas (oops, upside down..)

There are tons of ideas in my Machine Quilting Unlimited magazines.

Including this wonderful article by Margaret Solomon Gunn (and yes, I see it is sideways - just call me the wonky blogger)

 I also bought  Bethanne Nemesh's three book set and got more ideas.

Bethanne calls her fill Nemeshing and I love it.  I used it around my applique's for great effect.

And her other book "The Devil is in the Details" is inspiring me to add a beaded border.  I have two of them done already!   These are very labor intensive, hand stitching around each bead to make the fabric pop.  

I used a string of those little white beads, ohhh  I hope they are not too small to notice.  sometimes you just have to take the time to try it and see.  

Where do you go to find new designs?  Try some new ones out every once in a while, it's so fun!  Karen

If you are not willing to risk the unusual, you will have to settle for the ordinary. – Jim Rohn

Starts and stops

I made a close-up video of the method I use to start free motion quilting and how to stop. BTW, this is the method that Ricky Timms and Hollis Chatelaine both use on their award winning quilts. Thank goodness I don't have to tie off all those threads anymore!

I hope you find this helpful and keep on quilting, Karen

Melanie's round robin finished

This quilt was made by Melanie and her bee friends.  It's another Wannabees round robin quilt.  I just finished quilting it for her, (see the previous posts for some videos of the quilting process).  

The quilt is 72 inches square.  It has wool batting and is quilted with Glide and Aurifil threads.  

This is part of the center feathered star.

Here are the outer borders, heavy with feathers and basket weaves...  those weird little blue buttons aren't buttons at all, they're heavily quilted circles.  I am glad to finally finish this, now on to some of my own projects!  see you soon, Karen

“The only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven’t found it yet, keep looking. Don’t settle.”– Steve Jobs