New Challenges

 

Wow - trying to find where my photos got downloaded is a new trial! 

 G'daughter asked me to make her a Hawaiian quilt - a new kind of quilt project, so I found this book of patterns, altho these are not the colors she is wanting, it's a beginning.  She lives 6 hours from me, so that's another challenge and she is not familiar with sewing.   I'm going to start in June when we have a Guild class for this project, and then I'll make simply one block for a pillow. and see how it goes.  The plan calls for needleturn applique but that might tire quickly and I may fall back to fusible applique. 
 
Winter was just plain demanding this year -  SHOVELING was repeated too many times and sometimes it was called XXXX SHOVELING!   I finished this "I Spy" quilt - it looks a lot like previous ones.  This is for a great grandchild, now over 2 years old.  Oh dear.  

You may remember a quarter log cabin quilt I finished about a year ago, that had strips in it that I learned after it was finished, that they would bleed.  Fear kept me from washing it but finally, last weekend I put my big girl panties on and washed it in the washer, gentle, with mild homemade soap, plus a quarter cup of Dawn and 2 color catchers and happily, the quilt washed beautifully, with NO bleeding to be seen.  The Color Catchers were only mildly soft pink.  (I'm at a loss to find the photos now somewhere on this computer. )

All is well with me - just taking care of  everything takes more time and energy than I expected.  Plus, I was gifted membership in a multitude of  wonderful TV and Internet Channels which have been a terrible temptation!   Every quilt video ever made is available!   Plus other subjects I never dreamed wouild be so interesting when you see it on the big screen TV.   I am weak and sitting too much but can't seem to turn it off!!!  

Two quilting friends and I are preparing quilt instruction classes for Adult Ed.  This should redirect me and may help more folks learn some quilting techniques.  

My sewing machine goes to the repair shop Monday - Machine quilting that is just not "doing".  It worked fine on the "I Spy Quilt" that finished 2 days earlier, but today on a Pineapple Quilt, no cooperation at all.  Go figure!  8-(

Another "I Spy" quilt, ready for gifting

   

Many of these cutsies are from many of YOU!  Thank you Jody, Carol, Candace, Elsie, Alice, Anita, and others!  8-)))  Also, Thank You Janet for the 4.5 in ruler which meant I didn't have any trouble quickly recutting fabric bits to exact measurement needed.   Oops, forgot to photo the back, that I  enlarged a little bit past 42 in. in width.  

This layout is copied from https://mangobeans.wordpress.com/2014/05/30/i-spy-quilt/.   Thank You Wendy!  Her description even included the tricky layout.    

"Mo-Jo" found again!!!!!!!!!!

 I'm still heeeeere!!!!!!!!!!!  

Remember a previous post where I was sorting my ever-increasing pile of boring light and dark scraps?  This is what happened -- 16 blocks, on point.  More strips had to be cut for this WIP!  

I've been working on the border and faux flange binding of our group Raffle Quilt.  Here are some teaser photos - not allowed to show the full project.  We chose to feature "low volume" and "taupe".  There were some doubts as each block maker checked their stash and wondered "what were they thinking?"  Never fear ... the planners had faith!  

 

I still remember how to make these cheese loaves.  Yum - had to give one away or I would have gobbled both and been sorry!  Even better toasted for breakfast.  

I'm using a finished "I Spy" as the pattern for another "I Spy", using many of the cutsies some of you sent me.  The sewing is easy but the layout was tricky.  A bunch of squares also went home with a friend who also wanted to make a kid's quilt.

The reason for my absence - physician said "surgery, you are High Risk because of past heart history and you are on blood thinners and you are no spring chicken" so I was set up for date with UC Health in eastern Colorado.  Yes, that's right - 250 miles from my home.  Since I live alone, getting to that appt. had a number of logistic issues.  And winter storms that may or may not happen didn't help anxiety levels.  Taking blood thinners mean you must adhere to an exact dose stopping at an exact date before surgery, adding to stress on that point alone.  I planned to drive myself to my brother's home in Broomfield, Co.,  not too far from the hospital, and they offered to get me to/from the hospital, all of us frazzled with Denver traffic and with ever-threatening snow complications. I enjoy driving but have no knowledge of Denver traffic.  I made it just fine to their home.   My brother and wife are also respectful of traffic and rush hours, none of us are spring chickens!  As expected, my visit with them was absolutely wonderful, weather/snow complications were managed, surgery went just fine, I didn't die - what more was needed?   Bruises to my old body (blood thinners) was frightingly impressive, but slowly disappearing.   Frankly, I enjoy "new adventures" but this one was a corker!   I loved my family visit and  rehashing old memories, enjoyed being waited on for several days during recuperation and learning some new food items as brother and wife cook "organic".    My recovery was unexpectedly easy, and I drove home after several days of recuperation.  

Why does it take a month to make up for 10 days gone after returning home???? 

Still Here - Making "I Spy" quilts

 

Another "I Spy" quilt - the back - I finally can use that wild stripe!

Some of you kindly sent me "cutsies" - I'm using them.  They are so bright and colorful - again, thank you to all.  More kid/toddler quilts to come - this one will be ready when needed.  I only quilted little curvy loops in the white borders and left the cutsies unquilted.  The white was quilted from left side across the jaggedy line to the right side  - simple.    As simple as these little squares were, I blanked when it came to their assembly. 

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My days have been filled with working on a Guild Raffle Quilt.  Our local gals made the blocks and then the sashing strips - can't show you - I've been working on the border that brought the size up to Queen size.   

"I Spy" Quilt for kids, Thanks Joan!

Joan, I'm using your novelty fabrics!  So cute

I quilted this in big swoopy swirls - nothing fussy.  I put 2 straight lines of quilting in the border.   

(Notice, our lawn is still GREEN!)

This backing is some of the fabric given to me, hoping I'd use it in a kid's donation quilt.

"I Spy" quilt, thank you Joan

Blogger, Joan, said she wanted to reduce her too-large stash of novelties and offered them to me.  I guess you can surmise my answer.  This is one just completed,  about 46 x 48 inches.  Wow, there are so many different fabrics/squares, many were already cut at 2.5 in., and now sewn together, most of them are situated in the same direction.  I added the white for breathing space.  This will be a donation for Hugs and Stitches, sponsored by our LQS.

There has been little machine quilting at my home and I feared I'd lost my touch,  but as soon as I sat down and got moving, this big swirly design designed itself and was finished in about an hour.  (I MQ on my DSM.)

"I Spy" quilt, and Oveload of On-Line Classes

(Sideways) .. Current project, an I Spy Quilt.  There is one duplicate that I added.   I didn't care for a few of them (waaaay toooo commercial) and subbed my own.  Half are sorta lights, half sorta darks so I bordered darks in a white polka dot, and lights in grass green.  The layout was still kinda frenetic, until I noticed I could make diagonal "lines" in "sorta" darks and lights.  By the time I got them together, it became less wild.  I had that stripe border, hoping it might calm it all down and  surprisingly ... it did.

Here is the backing.  Not exactly soft and calm, is it?  8-))

Below is another Spider Web type quilt.   I've wanted to improve my repertoire of machine quilting ideas, so I signed up for an on-line Craftsy class by Christine Camelli.  I liked her style, and had never done the on-line thing and was very pleased with the entire procedure.  As soon as I clicked on the class, it was available, any time, they say "forever".  The class was well organized, easy to navigate.  Of course, then I was inundated by ads from Craftsy, and the BOGO for MORE MQ'ing classes was awfully tempting, so .... yes, I clicked on that option!  So, now I had machine quilting ideas from Ms. Camelli, and added MQ from Angela Walter class, and another MQ by Lori Kennedy, each different in their own way.  Wow, what fun! ... so in my MQ'ing frenzy, I used numerous motifs in this one Spiderweb quilt.  While the MQ is NOT cohesive, it IS helpful to review what works and what doesn't - like a sampler.  I was trying to learn to blend a variety of designs, flowing, curvaceous as the motifs changed.  Some was successful, others not so much, but I LIKE the end product. 

 I was thinking about scale, blending them, curves vs. straight lines, with a few "showstoppers" in the corners.  The webs are quilted all the same, but backgrounds are varied.