Another completion!

First order of business: Dad came through the brain tumor surgery with flying colors! He was in excellent humor and high spirits post-surgery. I believe he was as relieved (if not more) as we were when he woke up and everything was as it should be! Thank you all for your thoughts and prayers!

I have been piecing a lot of quilts lately. Here is the most recent finish:

I call it "Strella" and it measures 26" x 26". This is for a charity auction.

I free-motion quilted it using a fluorescent yellow Isofil thread.

Mom said the quilt seemed simple and that I should do something special with the quilting.

I believe I accomplished that!

I can finally post this one!

I have been diligently working on this quilt. It is what I have been doing every possible moment to the detriment of keeping up my blog, Facebook, my laundry, etc! This one is special and while I have had it complete for about a week now, I could not post it as it is a gift for my Mother! Her birthday was April 27, so now she has it and the surprise is out!

It measures 65" x 65". The batik paisley is all from the same piece of fabric, the border and sashing is Kona Snow, I think.

I pieced the top in about 2 hours. The quilting, yes it is very dense, took about 12 tot 15 hours. I really didn't keep track but since I have been asked, I have tried to guestimate. When I am quilting, it is very meditative and I loose track of time. I find that very restful and really don't mind!

 I love it, I believe she will as well! I free-motion quilted it with Isacord polyester thread on top and Mettler in the bobbin. No, I did not have a pattern, I just sat down and started quilting. But I love the swirls and think the set off the batik paisley very nicely.

We are off this weekend to visit friends. Should be restful, relaxing and fun!

A friend's quilt

This is an adorable baby quilt made by a friend. (Sorry about the blur).

 I love the color, the random, intuitive piecing, and the adorable Heather Ross Goldfish print!

 My friend used the aqua solid on the back and pieced in a detail square.

This little guy is a charmer!

 

Some Monday angst

We found a house, placed an offer, had it accepted and now it has been withdrawn. The house was perfectly centered for our commutes (29 miles for me, 26 miles for him). It is a foreclosure that needs work - mostly cosmedic, but it has a fenced yard for the dogs, good bones and a fantastic screened-in porch. 

We just found out that a major beltway is planned to be built near by.
784 feet from our back yard.


We have withdrawn our offer. We do not want another house we can't sell.

Sorry to bring you down, just trying to keep it real.

Our current house hasn't sold, we haven't even had any lookers lately. I guess this is just the way it will be for a while longer. Good thing I have quilts to keep me busy. I currently have 3 lap quilts ready to quilt, along with 2 wall quilts and a table topper. The work will take my mind off my disappointment.

After a Monday morning like this, the rest of the week should be a breeze. But, no, my Dad is having brain surgery on Wednesday to remove the pituitary tumor. Please keep him (his name is Arch) in your thoughts and prayers. I really appreciate it.

New little quilt

I finished this one today..

It measures 12" x 15". I quilted it with silk thread. Love the silk thread! I am trying to add in some small pieces to keep my creativity level up. I love my large quilts, but they do wear me out. This little cutie is the first in a series I am doing. I consider them flags of imaginary countries. I am using small pieces of my hand dyes in these. Fun!

AQS Paducah winners

I didn't win anything, BUT you can go here and see who did! Boy, some awesome work! At least my quilt was in great company. Congratulations to all the quilters who won!

Maxing out these scraps

This is going to be a table topper.

Check out the cute heart I appliqued on:

Seemed to want to be there.

I tend to let my mind wander a bit while stitching. The hum and repetition is great for meditation. I realized this about myself: I am a purger. Now that is really nothing new in that I do not hang on to things. I do not like clutter. I am not attached to objects. But I realized that it extends to my fabric scraps as well. I believe that is where some of my unease has originated. My scrap bin is just too full. I am going to try using some up over the next couple of weeks. I have an idea for an appliqued circle quilt (like this, its on my list of quilting goals) and that will use up quite a bit. Once I do some scrap reduction, then I can get back into stash reduction. If only I could reduce my hips and tummy!

ツ Some look at these pencils and see colors... I look at them and see possibilities

ツ Some look at these pencils and see colors... I look at them and see possibilities, originally uploaded by ahannink.

A fresh pencil, a new box of crayons (the 64 set!) and a sketch pad! These are the things dreams are made of. (Flickr is so great!)

.Colours of Life .

.Colours of Life ., originally uploaded by IamPURPLE .back.to.senses..

Lucious photo of beautiful thread! Inspiring eye candy.

More mojo in action

I had several 1/2 square triangles left over and I have promised a wall-quilt for a charity auction, so this happened:

Ready to layer and quilt. I love the bright yellow, blue and red!

A recovery of sorts

I have been moping around the past week or so. The stress of our living situation, needing to sell our house, needing to find a house, all of it has had me down. I lost my quilting mojo. I have also just completed to intensely quilted pieces that have specific receivers. Wanting to please the recipients and striving for (impossible) perfection have also contributed to my funk. Spring has arrived and the sunlight and bright colors help to lift my mood. I actually pieced an incredible ugly block earlier in the week. But it is seriously ugly and I am not going to try to rehab it. Maybe I will just use it to practice my free-motion.


Well, yesterday I was determined to get back in the studio and do something. I rearranged some fabric, toyed with a few FQs. Then I dumped my scrap bin and saw some large pieces. So I ironed, cut and made 1/2 square triangles for a while.

This zig-zag emerged, and my mojo returned! Got the entire top pieced!

Ready to quilt!

still here

Yes, I am still here. Working, quilting. Sneak peak on my current project:

Welcome Spring!

A slow quilting week for me. The "Best Buddies" was intense so I have been resting and recharging this week. Plus, with longer daylight in the evenings, and the GORGEOUS weather here in the foothills of NC, it is hard to go inside!

I have taken advantage of this rest time to enjoy the blooms in my yard.

I have also cleaned my studio/sweatshop. I tend to work on several projects in a row, then I need to clean, straighten, fold, sweep, dust and reorganize.

I have also done some mending.

Our house is being shown today, so I am crossing my fingers that these people may want to buy it!