When will all the busy-ness end?

I know, some complain about about the mundane, boring lives they lead. I, too, can feel blah (especially in February when the grey winter skies, the lack of sunlight and the cold weather makes me feel like sleeping through til April), but the endless engagements of September and October have me breathless! At least I have gotten in a bit of sewing. I am quilting this top, but since I am traveling for work all next week, I do not anticipate a finish for a while.


So, to keep you inspired, here are some beauties I have encountered on the web:


Love this African quilt!
Family heirlooms finding a new family.
I love this modern quilt!
Feeling a little flowery over this one, too!
No, I didn't translate it, I just drooled over the pictures!
Awesome Free-motion quilting!
Great calendar for quilters who love men and burritos!
I am going to make a version of this. Love the colors and simplicity!




I AM visiting the City Quilter in NYC next week as well as attending 3 museum tours (Nick Cave Soundsuits, Daphne Guinness at FIT, Japan's Textile Pioneers), so I will share.


October is stacking up to be just as busy as September as I get back from NYC and then travel to our factory in Maine the week of the 17th. November has me in Nashville for the Healthcare Design conference. May next February will not be a boring month, but a resting month!

Flimsy done

Don't you just hate sneak previews?

Hehe!

Got my "Radiant Star" top done. Just need backing and then I can quilt it! This is big, a full 108" square for my king bed.

I constructed the center star using Eleanor Burns' Radiant Star Quilts book/pattern. The borders are my own design. This is for me and my hubs!

In other news:
I taught my Free Motion Beginners Class on Saturday. I had 8 FANTASTIC students! This may have been my best class ever! Everyone's machines were humming along and everyone had smiles on their faces. I even got hugs! I changed up the class a bit, covering a lot of info before I had everyone sew. We had tons of excellent questions and everyone was engaged. Really a great day!

Completed baby quilt

49" x 57"

I got this cutie quilted on Sunday afternoon. My sweet hubby needs it for a colleague who's wife is expecting. This is from two 21/2" strip sets from JoAnn's. Each set only had 20 strips, and both were in the clearance bin. But I like the bright colors and you know I love "orange".

I FMQ'ed it in my loopy-loops and machined the binding.

I love our arrangement: (he) "I need a baby quilt for a friend" (me)" guess I need to buy more fabric".

Win-win!

Autum Eye Candy

Seasonal fruit here in NC, persimmons! 

I love the color! (Shot at the Stokes County Fair)

Star Status report

Previous posts on this quilt are here, here and here.

After a shaky start, then re-cutting, I am at this point:

Yes, that is a large star laying on my floor! Correction: laying FLAT on my floor!

This star has a tendency to "lump" in the center, with the angles and bias that is no surprise. Once I got the setting triangles and squares on, I put it on the floor and got the iron. And I steamed it into submission! It is still laying on the floor so it can dry thoroughly with no distortion.

Last class to come we will be working on borders. Pretty, isn't it?

1/4" from the edge - exhibit pix

Here are pix from the exhibition at Historic Bethabara Park.

We had so many WONDERFUL visitors!

Quilters, future-quilters, quilt-lovers, friends and family came!

I gave my talk 2 times. So many positive vibes!

My Mom's most recent quilt "Purple Haze"

Now I am tired and plan to spend a quiet day, sewing!

1/4" from the Edge

So, I was approached in May about exhibiting my quilts in a local venue.

Said, YES! Because I adore sharing my love of quilts. Shainghai'ed my mom and 2 friends into letting me show theirs as well. (Thanks Kim and Ellen!)

Mom helped me hang the quilts on Monday. We were interviewed on local radio Wednesday morning and have a photo shoot/magazine interview on Friday.

Saturday is the Apple Fest at Historic Bethabara Park in Winston-Salem.

See where this is going?

Yup, the quilts are hanging in the visitors' center. And on Saturday, I am giving 2 short talks about modern quilting methods. I will be there all day as well (10:30 to 4:30) to answer questions and talk to visitors about quilts.

Come see the quilts, enjoy the Apple Fest activities and lets talk quilts!

this is so freaking fun!

I made a little collage of some of the quilts:

Kelly Wood ©2011

When life gives you scraps...

Remember this?

Well, yes, I had to redo, but my mistake strips were not wasted.

Here is what they are becoming!:

Loving it!

Quilty Links week of 9/11/11

I am way too busy to even sew this week. Please enjoy these quilty links and forgive me!

This Guy's Quilts ROCK!

Phenomenal Cherokee Quilts

Yet another awesome man-quilter!

Confession time: other than my mother, this lady has been a tremendous inspiration for me in quilting.

This is how quilters bring comfort, when something bad happens, we make quilts.

New Speedy Strip quilt top

Here is a speedy strip quilt for a baby. 42 - 2 1/2" strips + 42 - 2 1/2" squares + 2 hours = one cute quilt! 

The way the prints created panels was a surprise, and I like it! Will post again once I am quilting it,

back on track!

They may look like bunny ears, 

but I am back on track with my Radiant Star quilt!

a lesson and an excercise

Remember this post? 

Well, things haven't worked out as I had hoped.

This is both an exercise in futility and a lesson in humility. How very poetic!

I had my strips cut and sewn into panels. All in the right order.

Then it was time to cut angled strips.

After happily zipping along, I discovered I had cut min on 60 degrees instead of 45 degrees.

Well, I have more fabric, I will just remake those mis-cut sets. 

I start sewing the angled strips together and the points just will not meet.

Guess whose 1/4" seams were off? Yup, mine.

 My mis-sewn and mis-cut strips. 

No worries, these will make an awesome contemporary quilt!

Well, I know a couple of my classmates read this blog, as does my delightful teacher!

And I know I will not be happy with it if I just try to "make it work".

So, I recut my strips, and I am going to make new panels.

I said I would share the process on this project, so here I am keeping it real!

I am first checking my 1/4" seam and adjusting if necessary. And I am using my large quilters square with the well-marked 45 degree angle.

And I am beginning anew.

A week of Quilty links

Some great projects I've been inspired by recently:


The Buggy Barn Quilt show. I want to have an outdoor show! Any ideas where we can do it?


I just love scrappy quilts. I want to make one just like this!


Awesome machine quilting samples. Practice, practice, practice!


My new favorite quilter. I just need more time to sew!


Hope all of you have a wonderful Labor Day!

Passion Flower

Looks tropical, but the Passion Flower is actually a native wildflower here in North Carolina. I love the weird, exotic, alien-ness of it! I got this picture in the parking lot at work! Beauty is all around us.

Solstice - complete

Here is "Solstice", all done save the binding. 50" by 46".

All scraps from previous projects. Many of these are also my hand-dyes.

I am so pleased with my free-motion quilting. All the hours of practice are starting to show! 

The back is as decorative as the front.