Been a while (post 1 of 2)

How can February be such a short month and yet seem so long!
It has been over a month since my last real post. But that doesn't mean I haven't been quilting. I have done a couple of secret gift projects as well as some commission quilting. Now that the gifts have been received, I can share!
First up is a quilt the Triad Modern Quilt Guild made for a member who had a baby in December.
Said member loves rainbows and robots, so the quilt design (directed by May Chappell) was easy to concieve.
Instead of contributing a block, participating members contributed a row of color. Then it was handed to me to quilt. A robot, naturally! I drew out my robot idea (based on a Lego figure),

marked my dimensions with masking tape, loaded rainbow variegated yarn, and set to stitching.

 It is hard to see the large central figure, so I did a tiny version in one of the corners.

And for the major cute baby enjoying the quilt, click here!

A great project to be a part of!

Purple Posies in a Basket

I have been quilting this beauty off and on for 6 weeks.

Pieced by Janet, quilted by me

68" by 78"

It was pieced by a family friend, Janet, who learned quilting growing up on a dairy farm. She still lives, and works there. I wanted to quilt one of her tops as a way to honor her, her relationship with my husband's family and as a memorial to my late MIL.

The piecing is exquisite. See, Janet doesn't own a rotary cutter, she cuts each piece separately and pieces precisely. The flowers are not made of carefully pieced half-square-triangles, they are diamond shapes with exact y-seams. Perfect points. Hand-appliqued stems.

I took my time quilting, heck, this was intimidating!

I first did a tight stipple in the white backgrounds (with white thread), then left it as I built up my nerve to quilt feathers in the lavender sections. I had Isacord in a matching lavender for the solid blocks and stitched a plume in each. The border is stitched in a piano-key , it didn't need anything else.

I was happy with it, but a bit anxious to give it back. What if she didn't like it? Thats a lot of stitches to rip out.

She loved it. Her sister and brothers loved it. Her sister-in-law asked for it. (whew)
And we spent a wonderful afternoon and evening with them. And the cows.

This girl was so curious, she kept her eye on us the whole time!

Stunt sewing part 3

I got my 3rd top complete for my friend's quilt shop. I call it "Mixed Berries".

It measures 54" by 62" and I used a 2 1/2" strip set along with 1/4 yard of a white on white print. 

Fast, fun and I will definitely be making another (or 2)!

Stunt Sewing part 2

It has been so very hot here! Brutal. And while I love summer, the heat and barometric pressure teamed up this week to give me a monster migraine. Battled this monster for 3 days. Finally feeling better, but I feel like I have been in a fog all week. Well, hubby and I are on vacation all week, so I am hoping to spend some quality time in my own sweat shop.

For my girlfriend who is opening a quilt shop, I have made this cutie, I call it "Abracadabra" because it is a disappearing nine patch.

I am not a "pink" person, but these prints are so cheery and the touch of chocolate brown adds sophistication. One more for her to go!

A little "stunt sewing"

What is stunt sewing you ask? Well, it where one steps in and sews for someone who can't! In this case, I am sewing some store samples for a friend who is opening a new quilt shop! I know, you are wondering how I can make such a sacrifice? Well, I get to sew with new, beautiful fabrics. FOR FREE! Oh, yeah, I have to give them to her, but I still get to play with them! 

I am also developing the pattern for each sample I make. None of these patterns are re-inventions of the wheel, but they are my method of constructing a classic quilting design. 

The first up, I call "Simple Stunning Star". It measures 42" square and this sample is done in Christmas fabrics. 

This pattern could also be used for a baby quilt, or you could put 4 together for a bed sized quilt. I will post the pattern here, once it has been proofed. Have a good weekend!

Happy Independence Day, and credit where credit is due

I hope all of you are having a wonderful Monday, July 4. We are celebrating Independence Day in the traditional way: with Hot Dogs at Mom and Dad's.  The hubs and I went and bought my favorite fruit this morning, BLACKBERRIES and I have made a blackberry cobbler for desert. We also went Blueberry picking so I put blueberries in the cobbler as well. Can't wait to dig into that.

Bold Glory made in 2009 donated to Quilts of Valor 

©Kelly Wood 2009

I have also remembered the way we celebrated Independence Day in 1993. We were in Gold Hill, CO, visiting my brother who lived in Boulder at the time. We drove up to Gold Hill, which has a quaint, unpaved Main Street. We were delighted to enjoy their 4th of July parade, TWICE! The parade went down main street, then all the spectators ran between the buildings to watch the parade go up the back street! We all had flags and it was an awesome experience. 

I also want to credit the phenomenal quilter who made this beauty. Her name is Marianne and she blogs here. I found the photo on Pinterest, but did not chase down the link. Fortunately, Marianne found me! She does such wonderful work! Please visit her blog and feast on her quilts. Thanks Marianne! I really LOVE  your work!

gotta brag, again!

My dear friend, co-worker and quilting student, Tammy, has been at it again! She is making a quilt for all her family members and since she has made one for her son, mother and sister, now she is up to her brothers. One of them is a Duke fan! She did some research on their mascot and made her own pattern:

I am so proud of her!

My favorite part? Her fearlessness. And her first free-motion quilting! She inspires me. And she is one of the sweetest people I know!

Free-Motion quilting for my friend

I have shared a couple of the quilts done by my friend Tammy. She is a new quilter and quite fearless! I am so proud of her. Here is here first quilt, and here is her 3rd quilt. Well, she wanted to make a special gift for another of our coworkers who is moving on to a new job. So our boss drafted the pattern, Tammy pieced it, and I FMQ-ed it. Here Tammy and I show it off:

And here is the back to show my stitching:

I used a Sulky Blendable in shades of tan and brown. The recipient loved it. And yes, the little fish jumping out of the water has a special meaning attached. Connie (the recipient) had a beta at work named Blaze. She had asked Tammy to feed Blaze while Connie was on vacation. Well, Tammy went to clean the water and inadvertently killed Blaze. She did the thing where you go and buy another and try to pass it off as the original, but it didn't work. She was distraught, but Connie was understanding! So Blaze had to be on the quilt. Anyway, Tammy is doing great with her quilting and Connie loves it.

Gotta Brag...

On my dear friend, co-worker and new quilter, Tammy and her 3rd (yes, her third) completed quilt!

She made the pattern up herself! She did stitch-in-ditch quilting. I am so very proud of her!

Oh, and this quilt is a birthday gift for her sister, a breast cancer survivor!

What I've been up to pt 1

Too busy to blog. That's for sure! I am trying to use up vacation days, and that means I am cramming 5 days of work into 4. Plus helping others. Thankfully, our workloads have increased. Its a nice change after the past 2 years, but I am brain-dead when I get home and do not want to spend another minute in front of a computer. I'd rather be sewing. Which is what I have been doing.

 I just finished quilting a top made by a friend. It is a cute Christmas quilt. She is giving me the left-over fabric.

My quilting just gets better. Feels like I am watching someone else do it. Practice pays off!

Tammy's first quilt FINISHED

I am teaching my friend and co-worker how to make quilts. Here is her first finish!

She pieced the whole top. I quilted it. She bound it.

It is for her son. I know he will love it!

A student's quilt

At last, I am posting about quilting again!
This is the very first quilt by my friend and student, Tammy.:

She is making this for her son. She wanted something modern, manly and it had to have black in it.

I love the graphic quality and the wolf print as accent. I am going to quilt it for her and will post that when finished.

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!