Not bored.....no, not for a minute ~

 I'm simply not the kind of person to be bored.  When there's some free time, I'll grab a book or paper and paint or the camera.  But more times than not, I'll just grab some fabric then find a pattern (or not) and start cutting and sewing.   

The thrill of not knowing the outcome but forging ahead anyway doesn't give me the least bit of angst.  What?  It's only my time and a little bit of recycled fabric and thread.  Okay, add sewing machine needle and oil!  Anyway, I digress.  

This little bucket hat jewel started yesterday and was very quickly finished this morning right after breakfast and just before lunch.  That means it finished quite quickly thanks to a bit of tutoring by Crispina French who first turned me onto this free bucket hat pattern.

Pssst.....it's a free bucket hat pattern at Merchant & Mills.  Sign in and the free pattern will be emailed right to your gadget to print and stitch up.  

Energy Continued ~ Part 2

 Yay.....I finished another, albeit  smaller, Orange Delight!  And, I love it.  Joy is using scraps for the best delights ever.  This pattern on page 12 in Bright Quilts from Down Under quilt magazine I have for sale here.   Edited....quilt book sold.

After finishing Orange Delight #2 but before putting Bright Quilts Mag away, I flipped a few pages and stopped on page 16.  Immediately intrigued with this one called Bitz and Piecez,  a quilt pattern by the delightfully eclectic Jan Mullen. 

 While I don't have these juiced up fabrics as Jan used, I do have tons of scraps which I took the time to piece together in random fashion and trimmed to 6" square.  Next came the snowball by adding the 4 corners.

Here's what's happening to the patchwork snowballs on my design wall.  

Cut loose and see where the feeling takes you ~ 

How Brave Are You?

 The poll question I was asked to respond to read "How brave are you feeling?"  At the time, I was feeling so wimpish that I couldn't respond to the question.  You see,  I want to be brave and strong and be in the present....but at that present time, I was feeling bored and not sure where to go with my newest floating squares work-in-progress!   

After having a second cup of coffee (too early for wine) and muddling around the possibilities, I decided this is it, this quilt is done! 

 But it still needed to be squared (she said) as she remembered that fabulous Alexander Henry "Afternoon Delight" recently purchased.  The colors were right, the theme was right, it relieved the boredom and truthfully, it made me feel happy.  

Bravely, I added the Alexander Henry to the left and bottom giving me wiggle room to trim up square. Yes, the borders are not symmetrical.   

Feeling pretty darn brave - enough to go back and absolutely, positively respond to the poll ~ Whoopeeee.  

Moving On ~

I had to get a grip.....just before ripping out many days of hand stitching these hexagons together!!!!

I was rocking along pretty well yesterday afternoon, being almost finished stitching down the hexie frames for these seven 15" x 24" rectangles.  It wasn't until I finished stitching all seven framed rectangles into one whole that I noticed they weren't properly aligned. Well, rats behind!  I've done it again.

Oops!  Isn't  the spacing at top and bottom suppose to look alike?  

Taking a deep breath, remembering my mantra to rethink the possibilities and never envision a finished quilt until it is finished.  Turns out those are pretty positive mantras since my look alike of  Kathy Doughty's quilt Mirror, Mirror didn't mirror the image I saw of her finished quilt.   Time to get a grip, breathe deep and know that patterns are meant to be guidelines, not rules of life. 

To be continued ~



 

Nuts and Bolts ~

It's still on the improv design wall, but already this little gem is dubbed "Nuts and Bolts".  The nuts and bolts of it is because while happily practicing my curved piecing,  I'm loving the improvisational-ness of this piece with no rhyme nor reason to its progression.  Accepting each add-on that's fitting together like a nut to the bolt. 

In a hurry.....gotta get on the road ~

I'm off first thing this morning for a weekend filled with Sherri Lynn Wood workshops.  It's going to be all about patchwork  doodling along with some courageous and outrageous curved piecing in two six hour whirlwind days in Lafayette, Louisiana.   My bags are packed and all the sewing gear is  ready to roll with me. 

But first a hint of what it's all about.   Here's my first 'floating square' block and finished improv patchwork quilt made several years ago using Sherri Lynn's book  The Improv Handbook for Modern Quilters as inspiration and guidance.    Get fabric, cut a square and let one thing lead itself into the next. 

Sew, I'll see you on the other side of the weekend with more pictures of how  Sherri Lynn and I figure it out!  Improv patchwork, now that's a cat's meow. 

It's a Cargo Duffle Bag

What can I say....except to say that it's just one more cargo duffle bag....an Anna Graham (Noodlehead) design.  Need I say that she's my favorite bag lady!   This is  my fifth but not destined to be the last.  Such a fun bag to make -  not too complicated and not too bulky to stitch through the layers on my Juki.  It's one of those make-in-a-day bags, assuming you have the day set aside. 

Here's cargo duffle # 3

and cargo duffle #2....the one I use most of the time.  

pssssssssst.....I still wear those yoga pants but the shoes have worn out!

I raised my hand ~

Every now and then I raise my hand too quickly, but not this time.  When this quilt top came up as an unwanted  giveaway, my hand immediately popped up.  Granted, that was two or three years ago, and granted, it took a bit of ripping and reworking the wavy borders but wowsers..... after getting it quilted, washed and dried to give it that wonderful snuggle me up glow, look at this beauty that was once unwanted. 

Oh, how I wish I knew the quilt maker.   She deserves a thumbs up (and more). 

.....and then insanity follows

Admitting time....that the Sew Kind of Wonderful Quick Curve Ruler (QCR) is just about to drive me into insanity.  It wasn't the first finish that did it, Chic Diamonds Pattern #415 done up in my favorite barn and turkey reds...actually the back side of reds in the grunge collection.

 nor even the second - A Gaggle Battle out of One Wonderful Curve 12 Contemporary Quilts.

but, yesterday after spending the day prepping a project to sew at our annual "Five O'Clock Quilters" retreat this upcoming weekend, the notion that I'm crazy about this ruler was set firmly in my head.

The pattern,  aptly dubbed 'Rings Revival' by quilt designers Helen Robinson and Jenny Pidigo,    found in Simply Modern Magazine Issue #14, is a QCR jewel.   I'm excited to get stitching on even more rings that will keep me revived. 

Foothills Quilt

Today is the perfect day to post about a finished foothills quilt top.  The sun is out (for a change) and while the air is a bit chilled, my camera and I ventured out for a photo shoot.

I headed South a few weeks ago for a workshop with Canada native Mary Elizabeth Kinch, and finished one block that day.  Knowing that if I ever put this one away,  it would get buried deeper and deeper and never get finished so at every sewing opportunity, I set a personal goal of completing two blocks.   Block by block until almost to the finish with only 5 more to go.  It took one very long sewing day but all 25 foothills quilt blocks were done.

Made only from scraps.  The corner half-square triangles required two 5 1/2" blocks of two fabrics and the other fabric requirements were even smaller.  Needless to say there were a lot of scraps out on the table.....

 Finding the sashing strips was easy.  You see, I have plenty of fabric, but not much of any one design.   I knew I wanted the lime green to accent so began by pulling all fat quarters of that colorway.  Still not enough, I dug into the mustard/green to finish the job.  Now, that's the cat's meow. 

Mary Elizabeth's Foothills quilt was inspired by her love of vintage quilts.   She was especially intrigued by one she saw in a quilt museum (maker unknown) and designed this near replica.

Mine is sans outer borders by personal choice.  I'm enjoying the 70" x 70" manageable size and what I consider a more busy, a more flirtatious design.

Oh, and by the way.....a Happy Thanksgiving to you all.  The HuMan read on the internet that The Queen had all of her invited-to-sup guests weigh in before dining, then weigh out after dining.  Wonder if she wagers who gained the most.   Oh, the humiliation!   That won't be happening here at our Thanksgiving feast day.

Orange You Glad You Are A Pinwheel ~

My "Orange You Glad....." was just featured on My Quilt Place along with many other quilt wonders.

Orange Pinwheels 

and re-folded.....hour glass blocks become visible.

and pinwheels

One of the few times my binding is the same fabric that is within the quilt.

It's seldom I make a two-color quilt, but since orange is (one) of my favorite colors, it just seemed to be the color to add to the white I had on the bolt.  What a great way to end the month.  Thank you My Quilt Place.

Fleur de Lis Quilts and Accessories: Meet Marty Mason

I had the most fun Thursday last.  Traveling alone down to Cottonport was quiet and beautiful and filled with interaction between myself and me.   You see, I was guest presenter for Cotton Quilters in Cottonport, Louisiana, and always have to gear myself up so as not to be nervous.  I do so enjoy showing off my quilts, but it's still a little nerve wracking....especially when you know the group is going to be traditional quilters.   

On arriving, I  was so warmly received.  I felt as though we had been friends for years.  Their comments, oohs and aahs were most sincere.  Their questions about this and that made me realize that they really wanted to know about the diverse fabrics I use, where I find inspiration, my approach to quilting without a pattern and quilting from the heart in my make-do attitude.    Cottonport Quilters, you were the best audience and I thank you for the pleasure of your company. 

And thank you, Mary Marcotte, for your invitation to be Cotton Quilters' August presenter, and a special thank you for blogging about my visit and sharing your story of the day.  Yes, Mary, we are blogging friends indeed. 


Fleur de Lis Quilts and Accessories: Meet Marty Mason: On Thursday I finally got around to writing about our August meeting . In that post I teased everyone with a little about our special guest,...

Leftovers~

Even in this summer heat......I'm still making quilts. 

We'll just call these leftovers!  There's always a story but let's keep it short and sweet.  You see, there was some Asian designer fabric on sale and it wound up in my cart.....last year.  And it's been taking up way too much shelf space.  My first quilt top experiment (not pictured) didn't give me goosebumps so I cut it up and got two really different quilt tops made. 



Improv Log Cabin Leftover No. 1
 

Improv String of Pearls Leftover No. 2

Someone asked me if I liked the finishes.  After a minute of being taken aback at such a question, I realized that, yes, I did like both of them....very much!  What's not to like?  They kept me out of bars, off street corners, out of trouble and therapy for a few days.  Yes, of course, I like them! 

 

Threads of Glory Exhibit

The fabulous "Threads of Glory" exhibit features an array of fabric artworks - quilts, knitted items, weavings, and on and on----created by regional artisans......and I am one of them.  The exhibit will run April 25-June 2, 2018,  at  Union Museum of History and Art, 116 N. Main Street, Farmerville, Louisiana.

Yes, I am one happy camper viewing my handmade crafts on public display.....

Here is Old Blue happily hanging as a backdrop to the beautifully knitted black dress in silk yarn made by Nancy Wallace of Monroe, Louisiana.  I'll have to go back to the museum to get the name of The Rooster art quilt maker.  My apology to the maker for this sad oversight on my part.   

 

My flying geese quilt, even folded,  was quite stunning on display with The Butterfly thread stitched wall hanging. 

 

 

The bowls, oh, the rope bowls pictured below with the linen red hat! 

 
 
 
 
 

And finally my original hand crafted, painted and bound books. 

Thank you, "Threads of Glory" Exhibit Curator: Karen Bradford
Exhibit Designer: Alan Futch, The Dean of Flowers
Museum Coordinator:  Jean Jones and all 51 individuals who contributed treasured fiber artwork to the exhibit.

 

2017 ~ Have I Told You Lately That I Loved You?

This was a most wonderful year, filled with folks I love....filled with good times....filled with good health. 

In the good ole summertime, I can always find him in the back garden ~

It was a year filled with fun travels - quilting retreats and quilt shows.

 

A year filled with finishing quilts for myself and for others.

Circles.....ready to be quilted for guild program July, 2017

 

Improv half-rectangle triangles:  Hand quilted by Moi

It was a year filled with workshops and challenges ~

Loved, loved, loved the Sue Welton thrift store shirts quilting workshop.  Sue was a guest at Quilters' Guild Acadienne.  What a delight!

Oh, what a trip it was to the beach with Karen Echmeier ~

And probably the challenge of the year was perfecting this image using confetti fabric crumbs as taught by Nadine Cain in her most enlightening workshop.  Who knew crumbs could be so good.  The Vase for The Cherrywood Fabric VanGogh fabric challenge did not get juried in, but that certainly didn't diminish the fun in the making.  Thank you Nadine for the pleasure of your company while we all made confetti. 

And then there was the Sarah Fielke "Down the Rabbit Hole" block of the month challenge.  The 8th month is complete and the 9th - 12th month continues to be a work-in-progress for 2018. 

It was a year for finishing bags and zippered pouches for gifts and guild fund raisers.
No guts boxie pouch.....one of many made for gifts and give-aways. 

 

and a Noodlehead design zippered pouch

I'm continuing to enjoy making the sew together bag.  When filled, it truly is a bag with all my sew together stuff all together in one place. 

And it was a year to continue to expand my love for book making in Bari Zaki's Buttonhole Stitch Bookbinding workshop......

Oh, yes, 2017 I loved you. Thanks for the memories. 

 

Marty