When I woke up this morning ~

You were on my mind ~

and you were on my mind ~ oh, I've got troubles, ooooh troubles

One of my troubles is called too little time.  I've been concentrating on getting a few more community service kids' quilts completed.  While sewing orphan 6" squares together is easy, it still takes time.

               Yes, time, you were on my mind ~ when I woke up this morning!

 

Faulty Construction?!!

Melanie....it's all your fault !

Several months ago my most generous friend Melanie, who in the process of getting rid of stuff, gave me a gallon zip bag filled with  blue and white star blocks.  Yesterday when I dug through the bag, I didn't know whether to thank her or curse her.   How stupid happy am I to have taken this bag off her hands!    As I filtered through the bag  separating the finished from the unfinished quilt blocks I found that she had completed  six 12 1/2" blocks and many 6 1/2" ones, enough to finish my lap size quilt at 42" x 60". 

No, her construction isn't perfect.....nor is mine.  Upon close examination of each block, I remembered her telling me that there were a million bunny ears to clip off each block and that this was one of her early quilting attempts and that the seam allowances weren't perfect and none of the blocks squared up correctly and she just didn't have the time! and on and on.  At the time, I remembered just seeing these beautiful blue and white stars and not believing my luck that I was the recipient.  Each block had so many little pieces.  How did Melanie even get this many sewn together?  I would have given up long before she did.    I'm sure Melanie has a quilt pattern somewhere for this quilt, probably in one of her zillion quilt books/magazines that she pared down in her recent move.   But I didn't have it so I just puttered and placed blocks on my design wall and came up with this arrangement. 

I think it turned out beautifully and don't think it will collapse on top of me when it gets all quilted, washed and spread across my legs as I doze.    No, I see no faulty construction here and

here's what remains that will be put into another quilt.  Aren't they gorgeous?  No,  I see nothing faulty about the construction of these little blue shining stars. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I got my Michael Miller fabrics today

Michael Miller Fabrics is once again sponsoring the Modern Quilt Guild  members fabric challenge...and I got my 6 fabrics this morning at the NELA MQG meeting.  I've already added a few solids to the new Petal Pinwheels collection  but do not yet have a project idea.  But, that will come. 

Love being a part of the modern quilt movement and  having new eye candy in the house.  I'll be designing a quilt in my sleep tonight.   

 

For The Love Of - Springtime and flowers and paint and fabric

I awoke just in time to see the first ray of sunshine dancing across my fabric....painted flower on muslin.  Edited in Photoshop to include in Kim  Klassen's Texture Tuesday blog edition.....for the love of ~

Okay...Okay...so it's Wednesday - I'll get over being a day late if you will.   I still woke this morning with sunshine in my face and on my flowers. 

 

.....and what a fun challenge it was ~

As if I didn't have enough projects to complete! 

When Victoria (as in 15 Minutes of Play, Bumble Beans) issued the Spring challenge, I just couldn't resist.  It's been a long and cold and wet winter and I was so desperately needing a Spring day when I saw her newly posted challenge. 

And I new just where my starting point was going to be.   After ordering the fat quarter bundle of Anna Maria Horner's new fabric collection, True Colors, I cut most of it into 7" hexagons for my next quilt.....but I saved all the little scraps.  Some fabrics are just too precious to trash....don't you agree?

Back to my story - here's the challenge block diagram.  Not much going on here!  But with high hopes of Spring nearby,  I intend to make it my own. 

Victoria says we can do anything to the block that we want....make it any size....sub-divide it even more....whatever.  Her only "rule" is that somewhere within the block, there must be some "made fabric."  Okay, I can follow that rule!  Using my left-overs from my True Colors collection, I set about making fabric which I then turned into a 4-patch square - flying geese.   Component #1 now complete x 4.  To SOLIDify my block, I found some Kona snow and cut into my attaching triangles to complete component #2 of the challenge block.  Now what?  Lucky for me I went to our local Hancock's the other day and found a home dec fabric remnant on sale which I thought read Spring.  Component #3 complete.  

I got four blocks completed just in time to STOP and smell the Spring flowers.  It's a skinny little wall-hanging - 8" x 32" with flower petals and leaf free-motion quilted.  Yes, Spring is bursting out all over the sewing room wall. 

 

 

 

We got rain last night....lots of rain

A friend of mine posted a Facebook picture of how high the rain water came up on her patio last night during all the rain....reminded me of this Johnny Cash song....."How High's The Water, Momma?"



 

For all the Johnny Cash fans.

 

 

 

 

True Colors - An April Calendar

Anna Maria Horner's "True Colors" fabric collection was just the right color for my April calendar.

 

It's all about A Song Title - An Art Quilt

Have I told you lately that I belong to "Art Quilts Around the World", where 20 or more of us make  art quilts based on a chosen theme.  The theme this month was A Song Title.  After much deliberation, I decided on "Frog Went A Courtin'."  Here's my finished art quilt

Notice that Miss Mouse isn't wearing white...rather, she has very blue hair today.  She did venture out of her hollow tree and is sitting on the roof top oogling at her fancy frog.   Also, the big black snake isn't big and isn't black, but is a joyful snake of many colors eyeing the frog for reasons other than Miss Mouse's. 

 

In doing a little research about this folk song, I learned that there is quite the story behind the lyrics which have been altered and added onto and updated through the ages.   It dates back 400 years and was all about Queen Elizabeth I who very often gave members of her ministry animal names.   Although she never married and was known as the virgin queen, she did play love games with several suitors before rejecting them as unsuitable to be her king.  Her frog in the song refers to Francis, Duke of Alencon, France.

Froggy Went A Courtin' has been recorded by many, including Tex Ritter, Burl Ives, Bob Dylan,
Elvis Presley, Pete Seeger, Bruce Springstein....just to name a few.  I found this delightful version sung by Elizabeth Mitchell and thought it would be fun to share. 
 

 

Warning: This is Graphic!

I'm a privileged child.  And it feels good.  To be a part of the modern quilt movement.  A movement that is moving quickly.  And it feels good. 

I had the privilege and pleasure to view Heather Grant's "Design Fundamentals of Modern Quilting" webinar last night.  A rather intensive conversation on her view of the philosophy and aesthetics of modern quilting.  In her view, one of the design fundamentals is a bright and graphic color palette:

I think this makes my Christmas table runner pretty and bright and graphic.....therefore,  modern ~

 

Is Anybody Out There?

I've been so not  here lately
There's no excuse

It's just that "Ain't Nobody Home"  

a lyric to live by

by

BB King

 

 

 

 

 

 

It's A March, 2014 Calendar - Finally!

I wanted a PDF maker for Christmas.....2013.  It's now March, 2014, and I'm just learning how to use it.  It's a very slow work-in-progress.   Go figure:  Figure 1 - a delayed March calendar to help me keep up with what's remaining of the month. 

I close friend had a birthday March 3, but I did remember to send her Facebook Happy Birthday wishes.   Just yesterday I missed great-nephew Kale's 16th birthday.  So here is a shout out to him -  Sweet 16 and never kissed a girl!!!!  And in my own defense, I'm getting older too.  Tomorrow I'll be deeper in debt - but, who is counting money or years?  Not I, for sure.








 

Seriously having fun!

I've been having some serious fun with ugly fabric. It was a guild challenge that couldn't be resisted. Fifteen of us took the challenge to see who could come up with the best of the best with this pile of ugly fabric. It's all traditional and it's all ugly. My apology to each fabric designer.  Certainly, no offense is intended!

Since I want to make a modern quilt out of this pile of ugly, I started out by making small quilt blocks then surrounding them with solids.  Hmmmm, well on my way to  making something pretty out of ugly.  Ugly is looking good!

 Block No. 3 - using 

 just a small dose of ugly. I'm almost home!

 

 

 

Not sure yet how many blocks I'll make.....probably nine. 

More later ~

 

 

 

 

 

"If Only" - "What If"

Don't look back with regret.  "If only I"  is just like "Can't do what I should have done." 


Look forward and imagine "What if".  What if I did something different today.   What if I didn't care if  all things weren't to perfection.   What if  I took a different path today.....

Reflect on the house being built today: 

What if I built a house today,  one filled with no regrets, no "if only", no "can't do what I should have done." My house will have open windows and doors for all to enter and feel welcome.  The view will be clear from within looking out and from the outside looking in.   I will have unpainted walls and concrete floors.  There will be no distractions - no distractions from my art, my quilts, my photography that will be hanging on every wall in every corner in my house for all to see.  I will not explain or apologize that my art doesn't fit your perceived mold of what art should be.  I will not explain why my quilts are just to my liking with every mis-matched fabric.    I will not answer your question...why did you take a picture of that???  

If I built a house today,  I will never be posed the question....."What were you thinking?"   Criticism cannot hurt me in my house I built today.   I will no longer be moving in the same circles if I built a house today. 













 

Dahlia Quilt And A Wet Cat!

 

The cat has been bugging me to death this morning. 

When it gets to much to bear

I

grab the water spray bottle

and

spray away. 

 

 

 

The cat bugged me once too often this morning!

I

think

she is

waterlogged!

 



 

It pleases me. Thank you ~

Assembly line sewing:  select the fabric, select the lining, select the zipper, cut the fabric, cut the lining and iron-on fusible, iron the fusible to wrong side of fabric, install the zipper, sew the seams, turn the pouch, top stitch, add the zipper pull.....

and before I knew it,  there were too many to count!  Ready to be donated for guild fund raiser.  Kept me off street corners and out of bars!  Yippee ~

 

It's a Little After Breakfast Time ~

It's a little after breakfast.

It's a little before lunch!

And my dress is still casual - pajamas with a sweat shirt over to help ward off the February chill. 

It's not the best of pictures, but comfort counts when one is having fun! 

I'm not ready to meet the public;  however,  I've finished quilting and binding one of five quilt tops I stitched up while gathered at a most delightful retreat center near here with 12 other quilters. 

When I arrived home,  it only took a few minutes to quickly get each kids' quilt top matched with a backing.  Later yesterday afternoon, the quilting began.  One was finished  with the binding attached a little after breakfast....a little before lunch today.   One quilt top is sandwiched and ready to go 'under the needle' and three are back stage ready to be called up to front and center.  

A close view of the orange peel quilting design and flanged binding totally put on by machine.  The neatest look with an eighth-inch flange peeking out from under the binding. 

One last thought.....I can assure you the thirteen of us had a great time.....non-stop sewing and eating and laughing until we cried.  Sew much was accomplished and what a fun time it was

sharing and caring. 

Oh, and I'm still in my casual attire and it's now a little before lunch!

 

 

 

Where are you going? Where have you been?

I have had a busy 2014 and lovin' every minute of it.  January started out with my usual 'get over the holiday' sadness which I quickly quelled by going to a week-long quilt retreat in Richard....pronounced ree-shard, Louisiana.   At first gulp, the retreat center appeared to be centered right in the middle of nowhere.   If you google map search, you won't find this village.....I soon learned that there was so much activity going on within that none of us wanted to venture very far.  We did get out for superb seafood one night and had a delicious bowl of gumbo catered in to us on another night.  Quilters do not go hungry! 

On the heals of this retreat, I headed out for another several days of quilting with friends at Camp Harris in Minden.  The accommodations are not 5-star, but the price is right, the food is good, and there is no clean-up required after.  And a bonus is that there is a quilt shop within 5 miles where I can always find just the right yardage to add to my next quilt. 

Meetings, well, yes.....2014 has had a few meetings.   The fun kind, of course. 

Throw in one quilt show here in Monroe.  Well, there you have it.  It's the best explanation I can give you for not being a regular blogger so far this year. 

And now, I'm heading out for another 3-day quilt retreat but on my return will be back to a semi-regular schedule.   I do miss getting my head clear each day with my early morning musings posted here. 

 

 

 

 

Oh, and the greatest news....my hotel reservations are made for QuiltCon 2015 in Austin.  Just in the nick of time before all the rooms were booked.   It's been a very good year and the best is yet to come. 

 

Ice Storm Musings

Very seldom do ice storms happen here in Louisiana - but when one does hit, 

then here is my take on the situation. 

 

 Just dance!

 
 
 
 
 
 

It's Winter Olympics Time Of Year

Yes, it's the Winter Olympics time of year.   I know this, you know this and so does Quilt Inspiration....a blog I follow religiously.  And I felt nothing but delight when I opened up the post of the day and saw the picture of  Olympic banners made to commemorate the occasion that were inspired by Russian quilters and other artisans. 

Now, I'm no expert on advertising or knowing what might draw a person in, but my gut feeling is that if a quilt show had made banners to adorn the inside and outside of the quilt arena, people from off the street would be enticed inside for a closer view. 


Pyramids....free patterns.  Quilt Inspiration and friends are sharing patterns.  Too generous an offer not to take advantage. 


Here's one of my favorites from Molly Flanders with a "how-to" tutorial.  I'm drooling now as I pick my fabric to make my equilateral triangle quilt in the likeness of. 

I've made one in the past and love the simplistic beauty of this design.  In keeping with the simplicity, I used my vintage feed sack fabric and other fabrics off the shelf. 

Happy triangles To You

 

Have I mentioned lately -

......that I am a member of the group Art Quilts Around The World.  And, have I mentioned that we, as a group, meet a bi-monthly challenge.  And, that this past months' challenge theme was "Art Nouveau."


I didn't interpret art nouveau literally!  But here's my interpretation of art nouveau.....a mix of stained glass, ladies with hair flowing in the wind and two-handled urns!

 

Go figure - - - When you go see the quilt art of others in the group, you'll wonder why they keep me on board. 

 

I do wish I could get more serious about the art of quilting.  But, why ruin all  my fun?