Machine Quilting Videos by Leah Day

Here is a treasure trove of machine quilting videos! I could watch these videos for hours. 

Take a look here. She has hundreds of wonderful designs. 

Hurricane is Over - See This Photo

I found this photo from Milford, CT (shoreline) while browsing the Internet today.

The kids in Milford will long remember this scene!

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The hurricane is over for us. The wind has ceased and it's quiet again. We didn't lose power, and we didn't have any serious damage. It was good quilt-making time. 

I hope all is well with you and yours.

Storm Report 3 - Monday Evening

Here's the latest progress on the quilt. Storm raging. Sounds scary outside, but we're cozy here. 

I hope you are all well!

Storm Report 2 - Monday Lunch

The weather outside is frightful. The highways are closed statewide and the wind is ferocious. My African prints quilt is coming along. 

Storm Report 1 - Monday Morning

Here's the start of a new quilt. There are white stripes between the African prints. Aren't they interesting? (See below.) Stay tuned.

Oh yeah, this is what the storm looks like (below). Doesn't look like much but the wind is roaring and the treetops are swaying. 

Quilters Prepare for Storm

Quilters on the East Coast of the US are preparing for several days of non-stop quilting! 

Storm supplies: Fabric and thread? Check. Food and water? Check. Generator for basics like heat and sewing machine? Check. Tea and cookies? Check. I'm ready.

This NOAA satellite photo taken 2 days ago shows that we won't be going anywhere soon. Schools are already cancelled for Monday and Tuesday. That's the spirit.

I'm feeling like a big scrap quilt. How about you? Check back for Storm/Quilt updates.

Project Updates

If you've been visiting my blog recently, you'll recognize these 2 projects. The orange improv quilt is a cool-down exercise after making the "60 horizontal rows" quilt. 

And the entrelac scarf is starting to take shape. I'm enjoying my class with Ginger at In Sheep's Clothing in Torrington, CT. Her yarns and knitted items are stunning!

Happy quilting! (And knitting!)

Gorgeous Machine Quilting by Maika!

I sent this king sized quilt top to Maika Christensen in Utah for machine quilting and I couldn't be happier with the results! Didn't she do a fantastic job? She uses a regular sewing machine, not a long arm. Her lines are so graceful and neat. Thank you Maika!! 

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If you are looking for a machine quilter, I highly recommend Maika (mike'-uh).

You can email her at maika@familypieces.com.

Lisa Frick's Painted Furniture

These are the fabulous works of Lisa Frick in Missouri. I love this table (above). When Lisa was in 8th grade she dreamed of  having a macrame pot holder store. Now she's the proprietor of 2 shops: an arts and crafts store and a colorful hippie style store. In addition to her Etsy store, of course. 

Nice work, Lisa!

Fast Needle Exercise

These random orange wedges on my design wall might become a quilt. I don't know. This is mainly a cool-down exercise after sewing all those 1.5" strips together for the last quilt (see below). It was fun making that quilt, but now I have to "shake it out." Haha. I like how the Jennifer Paganelli "orange and white tiger stripe" fabric looks here. I have so much fun with that fabric. I got a yard of it on Etsy so I linked to the listing for you just in case you're interested. 

I hope you're having a very quilty day.

Orange Quilt Top is Finished!

The orange quilt top is finished! Hopefully by tonight it will be a finished quilt. 

Each strip was cut 1.5" wide. The quilt measures 61" x 61." There are 60 rows.

The center has reddish orange prints, fading out to light orange, light green, yellow, and then stark white. I particularly like the 5 black dots. This quilt has solids, prints, batiks, dots, stripes, ikat dots, Kanji, calligraphy, black and whites, solid white, hand-dyed orange fabrics, novelties, and an orange and white "tiger stripe" fabric designed by Jennifer Paganelli. 

There was a lot of tweaking in this supposedly random design because I wanted the colors to fade softly, not in chunks. This quilt looks especially rich and warm at night with a lamp nearby. 

This quilt was made to order for a customer in San Francisco, CA. 

Entrelac Knitting!

Last night I took a class on entrelac knitting from Ginger, owner of the local yarn shop: In Sheep's Clothing in Torrington, CT. This is what I've knitted so far. It looks strange, but Ginger says it's right. Like most beginner projects, this will be a scarf. Haha.

Here's a beautiful example (below) of what a completed entrelac knit looks like. When I first saw it, I wanted to slide my finger between the squares to see if it was open, but it's not.

The photo above is from the book "Entrelac: The Essential Guide to Interlace Knitting" by Rosemary Drysdale. I haven't read this book but I've seen excerpts. I think the instructions would be adequate if you were comfortable with knitting instructions. Otherwise, lessons are better. 

Isn't this skirt amazing? It's by Kathryn Alexander Designs. She's offering a class for this at the New York State Sheep and Wool Festival in Rhinebeck, NY, this weekend. 

Any knitters out there? I like to dabble in all kinds of needlework now and then.

Cross-Weave from Fabric Fascination!

Look what just arrived from Fabric Fascination! Kona cross-weaves are made with one color for the warp and another for the weft. I think they're prettier than solids, and they have a nice hand: soft, smooth and a nice weight. The photo below is from the Fabric Fascination site. It shows the texture and dual colors a little better than my photo. I can't wait to use them in a quilt. New fabrics always cheer up my stash. 

You know I can't just show you one fabric, so here's "Metropolis" below, from Jenean Morrison's Silent Cinema collection.

Another of my favorites at Fabric Fascination is this shrimp colored collection of batiks from Bali, Indonesia. This shop always has something fresh and unique to keep the creativity going!

Happy quilting!

Orange "World" Quilt

Remember earlier this year when we made "blocks" measuring 55" wide x 6" tall? I put them together into a quilt which I named the "World Quilt" because the makers were from all over the  world. It now lives in Florida with the Quilting Violinist. 

I'm working on a similar quilt now. It will measure 60" x 60." It should be red-orange in the center, fading to stark white along the sides. Bits of other colors are okay. The strips were cut 1.5" wide.  They'll be about 1" when pieced, of course. A few at the top are already sewn together. I'm still playing around with it. That's the fun part though. I'll show you how it goes.

You need to view a lot of your stash to get this quilt together!

Selvage Binding!

Becca of Bryan House Quilts in Texas has a fabulous idea: selvage binding! And she has a tutorial on her blog showing how to do it. Good thinking Becca!!

Lilly Belle Fabrics at Plum Patchwork!

Look at this gorgeous fabric that I found on Etsy! It's called Lilly Belle Garden Rocket Ruby Mustard Yellow Floral Fabric. Haha, that's what Jessica of Plum Patchwork calls it in her ad. (Jessica has a dog named Kona. Are quilters funny or what?) This fabric was designed by Bari J. Ackerman for Art Gallery Fabrics. 

And here are some more photos from her shop. Who can post just one fabric photo? Not me.

Below is Lilly Belle Lilly Bouquet in dark gray.

This is Lilly Belle Flowerpop Zesty Gold (below). It comes in pink too.

And finally, Boys Will Be Boys by David Walker for Free Spirit. I'm not even a "dog person," but I think this is so cute.

Meet Nicole Zuraitis!

Nicole Zuraitis is a talented singer/songwriter and animal lover. She is coming out with her second album soon. You can hear some samples of her music here. She has a gorgeous big voice! 

Her Mom is one of our neighbors. I met Nicole at a neighborhood picnic recently; 

she's a very sweet person.

Nicole is raising funds on Kickstart to publish her new CD. The deadline is October 20.

At this moment she has 78 backers. I'm going to participate (and listen to her music while I sew). 

Cozy Quilter's Liberated Medallion Selvage Quilt

This beautiful liberated medallion selvage quilt was made by the Cozy Quilter from Ontario, Canada. She calls this "Sewing Baskets." It was made at Gwen Marston's Beaver Island Quilt Retreat. I love those spools. You can read more about it at the Cozy Quilter blog. Nice job!!

Very Charming Doorknobs

Isn't this Turquoise Door photo charming? It's listed in Gail's Etsy shop: Vita Nostra. This photo above was taken in Portugal. Her shop is loaded with travel photography from all over the world. She has a good eye for doors and interesting architecture. 

Here's one more, a photo from Hungary. I think Gail would be a great quilter!

Selvage Seat Cushion

Karen Kebinger of Connecticut made this lovely selvage chair cushion. It has ties in the back that attach to the chair, or you can use them as a handle when carrying it to meetings where the seats are uncomfortable. She got the knitted wool shawl that you see on the back of the chair for free! It had a little hole in it which she repaired. Karen came to the quilt exhibit on Sunday and we had a nice visit. She showed me this photo on her phone and I asked to show it here. Nice work, Karen!

Welcome to the Fall Festival Quilt Exhibit

Yesterday I had the great honor to exhibit 35 of my quilts at my church, the First Congregational Church in Litchfield, CT during the Fall Festival. There were many quilters and non-quilters who visited and I had the best time hosting this event. Thank you to all my blog buddies who were able to attend. For everyone else, here is a virtual tour via photos.