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. 

Early Peek at the Fall Festival Quilts

Yesterday I arranged 35 of my quilts along the balcony at church in preparation for the Fall Festival Quilt Exhibit today. It looks so colorful and pretty. Here's a sneak peek above. I hope the hymnals keep the quilts from falling onto the viewers. I'll let you know how it goes.

 I made this quilt in memory of my two wonderful grandmothers. It has a pearl necklace, lots of vintage buttons, giant rick rack, fans, roses, and teacups with real tea tags attached.  

The Fall Festival is today 9 am-3 pm at the First Congregational Church, Litchfield, CT, located in the center of town on the green. All are welcome. 

See My Quilts on Saturday in Litchfield CT

I'll be exhibiting about 35 of my quilts on Saturday (tomorrow) at the First Congregational Church in Litchfield, CT. It will be part of the annual Fall Festival. You are invited! Come and say hi.

The foliage is beautiful now, and there's also a Garlic Festival in Bethlehem (at the fairgrounds) on Saturday, just 10 minutes away. (Come see the quilts first, haha!)

I'll take photos of the quilt exhibit to show you.

 I wish you could all be here.

Aren't these clouds fearsome? I took this photo last week. 

Yes, this is where I go to church. 

Dan Lee's Silk Bow Ties

Dan Lee in Hadleigh, Suffolk, England has nearly 200 silk bow ties in his Etsy shop: Vava.

 He makes them all himself. Not all are this colorful, but these are two of my favorites.

 Most are priced around $55. I'm thinking I'd like to wear something like this. 

Men don't wear ties so much anymore; maybe selling bow ties to women

 (especially fabric lovers) would be a good new market for Dan.

 Do you see the "Grandmother's Flower Garden" design in the tie below? 

Nice job, Dan!

Anne's Blue Fan Quilt Top Finished!

Yayy! I just finished my first King Size quilt top! (If you don't think King Size should be capitalized, just try making one; then you'll write it that way too. Haha.) This top measures 96" x 108" (plus a little to compensate for the shrinkage caused by quilting). The bottom photo is missing the outer 10" solid purple border because it wouldn't fit on my design wall. But the first photo shows the finished top.

Did you notice that the outer piano key border (appearing only on the right and left side) is darker than the inner border? That's to draw attention to the center and make the quilt more serene. And I love that little black sawtooth border "holding in" all the fans. Oh, I really like this quilt. And I'm really glad I don't have to quilt it! It will be shipped to Maika in Utah for machine quilting. She says she'll keep it simple because the piecing is so busy, and I agree. She uses a regular sewing machine, not a longarm. I'll show you the finished quilt. 

The outer solid border is Kona's Purple. The backing is Legacy's Purple Crocus. I used a gorgeous package of 22 shades of blues and purples (fat-quarters) called "Purple People Eater," but I held out a few of the "pinkish purples." There are 30+ different fabrics in this quilt! Anne and I decided to use turquoise too. We considered jade, but decided against it. I'm not sure about the binding yet, maybe one of the prominent purples, or black. The batting will be Warm and Natural cotton. 

Apparently I had a lot to say to you about this quilt. Thanks for letting me "talk it out." And thank you for your encouragement about making a large quilt (in the Sept. 22 post: "What's the biggest quilt you'll make?") 

My next commission quilt will be an orange wall quilt that will live in San Francisco. Can't wait!!

Plush Toys and Rag Dolls

This cute plush toy was made by Christina in Austin, TX. You can see this and more at Little Sidekick. 

Also, see my Rag Doll treasury here. Sixteen of the cutest rag dolls. Some patterns too.

How Batik is Made - Video

Take a look at this video on YouTube to see the process of making batiks by hand. The video was made by Moda. This is fascinating!

To see the fabric shown above, click here.