Strata Quilt by Lois Cox

Lois Cox in California was inspired by the World quilt that we made this year (see sidebar at right), so she cut her favorite novelty prints into 2" strips and made this "Strata Quilt." It measures 70" x 70." It has many of her favorite things: cheeseburgers, M+M's, Hershey Kisses, Hostess cupcakes, candy bars, Coca Cola, cats, and even some fabric from her mother who passed away nearly 30 years ago.

What a wonderful quilt to curl up with this winter! Great job, Lois!

Remember to Vote Today

Every 4 years I make an Election Day quilt while I follow the election results.

After I vote, that is. 

Free Eyeglasses from Firmoo!

I got these glasses free from Firmoo.com and you can too. (You choose your own style, of course.) I keep them at my sewing machine so they're always there when I need them for quilting. 

Your first pair of glasses is free for new customers. I chose these red ones because they're playful and they remind me of Freddy Moran's red glasses. You can also choose sunglasses or goggles (safety glasses). Mine are reading glasses. The quality is very nice. I forget I'm wearing them.

It's simple to order your glasses from Firmoo.com. You can upload your portrait and "try on" glasses. (Or you can use one of their photos.) You enter your prescription in the order. I had some questions and they answered my emails right away. The glasses arrived fast too.

By the way, when you have your eyes examined, the optometrist has to give you your prescription if you ask for it. Ask them to include the PD measurement. You don't have to buy your glasses at the same place you have your eyes examined. You can save a lot that way, and get great glasses too. I had my eye exam at Walmart. 

Have fun picking out your new free glasses! (Get a cup of coffee/tea first; the selection is huge.)

Wilma's 3 New Selvage Creations - Wow!

Accomplished selvage quilter Wilma Al-Uqdah of Houston, Texas made these fabulous selvage items: the backpack above with the fancy chevron design at the top, the monogrammed tote bag below with a nice big pictorial stripe, and the turquoise Zinger quilt with gorgeous quilting! Bravo, Wilma!

She cut the selvages off her fabric stash, and then applied them to 3 1/2 yards of muslin. She used the "new fabric" to make the backpack and the borders for her quilt. 

Wilma belongs to the Coastal Prairie Quilt Guild of Texas in Missouri City, Texas.  

Lynda's New Selvage Quilt

This colorful selvage quilt is the creation of Lynda Duplissea of Maine. It's the "Old Maid's Puzzle Solved" pattern from the book, Quilts from the Selvage Edge. Didn't she do a fabulous job?

Lynda will be presenting a program for her guild in April called "Life on the Selvage Edge." It sounds a little scary! Lol. But fun.

Squirrel Pauses for Photo

This little fella has been working hard in my yard, carrying nuts to his special hiding place. He stopped for a short rest right outside my window. I wish he had a use for all those leaves too!

African Quilt Top Finished

This is the quilt top that I started during the recent hurricane. The addition of the navy blue outer border has changed the personality from rather modern to almost preppy. Maybe a cocoa brown border would have preserved the African mood a little better, but navy it is. The backing will be solid royal blue. The binding will be navy blue.

This quilt measures 64" x 76."

I hope to list it in my Etsy shop soon.

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!

***

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!! 

***

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!