More Quilty Box Surprises!

I forgot to share my last two Quilty Box Reveals so, here they are..........

December

 

January

Six Down - Nineteen To Go

Mom & I worked on quilt blocks again today. We made 5 more for a total of 6. I don't know what made me think that we would get all 25 done this weekend. Wishful thinking? Psychosis?

I'm calling this one "if a dog barks in the woods.....". I'm a miniature quilter so it's unusual for me to make these 12" blocks I've committed to making.

You can take a girl out of the miniature quilting world, but you can't take the miniature quilt out of the girl. Notice the center square? It's a paper-pieced paw print (a real score to have found the pattern free online) and is made of about 40 small pieces in that 4" square.

I used 6 of my 1930's reproduction fabrics to make the heart in the center of this block.

I'm calling this one "they eat sushi in Ohio" because it's an Ohio Star block with the center square being a sushi print fabric.

And this one is known as "high tea in Bali" because of the Bali batik and center novelty fabric.

At first I thought the center fabric on this one was Aurora Borealis but upon closer inspection, I believe it is coral.

If you need me, I'll be chained to my sewing machine, lol.

Green Thumb Sunday

OK, so maybe it's more like Green Fabric Sunday, lol. I volunteered my mom & I to make 25 quilt blocks for a raffle quilt. What was I thinking??? I am a miniature quilter. Mom is a good sport.

The title isn't completely wrong. I do have flower photos to share. This is the bouquet that Jerry sent me on Monday and these photos were taken Saturday. They are holding up remarkably well. The stargazer lillies continue to fill our house with a floral scent.

Calling All Quilters

Well, actually, any fabric hoarder will do ;) Or, a quilt shop with retired fabric.

I'm in the process of making something from fabric purchased on eBay. I decided to go bigger and bought more of the only fabric the seller had left (not pictured) but I would really like to get a little more of some of the others. I would especially like to get more of one of the lighter ones to contrast with the dark I was able to find.

I've will put the names/descriptions under the fabrics from when I saved the images after ordering a while back.

Carmine 5845

Autumn Glory

Also, Autumn Glory

Red Violet Vine 5383

Red Plum 5740

Lava

Oh, they are from the Princess Mirah collection by Bali fabrics.

Birdhouse Blocks

Great day so far. Met mom for manicures, facial, waxing and brunch. Then went shopping with Dad at the exchange where hubby works. Got a new Donney purse for graduation. Also did some shopping for someone else but can't mention it yet - it's a surprize. Got thank you notes and Dad's day card. Next we are on our way to the Golden Corral where Dad likes to eat. It's a very nice buffet. Then to Target for some sort of plastic container to make Mimosa's in for the limo ride to graduation tomorrow. Oh, I bought fresh squeezed orange juice from the groves for the mimosas! That will be yummy.

Remember when I said I was going to add a few blocks to the birdhouse blocks given to me by my old guild? Well, here are two that I have made. The top uses a log cabin center (quilters will know what I mean) and the second one uses some great fabric but a very poor selection of background. I thought it would look like the birdhouse was in the flowers but the print just isn't strong enough. Too bad too because I used some cool fabrics for the house.
The pattern below is one that no one in the guild selected so I am going to make three of them. I'm thinking one in soft yellows and light blue and another in bright greens and orange. I'm undecided on the color scheme for the last one. Any suggestions? I am open to your ideas.

"Sewing" Room

As a quilter/sewer, I am always curious about other people's sewing table, space, or if they are really lucky, room. Thought I would share 2 photos of mine. Some people call this room a "kitchen" and I guess they even cook and prepare food in it. Ours is mainly used as a coffee shop and sewing 1/2 room :)

I chose this space because of the natural light. To my left is a sliding glass door onto the screen porch. There is a large window in front of my sewing table and to the right is the exit door and it's mostly glass. All this makes for a lot of light and perhaps a little heat. Luckily there is a ceiling fan centered right over the area. I suppose this area was designed as the eating area for the kitchen but since we have a dining room and a screen porch with table and chairs, found no need for 3 eating areas. The observant blogger will notice a birdhouse under construction ;)

This is what drives hubby crazy. I have been replacing the food in the pantry with my fabric stash. We don't cook anyway and most of what you see is old. We basically rotate food out of the hurricane prepardness/emergency tote and it needs to go somewhere until the next food drive. don't worry, we don't donate expired food - we just buys things for the emergency kit that we don't normally eat (like SPAM, yucky).

I Miss My Quilt Guild

When I moved from Kodiak in 2001 I left behind many dear friends and an entire guild of talented, interesting quilters. The Kodiak Bear Paw Quilters Guild was part of my life from about 1994 to 2001. This active group of quilters meets once a month. I enjoyed the "show and tell" section most. There is an annual show and sale which is a really big deal with usually about 100 quits displays, programs, posters, advertising, media coverage and lots of coordinating and planning. I was lucky to get to chair the show a couple years. The guild is involved in many program and has a web site if you are interested in seeing all that they do. You can find them thru a search engine. I'm going to share some of the photos I have saved from my time with the guild. (Be sure to click on images for a larger view of the quilts, not of me :)

Starry, Starry NightI made and sold this quilt in the 1999 annual show. I kept track of the number of pieces and time spent to construct this pattern that I found in a magazine. I am a miniature quilter and I don't know if people realize the time spent even on the small pieces. For example: each of the nine 3" stars is made from 17 pieces of fabric. The total pieces in this quilt is 321. I logged 25 hours cutting, constructing, and finishing this project. It sold for $90 which is $3.60 per hour before expenses for fabric, thread, batting, etc.

Experimental Log CabinThis quilt was an example of "I'll try anything once" - it was my first time to strip piece, first time to hand quilt, and first time to tea dye a completed project. It was actually my second quilting project ever. I borrowed it from the owners to include in the 1998 show.

Winter CardinalsYou are looking at the quilt top, not the finished project, that I sold in the 1998 show for $40. It is from a Debbie Mumm Christmas book and is hand quilted and embellished with buttons and embroidery. I love wild birds and couldn't resist making bright red cardinals.

Surprise! This quilt was a surprise gift for a fellow quilter and dear friend who coordinated our quilt show for 3 years. I didn't tell her or present the quit like a normal gift; instead, I included in the program text that it was a surprise for her. This piece is 13" X 19", hand quilted, and beaded.

Silent Auction Donation

I donated this piece to the silent auction used as a fund raiser during the guild's annual show and sale. The theme of the show was "Nine Lives of a Quilt" so it was an appropriate piece. Nine lives was a play on words and actually referred to the transformation process from an idea, to fabric, to quilt top, to quilt sandwhich, to finished project, to gift or utility or both, to old quilt, to an old rag or precious heirloom.

Trophy

This is the unfinished top of a quilt that I sold during our show "20,000 Stitches By The Sea" which represents the work of island-living quilters. I fell in love with the fabric years before I used it (quilters stash fabric, just so you know) and one year my hubby commented that I hadn't caught any fish that season so look what I did to remedy that!

Coworker Quilts

I had the fortune of working with a great group of people when I worked for the Alutiiq Museum and Archaeological Repository. I miss them terribly. One christmas I made each of them (it's a small staff, LOL) a wallhanging that someway reminded me of them. Libby, on the left, was interested in birding like me so I made her a bird house quilt. I loved making that quilt! The houses were paper pieced but that is where the pattern following ended. The middle house has a big flower on it. That piece of fabric is from Japan. I had an internet pen pal early in the internet days and we sent each other little snippits of quilting goodies. I designed amy's quilt (on the right) based partly on the colors in her home but also because she drove past Women's Bay everyday on her day home. The pattern may be called snail's trail but the fabric is batik and very ocean like. It wasn't until I saw the photo of this one that I saw I have a block in the wrong direction, LOL.

Red Hare (a pun, get it?) Another surprise quilt announced in the show program that simply said it was for the person who had me over for Thanksgiving dinner. This was my first project made with homespun fabrics. Pattern is from a quilting magazine but adapted from the spring colors of Easter.

Hawaiian Quilting
They say you can't do miniatures of Hawaiian quilting because it is applique. Oh yeah?

Japanese Scroll
I saw someone making Japanese scrolls on television one time. They weren't quilts but I thought I could adopt it easily because it was layered. I believe I still that unfinished project around here somewhere:)

That's enough for now. Someday I will pull out more photos. Vickie