plugging along...

I'm plugging away on my stones quilt... Slowly but surely... Can I just say that I am going through an obscene amount of thread to do this! I don't think the KING size quilts I've quilted have gone through as much as I have done on this little quilt! I guess the dog, and more dogs are being quilted out of it!

I hope to get these little place mats done today too. But that maybe wishful thinking...
At least they are ready to go...

Binding is ready for the PARSLEY PATCH... I just love the feather quilting on this, that Linda did... Something to inspire me to keep going on my own little machine quilting adventures....

Here's the Black and Gray quilt, Quilted! Gotta love the zig zags...

And lastly the Pixie Dust Quilt is quilted!! It's on it's way back to me from Linda's I can't wait to see it in person, and get it bound... The quilting looks fab! Linda has always offered to quilt my Donation quilts... I so Appreciate it! Linda, your a doll!
And on a totally different note, Last night, I went along with my hubby to the Sotheby's Modern Art Sales... ( You hear about these sales sometimes or see them in movies...)

It's pretty fun to watch! Here a Kandinsky Painting sold for 10.6 million dollars.... Can you imagine having that amount of moola hanging on your wall? Fun to watch the bidding and the prices go up, up and up!
This little Giacometti for 19.3 million. Fabulous!
Total New York Moment!~

Seeing SIMPLY RED

Backing fabric (screaming deal!)
**
(fabric.com has clearance fabric today with additional 30% off!!!)
Clearance818 ....is the code!

I PROMISE, for a while anyway, no more red posts... These babies are done.

YEEEEEE HAAAAWWWWW!

goodies!~

One last day to comment for The GIVEAWAY! Click link at right!

Hubby came out today with all my goodies that get sent to the city! I have some more REDS!! yippeee! Hubby is so great that he dug out my scrap reds for me. He thinks it made him sound "Trained" that he'd do that for me (on the blog.)
I said, it's just because he's such a great husband!

I sent my ALL MINE Quilt off to be quilted. I'm so thrilled to have it back. Now I'll bind it and be snuggle dup in my scrappy memories! I love the feathers all over it. I'll show the whole thing to you all when it's done.

PIXIEDUST BLOCKS! Look at these lovelies!
Top LEft, Anne's block,Sarah's Block,
and bottom, Rachael's Block

Amanda Jean is showing her studio space all nice and neat and tidy. I thought I'd be brave and show mine when it's in complete disarray. This is my Painting studio at my house, which for now has been turned into a sewing room for the summer. my REAL studio is in NYC.
This room is pretty small and I have 6 tops that I am rotating working on at once...
You can see I have all my Art stuff, canvases shoved into a corner, frames are tucked here and there, drawings laying out where they won't get squashed...and then all my fabric...

it won't look like this by the end of today. I finally have a day to do a little work...
And since this room is so small, i go out my sliding doors and lay everything on the lawn.
(when it is not raining!)

UPDATES:
Also. So many of you did the 9 patch gather with me last year, the quilt was donated to be sold for Love without boundaries, helping children in China who need medical care so that they can then be adopted to families... (see old posts here ) The money raised from that quilt has helped two children so far. And I wanted to update you as to what has been happeneing!
First: Meet Dessie!

I received a short update indicating Dessie received heart surgery today. The update did not include details, but did say the surgery was successful! I have asked for more information and post surgery photos. I will update you again as soon as I receive any more information.

I did receive a few new before surgery photos of Dessie. They are attached. Isn't she precious!

Thank you so much for supporting Dessie and giving her this opportunity for a healthy heart!

Anne Little
Heart Surgery Coordinator
Love Without Boundaries Foundation
http://www.lovewithoutboundaries.com/



Thanks again quilt bloggers for all your help!

the garden grows.

Still time to sign up for the GIVEAWAY ...click link at right.
(or scroll way down)
Winner chosen Saturday morning.

Thanks for all your great comments on the patterns, It's just something I am kicking around. But we'll see. Maybe a tutorial on the zip quilt.

I'm still playing with the red quilt. I know it will not have the wonky stars,
But I am waiting for more red fabrics!!
I made my hubby go in my studio in NYC, and dig through my scrap bins to pull all the red he could find... (not an easy task either) so I am keep dibbling with this and that, and staring at it.. changing it, coming back to it... etc.. it's a fun process, i love it.

I also have this top pretty much done, I had thought I'd try some applique on it, but it sort became something, so NOT ME, I put it aside for later today to play with ... I think i will add a funky border, and leave the wide stripes for some fabulous quilting... (fabulous meaning, I may send this one out to get done by a professional!)
I'm realizing I really don't enjoy the quilting part so much... But hand quilting is growing on me... I used to hate that too. Times change.


This one might get a bit of both hand and machine quilting...
it makes me think of my garden...
gotta good name for it?

to pattern or not to pattern

GIVEAWAY!!
SCROLL DOWN OR CLICK LINK AT RIGHT.


Scrappy happy Quilt ---------Mother knows Best Quilt

Patched Triangles Quilt --------------Zip Quilt


I have a question for all of you out there...

I've had many questions lately for patterns of some of the things I work on...
if you've followed me for a while you know I have never used a pattern and I make them purely as I go along... rarely do I have a complete vision of something before I begin...

I've contemplated making a pattern of one of my recent quilts. Just to give it a whirl.
(like I really need something else to do right now?)

So I need you all to tell me :

One.
if anyone actually is interested

and Two.
Which of the above four would you like to see a pattern for?
(even though number three is not done!!! I hope to finish the border next week.)
***
THE ZIP QUILT WON!

thanks!
****************************************************


I had to break out something to sew on, since I've had no time during the days to quilt...
I hope that wasn't rude in front of company?

In gardening news I am a proud garden momma to my little butternut squash!
Never grew them before so it's been fun to watch them grow!

Hmmm, I see a few weeds I missed!

Don't forget the Giveaway! scroll down or click the link at top right... Good luck everyone, I'm sorry I haven't been able to respond to all the comments! some really make me smile!

monday to do

My new Dish towels!
Except these are so darn cute I don't think I can use them!
Chocolate, truffles, sundaes, oh my!
Love dish towels. My grandmother and mother alwyas had these around...
I can't live without them.

A not so subtle hint from my daughter, left on the counter today....
I spent the day weeding.. so I guess monday I will be baking.

Did you do this when you were a kid? my dad taught me this as a kid.
an old bar trick...
stick a spoon and fork together, slide a toothpick through the middle, and it balances on the edge of glass filled with water..., then light the end of the toothpick over the water, and stub it out as it reaches the glass... it stays balanced...

Wow! She was quite amazed! ;-)

***

I know. Not enough sewing going on around here right now...

I did play a bit with this project. I quickly realized, I do not have
nearly enough reds to make two quilts...
And I desperately need more of Jinny Beyer palette red....

if anyone has some they can part with I'll swap ya for something....let's talk. ;-)

Kia is our Cavalier King Charles, and is deaf. So when I need her and can't find her. The first place I look is behind the couch cushions.... She falls asleep, and slides down behind the cushions.... She's to cute, and to funny...


I hope you all have a lot more sewing going on then i do.
How are those Pixiedust blocks coming along?

****

Simply red

The start of " Simply red."
I dug out ever red I had yesterday and just started to play... I love this process... I haven't a clue yet what I want to do with the two commission red quilts... But I'm thinking I'm going to need more reds!

Some of the pixie dust blocks are are coming in! I'm so excited they look amazing already!
L to R top: Amy (2), Helen,
L to Right Bottom: Janet and Amanda

I only get my mail once a week when hubby brings it from the city,
So if' you've sent it, I'll have it usually on Fridays...
So far so good! Thanks everyone!!!

Look at these Beauties! Chen and I did a swap for fun. I sent her ONE! She Sent me TWO!
She couldn't decide which she liked better so she sent both,
and frankly, I can't decide which I like better either!!!!
The left one, the colors are amazing and the block is a fun design. the RIGHT one, is Japanese for Good Luck, and who wouldn't like that!!!

I love the red and turq colors too, they both make me so happy! THANKS CHEN!!!
I love the left one... no the right one. no.. well... Both!!

Thanks for all the LOVE yesterday! We had a glorious Anniversary day, *no cooking!
And NO RAIN! Yippeeee!

Again almost everyday we are having rain, We lost power the night before for about three hours. I couldn't sleep as I was worried about all my green beans, zucchini and sweet corn I had just put in my freezer!!! But the days have been nice.

I am really hoping the rain will fade away for August 1st as we are having a Anniversary party...
Or I will have A LOT of wet people in my house!

Those bog paper flowers I posted yesterday in the vase, B and I have been making for decorations for the party... She taught me how. Love those moments!

Have a great day... I need my coffee. ;-)

Art of play

Ok! great day. I got the border on this quilt! The fabric was waiting in the lovely priority mail envelopes for me when I got home form the trip! It sure was Xmas in July!

This quilt took me on an interesting journey.

I began this quilt with a box of scraps and a few yards of odd colored pieces of fabric I had sitting here. Since most of my stash is in NYC, I pulled out whatever I had and started to
"cut and paste" and tried to find a way for the strange colors to find harmony.

If I tried to use what I know about color theory, I'd get some loud over the top nightmare,
like this nightmare below.


But if I kept taking fabrics, laying them side by side and waiting for them to say "YES!"
They began to surprise me, and it would flow...

I kept trying very hard to make this a "minty green with white polka dots" kind of quilt, and it was like taking my head an banging it against a wall over and over...

It kept fighting with me. Or I with it.
Until I let go, and went back to my routine of trying every kind of fabrics until it spoke to me.

Note to self: Listen.


Sort of like life, huh?

relax, play, let go.

enjoy the ride.

not so wordless wednesday

My Mother just moved to a new apartment, so when I was there we hit some antique shops to find a few goodies to make it more homey... So we found some vases, table runners,
and other lovely crocheted things.

She needs art work, and has some tough spaces to fill,
So out of a bag of scraps, yesterday,
( I was so excited to sew again!)
I put this bright runner together (above) out of the scraps so she could hang a
few mini quilts, toss around a few pillows to brighten up the place.

We had fun time finding just the right things and found some great deals...
I love old table cloths, and found this lovely brown one (above) brand spanking new... well, old but never used.... I was so excited.


**

Whose been walking on MY porch!

I think the culprit is hiding behind B... muddy little paws.... :-) Jenny Egg is to cute to be mad at for tracking mud through my house...

Peas are picked, blanched and frozen, so are the GINORMOUS Zucs! Gotta hit some weeds today....

And maybe finish one of the three tops I have sitting here that I was waiting for fabric for...


I think the Scrappy Happy Quilt will be the one to get done today... it just needs
the border put on...

Before I can start something else! Last night at about 1 a.m. inspiration hit for a new top...
I very wisely made myself go to bed... or else I'd still be sewing... :-)

QUICK NOTE: pixiedust gather friends:
please note, the blocks should be 10" finished outside dimension.
when i sew them down they will be 9 1/2". thanks!

if you've already sent it, no worries. it will all work out. ;-)