Busy in the Birds

We've had some busy days here in the Birds.  There has been interior painting, a trip to the oral surgeon for DH, me nursing DH (can you say mashed potatoes and gravy?), and getting ready for my classes that I will be teaching at Delphine's.  Today I worked the busy shift at the shop with my friend Kathy (busy shift = 10am - 3pm with the all-day gal).  Whew - we were busy!

When I came home I had a little 30 min. nap and then to the computer to see what's been happening in the world today.  To my happy surprise, on Delphine's blog no less, I see a darling quilt made by a lovely 14 year old named Alicyn.  Alicyn made the quilt that I designed back in 2006 for a shop hop.  Here is my version:

And here is Alicyn's version (shown here with Delphine):

Isn't it wonderful??!  I wish I had been in the store when she brought her quilt to show Delphine.  Alicyn added her own animals and wonderful fruit and veggie fabric.  I can't wait to see where her talent will take her.  Alicyn, you did a masterful job and I am so happy for you!  (click to enlarge)

I'm behind in my letter making but this weekend I have great plans for getting the house back to normal and then catching up on LMNOP.  I've decided to not be so exact in my letters and throwing my ruler away.  LIBERATION!!

Thanks for stopping by.  Happy Sewing, Judy

Back from the Repair Shop

I've been working on my letters.  Fixed the A and the B and added J and K.  All caught up!! 

Looks like my fabrics are very similar - need to look into that problem.  This is such fun!!  Join us - peek in at Lynne's (The Patchery Menagerie) - it's not too late!

Stay cool everyone!

Judy in Michigan

So Many UFOs, So Little Time

I've been working on various UFOs - all at the same time.  A little here, a little there, and back to UFO #1,... (you know what I mean).

My #1 finish was the baby quilt for my niece's baby (due in August).  I mailed it today in time for the shower on Saturday.  I'm happy with the way it turned out.  I also learned (or remembered) a neat trick for quilting in the ditch.  Most machines come with a blindstitch foot (on my Bernina it is #5) which has a little metal plate perpendicular to the fabric.  It runs right in the groove of the seam and the stitches go right in the ditch - slick!!  Look for a similar foot on your machine.  I meandered in the busy fabric.  In the yellow border, I machine quilted a little poem welcoming the new baby - it's hard to see in the picture. 

Sorry it's so blurry



Fun backing - a Dr. Seuss fabric






Writing in the yellow border (click to see better)

 


 




I've also been working on my alphabet ala Lynne's Letter Quilt Along (The Patcherie Menagerie).  I'm almost caught up except for the 'B'.  It was looking pretty wierd so I need to redo it.  The 'A' is also a bit too small so I'll probably redo that one too.  I just noticed that I didn't add the connector to the right of the 'G'.  This is a fun exercise and one that will be useful as I hope to be teaching a similar class in the fall at Delphine's Quilt Shop.

      My Letter Quilt Along - 'B' is in for repairs

I found some great border fabric for my Hide 'n' Seek quilt - haven't been working on the blocks but I have my fabric all lined up and ready to go.  I had to search for the fabric as it is about 2 years old - Soiree by Lila Tueller.  Found it online - what would we do without the internet?  If you ever need a particular fabric that's not available at your local shop, try http://www.quiltshops.com/.  It sure is a helpful site.



Border fabric

Gaylord just finished its Alpenfest on Saturday.  The town goes all out with a parade, Swiss/German costumes, games, carnival, free food, etc.  The merchants all dress in dirndls and lederhosen.  Here's Delphine's daughter and Delphine all ready for the festivities.  The Dirndl Quilt was made last year - the block I made is in row 2, third one from the left (red dress with navy bodice).

Hopefully I will finish and/or accomplish more on my quilts in progress.  Until next week, happy stitching!

Judy in Michigan



A New Project

I started a new project as part of a new class that I am taking.  It's a beginning applique' class taught by Shelley Stallard at my favorite shop, Delphine's Quilt Shop here in Gaylord.  The first class was this past Wednesday afternoon and I learned so much!  Most of my previous applique' work was self-taught and I was often unhappy with either the method or the result.  I am determined to learn needle-turn applique' and I think that I am on the road to succeeding!!  Just for fun (and because I love Smilebox), here are some photos from my first class:

This slideshow design created with Smilebox I hope this Smilebox works for you.  Enjoy the weekend everyone and, if you haven't tried Applique', do try!  It will open up a whole new world for you. Judy in Michigan

Design Wall Monday

Happy Independence Day everyone!!

My design "wall" is actually on my floor or on my machine bed this week.  I've been working on my Hide 'n' Seek quilt that I showed you here a while back.  I have most of the "twosies" done for my quilt with "only" 60 more to go.  Here they are all cut out and stacked - ready for the machine!

(they look like 3 little critters wrapped in white blankets :-) !! )

My second project is a baby quilt which I am currently quilting.  My niece and her hubby are awaiting a baby boy due the end of August.

The pattern is "Nursery Tales" by Pine Tree Country Quilts which appeared in The Quilter magazine in November 2007.  I bought the fabric at Quilter's General Store and I've had it in a box labeled "Baby Boy Quilt" just waiting for the day when someone would be expecting a boy!  Finally!!
It's a beautiful day here in northern Michigan - time to get outside and celebrate!!  Be sure to check out the other great projects on Judy's blog today!!

Happy Quilting Everyone,
Judy

Word Play Quilts

When I was first introduced to quilting blogs, a friend gave me her three favorites:  Bonnie K. Hunter of Quiltville, Judy Laquidara of Patchwork Times, and Tonya Ricucci (the Unruly Quilter).  Thank you, thank you, thank you!  These three opened my quilting horizons to places I had never seen nor imagined!  I've since added hundreds of blogs that I check on periodically but I sure do have my favorites that I check every day or even more often during the day.  For example, Judy (Patchwork Times) usually posts many times a day which is fun when you just need a little boost during the day.  Another favorite, Victoria of Bumblebeans, usually doesn't post until around noon but Judy posts very early in the day and she lives a time zone west of me!    Another favorite is Kim who lives in California but her post automatically comes up early in the morning (EST)!!  I really should update my profile and get all those blog sites listed for you.

Which leads me to the purpose of this post...Tonya's book is called Word Play Quilts which is such a wonderful and fun approach to quilting freedom.  She is a devotee of Gwen Marston (a fellow Michigander I might add) and free piecing.  Through Tonya's blog, I was introducted to the very talented Lynne from New Hampshire who is starting a quilt-a-long with instructions on how to make your own free-pieced letters.  Check it out!!  Her first class is Tuesday, July 6.

Here is my first attempt at free-pieced words:

Of course, I didn't start out with such a project like this in mind.  I started with a few letters at a time and then started putting the letters together to make the words and since I almost had a project,  I continued to add the letters I needed to complete it.  I actually worked at this shop and it became a gift to Sharon, the owner of the shop.  The quilt store was in downtown Gaylord, MI and when Sharon retired, my good friend Delphine opened her own shop around the corner:

Three more to show you...my granddaughter's graduation quilt.  I tend to make my letters too large and so this ended up on the back of her large quilt:

(sorry about the bad picture but I think you can click on it to see it better)

Two other favorites requested by Tonya were:

(for a scary Halloween quilt) and

LAFF is my favorite and my most famous (to me!) ... look at the cover of Tonya's book above - right there in the middle of the right side.  See it??  I was so excited and happy when the book was published!

So you can start with just simple letters and have some fun in a short amount of time.  Scraps are used plus a large piece of background fabric.  Please try this, I'm sure you will enjoy the process.  Join Lynne for some great tutorials and purchase Tonya's book for even more information, tutorials, and inspiration.

Happy 4th of July

The 4th of July weekend is finally here.  Enjoy the picnics and the fireworks and the boat rides and the fun runs!  It's really summer now - yippee!!

GOD BLESS AMERICA!!