Weekend Quilt Show!

This weekend I went to our local quilt show by the Narragansett Bay Quilters. It is not a huge show but a nice one with amazing quilts. I was able to walk around for a few hours before my rib gave out and I was able to treat myself to a charm pack of nautical fabric by Janet Clare which I have plans for and some stick on thimbles for my poor fingers.

There were a lot of quilts at the show and they were all beautiful but some of my photos came out blurry or the color was so off that they looked ugly. I have put the photos in my photo account so you can enjoy them at your leisure and get a better view in the larger sizes. I do have the photos at full size if you need any info on the quilt or pattern.

Here is one of my favorites, you may see more quilts, HERE.

Fabric choices and Giveaway Prizes!

Last week I went to the quilt stores to find something that matched the blue and white that would match what is in the Jefferson Davis's Daughter quilt, by Barbara Brackman, that I am working on. Of course there was nothing like it or in the shades I wanted, so this is what I found. The darker blue will be the sashing, it seems a lot brighter in the photo. The reproduction border fabric is from the abe lincoln collection, that is all I remember.

What do you think of these fabrics? I am finishing up the second tree and then I can sew the middle section together and add the rest of the appliqués.

I also won a few wonderful giveaways this month. Deborah O'Hare has a wonderful blog, actually two and I have been following her for over a year, her pieces inspire me to create my own art pieces. I won the book, Seaside Home, and I love it. It has a lot of patterns to make things for the home, or summer cottage.

This is Deborah's pattern, I plan on making it and changing it a little by adding inspirational words to the stones. Deborah has done that in one of her patterns and she said it was ok, if I used her idea in my piece.

I also participated in the 100 blocks, blog hop and I did win a copy from Nancy at One Stitch at a Time, I also won a free pattern from Cyndi of Carter Creek Quilts. It is a wonderful pattern and will look beautiful in a lot of different colors and fabrics. 

I was finally able to get out for a paddle, a nice way to spend Mother's Day. It was a beautify day and there were so many wonderful birds out, and I didn't have my good camera with the zoom. I had to use my waterproof camera, so this is the best I could get from the photos I took. I need to find a larger, waterproof case for my  new camera.

This is my bow, as usual, it got windy and I had to paddle against the wind, most of the day. I also had a tetanus shot friday, so you could say, it wasn't an easy paddle, but well worth it;)

Quilt Show Finale!

Here are the last of the photos. There were a lot of beautiful quilts and a lot of primitive and art pieces, but I didn't get shots of them all. These quilts just stood out to me and ones that I thought all types of quilters would enjoy.

The ones on the walls were the hardest to photograph. To be truthful, they really didn't hang the quilts that well, it seemed like they were put up in a rush.

This one is so beautiful, wonderful use of 3 D and art mediums.

Of course I had to take a shot of our state bird, lol.

A Barbara Brackman pattern, have always loved this one.

Imagine the work that went into this one, just gorgeous in person.

Beautiful appliqué work.

A block that I love and would like to do someday.

Two beautiful quilts, great fabrics.

And a very abstract quilt with lots of colors and fabrics. I think it is fun and great artwork.

This is the booth from our local Folk Art Quilt Shop. I was surprised that she had more brights and modern fabrics at the show. 

And this is Leslie from the Pfaff shop. She had lots of beautiful pieces and demonstrations, but this is a local store, so I can shop when I need something.

I hoped you enjoyed the show, and found some inspiration in some of the beautiful pieces. I have been lazy this week, Bill was away and then goes back out tomorrow, so we have been doing things together and I haven't been getting many projects done;)

Quilt Show: Part Two

I am glad that everyone is enjoying the photos of the quilts, from the show. It is nice to be able to see quilts from different parts of the country and world, and share them with each other. So, here is another set of quilts for you to enjoy.

I would swear I saw this in the show, two years ago, but I still love it.

This is for all the cat lovers, out there.

This is such  fun quilt, I love mermaid art.

Beautiful thread art and love how she over layer the leaves.

This is all machine stitched, not my cup of tea, but beautiful work.

Really beautiful shades in this one.

This is my favorite piece. Her son drew the birds and she made a quilt from them, so fun.

I love the idea of doing an irish chain with fussy cutting.

These are hand painted quilts. Wonderful vintage look to her pieces.

One area had a Harry Potter theme.

I hope you enjoyed today's show, the rest I will save for tomorrow.

Something New, Something Old!

Last month I was the lucky winner of a blog hop giveaway hosted by Lynn Krawczyk of Fibra Artysta. Lynn does wonderful art pieces and also holds classes, her blog is definitely worth a visit for inspiration. I won a beautiful piece of her hand printed cloth. I got to choose and I picked "Birds on a wire". I love the pattern and I think it will make for some beautiful art pieces, so I have my thinking cap on. You can see Lynn's fabrics at her Shop. I also want to thank Judy for hosting a giveaway on her blog, Judy has some wonderful eye candy and tutorials, so if you love art quilting, you will love Painted Threads.

This is going to be fun to design around, lots of possibilities.

Then I had to decide what UFO to work on next and since I am ready for spring, I decided it was time to finish my dog in the garden piece. I will be adding embellishing stitchings and then I have to decide how to quilt the background, any suggestions? I want to keep it simple, but look nice, maybe some green threads a bit darker than the background and some echo quilting coming off of the appliqués to give movement. Not a great photo, hopefully I can get one with the true colors, the background is a beautiful shaded green.

I had to lighten it up to get rid of the orange shades it had, but this way you can see the appliqués better. If you like some of the appliqués, you can find some of the bugs and other wonderful freebies at Wee Folk Art. She was nice enough to make me the grasshopper to put in my piece.

Lady Bug Quilt!

I wanted to make something fun for my dauther's new place and found this design. It is a free design by Sandra of BabyCakes.
I wanted a saying and found this one, it fits the piece and a good message for my daughter who is of the, I want it now generation;)

I started out with watercolor pencils and then went over it with as little water as I could, so it wouldn't run out of the area.
I used a bit of art pens to enhance some of the designs and shadow, then went around the designs with different flosses. The yellow around the flowers is a beautiful hand dyed floss that I won from Laura at Artfabrik! The green lettering and ground, is presencia thread that I won from Jane's Fabrics and Quilts! The rest of the floss is basic dmc and the green stems and leaves are one of my hand dyes. For the border I used a fabric I won from Pat Sloan!

It was fun to do and I like how the watercolor pencils worked on the kona white. I got mine from Jo anns with a coupon, so great fabric to play with and I want to try some dying with it. I had a hard time getting the blue out on this fabric, so it is still wet, as you can see. Tomorrow I will look at it again when it dries and hopefully I can get the rest out. With watercolor, I can't get those areas wet or they will run. I am not sure if I should leave it as is, or dry pounce some blue for the sky and green below; what do you think?

Sea Bird Quilt!

I started a piece last night, but it was late and i was tired, so decided to finish it today.
I joined a flicker group that is making quilted pieces from Charley Harper designs.
They are wonderful designs and great practice for art quilts and machine quilting.
I started with the machine, then I added hand stitches and decided it would look good with walnut stain.



I still have a lot to learn with machine quilting, but it is fun practicing and I really like how this one came out.
I decided to antique it and hang it in my bathroom, since I have a mermaid theme and a few sea items will go nicely in there.
It is the perfect size for a small area next to the bureau.

I still don't know how I will edge my quilt, first I will do the panels and lay it on the bed, then I can decide what to do next.

A little bit Country, a little bit Rock N Roll!

I finished one piece last night, but with Blogger down, I had time to finish another, so I can show both tonight.
The first is a primitive doll by Tiffany of Primitive Blessings. I made this a year ago to go with a friends crib, but never finished it, so I finally got it done. I wasn't sure what to add to it, so I just put some basic stitcheries and antique it. I love to add names from my family history, Loper is one of those names.



And for all you lovers of bright and crazy, here is my hippie piece. To recap the story, the first time I met my husband, was when he drove a few of us to Boston, to see Aerosmith. I had a boyfriend at the time, but the minute I met Bill, there was a connection that we had. I had to add a kitty and dog to my world and the words are two songs from their first album. I did free motion on the background, using the swirls are a guide and the outer edge has a machine, feather stitch.

Doggy Pillow!

Since I made the dog piece to practice my machine stitching, I decide not to go crazy with it.
I thought it might make a nice pillow for Casey, so I added a saying and his name and his favorite things, a bone and lots of balls.
I used stuffing from an old pillow, so it is a bit lumpy, but I don't think he cares;)
If you would like to make your own dog piece or something to donate to your local shelter, you can get the pattern at Angie's Bits 'n pieces. You can find it under the free patterns.



And here he is, giving me his grin of approval.

Creations and Gifts!

Today I was in the mood to try machine quilting. I found this wonderful dog pattern at Angie's Bits and Pieces. I thought it would be a fun one to practice on and I will be adding other items as I go along. I didn't do too bad for my first try at following the edge with my star foot. I am thinking that this might be a good piece to donate to our local shelter for their auction. When I found Moki, they took care of all the shots and spaying, for free, so I like to help them out with the auction.



A new friend, Chris Wheeler sent me this wonderful fabric postcard for Easter. I love how she used paper with scripture in the background. I have always wanted to try them myself and she was sweet enough to send me some precuts to make my own. This will be great for practicing my machine skills with, as well. Chris also has some wonderful contests, so be sure to visit her blog.



And I thought I would show you my win from Minick and Simpson. I won a jelly roll of their new fabric line, American Banner Rose. It isn't even out yet, so was thrilled to have won. I am thinking of making two smaller quilts with it. One from the new magazine, Primitive Quilts and Projects and maybe an americana one.



And another blogging friend is sending me one of her art panels. Fannie Narte does such beautiful work with her fabric paintings, I just love the designs. I want to make a purse or tote, so this will go into something I can use for my things when I go to classes someday. Visit her blog and you will be inspired. The panel's name is, "Surround yourself with Magic".
And if you haven't already, don't forget to leave a comment for my Giveaway!

Hippies and Hens!

First I have a link for the little apple girl. I remembered where I found her so here is a link to the coloring page.

Also, I am only one post away from 500 posts! I guess I am going to have to have a giveaway this weekend to celebrate.
I truly appreciate my visitors and your comments.

Today I worked a bit on my hippie piece. The last time I added a kitty, had to have one in my world;)
Today I added the words and the flower. The concert we saw was Aerosmith and Dream on is their first song and I do love that one. My notes look a bit wonky, lol. I had cut the pieces, so all of the new things are freehand. Now I need to add a face and some ruffles for a collar and sleeves. Not that I ever wore things like that, lol. The funky colors I am using are some precuts that I ordered years ago. Will never do that without knowing what fabrics I am actually getting.

On the new pieces, I started using the regular weight wonder under. It is much easier to sew by hand, but it is harder to peel the paper off. I like being able to iron on the pieces instead of pinning them.



Then I finished off a little pillow. I used my new Spring Chicken design. As you can see, it is not good to stitch while watching a good movie, I was not paying attention to my stitching;)

Big Hexagons and Hippie progress!

I got an idea in my head, so had to try it. I have way too much time on my hands, lol.
I wanted to try my large hexagon die with a fussy cut. Of course I had nothing that worked in that size.
So, I remembered the charm packs that I won and thought, these would work perfect.
The nice thing is, they fit the die just about right, what little I lose on one edge, doesn't effect it, since I have a 1/4" seam and that part goes under. I appliqued the picture hexagons onto the other colors and then thought, maybe I can put a plain square in between. Not sure if I like it as is, I might add a smaller hexagon in the middle of the large or do a snowflake stitch on them.
I just threw the colors together, I can plan it out better, once I get enough to finish a lap sized.

I think this would be nice with a machine satin stitch, and if I turned the edges over better.



I also added more to my hippie piece. I realized that it is a good memory piece for me. The first time I met my husband was when a friend asked me to go to a concert, and Bill was driving. We went to see an outdoor free concert by Aerosmith, and he was driving a blue VW. I wish I had added more hair, yes mine is that thick, lol. I was a blond then, but the brown shows up better. I plan on adding "Dream On", in stitches, since that is Aerosmith's first song, thought it would be perfect for this piece.

Hexagons and Hippies!

I am still recovering, the cillin kicked in and my lungs are clearing, but it tires me out.
So, I spend more time on the couch resting, but try to do things around the house to keep my body moving and my lungs working. I look forward to some warm days when I can get out and take some walks again.

I worked a bit on my hexagons. It is all hand sewn, no paper, so takes a lot of time. I wanted to see how the golds looked around the outside and am happy with the results. I will continue to use what greens and reds I have and use the same gold fabric for the outer border. I like how the diamonds look like they are sitting on the background. I had to take a side picture, but it will have the triangles going upward for the length. Each Hexagon is 20" in length.



Yesterday I wanted a break and something fun and goofy to do, lol. I found this design on a coloring page, I was looking for peace sign ideas for my daughter. But, I saw this and just had to try it in fun colors. I used heat and bond to iron the pieces down and dmc floss for sewing. I am doing raw edge and once it is all sewn down, I will add the fun details. There will be flowers and peace signs on the car and I may even add a kitty laying on the top;) The girl has an afro, but I thought I would give her long hair and a floppy hat. It is just something fun that I can add to, as I go.

Adam and Eve

I was hesitant about showing you a photo of what I have done so far.
The picture looks horrid with flask and the whole design is not what I was going for.
But, I decided to show you, so you can see how I create, even if it comes out a mess, lol.

I wanted this to be primitive, but seems a bit cutesy at this point.
I still have more to add and change, so hopefully when it is all done, it will look a lot better.
That and I need to take a shot without flash.
So now you know, it is adam and eve. I got the original idea from a fraktur I have and the rest goes on as I think it up.

I stopped working on it, because nothing I have works for a border. Tomorrow i will hit the fabric store and hoping they have what I have in mind. I still need to finish off my new punched piece and now I am working on a matching penny rug and cross stitch. I want to try a pattern that gives you three versions, so you can hook, punch, sew or cross stitch the design and make matching pieces.

Quilt Show: Part Two

Here are the rest of the show pictures, that I took.
There were lots of quilts, but these were the ones that stood out for me.
Unfortunately, the true colors do not show here, but they were stunning in person.

These quilts had nice applique patterns and fabrics.







These I like because of the edgings and ways to use scraps.







Who doesn't like an americana quilt.



And this is just a fun quilt. I have seen another done in more prim fabrics and I really like the pattern that way.
I think it would look great in homespuns too.
I hoped you enjoyed the show. It is always fun to go to local shows, wonderful people and lots of inspiration.