Monday, August 29, 2011

Mini Quilt Mondays Sew Along...

Check out the Monday challenge by Fresh Lemon Quilts. Is challenging those who wish to participate to learn a new technique each week...to share and blog about it. Sounds like fun to me, must be that teacher thing...always looking to learn something new..
Hop on over to Fresh Lemon Quilts

Faith is asking us to join her on 
September 5 (Labor Day!), 12, 19, and 26!!!!!
She has a few suggestions for those mini quilts.....Anything look interesting to you. Join me as I join Faith and group to play with fabric and design.....

My try it out list includes:    
 -Wonky Blocks                              - Hexagons
- Embroidery/Hand Stitching         - Designing your Own Pattern
- Paper Piecing                               - Improvisational Piecing

I can't wait to see what the group members design.... I am sure that there will be a few more new ideas to add to my list.....

Saturday, August 27, 2011

Come Join Us..Fun Little Swap

Are there really 21 fabrics in this line?
There is a new swap open on flickr...it is focus on using Denyse Schmidt fabrics..DS fabrics fairgrounds and picnic line are available at JoAnn Fabrics. A good friend of mine loves these fabrics and has been asking me to make a wall quilt for her. I thought this swap might motivate me to collect fabrics and to design a couple of little quilts... Check out the great colors and designs..These remind me of some of the fabrics my Rice Grammie used to make quilts.




Introductory statement for DS Doll Quilt Swap:
This will be an international swap!! Do you love DS Quilts Picnic/ Fairground Fabrics?? Then come join the fun!! Doll Quilts should be no larger than 18" X 18" Sign Ups begin August 14th!! Mailing date will be October 31st..

Arrived Safe and Sound in England DQS11

Thank-you Vicki for such a lovely posting about the quilt. I am so glad it arrived AND that you liked it..
Check out Vicki's post and read her fabulous blog...

A close to my first DQS swap... I do hope I am invited to participate again. I had great fun, met lots of people, learned lots, cried some...but enjoyed myself !!!! Thank you Susan and Vicky for making the month of August exciting.......


The beautiful quilt on the top is hanging in 
MY STUDIO...

and the quilt I made on the bottom has a new home in England....

HAIKU Mug Rug Swap on Flickr



I have really enjoyed being able to create these mini works of art (or experimenting with different styles, designs, mediums, fabric) called Mug Rugs. This past month I needed to create a Haiku that fit my swap partners style. Then I had to translate it into a mug rug.  I went through a whole design process, collecting fabrics that I thought were a part of her chosen color palette, developing a theme, writing a Haiku, and then sewing the final project.

A.  Audition Fabrics...............B.   Pencil Drawing 
Is this bright enough? Perhaps not...back to the stash....
A.   The responses from fellow flickr members was favorable that I had a palette that was A ok...Off to procure a bit more Dr. Seuss, a couple of contrast colors and something a bit swirly.....

B.    Next pencil, paper, draw, reject, draw again. I wanted to post a bit of a "SNEAKY PEAKY......" on my flickr post but I didn't want to give away the final design.
 Pattern and fabric in hand I made my way to the cutting table. Pins and scissors and scraps began to fly...I stopped....YIKES....How do I put the Haiku on the mug rug???? I had been reading about this nifty paper that you can print on using your computers printer... Off to Joanne's, I found many many types of printable fabric I purchased the Avery ).  I loaded the printer, typed in the Haiku, chose a font and hit print...
I was amazed, if only I had purchases a new ink cartridge  it might have been a bit more bold...but alas...Haiku is in its intended place on the little mug rug...
My curiosity was peaked...Joanne's is 45 miles from home and a bit pricey...Could I find another way to print on fabric and what would photos look like..HMMMMMM.......  
  • Step one: Stiffen the fabric so that it will go through the printer without the dreaded jam...
  • Step two: Attach the fabric to something that will keep it flat and allow the printer to move easily
  • Step three: Easily attach what you have printed to your project
Keep your fingers crossed.  I grabbed the wax paper, the fabric and the iron. I didn't have any luck with this process. I couldn't get the waxed paper to stick.  I will have to research this method a bit more.
I needed a project in the mail ASAP...SO.......I pulled out my can of spray starch.  (I had used this method when working with a process in which you need to develop sharp curves,could it work here?)  and a piece of basic muslin and headed for the ironing board.
Multiple sprays and much ironing gave me a fairly stiff piece of muslin. Step one accomplished. Step two and three were accomplished with  a bit of "Wonder Under" by Pellon. I had added this to the photo paper after printing to attach the Haiku...Why not get rid of one step? The Wonder Under provides the stiff paper backing  and allows you to attach the fabric easily to whatever project you are working on.. I headed for the copier..dropped the copy on the bed..hit print and it worked... Check it out below!!!!! These were postcard backs needed for a fabric postcard swap!!!!!
No more afternoon frantic runs to Brunswick... I have 2 cans of spray starch, bunches of fabric and a bolt of Wonder Under purchased with a 50% off coupon.... YEAH..Just a bit of Yankee Ingenuity paying off...
Here it is the Big Reveal....I was able to take out names but there are still some pretty significant clues if my swap buddy checks my blog.......

DQS 11 Received The Most Amazing....


....little quilt. I am in awe of the talent, time, creativity, and thought put into this little gem..Take a look at the wonderful package I received. Susan is not only a talented quilter, but also dabbles in other art forms...Check out the amazing card and handcrafted envelope she added. I am so amazed that I was chosene to be a newbie in the swap and to have received this beautiful quilt. .Many many thanks to my swap partner Susan MZ Fuller (Flickr )who has an amazing set of work on flicker.

This is the sweetest card made by Susan...Check out the envelope(she also made that)...There is a teeny tiny quilt on the front porch.... Thanks bunches you are a very talented person....
Susan had read that I loved fall colors... This is a wonderful fall charm packet with matching ribbon..just waiting for a project..
Thank you thank you....
Ok...All of this wrapped in an LL Bean box... Each little piece is wrapped and sealed with a cute little sticker...Love it love it...
The quilt...What can I say...it is amazing.... I feel so lucky to have this hanging on my studio wall...

Wednesday, August 17, 2011

DQS 11...FINISHED!!!!

This little piece measures 13" X 13" finished...The original pattern inspiration was a full size quilt "Bricks and Stones" from Red pepper Quilts....
Here is the final project...On its way to its new home across the ocean.....
Just a few added extras to make my swap partners package special...I am passing on the pattern I purchased and used as inspiration  "Bricks and Stones" from Red pepper Quilts, 5" squares of fabrics used in the project( over 30 different designer fabrics ad Moda solids were used to create this little piece) , a pin cushion made from left over squares and some fun pins....


You can also check out many many amazing quilts that have been created in this swap. I feel so lucky to have been accepted as a newbie swapper... I have uploaded a series of photos into the previous post...Hopefully I will have time this weekend to put up a little tutorial. The redrafting part of this was the most difficult..once that was done...it was just plain fun to make this...I have to confess, I ended up making two because of all the starts and stops, scraps and extras left around...It was a bit difficult to part with..I do hope my swap partner will like it...
Check out the random photos on the DQS 11 page....