wow! party help

This is a sewing party and my grandchildren are all about helping to get the confetti flying!  A wee blankie for the doll!

The girls will be sharing a bedroom and the older is all about pink and purple sew...

The younger can chose from the supporting cast!

This scrappy trip around the world project is looking like two distinct colourways .  No problem!  Two quilts it will be.  (story of most of my projects!)  And then a quilt for the Grand son!  ;)  His colour choice is green.

And speaking of green, I did get my wall hanging to the first stage.  Just saying! ;)  Now to figure how to get leaves on it.

I also did a little thinking about the teacup wall hanging.  I'm for simple but I need to get those cups to pop a bit more.

My first applique block is also available for show and tell.  Eleven more to go!

I shall invite the guests to tour other parties that The Needle and Thread Network may be hosting but I shall confiscate the tea, the gooey cupcakes and most important, I shall wipe their sticky fingers.  Party On!

Wow, trying pays off!

This wall hanging stalled a wee bit when I got an old wall hanging up in place in the front room. But I've gotten a good kick start this week. ;)

 I started to really like listening to Mini hum away as she chain pieced some colourful pieces for a very old UFO.  When I made my DS#1's wedding quilt I also cut smaller pieces so I could have my own version.  This just makes me hum as well!  I'm going to have to make this corner a regular scrap spot.  Two pieces together and sew.  Two pieces together and sew on...

I thought I'd warm up with making the binding for the youngest grand daughter's nap quilt. Turns out I hadn't started the quilting which was an easy enough warm up!  Some distortion and if I'd be tackling a bigger quilt I'd be giving this some more thought.  But I always wash my quilts as a final step and I'm thinking that'll be good enough!  A bit of hand sewing on the binding and it'll be done.

Then I settled into steady progress on this 'original design' that I want for the spot above the stove in the front room. I had thought larger slices but I should know 'moi' by now.  Smaller is my default setting. ;)  Now to get the fabrics to transition nicely up and down as well as that diagonal light source.  Thread play and some stenciling will help, too.

I have been trying to make more progress in my kitchen. This particular arrangement is making me want to try something else.  I am considering a wall hanging but I want something a bit less patchworky and more picture-like.  I have the tea cup stencil from an old stenciling book.  How to translate that into a wall hanging???  tap, tap, tapping of the finger...

Then I saw Brandy Lynn's facebook post and I am so very happy to pass along to my fellow Needle and Thread Networker's this great Canadian artist. This is my first try and I kinda like the effect and will do up a few more and see how it works out. 

And I hope to have the results of all this trying for next week's wow Wednesday!  :)

Crazy Projects

This wall hanging was an old challenge.  I'm no great hand quilter so I hit on the idea of a crazy quilt to avoid the hand quilting requirement.  If I'd have known how long embellishing takes I might have stuck with hand quilting! lol

 But this quilt surprised me because I am a 'plain Jane' but I really enjoyed making it.  Even my kids asked, "you made this???".  ;)  I do enjoy certain kinds of handwork and I want to make time for more.

The front room is coming together well.  We got the placement for wall hangings above the stove just about perfect.  I have several from this series of challenges but I'm wanting to make more and rotate them throughout the year.

This room is starting to look too traditional to me so I need to introduce some modern elements. I need a modern picture for this corner, a hanging light and the right kind of chair.  I have a lovely old oak office chair with a black leather seat out in the barn loft that I will get the Rooster to reglue.  I did change out the fancy thrift store chair for an old dining room chair and a quick cushion in a modern fabric until I can upgrade.   hmm, my friend Les's little wall hanging does look good here!  Crazy how small things effect big changes. ;)

I also have a quilt that was started ages ago; early on in my quilting history.  Remember all those Conway Album quilts!  Our little quilt group invited a teacher to come every month and show us how to applique.  I did enjoy it but life interfered with keeping up and they have been boxed away for some time. I think the thought of hand quilting it intimidated me as well.   DD#1 and I had a look at them during the holidays and I do believe I have found that hand work I was looking for.  I'll complete the 12 blocks and I'll set them in an all white setting for her.  January is off to a fast start so this month I shall fine tune the first block I did and find and organize all the loose pieces.  The grapes for the grape block seem to have all rolled away! lol  After seeing all those blue quilts I had changed my colour scheme.  I also realized that I couldn't make 'another one just like the other ones' so I changed the setting for my blocks.  DD and I agree that a white counterpane will meet her needs. phew!  I have measured out the remaining white background fabric and while my math computations are the highest form of craziness,  I believe I can replace the missing grape block, cut the extra filler blocks, setting triangles, and maybe even the binding.  I'm hoping to complete the quilt top in 2014!  I'm again challenged!  lol

And the craziness continues!

Let there be flashes of light

I decided I needed to consider the light source for this wall hanging.  I have an east window in the front room and the light should come from the top right hand corner and filter across and down to the bottom left.  That really helps to arrange all the greens.  I want a small hint of water and a bit of greenery that is more up close and personal.

I took the whole shebang down to the front room and worked over a hot stove to tweak it.

 And I tweaked it.  And I tweaked it some more.

This is quite enough tweaking for this wip Wednesday.  I am all done hot flashes! ;)

This is the general idea and I need to add, subtract and divide up some of the sections.  I also need to multiply some leaves.  I shall leave  it up (oops, pun) and wait for the Rooster to notice and comment on it. ;)

If any of my visitors from The Needle and Thread Network care to shed some more light, I would be delighted to stand still for a few more hot flashes! LOL

Which comes first, the forest or the trees?

I had my coffee this morning in the front room as I studied my focus fabric and made observations and notes.

I had thought square for the dimensions but I think a rectangle fills the space better and echoes many of the design elements in this room.

I think three long sections with a vertical sashing that shows off the gradation on each side of the centre section.  1/3 of the six by twelve inch blocks can be strips, 1/3 plain with some stenciling, and 1/3 I thought could be applique.

I did a quick inventory of my fabric paints and reviewed the technique.  I'd want to make my own stencils, probably from freezer paper.

Then I measured and measured again and cut my sections which will be cut again into blocks but I need to audition more fabrics.  I haven't determined the sashing width either but it'll be narrow.

I don't plan on going shopping so I shopped my stash.  This can work although I can see lots of tweaking.

The first thing is to move the centre section up about three inches.  A bit blurry but this gives the squint test.  ;)  I don't intend to procrastinate but I do want to give this a bit of time to percolate.  Sometimes I get a better idea but it is too late. :( 

I also need to do some multi tasking and work on some paper projects.  I do believe I have some kind of forest happening and now I need to find some trees so I can identify the leaves!

Wow Falling for Colour

I'm not sure if I really have a favourite season.  I do really like how the seasons change the rhythms of my life.  I got some hand dyes from Vicki at Field Trips in Fiber.  These are the colour wheel palettes and I just luv them.

Fall is always a rush to get things finished up from summer and prepared for winter.  Each year we do better and I'm looking forward to enjoying mellow autumns once we get organized.  I am busy reworking our kitchen but still have a few finishing touches for the dining and sitting rooms.  I need a wall hanging for the dining room and I am thinking leaves and/or trees but with a modern twist.  I have been enjoying Melody Johnson's Make me a Quilt series. I'd kind of like to meld Vicki's fabrics and Melody's technique and add my own twist to it.

This is pretty much the selection and colour range I want.

I do have some prefused leaves to play with although I probably won't use these particular ones.

Here is a pre dawn, hot of the press shot!  Not exactly staged but this is the general look as I am also finishing up the decorating in this room and choosing curtains for the slider in the adjoining sitting room. The Rooster wants curtains! ;)  I need to decide on a hanging system for these wall hangings that will change each season.  I'm leaning towards a hidden one.  I am also thinking that a square shape would be best, that just about fills the space with a 4-6 inch border of wall showing all around

Perhaps some of the visitors from The Needle and Thread Network  will have some suggestions that I haven't even thought of yet as my brain may be also in a pre dawn fog!  LOL

In spite of...

Somebody (???) left something open and the hens are after that very last blade of grass I was trying to save on the east side of the coop! oh well, I can seed grass easy enough, I guess.

The grandkids left early enough yesterday for me to work on the small page x page challenge. I'm not sure why I thought it would be a quick project. Most of my 'bright' ideas turn out to be kinda convoluted. But I am now ready for the Friday reveal.

I had a relationship stumble last night (why do people do what they do?) but I'm up and smiling this morning. Then I made my morning fruit and yogurt shake with sour cream! :-P. Drinkable but not recommended. lol But I refuse to miss another step so I just sipped my smoothie down and got going.

The hemming is an endeavour to get my wardrobe up to speed. Apparently legs age slowly so if you have them, and my rooster says I do, then show them! I've been surfing the net periodically looking for where the more mature woman hangs out and I hit the motherload last night. Hence the inspiration to do the hemming! I use invisible thread if I can't find a match and be darned if I didn't do the first job with the invisible thread on the inside. grrr! A little bit of reverse sewing and I will now be showing some leg! No photos yet! I'll be working up to it, so to speak! ;^)

Then I began to make my quilt sandwiches so I can Machine Quilt.

The big piece of batting I need for the larger wall hanging is missing the chunk I cut for the page x page. Not Impressed with myself at all!!! Haste makes more than waste, it takes more time in the end. awk! I'll patch in a piece with a hand overcast stitch. The backing is the wrong side of a fabric (UGLY) that I overdyed. I can use it for both these wall hangings and still have a bit left over.

Hmm, now I see the photo I'm reviewing a previous thought about maybe removing that very last row so I can end with the aqua instead of the orange. What if...

two steps forward...

at least one step back!

Four, three, four, three was too predictable so I used the 3 little chunks from the leftover pile to make a half block and that felt better. I had used some of the side border gold fabric to make one more pinwheel as well but I used the back of the fabric.




I now need to think about this top and see if I need a few borders and if it will need a binding or self facing.



Then I picked the 4 fabrics for a convergence wall hanging and two fabrics have collided in a less than graphic way so I am also considering my options for that. The 2 top fabrics do not have enough contrast and it didn't show up until I did the final slicing. Hmmm!

Creative options

I have lots of options flying around. I am still plugging away on the wall hanging. I have another in the starting gate that will have 4 fabrics colliding. I am kinda excited about that one even though it is boggling my mind. :) I have one last page sized challenge doodled on paper, hopefully for Friday. Lastly I found a top ready for MQing. I hit the list hard this morning and I'm pleased with the progress for today.