Quilts and What's Happening in My World

Finally, the weather is beginning to cool down.  The hot summer days pushing us out of the house and into local air conditioned establishments are beginning to fade.  School starts next week, football and cheer leading are back in season.  The Husband's last softball game of the year was last night.  It's just about FALL!

I love fall so very much.  Not only the cool weather but the beautiful foliage we are treated to every September through November in north east Ohio.  I can already see orange and yellow tinges starting to take hold on the leaves.  I'm so ready for the show mother nature puts on every year.

I always have quilts to share, but I do love to share some of the other fun things happening in my world too.  Our semi-annual Disney trip is just around the corner.  I haven't made nearly the number of costumes for this trip as I have in the past, but I did make a dress!  I made the dress known among Disney bounders and Cosplay enthusiasts as the "mouse made dress" for my 5 year old.  I think it turned out so beautiful!  Even if garment sewing isn't my strong suit!

Here is a little collage I made to share the dress and my daughter twirling herself silly in it.  I just cannot wait to see her wearing this in front of Cinderella's castle!

Other projects for our trip are in the works, but I did also manage to find time to squeeze in these mouse ears for the girls.  This one is Ariel themed - my amazing friend made us these "dinglehopper" hair clips to wear and they worked perfectly with their mouse ears!

Tonight I'm hoping to finish up some ears for the baby and Elsa/Frozen themed ears my 5 year old has requested.  I almost didn't make anything this time and my almost 11 year old was devastated - she tells me "mom!  Half of the fun is dressing up!"  I'll make crafters out of these girls yet!

Other big happenings - I broke down and bought my dream camera!!!  This was a big purchase for me.  The biggest I have ever made on something entirely for myself outside of my Juki.  While quilting and sewing are my absolute life's passions (outside of my family of course) - photography is sort of instant gratification for me.  It's a nice break from quilts that can often take months or years to complete, and of course it allows me to document my beautiful babes!  I've had it a total of six days now and I've put it to good use!  Here are a few of my favorite shots:

I am finding I really love black and white!  I ordered a few 8x10 prints that are scheduled to be delivered today, and I cannot wait to see how they turned out.  Photography is visual like quilting and art so I feel like it's a totally great fit for me.  Of course, a new camera means new and more detailed images of QUILTS!

So here (finally!) are a few of the quilts I have been working on this past month.  I will have to break it up because I've already gotten quite photo heavy in this post

First is Lisa's Jungle Abstractions Lion Quilt (pattern by Violet Craft).  I have seen this top created in a number of color ways but this one in particular is really my favorite.  Those aqua's with gray are just so striking.

I really tried to replicate fur but in a quilty way!  I didn't want to be really literal, it's a fantasy "abstract" quilt so I think (hope!) this design did the trick.  Because it is a very geometric quilt I didn't want to lose the angular feeling with feathers and swirls - so in the facial structure of the lion I tried to maintain that feeling.

For the eyes I left some areas of white ditched and not quilted to give him some dimension.  Paired with pebbling I think it is very effective.

 

Lisa's lion quilt was in the 65" range - I don't have her paperwork in front of me or I'd give better measurements!  We used Glide thread in Auqamarine in both the top and bobbin, and Lisa sent along her own cotton batting lower loft batting.  For this one in particular I don't think a second layer of batting would have really added a lot.  Certainly I like to see a lot of dimension, but this quilt has SO much happening that I think it looks just as beautiful with a single layer of batting.

Another couple of quilts finished up this week are this pair of baby quilts I worked on for Darlene.  She is going to add applique over top the already quilted pieces - she chose the pantograph Monkey Jungle by Melonie Caldwell for Urban Elementz.

I worked on a few more quilts but being my next post will likely be a little more fall themed I'll save them!  I hope everyone is quilting up a storm in blog land!

- Valerie

Death Star Mini in Progress

Six days and counting until Christmas!  Woohoo!  Many of my long arm quilting pals have already finished their final quilts for the year.  I have another Border Creek mystery identical to the one Jane sent me a few months ago loaded up and will be working on that over the next week or so, likely into the new year.

As for personal projects, I still have a half dozen or so in progress.  My red and tan quilt hasn't been touched as I have just been too busy with other projects.  I did start a death star mini in honor of the new Star Wars movie though!

I found the pattern and printed it from quirkygranolagirl.blogspot.com...just in case you'd like to make your own.  :)

I didn't follow her directions but instead opted to print out a main pattern, and a second on Stable Stuff stabilizer.  This stuff is pretty cool as it's actually made to stay in your quilt.  I cut each piece individually using my paper printed pattern as a guide for the colors (I wrote on each piece what I planned to use - dark, medium, or light fabric) and turned each piece using a glue stick.  I have already begun hand stitching the tiny pieces together in rows using black and white Invisifil.  I haven't chosen a background yet but I'm thinking solid black as I chose all calico prints for the blacks in the death star itself...so I think there will be enough contrast.

When I'm finished I will just wet the project and leave the stabilizer inside.  Water is supposed to dissolve whatever it is that makes this stabilizer stiff...and leaves a thin polyester fiber behind.  Kind of cool!  I will share a little more of how this process goes later on.  I have heard it is also wonderful used as a stabilizer for paper piecing!  I particularly like how it has the potential to leave fullness in applique that you might not get otherwise...or without adding some kind of trapunto.  Oh how we quilters love possibilities!

In other news that I am super excited to share...I finally got a Gravity Quilt to work on!  Woohoo!!!!  I'm so excited about this one.  It belongs to a semi-local gal who discovered me through my neighbor.  Well my oh my she's a modern quilter who has an affinity for Jaybird Quilts patterns so I'm pretty excited to see what more she has to send my way.  I get a lot of traditional quilts...which I absolutely love...but it's always fun to play around with something different too!

If I don't get a chance to before the holiday - have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!  Lots of exciting things to share with you in the next year...and I cannot wait!

Until then...may the force be with you on your quilting journey!  :)

Hey, my quilt is going to Houston!

LOL!  Ok ok, it's going to Houston, but not in the show!  LOL!  I still dream of having a quilt accepted to the Houston International Quilt Festival...and in my really wild dreams winning a ribbon there...but I have equally fantastic news to share!  I was just given the all clear to share that a quilt of mine called Modern Pinwheels  will be hanging in the Meander Publishing booth at Houston!  The quilt design will be in the upcoming issue of Modern Quilting Unlimited out on store shelves the end of the month.  Yay!!!  Here is a photo I was forwarded to share:

Modern Quilts Unlimited is put out by Meander Publishing - also responsible for the amazing publication that is Machine Quilting Unlimited!  Visit http://machinequilting.mqumag.com for magazine and subscription in formation.  :)