Monday, December 07, 2015

A Christmas quilt!

This started with a charm pack of "Christmas" fabric, the "daily deal" from Missouri Star quilt shop. The pattern I chose is from one of her magazine's too.

I added lots more Christmas fabrics! And machine quilted it myself....it is for grandsons in Idaho!

Merry Christmas!

Monday, August 31, 2015

Some quilts I have made and donated lately!

I don't think I got photos of all...one of my first goals was to make some "unisex" or boy quilts! Seems I always make "girly" combinations .... And lots of baby boys could use a quilt too!

Using grey solid for several of these!

 

 

These are made with 5" squares. Each has unique backing and bindings....trying to use up from my stash!

 

Then, "unisex" aside, I couldn't resist using scraps and pink came back, really strong!

 

These are all finished now, given away, or soon to be!

The hot days of summer made me crave cool blue....cornflower blue and with florals...so it is "girly" again!

But I LOVE it.....here, above, are some of the blocks in process!

AND, I made a small wedding present for my friends, Paula and Jeanie.....a pillow with their kayaks in a quilt block!

 

 

Wednesday, August 19, 2015

A quilt block from my great grandmother's hand!

Found In a visit to Cimarron Heritage Center Museum in Boise City, OK.

The most western county in "No Man's Land", the Oklahoma panhandle is Cimarron County.

My family has lived there since the early 1900's when they migrated up from Texas! My great grandmother, Laura May Lightfoot and her husband Alonzo Ellis Parsley built an adobe home,which is still occupied, on the old homestead.

 

The adobe...this photo was from a time when it had been vacant for years.....

Now to the quilts....these hang in the Cimarron Heritage Center Museum.

 

I LOVE this indigo with red tied quilt! Especially the little sunburst block below!

This scrap/string quilt is hand quilted. It was a friendship quilt with embroidered signatures on the blocks....wait, that signature on pink in the upper left...."L. M. Parsley" ! That's our great grandmother, my sister tells me!

Laura May (Lightfoot) Parsley! It is hanging pretty high...I hold my cell phone up, straining....so of course, I am not steady....to get a blurry close up!

These were frugal times, most of the quilts here are scrap quilts!

Some cotton dresses are also displayed.

This black and white gingham dress was worn at the turn of the century!

This 1930's frock was worn by a school teacher....very small in waist and ribcage! No super-sizing back then!

The yoke and cap sleeves of this dress were constructed from packaged bias tape with a zigzag stitch! Someone had a nice sewing machine! The fabric of the dress is feedsack!

 

Love the blue buttons!

My sister near an antique stove and vintage aprons..

 

The Heritage center has lots to see....a dugout, a depot, farm machinery, antique cars....

A local stitcher made this excellent reproduction of Dorothea Lange's famous photo, "Migrant Mother"! Herd to believe it is thread on canvas!

A one room school house and a dust bowl exhibit....

The main office is a very modern style architecture ....former home of congressman Cox. Designed by a student of Frank Lloyd Wright. Inside is Mrs. cox's fabulous button collection...

 

AND you can't miss "Cimmy", the dinosaur! Here with my friend, Sally!

 

 

Friday, July 17, 2015

Scrappy wacky pink log cabin a gift to my godson's daughter

Finished and off to a good home! Perfect for a little girl!

Kathleen is 4 and visiting her grandparents nearby.....the perfect time to give it to them!

This was so much fun! I know I will make more!

I have started to list them on ETSY but hit technical difficulties. I quilt for pleasure, so even though getting a little cash flow going would be good.....I don't see a good market.

However, if anyone reading this would like to buy a quilt, please leave me a comment! I do make more than I need!

 

Friday, June 26, 2015

The Root Connection: It's here!


[Hmmm, mostly this blog is about me and my quilts...but I did just discover a kindred spirit.]

The Root Connection: It's here!



I just visited the blog from the link above! What a joyful quilter! Love, Love, Love!

This is one of the blogs of Sujata Shah, graphic designer who makes quilting fun and improvisational!
She has a wonderful book too!



AND I found that Sujata Shah is a member of the quilters who post on the REBELS blog, along with my dear, local friend and quilter, Paula Mariedaughter!

Friday, June 19, 2015

Using up scraps? Is it possible? Order out of chaos?

 
I love scrappy quilts! So when Amanda at Crazy Mom Quilts blog started a quilt along a couple of weeks ago, I jumped in!
 
 

--First sew scraps which have a side the same length together in pairs....week one!I found myself using 2 or 3 color palettes, even with scraps! My light bright pastels...

Brighter primararies with darks mixed in....

 

Earth colors...using lots from past family sewing projects....way back over 50 years! Or more....plus new pieces.

 

 

While waiting for more weekly instructions from Amanda, I used some 2.5 inch strips, which I keep in a plastic bin....sort of a scrapper jelly roll! I pieced these "25 squares" blocks, made a small top, and got it pin basted together now ready to quilt with my sewing machine.

 

Then I made this wacky corner log cabin quilt top. Inspired by this post from Quilt Dad . Here is his photo of his block. Charming!

Following his general instructions....here is my quilt top using light bright pastel scraps! Can't decide if I need to add one more row...????

 

 
Once i got home from visiting the new grandson, I worked some more on the quilt along with Amanda....
 

This week, 3 weeks into the sew along, Amanda has given us more direction....and I am pulling this quilt top together.

[here is the finished quilt top....June 29.....I think I am ready to stop. A large throw, or nap size quilt top.]

I had an extra log cabin block so that went in too! This is about 1/4 of what I should end up making.....now back down to the sewing room, to pair up more pieces for this...then the bright primary scrap top and the Earthy top.....lots to do...AND the scrap pile and chaos just seem to grow!

 

 

Thursday, May 07, 2015

Collage art quilts

I found these on the wall at my daughter's. I made them several years ago.

Soft little collage quilts are then stitched to painted canvas....hand stitched right to the canvas. Easy and fun!

And today, the teenage granddaughter made her bed! Here is a low volume pastel quilt from the book,

"Sunday Morning Quilts".

 

Sunday, May 03, 2015

Quilt for a new grandson!

I finished this and mailed it early in the last week of April! A gender-neutral baby quilt!

On Friday, baby Ben arrived! Here with his proud papa! (Our son, Andrew!)

Another quilt sent earlier is this one....

made by me and quilted by my mother , another gender neutral quilt, as they weren't finding out before the birth!

 

Flowers for a May Day birthday! The "Lorna Doone" quilt.

This quilt is a birthday gift for our daughter, Laura.

We brought it to Georgia with us, for her birthday!

It is Queen size from a kit ordered from Glorious COLOUR, the website for Kaffe Fassett fabrics.

I have not made a quilt from a kit before, but loved the light bright floral pastel look of this one! Even so, I changed the border and the binding into non-Kaffe fabrics! A pale lime for the border and a very colorful batik for the binding.

 

I was beautifully quilted by Sonja Koch of Fayetteville on a long arm quilting machine.

I love how she did the swirls, leaves and flowers!