Stash Busting More Moda Fat Quarters and a Link to a Fabulous Site!

I couldn't sleep this morning. Went to bed at 11:00 p.m. And woke up at 3:00 a.m. Ugh! So I am surfing the web and just learned of a fabulous website! The site has tons of free quilting tutorials. It is called the Missouri Quilt Company. I cannot get the link to work this morning from my iPad. http://quiltingtutorials.com/


This is the the third of three quilts that my daughter and I made using up some really cute Moda fat quarters that once we're gathering dust on my WIP, PIGS, and UFO shelf.

Not the best quality photo, sorry. I didn't have my camera with me last week - had to use my phone.

Stash-busting Continued

This is the first of two quilts that I have made from those 10-1/2" Moda strips I had lurking about in my stash. I really like it.

No machine quilting this week. I am on vacation in Arizona enjoying the beautiful weather and getting lots of sewing time.

Back from my Quilting Retreat

I organize a quilting retreat at a beautiful location just outside of Yosemite National Park.  It is a fabulous location!  This is the view from the many, many windows as you are sewing.  I have been wanting to make a zig zag quilt and am still using up my stash.  This is one of the two quilts I made while there last weekend.  I love it and can't wait to quilt it.

Changing of the seasons and a forgotten quilt

Living in the Tehachapi Mountains, one can never expect distinct seasons, but seasons we do have!  This year we had a really early snow, and didn't have time to get all the apples from the trees before the first frost.  Normally we get snow at Thanksgiving time.

Almost all the leaves are gone from this wonderful Silver Maple tree that provides us with so much shade in the summer. 

And finally, since this blog is quilt related, here is a quilt I made as a wedding gift for Christina's friends, Lisa and Chris.  They were married at a winery in Livermore.  I love this quilt.  I had completely forgotten I made it, though!

"...with a little help from my friends."

Speaking of friends, I need you!  I am on a piecing kick right now, and all my UFOs, PIGs, and stash is calling to me...  I have 31 of these 'blocks.'  They are composed of 2.5" strips that are 10.5" square.  They were supposed to be used to make a quilt called, 'Fields of Flowers' but I made one already with the same strip sets, and it's just not that exciting to me. 

Do you have any ideas?  I have spent the better part of the day trying to figure out what to do with them.  I am considering a Scrappy Double Irish Chain from Quiltville, but not sure if it would work.  Would it?  Other ideas?  I do love modern quilts.  Can I cut these strip sets up and do something with them? 

If you think of anything, I'm all ears.  Thanks so much in advance...

What do Butterflies and UFOs have in Common?

Oh, my!  I unearthed a bin of "stuff" under my longarm and found a stack of butterfly blocks that I had completely forgotten about.  These were made as part of an exchange in 2002 (I think)!  I had intended on making these for a grandbaby.  Well, four grandbabies later --  I really did forget!  I'm on a mission this year to cross off a lot of "to-do's" -- wholecloth, art quilt, feather meandering, UFOs, stash-busting!! 

I have no idea who will be the lucky recipient of this cute little quilt.  The first picture is without a flash, and letting the quilt "relax" on a bed of beautiful maple leaves.  Taking this picture without the flash highlights the dimension created by the batting. 

This second picture is with a flash.  This is indicative of the true color of the fabrics. 

I got home from work a little too late tonight to take a good picture and won't have time for quite awhile to get a good pic in late afternoon sun - the best time! 

The final picture is of one of the "ghost" butterflies that I stitched in.  I've never tried this technique before, and it was fun.  I found a great new website for creating templates for machine quilting:  Coloring Book - Free Images for Templates

Freehand Feathers and Stash Busting!

I needed to practice my freehand feathers before I jump in on a beautiful quilt of Laura's.  I can make a feather, I just needed to practice the sizing, movement and "feel" of the overall feathers.  My first instinct was to grab some solid muslin and have yet an

other practice piece with no purpose.  But then I thought, use up some of that backing fabric you've got laying around!  Bust some stash!!  So, I grabbed a cute piece of baby fabric with some cuddly minkie-type fleece and voila, this is what I came up with. 

Ladybugs ala Patsy Thompson

 I organized a quilt retreat a while ago, and offered my quilting as a prize.  Cathy won the prize and asked me to quilt this cute little quilt for her granddaughter.  Many thanks to Patsy Thompson Designs for posting free examples of her freehand quilting online!  I have used her designs more times than I can count. 

I Want to Keep These!

I am really pleased with the way these look completed.  If you read my earlier posts, I taught myself how to design and create this triptych.  It helped to find these beautiful fabrics in a local quilt shop, and the blog posts that I read with tips.  These are 48" tall, and the center is 37.5" wide, and the narrower outside panels are 19.5" wide. 

They depict the desert hills and wind turbines near Mojave, CA where my husband works.  They are on their way to his office right now. 

I stitched black fabric all the way around, similar to a binding, and then pulled the black around the wooden frame that my husband made, and then finally taped them on with duct tape. 

Do you know of an appraiser who specializes in landscapes?  Would I just contact a quilt appraiser?  I may need to get these appraised before I start my second set.

Introducing the Newest Quilter in the Family

My daughter Christina just started quilting and this is the first quilt she made.  She wanted to do it from start to finish, so I let her use my longarm to quilt it herself.  Here she is with my newest grandchild, Landon Thomas.  He loves to 'hang out' with mom while she is longarming! 

And here is two-month old Landon kicking up his heels and enjoying his new quilt

made entirely by his mom! 

PS - Don't you love the name Landon?  We do!  Our last name is Landon so it has special significance.