Friday, August 26, 2011

Graduation Quilt

I had somebody ask me recently why in the world I would choose to use a solid color fabric in a quilt when there are zillions of beautiful printed fabrics available.

Welllll.................

I guess I'll let a picture answer that for me.


My daughter-in-law likes things simple and clean.  When I saw this pattern in a magazine, it had her name written all over it.  The front was her college graduation present.


See that glorious minky on the back?  That was my son's college graduation present.  

They have to share.

This was one of the first things I quilted on my machine...and I had help.  It looks simple, but it really wasn't.  It was kind of tricky placing the straight lines in strategic locations.  The circles were fun.  Way fun.  I'm planning to make this baby again.

Thanks, again, Kim for the great pictures!

Hey, things are smoking at my house!  It's not a fire, it's productivity.  :)  

If you have a quilt ready, or almost ready, call soon! 





Wednesday, August 24, 2011

Back In The Groove

I've been gone.  I had to go south and get a kid fix.

My kids are fine, thanks.  They are so much fun.

While I'm getting back into the groove of things, I thought I'd share some pictures of quilts I've made in the past.  I made this for my daughter-in-law before she was an official member of our family.  It may have been a subconscious bribe.  Hey, it worked!  Come to think of it, I made one for my son-in-law before he married my daughter, too.

I may be on to something.


You're welcome to borrow my idea. :)

This is the very simple BQ pattern by Maple Island Quilts.  This was the first time I ever used Amy Butler fabrics....love them.

My daughter-in-law's mom (my 2nd sister-in-law!) took this lovely picture. More to come...and here's a link to her pictures in a former post.
http://shelikesquilts.blogspot.com/2011/07/quilt-scraps.html

Happy quilting!

Sunday, August 14, 2011

Fancy Stuff


I thought I'd show you what I've been up to today.

This is my first official attempt at custom quilting.  Like, on a real quilt.







This quilt has an interesting history.  I made it about a hundred years ago for a graduating senior.

I know, right?

(I stitched all of the dresden plate pieces by hand.)

I'm not completely insane; the graduating senior didn't get this quilt.  And the colors really didn't fit me, so I gave it to a good friend who loved these colors.  She was planning to have it custom quilted.



And then life happened.

We've been through a lot over the last hundred years.  I love and appreciate her even more now than I did back then.

I'm so glad this piece is still around for me to quilt.






And I'm so glad my friend is still around, too.








I think these dragonflies are adorable.



I like the way this looks.  (Not sure what that icky yellow is, it's from my camera, not on the quilt.)





Love this border...you can't see the one in the plum colored border, but it's pretty.

Trust me.

I like these motifs, too.


I'm half way done with this quilt, and I've decided what I'm going to charge for custom quilting.

Drum roll please...




Until I get faster at all of this uber fancy stuff, I will be charging $10,000.00 for custom quilting services.


Maybe more. :)

Happy Quilting!

- Kathy

Wednesday, August 10, 2011

Had To

There are several reasons I had to make this quilt. 

1.  I love the fabric.

My kids are great sports about taking me to quilt shops when I visit them in Oregon.  In May, my son and daughter-in-law took me out to lunch at The Wild Pear in downtown Salem.  Then we walked around until we found this funky quilt shop called The Quilted Forest

 My son let me load him up with fabric bolts.

 It was a very fun afternoon.


When I buy fabric on the fly like that... you know, impulse buying...I just sort of guess what I might need.   I always hope a pattern will find me later.

This one came in a magazine.

I love quilting magazines more than...more than....more than ice cream.

And that's saying a lot.

2.  This thread.

This thread is glorious.  It looked so great with the quilt that I almost cried.

Not really.

But it is stunning stuff, that thread.





The last reason I wanted to make this quilt is because I had a design on my quilt machine that was calling my name, and it was PERFECT for this quilt.

I need to say that again.  It was PERFECT.

It really was.




Look how beautifully the thread and the flower and the fabric go together. (Click on the picture for a closer look.)

Will someone please say AMEN?!!  





Here's more proof that the trio were meant for each other. 

I did find a few of these fabrics locally.  This lovely piece came from Robin Place Fabrics; so did the back. 

The black and plum came from Kenai Fabrics.






I believe in spreading my money around.  Unfortunately, I practice what I preach.

A lot.









Love, love, love the bird.  Love the elegant, Asian feel.  Love the stripe.



 






Love.



 
Am I getting carried away with pictures?  Sorry.  I'm almost done.



So...here's the finished front. 

But...there's more! 








Here's the finished back. 

This is the first time I've put time into piecing the back of a quilt...and I love it!!!

I'm heading south to Oregon next week...I'm sure I'll find a few more reasons to make more quilts.

I just have to. :)

Happy quilting!!

-Kathy

Monday, August 8, 2011

The Way It Is

I have often been asked if I sell my quilts, or how much I would charge to make a quilt.  My answer is always the same; I don't sell my quilts and I've never made one for money.  To me that would be like selling my emotions.  I quilt as a way to express emotion.  Even if I make a quilt without having a particular person in mind, when they come to mind, I give them the quilt.  
It's my way of saying, "You are important to me.  I want to give a part of myself to you."

Too mushy?  Sorry.  It's just the way it is.




Janet feels that way about quilting too.  That's why she made this beautiful quilt...








Special friends were moving out of state.  She wanted them to know they will be greatly missed...









And they are greatly loved.










 

She did a beautiful job on this quilt.  Her piecing is amazing, especially since these plaids are very loosely woven and have a tendancy to be a tad squirrely. 










This quilting design is called Cottonseed.  I liked the way it fit the vintage feel of the quilt.








I hear the recipients loved their quilt, but that's no surprise.  It was made with love.



And that's just the way it is.


Wednesday, August 3, 2011

Happy Scraps

I had a couple of goals.  I needed to make a baby blanket, but I wanted it to be fresh and light. 

And inexpensive.

I had lots of bright, fun scraps hanging around, I just needed a plan. 

I found a pattern I liked on a website I frequent. 







All I really had to buy for the top of the quilt is the neutral solids.  It's amazing what you can accomplish when you're , ah....cash challenged.











The solid colored squares made a nice foundation for all the bright prints.

And the ladybugs.  LOVE the lady bugs.

Doesn't it look like I planned for the ladybugs to land smack dab in the center of the square? 

I didn't, they just migrated there on their own.  It happened every other row.

Too fun!






So are some of these fabrics....











They make me feel good.









So....this backing is the reason I'm broke. 

It's called Snuggles, and it's by Moda Fabrics.  It's expensive, but it's a lot less stretchy than your typical minky.  And it's SOOOO soft. 

I've done a couple of quilts with minky, and they turned out fine.  But I wanted this color and the ultra softness of Snuggles this time.  



It's beautiful.  I think it was worth it.
(Click on the pictures for a better view.)


The pattern is called Tiffany by Red Pepper Quilts.  I found it here...pinkchalkfabrics.com
The red Snuggles came from Robin Place Fabrics...robinplacefabrics.com

And the scraps?  Well, they came from my stash, and it came from all over the place!

Happy quilting!

-Kathy