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Blog Hop Party!!!

9 December 2011, 2:43 am

Quilting Gallery is celebrating their 4th birthday by hosting a Blog Hop Party!  Lots of quilting bloggers (230 from over 20 countries) have signed up to join the celebration by having a give-away on their blog.  Thanks go to Michele from the Quilter’s Gallery for organizing this event.

A bit about me:  I’m a knitter and a quilter in beautiful (but slightly chilly) Minnesota.  I also enjoy photography — especially taking pictures of quilts, birds, and bugs!  (I know, it’s weird…I can’t stand bugs and bees but I love taking their pictures.)

This is my favorite picture I took last summer.  This bee is showing us how to enjoy all the best that life has to offer — just dive in head first!

The Give-Away:

As a quilter, I’m always on the lookout for a product that makes me a faster quilter.  Or a better quilter.  Or APPEAR to be a better quilter!

I know there are many, many methods for making half-square triangles and quarter-square triangles (hour-glass blocks).  In the past, my favorite method has been purchasing the paper rolls.  Using the paper makes your blocks truly square and the right size.  Construction is so much easier when your components are the right size and shape!  Sometimes I would run out of a size, or I would need a slightly “odd” size paper.

This past year I started using Triangulations™ software.

Triangulations™ allows you to print the size blocks you need, using your regular printer and regular printer paper.  I shorten my stitch length (as you would using any paper technique).  To remove the paper, I crease the paper on the stitching line and it easily rips off.  I’m sold!  I’ve especially enjoyed using the Triangulations™ when making my Farmer’s Wife Sampler blocks, as you can print the exact size you need in 1/16″ increments.

(If you haven’t used half-square triangle paper on a roll or sheets before, here’s a Triangulations™ demonstration on YouTube.)

To Enter: Leave a comment here  sharing what your current favorite fabric colors are. (I’ve been very drawn to brown and red quilts lately.)

The Fine Print:

My give-away will end Saturday, 12/17, at noon CST.  Sorry, I will not be mailing internationally.  Only one entry per person.  Winner will be determined by an on-line random number generator.

After you’ve left a comment for me, be sure to CLICK HERE to hop on over to Quilting Gallery (starting Saturday December 10) for the list of other participating bloggers.

Good luck, and thank you for stopping by!

–Sue

 

Filed under *** GIVE-AWAY ***, Quilting.
115 Comments

Making My Own Tree

5 December 2011, 12:50 pm

 

Sandi Irish has a very cool tree pattern out, using templates for easy cutting.  I am making the 7-foot version for our Christmas tree.  My progress thus far is shown above.   I have about 1/4 of the strips on at this point.

For Sandi’s pattern info, click HERE.  “Tall Pines” is about 2/3 of the way down, on the right-hand side.  For the pattern cover picture, click HERE.

–Sue

PS:  I am going to Judy Laquidara’s retreat in February!!!  (Happy Birthday to ME)

Anybody else is going?  It’s sure to be three days of laughter, sewing, and fun!

 

 

Filed under Monday's Design Wall.
3 Comments

StarFlower Quilt

2 December 2011, 9:17 am

Quilting Gallery hosts a themed weekly quilt contest.  This week’s theme is Stars, and since my “bees quilt” has star-based flowers, I decided to submit it.  Lots of competition — 54 quilts!  Probably because EVERYBODY has made a star quilt at some point in their life.  So for a visual treat of 54 starry quilts, pop on over to Quilting Gallery’s contest page.  Of course, I wouldn’t mind it at all if you voted for my quilt while you’re there!  After all, you get to vote for SEVEN quilts!

You will have to scroll down the page at Quilting Gallery to see the quilts, then scroll down some more to see the voting options.  Enjoy the stars!

–Sue

Filed under Quilting.
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Give-Away Plans

1 December 2011, 1:15 pm

I’ve been thinking that I am overdue for a give-away, and lo and behold, an opportunity to be part of a group give-away presents itself!  Stay tuned — we’ll start December 9th!  The prize?  I have a couple of things in mind.  You’ll have to stop back in eight days to find out!

–Sue

Filed under Quilting.
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This is a test

29 November 2011, 12:17 pm

image

I have a new phone, and I’m attempting to add a post with a photo.

Filed under Quilting.
3 Comments

Houston Quilt Show, 2011

23 November 2011, 12:47 am

Vendors, nearly 1,000 of them…

 

If you go next year, be sure to bring comfortable walking shoes.

–Sue

 

 

Filed under Quilting.
2 Comments

Design-Wall Monday

21 November 2011, 9:34 am

I’ve been MIA for over a month!  I’ll blog more details in another post, but we spent three weeks on the Texas Gulf (forgot my camera cord for uploading pictures), a couple of fabulous days at the Houston quilt show with friends, then a few days at a retreat in Wisconsin with no Internet.    It’s surprising how quickly you get out of the habit of blogging.  (And I knew I was very delinquent when my new-found cousin Judy calls, my Winter Texan friend Eileen calls, and my Aunt Bertha e-mails and calls!  It’s nice to be missed…)

I have lots to share, but I will focus on one project today.  We bought a new bedroom set a few years back.  I just love it, but it has a problem.  I couldn’t figure out how to attach a bed skirt without covering up the wood side panels.   And even if I didn’t mind covering up the wood, the skirt would be way too short due to the height of the bed.

I store the dining-room table leaves under the bed, which you could see if you were seated at the dining-room table.  (We’re in a townhouse and the bedroom is off the living room.)

So with a little on-line inspiration from Heather Mulder Peterson’s tutorial, I made one.

Heather (Anka’s Treasures) makes a nice little faux pleat in her bed skirt.  I used a drapery panel so the bed skirt would match the drapes.  I was also able to take advantage of the finished edges for my side panels (I cut one bed skirt from each long side of the purchased (and lined) drapery panel.  I wasn’t able to make the center “pleat” that she shows using the drapery panel though, so mine are a straight, flat panel.

I then folded the top over twice and stitched non-adhesive, sew-on type Velcro (the soft half) to the RIGHT side of the panels.  Out of the center portion of the drapery panel, I made the bed skirt for the end of the bed.

Instead of using a hot glue gun  to attach the stiff part of the Velcro to the inside of the bed frame, I used a tacky glue and let it dry for 24 hours before attaching the bed skirt.

And the best part is, it will be a snap to switch to a different color.  I know my bed (queen size) will work up fine using a single full-length drapery panel.

–Sue

Filed under Monday's Design Wall, Quilting.
6 Comments

Fun Stuff

6 October 2011, 7:46 am

Feathers:

I plan to follow along with Judy Laquidara over yonder on Patchwork Times when she does a tutorial on line of her feathers.  She makes lovely feathers, and I like how she’s going to go about sharing it.  She is showing us the quilt she’s going to do her feathers on so interested quilters can have the same quilt ready as they quilt along!  General information is HERE.  (By the way, the original quilt design Judy is using is from Mary, another favorite quilter.)

It’s an easy quilt, half-square triangles and squares.  She hasn’t announced further details yet, but her more recent blog post about it is HERE.  It is #5 on her 2012 plans.

Hand-Dyed Fabric:

Secondly, for those of you who were at our daytime stitching group yesterday and liked the hand-dyed piece I brought in…

It was by Vicki Welsh, and her ETSY shop is here.  The mandala I brought is THIS PIECE, and it is part of her GERANIUM color palette for September/October.  I should add that if you don’t see what you’re looking for on Vicki’s blog or in her shop, contact her.  She is wonderful to work with.

I know that’s a lot of links in a posting, but it’s worth your time.  Three of my favorite bloggers and their projects to check out!

–Sue

Filed under Quilting.
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Photo Friday — Geraniums

30 September 2011, 7:00 am

Two weeks ago today I left in the early hours of the morning for Alabama.  Well, not that early, but I’m not used to seeing the sun rise!

The sun was catching our flowerpot at the corner of the garage, and the ornamental grasses were just glowing.  I had to stop and take a picture before leaving for the airport.

Getting lots of sewing done this week, which is a good thing since two fabric packages came in the mail yesterday.  (Thank you, Vicki, the geranium mandala panel is GORGEOUS, and a perfect tie-in to today’s photo.)

–Sue

Filed under Quilting.
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Thursday’s Child — UFO Progress

29 September 2011, 8:19 am

I missed a Thursday as I was at a quilt retreat near Huntsville, AL, last week.  Lucky me!  I brought a very old UFO with me to complete.

The magazine that I found this pattern in is dated 2007, so I think it’s safe to say I started this quilt four years ago.   Here I am at retreat (on the left) with Sandra (on the right) helping me.

The name of this pattern is “1910 Nine-Patch”, and I found it the January/February 2007 issue of Fons & Porter’s Love of Quilting.  I fell in love with it immediately.  When I was going through the instructions, I saw the finished size of these 9-patches was 2 1/4 inches!  I upped the size substantially to 6″ finished.  Instead of making 572 9-patch blocks, I made 100!

This quilt is for Niece Summer, and as a bonus my mother-in-law (Summer’s grandmother) was born in 1910.  It will be a nice connection.  Summer wanted a quilt that was vintage looking, and the dark Civil War fabrics and the light shirtings give it that feel.

Since it’s Thursday, I’m adding a post/link to my Thursday’s Child Has Far to Sew blog.  If you’ve made progress on on a UFO this week and blogged about it, you may add a link via Mr. Linky to my Thursday’s Child blog.

I haven’t had any takers yet, and my Aunt Bert asked me how long I was going to do this if I don’t have anybody joining me.  I told her, at least a year!  It’s good motivation for me to get some UFOs done, and it’s one place I can go to and see the progress I’m making.  Hopefully I’m motivating someone else to work on their UFOs.

I need more room in my quilting closet, plus I don’t think my boys want to inherit half-finished quilting projects!

–Sue

Filed under Thursday's Child Has Far to Sew.
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