Sharon's Christmas Finishes

To close out 2015, I need to share with you the last three quilts Sharon finished when we met for our regular Tuesday sewing. She was definitely on a roll to get these done in time for Christmas, a goal which she accomplished.

First, take a look at the race quilt that she made. I wrote about this quilt earlier (click here) and explained that the strips were extras from a previous project. Rather than to let them sit and collect dust, Sharon decided to do a lap-size version of a race quilt. A few weeks later, she brought it back to machine quilt it (click here). In the picture above, the binding has been added and it is a grand finish! This was a gift for her daughter Amanda.

A second quilt was intended for her older grandson, Rye. He had specifically asked for something "soft," so this flannel quilt will definitely fill that order. The center portion of the quilt is made with leftovers from a previous quilt, and because the center is somewhat small for a regular bed, Sharon added some whopping-big borders. It looks very masculine, and absolutely perfect for a teen boy.

And finally, a quilt that Sharon hand-quilting using the 'big-stitch' method. This is the sort of quilt that I would say defines Sharon's taste - soft florals, cottage-inspired, romantic colors. The fabric line is Moda's Lario by 3 Sisters, and the center is made of two charm packs and additional yardage.

Quilts like this have a whispery quality about them - they invite you to wrap up in them with a book and a cup of tea for a lazy afternoon or evening of reading. Sharon gave this quilt to her dad.

I expect all recipients were delighted with their gifts!

Happy Quilting, Friends!

Tuesdays With Sharon

Yesterday Sharon was over for a day of sewing, and we really got a lot accomplished. I worked on the May UFO, and Sharon made another Van Gogh wall hanging. You may recall her last one, which I mentioned in this post from a week or so ago. Sharon really is a Van Gogh devotee, so it comes as absolutely no surprise to me that she bought a second panel for a wall in her hallway.

The horizontal panel was not suited to the vertical space Sharon needed to fill. Fortunately, she had a plan - and the fabric necessary to execute that plan.

Adding strips to the top and bottom to extend and frame the panel was the perfect solution. Don't you just love the saturated colors?

She was a very happy quilter by the end of our day together. It is very satisfying to be able to create something lovely as quickly as this. Accomplishments! Who doesn't love how that feels?

Sharon also brought back her blue Kaffe Fassett quilt from several weeks ago. When I last showed it here, it was still in parts. Now she has it all together and it's ready to go to the quilter. She made this for herself, and I say 'good for you!' You deserve to treat yourself every now and then!

 Love those big, gorgeous blooms and the fantastic combination of colors. Throw these colors and Van Gogh's together, and I think you can get a pretty fair idea of how good Sharon is with color. She is not afraid to use it liberally - with amazing impact and appeal.

On a side note, I thought you'd enjoy seeing some of our irises. These are located in our back yard, and my DH has done a fantastic job of creating brilliant pops of color like this all throughout the flower beds. These remind me of the Van Gogh painting, a little bit.

Happy Quilting, Friends!

Sewing With Sharon

These Tuesdays when Sharon and I sew together have been the main reason I have been getting so many things checked off my to-do list. We are more industrious when we sew together - it's as if we are holding each other accountable.

Anyhoo, Sharon has been working on another beauty. Truly, she has the best eye for color of just about anyone I know. And we both know you can't go wrong with Westminster fabrics - Kaffe Fassett and Phillip Jacobs - in their glorious blues.

Why show you one picture when three are available?? The saturation of color here makes me want to dive in to this pool of refreshingly cool blues. Sharon has been planning this quilt for awhile and did some fussy cutting to get the flowers she wanted centered in the blocks. The sashing is done in one direction; the next task is to attach the sashing going the other way. This will create a frame around each gorgeous block. You can see what I mean in this next picture where she has laid a few strips across the blocks.

Magical, isn't it? This will be an absolutely stunning quilt. I am so eager to see her finished quilt top. I will certainly share it with you all, too.

Happy Quilting, Friends!

Sharon P.'s Update

I become so self-absorbed in what I am making that I sometimes forget that some of my dear friends are getting things accomplished, too, and I like to try to show these things to you from time to time. On Tuesday when Sharon and I sewed together, she made significant progress on her version of Snowbird Stars, and I have neglected to show them to you. Let us remedy that this instant.

A more whispery-soft star is nowhere to be found. I'm sure of it. Sharon's star blocks are all floral centers with dotted points. There are 5 different combinations. Let's take a closer look at these barely-there stars.

Don't they make you feel like you ought to be whispering? The wispy nature of those neutrals put together this way really exude calm and peace and comfort. Mix these with the other combinations she's made and she will have an awesome quilt. The previous blocks can be seen here.

I am nearly finished with the center of my quilt top. I have a couple of more seams to stitch on the center part, and then corner setting triangles need to be cut and sewn on. Then there's the binding! It will be straightforward, so I should have it all done today. We shall see.

Happy Quilting, Friends!

Goal Changes

At the beginning of 2011, I made a list of quilts I hoped to make this year. As we finish out the 7th month of this grand year, I feel an urgency to change some of those goals. Already, my 2011 goals are a bit off. I'd only planned on making 1 blue Kaffe, but I've made 2. (Good for me!!)

You see, a few new quilts have come onto my radar, and suddenly they seem really essential.

I've recently rediscovered this book which I've had for ages. Mulberry Lane by Teri Christopherson.

Lavender Fields and Chantilly. Both of these are calling to me. Use up the stash, right??

I mentioned in the last post that I was being tugged very strongly by the Breath of Avignon fabric; I fully expect that I will be working on it in the coming month. I looked through this book today ~

~ and I found this strippy quilt that might work with the ideas I'm having for BofA fabric.

All these pic were taken hurriedly; glare - sorry. This is called Scratch.

Also, in the same book, I'm really taking a long, hard look at this one ~

Plan C

I've not mentioned it here, I don't think, but a few weeks back I cut out the fronts of 12 Ohio State t-shirts. I will make this quilt and give it to DH. (Can you believe I've never made him a quilt???)

Go Buckeyes!! Big fans in our house!

Someone else very near and dear to me indicated that a certain quilt was especially appealing to her. It will be a quickie, but a very nice Christmas surprise, too!! *wink-wink* I may or may not use these Kaffe beauties on it.

So, my currently listed items on the goals for 2011 might get shoved down on the to-do list, while these others take their spots. I still feel like I am getting quite a lot finished this year. Hope I can keep a steady pace. Going into fall, I head back to my adjunct position at OU-C, so I've less time for sewing. Perhaps I need to get several cut out so there will always be something to stitch whenever I find a few minutes or hours to work.

Tomorrow, Sharon will be over for a day of sewing together. We've had several weeks of conflicts in our schedules and haven't sewn together since early July. Last time I spoke with her, she had started her own blue Kaffe. Hope that's what she works on tomorrow so I can take a picture! Another friend, Kay, has also made some blue Kaffe quilts; I will ask permission to show her quilts, too.

Happy Quilting, Friends!

Quilting Blues at Sharon's

Tuesday had me over at Sharon's to spend a day quilting. We had a lot of catching up to do! The last time we were together, I was finishing Long Road Home and was having sewing machine difficulties. A long holiday weekend thrown in, and we had much to discuss.

Sharon had pulled out a wall hanging that she'd put together awhile back. A beautiful yellow paisley by Anna Griffin was all she needed for a backing, and a WIP (work in progress) will soon become a finish!

She used a charm pack of A Breath of Avignon by American Jane Patterns/Sandy Klop for Moda for this. I have a whole tub full of this line, not as much as my Kaffe tub, but still a nice little stash. I will very soon be digging into it - it's just too irresistable!

This pic is a bit dark, but Sharon was holding it up on the wall where she intends to hang it to see if it fits -- it does! She's added 2 borders, blue and yellow, always pleasing, and always cheerful. I love this!

This is her backing. It is so lusciously beautiful! She found it at a discount store about a month ago, and I agree, she hit the jackpot!

Here is my work for the day. I am working on Blue Portugal from the Kaffe Fassett book, using his fabrics. As I completed each panel, I draped them over the valance at Sharon's patio door. Here all the panels are sewn together with the connecting strips. I love how the sun is shining through making it look almost like a stained glass window!

This shot shows the color of the walls in Sharon's dining room. Aren't they perfect with my quilt? We were draped in blue all day, and it was wonderful.

Here's a shot of the table where we worked, complete with a blue tablecloth and centerpiece.

And across the chair in the corner, Sharon had draped a large piece of Kaffe fabric that I gave her for her birthday a few years back.

Let's Take a Walk

We here in central Ohio have had a tremendous amount of rain this month, and more is forecast for the coming days. Last Thursday was a beautifully sunny, albeit cool, spring day, so I took a little walk around our house and property to see what I could see. I was specifically interested in the wildflowers and spring flowering bushes and annuals that we've planted.

We'll head out of the garage to the woods. We have some pretty cool wildflowers growing out there - some we planted, most growing there naturally. About 15 years ago, after searching and searching for Jack-in-the Pulpits and trilliums and finding none, I asked a farmer about 3/4 mile up the road if I could transplant some I could see in his roadside woods over to our woods. He graciously permitted me to dig around a bit, and now we have a growing population of Jacks and trilliums.

Pink trilliums surrounded by pinks.

There's the lone Jack-in-the-Pulpit I found. I am certain that if I go out in a few days, I will find several more. This one is a bit of an earlybird, I believe.

Once in the woods, we see lots of new growth. The trees are not leafing out just yet, so we have greater visibility to see the sky. While I walked around out there, a busy woodpecker could be heard tapping away on some upper tree branch, oblivious to my intrusion into his neighborhood.

The cardinals trilled out some beautiful mating calls. They could be heard from quite a distance, and the one right above my head sounded like he was trying to break the decibel level for songbirds! He must really in love!

These are mayapples. I had to walk pretty far back into the woods to find these. If I'm not mistaken, these flower under their leaves; I looked for flowers and didn't find any. I will check again in a few days.

Exiting the woods, I head down toward the lane. These brambles straight ahead are going to be full of blackberries and wild raspberries this coming June and July.

My good buddy Steve happily accompanied me on my walk.  He loves it when his people come out.

Turning around and heading back toward the house, we can check on the lilacs. They are finally opening their buds! I clipped several to take indoors.

Yesterday, I took my machine to Sharon's to spend the day sewing. I got quite a bit done on my Bento Box.

I've now made 16 blocks. These are really fun to put together. Notice how well my herbal iced tea matches my blocks??

Sharon worked on another project from her precuts book. She's using a layer cake for this floral, cottage-y project.

"Old Gold" is the name of the quilt; from the book Layer Cake, Jelly Roll and Charm Quilts.

Isn't it beautiful? I will need to check on what the line of fabric is. I'm thinking Aviary, but I could be wrong.

I am loving this new thing we're doing - sewing together every Tuesday. In addition to getting a good amount of sewing done, we also get to visit and dream and plan. Dream and plan future projects, future trips, books to read, and on and on and on...great fun together.