April’s “T” block is a popular alphabet block. I especially like the versions that are arranged as tessellations so chose the block called “tea time”. I am not fond of tea but do remember my first drink of the beverage at a very young age. …
Feeling the end of winter in Texas. The sewing room is probably not going to be at the point we wanted when we started the winter in December but, having done all the work ourselves it gives a sense of accomplishment. Yesterday I painted the …
A Spot of Color
It was such a gray and gloomy day for south Texas but a good opportunity to try my newly purchased Dye-Na-Flo paints. Practice comes first before making the “real” project. Checking out the colors on a practice scrap of the canvas I intend to use also provided an opportunity to try a glue resist. Many articles read over the years in Quilting Arts magazine gave me encouragement to just experiment. It was, after all, a scrap. Well, now I like the outcome and will have to think of something to make with the sample scrap—provided the glue does wash out without washing out the color. Instructions say to heat set and then rinse but no can do with the glue on it. The glue has to be washed out after soaking for at least 10 minutes. The experiment is not done yet but it was worth a photo at this point just in case. The colors at this point are exactly what I want for the iris I have planned for the canvas. I used a permanent marker that I hope will be the resist and have my picture drawn. I will have to remind myself that it is just a tote bag for carrying groceries—whether it turns out good or bad. Hopefully it will add to my confidence and lead to other projects I have in mind for the paint. I really like the way the paint migrated with the added salt and think that will be a good technique on the iris.
Helpful hint: I used a piece of leftover shelf plastic to protect my counter top. Just right for a small space and small piece.
The Rockport quilt guild, Piecemakers by the Bay, held a workday for making “quilts for kids”, one of the many charitable projects they support. It was my first time attending this work day and it was an inspiring event. Over 50 women gathered with sewing …
Since March is my birthday month I looked for a block that represented birthdays. My first thought was “cake stand” but I also found “Happy Birthday”, “Birthday Cake” and “Birthday Parties”. Spring Daffodil is adapted from “Happy Birthday” as identified in Jinny Beyer’s book, The Quilter’s Album of Patchwork Patterns. Daffodils were always one of the first harbingers of spring growing up and a spring favorite of my mother’s. Also a favorite of mine but I’m just not much of a cultivator of flowers in the ground. I do love them large and bold in fabrics however!
This block was made using scraps from other projects so dig down in your stash and pick out your favorite spring blues or choose your own color palette.
Various blue prints: twelve 3 ½” x 6 ½” rectangles and four 3 ½” corner squares.
Dark blue: fat quarter (two 10” squares cut in half diagonally)
Neutral: ½ yard or 14” square
Scraps of yellows and greens for daffodil applique (my contribution to the block).
You can find simple line drawings online of daffodils or draw your own. If you leave me a note on the blog I can send you a pdf of the drawing I made and used for mine. You might also search through your patterns and books. I found it pretty easy to sketch the flower and then just added leaves.
Step 1: Use your favorite method to applique the daffodil to the neutral center square. I used a machine buttonhole stitch after fusing the raw edge applique to the background. Trim to 13 ¼” square.
Step 2: Sew dark blue half squares to each side of the applique center. Trim to 18 ½” square.
Step 3: Join three 3 ½” x 6 ½” rectangles and sew to either side of the center square. Join three rectangles and two corner squares for the top and bottom of the block.
Step 4: Layer, quilt, and bind.
I quilted a few snowflakes and added a few beads on the gray polka dot background as March blooming daffodils may experience some snow after peeking through on the south side of our house.
A very fast and simple project. Hope you enjoy trying this one in your favorite spring colors and favorite spring flower.
Remembering: Under the Quilt I grew up knowing that when you were going to a “dress up” or public event proper ladies wore nylon hose. I learned about hosiery when playing under the quilt as my grandmother and her friends quilted at the country church. …
I belong to guilds in three states and probably enjoy show and tell as much as anything. Each guild varies in how show and tell is treated and when it appears on the agenda. Regardless of when it comes in the meeting it deserves the …
Internet connections have been frustrating this past week! I’m glad I have a smart phone so that I can use it to get the basics but connection on it is also not the best so I look for excuses to go into town so I can access the pictures on facebook. Email seems to come through pretty easily on the phone but not on the computer. And sending pictures on the computer takes a lot of patience even though I compress them. Well, enough complaining.
I am working on the Blue Ridge landscape to commemorate our trip along the Parkway last year. We still have such pleasant memories of that trip in our airstream, the people we met, the sights we saw and the music we heard—especially the Kruger Brothers at the outdoor concert at the Blue Ridge Music Center. Back to the landscape–the background was pretty easy with the gray blues of the far ground and the darker green of the foreground. I want to feature the beautiful flaming azaleas in the bottom right corner along the rock wall that was a favorite sight at nearly every scenic overlook. I would love to hear some suggestions for how those might be portrayed. I have some batik fabrics that meet the color requirements but I want some of the blossoms to be dimensional and some just in the background. I have some ombre tulle that is a good color match for the flower. The azalea has five petals so I could use a circle folded into quarters and then gather along the curved edge (five in a row and pulled tight) but am open to other ideas.
It’s Finished!! I said that was gong to be my mantra for the first half of 2015 because I have several items to be finished. While most everyone I know that quilts has unfinished projects some of mine are growing into their teen years. Today …
