Tuesday, August 12, 2014

Hello Friends

Life is crazy, isn't it? Just when I got my sewing room straightened up and ready to play after the girls camp tornado, a sickness hit me that I never expected. I have now been sick for 18 wks and find out tomorrow if the little one making me sick is a boy or a girl :). Quilting is a great love of mine but it becomes rather difficult to do when all you want to do is curl up on the couch with a blanket and a bucket. It is starting to ease up a bit and has allowed me to work on a little quilt out of Front Porch by Moda. Nothing too crazy or complicated but simple and soft. The colors in this line are so easy on the eyes and go together wonderfully.


The Valencia quilt is still needing the final last touches (pieced border or solid?? I can't decide so thus it remains unfinished). And then to start the baby quilts!! Holy smokes! Tomorrow is the day to find out whether to make blankets with sail boats, planes, and trains, or a glitter-clad, sparkled-and-bedazzled pink and purple amazing-ness of a quilt, something covered in jewels and backed with minky. It is already planned; all that is needed is the right plumbing to show up on that ultrasound :)

Happy Quilting!

-Annette

Wednesday, April 16, 2014

Playing with Designs

Life has been interesting over the past few months. The weather gets warmer and quilting gets pushed aside. The Scrumptious quilt that was pieced back in January has finally made it onto my quilt frames. Ok, confession time: it hasn't been quilted before now only partly because I have been busy. The rest of it was that I had NO IDEA what to do on it! That has never happened before and it was making me crazy so I pushed it to the side and pieced another top, played with some trapunto experimenting (which is my new love!! more on that later), and then it finally hit me. I knew exactly what I wanted to do! So I grabbed my fabric, ran downstairs, loaded it on the machine, and quilted something completely different. That right, once it was on there, it was begging for something else so I played with a few feathers and a little stipling and there you have it. No quilt ever turns out exactly how I think it will when I start. I will have all the measurements figured out, all drawn out on the back of three envelopes and two napkins, and still come up with something so different. Fabric talks and begs for certain designs and even mid-piecing, it takes a completely unexpected turn. There hasn't been a quilt yet that has been done start to finish with what I originally planned. That is what is so fun about quilting: there are no rules and no set ways of doing anything. That is a huge reason why I never follow a pattern. Life needs variations and Scrumptious gave me just that. I used Camille Roskelly's Lucky pattern for inspiration but looked at the photo (because honestly, I have never purchased a pattern in my life) and said, "I like that but I want to do it this way and have it be this big and play with borders a little differently and and and..." It then gave me a good run for my money with quilting it. It is turning out to be one of my favorites however. It isn't finished yet but here is a sneak peak.