Available at Brookside Creations Etsy Shop…

16.5 x 46 inches

Each of the long sides has an embroidered quotation:

“There is no remedy for love but to love more.” -Thoreau
At the touch of Love every one becomes a poet. – Plato

Click on photos to enlarge.

I should have machine pieced this baby.  It took much longer than it should have.  G8- Justin’s Comet, one little block out of “Dear Sammy Jane.”

Why is it that when you have a project you are dying to finish… that everything possible goes wrong and prevents you from finishing?

I wanted to finish a table runner tonight and get it on Etsy.  After all, it DOES have a Valentine theme, and that’s just a hint over one month away!  I ran out of thread mid-project tonight while I was meander quilting it.  Meandering soaks up thread like water on a sponge.  GEESH!  So after work tomorrow, it’s hurry to the quilt store before they close, grab the thread, go home and make dinner, eat, and go to choir.  The sewing will have to wait until Wednesday.   Unless we get a snow storm…   Hey, God?   Are you listening?

I spent some time today with Millie, my quilting machine.  We’re getting along better, though she has a little squeak to her when she sews.  Not sure what’s up with that, other than attitude.  Anyway, I put my Blue Lily quilt on the frame, and within two hours had it finished.  Now to put the binding on, add a hanging sleeve and it will be finished!  I don’t know why the color isn’t right in these pictures… the green is more of a lime green, and the light areas a batik in a light pale greenish-blue.  So I guess you’ll have to just pretend!  There isn’t an ounce of hand stitching in this quilt; the applique is done by machine, as is the piecing and quilting.  Not my usual mode, I know.  I’m trying something new!

I really enjoyed the quilting process;  I used a meandering ivy pattern, and it was easy and smooth to sew.  I like it when things work out that way, don’t you?

Happy Saturday – as long as I’m inside where it’s warm, not outside in the tons of snow we are being pounded with. 

Back to work!

Where do quilting designs come from?  How do you figure out how to quilt designs on your quilts?  Do you create the designs yourself, or do you look for patterns to use or adapt to fit your quilt top?

Sometimes I design my own quilting patterns.  Othertimes, I am inspired by things that I see around me.  It might be a simple shape, repeated over and over.   Or, an intricate design that has taken hours to draw, erase, and draw again and again. 

Visit Carla’s blog and admire the Egyptian quilt she is working on for Barb.  The designs are inspired by ancient motifs.  As long as you’re looking at her blog, you should probably go visit her Flickr site and admire more of her fantastic work.   Look at the detail she puts into her quilting designs!

Quilting – the process of holding the three layers of the quilt sandwich together – deserves more than simple stitching in straight lines 1/4 inch around each patch.  Try using designs that enhance and beautiful the already marvelous work you have put into your creation.  The quilting can make – or break your quilt. Take the time to carefully think about what you want your quilt to say about you.  And your quilting WILL say a great deal about your character! 

Look for designs in nature.  Look for designs in architecture.   Even a cemetery  can yield some great shapes to enhance your quilt!

Start a collection of images, either in a folder on your computer or a sketch pad you can take with you in your purse or backpack.  Doodle when you have time!  Looking at the lines and shapes in your world will open up many new possibilities for you as a quilter.  The world is your oyster – go quilt it!