It’s always good to be positive, upbeat, cheerful, happy, smiling, and supportive of others. It IS, right?
Monthly Archives: November 2011
Decisions, decisions…
I finished my Spools quilt… you can see it in a few days. I really like how it turned out, and I even remembered to put a label on it. Aren't you proud of me?
- Hand Quilt the “Yes We Can, Jane” quilt – needs to be prepared for quilting in the hoop – backing ironed, sandwich put together, stretched, basted/pinned – this is my first priority, then I can hand quilt at will during the cold winter months!
- Barn Owl quilt – the top is about 1/2 finished, then it needs quilted (machine)
- Scrappy Baskets – This is a full-size bed quilt for me, myself and I
- Redwork Owls – Needs a few hours put into it before I hand quilt it… the few hours are to repair a measurement boo-boo I made. You know how that goes!
- Christmas Siggie Quilt from my DJ online group – I think I'm way too late to get anything done with this for this Christmas, don't you?
- Add to list: Double Irish Chain queen-size bed quilt for our bed to replace worn and and tattered quilt that is there now. It should go together quickly, I have all the fabrics, and will machine quilt this for quick use
Three Rivers, Michigan
I’ve noticed since mentioning that fact that the person seems to be on the same time schedule as me. When I’m on, that person also seems to be on the website. Today I realized that the person from Three Rivers, Michigan is none other than….
On the map above, I am at point A to the north. Three Rivers is at point B to the south.
151 miles away.
Ready to start hand quilting
Some time ago I wrote a post about a quilt that a group of quilters from around the world has been working on for President Obama. I ordered the backing fabric for it today, and after Thanksgiving will start to hand quilt it.
Here’s the backing fabric I chose for it:
I purchased the fabric from eQuilter.com:
Cream, Champagne, Sand
This vibrant blender is rich with textural qualities and done using a monochromatic palette that is sure to add just the right touch of visual interest to the back and borders of your latest project. Please prewash and allow for up to 7% shrinkage. 108″ wide quilt backing, tonal blender from the ‘Quilter’s Blenders’ collection.
Kathy Timmons designed the layout and sewed our blocks together with a beautiful setting that incorporated a stunning stripe by Marcus Fabrics called “Indigo, Pewter and Honey” from Judie Rothermel. I tried my best to find some of the fabric from that line to use on the back, but no luck. So this is a good neutral that will work with it. The stripe has a bit of a gold color in it, and with our cream background will look quite nice. The binding that Kathy (so nicely) prepared for us is in the blue stripe as well, so I think it will be perfect!
I will keep the members of the Yes We Can, Jane group informed of the quilting progress on my blog so that they – and all my readers – can see how it goes, one block at a time. Keep coming back to this blog to see when your block/s are finished being quilted.
I am so excited about this, and I hope you are as well!
Every Square Inch
I spent most of the day yesterday at Great Lakes Crossing shopping with a new friend. I do believe we covered just about every square inch of the mall, which is huge! I desperately needed clothes since my weight loss, she needed lots of warm clothes for winter in Michigan (since moving here from a warmer climate recently). Our tastes in styles and colors match to a T, and shopping was a real pleasure for me.
I previously thought I was the only girl in the world who hated shopping. I really disliked walking through crowds carrying a big, heavy purse and wearing a coat in a hot mall. Nothing ever fit, I wanted everything to be big enough and styled to hide parts I didn’t want seen. Now, finally, I can admit to the Sisterhood:
I get it!
Apologies to my hubby for making a big dent in our checkbook.
A Hand Quilting Blog is Born!
Celebrate Hand Quilting is a brand new blog for hand quilters, and I’m excited to share it with you!
If you are
- a hand quilter, and
- if you have added a link on this site to a hand quilted item that you have made, AND
- if you have put the Celebrate Hand Quilting button on your blog, you are invited to be a part of the new site!
If you would like to participate by writing some blog articles about your own hand quilting, please send me an email at caron mosey at gmail dot com with the following information:
- Your first and last name
- Where you’re from(City, State, Country…)
- Your email address
- Your blog address
When I get your email, I will write you back shortly with details about how to proceed. But you can start getting ready right away!Our first topic, which will run through the end of November, will be about hand quilting tools, meaning thimbles, gadgets, scissors, etc. Please go visit the blog at http://celebratehandquilting.blogspot.com/ and look around.
Celebrating Hand Quilt in a Big Way
If you recognize this button, you are probably a hand quilter:
I have had so many quilters email me and mention having a blog JUST FOR US that many quilters can actively participate in. A blog where we can share what we’re working on, talk about tips, techniques, tools, and how we work. A blog where hand quilters feel quite at home and understand our need to DO IT BY HAND.
I hear you, and I totally agree!
Within the next few days, I will be posting a link to a brand new blog that will do just that. But I can’t do another blog all by myself. So (1) if you’re a hand quilter, and (2) if you have added a link on this site to a hand quilted item that you have made, AND (3) if you have put the button above on your blog, you are invited to be a part of the new site!
You can start preparing now for your first article. Yes, you can add articles to the new hand quilting blog! Our first series of articles will be sharing about needles and thimbles. So get ready… take a few pictures of the needles and thimbles you use the most, write something that talks about why you use what you do, and when you hear back from me, I will tell you how to put your article on our brand new blog!
I think this will be a lot of fun, and I look forward to seeing how it progresses.
I hope you do, too!
Tweeting About Hand Quilting
For New Quilters (and even "Oldsters")
Over the last few weeks, I've taken some time here and there to update my quilting resume (if that's what you call it). It's a list of publications I have either written or been included in, exhibits I have participated in, shows I have served as a judge for, where I have taught, etc. Do you know how difficult that is to do many, many years after the fact? Oh, I've kept some notes through the years, but it is really pitiful what I don't have a record of. But I know this:
Aurora Borealis: A Teaser!
Awhile ago, I gave you a sneak peak of the challenge quilt I was making for the Evening Star Quilters guild that meets in Davison, Michigan. But I wasn’t very nice, and what you saw was kind of blurry. So here’s an UPDATED peek for you:
Yes, I know, it looks kind of strange. You didn’t think I’d show you the entire quilt yet, did you? We can’t reveal our quilts until November 30th, so you’ll just have to wait a little longer. But I know you’re my friends, so I hated keeping you in the dark like that! This quilt measures exactly 25 x 25 inches square. No more, no less. That was a requirement. It has binding on it (required), but I still need to create the label (also required). The picture you see shows the quilt on my carpet; that isn’t tan fabric, folks!
Now, my hand quilting friends need to understand something. I have a mid-arm Pfaff Hobby Grand Quilter, which allows me to machine quilt when I need to. I’m not very good at it, and a good long-arm quilter will look at this little quilt and say “YUCK!” But that’s ok, because this is just a fun quilt and not intended to be an heirloom. It’s a playful quilt!
Just to remind you, everyone in the guild that wanted to participate was given one fat quarter of this fabric:
We were allowed to use ONE other fabric on the front to go with it. Nobody said how large the piece of fabric had to be, or what we could DO with it… such as applying dye, bleach, etc. So I got kind of crafty and played around with some fabric I bought from my favorite “let’s play with dye” person, Vicki Welch. Vicki has some great gradations, and one of them was just about perfect for what I needed. But I did do a little playing with it to get it to look just right. I don’t think she’ll mind!
So wait about two weeks and I’ll show you the entire front of the quilt.
Really! I’m not kidding!