Hitting the Blocks

I was in Borders yesterday, looking for sources of inspiration for my Hoffman Challenge quilt, because what I had originally planned just wasn’t flowing well.

I came home with this book, and over a dozen ideas for quilts. I can’t wait to get started!

I guess that just goes to show you can never tell where your next inspiration may come from!

A few weeks ago I walked into our office/sewing room and just stood there, completely at a loss where to start cleaning/organizing/attacking the mess it had become.

So I sent out an SOS to my mother, who excels at this reorganization sort of thing, and last week we redid the room.

This is a built-in desk we made. My DH had been begging for more table space (for more space in general–previously he was the one stuck in the corner), so the section that juts out into the room is now his, as is the computer by the door. I rather like being in the corner, so that is now my computer space.



Right beside my writing space is my quilting corner. My really high quality fabrics are displayed on the shelves, my medium quality (Nice Jo-Ann’s and Hancocks) are tucked in the corner next to it, and my low quality (Wal-Mart) stuff is hidden in the cabinets above the craft armoire.



Even my fat quarters have a nice little home now!









I found this huge computer table at a garage sale for $10. My sewing machine fits oh-so-nicely on the drop-down keyboard tray, giving me an almost flush sewing surface, and the additional 3 feet of table space to the left of the machine will be lovely when doing larger quilts. All my other sewing fabrics are in those boxes above the window.

And I even have a design wall (almost a 5′ x 7′)!






The only drawback is this whole deal is that we lost a bit of storage space, but what we have now is so much more useful and accessible. I love it! (Thanks Mom!)

“In Susie’s Garden”
April 2009

I’ve had this top pieced and sitting on my quilting frame since the first week of January. Only the fact that we were heading up to New York to see my in-laws, and my darling little niece, lit the fire under me to get the whole shebang finished. I actually finished it around 1:30 a.m., only hours before my sis-in-law and little Susie showed up at Grandma’s house.

This was my first foray into fusible/raw-edge applique, and I think I really like it. The main drawback is trying to get a needle through the fusible web can be a real killer on the fingers (I keep forgetting to ask my dad for a pair of hemostats).

Here are a few close-ups:
The apron and pantaloons are made of a cute white eyelet fabric I’d bought to make pants for my daughter (before deciding that sheer white fabric probably wasn’t the best choice for a very active and messy little girl), and the basket can actually hold things.

Since Susan means lily, I chose those flowers to grace Susie’s garden. The fabric was perfect. But it was this section of the quilt that held me back so long–those stems and leaves were a real pain in the boohickey to do (not to mention the stamens–I had bandaged fingertips by the time I’d finished).

And since she’s a little brown-eyed Susan, I had to include a couple of those lovely flowers up at the top of the quilt.

Hopefully I’ll have some time later on this week to post on my first experience as a quilt show vendor, and joining the local quilt guild, and some thoughts on quilt patterns.

Cabin Branch and Stone House Quilt Show
March 21 and 22, 2009

Location:
Prince William Co. Fair Grounds
10624 Dumfries Rd
Manassas, VA 20110

Hours: Saturday 10am -5pm, Sunday 10am -4pm

The show will have:
Over 200 Quilts on Exhibit
Merchant Mall
Silent Auction
Two Spectacular Raffle Quilts
Quilt Appraisals
Demonstrations
Ample Free Parking

Admission is:
Adults $5
Seniors $4
Under 12 Free

Demonstrations
Saturday, March 21
10:15 Cathedral Windows
11:00 No-Pin Binding
12:00 Favorite Quilting Gadgets
1:00 Children’s Artwork in Quilts
2:00 Wool Appliqué
3:00 Paper Piecing
3:30 Iron-on Appliqué

Sunday, March 22
10:30 Appliqué Drunkard’s Path
11:00 Inches
12:00 Dye Monoprint
1:30 Recycling Vintage
2:00 Diva Custom Cord Maker

Vendors that will be at the annual quilt show:

ME! American Punkin LLC–Original Quilt Designs

and
Sewing Studio, Inc.
Web Fabrics
Sue’s Fabric World
County Christmas
Quilter’s Confectionary
Textile Treasures
That Little Quilt Shop
Traditions at the White Swan
DWR Custom Woodworking
Wood Quilt Blocks
Colonial Quilt Connections
Nutmeg Lodge
Appraiser – Mary Kerr
Piecing the Past
Old Town Needlecrafts
Bee Happy
Creature Comforts Quilting
Go Quilter Go

Directions:

From Baltimore, MD and Points North:
Take I-95 south to I-495 north to I-66 west: Follow I-66 west to Virginia Exit 44 which is Route 234S (Bypass), approximately 12 miles:( Follow the Fairgrounds Complex Sign): Follow Route 234S to Business 234/Dumfries Rd. and move to the far left lane. Turn left: proceed approximately one mile to the Fair Grounds, entrance is on the left

From Richmond, VA and Points South and East:
Take I-95 north to Virginia Route 234 North, (Dumfries Road) Exit 152; follow Virginia Route 234 approximately 14 miles to Business Route 234/Dumfries Rd., turn right; proceed approximately one mile to the Fair Grounds, entrance is on the left.

From Frederick, MD and Points West:
Take I-270 South and then I-495 to Virginia, exit at I-66 West; follow I-66 West to Exit 44 which is Route 234S (Bypass), go approximately 12 miles:(Follow the Fairgrounds Complex Sign) and Route 234S to Business 234/Dumfries Rd. and move to the far left lane; Turn left: proceed approximately one mile to the Fair Grounds, entrance on the left.

Although I usually prefer to design my own quilts, I still browse through the numerous quilt books out there for new ideas.  Several months ago (like about 6 or 7), I was captivated by Ricky Tims’ Convergence designs. 

I thought, “Cool! This’ll be a nice, easy project.”

Famous last words.

Actually, I did get the quilt itself done fairly quickly.  It’s nice and small (29″ x 29″) I had the fabric already in my stash, begging to be used. A week, perhaps, is all it took (which is pretty good with a four-year old under foot).  Getting the back/binding on and the appliquing and quilting done…that took a while.  Granted, I was interrupted by two other quilts (only one of which is finished), a craft show, my quilt patterns up for sale, Christmas, Punkin’s birthday, repainting my living room…

Okay, okay.  Enough excuses. 

Here’s the finished project, called “Hope Rising,” after a David Crowder Band song I’ve gotten addicted to recently. It seemed an appropriate name, with the butterfly motif (and with all the stuff going on around here).

Here’s a close up of the appliqued butterflies. I wanted them to look like they were flying out of the fabric, in an Escher-esque fashion, so I did little to set them apart from the rest of the design.

Here’s a shot of the back, showing the very simple quilting pattern I used. The radiating lines accentuate the butterfly explosion on the front.

This is the first quilt I’ve kept for myself. Or rather, for my family–it’s now up in my daughter’s bedroom. She has a matching blanket made long ago from the blue-green batik, and she kept admiring the pretty butterflies.