Roses!

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Here they are, hot off the machine...the first three roses in the "Bed of Roses" quilt for my sister. I think I like 'em!

First Try at Letters...

Here is my first try at doing the "lettering" - The directions on "Lazy Gal" are great, my following them - so so...I like the "N" and the "D", the "D" was done in my head, before I looked at the web instructions, in the dark, in my car driving home from New Hampshire (no I was NOT driving), that would not be liberating but crazy...

I see mouse ears once I figure out how to piece the image. I am going to try it on paper first I think. Does anyone have any experience with making "round " shapes? should I do it like an "O" only fatter and shorter?

Playing

I was able to spend a day playing & here's what there is so far:


All that light tan is my carpet peeking through. Fill in the blanks. ;-)

Life is a field trip

I promised to show you this one when the letters were on and it was done. I made it for my sons' teacher, whose name is Sid. She teaches a multi-age class, so each boy had her for three years and overlapped one year, for a total of five. She was in tears when I gave this to her today on the last day of school, and thanked me repeatedly. I'm pleased with how it turned out -- the repetition is in the wonky stars and the nine patches, which are repeated on a smaller scale in the border. I was going for muted mediums, and used up many busy little prints from the 80s, as well as three versions of that Hoffman Painted Desert from waaaay back. The bottom says "Sid Star of 303" which is her room number and the way the class is referred to in the school. I hand quilted it diagonally across the nine patches and around the stars, using a combination of quilting thread and perle cotton. I used both because I found the bamboo batt and flannel backing hard to get through with a needle, so I went back and forth with different ones, trying to find the best thing to use. I also broke several chenille needles in the process, but did better with the betweens.
It's an eclectic, busy quilt, but somehow it works. And it is appreciated by the recipient, so my work here is done. Have a nice summer everyone.

Sharon checking in from Massachusetts

Just popping in to introduce myself, my name is Sharon, I live in Massachusetts and just joined the group after reading how interested Tonya was in Gwen Marston Quilts. Reading about "Liberated Quiltmaking" in her post reminded me that I had met Gwen a few years ago when she came and lectured for my old guild. She also taught a workshop and the quilt I have posted was the results of the workshop. I know its not "liberated" but to be honest, it was liberating to create a little quilt and not worry about where each of the blocks went in the design. I have a few ideas about making "letter blocks" and there are some sayings I would love to get down in a quilt. My interests are varied, I quilt, sew, knit and read alot. I love to travel, have be on 10 cruises since 2001 and spend time each year at Disney World. I love Disney so much that I think one of my quilts should have "liberated" mouse ears on them. Gotta try that one... Guess thats all for now, I am posting my quilts to my blog. I am listed as Sharon at Knittingauntie in the side bar if anyone wants to check out what I have in progress.

Fabric purchased, washed and ironed!

I have purchased the fabric for the quilt I am making for my little sister's wedding quilt. She loves bright colors and I wanted to do something with roses for blocks. (Her soon-to-be hubby gave her yellow roses on her first date and it was the first time she felt comfortable (and excited!!!) receiving romantic flowers so she has a special place in her heart for them....Hmmmmmm, maybe I need more yellow in this mix!)



Anyway, I am on a schedule (she gets married July 19th!) so hopefully I will be zipping right a long and posting my progress as I go. But today, just color for your viewing pleasure!

The Big String Star is almost finished!

I'm finally posting pictures (I hope). The top lacks only the border now, and I'm making letters so I can put my name and the year in the border (thanks Tonya for the inspiration)! I pieced it after looking at a picture of an old string quilt that was made with triangles instead of diamond shapes...so here it is, though unfinished. It's so much fun, and went together fast, even though the letters have taken a little more time than I expected.

This picture makes the letters look HUGE...they will finish about 6" tall in a 12" wide border. I've just got the 008 left to do (of 2008), then I can put the border on! And here's the picture that started me on this quilt.

Isn't it great? That's it for now. BTW, I love seeing the things that you all are making--it's really inspiring.

Best to all,

Nancy

Dragonfly top is done

Ok, I've seen flater tops :-), but I'm so happy this top is done, at least for the moment.
I had more trouble with it, than I expected. I sewed tons of scraps together, cutted them in other ankles apart, sewed them back together, had to cut away parts.....so this was my repetition theme :-))
The next step will be basting and then machine-quilting it. No way I'll handquilt it.. with those bulks of seams.. I have thought of quilting swirls in different blue colors onto the blue, maybe I'll embellish the dragonflies with silver beads, maybe I'll do a little applique after the basic quilting...
So any other ideas here ???

More Laughs...

Hi Everyone. I'm making progress here! One more laugh...and they are getting bigger!

This is a fun project and I am enjoying the 'no rule' aspect of it. Rachel

my start for class, at last

Here is my start on my summer class project idea. I have included a link to my blog that shows another photo and talks about this. I hope to make a lot of progress over the weekend-letters/words will be added to this and my goal is to keep it on the small side and hand quilt it.

Hi there! I'm new!

Hello! My name is Andrea. (I will post under a family nickname, "Andriann". You already have an Andrea!) I live in NYC, where I dance, teach and try to find time to quilt and get in the outdoors. I am so excited to have found this class! The things you are working on look so inspiring. I have been quilting off and on for a few years and seem to get so busy that I don't have many finished projects, but I love it anyway! (And, this year has been much better finishing...three gift quilts finished in less than a year!)

I haven't yet done any free-form, no-rules piecing, although I have sketched some quilts ideas for "some day", mostly inspired by Valori Wells "Stitch and Flip" book. When I saw the class, the trees quilt was the top post and it grabbed my attention. Then I fell in love with the sketches for the fairy ring quilt. I peeked at all of the other ideas and I thought,"I want to do something like that, but all of my current projects are structured....with patterns." Then I remembered the idea I've had to do a free-form rose quilt for my only sister who is getting married next month, and gosh-darn it, here I am...with a new blog and committed to a new project.

So after the long intro, I am looking forward to seeing all of your projects and ideas and sharing my own little adventure as it unfolds....and gets finished, hopefully! :)

completed bees

A little inspiration for those of you still thinking about your projects. I had a big burst of energy for this in March, quilted it in April, and finished the binding in early May. I'm liking what I'm seeing in this class and I think everyone is doing great.