Lazy Gal Summer 2008

At long last...my project is done!

2010-03-21T22:38:00.007+01:00

I'm not sure anyone is still checking this blog, but I'm posting my news anyway! LOL

After a full 2 years, I am finally finished with the assignment. This is "Tree Everlasting", a completed top (not quilted yet). I have worked on it in spells throughout these past years, and I finally finished it last night. I think a border of any kind would look too heavy, so I plan to add only a dark binding.

I want to hand quilt it, but I'm afraid of all those seams! Some are only 1/4-1/2" apart. I'm thinking the quilting will go easier with a polyester batting, but I prefer cotton. Decisions, decisions...

Tonya, you have been a great inspiration. Thanks for all your encouragement and advice in this class and others. I'm hoping to enter my "masterpiece" in the local quilt show this Fall.

The End!

2008-12-02T20:04:00.000+01:00

Free pieced liberated stars and Tonya's wonky letters marks the end of my stint in this class. I've thoroughly enjoyed myself, picked up some great tips and met some new quilters who think the same way as I do.

If Tonya doesn't mind, I'm moving my Sugar Sweet Houses quilt over to the Lazy Gal House Home or Pantry Class.

It's been great!

k is for kindness

2008-11-26T15:36:00.003+01:00

I just took the last quilting stitch in my summer project..binding to follow tonight! also a sleeve as I will be putting it into a guild show next year. I am so happy with the joy I felt in the quilting of this piece. thank you Tonya for inspiring and sharing your style of quilting with perle thread-I could never have dreamed of doing this quilting without you!

still hand quilting

2008-10-16T07:19:00.004+02:00

I know, it's Autumn but I am still quilting on my summer class quilt, Kindness....so, I thought an update photo would be a good idea.

I am working on the green area between the K is 4 and Kindness, quilting half circles by using a small glass from my cupboard and chalk to draw the arcs. You can click to enlarge and see what I am talking about. I am making up my quilting patterns as I go along, choosing colors and in general really enjoying the quilting process. I am not in a rush to finish this-however, with as many new tv shows on now to watch, I am quilting lots more in the evenings.
Everywhere I take this piece I get lots of positive comments on it...sure makes people smile and certainly makes me feel cheerful working on it.

Sharing my giveaway with you all...

2008-10-14T06:40:00.005+02:00

Hello everyone! This is a fall thing I've been playing around with, so I hope it is ok to post it in the summer class. :) Since you were all so lovely in helping and encouraging me with the Rose Quilt for my sister, I thought I'd post about it here, share these little projects and give you a chance to win one if you'd like....

The black and tan fabric was the first thing I saw when I walked into the quilt shop several weeks ago and it just grabbed me. I'm not much of a "novelty" fabric lover (I can never imagine having enough novelty fabric for an "I-spy" quilt!), but this one had dancers on it and other cute costumes in silhouette (witches and Peter Pan and indians and kittens, etc), so it just had to come home with me.

I cut out one of each of the kids to put in a table topper for myself and in trying to figure out what to do with the scraps, I came up with these strippy table runners. In the spirit of our summer class, I just kept free-wheeling it...adding a strip at a time, seeing what should come next when I got to it. I've made two bright-colored ones and one in neutrals. I'll be quilting them tomorrow, sending one to my sister, giving one away in the giveaway and putting the other one as the first item in my etsy shop. Feel free to stop by my blog if you'd like to enter! (http://thelittlecollection.blogspot.com)

Hope your summer projects are coming along or you are enjoying them if they are done. I love checking back and seeing them as you continue to post about them here. Happy fall, all!

Ryan's Quilt Top

2008-10-05T05:05:00.002+02:00

I just remembered that while I've posted this photo on my blog, I forgot to do it here. This is Ryan's quilt top. I still need to baste it and probably won't get to the hand quilting for a while since I've got a lot of other projects taking priority right now. This was tons of fun and I think my favorite quilt ever!

It's still Fall and I'm done

2008-10-02T23:55:00.005+02:00

Just in time to hang and enjoy for a couple months - my Wonky Trees are done. I have to say that while it's definitely grown on me - I still think this quilt falls in the ugly cute category. I had lots of fun making the trees and loved hand quilting it. Thanks Tonya for setting up the class and inspiring me to go a little more liberated in my quilting.

Turtle quilt

2008-10-02T04:25:00.007+02:00

Here are the top and back of my quilt (BTW this is the first time I have ever posted a photo on the internet.) The color looks a little washed out, probably due to the artificial light. The turtles do all look lined up in tidy, well-behaved rows, don't they?!! I will keep working on developing my quilting to be more liberated. To finish the quilt, I'm thinking I will use floss to hand quilt some lily pads or sea weed or whatever in the "open water." I hope to finish while people are still looking at the 2008 summer class blog.

Andrea in Lake Elmo, MN

Finally Finished!

2008-10-01T20:37:00.005+02:00

Ta da... took it to work today (just for the day) ~ it is definitely a "statement" quilt!

Here's a link to the Picasa album so you can see close ups of the borders and the awesome custom quilting that Chris added. And yes, it has a hanging sleeve AND a label... which means it is truly "done."

What a fun class this has been ~ so many really creative people!

Thanks, Tonya!

Quiltdivajulie

Stained Glass or Sugar Candy Houses

2008-09-25T14:48:00.004+02:00

It's taken a bit of time, but the top is finally finished!

Now the question. How am I going to quilt this?

Stitch the ditch round the house blocks and fans on the black?

Not at all sure.

I'm going to sign off now as I've done 2 projects for this class (there is a third which I haven't shown here, but you can see it on my blog) and I've now got tons of hand quilting to do.

I've thoroughly enjoyed myself, met lots more quilting bloggers and learnt loads of new things, especially about colour and design.

So have a great autumn and hope to meet you all again at the next class.

Thanks Tonya - it's been great fun.

Flying Monkeys - first glimpse

2008-09-24T16:34:00.002+02:00

I only had enough time last night to attach the binding to the quilt and get one corner stitched to the back... not sure how quickly I'll be able to get the rest of the binding done (soon, I hope!). Chris did some phenomenal custom quilting work on Monkeys ~ she and I are both thrilled with the results!

Quiltdivajulie

Turtles

2008-09-18T19:16:00.002+02:00

I haven't posted for a long time but I've been watching people's quilts progress and I think they are WONDERFUL. I'm so inspired by the artistry!

I've started making turtles - which is my 'theme' for this challenge - I made a turtle tote bag and gave it to a friend. Now I've started making turtles for a small quilt. But my problem is technology - I can't post a picture from home since we're still not "wired." I am still working on this!

Andrea in Lake Elmo, MN

Laugh!

2008-09-16T17:31:00.004+02:00

Here it is! The finished project. I had some bumps here and there. When I added the NY Beauties on the top corner, I wasn't exactly crazy about them, but they've grown on me. I just did some very simple quilting around the letters and inside the suns. This is going to be a wall hanging for my dd. Great class!

Rememberall

2008-09-16T02:05:00.002+02:00

Here's it is:

I found it quite a challenge to get it all pieced according to my vision. I put a sleeve on it--the first time I've ever done that. I am happy to have a completed project--whew. It is labeled "Rememberall" as that is what I wish it to do for me. ;-)

Thank you, Tonya, for the opportunity to expand my repertoire and thank you to all for your warm support! I look forward to seeing y'all's progress as your quilts grow & grow.

I'm quilting

2008-09-15T01:40:00.002+02:00

I finally got my trees layered and am quilting it with #8 perle cotton. Most of the quilting will be the fly stitch inspired by a quilt Patti posted on her blog but the plan is to quilt some words in the tone on tone filler blocks and maybe a leaf or two.

Hopefully, I'll have it finished and hanging before Autumn is done.

Continuing with Trees

2008-09-12T15:08:00.003+02:00

My Tree Everlasting quilt is coming together, slowly but surely. I am now at the hard part-- making 100+ odd-size pieces fit together. It is a challenge! I've committed to working on it for a couple hours every week, and already I am seeing major progress. It will take me a few more weeks to get the whole top assembled, but I wanted to let everyone to know that I'm still working on it. :-)

I would love to see a progress report from others. It would help me to know that others are hard at work on finishing their quilts, too.

Congratulations to those who have actually finished your quilts! I will be among you someday.

I give up :-(

2008-09-11T12:26:00.002+02:00

I have decided to drop out of this lovely endeavour. There just are too many quilts wanting to be finished on time for me to devote serious time and creativity to this project. Receiving a text from England about the new arrival of my friend's baby girl - whom I have a baby quilt planned for - drove it home.

Let me say this however: I really enjoyed reading about your projects and I think the end result has been inspiring every time.

For me, it's a definite "maybe next time",
best,
Dorothee

Violette's Sugar and Spice

2008-08-30T01:04:00.008+02:00

"Sugar and Spice, Everything Nice," what could be more "girly" than that?

As soon as those words popped into my head, I knew I had to include them in Violette's quilt. I kept the tones of the word "sugar" close to the color violet. I wanted the word "and" to disappear into the background, so I picked a color that was close to the background. For the word "Spice," I wanted colors with punch.

I didn't like the "R" so I redid it. Then I didn't like that it was sewn so evenly, so I ripped it apart and resewed it together. The word "Everything" had to bend slightly so it would fit on the top of a twin bed. And I wanted the colors to be reminiscent of a rainbow.

The word "Nice" looked a bit boring, so I replaced the dot on the "i" with a little flower.

After that came the name panel, along with some butterflies I designed.

Violette's family has a big tabby cat, and I knew I wanted to include him in the quilt. Hiding him in the flower patch at the bottom was the solution.

Here is the finished quilt.
I was so excited to join Tonya's Summer Class. But I couldn't start posting until after I had delivered this quilt to its recipient, my godchild Violette.

I visited her family in July for the Christening and gave them her quilt. Everybody loved it, and thought it was perfect. Everything -was- perfect.

Ten days after I left, Violette suffered a tragic accident and died. I flew down to Maryland to attend the funeral. The family covered her coffin with the quilt at her funeral. It was beautiful, and perfect in its own way, but that's not the image I had anticipated.

~~~~~

It's been hard for me to get back into making quilts or being excited about much of anything. I'm not related to Violette's family, but I loved her very much.

Today the quilt is on Violette's big brother's bed. He's 5-1/2.

He placed it there.

Polka Dot Estates

2008-08-29T18:53:00.003+02:00

finished!

I changed the name of my quilt from "housing project" to "Polka Dot Estates". I was looking at Tonya's house tutorial recently. Guess what she called it? housing project! No wonder I thought it was a great name. I guess my subconscious held on to that name until I started my quilt. Sorry Tonya! Never meant to use your quilt name. Eek! Please accept my apologies!

I really enjoyed this class and making the quilt. I learned a lot that I wouldn't have learned if I had just followed a pattern of "cut this many of each sized rectangle and triangle listed". It's hard to explain. But I think you know what I mean.

Thanks Tonya!

2008-08-28T15:45:00.002+02:00

I offer this photo as evidence that I am still working on my quilt! As you can see (maybe), several trees and the letters ORES are sewn together into a section. This picture represents about 1/10th of my quilt. How did it get so big?! The work of assembling the pieces is slow and requires much thought. The process is so intense that I can't focus on it more than a couple hours at a time.

After seeing some of your quilt tops finished, I am eager to finish mine, but I daresay it won't be any time soon! I am renewing my commitment to it, hoping to make good progress in the next month.

2008-08-26T04:10:00.003+02:00

Hi all,
I filled in the blanks & here it is:

It's 24" x 33.5"-- just a small project. I will be embroidering some more words throughout.

Finished Top!

2008-08-24T03:45:00.004+02:00

At long last ~ the flying monkeys are off the design wall!!

The completed top measures 61 x 86 ~ Chris and I have talked about several quilting ideas, but haven't decided on anything yet. Hope to piece the back tomorrow (single vertical seam) ~ and then the monkeys will be off to Oakland where Chris lives.

Woo Hoo!!

Not crazy about my results

2008-08-22T23:51:00.004+02:00

I decided it was time to try and assemble my trees and I'm not really liking the results. I'm going to stop where I am now and quilt the small piece that's already assembled and save the other blocks for another time - maybe I'll come up with a better plan for joining them.

I'd like to try this again in the future but I may need to rethink and limit my color scheme....keep it scrappy but pick just a color or two to work with. I did have a lot of fun making the trees - they may even show up in other projects.

Not pleased with myself

2008-08-20T13:04:00.004+02:00

Oh well, things did not progress as well as I'd hoped and I have precious little to show:

.

I'm not sure it I like the non-wonkyness but maybe I have been brain-washed by all your wonky projects. Also I'm bothered by the absense of piecing but then again, I said I wanted to do appliqué and try a few different things and embellishments.

In short, I don't function well on the no-plan plan but promise to plow ahead with this because I am curious where it will take me.

Broken Dishes

2008-08-08T16:11:00.002+02:00

Quick update ~ the double row of broken dishes blocks works really well (and if you let your eyes blur out a bit you'll discover a marvelous secondary pinwheel pattern dancing across the top border). Thanks for your suggestions, thoughts, and encouragement!

Still need to piece the left side's zig-zag border and then construction of the top can begin in earnest!

Quiltdivajulie

Monkey Business ~ Help Needed

2008-08-05T15:56:00.004+02:00

Here's where the project stands at this moment ~ I'm a bit stuck on what to do with the top border. Contemplating a double row of alternating broken dishes blocks (love the play on words, plus the colors help balance the weight of the 'monkey wrench' blocks at the bottom). What do you see?

Thanks for sharing your thoughts! [note added later - please see my post of July 24 to see a rough sketch for my early asymmetrical border ideas]

Quiltdivajulie

Sawtooth tree

2008-07-31T18:33:00.004+02:00

I took your advice and added another tall tree in the lower right corner. It looks great there! Thanks for the suggestion. I made 4 more trees last night and moved things around a bit. I'm getting bored seeing the same ol' tree styles, so I've drawn out 2 completley different designs. I'll let you know how they turn out.

Trees...need a critique

2008-07-28T21:53:00.006+02:00

Here's the "big picture". I'm not done, of course. I intend to add more trees. Right now, I need a break and I want your opinions. I think it needs more big trees (the size of the tree sitting on top of the 'D')....or should I just flood the piece with tons of smaller trees? Do the trees need to be closer together?

I'm not sure of the positioning of "Deep in the Forest" either. Should I move it to the right, under the tall Tree Everlasting....or should I line it up on the left side of the quilt...or leave it centered?

I'm in a thinking stage, so any ideas about balancing this piece will be welcome.

Kudos to All

2008-07-27T20:47:00.002+02:00

No pictures to share, no progress to report, just wanted to drop in and say what a wonderful job everyone is doing with their quilts. Even though my hearts are on the back burner for the moment I really enjoy looking at what everyone else is doing. The colors and the wonkiness never fail to cheer me up! Hurray for free piecing!!!

Tree Everlasting

2008-07-26T17:54:00.004+02:00

Just to show you that I've been working on this, here's a couple of pictures.

I am piecing in sections...adding a few trees as I go...and then moving on to another section. When all the words are put together, I'll have to make more trees to fill in the spaces between the phrases. I plan to stagger the trees rather than set them in straight rows, and of course, that means the piecing will be more complicated. I am having fun though! I'm rummaging through my large basket of fabric "strings" for more beige fabrics to use in the skinny spaces between letters. More variety, you know. (I hope the background isn't too busy!)

project k top done

2008-07-26T16:04:00.003+02:00

sheesh...I forgot to post a photo here of the finished k top. It's going with me for hand quilting later today as we spend the weekend at the beach. I will toss many threads into the van as I have not decided quite what I want to quilt on it as yet.

Violette

2008-07-25T20:13:00.004+02:00

I am to be Violette's godmother on Saturday. I wanted to make her a quilt as a gift. I had not originally planned to include her name, but after toying with Tonya's letters, I decided to give it a try. The tallest letters here are about 8 inches high.

But I thought the letters in the fabric were a bit too washed out; that there wasn't enough contrast. Then I found this dark purple fabric with lines of pink dots in the bargain bin. I liked the contrast with the background fabric.I liked the spacing of the letters in the original and decided to keep it, so I worked on her middle name first. Then I decided to make a wonky heart to dot the "i" in "Violette."As you can see, the new fabric provides a strong contrast with the background fabric. I will use the original panel elsewhere. This is the completed name panel. It's about 20" high by about 24" wide.

After I got this far, I realized this was going to be bigger than a "standard" baby quilt. With what should I fill up the space? What, I wondered, was "girly?" As soon as I posed the question in my mind, this phrase popped in my head...

"Sugar and Spice, Everything Nice"

I knew I was in serious trouble.

More Monkey Business

2008-07-24T17:39:00.003+02:00

Here is my not-to-scale sketch showing the direction I'm headed with the borders... gotta love a good eraser!!

Have loads of yellows but am a little concerned about the black background fabric ~ will proceed carefully to fill in the central panel and then re-evaluate the situation. Hope to stitch (a lot) on Saturday.

Ready for the Next Steps ~

2008-07-21T15:39:00.007+02:00

All of the letters have been stitched and the words are spelled out on my design wall ~ now it is time to create the top itself. Still playing with multiple border ideas...

----------------
"Getting over a painful experience is much like crossing the monkey bars -- at some point you have to let go in order to move forward." (author unknown)

-----------------------

Added Later ~

The saying above is paraphrased from a scene in The Wizard of Oz ~ the Wicked Witch calls upon her army of flying monkeys to track down Dorothy & her companions, skyjacking them back to the castle... click here for more info on those monkeys. In my case, the motivation came from a bad day at work...

progress on the k project

2008-07-20T01:51:00.002+02:00

I have spent most of today working on my summer class -the k project. Thought I would post a current photo of it's current status. Some of the parts are stitched together, and I have bits and pieces in place around those sections. Still subject to change of course but I am really enjoying the process of putting this top together.

Roses - Quilt top finished!

2008-07-16T13:59:00.009+02:00

Well ladies, she's done. The top is finished. Oh, I like her! With a LOT of help from above and from Grandma's machine and quick basting hands back home, there is a possibility she'll be quilted before the wedding. Keep your fingers crossed that all will go well and I can give this to my hermanacita on her wedding day!

(When I am home I'll try to get a picture once she's finished that shows all of the borders. Don't have anywhere big enough in my little apartment!)

Thank you for all your support and encouragement along the way. You are all fabulous!

Hanging my head in shame

2008-07-16T10:15:00.003+02:00

Oh my ... despite the best of intentions and lots of ideas zipping around my head I still have not started my repetition project. I might take material on holiday with me, the project would then mainly be handpieced - we're flying and there is no way I can take my sewing machine, obviously.

I will report in August, hoping that I've accomplished something by then.

Pink tic tac toe

2008-07-16T00:31:00.003+02:00

I was having a little fun while I was trapped (LOL) in my sewing room upstairs today while my husband was sanding the front hall floor. I've made a wonky nine patch of wonky nine patch stars. No other plan yet, but just some summer fun.

And so it begins...

2008-07-13T22:32:00.005+02:00

Finally, visible progress!!! The first three words are constructed and fabrics pulled for the rest.

The monkey wrench blocks will form the lower edge.

Side and top borders yet to be decided (work in progress). . .

Help....

2008-07-11T02:53:00.005+02:00

***Update***

I wish I had asked for all of your opinions BEFORE I started piecing....so many great ideas. In the end, I have ended up doing a bit of everything...a little appliqué, cutting some straight edges to sew short rows, some set-in corners, some partial hexagons. Just whatever it takes to get it together depending on where each rose is fitting in. I will post pics soon so you can see how it is coming together. It is taking longer than I'd like, but I've made my peace with it. Hopefully the top will be done on Monday! Only 3 more roses to go out of 30 and then the wonky borders. Yeah! THANK YOU for all the encouragement and ideas. Although I haven't used all of them for this top, I now have a plethora of things I want to try in the future. You are all FABULOUS!!!!
- Andrea

My roses are so wonky I am having a bear of a time putting them together. Tried set-in seams... disastrous. Doing some appliqué edges, some straight seams...it is taking forever. Anyone have some suggestions? I don't want to turn them into squares, but at this point that's all I can think of that won't take a DECADE to complete. I'd love to hear any ideas you might have...

Thanks!

Better Late Than Never?!?!?

2008-07-11T02:04:00.004+02:00

I have been dithering ever since I signed up for this class...

I just haven't been able to get my head around WHAT I wanted to do.

Wonky houses, wonky log cabin blocks, a row quilt ~

around and around and around...

And then today inspiration struck!!

It was one of "those days" at work when everything was needed 6 hours ago.

Too many people wanting too many things on a day

when we were short a receptionist

(meaning the rest of us had to take turns covering for her).

Anyway, I had torn a page from a catalog yesterday

because a particular color combination caught my eye.

The page surfaced on my desk this afternoon, and THERE IT WAS...

the phrase that has eluded me for so long

Don't make me break out my
Flying Monkeys!

I don't know which color combination I'll use,

but I finally know what I want to say on my quilt!

Roses - Progress!

2008-07-09T20:56:00.003+02:00

Going to take a short break from sewing to post this picture of the progress on my rose quilt. Oh how I wish I had a design wall!!! Alas, my white bedspread and standing on a stool has to do. I think I have another 6 roses or so before I call it good. Then filler greens, putting it together and borders. It's coming along!

p.s. Thank you for all the encouraging comments to my last post. I can't figure out how to reply directly those of you who asked questions! Grrrr.......new to blogging. When I am safely within my deadline for this project, I'll tackle that!

Ryan's Quilt

2008-07-09T04:17:00.004+02:00

I finally figured out what to do for my summer quilt. I decided to repeat my son's name several times in the border and then do free piecing for the center blocks. It started out like this:

Then it exploded!
And there are still more.

I'm trying to figure out how to set the blocks together. The words will go in a red border. It will be a while before I get back to them because the Sister's quilt show is this week and I'm super busy. I hope you are all having a great summer!

Cher's K project

2008-07-06T18:42:00.002+02:00

I have finally returned to serious working on my summer class project, known as the k project.

I am learning by doing of course to make lower case letters. the proportions are tricky for me-I tend to want to make LARGE letters...and I need to keep the scale on the small side-as I want this to be a small sized wall hanging type quilt. This is already 28 inches wide and I really don't want it much wider. I hate that I have to go back to the full time work job tomorrow and only have evenings to work on this.

More Letters....

2008-07-02T12:18:00.005+02:00

I wanted to make a button for my blog to link here and I do like this idea of putting words into my quilts. I also decided to make a little quilt to hang at my desk at work. "Do It" fits the bill for me, what do you think? Next on my list is the "Wonky Hearts" and Houses...

On another note, Happy 4th everyone...I can't wait for 4 days of quilting and knitting time.

Loving the Libbers

2008-07-01T05:45:00.002+02:00

I haven't checked out this blog in a while, and I was VERY impressed when I came back today and saw all the progress being made. The Liberated Quilts are all turning out so great and are so inspiring. I want to make a bunch more! First, I hope to get mine quilted very soon......

from Carol E.

First Word...not my last

2008-07-01T04:18:00.002+02:00

Here is my first word done, the last 2 letters were pretty easy, thanks to the information that Tonya posted. I am pretty happy with the letters, and I do like the colors. The fabric for this piece is from 5" squares of batik's that I purchased at Hancock Fabrics in Paducah, Ky a couple of years ago. It was fun to limit myself to the squares for this first word. I have quite a few squares left, and plan on using more of them in the rest of the quilt.

Roses!

2008-06-30T16:33:00.003+02:00

.
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...

2008-06-30T15:05:00.003+02:00

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

2008-06-28T18:48:00.002+02:00

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

2008-06-27T20:38:00.003+02:00

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

2008-06-27T17:46:00.003+02:00

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!

2008-06-22T20:52:00.006+02:00

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!

2008-06-12T03:49:00.007+02:00

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

2008-06-10T20:45:00.006+02:00

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...

2008-06-10T12:41:00.003+02:00

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

2008-06-07T04:08:00.005+02:00

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!

2008-06-05T22:30:00.001+02:00

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

2008-06-04T01:04:00.003+02:00

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.

Trees - a story of evolution

2008-05-30T16:41:00.004+02:00

I am SO slow on this project. I will usually concentrate on it for a day, and then do nothing on it for a week or two. In that time, my mental design evolves so much that I return to work on a totally different plan! LOL Ah, but that's the fun of it.

My very first idea for this quilt was small and structured, loosely patterned after another quilt I've made. When I started making the letters for the borders, the shape and size of the quilt shifted, and my structured plans went out the window!

A few days ago, I had to move all my pieces into a corner of my design wall to make room for another project. So now everthing is crammed together. And yet, as I stare at this photo, yet another (better?) setting idea has come to me. Who know where it will all end up?!

Deadline Met!

2008-05-30T08:37:00.006+02:00

Constrution finished.

All we have to do now is tidy up the neighbourhood and build the infrastructure.

Hearts for Fredi

2008-05-29T19:45:00.003+02:00

Well, I'm done piecing the top. This is all the bigger it's going to get (about 23" x 20"). I'm going to have to put it aside for a while though in order to finish up some other projects. They are going to miss their respective deadlines no matter what, but I don't want to miss 'em by more than I have to!

The next step is to do the hand quilting/embellishing. I haven't entirely decided what I'll use or how I'm going to embellish this quilt. I may seed stitch with rayon floss in the purple areas around the hearts. That odd bit of purple at the top left may get a row of red sequin hearts, just to keep the theme going. We'll see. I'm learning that it's better to do just one step at a time and make the design decisions as I come to that point in the process, not before. It's a hard habit to establish!

My first bit!

2008-05-28T00:33:00.001+02:00

Lazy Gal Class
Originally uploaded by Rae4beach

This weekend, I did a little quilting and tried my hand at doing words! I think I'll do 2 more "laughs" and think of some fun border pattern. That was a lot of fun and I can't wait to do more.

housing project continued

2008-05-27T16:08:00.006+02:00

I made more houses yesterday, and I am having such a fun time making them.

(i was too lazy to move them off my bed to take a proper picture)

I think I might just stick to houses and not add any other elements. I like the idea of just houses. I didn't post these construction "guidelines" for myself here on my last post, but they were on my blog. The main parts of the houses will be dotted fabric, yellow windows, black dotted roofs, color coordinated doors and the background will be lime/bright green. I set these guidelines for myself for two reasons. First, I wont agonize over each fabric selection while constructing houses. I know I can pick dotty fabric with a "matching" door and any black dotted roof. Second, I think it gives the quilt unity and will be easier to put the top together when I'm done. While on one hand it is slightly boring, on the other hand I find the overall effect very pleasing.

more pictures on flickr

Past the Planning Stage - Construction has Started!

2008-05-27T07:56:00.003+02:00

The plans were proving difficult. The houses did not look good.

The architect had a consultation with the structural engineer (aka Tonya) and construction finally started yesterday.

Building is continuing apace. The deadline has been fixed for the end of this week and hopefully we'll meet it.

Hey There!

2008-05-27T03:08:00.003+02:00

Hi everyone! I'm new here and wanted to say hello! I'm excited to be able to join the group - thanks, Tonya! I've been a voyeur here for a while and I'm inspired by all the fun crafty quilts I'm seeing. I'm still debating what my repeated form will be, but I'll post as soon as I know.

p.s. I figured out this whole posting thing, Tonya! :)

housing project

2008-05-25T22:34:00.003+02:00

I have gotten my swaps under control, and had time to work on something new. Hurray! Here are the blocks I've done so far.

I want it to be snuggle-on-the-couch size, and I'm not sure if I will just do houses or add anything else yet.

New Girl!

2008-05-24T19:29:00.003+02:00

Hi I'm Rachel and I'm new today (thanks Tonya)! I will be brainstorming today about a project. I've got some inspirational words floating about in my head, so I'll play with that on paper. I'm very excited to be here. All of the quilts look lovely so far. Have a good weekend.

Border questions

2008-05-22T01:51:00.003+02:00

I have been making letters/words/phrases to use in the borders of my quilt. I haven't made enough trees to fill the middle yet....so I'm going about this backwards, I know! ;-) The word "forest" will 'read' vertically along the side border. The letters are skinnier than I want the border to be, so I will need to add fabric on each side of the letters.

Should I add extensions to each individual letter? The block backgrounds are scrappy, so I would make each extension from a different print to maintain that scrappy look.

OR.... Should I sew the letters together and add long strips to the sides of the word to bring it up to the correct width? This would be easier (maybe...my letters are not uniform in size) but would it look as good?

Another question-- I am going to have large spaces occurring between my phrases. Is it generally better to use background fabric (in my case, beiges and creams...too light?) or to fill in the empty space with blocks (in this case, trees)?

Lots of love

2008-05-21T17:54:00.003+02:00

I have finished my repetition quilt, and am delighted with it!

I really enjoyed making all the 'LOVE's and decided that I wanted the letters to be the focal point, so hand quilted just inside each letter to make them all stand out. I nearly didn't give it a border at all, but am very glad I did, as this plain pink border throws the attention back onto the letters, which is what I wanted.

I machine quilted the border in a toning thread with 'love' repeated over and over. It adds texture to the border without pulling attention away from the letters.

I have decided to call it, 'But the greatest of them all is love', a quote from I Corinthians 13 v13. I'm not religious myself, but the Bible is a rich source of wisdom, and that quote sums it all up for me. I have to do the label and sleeve, and then it will go off to a charity exhibition at The Bramble Patch in June.

Many thanks, Tonya for giving me this opportunity to do something different and so satisfying!

Coming to Life

2008-05-20T21:49:00.004+02:00

I set my hearts together. I had thought I would keep them in the vertical orientation I originally laid them out in...

but after I'd auditioned several potential sashing fabrics they ended up horizontal!

It was quite a struggle to find the right sashing color/print. I started with the purples I had used around the hearts, thinking I would simply float the hearts. It was flat and boring. I must have spent two days, off and on, pawing through my stash to find something that worked. This red batik is dark enough to sit well with the purples and some of the dots on it actually look purple now (they looked black before I put them next to the blocks). I like the introduction of orange in the red too. This puts me in mind of the clowns Fredi used to make.

Before I found the sashing fabric I made one more block, thinking that I might want/need more hearts. This one is smaller than most of the others because it was made from the offcuts of the other blocks. I tried to fit it into the top but it just wouldn't work. So I have a starter block for something else :- )

I've made yet another heart block, this time out of silk, for my monthly journal quilt project. I'll be posting that on my personal blog soon.

I've thought about adding letters to this one per suggestions y'all have made. Still undecided on that point though.

House Building 2

2008-05-19T22:35:00.003+02:00

Just about to go to bed, but just had to share this.

I think I'm going to take out the original block and the one bottom left and create mad houses. Alex chose the colours for the one on the right. My favourite is the one top left which took me an age to do as I was going through one of my 'can't see the angle' phases and I kept on just cutting and sewing strips to get it square.

Playing with my blocks

2008-05-18T17:25:00.005+02:00

I'm enjoying looking at all the blocks and and quilts in progress. Mine is far enough along that I'm beginning to thing about how they're going to go together. The last tree was pretty twisted looking and I thought I'd toss it out but after thinking more about it I'll probably use it anyway.

First I just laid the trees out in rows but decided they were were too orderly.

So I spaced them out some so they weren't all lined up and I like that better. I think I'll start in the top left corner and add background fabric to them one at a time and then try to fit them together as I go. Actually, looking at this photo - I think if I pull the bottom tree into the bottom right corner I'll have enough trees.

House Building

2008-05-18T13:58:00.004+02:00

I'm creating a small village. The big centre block was one of the first houses I made and its been crying out for its own quilt ever since.

I started using the colours that are in the first house and alternating them. The one top right has probably got to have its roof cut off (no contrast) and perhaps replaced with a purple one.

I pulled from the scrap box a bit of the border from Les Bleus, cut it into strips and this was the result.

Photo not brilliant - light was crap - but I like it. It doesn't fit in with what I originally intended so I'm going to have a rethink.

Dragonfly - 3 are enough :-)

2008-05-15T08:12:00.004+02:00

Ok, so far for the repetition theme... I decided after 3 dragonflys I'd have enough of them. Besides I ran out of scraps for the wings.
The words are German and mean 'Dragonfly summer' , Libellensommer is the title of a book, DD got as a present and it was me who read it :-)
I'm not sure how to proceed, I think I like the version with greens better, what do you think ?
Heidi ( traveling to Boston and Cape Cod at the end of May and hope to stock up my stash )

House-o-rama

2008-05-14T06:18:00.004+02:00

I saw that some of you visited when I posted my neighborhood on my blog the other day--Thanks for the nice wishes. I am making more houses and having a great time. The repetition theme has been really helpful in getting me to feel more in control of what I am creating, but also feeling like I can let more of the "un-known" in because it is just a "study" for me. I am so excited about assembling more and more together and then attaching them all together to make something big, the middle part is probably 2ft by 3.5ft and it is so fun to see all the different pieces of fabric working together and playing off each other and sometimes just quarreling. I love it. I love seeing what everyone else is doing too. Keep posting!

Hearts, Finally!

2008-05-13T23:46:00.005+02:00

I went with the purple and gold color scheme after all. The multi-color idea just wasn't going anywhere. This two color scheme had me a little worried because of what I perceived as limited options. I was also uncertain about how to place the light and dark values. Light background with dark hearts or vice versa? I had a nice big piece of a lighter value of the gold that would have floated purple hearts nicely. As you can see, I chose the opposite: gold hearts on a purple ground. This way I can have some variety in the background as well as in the hearts without the background becoming too busy. So far I've only used two purples and three gold prints. Since I don't anticipate this being a large piece I may not expand beyond those 5 fabrics. Or maybe I will. That's the fun of working this way; you never know what will happen next!

So far I've made only these six hearts. I kind of like the vertical format that I have them in for this picture but there's no guarantee they'll stay this way. There's one heart I think looks more dorky than wonky but whatever. The question I'm facing now is whether to make more hearts using the same fabrics I've already used or whether to stretch the palette a bit. Or I could just stop here and set them together as is. Hmmm....

Juliann - completed top

2008-05-12T01:17:00.002+02:00

There we go.

All sewn together - just need to find a free evening to get it basted and I cannot wait to begin quilting this one. I don't think I will do another border, just a black binding.

Thanks again for the nudge Tonya - this was really great fun! By the time I got to the words on the top border, I was really flying with my free piecing.

Hope everyone else can find the inspiration to continue their pieces. Enjoy.

Juliann's teacup update

2008-05-10T22:52:00.002+02:00

I sewed the teacups together for the center. Now I need to work on more words. I am not thrilled with the pink cup - second down on the left - but I love the fabric up close so it stays. I think the words all need to be framed by light colors. I had sewn the word white a while ago but I don't think it will work. The cup in the border is just hold a place although I may make some more little blocks to space out the words.

Off to make a cup of tea and get back to sewing.

comforter quilts

2008-05-08T16:00:00.001+02:00

Result!

2008-05-08T09:58:00.004+02:00

One finished top.

It's a lot bigger than I meant it to be - covers the entire design wall!

It's joined the list of tops to be quilted and I'm continuing with the repetition theme by doing some wonky houses. I love wonky houses!

Haven't Started Yet, but Some Free-Piecing Action

2008-05-07T23:31:00.003+02:00

Hi all. I haven't started to work on my main projects for this class (place names and fish), but I have done a little free-piecing lately that I thought I'd show here. I think I've gone a bit overboard with the swaps! I think a larger butterfly quilt quilt could be in my future, though, too!

I Would Love to Get Started...

2008-05-06T22:25:00.003+02:00

But I can't even decide on a palette at this point!

I want to make a wall hanging for a friend of mine who moved away a couple of years ago. I'm planning to do hearts, at least to begin with. When I think of her I think of the dolls she used to make (clowns were her particular favorite) and the house she used to live in. Now she's into altered books and I have no idea how she has decorated her current home. I thought of reds at first because of the heart theme and because I know she is a fan of strong colors. Or a polychromatic scheme using pure hues. I really enjoy very scrappy quilts. But I also have these luscious batiks in purples and... I don't even know what to call that other color! Suffice to say it's a sort of golden neutral. (I'm too lazy to go take a picture for you.) I guess I'm afraid I don't have enough variety of prints in the neutral. I'll get bored using the same thing over and over again. Shopping is a bit of an issue for me or I'd simply go out and buy more! My favorite LQS is having a sale this week so I will probably venture out eventually anyway. I'm just not sure what direction to pursue. I know it will be an effort to stay on task when I'm in the quilt shop. But having a purpose makes it easier.

It sounds like I want to go with the purple color scheme in my heart of hearts. Any suggestions or input would be appreciated however :- )

A gold star for the teacher

2008-04-29T20:43:00.005+02:00

Actually, they're purple and blue and black stars. Here's another repetition quilt I've been working on -- nine patches made with four-patches, and maverick or wonky stars. I deliberately went for the muted mediums in this project, and I used some some truly ugly light prints from the 80s. I wanted the stars to pop, and I think they do, plus the nine patches make a nice diagonal across the quilt. This is intended as a throw quilt for an amazing elementary school teacher we've had for the past five years, and I'm planning some words to go around the outside, and I'm going to back it with a nice cuddly flannelette so she can have a nice nap under it after a hard day at school.

Border?

2008-04-26T02:30:00.004+02:00

I put borders on my top. I think the purple side is too dark, or it should trade places with the blue. What do you all think?

Carol E.

Making love!

2008-04-24T22:04:00.004+02:00

Don't worry - there will be no details which will make you blush here! I have been busy making LOVE for my repetition quilt and finally decided that I have made enough.

Despite that fact that I now realise it is slightly narrower at the bottom than the top (I may do something about this, or probably not!) I am very pleased with it.

The question now is, do I put another border on it (lighter and wider) or just leave it like it is? Please give me your advice.

Almost done with the b's and bees

2008-04-24T17:17:00.004+02:00

We're having a winter/spring storm here, but my summer project is nearly finished. I'm done with the handquilting, and now I'm thinking about binding. I've pinned a strip of a measuring tape print along the bottom, and I think I like the yellow and black stripes it is creating. But I'm open to suggestions. Overall, I'm ambivalent about this quilt -- I like the letters and how they float around the perimeter, and the abundance of b's. I'm not a pink person, so the the centre of the quilt is a stretch for me. I've also had ambivalent reactions to this project, probably because of the asymetry (which I like and I did on purpose) and because people take time to read it and understand it. This is destined as a gift for my husband Bert, so I'm going to call it Bert's Bees.

Finally some sewing!

2008-04-20T17:51:00.003+02:00

While I may not have been posting, I have done some little bits and pieces of work in between all the craziness around here. The week before the recital, I did play with some wonky piecing. I managed to (finally) make a house block to send to Bonnie.

Then I was determined to work on some basket blocks. For some reason, I've been avoiding doing them for fear of doing them 'wrong'. LOL. So I decided to just jump in. I made these two blocks. I really like the yellow background, so I'll probably stick more or less with that idea. I actually hand appliqued the handes, which was quite a challenge for me. I'm happy with some aspects of that, not so thrilled with other parts of it...I had a hard time getting them to lay flay, I suppose that is a matter of practice. These blocks are bigger than I had intended, they are mor like 8 or 9" blocks, though I haven't trimmed them yet, and won't until I get a lot more made. I came to a standstill on these because I was having sewing machine troubles. I was at the cabin, and the machine I have there got a thread wrapped around something on the inside and now needs a service. Hopefully I can get that resolved this week, then back to more baskets.

Oh pffffffffffffffffffff!

2008-04-17T12:25:00.005+02:00

I was pondering the background and border and started piecing together 2 inch wide piano keys for the border. Having done half, I decided I didn't like them after all, so cut them in half and used to them as a border round one of the blues.

Nope - don't like. Sorry Tonya - I unpicked it.

Then I thought about this.

Using the olive tree fabric as the background, with a blue border, then perhaps a thicker white border (got some unbleached Kona somewhere) and then the binding.

I quite like it - sort of throws the letters into a 3D effect.

I'm not going to start cutting until you tell me what you think.

some pics

2008-04-17T02:14:00.006+02:00

Hi Tonya, it's Elizabeth - I have to figure out how to have it put my name! thanks for your comment. where can I find the rose tutorial??!

after posting last night, I thought to add some images, so here are a few

this is a piece that has been waiting for years to come to a conclusion - it was a repetition of large, upholstery weight corduroy squares/ rectangles. I'm going to use some of the chenille bedspread to back it. yay!

this is the chenille with some florals...

and this is something that I put together with the idea of trellis/ rose... but it isn't big enough to be a blanket on its own.

but it got me to thinking that I could take another dark print and mix it with another chintz and then cut them into larger squares to piece together for a blanket sized blanket :-) repeat until arriving at desired size.

not yet started, but happy to be here

2008-04-16T04:02:00.003+02:00

Just to say hello to the group. I signed up a few weeks ago and have been checking in for inspiration. I have a chenille bedspread in a dusty rose that I want to use, with various floral remnants, but have not yet come up with my 'repetition'.

hmmm, maybe roses! the chenille could be fun texture.

I have made patchwork/piecework blankets over the years, usually two sided, usually geometric, always free form. I enjoy working without a pattern (though I should probably take that challenge!) I recently learned to knit, but definitely think more like a sew-er than a loop de loop-er.

Sewing Up a Blue Storm

2008-04-14T08:11:00.003+02:00

I've been staring at the design wall for ages deciding on how to take things further, but before starting the filling in, thought I had better finish the words first.

So I sewed up a blue storm yesterday and got them done.

I think I'm going to reorganise the blue's, but am pleased with it. My favourite letters are the D in "world", the l in the last "blue" and, drum roll Tonya please, look at that S! I've finally cracked that little beastie!

For the filling in, I wondered about hearts, trees (I think no because they will detract from the words), houses, free pieced flowers, or alternatively putting blue borders round the words with the light background, filling in with white/cream, and putting a really jazzy/scrappy blue border round the whole thing.

I don't really want to make the length any bigger - it is already 38 inches long!

Summer Class?

2008-04-11T15:50:00.003+02:00

Is it any wonder my theme is going to be spring? Here is a photo of my place yesterday, and since i took this photo, it hasnt stopped snowing! doh!
I havent checked in since my "discouraged" email, which seems to have disappeared, but i just wanted to let all of you know that i havent given up...just had to finish a few other projects first. All of your words of encouragement have helped me, and im ready to continue :) I have seen some wonderful things from this group and it has inspired me! Anyways, just wanted to check in and say hi and i hope to create some letters this weekend.
cheers~
lisajo

Finally, Something to Share...

2008-04-06T17:29:00.003+02:00

Geese at Sunset was already partially completed when I signed up for this class... I had purchased the background fabric long ago and the first few geese along with the rest of the yardage had been waiting patiently in the studio closet. Now, the quilt is finished and it is full of repetition! (Chris even managed to carry out the repetition theme with her choice of quilting design, and she didn't even know that repetition was part of my effort!)

There are more photos here showing the different colors used for the inner borders, the different fabrics used for the two outer side borders, and close ups of the upper and lower outer borders created using the waste triangles trimmed off while making the geese. NONE of this was in my original plan and much of the inspiration came from Collaborative Quilting by Gwen Martson and Freddy Moran. The confidence to go forward came from the experience I gained during Tonya's first-ever online class. MANY THANKS, Tonya!!

----------------------------------

WHAT WE CAN LEARN FROM THE GEESE

As each bird flaps its wings, it creates uplift for the bird immediately following. By flying in V formation, the whole flock has at least 71% greater flying range than if each bird flew on its own.

People who share a common direction and sense of common purpose can get where they are going more quickly and easily because they are traveling on the thrust of one another.

When a goose flies out of formation, it suddenly feels that drag and resistance of trying to go it alone and quickly gets back into formation to take advantage of the lifting power of the bird in front.

It is harder to do something alone than together.

When the lead goose gets tired, it rotates back into the formation, and another goose flies point at the head.

It is sensible to take turns doing demanding jobs. Shared leadership and interdependence give us each a chance to lead as well as opportunities to rest.

The geese in formation honk from behind to encourage those up front to keep up their speed.

What do we say when we honk from behind? We need to make sure our honking is encouraging and not discouraging.

Finally, and this is important, when a goose gets sick or wounded and falls out of formation, two other geese will fall out with that goose and follow it down to lend help and protection. They stay with the fallen goose until it is able to fly or it dies, and only then do they launch out on their own, or with another formation to catch up with their flock.

If we have the sense of a goose, we will stand by our colleagues and each other in difficult times as well as in good.

Stars

2008-04-04T02:10:00.003+02:00

While y'all are waiting for me to get started on my hearts I thought I'd share with you some stars I've been making. Two of them went into a quilt that I was going to swap with another blogger. That quilt turned out so well that my husband wouldn't let me give it away! I haven't shown it yet on my blog because I want to keep the quilt a surprise for the recipient. Even though she's not getting the original one, the two quilts will be similar enough that I don't want to post it yet. In the meantime, here are four liberated/wonky/maverick stars:

Oh. I guess these two aren't sewn together yet!

The Non-Plan

2008-03-31T10:29:00.002+02:00

OK, so I settled on a theme - hearts - and colour scheme, pinks, white and cremes. I hope to use every technique I learned including shadow quilting and mola. It will not be a utility quilt but hopefully something worthy of hanging up.

A few more trees

2008-03-31T05:11:00.007+02:00

I'm focused more on moving than quilting but I found a little time tonight to make more trees.

I wanted to make some two toned but I'm not sure how well it worked. I don't usually use batiks either but I noticed that these two greens were both batiks - they probably slipped in my stash in fat quarter bundles with other *regular* fabrics.

These are trees I made on Thursday. Hopefully by the time I get moved and put all of these on the design wall they'll play nicely with each other. For now, I'm just making them in sets of 2 or 4.

Juliann's tea words

2008-03-30T17:31:00.002+02:00

I had a chance to get back to my tea cups and tea words work this week. I did the three words so far. I am not happy with the W in the word white but welcome any input you all might have about the backgrounds I have chosen for the cups and the words. Right now the black and white really stick out so I think I need to balance that a bit.

So, ideas?

Tea pot; turtles; tech

2008-03-30T14:58:00.005+02:00

Yikes, what happened to my photo? I guess using my friend's photoshop on their computer wasn't the way to go. Thanks so much for your comments on my tea cups/tea pot wall hanging. I added a couple things - a really cute vintage button in the center of the flower, plus I re-worked the heart on the tea pot a little and I added a little more steam coming out of the teapot's spout, going up into the border. I'll try to post another picture but it might be awhile. I'm thinking about my turtle quilt now for the 2008 class. I'm wondering... if the turtles are scrappy and wonky, is it too tame to have one background fabric to be the swamp? Or should I push my self to be really wonky and have a riot of backgrounds - I think that's what I really want to do. Meanwhile I have to work out my tech problem. Our computer at home has been sitting for over two years, unusable. I'm thinking we're going to have to break down and do something about it SOON if I'm really going to participate in this class! This week I have my visitors from Norway, and I'm happy to have a little quilt to give to Grete.
Andrea (from Dunn Brothers)

house X5

2008-03-28T23:40:00.004+01:00

Thanks for all of the great feedback the other day...I think that I am over the Grrr--argh part right now about the houses (my son is calling the big ones hotels)...I woke up at 5 this morning and couldn't go back to sleep---All I wanted to do was sew, sew, sew....

SO I did, and after listening to my husband go on about how he LOVES my larger quilts that we can actually use--I am going to try to make this one big!!! I am also flirting with the free-hand fans (we just got tivo and I am needing some hand work.)

BUT first things first--I am just sewing and cutting, cutting and sewing. I am leaving the "hotels" at the moment to work on a weird hill and a setting--maybe an inner border around the houses on the hill and then some trees around that---then some stars---WORDS-- the sky is the limit. Maybe my brain will let me sleep tonight???? Can you tell that I am excited??-- and the final project isn't that important to me at this point and that is refreshing--there are parts of what I have that I really like and others, not so much---BUT the "whole" I am quite satisfied with...hooray! (the other houses are not trashed, but I am not looking at them right now--maybe in a few days.) Have a fabulous weekend!!!