I am working on an entry for the Rieman Gardens Quilt Show in Ames, Iowa in September. Actually, I am working on several entries for that show. Gardens is the key but this year is their 20th anniversary so the overall theme is Celebration. …
Today was a play day with the needle felting machine. I used wool felt, cotton velveteen, silk and wool roving. The first try—top- was too much as I was trying to pull the orange color to the front. The middle one was too little as …
At the end of April, barely returned from our winter home in Texas and not yet unpacked I turned around and headed for Quilt City with four quilting friends. After four days of stimulation from beautiful quilts, quilt fabrics, quilt classes and all …
April’s “T” block is a popular alphabet block. I especially like the versions that are arranged as tessellations so chose the block called “tea time”. I am not fond of tea but do remember my first drink of the beverage at a very young age. …
Feeling the end of winter in Texas. The sewing room is probably not going to be at the point we wanted when we started the winter in December but, having done all the work ourselves it gives a sense of accomplishment. Yesterday I painted the second coat of paint, sanded the wainscoting and trim. It is feeling good. Then, I look up and see the ceiling that has yet to have a coat of varathane for sealing, oh my! That will be Monday’s agenda if I can get some sewing time in today. Another rainy, cloudy day which seems to have become more like the norm for this year.
A Spot of Color It was such a gray and gloomy day for south Texas but a good opportunity to try my newly purchased Dye-Na-Flo paints. Practice comes first before making the “real” project. Checking out the colors on a practice scrap of the canvas …
The Rockport quilt guild, Piecemakers by the Bay, held a workday for making “quilts for kids”, one of the many charitable projects they support. It was my first time attending this work day and it was an inspiring event. Over 50 women gathered with sewing …
My first garden had pansies. I got them planted late and my grandmother said they wouldn’t do well because they liked cool weather. I didn’t know details of planting a flower garden. I just liked the bright colors and never mind the details–like watering, weeding and something about dead heading. I didn’t plant pansies again for a long time after that first summer garden. Now we plant them as winter Texans and then take them back to Hannibal and they last all summer. My best luck, however, is with fabric flowers and I love learning new ways to portray them in quilted projects. This pansy was started in a class with Lenore Crawford at Quilt Week Paducah, 2014. It’s not quite done but I am happy with the progress thus far. Full picture when I finish it but the lack of accessibility of thread close by will mean putting it away until later.
Since March is my birthday month I looked for a block that represented birthdays. My first thought was “cake stand” but I also found “Happy Birthday”, “Birthday Cake” and “Birthday Parties”. Spring Daffodil is adapted from “Happy Birthday” as identified in Jinny Beyer’s book, The …