Marking the Hawaiian Quilt Table Runner

I caught Mister marking the sun rays on the Hawaiian table runner we have been working on.  He didn't  appreciate me taking his picture this time.  I informed him that since he did that it, there was definitely going to be a blog post of it.

Guild Night -- Feedsack Quilts

Tonight was Guild Night and our speaker was Jeananne Wright from Longmont, Colorado.  She taught on quilts through the years and shared many in her collection with us.  She also works with feed sacks a great deal and made a quilt in honor of our guild.  Here is the back and a small section in the front.

Quilt Update

It has been a busy couple of weeks in the studio.  Each one of my machines has been busy with a project of it's own and I am happy to say that we are definitely accomplishing things.

There are piles of triangle squares in blue and white for my Jamestown Landing quilt which Barbara (my featherweight) has been happy to stitch.


Lady Elna, my "fancy" machine, has been busy finishing up the Lazy Sunday quilt.  Borders and cornerstones are ready to put on the top and then she is ready to quilt.  Woohoo.  I have only been going on it since January.  When I put the four cornerstones together on the design wall, I loved the block.  May have to work on something like this in the future.

I have also been digging in the bins of old fabric that I brought with me when I left Montana.  I found several quilt kits that I never started -- well now is as good a time as any so I have three of those going as well:

The green is for me, the orange is one both Amanda and I are doing together, and the rose/green/cream one is one Jen and I are both doing as she also had the kit.

  I am learning all about applique on this one and am using it as my learning piece.

The skill is also required in a table runner kit that Mister picked out while we were in Hawaii so I really want to get good at it.

We found such a fun little quilt shop in Hilo and walked out with quite a few fun new items.  This kit was one of them and Mister has been in charge of color arrangement and selecting the quilt patterns to use.  Love doing it together.  As I was working on it, Cass decided she liked it as well and went to the store to purchase fabric to make her own along with me.  Love that too!  It is finished and ready to quilt.

The last thing I found while cleaning out bins was an old Ohio Star quilt done in white and Christmas ribbon fabric.  All the triangle squares are already made -- now I just need to get it put together.  No excuses I guess.

There is also a Virginia Bound in progress.

 I am truly loving it --  it is the one I am using all the recycled shirts in but it is worth an entry of its own and I will show progress as I go.  Ta ta for now.

A New Baby --- Memphis Treadle

OMG!  Check out my new baby.  She is an 1898 Singer 27 Memphis (Sphinx) treadle.  We found her at an estate sale and waited until the last day when she was ours for $75.00.  I absolutely could not be a prouder new mommy.

A Wilson and Wheeler W9 Treadle Machine for $23.00

Mister located a treadle for sale on Craig's List and we were off to check it out.  It turned out to be an 1895 Wilson and Wheeler W9 manufactured in Bridgeport, CT.  What a great find by Mister and the treadle soon found it's way into our car for the wonderful price of $23.00.  Yep, all the parts are there, even the missing decor for the drawer fronts.  It will take some work by Mister to get her shiny and pretty again, but everything moves and she runs.  I cannot tell you how excited I am.  What a fun thing to have.

As soon as we get her home, Mister gets the shop vac out and starts the cleaning process so that the photos can be shot in order to have a good record of everything.  Here are the pics and I will show the finished ones when it is all finished (probably several months worth of work).  Enjoy.

Yep, that's me working away.  Silly Mister.

Modern Quilt Show

This morning we are off to the Richardson Civic Center where the Modern Quilt Guild of Dallas is having a showing.  We enjoy wandering down the rows and learning a bit more about the artistic nature of the modern quilts.  I am truly a traditional person and my eye goes towards that type more than any other but there were two that Mister and I both really enjoyed.  Here is some eye candy for ya.

Quilting Time With Bonnie Hunter

I joined the Dallas Quilt Guild last winter and in the spring I discovered that Bonnie Hunter would be teaching a couple of workshops in addition to her trunk show presentation for the membership.  Instantly I went to the sign-up table and added my name to the list for both classes.  Now, it is the weekend for all the fun and I can't wait.

I have cut and cut to prepare in addition to scouring local thrift shops and estate sales for mens shirts to repurpose.  At one stop, I also managed to snag a stack of fabric for only $1.00.  Mister is a champ and sits on two separate occasions helping me debone the shirts.  When we work together we can get about 10 done in a little over an hour.  His help is sooooo appreciated and I am, as always, incredibly grateful for the support he gives in whatever project I have managed to involve myself in.  I am ready.

The trunk show is first up and it is standing room only.  I am so glad that we (I asked Cass to come along) arrived early and have great seats.  Prior to the presentation, Bonnie comes out to take a few pictures and gets this one of me taking a picture of her.  Perfect timing, lol.  Let's get started.

She begins with a lesson in the life of a strip and shows the various ways to use it along with the best sizes to have.  All of this is accomplished with a quilt, of course.  Next lesson is in repurposing and for this she dressed up in a hospital gown to make a point.  The amount of usable fabric in some items is staggering.  I averaged about 1 - 1/2 yards per shirt and at $.25 per shirt, that's a great deal in any book.

The trunk show is so fun and she is a great presenter.  I laugh and drool over her stories and quilts and would like to stay all night but I need to get to bed as class starts early tomorrow morning up in Plano.  Gotta get some shut eye.

It is a beautiful, but very warm (that is spelled H O T) day.  After loading the car with all my stuff and my beautiful Featherweight (a.k.a. Barbara), I am ready to get on the road.  Lookout Plano -- lots of ladies with fabric headed your way.

The quilt we are building today is called Jamestown Landing and it is done in blue and white completely out of scraps.  Since I still don't have a large scrap stash, I picked up blue and white fat quarters and remnants everywhere I went for the last 6 months.  I have a pretty good selection and am excited to learn some new techniques.  Barbara is ready to go as well and we discover that she has a few vintage companions in class to keep her company.

Step one today is paper piecing 4 1/2" squares with our whites.  I love the way they are turning out. (look on Barbara above)

Step two is half square triangles with both the blues and the whites turned for the hour glass effect.  I start laying out squares next to me on the table until I get an idea of what it will look like.  It all blends together for me and standing over it, I am unable to see the pattern until I hold a camera up to it.  Then it pops out at me.  I like it so far.

Well, that is as far as I got today and I will have to continue this project at home.  I certainly am building a list of things to finish.  It is time to head home, get some food, and collapse for the night.

It is a new day and I am once again loaded up and heading to Plano.  I switched out fabric and machines.  Today, I am taking "Annie" (named for my aunt who instilled in me the love to sew), my 301A.  She is as ready to go as I am.

The quilt today is called Virginia Bound and I am doing it all in repurposed men's shirts.  Bonnie teaches us how to make our own templates and so another skill is added to my list.  Woohoo.

She then demonstrates how to make our "kites" and sends us on our merry way to sew, sew, sew.  As I complete each block, I throw them on a table behind me and people come and go putting them in all sorts of combinations.  This is definitely not a final combination as there are too many similar fabrics near each other, but by the time I complete all 80, I am sure that problem will be solved.  I am only able to finish 6 blocks today as I spend way too much time sitting and chatting with Bonnie.  That too, however, is part of why I enjoy her classes so much.  What a great couple of days.  I can't wait til New Years for the next 3 classes.  Yes!