Material Obsession, things I envy

I've been plugging away over here getting my quilts pieced with everything I already own.  I promise I will only buy batting and thread!  And yet...i got a great book at the library.

I think I need to buy this book it's called Material Obsession, Modern Quilts with Traditional Roots.  You can read a review here.  Anyway looking at most of these quilts I decided i really need to go visit Grandma.  I need to ask her if I can have her quilting frame before someone else comes along and takes it.. You know how things go with big families.  Most of these quilts are hand quilted with big chunky stitches.  Something Grandma would frown on.  Her stitch is Beautiful.  She is a hand quilter.  She's the reason I quilt.  I love her quilts like they are my children. 

The Back is beautiful.  I wish she would have made a whole cloth.  Imagine if she had learned Tripunto?

Meanwhile This is what's I've been busy with all in the mosquito infested back yard.

Some of those cucumbers are past their prime.  I had to toss them.  If you miss them they turn into bitter watermelon sized cukes.

What keeps me busy

Did you see all that stuff??????   I have three buckets of material!!!  That is mostly quilt quality material!  I inherited from my cousins mother in law.  I have it separated into Earthy and everything,  pastel flowers and fruits and future Riley-Kassidy Dresses (unless i get knocked up and have a girl-bwah ha ha).

Just cleaning up today i found material for 4 quilts!!! 

A pretty earthy floral quilt.

another very earthy warm colored quilt...very dark.  i really think it's pretty though.

The flash ruined it, but very muted purple and pink floral quilt. She had 4 fat quarters stacked together.  I had no idea.

Michael Miller Mirabelle Packed roses...but i found all the other stuff too!

Green Monster still waiting in the wings.



Poor Green Monster....

Next blog I will make some pickles.  Another thing that is keeping me busy (but not as busy as you think!)

Reunion Auction Items

I've been a busy bee lately.  I've finished three quilt projects and one clothing item.  All of these are for my family reunion.  Every year we have an auction.  All these projects probable cost me the price of thread and electricity;  oh and a 6.99 package of cotton blend batting.  (Yeah Wal-mart for carrying cotton blend batting!). 

In addition to the Jungle quilt I made a scrappy table runner.  I used a pattern from Moda Bake shop here . 

Then I did a Half yard challenge from Fons and Porter to complete this Baby Quilt.  I had to improvise since I don't have cool 1/2 & 1/4 square ruler.  I am not as creative I guess.  The material I chose dictated a very traditional quilt though. 

I also finished these two aprons.  I love aprons!  I have a lot of material that is "aprony"(fruits and vegetables).  I used Simplicity 2626 view A.  Hancock's had a 5 for 5 sale of patterns.  You know I loaded up!  Always wait for a sale like this!  If you don't you are paying sometimes 10-12 dollars for a multi-view pattern!  This was so easy that you can read the instructions and go.  I did spend alot of time making my own 1/4 inch double fold bias tape.  Wow...I wish i had one of those bias tape makers that day!.  But I learned an awesome trick that I learned in my Fons and Porter Magazine.  On your ironing board place one pin the width of your tape.  run your tape through it and press as you pull the tape through it...this is after you press it all in half and are making the double fold.  I then make my pin gap narrower (1/4 inch) and pulled it through a second time. 

I had a busy week.  Unfortunately I think I really hurt my left arm.   For sure a carpal tunnel thing...Yay (sarcasm).

Peaceable Kingdom Quilt

This week I've been making a quilt for my family reunion.  Every year we auction off things.  I have 3- 5 gallon tubs of material that I inherited from my cousins mother in law.  She was a quilter and a hoarder apparently.  Some of this material is brand new with the tags, alot of it is discontinued.  It's kinda cool.  I can look through it and find a quilt to piece.  I was rifling through to get all the little girl material out and came across this panel. 

I then found a pink funky polka dot, a piece of really cool Batik fabric, and some leftover black material from my indian girl quilt.  I even found a cool and funky black and purple ribbon fabric for the backing. 

what a fat quarter can do

I participated in a fat quarter swap a few months ago.  It was alot of fun because I got some really cute things.  None of them went with anything.  One of the participants sent me two with some ribbon and some yellow lace.  She must have known.

It is really pretty easy to turn it into a baby skirt!  I cut each fat quarter in half.  some one way and some the other.  I had to change because of the layout of the material on one of them and it made it cute too!  I sewed a piece of lace on one end when I sewed a narrow hem.  Sew into a a tube.  Turn down the top edge twice to make a casing.  Sew all but a few inches.  Insert your elastic and finish the casing.