I have been enjoying all the blog postings from the on- line quilt festival (see the previous post if you have not seen it and you can click the link) – I know a lot of you have gone over there to look at quilts like I have. Did you see that it is over 350 blog entries now of quilts! Wow some of them are fantastic. Thank you to all the notes that I have gotten on my Stain Glass Dragon.
This weekend between looking at the quilt festival page I have been finishing up a few quilt projects. I finally got a label made for the quilt challenge wall hanging that I made and got that sewn on. I had made up a label at the same time for the 3 Bears wallhanging and have that label put on as well. “Walking the Primrose Path” now has the lines drawn on for the borders so I can get busy quilting the last of that quilt – a lot of lines mind you so it will take a little while, but it is well on the way to being finished!
I have a couple more blocks to finish quilting on the Insanity quilt and then I will be finished with another row, I will post a photo in a couple days. I will not be working on it tomorrow as we are going to visit my mom for part of the day and it is a 2 hour drive (one way) to see her so will be gone most of the day.
The Clematis are starting to bloom so thought I would share a photo of the pretty burgundy blossoms, the purple ones 
aren’t open yet and I planted so many last year that I have forgotten what colors they will be – I think I have some pink ones and maybe rose? I don’t remember so I will be surprised.
by Karen on April 17, 2009
in quilts
Amy at Park City Girl blog is sponsoring the First Annual Blogger’s Quilt Festival (click on her name to get to her blog). If you go to her blog you will see a lot of listings – everyone with a number by their name is participating by putting a picture of one of their favorite quilts that they have made on their blog with how they made it. Go to her blog and visit as many sites as you wish to look at all the quilts. On her right side bar are names of the sponsors and you can go visit their sites too to see what they have to offer.
One of my favorite quilts that I made was back in 2003. It is called “Stain Glass Dragon”. The pattern is from the “Three Swans Studio”. Below are photo’s of the process that I took to make the quilted wall hanging and a photo of the finished quilt. This is not made with the iron on bias strips that you can use for making stain glass quilts. This a whole cloth technique.
Step 1: Trace your pattern onto freezer paper – a large piece of freezer paper! Then cut out with an exacto knife (I think that is the name – a razor blade with a handle) all the pieces that will be color – this leaves a lacy like pattern which will be the stain glass.
Step 2: Place a piece of black cloth the correct size – in this case it was about 6 feet long by 3 feet wide I believe or something like that. Anyhow place the cloth on to your workspace. Gently place the lacy pattern on top of the black cloth and iron your freezer paper pattern onto the black cloth.
Step 3: Very carefully cut one section of black out at a time where your color fabric will be. As you cut each piece out use fabric glue and glue your seam allowance over the paper creating your stain glass lead. This is a process that takes awhile for a project this size – do not be in a rush!! The paper stays in the quilt – never wash it 
Step 4: After you have all of your black cut out and all of your “lead’ in place it will look
like this. In the previous steps you are working from the reverse side. Now you will be working from the front. When you get done with step 3 the glue will have had time to “harden” and nothing should come apart – this is still all one piece of cloth remember.
Step 5: Now you start to add your color. In some areas the same color will be used so you can work with large to small pieces. Make sure that the stain glass lead will cover the seam lines – glue the lead down to the color pieces of fabric. This is what the dragon eventually looked like.
Now at this point I let it set for a day to make sure all the glue was dried. Then I kind of rolled it up and I hand stitched all the lead down. I hand stitched because that is what I like to do – you can use your sewing machine at this point and sew all of the lead down with a double needle if you have one for your machine, or by doing it with whatever method you chose. When all the lead is sewed in place and all of the color pieces are attached it is ready to quilt. I hand quilted the quilt – it can be machine quilted of course if that is the method you like.
The finished quilt. And where it hangs in the house — my sewing room.
I made this quilt in 2003. I did not have a large space big enough to work on it so my husband got a piece of plywood and cut it a little larger than I needed. We put all of the leaves in the kitchen table and the wood went on top of it. It stayed there in the dining area for six weeks until I was finished glueing everything in place!! It was well worth it. We both love this wall hanging. We had first seen this quilt pattern in a quilt shop in Canmore, Alberta, Canada in August of 2001. My husband loved it and asked if I thought I could make it. Of course I said sure thing it sat put aside for quite awhile while I worked on other projects and would take the instructions out to look at to figure out how to do it. Then came time to start collecting the fabrics to make it. I would say that this wall hanging is my most unique and fun project I did. It was very challenging. A close up of the hand quilting on the Dragon:
I decided to take the name that Crispy suggested for the flowery quilt that I asked about the other day. “Walking the Primrose Path” - thanks for the suggestion Crispy, it sounds right. Thanks to everyone else for their suggestions as well, I liked them all. I want to get outline quilted all around the flowers and leaves before we start our trip in the motorhome in May. Then by folding the quilt just right so the border is showing I can actually be quilting the border while Mike drives. The quilting will be nice and simple – straight lines and by having all the flowers and leaves outline quilted it will hold it all still and I won’t have to use a hoop – which would be awkward although do able but I would rather not use the hoop up in the cab of the motorhome if I don’t need to. I will be right next to the air so won’t get too hot unless the sun is shiny really bright while we are driving.
I haven’t gotten back to my pineapple blocks since earlier in 
the week. Yesterday – actually last night I quilted 3 more of the Insanity blocks from Dear Jane on the quilting frame. Row D # 10, 9 & 8 from left to right in the photo.
Today some time was spent on things in the camper. Only 2 weeks until we leave on our trip and I have to get things ready. I got the small rugs washed and dried and all the towels are in the dryer now to freshen them up. We plan on using some campgrounds this summer without electric hookups.
We are both coffee drinkers so I ordered a small stove top coffee peculator of of Amazon.com — you know the kind people use to use before all these automatic electric coffee makers were invented! LOL, it arrived yesterday and we tried it out last night. I know my parents had one but I did not remember how it actually worked. I didn’t want an explosion of coffee in the motorhome so thought I better experiment with it at home first
In the photo the coffee pot looks kind of large but that is only because the 
stove top is so small – really — 2 burners only. You know they say a cup of coffee is really only supposed to be like 5 oz.!! who really pours themselves that tiny of a cup. I made an 8 cup pot last night in my experiment and we both had cups that hold about 12 ozs. or so and there was only a little bit left in the pot.
Yes the coffee 
turned out, but we watched it the whole time, I didn’t know if it would boil over or not – it didn’t – it perked. I looked up on line how to make it and there were so many different opinions, – boil the water, don’t boil the water, this, that, — I let it boil, turned the heat down to medium and let it perk for 5 minutes. It was strong coffee, I think I will put in a little less coffee grounds next time but do it the same way over all. Unless any of you readers know I should be doing it different that is!! Let me know.
This other picture on the left is of my working space in the kitchen in the camper. The refrigerator is on the opposite side of the wall not shown and the dinnette/bed is at the end. The lids over the stove top and the sink fold flat so you have a useful space when you aren’t using the sink or the stove. I will put in more photo’s another day. The dinnette turns into a bed at night and it is a little larger than a double size bed but quite comfy. This is not a large motorhome – it is a nice motorhome, but only 25 feet in length. Not big enough to live in, but comfortable for two people for fairly long vacations.
by Karen on April 14, 2009
in quilts
I managed to fit in sometime today to quilt on the Insanity quilt and I got 3 more blocks finished – Row D from left to right # 7, 6 & 5. I have not worked as consistently on this quilt as I did when I first started but I still manage to get a block done here and there. On average it takes me about 30 minutes to do each block, some less, some more — this is going to take awhile!!
It did not rain today but it was so cloudy and cool outside that I have to admit to hardly being outside today. What did I do? I’m really not sure – one of those kinds of days. I quilted a little bit. I read a little bit. Cleaned up my sewing table a little bit. I read some blogs. You get the picture, bits of this and that and another day has disappeared.
I spend way too much time on the computer. Between reading blogs, blogging my own blog, on-line quilting groups and personal e mail I really couldn’t tell you how much time I spend on the computer. It use to be an hour in the morning maybe and an hour in the evening. Then I started to blog – need I say more? I will go through withdrawal next month when we travel. Our internet will be sporadic at best. We have an internet satellite dish that we bring with us, but if we are at a campground with a lot of trees it won’t get the signal. If we are at a campground with no electricity hook ups then we can only run the generator at certain hours to recharge batteries and maybe we will be able to get some computer time in then? Four weeks like that – yikes I will go nuts!! LOL it will do me good, maybe I will get use to cutting back my time and stick with it!
Today was such a rainy day. A total inside day – which in my case means watch some movies and work on quilts. I had a roast in the crock pot and biscuits already made (leftover from the last time I baked and in the freezer waiting for me) my 
day ahead was going to be easy. No company for Easter, just Mike and I.
First thing this morning I thought I would go ahead and make another pineapple block - boy did I remember why I hate paper piecing I made one mistake after another – ended up throwing away two partially made blocks – I wasn’t going to unpick the mistakes, finally got one to turn out right! I think I made enough mistakes that maybe I will remember next time so I won’t do the same things wrong again. I hope!
After lunch I spent some time reading a book – I’m on my last John Grishman book that I have on the shelf and hadn’t read yet – The Chamber – as I remember it was the one I liked the least. I don’t know why I thought that because it is actually quite good – maybe it was the movie I didn’t like? When I get done with this book I will get into the stack of paperbacks that have been piling up lately. Mike has been reading a series that I might like so he has been putting them in my stack for me to 
read. I will try one and see.
This afternoon after reading for awhile I put a movie on I think it was called “Gone in Sixty Seconds” with Nicolas Cage. I had seen it once before so it was a good one to work on my applique with. Meaning – I had already seen it so it didn’t matter if I missed some parts when my eyes are down looking at the fabric – I usually remember these movies as they go along and know what is happening! I finished the Christmas Delight block! 3 blocks down 2 left to go. Between that movie and then one this evening – the remake of “Maverick” with Mel Gibson I got it done. I don’t know why but I seem to be able to spend more time with handwork if I have the TV on – it doesn’t even seem to matter what it is just so that I have something to glance up at now and then. Half of the time I am barely even watching it so I don’t know why I need it but I do.
I can’t do the same with a book on tape – I rarely listen to a book, for a book I have to be able to page through it. So often while reading I will be glancing back a page or two to reread something and it is hard to do that with a recorded book. Sometimes I will just listen to music but I can’t sit as long then it seems.
I wonder what tomorrow will bring – more rain? I think there is a chance. I hope everyone had a good Easter.
6 rows are now completed on my second Dear Jane quilt which is entitled “Insanity Revisited” I have been working on this quilt for 1 year! six and a half more blocks and I will be half way done with the squares – I guess that means I have one more year for the body of the quilt and then another year to do the triangle border.
I told you all yesterday about the 5 inch pineapple scrappy block that Bonnie Hunter has on her page that she is working 
on. I decided I wanted to do it too with all the scraps that I have I will easily be able to do a couch size or maybe even a king size!!! I found a free pattern (link on yesterday’s post) to a six inch block pattern (they also have one for a 3 inch block – no I’m not doing that one and one even smaller I believe). I printed out about 30 copies of the pattern on newsprint and got to it first thing this morning. This will be one colorful quilt! All kinds of color with lots of off white and white on white. I barely could see where the scraps came from in my box – it doesn’t look like I used any for this little thing. I have a feeling I will be making a lot of these blocks before I put a dent in the boxes. I only got one done but remember this will be a long term project for when I feel like putting down my hand work and go over to the sewing machine.
I didn’t do any other sewing today as we drove to North Little Rock after lunch to spend time with our daughter and son-in-law on her day off. We did some running around with them and shopping. We drove the truck as they needed to get an extension ladder and have nothing big enough to haul it in. Couldn’t believe the difference in the price on a 16 ft. extension ladder – checked Lowes and Sears and Sears beat out in price by a long shot!
Last night I worked more on the Christmas Baltimore Album block and one flower is now done and the embroidery in the middle of it. I have 3 more mistletoe leaves to applique and then 3 more flowers – it is coming along nicely.
Are any of you fans of scrap queen Bonnie Hunter? I tell you she gives me so many ideas for scraps it isn’t funny!! I have more than enough projects going and then I visited her site this evening and see that she has an on going project of paper piecing 5 inch blocks – pineapple blocks!! They are really neat. I have 7 large shoe box size boxes of scraps that have been sitting for ages with me trying to figure out what to do with them. She just sits and makes them when she has time and in between other projects. I got to looking at it and found a site with a pineapple block in several sizes that are free and printed out one for a six inch block. I’m seriously thinking of just keeping my sewing machine set up with a stack of patterns and a box of the scraps and just stitch some of now and then until I get enough to make a quilt. Nothing that I would spend a lot of time at, and no additional cost to me except for thread.
And you all are thinking — “like she doesn’t have enough going already” I know but I have always wanted to do something with all these scraps — I don’t even care for paper piecing all that much but it would be an easy way to get rid of some of them.
Oh well, I’m tired – maybe I will have come to my senses in the morning LOL
I got off to a really good start on the Christmas Delight Block last night and then worked on it off and on today. It is going so smoothly. The whole center of the mistletoe and berries are done and now I am working on the first of the 4 flowers and wreath that goes all the way around. You might be able to see where I have worked by clicking on the picture and seeing it more 
close up.
Earlier today while taking a break from working outside I got one and half of the Dear Jane (Insanity) blocks quilted. That one is moving steadily along. This is row D # 4 & 3. Number 4 is only part way complete.
When I ordered my book “Little Brown Bird” from Amazon in order to get the free shipping that I always want to take 
advantage of I needed my order to come to $10 more than what it was. I asked Mike if he wanted anything and after briefly looking he said no so I took that to mean that I was to go ahead and get something (right? maybe I misunderstood?) so after I briefly looked at some more things I found this pattern. From the way it was listed I thought it was a book – wrong it was a pattern with instructions and fit in a heavy envelope with the quilt on the “cover”. If I decide not to make the Little Brown Bird I might try this one out. It actually looks much easier and is a little smaller! The name of it is “Winter in the Garden” by Sheila Wintle. This was on sale as well so if I decide I don’t want to make it I can always gift it to someone. There is always a quilter somewhere who will want something that you don’t want anymore. (a little glare from the flash on that photo but I was too lazy to do it again)
On the weather front, spring is back tomorrow, we missed the big freeze all the plants are safe although I did notice today the the top of the largest hydrangea looks a little frost damaged, not bad – all I had left to put over it was a tarp and I think it was either pressing down to hard or because that side of the house just happened to get a degree or two cooler than other parts of the yard? It will be ok, I will just trim off a little here and there. You are actually not supposed to put plastic over your plants to protect them from freezing. If you do you should make sure it is propped up in some way off of the plant itself. I learned that on a garden blog, the plastic is supposed to be the “kiss of death” – his words not mine.
