The Nautical Challenge

Sadly, I didn't make it to the island but I knew all along I wanted to take on the sewvivor challenges and sew along.  On my recent trip to the tetons,  I was again reminded of natures great ability to calm and renew and I was thinking about the waves on the beach doing just that.  Something about the rhythmic sound of the waves coming in and then receding back and the way the air smells salty.  These are my favorite memories of the ocean.   When I heard the first challenge was to quilt something Nautical, I knew I wanted to try and  make a modern interpretation of the waves.

I used a classic quilt block pattern, Snails tail, and enlarged it to 32 by 32.  The sand colored pieces are a cotton-linen blend that I've seen quilters using lately.  When I think of linen, I think of the low country along the east coast, of hot summers and big front porches with spanish moss in the trees.

The best part of this quilt for me was the quilting.  Again, I was thinking of the how the waves look as they land on the sand and then recede back to the ocean.  The bubbles represent all the sea life.  

When I did the binding, I wanted to use the same 4 fabrics that were in the 4 corners of the quilts.  I didn't want to frame in the "wave", instead I wanted your eye to keep going out and not be stopped by the binding.  Nice idea, I thought, However getting that binding pieced in just the right spot was crazy difficult for me.  It repeatedly came out looking like the above picture.  

Opps, the best part wasn't the quilting, it was this.  I had my daughter sketch this on the back with a pigma pen before I quilted it. The girl on the beach was her idea.  Pretty cool.

 She says she might make a quilt someday….I'd love to see what she would come up with.

The 16 contestants on the island have finished their projects for the nautical challenge and they are up on "family ever after".  You can vote for your 5 favorites.  10 contestants get to stay on the island for the next challenge.  There is an amazing amount of talent out there.

Back home and sewing again

There were 2 vacations in July. Two wonderful vacations.  My husbands family has been going to the same spot in northern Wisconsin for 35 years.  It has changed surprisingly little in all that time. A beautiful pristine place full of traditions for us.

Then it was off to the Tetons with my 3 sisters.  We came from South Carolina, Memphis TN, Chicago, and southern Indiana.  We started these get togethers 4 years ago.  Just the sisters on an adventure, (mostly talking and eating).  I've haven't spent much time in the west and I have to say the Tetons were magnificent.  I can't imagine ever getting tired of that sight.

Yes, we went paragliding.  I kind of can't believe thats me, but it is.

Nice to be home and reunited with my sewing machine.  My morning glories started blooming while I was gone.  I planted these from seed in may and they don't bloom till august but I always think they are worth the wait.
Sadly, I was not chosen for Sewvivor, the challenge that I had auditioned for.  I am still going to participate in some of the challenges though. I thought they sounded so fun and I had ideas and plans.  The first one is anything nautical and it has to be
 quilted.

Fabric pull for the nautical challenge for Sewvivor that Rachel of "family ever after" is hosting.

Do you recognize this?  The scrappy trip from Bonnie Hunter.  She has a free pattern for Scrappy trip. How long ago was it that everyone was making these?  I loved making this quilt and always wanted to make another.  So, when  friends were at my home ( before my many wonderful vacations ) and spotted this quilt, it was decided we would all get together and each make a scrappy trip.  I wanted to just buy a couple of jellyrolls and be on my way,  but I cut 2 1/2 strips, all 213 of them.  The sew-along isn't till september but I'll be ready

Auditioning for Sew-vivor: Nancy Wheatley

Rach at Family Ever After is hosting sew-vivor again for the 3rd time and it is for Quilts this time!  There are great challenges with all kinds of opportunities to stretch that creativity.  There's even hexies...I've had those on my "want to do list" for way too long now.

     You can chose one quilt to audition with.  I chose my favorite quilt of course.  This quilt is 50 by 68 and was paper pieced using the pattern, Prism by Faith Jones of Fresh Lemons Modern Quilts.  In the end, I changed the pattern a little by adding a border and extending the orange and pink diamonds into the border.  I initially did this to make the quilt a little bigger but it had the added plus of making the quilt a little different and unique to me.  This was my first attempt at using low volume fabrics. They were fun and I was happy with the scrappy wonderfulness of it.

Land that I love

My daughter is working on baking and decorating.  She wasn't happy with it.  I of course, (a mother's opinion) that it was wonderful.  Happy 4th of July 2014

Welcome July

My poking around finds from Memorial Day weekend.  A gossip bench and a cross-stitch towel.  The bench has a wonderful soft vintage red but it was so beat-up, plus I wanted a gray blue for my entry way.  ( The towel is for a future project...I have plans!)

The top is still a little warped but it is loved.  It came out just like I saw it in my mind.  THAT doesn't always happen.  The pillow was made using a calendar towel.  I was really drawn to the graphic look of the months of the year all printed out and knew I could use them in some kind of wonderful way.  I pick them up whenever I see them in antique or resale shops.  I have a hard time turning my back on old linens.

  My anniversary is in June. My oldest daughter and my husband have birthdays in June.  The weather in June is usually so nice but I am so ready to say goodbye to June 2014.  I won't candy coat it and you can't make me. It stunk! If it wasn't the washer or the lawn mower, it was one of my kids cars or a zillion other silly things....so goodbye June. Bring on July. I don't even care if the weather is sweltering!

Wraping it up!

How appropriate to be ending with a turtle!  Slow and steady gets it done.  They're all together and ready to quilt.  My patterns could be tweaked and improved but I didn't stress over them.  They are uniquely mine.

I prefer to stay home most days but last week I ventured beyond the local grocery store and the city limits.  It was the southern Indiana shop hop.

The first purchase. A new embroidery project, since I've been loving that so much lately.  Designed by Meg Hawley of Crab-apple Hill.  Love her stuff but thought the colors in this pattern were a little too "country" for me, so I've chosen brighter colors.  Planning on ditching the ruffle as well.   Love the fireworks!  Meg's halloween designs are particularly charming.

Fell in love with this new line of fabric.  Emmy Grace by Bari J. Ackerman.  My oldest daughter is named Emmy Jane...I'm sure that has nothing to do with this purchase..ha! My Emmy loves to fish too but she would never fish in a dress!  I noticed this line is also available  at Hawthorne Threads.  I'm making a travel bag for my trips to Wisconsin and Wyoming later this summer.  I've used this pattern to make a bag for each of my daughters and would really recommend it. 

linking up with Lee at Freshly pieced 

Potato chips

Long time coming!  All 86 by 98 inches of it.  I saw these tiny, as in crazy tiny nine patches on Crazy Mom quilts last summer.  For 2 days I kept thinking about them and finally thought, I gotta make one.  And that folks is how you end up sewing on 5 quilts (or more) at one time.  I spent alot of last summer making these.  I enjoyed sewing them more than I've enjoyed sewing in a long time.  When I remember last summer, I think of a trip we took to the ocean, the pick-up truck we bought and these nine patches I spent so many quiet nights making.   I call this quilt, potato chips because apparently I couldn't make just one.

linking up with crazy mom quilts
Thanks Amanda Jean for the pattern and the inspiration

Almost there!

It's here where I'm torn between, "I'm really enjoying doing embroidery again and don't want this to end" and " I can't wait to get these squares all together and see what the finished project is going to look  like."  Not unlike a really good book you get lost in and feel yourself rushing towards the end even though you so badly don't want to say goodbye to the characters.  Next week the last square and the ta da finished quilt.

There are a couple of quilt alongs out there that I've come across lately that are so tempting!  Faith Jones at Fresh Lemons has the Summer Sparkle Quilt-along.  Traditional stars with a fresh modern pop.  Its beautiful and classic.  She really got it right.

Molly Flanders Makerie has one that is really singing to me.  Flowering snowball, isn't that the best name?  Its vintage and scrappy. It also has curved seams but is so wonderful....I just don't know.  Deep breath in...exhale slowly.

Pinwheel Stitch PDF
Butterfly Stitch PDF

Lightening Bugs and Lemonade

Should I share this?  Its a bit awful but as kids we didn't think so.  On summer nights we use to pull "the light" off of lightening bugs and set them on our ring finger and pretend it was a diamond.  There, its out there now.  No tv to watch, I suppose.  
I put the Summer Stitches all together for the 1st time.  Till now, I just had my fingers crossed that it would all come out ok.  I'm kind-of thinking cute, cute, cute.  3 more to go.

Lightening bug PDF file here
Pink Lemonade PDf file here


linking up with Lee at Freshly pieced

No where to go and all day to get there

I haven't abandoned the mini swoons. I really haven't.  There are 4 more and all together I think they are a little bit wonderful!  Although I have some ideas,  I don't know where I'm going with these...just slooowly moving along and enjoying the process.  

I made this "summer time" table runner years ago and sadly just put the binding on yesterday.  Gotta stop doing that.  This table runner says watermelon and fresh tomatos, green beans cooked with bacon and warm cornbread.  Ahhh, it always comes back to food.

Summer Stitches.. Once Again

Sweet little home, just big enough for you and me!

When my children were in grade school, we had a goldfish in a bowl just like this one.  Blub-blub lived for 2 years, (yea!) and I cleaned that bowl every week. I wasn't as sad as they were when he died.

Get the house stitch PDF here
Get the fish stitch PDF here

More summer stitches

    My favorite blocks so far.  I can still remember when a sand bucket and shovel kept me happily occupied.  I live in Indiana now, but that doesn't stop me from wishing for the smell and sound of the waves.

   I'm using all these blocks to make a child's quilt but I like showing other uses.  This fabric cube used to hold my summer sun lotion and bug spray was made using a tutorial from crazy mom quilts

      This spring, we've had a birds nest on the front porch.  I'd like to say its sweet and interesting to watch and it is, but mostly, I miss my front porch swing.  The swing is just too close to the nest and it disturbs the poor mother bird.  Happy stitching!

  pdf file for sandbucket 

               and

  pdf file for birds nest

        Linking up with WIP wednesday with Lee at freshly pieced