A Couple Days With Kim Diehl

What a week it's been and it's only Wednesday!  The week started off with a guild meeting with a trunk show presented by Kim Diehl!  She showed us lots and lots of quilts with her signature machine appliqued medallions and borders...all of them were just beautiful!  Yesterday Kim offered a workshop to teach her machine applique method.  Now I love the look of applique, but I really don't care to do applique (especially that needle turn nonsense), but I thought that if I learned how to do Kim's machine applique technique that I might be able to add a little applique here and there to my quilts and maybe, just maybe, learn to enjoy the process.  I can't say that I love applique just yet, but I do have to say that this is by far the best method for me!  I didn't even think about stuffing my class project in the UFO bin when I got home, so I may even finish it!

Silent Sunday

Bold By Design

Photo Credit:  Johnson Museum of Art, Cornell University

There hasn't been a whole lot happening in my sewing room lately, but that doesn't mean that I haven't been having some quilty fun. This week a few friends and I made the trip to the Johnson Museum of Art in Ithaca, NY to see Bold by Design: Art Quilts From the Collection of Jack Walsh.  What an amazing display of quilts!  Photography wasn't allowed, but there are a few photos on the museum's website, so click over and take a look or better yet, visit in person!  The exhibit is on display until August 17th.

Silent Sunday

That's Me!

Our guild is in the process of making a banner that will be used to identify our group at various public events.  The banner will be made up of blocks contributed by guild members, so each member has been asked to make a block that represents their personal quilting style.  My first thought was to make a nine-patch, my favorite block, but I thought I should be a little more creative than that.  I'm not really a fan of Sunbonnet Sue or applique for that matter, but I think this block represents me well.  Sunbonnet Sue is steeped in tradition, but as you can see by her dress, she's not afraid to show her modern side either!

Summer Camp Is Over and Done!

Here is my Summer Camp quilt all quilted, bound, and ready for late summer picnics!  I really enjoyed every minute of Gyleen Fitzgerald's online summer camp.  If it wasn't for having to finish projects for my guild's upcoming exhibit I would sign up for the next session, but I better focus on the tasks at hand rather than starting something new!  However, if you are looking for a fun new project sign-ups for the second session of summer camp are happening now!  Find all the details at http://www.colourfulstitches.com/xcart/product.php?productid=64&cat=8&page=1

Silent Sunday

What Do I Do With It Now?

I was playing around with some 2 1/2" batik squares and came up with a fun design.  I'm not sure if it looks like a sun, flower, or some sort of explosion, but I like it.  Now to figure out how to quilt it...

Silent Sunday

Can You Spot The Mistake?

 Here's the backing for my summer camp quilt all loaded on the frame and ready to go...or is it?  Wait.  Something doesn't look right.  Can you spot what I almost did?  Right!  The right side of the fabric should be facing down, not up!

Ah...this looks better!  That was indeed a very close call!  I can't imagine what I would have done if I had quilted my quilt with the wrong side out!

Lucky Streak!

I must be on a lucky streak, because I won another giveaway!  This lot came from Marsha at Quilter in Motion as part of the AMB Blog Tour.  I am so excited about these new American Made Brand (Yes, as in MADE IN AMERICA...farm to fabric all grown and made right here in the USA!) cotton solid fabrics!  I'm even more thrilled to have a charm pack with a wide assortment of the colors that AMB has to offer!  My first thought was to stitch these right up into a modern quilt, but first I think I will take them down to my local quilt shop with a little sales pitch about how nice it would be to have American made fabrics for sale in our quilt shops!  (Honestly though, the first thing I did after taking the photo was to open up the maple candy and read through the travel brochures!  My trip to Vermont is all planned....now I just need to convince my husband that we need a vacation!)