Bummer...

I'm having major quilting withdrawals......

DARN IT!

Half of the Seasons - Spring & Summer

OOPS - I think one of those is going to post sideways... Oh well! My glass is sooooo half-FULL! :-)

I made both of these while staying with Carol early in 2006 (3 weeks in February & March). They're just small "seasonal" quilts. I have the patterns to make one for Fall & Winter. Maybe I'll do those next year. Of course, neither of these are quilted yet. But the tops are done and I like them! Especially love the colors/fabrics for the "summer" quilt. It was so much fun because Carol "made" me "go shopping" in her stash! I did that for both of these.

I love making quilts of any size. But I especially love the feeling of "completing" a top. So, the little wall hangings are great - because they're fun to make and don't take so long. Being in nursing school, I don't have much time for sewing. Wall quilts are great during this time!

Four Corners Quilt

I bought the fabric for this quilt when I was staying with my sister-in-law, Carol, for a few weeks early in 2006. I finished the top..... oh, sometime in 2006 or early 2007, I believe. I can't believe that I've forgotten these dates!

Anyway, I found the pattern in an issue of McCall's Quilting magazine. I think it was an issue from early 2006 or sometime in 2005.

I LOVE this little quilt! It's about 40"x40" - good for a large wall space. It is machine pieced and machine appliqued.

I just recently had it quilted and still need to bind it. But, at least I can say that it's almost done!!

Just thought I'd share another photo

Ok, so the photo isn't the brightest in the world, but......

This is a photo of the 2nd quilt I ever made. It was a sampler from a class I took from Carol. I hit it off with Carol (introduced to me by my Dad) and she introduced me to her brother..... She is now my Sister-in-law (as of 4/2001)!

I started the quilt in August of 2000. It was finished sometime at the end of 2001 or beginning of 2002 and quilted soon thereafter by a longarm quilter in Tulsa, Oklahoma . I won't mention names 'cause I'm not happy with the quilting. I will eventually remove the quilting and have it re-done.

But, bad quilting or not, I still LOVE this quilt! and it brings back such fond memories of a time when I met some great people - and my future sister-in-law...

:-)

Most Recent Quilted Quilt!

I am so excited! Although I don't have the current photo of the "quilting," this is the latest quilt to be added to the "done when binding is completed" list. My husband just had a "significant" birthday and this, after MUCH thought, was what I decided to do as his main gift.

The funny (?) thing is that I started the top a few years ago. At that time, it was to be for THAT birthday, although I never told him that he was the intended recipient. So, what's a few extra years of sitting around incomplete? haha!
Anyway, I came across the longarm quilter when my best friend and I were shopping for our new uniform scrub pants for this school quarter. The quilter is next door to the Scrub Shop... Needless to say, I just HAD to go in! I inquired about my quilt, and returned with it in hand an hour later. The pattern we chose is a all-over "fall leaves" pattern and the thread is a "fall colors varigated" that compliments the quilt beautifully. I'll try to post a new photo soon.

I'm back to school next Monday, and the binding is yet to be completed..... I'm hoping to at least have the front sewn on so that I could tack down the back throughout the term. We shall see!

:-)

Fabric "Discharging" - today's experiment

I was visiting my sister-in-law in Tulsa and it just so happened that she had recently received the current issue of American Quilter magazine. I was reading it and came across this article: "Discharging: Serendipity in Surface Design, By Liz Berg." It is all about taking the dye OUT of fabric.

The article specified to use black fabric, but I thought it would be fun to try other colors, too. So, guess what I did today! I spent 3+ hours "discharging" fabric!! Doesn't that sound a bit nasty?? haha! I found some scraps of solid color fabrics, black, blue, green, red, brown, burnt orange. It is interesting to see the colors that resulted when the bleach reacted on the fabrics. The only problem I had was with the green fabric - turned out that it was polyester. I figured that out because the color didn't change AT ALL! What a disappointment! On the other hand, it was good because I wouldn't want to use polyester fabric in one of my quilts anyway, so I'll just toss it.

In addition to using the magazine's method, I also did some "stamping" too. Instead of laying the fabric IN the gel, I applied the gel to the fabric using cookie cutters. I also used a "bleach pen" for another piece, but the bleach dried too quickly and didn't reach much with the piece.

Anyway, I found this to be a pretty fun process. Try it sometime!!

:-)

My First Post

Woo-Hoo!
I am finally posting my first blog on Blogspot!

I've been looking at the blogs of quilter-friends for a few months now.
I've been so inspired and encouraged by the various blogs!

So now, even with all I have going on with being in nursing school, I decided I should create my very own blogspot page.

I hope to post often, whether it be about quilting, or nursing school.

:-)

~Me