August OMG 2017 Goal

Patchwork Times announced the number 8 as the UFO goal for August.

My number 8 is these floral blocks:

I stitched these 3 blocks many moons ago when I was teaching a machine applique class.

What to do…pillows…, a table runner…, a wall hanging…, tote bags? 

Hmmmmm….

I am linking up with Elm Street Quilts for One Monthly Goal (OMG). 

Initial Pillow No. 6

I missed July’s pillow challenge over at QuiltShopGal’s blog.  Between working overtime, a vacation (a fabulous, and short, one week stay with my son and his family), and a horrendous fire season in my neck of the woods, I’m lucky that I managed to finish a pillow in August.

But finish I have!

The expert this month is the very talented teacher, and author, Angela Walters.  Definitely check out her blog, website and classes!

I designed this pillow using EQ7 software.  It will be a Christmas gift for a young grandson.

I’m using one of my favorite threads, Aurifil 50 weight, for my quilting.

I started my free motion quilting right off by sewing through my Supreme Slider.  Ha, ha!

At least I caught the mistake early.  I know…I should have taped the slider down.  Never skip this step! 

I finished quilting without the thing.

Here’s a couple of close-ups (I need to work on getting even stitches):

And a lousy photo of the back (the tension is good, but the photographer really needs to bone up):

A look at the back of the pillow with a covered zipper insert:

One more look at the front (by the way, I have too small of a pillow form in there…it’ll look better with the right size):

I have chosen to do Option 1 from the August challenge.  I participated in the 2012 Free Motion Quilting Challenge and you can see my blog post using Angela Walter’s tile quilting here.

I am linking up to this year’s challenge here.

Previous pillows/challenges:

Joy Pillow

Initial Pillow No. 1

Initial Pillow No. 2

Initial Pillow No. 3

Initial Pillow No. 4

Initial Pillow No. 5

Washington State Quilters 2014 Raffle Quilt Block

In a previous post, I shared about making quilt blocks to contribute to the Washington State Quilters-Spokane Chapter raffle quilt fundraiser (that’s a mouthful!).

Hubby and I attended the quilt show last weekend and I finally had the opportunity to see the raffle quilt all completed and on display.

There were enough blocks turned in to make two raffle quilts and some pillows!

This is my block:

Lots of crystals were added to the quilt but, unfortunately, the glitz doesn’t show up in the photo:

Oh yes, I bought my raffle ticket! 

And here is the other raffle quilt:

I wish you could see the quilting of the second quilt; it really is wonderful.  Whoever the winners are; they are fortunate indeed!

Sitting Pretty – Finished!

Slow and steady wins the race.  I can take Sitting Pretty off of my UFO list.  Hooray!

Sweetness isn’t normally something I would want to make, so it must be the floral theme of the design that attracted me to it.

In any case, I enjoyed working the hand embroidery, and the wall hanging turned out cute.

A few close ups:

Hmmmm.

As I upload these photos, I see that I forgot to add a few button embellishments.  I’ll take care of that soon.

Perhaps Moses…Finished

What began as a class lesson on perspective has finished as Moses and Pharaoh’s Daughter.  Most of us are familiar with the biblical story of Moses’ birth from Exodus Chapter 2: 1-10.

Had I known that the background was to become the setting for Moses, I would’ve chosen shades and tints of alabaster to create it (seems more Egyptian to me).  But I had no end result in mind, and the background sat around for longer than I care to admit.

No matter that the details are not accurate.  I’m an artist, right?  I can take certain liberties.  What’s important is that when one looks at this quilt, one can see the story.

So here it is:

A few close-ups:

Before and after:

For Part 1, click here.

For Part 2, click here.

For Part 3, click here.

For Part 4, click here.

For Part 5, click here.

Perhaps Moses – Part 5

It has been a long time since I worked on this wall hanging.   Some of you will recognize this.  Some of you probably thought that I ditched the thing!

It depicts Pharoah’s daughter and baby Moses, inspired by the Biblical account in Exodus Chapter 2.

I am thread painting the applique.  In other words, I’ve lowered the feed dogs on my sewing machine and I am adding detail with thread.

For Part 1, click here.

For Part 2, click here.

For Part 3, click here.

For Part 4, click here.

Washington State Quilters 2014 Raffle Quilt Block

I am a long time member of WSQ (Washington State Quilters-Spokane Chapter).  However, I live two hours away from the big city, so it is difficult for me to be a contributing member.

One way I can contribute to WSQ is by participating in the raffle quilt.  Each year I sew up a block (for the 2013 raffle quilt I made three blocks) for the fund raiser. 

Here’s one from 2008 (made in 2008; raffled in 2009).  The carousel theme was inspired by the Looff Carousel, built in 1909, in Spokane, Washington, by Charles Looff. 

You can see a photo of the quilt here.   I wish it was bigger for you, but it is all I could find.

I found my inspiration from a children’s coloring book page.  The elephant is needleturn applique with a little bit of paint, beads, and embroidery embellishment. 

The next block is also needleturn applique.  The coneflower is appliqued onto a pieced log cabin block.

It is in the center of the 2010 WSQ raffle quilt:

You can find the pattern for the coneflower under the Patterns and Tutorials tab above my header.  The pattern does not come with instructions, but if you already know how to applique, then you will have no problems with the coneflower.  Nor does it have to be done with the needleturn method, as I did.

The theme for the next raffle quilt was solid brights.  I made my block in 2011, and the WSQ quilt was raffled in 2012.

I drew the block with the help of my Electric Quilt software, and the block is made with fabrics that I hand-dyed.  It is machine appliqued.

You can see the 2012 quilt here.

That’s enough of the past.  Now I am working on my contribution for next year’s raffle quilt.  Again, I am using my Electric Quilt software to design the block.  It must be on point.

And it must be red and white.

I am using freezer paper templates.  I love freezer paper!  Sometimes I use it on the ‘wrong’ side of the fabric, and sometimes I use it on the top to help me shape, and needleturn the pieces.  None of the pieces in the above photo are stitched down.  All of them have freezer paper, but you don’t see that because of where I am using it.  Yes, I do remove the paper from all of the shapes when I don’t need it anymore.

I love to use WonderFil Invisifil for my hand applique work.  It is so fine, yet strong.  It melts into the background.

The block is all stitched.  At this point, I am deciding whether I want to embellish or not.  If I don’t embellish this block, I may make another one, just for me, and certainly add embroidery to it.

I used that gorgeous red thread even to stitch down the bird’s white head.  You don’t see it!

I believe that if you are a member of a quilt guild, then you should be participating in a way that you are able.  In other words, be a giver, not just a taker.  The benefits are wonderful, but it is volunteers that make those benefits happen.  Many hands make light work.  And it is more fun too.