Two New Quilts Listed (Bridgeport, TX)

Yesterday, I listed the two quilts I have been working on for the last couple of months on Etsy.com.  I have listed both as "One Of A Kind" since I don't plan to duplicate either one of them.

 I love both quilts, but I have to admit my favorite is the Art Nouveau Garden Quilt. I had a lot of fun sewing this one together.  I am already looking back through the Art Nouveau clipart book for more ideas.  Yep, I got a few, I just got to see what is in my stash.  Oh! My fingers are already itching to get back to some more appliqué work.  More photos are in Quiltincats Fan Page.

Size: 49.75 x 40 (126.36 x 101.6 cm)

Batik Butterfly

Flower upclose

Backing and binding

Binding - doubled and cut on bias for better durability

A collage of work in progress

Southwestern Kokopeli Lap Quilt

Size: 62 x 46 (157.48 x 116.84 cm)

Smaller Kokopeli

Larger Kokopeli

Close up of the larger Kokopeli

There are a few more photos of the Southwestern Kokopeli quilt in Quiltincats Fan Page.

A collage of work in progress

Travel Day!

Today, is another travel day for us. We will be in Fredericksburg tonight and plan to stay for a few days before heading to Hondo, TX. 

Albuquerque!

For my Albuquerque friends: it looks like we will only be spending the last week of October at the base.  Depending on the weather, we might stay longer.

Featured on ContendedCat! (Branson, MO)

I am having a great week!  First, the temperatures dropped this week.  Cool breezes are coming through open windows and no air conditioning making noise all night long.  I can actually hear the birds singing outside.  This is quilting weather!  Okay, you got me.  It is always quilting weather for me.

The second is even better than the cool temperatures. One of my quilts - Baby's Choice- has been featured on ContendedCat's blog.  Check out the gorgeous cat on her banner.  JadeRose also has some wonderful crochet  patterns.  Thank you JadeRose for featuring my quilt!

We decided to stick around Branson a little longer.  Oklahoma is having problems with wild fires and a lot of smoke.  I'm quite happy to stay here and get more work done on my quilts.  Speaking of quilts...

I could not leave the Kokopeli alone.  I added some dancing dots.  I don't know what else to call them.

Using a larger circle

quick running stitch - gather around smaller circle

ready to iron, pull out circle

pull out circle- perfect little dots

Treasury Tuesday

Memories of the New Mexico State Fair.  I miss the exhibits, the food, the music, the animals, and even the carnival!

What's Smaller Than a Placemat, But Bigger Than a Coaster? (Branson, MO)

Mug Rugs!

Okay, I'm starting to see some results on all the time spent on the sewing machine.  I finished two Reindeer and three Santa Claus mug rugs.  Yep, thinking about Christmas in August.  Why not....

I'm working on a few more for the fall.  I hope to have them done soon.

I have linked the photo's description to the individual mug rug or you can click here to see all of the mug rugs on Etsy.

  

Reindeer Mug Rug with plaid scarf

Reindeer Mug Rug with blue scarf

Santa Mug Rug with stripes

Santa Mug Rug with polka dots

Santa Mug Rug with snowflakes

And back to quilting.....I finished appliquéing the larger Kokopeli and added the borders.  I really like the way Kokopeli comes out of the border.

Large Kokopeli

I'm using the same border material for the back.  I plan to use black cotton batting so the batting will not show through when I quilt it.  I'm thinking of doing swirls instead of my usual meandering.  This one will take some time to finish since it is a lot bigger than the other lap quilts.

Well, back to sewing...oh, wait...I have to feed the cats first...THEN back to sewing.

Back to Kokopeli (Branson, MO)

I finished the first Kokopeli.  This one is the smaller of the two.  I like the faded black material.  Kokopeli looks more like a shadow on the quilt and doesn't take a way from the quilt design.

one done

Close up

Freezer paper & marking with a white pencil

The second Kokopeli is a lot bigger so I will have to tack it down real good so it doesn't slide around.  The border will be made with the same material.  He will look like he is coming out of the bottom corner border.

Tacked down.  Now sewing.

I'm going to keep this one short today.  I really want to get back to my sewing.  Happy Quilting!

What Came First? The Fabric or The Pattern? (Branson, MO)

I'm a little curious about something.  How do you plan your next project?   Do you have a planned project before you buy your supplies?  Or does your supplies dictate your project?

For me, I find the fabric that I have in my stash often makes the decision for the quilt pattern.  For example, I have some fabric with pirates and to me, the perfect block was the Storm at Sea block.  Now I suppose I could have decided on the pattern before shopping for the fabric......but that doesn't seem to work out as well for me.  Knowing my luck, I would not have found anything related to the sea that appealed to me.  For me, the fabric comes first.

Below are older photos of quilts I made for Project Linus.

Pirates - Wind in the Sails (Storm at Sea)

Leftover Alien scraps. I had to do a Star block.

I'm back to working on the Kokopeli quilt.  I was testing visually on where to place my appliqué.  Of course, Dusty had to help me. See that look.  He's telling me he isn't moving.  Every time I tried to pick him up, he moved to a different corner of the quilt. It took a kitty snack bribe to get him off the quilt.  Of course, the other three had to have a snack too.  No playing favorites around here!

Placing the Kokopeli Appliques

I'm using an off-black for the appliqué work.  I'll use the same for the borders as well.

Basted and ready for sewing

I finished uploading my photos to Webshots.  The links are below:

Paducah, KY 
St. Louis, IL

Enjoy!

I Need My Therapy! (Charleston, SC)

My Quilt Therapy that is….ha! I had you going, didn't I?

see more Lolcats and funny pictures, and check out our Socially Awkward Penguin lolz!

I had to take a break from quilting this week.  It has been a rough week without my quilting therapy….sigh…. I had to go to Urgent Care on Monday after accidentally wounding my wrist.  I bled a little and thought no big deal until the next morning when the wound was swollen and red.  I knew the infection was moving into my muscles when my fingers started twitching.  There’s nothing like having my own fingers waving back at me as if they have a mind of their own. 

Hmm….anyway, I ended up on antibiotics, got a lecture on NO sewing for at least a week, and I had to keep my wrist elevated above my heart.  Yep, I got real good with surfing the TV and websites with my left hand, but I really missed relaxing with one of my projects.  The rhythmic motion of the needle going in and out of fabric, the wonderful feeling of accomplishment as the blocks come together and even ripping out stitches can be therapeutic at times.  Groan!

 Isn’t it amazing how one hobby can keep a person feeling sane and relaxed?

Kokopeli SW Lap Quilt

Well, before I got put on rest detail, I was working on a SW Kokopeli lap quilt and I was just starting on another lap quilt using Laura Burch’s Cats fabric.  I love the cat fabric so much that I have decided to keep this one for myself.  This will be the first quilt I have made just  for me.  I have made one large quilt for Dan and I, but never one for me.

Kokopeli

Cat Quilt

Happy 4^th of July Everyone!  I hope all is well with your family and your hometown.