Inspired by Art Deco

While I am writing this blog, Dan is teasing Mad Max, our mixed short-tail Manx. Max is rolling around on the table between us. He keeps grabbing my arm and nipping me (not hard) every time Dan holds his tail or claims he is going to get Max’s tail. Max loves this game. He’s so cute while he waits for Dan to reach for his tail, he will meow at Dan and other times he playfully swats at Dan’s hand. He wags his tail all the time, but his tail really gets going when Dan starts playing this game. I know that cats are usually warning us with a wagging tail, but not Max. He wags his tail when he is happy. By the speed of the circles his tail is doing right now, I’d have to say he is ecstatic.

Anyway, about a month ago, I started thinking about a new appliqué project. I bought Garden Nouveau Quilts by Vicky Lawrence. Yea, I know I already have too many ongoing projects, but just looking at the cover of this book….sigh…I really want to do at least one panel. I can hang it in the window. This urge to make at least one panel got stronger after I saw the Yaquina Bay Bridge. I fell in love the Art Deco design. It is such an unusual looking bridge that I had to look up the history and found out the bridge was designed in the 1930’s by Conde B. McCullough. And this is just one of many built to tie Hwy 101 together along the Oregon Coast. That did it! I dug out my Batik fat quarters, but I was missing the right shade of ochre and teal. What a great excuse to go buy fabric! Quilter’s Cove in Newport had a nice selection of Batik. I could not believe my luck when I found the perfect ochre Batik with a motif of an Art Deco Sunburst. Perfect! But I still needed a teal blend.

We spent about 10 days in Florence and I have fallen in love with the draw bridge! This one is my favorite out of all the bridges I have seen along the Oregon Coast. The detailed work in the obelisks is amazing. I think Conde B. McCullough out did himself in designing this bridge. I am even more inspired to make this panel even though I should be working on my pond quilt.

We have been spending most of our time traveling up and down the coast while the sun was out.  I decided to go visit Florence’s two quilt shops.  A great way to pass the time on a rainy day.  Besides, I still needed my teal to make the Art Nouveau panel.

Wenz-Daze Quilter’s Emporium is a smaller shop with quilts hanging from its high ceiling and four rooms filled with fabrics and notions. I had fun looking around the store.

Then I went into the Joy of Quilting shop. Oh MY! I have walked into a quilter’s heaven! First, I was told there were two different areas to the shop. There are several rooms with fabric and then there is Gigi Mo’s Gallery. I decided to start with the gallery and I’m so glad I did! I was offered gloves if I wanted to touch any of the quilts, but I was quite happy spending my time just looking. The gallery displays quilts and fabric art from artists along the Oregon Coastal area. As a quilter I found it very inspiring to be able to admire these fabulous quilts up-close. If you don’t quilt, but would like to purchase one, this is the place to go. The selection is very diverse from traditional to contemporary. I’m sure you can find what you are looking for in this gallery.

Then there’s the rooms packed with bolts of fabrics, books, patterns, and notions. I made the mistake of stopping in front of the juvenile/novelty section. I kept telling myself that I really did not need another yard of fabric – so, I bought 1 ½ yards! That works… I was so energized and inspired that I almost forgot the reason for shopping in the first place…..oh yea! I need to look at their Batiks. I believe I found the perfect shade of teal to use in my panel.

Well, I have managed to put myself into a dilemma. Darn! I want to start this new quilt, but I really should work on the other two quilts. Okay, this project will be my carrot.  So for now, I will put the material and notes aside and get busy on the quilts-in-progress. :0)

A quick note: From the Today Show - Jane Pauley did a segment about "Life On The Road".  She interviewed two full-timers living in their vintage Bluebird since 2004.  There is an article on AARP's site as well as a video.  Enjoy!

Blogger’s Quilt Festival

This is my first time entering the Blogger's Quilt Festival.  Thank you Amy for coming up with this wonderful idea and for taking the time to host it.

I have so many favorite quilts.  It was hard to pick just one!  Many years ago, I joined a charity group from my work place. When I joined the group, I realized I needed to learn to quilt faster. Up to that time, all my quilts were handmade and would take a long time to finish.

With this quilt, I learned paper-piecing. I struggled with the machine quilting on this one, but I think I am getting better with practice. By the end of my second year, I was donating at least one quilt a month if not two quilts!

Since I could not give up all of my hand work, I would add a little hand-worked appliqué to all my quilts. I love whimsy and I often looked for fun juvenile fabric with a design that I could make into an appliqué add-on to enhance the overall quilt. Retro Dog’s design came from the material in this quilt.  I hope my quilts have given comfort as well as a smile to the receiver.

A little over a year ago, my husband and I retired. We are traveling around the country in our motorhome. I really miss all of my quilting friends and I think about them often. I am still making small quilts for children, but my heart belongs to my hand-piecing and quilting. I find this easier to do now that we are full-timing in our motorhome.

Yaquina Bay Lighthouse, Newport, OR

We are in Newport, OR at the Whalers Rest Campground. We are only a short walk through the woods and across Hwy. 101 to the beach. We are still getting a lot of rain, but every once in a while the clouds let the sun shine through for a couple of hours.

We have been visiting all the sights: Otter Crest Loop and Look-out Gift shop, both of the lighthouses, and the historic downtown areas. And yes, I did find the local quilt shop: Quilter’s Cove. This is the first quilt shop that I have visited with large floor to ceiling windows. It was so nice to browse the fabrics with natural daylight. It felt so warm and open – almost like home. I believe I met the owner. She is very nice and very helpful. She had a long-arm in the back corner. Customers can see the work she is doing at that time. I found it interesting to see the long-arm. I have never seen one before – well, except in magazines.

We toured the Yaquina Bay Lighthouse and I took picture of the rooms. I have more in our Oregon album in Webshots. I found this quilt the most interesting and I wanted to share these quilt pictures with you. I looked up the history about the house’s living quarters and it sounds like the house was furnished with donations. The lighthouse was only commissioned to work for 3 years after the Yaquina Head Lighthouse was built. It was closed down for over 10 years before the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the U.S. Coast Guards started using the living quarters again. The local Historic Societies saved the lighthouse from being torn down and renovated the lighthouse. So, I don’t think this quilt was originally with the house.

Needlepoint covered foot peddles.

Here is the appliquéd folkart quilt.  I love hand-stitched appliqué! I wish I could have taken better pictures, but the room is roped off.  If you can blow up the picture, you will see ostriches, rooster, a seal or sea lion, a black red-winged bird, and much more.  Beautiful!

A Little Hand Quilting, A Little Appliqué

I love the way the mosaic worked out on my water lilies.

I should have made smaller pieces for the fish.  I'm having a hard time keeping the bigger pieces from getting puffy.  Of course, it doesn't help when Max lies under the quilt while I am appliquéing.  I try to use him as a table, but he tends to rollover just as I have it in the perfect spot.

I plan to add some ginkgo leaves floating in the water.  I am also thinking of adding some bamboo stems with a shadow effect if I can find a way to add organza by hand.  I want to do all of this by hand if I can.

I love working with my hands, but it is very slow compared to using a machine. So far, I have finished one block and a few borders done.  The blue is chalk.  I hope this washes out!  I went back to using stencils and a washable ink marker after I finished this block.

I decided to try some free-form fill on this block.  It has been fun, but it is taking a while to finish it.

Quilt Kits? Check! Basted Quilt? Check! Ready to Travel? Double Check!

We are back in La Conner, WA to take care of some family business. We will be here for at least three weeks – maybe longer.

Before leaving Westport, I decided to take advantage of the campground’s recreation center with the big room and tables during the quiet weekdays. I put together 14 quilt kits for this summer. It will be easy for me to pull out a kit to sew as we travel down the road. I did a lot of my favorite Crazy Eight quilt patterns. I did a few others to give myself a little variety. I don’t want to get stale doing the same thing!

I also basted a quilt for my hoop. This was a class project called the Saturday Sampler. Our class met one Saturday a month for 12 months at Quilt Works in Albuquerque, NM. During our class, we would receive our monthly block and they would teach new assembling methods and show us new toys we could not live without. I loved taking this class and I learned a lot about short cuts and sewing tricks.

We had our choice of two different material packs. I picked this floral print. I fell in love with the colors as well as the floral. I am hand-quilting different patterns on each block with a lavender thread to keep the sampler quilt flowing.  I think this quilt will get done a lot faster than the last one.  I hope to have it done in time for my granddaughter's birthday next March. 

Well, I better get back to my quilting!

National Quilting Day - March 20, 2010

I'm celebrating the whole month of March! Shaun's quilt is finally done! I am really late on finishing this one. Five years behind schedule, but it is done! WooHoo!

The block is called The Chain. I love the pattern results from this block.

Every block has been hand quilted with a Celtic Knot pattern. The dark colors were hard on my eyes even with my Ott-Lite.

I aged the label using the iron. Um. Well, okay - it was a mistake. The iron was too hot, but it turned out good. I named the quilt: Celtic Nights since Shaun likes Irish Celtic designs.
Dusty found a good use for my hoop for a short time. He won't be able to use it for very long. I already have another top sandwiched and ready for the hoop. I can't wait to get started on it. It is a sampler quilt with a garden theme.

I have been visiting the local quilt shop: The Quilter's Stash and finally decided to try their scrap grab bag. I was able to pick out any of the scraps and stuff a ziploc bag as full as possible, but the bag needed to be zipped closed. I was amazed at how much I could get into the bag. A good start to a scrap quilt.

Enjoy National Quilting Day - Happy Quilting!