Saturday, December 29, 2012

I've Waited SO Long to Show This!

In January I received a brown bag with a yard of fabric in it.

Batik fabric.

Beautiful Batik fabric.

My job - to make a quilt top using this fabric and have it completed by December.  Then I would give away the quilt top to whoever put it in the brown bag.

This is the fabric I was given.

Didn't know whose fabric it is.
Didn't know what they like
or what they don't like.

So I made something
that I would like.
And finished it in the summer.

Kept it quiet all of August.
September.
October.
November.


And then the trees were such a pretty color that I knew it was the time to take pictures of the quilt top.






I had two charm packs of batiks - they were the perfect combination of colors and textures.  
And, somehow, they were the perfect number of charms to use this pattern.

The pattern is called "Smitten" by Rachel Griffith.  
You can see it here.
(Her colors were for a baby quilt)
(I also saw an awesome rainbow rendition of the quilt here)

But the obvious color scheme for mine focused on the lovely Autumn Batik.


Here are some of my favorite blocks in this quilt:


I had so much fun making this quilt - and was so excited to give it away.
Two of my children could not believe I would give it away. . . they really liked it.



Merry Christmas to my dear friend.  I'm so glad you like your quilt top!

CathyH

Christmas Exchange - The 2012 "Reveal"

Our "Seams Like Sisters" Quilting Bee holds a special event each year - which we unveil in December.

For 2012 our special event involved a yard of fabric placed in a brown sack.  We shuffled the sacks around and took one home.  Using that yard of fabric we were supposed to make a quilt top.  At the 2012 Christmas party the yard of fabric (and it's companion quilt top) would be returned to the proper owner.

Some of us had trouble remember what fabric was put in the sack last January!!

But, in the end, each of the Sewing Sisters ended up with a quilt top.  Here is a quick glance of the quilt tops  - those with pictures!


 




  



  






I think there may have been more quilt tops - but these are the pictures I have. 

What  an amazing story of creativity!!  Great job, my Sisters!

I will show the quilt top I made in a post tomorrow.  The leaves on my crape myrtle turned the most amazing color one day (and dropped all the leaves the next day!) and provided the best opportunity to photograph the quilt I made.  Check back tomorrow!


CathyH

Friday, December 28, 2012

Christmas Exchange

For the last two years, our "Seams Like Sisters" Quilting Bee holds a special event each year - which we unveil in December.  You may remember that, for Christmas 2011, we each made blocks for our Sisters in the color(s) they desired. This resulted in a number of quilts that were unveiled THIS Christmas.

You can see last year's reveal on this blogpost.

Here are a few samples of the blocks put into quilts, as some of our Sisters brought these to the 2012 Christmas party.

Christmas Colors:


Specific Block in Specific Colors:


Green Blocks - made into Houses around the Church!


Snowmen:


And, you will probably remember my Red and White Quilt.


I love my Sisters.
CathyH


Wednesday, December 5, 2012

Satisfied with Progress

(Sigh)
Finish is a relative term - I have decided to be satisfied with PROGRESS.  Little steps towards Finishing will just make me happy.

I finished three more paper pieced people for my 1999 (or earlier) sampler quilt.
This is a 12" block.


And I started sewing the I Spy hexagons together with the yellow equilateral triangles.


And - Christmas is coming!!
We had a Ladies' Christmas Tea at church last night.
I decorated one of the tables with our Peanuts 
(Charlie Brown, Snoopy & Company) decorations.
It just makes me smile.


I love it when Linus says - 

"And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid. And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. And this [shall be] a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.

That's what Christmas is all about, Charlie Brown."

That's what Christmas is all about.
CathyH

Wednesday, November 28, 2012

Yarn Stash

Yes.  I have yarn stashed.

So I knit a hat.


It was a variegated yarn - and the pattern called for two strands at a time.  But the cuff of the hat got all the rust and yellow while the hat-proper got the yummy blues, greens and purples.



I did finish something.
And used up yarn.



CathyH

Tuesday, November 27, 2012

A Glimpse

I have been working on projects.
Really, I have!

But the two BIG projects are gifts. . . and I will post about them LATER.

Sunday, however I finished a small part of my November UFO.


This is part of a block I designed for my Girls' Quilting and Reading Club in 1999.  It is 6"x 6" and will be a part of a 12" block. We were learning about paper piecing...



It is also a part of the Sampler Quilt all the girls and I were supposed to create during those two wonderful years.  What we really created was. . . more UFO's!!



More later.
This was Just a Glimpse.

CathyH

Wednesday, November 7, 2012

Let's Get Acquainted!

Welcome to one of the stops on the
"Plum and Jane - Let's Get Acquainted Bloghop"

Plum and June

My name is Cathy - and I love to sew.  I especially love to sew quilts.

I began quilting in 1972 and have always had projects floating around in my head.  Occasionally, over the years, I have finished a quilt or two.



 I had always wanted to keep a record of the quilts I made - you know: fabric swatches, layouts & patterns, pictures and the full story of how I made it, and the story of the person(s) for who I made it.  That never happened!!  In fact, sometimes I would give away the quilt before I even took a picture of it!!


So.  I started this blog.

GOALS FOR MY BLOG:

1. To record quilts (the process and the project) I have completed in the past.  Ex Post Facto scrapbooking.

2. To chronicle my current projects.

3. To hold myself accountable to finish some things (so I have something to post!)

4. To encourage Moms to get their kids to think about Math (see my "This is Math?" tab at the top of the blog).

I started blogging a little over a year ago.  After homeschooling since 1990 (that would be 21 years of homeschooling!) I thought I finally had time to write about some of my quilts - and to actually QUILT.

Well, and to make a few other things, like aprons and clothing from the fabric I have on hand.

In addition to a large collection fabric, scraps, and unfinished projects of my own, I inherited my Mother's fabric, scraps, and unfinished projects.  I joined the 2012 UFO Challenge at Patchwork Times, set my 12 projects to finish in 2012, and began working.  Sometimes I even met the UFO goals!!

MY THREE FAVORITE QUILTING TOOLS:

1. Bed risers to make my table ergonomic - high enough not to hurt my back as I use my rotor cutting tools.




2. This handle I attach to my 24" ruler.  It is a handle with an amazing suction cup that you are supposed to use on the tile in your shower.  My son bought it to remove broken glass screens from ipads.

(I commandeered it).



3. Graph Paper.  I love to sketch my quilt designs by hand.  Then I draw a precise to-scale drawing of blocks that are difficult.  (Did I mention that I am a Math Teacher?  Geometry is for quilting.)




RECENT TUTORIAL
I recently posted a tutorial for how to frame an on-point square with another square.  You can access that tutorial here.  This is a photo of the finished quilt that used this method.


MY STYLE
I would have to say that my style leans heavily towards Scrap Quilts... Because I have a lifetime's worth of scraps and mis-matched fabrics. This is a charm quilt, largely from my stash.  It has 1000+ triangles of different fabrics.


 I have SO MUCH fabric in my room that I cannot justify buying fabric to cut into small pieces to make quilts. 


  I only allow myself to buy appropriate backing fabric, background neutrals, (and sale fabric).  My goal is to USE UP all the fabric I have.



 RIGHT NOW
I have just finished two quilts that I will be mailing away as gifts.  If you want to see them, you will have to visit this blog later, after the recipients get to see their gift!

I have this I Spy Quilt on my design wall.  On Friday a good friend is giving me yellow fabric for the equilateral triangles to put between the hexagons.  Did I mention that we will be First Time Grandparents in March?  This will be the quilt that stays at Grandma's house!


I also like to sew clothing. These are two jackets that I have made in the last year.



It has been fun to get to see the creations of so many other Quilters in this Blog Hop.  I look forward to hearing from some of you and I encourage you to visit Pat from Color me Quilty who is also highlighted this week on the Get Acquainted BlogHop.

Next week is the final round-up in the Get Acquainted Blog Hop.  Be sure to visit some of the Previous Post-ers and the Finale Group next week by visiting "Plum and Jane".

Happy Hopping!
CathyH