Catching Up and Relaxing to My Hubby's Music at the Beach

About a week or so ago, I started my fourth 12 X 12 quilt for a challenge with my quilt group, the Quiltworkers. I wanted to finish this little quilt to complete my WIP challenge for the Virginia Beach Modern Quilt Guild, and of course, I did...just not in time! I did, however, get my idea fused onto the fabric. Below is my "Pink" 12 x 12 in it's infancy.

A couple of days later, here is the finished product, quilted and bound. We were not to put a regular binding on any of these pieces but I wanted to quilt and thread paint through all layers. So after conferring with my good friend, Mary, I decided to put a different type finish on. I used a decorative stitch similar to a zigzag to finish the edges.

This is the back side...Now I only have 4 to go!! Or maybe that's 5. I think we added one more.

Saturday afternoon after the VB Modern Quilt Guild meeting and my hair appointment, I walked down to 7th Street Stage  from Norfolk Ave to watch my husband play drums with Tropical Steel. He's the tall thin, guy sitting down! 

I sat at a nearby bar and drank a beer while enjoying the vibes of the steel band and the company of my sweety from afar. 

The sun wasn't shining much but it was warm and it didn't rain...all good. Just imagine the boardwalk, the beach, then the ocean directly behind them...waves rolling in...people walking, biking, skating, laughing. Nearby others drinking, eating, enjoying the tunes...

...take a little time to smell the ocean...

The Making of a Small Art Quilt...not for the faint at heart!

This has not been a very productive week for me. I just haven't had enough energy at night after work to do what I want. Migraines and a tight neck and back have sapped my energy. 

This is a short display of what it takes to make a small 12" X 12" quilt. Seems so simple, right? And it it's really difficult. The thing is, it takes an idea which then needs to mature and grow sometimes for days. Then the real fun begins when I try to decide how I want to put my little jewel together and what fabrics and backgrounds I want to use. Often I paint my backgrounds to get what I want. But not this time. Below are pictures of what my sewing studio looks like as I begin my work. 

Trust me, it isn't pretty! 

More fabrics pulled...lightbox out...I've already drawn my picture...now  I have to have two copies . One to make pieces and one to lay them out. Then they need to be traced piece by piece on fusible web so they can be ironed down. And this is just the beginning!

Fabric scattered all over the place...try one, no...then another...maybe...

Until I get what I am happy with. For this piece the theme is the color pink. I am not a big Pink fan so it was out of my comfort zone. I do have pink coneflowers, however, and I love them. So I decided on a single flower on a subtle neutral background with cursive print. I actually am quite pleased with the result but I have a long ways to go.

I am not going to be finished for a challenge that ends today, but you just can't rush some things. I now have to pull tons of threads so I can thread paint all the details of the flower. Then I need to quilt  it and making a binding of sorts. I'll re-post my finished piece hopefully before the weekend is through. Next time you see someone's beautiful little quilt, you might have a better understanding of what went into making it.

So, What Has That Right Coast Qwilltr Been Up to, Anyway?

Okay, so posting to my blog is NOT the answer! That's something I need to work on but I think I'm doing the best I can with the time I have. 

I have finally taken pictures of two finished quilts. Yes, I did say finished! See there, I have done something!  Below is a Round Robin my friends, Mary, Shelley, Amy and I participated in in 2012, I think for the Richmond Modern Quilt Guild. I think my quilt turned out fantastic! I wish I would have taken pictures each time I got it back but I didn't. 

And here's the back...

Here are some photos of my baby quilt for Zachary Dimitrova  Dimitrov finally finished! My husband and I are thinking that because Kremena's last name is Dimitrova and her husband, Georgi's is Dimitrov...that the "a" at the end denotes females. That said Baby Z is a Dimitrov...not Dimitrova! They are from Bulgaria. I learned something I didn't know. 

The picture below shows the giraffe on the right side subtly showing through in the quilting.

Here is the front quilted.

And here is the giraffe I decided should peek around the back side!

The quilt photos below are a Charlotte Angotti kit I started in Houston a few years ago...like 2009?I didn't purchase her add-on for the borders. Now it needs more. So which do you think looks better....This?

Or this?

This?

Or this?

Or do you think I need to do some kind of pieced border? I welcome all ideas! Please give me your thoughts because I'm sort of stumped right now. I think I may like the tan coral fabric for the first border best. What do you think?

Weekend Finishes and What's Up Next

Sunday, I finished the curtain panels for my smaller side window in the kitchen. I worked all day Saturday. My husband helped me hang new hardware and get the panels up. Here is the first window I already had done. 

This is the smaller window on the side. You can also see the new hardware a little more.

Here's another shot of the new curtains up!

I also quilted the next block for my Japanese Modern BOM on Flickr. http://www.flickr.com/groups/modernjapanesebom/

Here are my first 5 blocks for that BOM. It's a quilt as you go technique.

I also began quilting a baby quilt I am making for a friend. The first picture is of the back because the quilting shows up more. 

Here is a shot of the front in progress. If you look really close and make it larger, you might be able to see the giraffe on the front. It's quite subtle!

I'm done for the night. I have this quilt, one more quilt in progress and one 12 X 12 to finish by May 18 for the VBMQG. Wish me luck!

Friday Off and Running

A beautiful day off in Virginia Beach.  Hubby worked on the yard while I sprayed a quilt-as-you-go block for the Modern Japanese BOM to get it ready to quilt. I actually began quilting on it, in fact.  I am not sure what number this is, but for me it's number 5. I got out of order and confused at some point but I'll get back on track. I layered and sprayed my baby quilt as well. I will work on that tomorrow after work or Sunday. 

Next, I drug out some curtain panels I bought at Ikea around Christmas. I hemmed and hung one set on my large window soon after we bought them but I had inadvertently bought too many large panels. I decided to cut them down to fit a couple of other windows. I took one of the large panels...sliced it in half...

Then I hemmed the sides I sliced and the bottoms. They are lined so it took a little bit to get the casings to work right and finish all the sides. And they came un-hemmed. Now Hubby has another task for Sunday..hang the rods and change out the first ones because they weren't very nice. I'll post another picture when I get the 2nd window hung. I want to make a small curtain for the back door as well. But that will be another day.

Here is part of our bumper crop of Irises we planted a couple of years ago. These are the yellow ones...

And the purples...

Of course, with the beautiful flowers come the lovely dreaded weeds. Today we found a mega thistle in one front flower bed. This sucker is about 24" tall and has maybe 7 blossoms ready to open.

Here's a closer look. Check out those flower pods...

As bad as the thistle is, I can handle that...the poison ivy that is intertwined around everything in our yard is another story! I seriously think we have more than one type but this one I know intimately. Leaves of three...leave them be! 

I hope you all had a day as lovely as ours here, although I hear our relatives in WI had snow yet again today! Enough of that already...it's SPRING...

Sew Sunday or not

So I did not figure out how to link with Sew Sunday but I did get my things done! Here's a couple of close-up of the giraffe I made for baby Zach's Quilt. I got it all button-hole stitched down so it won't ravel when it's washed.

Here is the last block I completed for the Modern Japanese BOM on Flickr. Modern Japanese BOM

I used the cool templates I got at the Mid-Atlantic Quilt Festival from Quilter's Rule, the small feather tool to do the outer border on this block.Quilter's RuleSmall Feather Tool .I didn't find any directions Sunday, so this is what I did just messing around. Not too shabby. The straight lines I did with the Line Tamer Template which I love for straight lings.

I got a "stitch" in my lower back a few days ago. I went to my chiropractor yesterday after work and before our dance class. Alas, it is still hurting pretty bad. I may either have to go back or just wait for it to calm down. I haven't had my back lock up in almost 40 years. I sure hope it doesn't now! At any rate, I am taking tonight to just chill out and rest my back. It will probably be Friday before I get any more sewing time. Tonight we're watching The Hobbit!

Keep Quilting...may your lines be straight, your stitches true...and no frog stitching ever annoy you!

Another Bag and More on My Latest Quilting

Yesterday I went to the Crafters' social and helped make a bunch of these bags. I didn't have time to sew one for myslf but since I cut one out before the meeting, I made a second one last night. I like how it turned out. These are some fabrics my friend, Mary, gave me a long time ago and I have never used. I threw in a striped Kaffe fabric and some green grosgrain ribbon rather than making a tie and voilé! Another bag done! 

Here's the back

When I got done with that, I made a giraffe for the back of a friend's baby quilt. I saw something sort of like this on a pattern at Keepsake Quilting I think. I can't really remember where so I had to come up with a giraffe of my own. I saw several cartoonish pictures and just sort of drew what I wanted. Isn't he adorable? The back will be cut down after I quilt it so I put it on the side with the Turquoise stripe and figured I could cut down the other side more than this side. Oh, the spot above the giraffe is not really a spot...my iron just decided to steam over-zealously and left a wet spot. I assure you, it's gone but wasn't yet when I took the photo. 

Below is the front of this baby quilt that I completed a couple of weeks ago. 

It's bright with a jungle animal print sprinkled all over. I thought this would be fun for a baby boy. I try to mention where I get my patterns but now I can't remember. Hopefully I did on the first post of the front. It was in a recent magazine but right now my memory escapes me. 

My task today is to get the giraffe stitched on. Right now it's fused but since baby quilts get a lot of wear and tear, I would like to button stitch or zigzag stitch the applique down. After that, I would like to get one more block quilted for my Modern Japanese BOM. You can find this BOM on Flickr, here:
http://www.flickr.com/groups/modernjapanesebom/

 When I get done with these and if I figure out how, I'll link to my friend's blog for her Sew Sunday. Don't hold your breath, though. I haven't figured all of that out yet and it may not happen! I am learning a little more each week. I'll get there!