Sew Sunshine

3rd Challenge:  For the 3rd Challenge- Annie's Inspiration. Please go to  Annie Young Art  to see her inspirational works.  I fell in love with many of the pieces, the colors she used and her love of nature.  One of my favorites is the 'listening fields'.  I really feel we need to stop and really listen to our souls.   I knew right away that I wanted to emulate my Sew Sunshine theme on my blog by making a big bold piece of sunshine.  "Sew Sunshine" I wanted to try my hand at my own paper piece design but after a first attempt I needed a little help and found it in the book by Jean Wells called Intuitive Color and Design.  In the book there is a quilt called Firefly that had just the elements I wanted. I made 4 paper pieced sections piecing 4 colorways with bright yellow and gold backgrounds.  I had a small scrap of a mono-print I had made a while back with some glitter paint. I used some of that in the turquoise sun blades for texture and sparkle. 

Once again it is Sew Thinky Thursday. Emily at  Mommy's Nap Time   has posed the question....." What is the most meaningful project you have ever made?" Well I have done lots of charity quilts and a few fundraiser quilts. Recently I finished a quilt my mom had started for a gala at my sisters church. I think though, that my most meaningful project was a quilt I made for my great niece when she was born. My niece is also my goddaughter and when she was pregnant she asked that I help with the decorating of her baby's room.  She came to visit and we picked out fabric colors and I wanted to really make it nice. Almost all of my family has gotten quilts from my mom for baby, graduation and weddings and they all appreciate the time and effort she took in making them. I am really close to my niece, Jennifer and feel like my great niece, Sophia is more like my very own grandbaby. Of course I wanted to make a special quilt. The pattern is my own interpretation of Lemon

Hi all, my friend Kim has a giveaway and is here to tell you all about it: Hello everyone!  This is Kim from Persimon Dreams, www.PersimonDreams.com , and I’m so happy to be here sharing some exciting Project QUILTING news with you.  We are currently in the midst of Season 4.  The first two challenges inspired over 100 quilts to be created – so amazing!  The third challenge went up on Sunday, February 3 rd and I can’t wait to see what comes from it (still time for you to join in!)   I personally love Project QUILTING because it has been extremely inspirational to me in my quilting journey.  I know I only have a week for the projects but it’s a great opportunity to give ideas in my mind a try – see what happens, try new techniques.  If it works…maybe I’ll do a bigger project that takes more time.  Project QUILTING has me creating pieces I never imagined before, it brought me out of the only making ‘what I think will sell’ and in turn, and the Project QUILTING community has been suc

I joined in on the Lovely Year of Finishes late in January. I was doing quite well on my own according to my Jan. Report card.  However....it is so fun to see what others are doing and it really makes you want to get more done.  It works for me.... A Lovely Year of Finishes l I finished a project I started in Jan. already this morning.  My Scrappy Trip A Long as seen on Bonnie Hunter's site.  I am pleased about that but that really was only keeping me from working on what I must try to tackle this month...The Relay for Life silent auction quilt for my niece's fundraiser.  Pattern is Birdbath by Elizabeth Hartman I have the backing done and just need to make the sandwich and decide on the quilting design. There lies the problem.........hm??? I WILL figure it out and get it done this month! There I said it so it IS going to happen. 

Thought I would review how my first month of blogging about my creativity went. Looking back to the beginning of the month I know I was on a high from all the Christmas gift making. Confident enough to start a blog and  share my quilty-ness and join a few BOM's, Quilt-a-longs and Challenges.  Results: BOM = Skill Builder over at  Pile O Fabrics             Block 1 =  Sound wave             Block 2 =  Magnum Project Quilting =challenge over at  Persimon Dreams             Challenge 1 & 2 out of 6 so far completed             1=  Rear Window - Rain             2=  Rift - Something wicked this way comes Quilting Gallery =   Show and Tell week              I entered two pieces               Sweet Caroline               Nature's Pirouette  which won 2nd place Charity Quilts =              UFO - completed               Rail Fence #1 Charity 2013              Started a Scrappy Trip Along of total scrap bag fabrics - top done              Started Relay for Li

Emily over at  Mommy's Nap Time  is starting a Linky party called  Sew Thinky Thursday . Today she is asking when did you start sewing?  a bit about your sewing history and when did you know you were hooked? Well??? I am the youngest of 7 girls. My mother had to sew all our clothes with that many girls. From the clothing scraps we made Barbie doll clothes, designed paper doll clothes and learned to iron old wash clothes and hankies. I think one of my proudest moments came when I had cut out and made an entire outfit for myself when I was about 6 or 7 years old. No matter that it was pink variegated  snub double knit! I think it was the idea of cutting something up and putting it back together that had me hooked. I joined our local 4-H group and made items and clothing which I modeled. I remember a tweedy suit jacket that won and went to the State fair. When I graduated from high school my present to myself was to buy my own sewing machine. I still have that machine and us

Update! I won 2nd place on Nature's Pirouette over at  www.quiltinggallery.com  last week for the theme of the week "new beginnings". I am so excited. Thanks to all who voted for me!!! Nature's Pirouette I finally got a chance to post my wall hanging. I made this in the spring of 2012 for a challenge in my quilt guild. The challenge was to make a piece that had NO more than one right angle in the outside edge. I got the crazy idea to try curve piecing and make a circle but when it came to the end I did a little revamp.  The  basic idea of this quilt is from the book A new spin on curved piecing by Joyce Lawrence Cambron. This was a fun challenge because it uses freezer paper on the right side of the fabric.  Once all the curved strips are together you then sew the spokes together. Then the reveal when the whole piece is done. The curves went together pretty nicely and the seams matched up. The center I was uncertain about and ended up doing a ribbon

Have you ever had a project that started out one way and then just took off on an adventure all its own?  I have to say this has never happened to me in quilting until this week.  Lots of things are going on in my personal life right now.  My sisters and brothers are getting ready to sell the household belongings from my Mothers house.  Not all is going well and there have been many unhappy moments.  Long story short...I was happy that the new Project Quilting project this week is My Favorite Color.  Happy thoughts indeed! Until.....digging through my stash I see my favorite  color (one of that is) -  teal and see I already have a quilt all cut out and ready to sew in this color way.  That's okay I have lots more favorite colors...um black? Well working on a project right now in black and white etc...  No problem.  I do love me some coral/orange....but did a challenge last year in that color.  Okay I think that navy and white is very dramatic but....the very last quilt I worked

Well I have been hit by a series of 'want' to do projects. I thought I was totally in control and going to finish up lots of projects this year before starting new ones but................?  I can't help it I keep finding so many fun things to join in and do.  First I have completed the sewing part of my first two blocks for the Skill Builder BOM fun over at  www.pileofabrics.com   I was so unsure of the fabric choices I made but seeing them all ready to quilt the last day or so...I now love them.  I had a whole bunch of the background gray s o I figured I should use it. I have a large scale black and white print for the back since this is a QAYG quilt.  Then I joined another group that is doing a Favorite Block Quilt a long.  http://www.persimondreams.com/quilt-alongs/lapaceks-orchard/my-favorite-block-quilt-along My first two so far: Update: Birdbath Relay for Life Auction Quilt Still no progress except I have the backing sewn. I need to c

Yesterday I finally made some progress on my Relay for Life auction quilt. I was a bit stuck. I had cut out 120 squares to finish off each Birdbath block and then join...however I did not like the fabric I had cut out. It was so blah. So I took a break.  I keep seeing +Pat Sloan talking about her UFO projects and how she is busting a move to get them done or get them out of her sewing room. I did  not have to look far to find a charity quilt top I had hanging on the rail in my dining room since October of last year. I just pulled out the backing and put the thing together and finished.  Yeah me! 1st charity quilt done for 2013.  Simple straight line quilting on the diagonal and then did a machine binding. (all the charity quilts I do require a machine stitched binding). Gosh, from this picture it almost looks like sewing machines but it is just a simple rail fence quilt. All scraps I had but it looks cute.  So after that break I came back to my BirdBath quilt and cut 120 new bl