Poinsettia Postcard

I finished this before Christmas and mailed it to one of my sisters.  It is machine appliqued and quilted.  Measures 8.5 in X 6.75 in.  The edges are finished by zigzag stitch using gold metallic thread. 

Friends

I made this small quilt, 18 in X 24 in, to enter into the Sacred Threads "Backyard Escape" healing quilt exhibit. I hope it will be chosen to travel with the exhibit.  The quilt is machine appliqued and quilted.  

Purple Roses in Cowboy Boot

This small quilt is 12.5 in X 15 in.  It is machine appliqued and quilted.  The roses were fussy cut.

 Here's a close up showing some of the boot detail.

 Here's a close up showing some of the fussy cut roses.

Small Flower Basket Quilt

The 2015 National Quilt Association Quilt Show will be held in Little Rock, Arkansas (my hometown).  This is the quilt I made and submitted hoping it will be accepted for the show.  It used mixed techniques -- piecing, applique, beading, three dimensional flowers.  It is machine quilted.  The quilt measures 23.5 in X 25.5 in.

This photo shows the flowers and quilting in a bit more detail.

This quilt does the same.

This photo shows quilting from the back.

OMG Dn't Txt n Wlk Quilt

This is my quilt entry for the 2014 Alliance for American Quilts contest.  The theme is “inspired by” with the size specified at 16 in square.  I used the drunkard path quilts to “inspire” me along with the news articles regarding texting while walking (remember the one where the guy walked into a bear?).  Rather than piecing the drunkard’s or in this case texter’s path, I chose to keep it as one piece which I hand appliqued onto the background.  This was done so the background fabric with the bear, fox, and other animals would be intact. 

This next one is a detail photo so you can see the background fabric with the bear and fox which represent "hidden" dangers as the walker ventures off the path stepping on the flowers.  The flowers are fussy cut from a flora print and fused in place.  The footsteps are also fused in place.  The quilt is machine quilted.

Here is a photo of the back with the sleeve sewn on, but before I added the label.

Fantasy Footwear Finished!

I have finished the quilt except for adding the sleeve for hanging and a label.  The quilt is machine appliqued and quilted.  It measures 31.5 in square.

The next several quilts are my attempt to show the details of the quilt.  Here is the toe  of the shoe.  There’s a small blood stain near the daffodil closest to the toe which is difficult to see in this photo but easy to see in this instagram photo.  It' didn’t come out.  I may have to add a ladybug or bee to cover it.

Here is the heel of the shoe.

The flowers around the "ankle."

The butterfly and flower buds.

One of the daffodils and the straps across the instep.

And the back

The previous posts on the inception and making of the quilt
Fantasy Footwear Quilt-- the Beginning
Fantasy Footwear -- Part Two
Fantasy Footwear -- Part Three

I plan on entering the quilt into The Great Arkansas Quilt Show 3.  Not sure this one will win anything but I did win best hand quilting in The Great Arkansas Quilt Show 2 back in 2007.

Forget-Me-Knot in Vase

I made my friend @organicgreendoc a small "bonus" quilt for his auction.  It is machine appliqued and quilted.  The glass beads are sewn on by hand.  It is 10.5 in X 12.4 in.

I used the applique forget-me-knot pattern from the book Mountain Mist Quilt Favorites, page 68.  I used my quilt stencil (the one used in the memory lane quilt lavender blocks) for the heart-shaped vase.

And here's the back.  I used the “quick triangle” method for the “sleeve” to allow hanging.

Memory Lane Quilt Finished!

The "Memory Lane" quilt is finished!  As you may recall I made it at the request of my friend & medical school classmate  @organicgreendoc asked me to make a quilt for a silent auction.  He has early Alzheimer’s and blogs about it here. 

I named the quilt “memory lane” as a play on the quilt pattern I used called country lanes from the book Mountain Mist Quilt Favorites, page 121.I added 3-dimensional leaves and forget=me-knots after I finished the quilting.  My first layout meant to represent a path did not work.  I ended up placing 42 flowers around the border.  It works much better.  The finished quilt measures 54 in X 72 in.

I added 3-dimensional leaves and forget-me-knots after I finished the quilting.  My first layout meant to represent a path did not work.  I ended up placing 42 flowers around the border.  It works much better.

The quilting is difficult to see over the lavender squares, but it's three tulips, leaves, and hearts.  Easier to see in the photo in my earlier post.

Here are two photos to show the three dimensional forget-me-knots and leaves around the border.  Instructions for making the flowers and leaves can be found here (pdf file, 3/2017--;link no longer active) and a photo of one being made.

And at one corner

Butterfly Quilt--WIP

This quilt has been a WIP off and on for years.  I purchased the butterfly blocks more than 15 yrs ago as a quilt top.  I wish I have taken a photo of the quilt top for documentation purposes, but alas I did not.   The blocks were set together with blocks of yellow fabric like this photo shows which I did not find flattering.  I undid the quilt and set the blocks aside -- 16 of them, though I have only used 12 in this quilt.  I like these fabrics, just not with the butterflies.

Soon after I sketched out a new setting which is close to what I have actually used.  I found the fabrics I wanted to use -- a dark blue with red roses for the sashing which I have since used in other projects and a beige floral with red, blue, and green which I used for other projects saving some for this one.  Unfortunately, I did not save enough and had to "make do" with another fabric for two of the blocks.  I have finished piecing the quilt top, made the quilt sandwich of top/batting/backing, and have begun the marking and quilting.   

I will mark more area than I can quilt with one bobbin of thread, do that quilting, then mark more.  I do this when I have to use chalk marking (for the dark areas) as I find it fades too much if I mark too far ahead.

Rose Medallion Quilt That Was

This quilt is no longer.  I made it and entered it into a national quilt contest back in 2005 (I think).  It actually looks better in photos than it did in real life.  The roses, stems, and leaves are all hand appliqued.  The saw tooth borders are hand appliqued too.  The three areas are machined together.  I don’t recall the exact measurements of the finished quilt but think it was approx 60 in square.  It was machine quilted.

Here is a close up which shows how stuffed the roses are and some of the quilting.

I wasn’t happen with the quilt, so after the contest I took it apart.  I “harvested” the roses, leaves, and stems and have used them in various projects.  The background I am currently using as the back of a small quilt (40 in X 50 in) which I’ll have finished in a few weeks.  Here you can see where I have begun the quilting.

Hawaiian Quilt for a Friend

Years ago a friend asked me to make a quilt for his wife for their anniversary.  He wanted a queen size.  She like frogs and tropical stuff.  I took on the ambitious project of a Hawaiian appliqué quilt using fabric with frogs, parrots, lizards, etc for the center.  The entire appliqué was done by hand and took me almost 6 months.  I then had my friend Scottie Brooks to do the hand quilting.  I regret that I didn’t get a photo of the finished quilt.  This photo is of the finished top.  The quit was finished in November 2001 (quilted and bound).  It measures 104 in square.

I cropped the above photo to try to show more of the detail, but these photos do not do it justice.  And while I am still friends with the husband, he and she are no longer together, so I can’t get new and better photos. 

Ruched Roses Quilt – Finished

More than three years ago, I began this quilt.  I reached a point where I wasn’t happy with it.  I simply put it aside and worked on other projects.  That act of putting it aside and coming back to it later gave me a different prospective.  I pulled it back out earlier this year and actually undid much of the work, redid the border, and finished the quilt.

The quilt has ruched roses made by hand and appliqued onto the quilt by hand.  The center rose is appliqued by hand and has extra batting just beneath it (trapunto technique) to give it extra dimension.  The stems and leaves are machine appliqued.

The wall hanging measures 56 in square.  It is machine quilted.  Here is a close up of one of the corner ruched roses.
Here is the center rose.
The yellow ruched rose along with tulips.
A detail of the double-folded ribbon border which is machine pieced.
Here are two photos of the back before the sleeve and label were sewn on to show the quilting.
Here you can see the trapunto effect beneath the center rose better than from the front.

Happy New Year to you all!