Christmas Inspirations

This beautiful quilt was one of the winners at the Houston Quilt Festival 2011.  It is called, "The Loading Dock" made by Mary Buvia. This quilt was magical to look at.  I heard that this quilt may be turned into a pattern sometime in the future.  I certainly hope so because I would buy it to make one of my own.  If I remember correctly there was a lot of sparkle to this quilt, possibly from swarvorski crystals.   Since we're in the holiday season, I wanted to share this beautiful Christmas quilt.  I took about 100 pictures of quilts at the show but this was the only Christmas quilt that won an award.  I'll post pictures of other quilts from the show at a different time.

Here's a close up of toys in Santa's sleigh.

Santa has an organized staff & this elf is checking his list.

This was the look on my face when I entered the show.  Okay........so this shot was staged.  My friend, Diane, took this picture because this was my first time attending the show.  

Here's Diane & I standing close to where the winning quilts were exhibited at the entrance.   This was a fabulous show.  It is huge & you really have to have a map of the George Brown Convention center & plan what to do ahead of time.  This avoids getting overwhelmed when you first walk in.  I'm so glad I planned ahead of time.

I'll post more Christmas quilt pics later......have a great day!





Christmas Inspirations

Below is Piece O' Cake (Linda Jenkins & Becky Goldsmith) Santa's Christmas village pattern that I made a few years ago while living in Mexico City.  While the original pattern was done in a dark navy blue scrappy background,  I made one with a neutral background & another with a navy background.   The one on the right in navy I donated to charity & the neutral quilt is still in my (slow) growing collection of Christmas quilts.  If you take a closer look, the yellow building block on the lower right hand corner is a Guatemalan Doll Shop. While shopping one day I came across some small Guatemalan dolls that were too cute to pass up.  The dolls give the quilt a dimensional & really cute look.  Some of the blocks are also done with preprinted fused fabrics. Remember that when using a basic pattern, you don't have to sew it exactly like your instructions are stated.  Have fun & be creative!  You'll enjoy making a pattern over & over again.  

                            

If you're interested in the pattern, below is the book that you will find the pattern in. 

You can't just make one!  Especially if your family tree continues to grow like mine is.  Have a great day!



Is it snowing near you?

I'm torn between wanting to have snow during this time of the year but, not wanting to deal with shoveling the driveway or driving in the slush.  Thankfully, I don't have to do either but, I am longing for the glistening beauty of snow that sits on tree branches when I look outdoors.  For now I'll just enjoy the type of glistening snow that is fabric sewn into my quilt shown below. 

Some of the houses are drawings of homes that we've previously lived in & the smaller one story cottage house is a pattern from Great American Quilts Book Two, 1994 called, "Cottages in the Snow", 1992 made by the Wenonah Depot Quilters of New Jersey.  These blocks are hand appliqued & also has some embroidered figures to give it a more whimsical look.  The quilting was done by free motion.  Doesn't this quilt remind you a little bit of a Christmas Dickens Village. 

I'll post more Christmas quilts in another day or so......

November Lavender

I've just spent that last few days working on drapes for my living room & valances for my breakfast room & kitchen area.  Whew!  Thought I would never finish.  Which means this has taken me away from drawing & quilting.  This week will be busy because of the holidays.  I'm not overwhelmed because I have the calming effect from looking at my backyard.  It's cloudy this morning but my flower beds are still blooming.  The lavender & zinnias have a very soothing affect on me.

Next year, I'm planning to expand my flower beds & plant a nice border of lavender.  I like to pretend that I'm somewhere in the countryside of Provence'.  There are no rolling hills of lavender but this is okay.  I'm enjoying the purple-ish blue color no less.  For now I've got to get going with my day.  I'm making Red Velvet Trifle for one of my mini-group meetings.  Have a great day everyone!

Roses Workshop

This past Saturday I taught my Roses Bouquet workshop to a fun group of three ladies.   This group of students are quite advanced/experienced in their quiltmaking skills.   I think I'm correct when I say that Pebble has won several awards in her quiltmaking career.  It was so exciting to hear them tell me that they want to branch out & get creative with the roses technique.    They have several fabulous ideas of what they want to create into a quilt.  I can't wait to see what they come up with.  Of course, we'll have to wait a while before we see their quilts.  We have to remember that creativity can not be rushed & must be allowed to simmer, (like a pot of soup), in order to get great results.   Thank you Linda, Pebble, & Linda for such a fun workshop day!  Below are the photos of their blocks from the workshop.....

You just can't make one rose!

To see photos of  roses bouquet quilts done in various color ways, look under labels-roses or roses workshops. 

                                           

T'was The Summer Before Xmas

Below is a quilt that was in the Festival Gallery of Quilt Art: Town & Country from 2008 thru 2010.  I just got it back from a three year juried world exhibit from Houston.  It's so nice to have it back. 

The idea for this quilt started in 2007, while my husband & I were living at the Sheraton Hotel in Mexico City, Mexico.  We were in the process of repatriating back to the states.  With all our belongings packed, I only had my drawing pad & colored pencils to keep me busy during a whole month's stay at the hotel.  I just kept drawing the characters from the 12 days of Xmas in a summer scene.  When it was finally time to board a plane back to the US, I packed my drawings.  Towards the end of this same year I saw a call for entries by the Houston Inter'l Quilt show web site.  I decided to translate my drawings into fabric & then a quilt.  I didn't know if it would be accepted but, I thought I would try anyway.  I was so excited that it was accepted for this exhibit.   This quilt measures 60"w x 72"l.  

I'm thinking of making this quilt into a Christmas scene.  This quilt took a few months to complete but, this time around it should go a little bit faster because the placement for the design is done.  At least I'm hoping it doesn't take as long to make.  In any case, I plan on enjoying the process.  The hunt for the fabric is always exciting.....  

Inspirations

I have been wanting to make a quilt made up of Fall colors for as long as I can remember.  So I thought that a Sun flower would be a good subject to start with but, my sun flower quilt below looks more like Summer than Fall.  I'm merely drawn to certain colors.   

So I looked through quilting magazines to see if any fall colors would inspire me to start on a small fall quilt.  While I did see many beautiful fall quilts I instead noticed this new book by Joen Wolfrom called "Adventures In Design".  As the cover of the book states, it is definitely the ultimate visual guide.  If you're looking for something new, this is definitely a book to not only inspire you but will take you through some great exercises.  I think it's a great reference book to have in your quilting library, along with any of the other books that Joen Wolfrom has authored.   For now, I'm going to go through some of the exercises in the book.  The photography is eye candy!

    



Roses Bouquet

I recently heard from my friend Linda Barton who has moved back to the area from Mexico.  We met while we were both living in Mexico a few years ago.   Linda also took my Three's Company Roses Bouquet class I taught in Mexico City, Mexico.  She mentioned that it is still a work in progress & here is the beautiful roses bouquet that Linda created.  Thank you Linda for giving me permission to share this photo with everyone.  I love how Linda chose red, orange & fuschia fabric colors which work so well together.  Linda, you'll have to send me a photo when it is completed.

It is such a thrill to see the bouquets that students create.  They all turn out quite differently.    How can anyone go wrong when working with roses.  The best part is no thorns, no watering, & you can keep them around all year round.   

 

Fabric Postcards

I know it's been too long since my last post & I will certainly try to post more often.  Life has a way of taking over sometimes.   I've been busy trying to tackle a little bit of this, that, & the other.  In any case, one of my guild's latest activities (A Xmas Fabric Postcards Exchange) has been so much fun to make.  I'm now addicted to making these postcards.  Another friend of mine asked me to post them so here they are.  The ones on the left below are made up with only preprinted Xmas fabric & the ones to the right are appliqued & took a little bit more effort but worth it.  My friend Diane warned us that we might become addicted & she was right.  It's nice to finish a quilting project in the same day you start it.  This is a Xmas exchange that will take place next month so I had to concentrate on making these before continuing on with other projects.  I'm happy to write that I'm done.  I'm also thinking of branching out with other celebration themes that happen through out the rest of the year. 

      

Minding My P's & Q's Quilt Shop

This is the wonderful quilt shop where I taught my Roses Bouquet Class.  This shop has a great selection of fabrics & quilting supplies.  The atmosphere is inviting the moment you walk in.  If you're ever in Crossroads, Texas be sure to stop in to this friendly quilt shop.  You won't want to leave.

As you approach the shop, you'll see a wagon with a quilt painted on its canvas cover making it easy to spot the shop.

Below are more pics of Minding My P's & Q's Quilt Shop.  Fabrics are organized so nicely you can't help but feel as if you're standing inside a box of crayons.    Photo on the right displays a variety of patterns by Watercolor Whims kits to choose from and so much more. 

                  

Texas fabric below for the Texas shop hop. 



Below are pictures of students from my classes & the roses they created.  It was exciting to see the various colors they selected for their roses.  I've been told by students that this technique is addictive.  You simply can't just make one rose.  This has certainly been true for me.

These students have a goal to complete their quilts by January 2012 where they'll unveil their results at that month's guild meeting.  So exciting!!  I can hardly wait. 

 

Another bouquet of roses.....

When we go shopping for fabric most quilters migrate towards the strong jewel tones.  These are the colors that call out to us.  We simply don't have enough lights or darks in our fabric collections.  I've made it a point to try and work with lighter colors with my quilts.  You need the lights & then the mediums & finally the darks to make your quilts sparkle.  I took both photos as inspiration for working with light fabrics for my bouquet of roses series.

                                             

The following quilt shows how using a careful blend of lights, mediums & darks can really make all colors sparkle very nicely.  Since this photo was taken I've finished the quilt & it is now a workshop class sample.

Even though I tend to prefer jewel tone fabrics, I do love how these light fabrics worked in this quilt.

For the next two days I'll be teaching this technique at a workshop locally at Minding My P's & Q's quilt shop.  This is a great quilt shop with beautiful fabrics & great class room.  The owner of the shop, Jill (a very nice lady), has created an inviting atmosphere in her shop. I will definitely be shopping there quite often.  As soon as I can I'll post a picture of the covered wagon that sits out in the front of the store.  You can't miss it with it's painted quilt on the canvas cover.  

Multi-Color Bouquet

 A multi color bouquet of roses is a nice change from just having only one color.  My local grocery store will often mark down the bouquets that do not sell after a few days.  Lately, I have seen multi-colors in one bouquet.  From these bouquets, I separate the colors so that I can get at least three vases in different areas of the house.   I really like how the yellow roses have a little orange around the edges.

Here is another color way of the bouquet of roses series that I have made.  This is using the same basic pattern that I posted yesterday.  In this quilt, I've added preprinted flowers & other greenery.  Using a background fabric of leaves gives the appearance of this bouquet sitting outdoors on a table.   I also shaded the vase with a pale blue textile paint & shaded the table with a tan color to indicate a shadow.  It was fun to take this pattern & recreate it with a different color of roses, etc.  

I'll post another bouquet tomorrow.....

Bouquet of Roses

I wish I could grow rose bushes that I can take cuttings from to take indoors.  Since this summer's heat isn't cooperating, I've had to resort to either buying roses or sewing rose blocks to look like a bouquet.  Below is a picture of a red rose for inspiration.....

This rose was not the original inspiration for my pattern.  I developed a pattern a few years ago that would resemble the look of a real rose.  During August & September, I'll be teaching a workshop to my local guild, that will teach students how to create their own bouquet of roses using a specific technique to achieve the look of a blooming bouquet.  Below is a photo of the pattern that I will be teaching. 

It has been a lot of fun making this pattern in different color ways.  I designed this pattern as a way to teach students to stretch their creativity.   Like nature, bouquets can take on different looks depending on the placement of your flowers & leaves.  The only limitation to this bouquet is your imagination.   The following yellow roses quilt is a simpler bouquet with only leaves around the roses. 

I'll post more a little later.   

Tidy Up For Inspiration

If your sewing room is starting to look anything like the following few photos, it's time to clean up.  Scraps of fabric can be a great source of inspiration but, first you have to clean it up & organize it.  How you organize it is certainly up to you.  The point is to organize it so that you can work with your scraps at a later time.  I've certainly gotten into the habit of saving very small pieces. 

I usually refer to photos I've taken & other sources for how to combine colors.  Especially if I'm stuck & can't think of various color combinations.   Before you do this, tidying up your sewing area is a must.  At least it is for me.  After taking a break from working on my current project, I came back into my sewing area to these two photos & wanted to simply walk away.  Too messy for me even though I'm the one who made this mess.  I knew it was time to take a few minutes to straighten things out.

Today is Sunday & I still haven't cleaned up my space.  I just didn't feel like cleaning just yet.  Instead, I went for a walk around the neighborhood with my husband.  To be continued......

Beyond The Garden.....

So the photo below isn't from a garden but beyond the garden.  It's actually the tile from a restaurant that my husband & I visited.  It has great lines for a border.  If you take some of the smaller designs from it & reposition them, you can even use the designs in a block.  On the top part of the photo, you can also see the swag design that we've all seen appliqued in Baltimore Album Quilts.  Oh yes....my Baltimore Album blocks.....sigh.....I still only have the same four or five & haven't made any more progress just yet.   That project will have to sit & wait til I can return to it.  In the meantime, I will enjoy whatever I'm doing.....yes....this includes everday things too......

  

Quilting For Your Borders

What do we really see?  If we're paying attention, the great outdoors is a plethora of quilting designs such as the following photo of a gold butterfly enjoying my hot pink zinnias.  For a quilting design, simply trace the outline of the butterfly image & zinnia & you have a quilting outline for your quilt borders.  So how do you connect each design?  This is where you implement a meandering design of your choice.  So how do you know which design to implement?  You simply have to just try a design.  Practice with pencil & paper first then move on to practice on a small quilt sandwhich if you're apprehensive about trying it.  The point is to just do it.  Get over the hurdle of, "I can't".   Try something out of the ordinary for yourself.  If you make a mistake, no one will know.  If one new skill doesn't work for you, simply move on to a different skill.  Imagine learning a new technique & enjoying the process.......

Quilting Designs From The Garden?

Yes! You can find quilting lines/designs in your garden or anywhere outdoors.  You just have to pay attention to what you see.  Do we really look at what we see?  Not always.  While in my backyard weeding, I stumbled upon a very intricate, interesting design that would look great on a quilt.  A spider web.  I spotted this very small spider right by my climbing mandeville, waiting for lunch to be lured into it's web.  Inspiration is everywhere, you just have to look at what you see....

This spider must have caught lunch because it's no longer there.  Spiders are not my favorite part of a garden but they do make a contribution by existing.  I know many quilters who have quilted spider webs into their quilts & they make for gorgeous artful quilting. 

Standing Tall

These are delphiniums that I had in my Georgia garden.  They do not like the heat & you have to really nurture these flowers.  They are actually high maintenance.....sort of like Divas of a Garden.  Actually quite worth the trouble because of the beauty that they bring to a garden.  They bring height & almost purple blue color that not many flowers have. 

                                                                                                                                                                                                                     

                                                                                                                                                                                                                      

Sometime before I got to plant these flowers, I made a sketch of delphiniums & the following 26"wide x 23" length wall hanging was born.  This way I could have them to look at during anytime of the year.  I'm planning on making this one into a pattern but, I need to make some of the shapes a little larger so it's easier for handling. 



Below are some closeups of very small butterflies & the quilting.  All inspired by the garden.

Wish I could just magically snap my fingers & create one but, like all other quilting it takes time......



From Tuscany to Texas Hill Country

This photo was taken during the spring when my husband & I traveled to the hill country here in Texas. Since I haven't lived in Texas for years, I was pleasantly surprised to find red poppies blooming in the hill country.



                               


This red poppy quilt was made a few years ago, inspired by a trip to Italy.

Earlier this year I decided that this flower need more depth & highlights & shading.  It was already quilted & if I ruined it by fusing on top of it, I would not be too concerned.  I'd take this as a learning experience & make another poppy quilt if I needed to.  I fused more fabric to it & quilted these pieces down.  It worked out just fine. 

Sometimes you simply have to live with a quilt for a while before you develop of sense of how it should be completed.  This happens thru developing your skills & wanting to challenge yourself to improve your techniques.  It's exciting when this happens.  I recently did a demo for one of my minigroups with a much smaller poppy by demonstrating how to take a drawing......

   and creating a thread painted image.........

This little 5" x 7" image is nothing more than a white muslin fabric, spray starched several times to avoid hooping, & then simply thread painting.  Thread painting is simply filling in the shape with several shades of thread.  It's a lot of fun to do.  This little piece is not quilted & I haven't decided if I will quilt it.  I may just mount on painted canvas.