Friday, August 24, 2012

Bowls with Borders!

It is my day for Bowls with Borders!


I challenged myself to only use my stash to create this project.  Originally I was going to make a table runner for a gift, but realized that wouldn't work.  Duh!  Ruins the surprise to blog about a gift! So I dug out my scraps from some recent projects.  I also had planned to resize the pattern larger.  However I forgot and printed it as is, so decided I needed to not waste the paper and do it as originally printed.


From the scraps I used can you tell what my favorite colors are?  I slightly altered the paper pieced pattern.  The pattern had a band of color across each bowl.   I decided to make the bowls in one fabric.    


I machine quilted the stripe I left off at the top of the bowls.  As you can see Denyse Schmidt is one of my favorite fabric designers.  


I inserted squares folded in half into triangles into the corners to create a hanger.  I plan on hanging it in my kitchen .


I took these pictures in my parents beautiful backyard.  As you can see my dad's cat Jasmine (la princessa) is a ham.  Take out a camera and she will pose.  But she tricked me.  I wanted her to take a picture with my quilt.


But she wouldnt let me get close with the quilt.


And I tried.


But this was the best she would let me do.  
Hence why she is Jazzy-girl aka Jasmine aka la princessa!



Please visit all the other Bowls with Borders blogs.

All the blocks will be posted on 

keep dreaming...Colleen
My girl Kalli-cat has finally found her spot near my sewing machine.
 And she's getting better at letting me take her picture.

Monday, August 20, 2012

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"Starting @QuiltCon Dear Stella quilt challenge. This is instinctual play quilt based on my 1,2,3"

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The Instagram Team

Sunday, August 19, 2012

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"Watching Bonnie Hunter on quilt cam and sewed 8 string blocks!"

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Saturday, August 18, 2012

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"OMG I won the Olivia sewing cabinet!!!!"

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Friday, August 17, 2012

Olympic craze

Did you succumb to the Olympic Craze?  I was on vacation on a lake in Canada when the Olympics started.

I managed to watch most of the opening ceremonies and live, not delayed.  They have different, a little weird tv channels up there.  Well I had picked up a fat quarter here or there of the London by Makower UK for Andover fabrics.  One day I visited a new quilt store in Northern Greensboro called Studio Stitch.  They had a 3 day Olympic event.  I played ping pong and got an extra 7% off on top of the sale price and got a few more.

I was in a UK fever then.  I pulled white, red, and blue from my stash.  I knew I wanted to use my quilt sense wonder triangles.  So I cut a bunch of triangles and played. I was a little obsessed with pieced hexagons.  I was inspired by a quilt in the Festival of Hexagons.  I sewed red and blue solids between the hexagons.  I was going to use white but thought it too stark.  Some one told me it look like a crown!


Then I knew I wanted to sew the UK flag.
  Not one of the many patterns for a small block.  And definitely not a whole quilt worth.  Just one, large UK flag.  So I did.  Freestyle with no pattern.  
Of course I had the flag part all sewn together and realized I had forgotten to add the white strips on the side of the center red stripe.  Rippers are my friend.  Im pleased with how it turned out.

I then took some leftover fabric and a few pieces I saved and pieced a back. I almost like it better than the front.  
I love taking pictures on the patio in my pictures back yard.

.

Now Im not sure about quilting it.  I think I might just stick it away until I get through all of the wedding stuff

keep dreaming...Colleen
I have some Heather Ross Craftee Chole going into my Etsy shop.

Thursday, August 16, 2012

My sewing and crafting studio

Moda Bakeshop is highlight sewing studios.  Ive been meaning to post about mine so I will now.  Bewarned!  It is packed into a small space.  I have been acquiring crafting and sewing materials, tools, etc since I was about 6 yo.   Since I use my blog to document my life this may be a long post.

I will start small.  This is a plastic sewing box I found at a yard sale.  It is filled with some of my wooden spool collection acquired from various relatives and thrifting sources.  I used clear tape to hold the lid on and hung it with the holes in the bottom. It is one of many sewing inspired art pieces hanging on my walls.
A Victorian clothes dryer, restored by my dad, used to store doll quilts and mug rugs and my TP Birdie sling.  I wanted one for a long time and this one the bars swing side to side.  The cork board to the left is covers in pictures, inspiration, memories.  My dad had made it for me when I was a child and I have always used it.  
This is the corner of my cutting table.  A drawered shelf holds masses of buttons I collected.  The little 3 shelf has misc swap items, charm packs, more treasures collected over time.  The green containers are 4 green vintage Tupperware containers.  One has selvedges, one fleece scraps, one fabric ties, and one scraps of ribbon.
This is my cutting table.  A peg board holds some of my larger rulers, random patters and some ribbon at the top.  Containers for cutting tools, markers, etc sit along the back.  Cutting mats cove the surface  On the right side is my oldest mat used to craft on.  The plastic drawers have glue gun, punches, rick rack, bindings, grommets, etc.  My new lite tv sits on a shelf.  Under are pales of sharpies, tools, hand punches and specialty scissors, and pigma pens.  The vintage canning jars hold buttons by color.  I need to put up a new shelf somewhere as the tv took the jars shelf.  Notice the former cd tower my dad built for my sister.  She did away with her cds and I found it stores my FQs nicely.  On the wall I have frames 8 vintage quilt blocks from my collection.


A shelf of fabric for different projects.  The swivel stool was a $5 find at Good Will, complete with the chew marks on the chair back.  the purple and aqua cheese box contains vintage lace and ribbon and rick rack collected starting when I was 6 from my Great Grandmother.  The striped box on top came from the People's Bank of York and hs vintage sewing motions-button cards, needle cases, etc...  You can see my embroidery threads and other threads hanging by color.

And behind the little patchwork quilt curtain are 2 DMC drawered chests from and old Roses store.  They have patterns, vintage embroidery floss and other emroidery yarns, and my old thread spools.  My Singer felting machine sits on the floor.  My paints and paint tolls are on the top shelf, other crafting supplies from Fimo, to magnets, to to wire and colored stones.

Under the cutting table are some new storage cubes with other odds and ends, shipping materials, a can full of rice for rice bag warmers, drawers full of more ribbon and plastic bins of vintage tatting and other materials from my Great grandmother.  
This rather busy looking corner is my secondary sewing desk. ( I am in the middle of a couple of projects)  The blue wall is actually fleece thumb tacked to the wall.  A Habitat restore find, including the different knobs I added.  My Babylock Sofia usually sits here.  I use it mainly for embroidery.  When I quilt I move it to the larger desk.  The bookcase holds all of my books and my favorite scraps box.  A plastic drawer unit holds interfacing, fusible web, and other specialty fabric additions.

This is my main sewing area.  My featherweight is my main piecing machine.   The large desk has a pull out on the right where I have my ironing pad.  My tools and other rulers sit on the right.  On the left is a bookcase.
The bookcase contains my Sizzix on the top shelf, stamping and specialty papers on the middle, and project cases on the bottom shelf.  The curtain is a vintage hst piece.

This is my comfy chair where I blog and do hand work.  I love this chair.  On the chair is a  large pillow my cat likes to sit on me next to me.  The first quilt I made in 2010, an awesome little pillow a guild mate made me in a swap, and my turtle pillow.  The stack on the floor is a wooden sewing caddy filled with my wool/felting supplies.  On top are my various project pouches-hexie, sewing, embroidery, and cross stitch.
And hear is my stash.  Im currently destashing as much as I can.  The right shelves are my modern stash.  The right is my 90's and cheaper stash.
The baskets on top have unfinished small projects.  On top of the other bookcase is a wooden sewing box with vintage notions from my great aunts house.  The fan is a vintage aqua and white one.  You can see the ironing board with the cool grided cover hanging on the closet door.  It was my grandma's wooden one that even has the label still on it.  Again my dad preserved and refinished it for me.  The little boxes in between have scraps.  

So there you have a sneak peak into my very small, very crowded, studio.   I try to get it cleaned up but then I start another project and...

keep dreaming...Colleen
Some of yesterdays $5 thrifting haul. (not the iphone)

Lucky Duck Dreams shared an Instagram photo with you

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"Mock up of a ring bearers pillow for a friend, what do you think?"

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The Instagram Team

Bowls with borders day 3




Ill be sharing August 25th!

Keep dreaming...Colleen
Ive been organizing my stash.  I had to get more comic boards to make my minibolts.

Tuesday, August 14, 2012

Lucky Duck Dreams shared an Instagram photo with you

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"Sneak peek of my bowls with borders entry. I'm posting the finished product on August 25"

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Sunday, August 12, 2012

Disconnected connection

I was inspired to write this little piece of reflective writing by a blog I read here.

I have always felt a disconnected quilting and crafting connection to my great grandmothers, grandmothers, and great aunts.  They were all quilters in one way or another.  My mom's Aunt Mildred created beautiful traditional pieced and appliqued quilts I remember seeing as a little girl.  Memories that later inspired me.  My dad's grandmother Amanda, inspired my craftiness with a large leaf bag full of her crafting supplies acquired at age 7. They cleaned out her house to put her in a nursing home and I think my grandmother thought I would enjoy them.  My moms mom made simple charm square quilts for me as a child,
and later a very simplified applique quilt for other grandchildren.  

She used the fabric sample cards my grandfather got her,

 or clothes or scraps from making clothes.  Not always cotton.  She even pieced tiny pieces of old sheets for background fabric.  However I never had any direct connection to the craftiness or quilting.  Inspiration was gleaned from the materials and products I was given.  My mother sewed clothes when I was little and patched and hemmed.  But I was never able to learn at the knee of any relative.  My last non-connection connection came about 12 years ago.  I was moving into a new town home and my Dad's mom, always cleaning out (and my best friend), gave me an old round Christmas tin she had from when she was a teen.  Inside were five large hand stitched, a little imperfectly, hexagon flowers. 

 I had NEVER seen nor heard about them before.  I had been a quilter for 10 years at that point.  Had made quilts for them.  She said something like "oh I found these and thought you might like them."  History is important but it is so much more meaningful when it is communicated directly.  It has always made me wonder if none of these creative women felt worthy or important enough to communicate their creativity to their descendants.  Maybe its why I struggled with my own worthiness and stopped quilting for 10 years.

Maybe that's why the internet social media and my MQGs have been so important in my quilting life.  It gives validation to me as a quilter, a creative person, that my creations have meaning. These groups help to ease those insecurities.

I think If I could have dinner with anyone ever born, it would be with those ancestresses of mine.  To sit, eat, and talk about our dreams and our creativity.  To giggle over out imperfect seams and favorite materials.  To share in the joy of expressing our selves in our creations.

keep dreaming...Colleen
I have relisted my cancer t-shirts to benefit relay for life in my etsy store

Thursday, August 9, 2012

Vote for Pets on Quilts

Pets on Quilts

The voting has opened for Pets on Quilts!

 I have entered the oh so not photogenic Kall-cat.  You can read her entry here.  

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Kalli-cat is #139 and you can see all the entries here.

Here are the categories:

Dog on quilt or dog theme quilt: # of the photo
Cat on quilt or cat themed quilt: # of the photo
Other pet on quilt or other pet themed quilt: # of the photo
Best EQ pet theme quilt design: # of the photo
Best Art quilt: # of the photo


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My DS Quilts FQ Destash is going on in my Etsy store.

You an see a run down of all the packs here.

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Ok one small rant. I don't usually but it has become an all time annoyance and pet peeve.  I really like Blogher and their blogs. They have interesting articles and information that supports bloggers.  However their random pop up and moving ads on peoples blogs are SO ANNOYING!  I use to click on their ads some times when I saw something that interested me. However now they seem to attack my screen and interrupt my blog reading.  I have to spend valuable time and clicks getting rid of them.  Sometimes I even just go to the next blog without reading it because I get frustrated with multiple pop-ups.  They are supposed to be a group that supports and promotes blogging, instead their intrusive ads are actually hurting their main cause.  I hope some how this message gets out.  Or my blog roll is going to get a lot smaller.  Life is too short to deal with unwanted intrusions when I'm reading my blogs, it's supposed to be my calm, fun, me-time.

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Keep dreaming...Colleen
Please stop moving Kalli-cat and let me get a non-blurry picture!