Log Cabin Quilts

I am joining Val for Tuesday Archives today. I have not written a blog about my log cabin quilts so I am blogging today about 2 of the log cabins I have made (and that I have photos of). 

The first log cabin quilt I made I presented to my sister and brother-in-law for their wedding in 1985. I cut the pieces the "old fashioned way" with scissors after drawing pencil lines for cutting guides. I sewed the blocks on the sewing machine. My father-in-law helped me make a quilting frame (I still have that frame, but don't use it) and I hand quilted in every stitching ditch. My sister had chosen the colors. I was quite pleased with my first quilt--a queen size. This recent photo isn't the best and the colors have faded over time, but she still treasures it. 

One other log cabin I located a photo of is my Wonky Log Cabin. This pattern came from a magazine from sometime between 2000 - 2003. I don't remember which magazine. But I do know it took me two years to finish. And, no, I did not make a label (which would have had the date on it). But I liked the bright colors and the skewed blocks. The diamonds in the outer border were a bear to get to fit correctly. I am happy with it, none the less. 

Thank you for visiting. I always enjoy reading comments, so don't hesitate to leave one. 

Enjoy exploring the other Tuesday Archivers at Val's Quilting Studio. 

A Quilting Start to the New Year

A Christmas Present Arrived Today

I will let you see what I got in the mail today from Nikki. Nikki is a young lady I met in Taiwan who crochets whenever she can. She is a friend of my daughter and son-in-law and she is visiting them in Dallas. Nikki was our tour guide when we went to the garment district in Taipei and here is the present that arrived today. 

These are crocheted coasters for teacups (or mugs) that she made. 

And a can of black tea!

This lovely dragon fabric will be put to use when I make a purse.
It is heavier and just right for a purse.

And these beautiful floral prints are a heavier fabric
and will become purses or perhaps home decor items.

New Year's Day Quilt Along

Mary May of Merry Mayhem's Mystery Quilts is again having a Quilt Along on New Year's Day and I am joining. I have done this for a few years now (when it was hosted by Planet Patchwork which is no longer in business) and it has been fun. I am happy Mary decided to continue this tradition. The pattern steps are revealed every hour and by the time the day is done, so is the quilt top! Click the link HERE to find out what it is all about. 

So I have begun the preparation steps. I chose to use creams for my background colors instead of the blues. I cut the fabric for the half square triangle blocks from my tote of scrap fabrics.

I am now sewing, pressing and trimming those pieces and eagerly awaiting New Year's Day. 

Some of my scraps were larger than the background blocks;
but since I would have to square them to size after sewing,
I decided not to make extra work and
will trim the excess off when I square them up.

Only a portion of the many blocks ready to trim.

Small stack of trimmed blocks.

What will you be doing on New Year's Day? Leave a comment and let me know.

And. . . . . . . HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Christmas Quilts

Merry Christmas.

I am joining Val's Tuesday Archives with my Christmas quilts. You can check out all the bloggers who have linked up by going HERE.

Christmas quilts and quilted items are fun to make. They are fun to gift as well, so I am able to make many Christmas gifts during the year. Of course, some get started and are given the next year because I run out of time. I like the idea of Christmas in July shopping and projects; but I really should start with Christmas gifts in January!

So here are the quilted projects I have made over the span of a few years. I hope you are inspired by one or more of them.

Some Finished Quilt Projects

A few weeks ago I got quilts back from my longarmer, Michelle. I finished the bindings, took photos and meant to write a post. Then Thanksgiving and Christmas events jumped into my path. I have wrapped most of the Christmas presents and sent some off to recipients who are out of state. 

I am happy to have finished my Rings Quilt. The idea came from Missouri Star Quilt Company's video. This was a very easy pattern to work up and I am so pleased with the colors. Michelle did a fantastic job on the quilting with pebbles in the centers of the rings and swirls in the blue rings and the border. It is just a bit larger than a lap size.

 My Halloween 4-patch Kaleidoscope Quilt is done and it IS a lap size quilt. 

I like all of her quilting here, especially the curved lines in the wonky orange borders around the kaleidoscope centers. 

The Kaleidoscope Tablerunner is done. It is long, but it fits the table well. The photo is not the best but I think you get the spinning look of the hexagon blocks. Michelle quilted the top in a lime green and it is so impressive. I would not have thought of using lime. I had asked her to do a web motif and she did it in the centers of the hexagons. Outside of those blocks she used an overall curved motif.

The backing was the last bit of flying witch fabric I had, so there is a short middle seam in the backing. 

The final quilt is my QOV. I began this a few years ago. It is finished and only needs a label. Our guild gathers the Quilts of Valor at a showing we have in July and then we send them to the organization.

This week I will help my daughter with the quilting on a baby quilt she finished over Thanksgiving. I am looking forward to our sewing time together. 

May the holiday spirit keep you cheerful and smiling and free of stress. 

Happy Thanksgiving

It is Tuesday Archives at Val's Quilting Studio. The theme for this week is Turkey Quilts.



The first is a paper pieced turkey I made into a wall hanging maybe 7 years ago. It is 15" square. I have it hanging on a tension rod between the molding of two door frames. (Colors are a bit off.)

The second is a 3-D Turkey Wall Hanging I made 2 or 3 years ago (I did not put a label on the back). I cut the Dresden fan pieces using the AccuCut. I used a large yo-yo for the turkey's chest and made a stuffed head to sew on that. 

There are so many things I am thankful for--and being able to sew and quilt are included in my list. Happy Thanksgiving!

Jelly Roll Link Up

It is Tuesday Archives at Val's Quilting Studio. 

I  made a pillow with jelly roll strips.

This came about after a strip exchange. The strip exchange involved the people sewing jelly roll strips together to to make 18"  by Width of Fabric pieces. We actually exchanged our sewn strips. You can read about how I made the pillow HERE.

Can't wait to see what others have made with jelly rolls on the link HERE. 

Joining Crazy Quilt Journal Project

The e-mail I received said,

"Prepare to be inspired! Welcome a little craziness into your life every day!"

Well, my days tend to be crazy (any way I cut it); so I registered to join the Crazy Quilt Journal Project for 2015 hosted by Kathy at Shawkl Designs.
What interested me was that Kathy stated in one of the rules that, "blocks should challenge your individual skills. Work to expand your artistic views and improve your technical skills." I liked the idea of working in this manner and that joining a group would incline me to better set my goals and artistic time.

If you are interested in registering to join, 

you have until December 20, 2014 to do so. 

Go to www.cqjp2015.blogspot.com

Read through the all the Tab Pages before making your decision.

Tuesday Archives at Val's Quilting Studio

FALL

That is one theme Val is focusing on this Tuesday Archives on her BLOG.

I knew of one Fall quilt that I would re-post from HERE.

I began this quilt after taking Susan Purney-Mark's class "Give and Take" 2 years ago at the AQS Show in Grand Rapids, MI.  I quilted it using techniques I learned in Sally Terry's class at the same show. I put the bindings on this past October at a quilt retreat. And now it is on my couch as a lap throw.

Revealing Urban Lights Quilt

The art quilt group, Four-in-Art, of which I am a member, has their quilt reveal today. 
I finished my quilt as the 11th Hour drew near (at least for me).

I had so many ideas running in my head for the past few months. I took photos of city lights while driving through at night, lights at a baseball game we attended, and many other places. Nothing seemed to strike my creative muse, so I did not start my project early. 

I started with one paper piecing idea, but it didn't make me want to finish it. I was going to put 4 of these blocks together. I liked the look of it in the EQ7 program, but I changed colors around and that stopped me. I may go back to this design some day.

Hexagons interested me. I thought of city lights and realized that during the daytime hours I usually see the yellow, green and red of traffic lights as well as red tail lights when people brake. So I began a traffic light. I thought the small areas of color in the traffic lights looked a bit like hexagons (when I am stopped at a red light). So I tried that and this is as far as I got. They looked more like soccer balls to me.

But at night, lights of all colors seem to blur together-especially when they are farther ahead of me. I began working on some ideas in EQ. I worked with hexagons that represented, to me, the lights I see at night while driving in the city. I liked the first design below,  but chose the second design because there were less hexagons to make. 

I made a slight change with a border and the red hexie out of the box, so to say. I thought it would draw the eye from the green to the red, thus keeping a bit of my theme of the traffic lights. So, with that explanation, here is my finished 12" x 12" quilt, Urban Lights.

Perhaps your next trip into the city will have you looking at the lights differently.

Thank you for taking the time to visit. Take a look at the blogs and the reveals of the other in the Four-in-Art group: 

Amanda Kattner blogs at www.whatthebobbin.com

Betty Ayers has a  Flickr site is https://www.flickr.com/photos/toot2/with/12251011196 

Elizabeth Eastmond blogs at www.opquilt.com

Nancy Myers blogs at patchworkbreeze.blogspot.com

Rachel Riley blogs at rachel-thelifeofriley.blogspot.com

Simone Bradford blogs at  quiltalicious.blogspot.com 

Anne at Spring Leaf Studios (I left Anne's link out when I posted the other day. Sorry, Anne.)

Halloween Quilting

I've been Highlighted at 

I had time this past March to make one quilted item for Halloween (Stack N Whack) which I sent to the quilter 2 weeks ago. I found no time this season to sew any other quilted items for Halloween. Val (of Val's Quilting Studio) is having a Linky called Tuesday  Archives with the theme of Halloween. So I decided I would post all the photos of Halloween items I have made in the past on today's blog.  

This year's Stack N Whack runner

A fairly large wall hanging or tablecloth with letter patterns I am designing.

A wall hanging for my daughter.

A wall hanging taught as a class from a published book.

A small ppp used in the wavy banner (below) that I designed (a pattern on PatternSpot.com)

Table topper using extra scraps of Halloween fabrics. 

Trick or Treat bag

Felt Jack-O-Lantern gift bag

Happy Halloween to you all!

Have a Spook-tacular Day!