Quilts to Inspire

 A couple of weeks ago I headed

to Golden, Colorado to visit the 

Rocky Mountain Quilt Museum 

and was totally captivated by 

the exhibit,

"In the British Tradition:

Hand-Stitched Reproduction Quilts

by Carolyn König.

 Aunt Green's Quilt

 (in person)

Carolyn is a well recognized quilter and designer

both in Australia and internationally. 

Hertfordshire Quilt or

Mrs. Billings Quilt

I think what intrigues me the most

is Carolyn's use of fabrics.

 1860 Marriage quilt

Each block is different and so intricate.

She uses so many different fabrics

to reproduce the original complex antique quilts.

 Nineteenth Century Folk Art

 When I look at her meticulous hand piecing

and applique, I'm in awe.

I was the only one at the museum that day

and spent a long time studying and enjoying

these elaborate quilts.

It was a very special treat.

Charleston Rhapsody

I had to purchase her book

 

 if for nothing more than 

to enjoy the photos over and over again

and be inspired by her talent.

There's always the hope that one day

I'll stitch one of those patterns.

Until Next Time-

Sometimes Bigger is Better

 We've always been told that

bigger is better.

But that isn't always necessarily true.

A bigger house, 

a bigger car,

equals bigger payments.

A big Gulp,

a big Mac,

equals big calories.

But sometimes bigger is better.

I just finished my quilt
Basket and Stars.
 I had

Big stitched

using Barb's Big Baptist Fan Stencil

You can find this incredible stencil
on her Esty shop here.

In this case, bigger was better.

I had finished the top of Baskets and Stars

in the fall.

It was a Moda kit I had purchased in the spring and

was part of the Collection of a Cause where

the proceeds were going to the Texas Quilt Museum.

 

"Baskets and Stars"
70" X 70"
2016

The quilting went so fast

and was so fun using

Barb's fabulous stencil and 

stitching with Aurifil #12 thread.

 Look at the amount of
space the stencil covered.

If you haven't tried quilting using
big stitches and some kind
of embroidery cotton for thread,
 you definitely must do it.

I'm pretty conservative when it comes
to marking a quilt.
In this case I used a Sewline

Mechanical Marking Pencil
with white lead.

I usually don't wash my quilts when
I'm done so I wanted the lines to be very faint
and not use some thing that would
add any chemicals to the fibers.

I even had one block leftover that I could
use for the label.

I had hoped to have this done in December,
but the binding just had to wait until January.
It's a wonderful quilt to have finished in 2016.

Until Next Time-

Spoolies

 I remember using these.

 If you're old enough 

you know them as Spoolies.

They were newest and best way to 

curl your hair in the 50's and 60's.

No more pin curls with bobbin pins

or sleeping on brush rollers. 

They were ingenious, flexible, and 

comfortable to sleep in.

They definitely made your

hair very curly.

 

And yes, I used them.

I was a Spoolie girl.

Today, I guess I'm still a spoolie girl,

only in another way.

About 20+ years ago I went to 

a sale and bought this wonderful old

painted box.

I've kept it in my sewing room ever since.

A box is meant for storing things in it,

and I had the perfect idea.

Each time I emptied a spool of thread I 

tossed the spool into the box.

Slowly over the years the box has been filling up

with a wide variety of empty spools.

This year I decided to wait until the end of the year

to see exactly how many spools 

I emptied in 2015.

It was a very good sewing year.

So I guess I'll continue being a spoolie girl

and see how many spools I can empty in 2016,

but I'll skip using them in my hair.

Until Next Time-

2015: A Very Good Year

 2015 was a very productive year.

I crossed off  lots of fun and 

some complicated quilting projects

off my list.
Of course,

added many others.

I've tried new techniques and

hopefully, improved on old ones.

I continue to learn new things

and I hope you do too.

I've made a Smilebox

to help me remember all 

that I've completed, and

I thought you might enjoy seeing it too.

This photo slideshow personalized with Smilebox

 Until Next Year-

White Snow and A Red Quilt

Combine some fresh snow,
a new year

and a red and white quilt 

and it made a great day to 

take some photos.

This ocean wave quilt 

had been my leader and enders project

starting in January, 2012.

And this fall I had decided I had had enough.

75" x 75"

It was time to stop making half square triangles

and sew all the pieces together.

I had my friend, Kathy, do the machine quilting for me.

I decided on an overall feathered pattern.

I thought it needed some curved lines

to soften all those angles.

The quilt is made up of hundreds of different reds and white fabrics

all sewn together 

while I sewed on lots of other projects.

This toile by Jo Morton

 made the perfect backing 

along with a variety of leftover strips for the binding.

I think this was the perfect way to end 2015,
and start 2016

 don't you?

With lots of quilts finished this past year

it leaves the door wide open for new things!

I'm ready for 2016.

 Until Next Time-