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Monday, March 19, 2018

AtoZ Challenge Theme Reveal

This year's theme will focus on thrifting, quilting, and sewing with occasional fashion posts. Reprising my AtoZ-themed posts from prior year's participation will include:

Weird and Wacky in the World of Thrift
Yarnbombing
Zipper Von Zalez (my German wirehaired pointer closes out the month-long show).

One new post this year will be "Things I didn't buy, thrift shop finds."

 I might throw in a Pattern of the Day.
1968 Simplicity 7709

And a recipe or two ~
My thrifting and quilting go hand-in-hand as evidenced by this weekend's thrift shop finds.

$17 garnered camoflauge Build A Bear and tons of fabric. I know I have some Build A Bear clothes squirreled away somewhere. 

 The green batik fabric you see in the forefront is the one I will be working with on my green quilt block for May for the 2018 Monthly Color Challenge. April's color block orange will be revealed on my "B" post for the A to Z April Challenge. 

 Quilt Qwazy Queens blog hop continues into this week, participants listed below:
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Thursday, March 15, 2018

Quilt Qwazy Queens and the Kitsch Quilt

Flimsy backing
Celebrating International Quilting Day, Marian at seamstobesew is hosting the Quilt Qwazy Queens blog hop. This is my second year participating in her event with last year's submission here. This year's participants are listed below:



 My UFO began this year as three pre-constructed 12" red and cream blocks from a mystery quilter.

A couple of weeks later I added to my collection 4 more pre-constructed red and cream blocks from yet another mystery quilter. With the first batch of blocks, there were numerous precuts so I constructed more 12" blocks. 
And then there were 8.


In the meantime, my bid won on a discontinued Moda wildflower jelly roll from a certain online auction site. In that roll was the right colored "red" for my sampler blocks. I also wanted to tone down the block brightness and focus attention away from the lighter cream colored blocks.

 I was struggling with this quilt and I knew it. Here I went and committed to this project for this hop and I was doomed. A bed-sized quilt it would never be. 
I even photographed it upside down (see the house block)
One practice of mine is to include in my current project a bit of my most recently thrifted fabric. Last month, I purchased some secondhand preprinted panels, wolves howling at the moon, and the Lord's Prayer. But this wasn't just any Lord's Prayer, it was a horse, and descending doves and paradise. It was kitsch, every inch of it. 

My first thought was "Noooo," but then I saw the possibilities. Once you go Kitsch, you have got to fully commit to it. The panel coordinated with the material used on the front of the quilt. Another aspect of a pieced backing is it requires a lot of fabric so a big panel helped fill in that gap. 

Now I've grown to love it, in all of its awkwardness. Moral to the story, you can use other quilter's blocks but sometimes it just doesn't feel right. Kitsch Quilt is NOT part of the giveaway but there ARE giveaways in this hop, they are:
$150 GIFT CERTIFICATE
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Aurifil Grunge 10 Spools 50wt - 50.00
a Rafflecopter giveaway


Quilters - if you happen to have UFOs, WIPs or fabric orphans you would like to adopt or give away, visit Cynthia at quiltingismorefunthanhousework for the Quilty Orphan Adoption Event now through March 17th.

4/6-Updating post to link up with Amanda Jean at crazymomquilts for Finish It Up Friday. 

 Stay tuned because next month will be all about Blogging from AtoZ April Challenge. I'm back with the gang, linkylist and all. The challenge theme reveal post will go live on Monday, March 19.
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Friday, March 9, 2018

The 457 Find and a Fast Finish

Having joined the creative crowd on Instagram for a March #IGQuiltFest, one prompt was "machine" and that ranged from vintage treadles to complex longarms. I was eyeing a mint green vintage sewing machine when my persistent thrift shopping uncovered this 1969 Singer Stylist, Great Britain manufacture for the grand sum of $9.

I was so excited to begin sewing on this machine but when I tried, there was no tension, a spring broken, not surprising for a 49-year old machine. Very clean, I am guessing it had been stored inside, covered for a long, long time. 

 She is in the shop for repair. One of the employees at the repair shop said he preferred older sewing machines. He explained that they were constructed with steel rather than plastic. I am beginning to appreciate them more and more. 

 After she is fixed, I will be back to some free motion quilting, as I have been straight stitching along for a few months now.



The Quilt Fest also prompted me to a "Fast Finish" and qualifies for finish it up Friday with Amanda Jean at crazymomquilts.  The panel remnant was part of some secondhand fabric scored thrifting. I used a William & Morris museum-inspired print for the backing. The two seemed cut from the same color palette. 

I was pleasantly surprised when this piece fit the space perfectly, I hadn't measured it. I enjoy using fabric to brighten up my work space. I call these cubicle wall covers because the quilting is so minimal, the panels preprinted. 

 Upcoming Events:
Quilt Qwazy Queens blog hop begins March 15th.
Blogging from A to Z Challenge begins April 1st.
Art with Fabric Blog Hop begins May 1st.


How do you display your mini quilts? 

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Thursday, March 1, 2018

Yellow block the pineapple way

Being intimidated by my pineapple trim tool ended with this being my first block. I've had the tool for some months now and realize again why I bought it - love the look of this block! I am kicking myself that I don't have more of these remnant particular fabrics. Participating in the #2018 Monthly Color Challenge with the March color being YELLOW.  Sacramento public art graffiti in the background. 

Pineapple block to pineapple pin! This vintage beauty was a $2 thrift shop find last month. It has all of its jewels and inside is stamped "Alice Caviness." Finding this made my day!

I have been on a pineapple kick for some time now, here is a link to a post in December 2017 abbey-choir-and-pineapples and December 2016 pineapple-express.

 That same thrift store produced these Folk Art publications (I snapped those right up! Tami eye candy.) They are keepers.

Rounding it off with fabric remnants and my mini daffs in bloom. There are some nice preprinted panels in the bundle at the far left. The middle fabric bundle will soon become another cubicle wall cover, an elegant William and Morris museum print.

Quilt Qwazy Queens blog hop is coming up. If you want to visit the participants now, here is the list:
Thursday, March 15, 2018
Friday, March 16, 2018
Monday, March 19, 2018
Tuesday, March 20, 2018
Wednesday, March 21, 2018
Upcoming Event: a-to-zchallenge.com begins in April. Signups are open now.  

 Instagrammers - I am currently participating in the #IGQuiltFest posting as tamaschen. Tons O Fun!
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