Batik and Kaffe Fassett

Next to batiks, my current favorite fabric is the Kaffe Fassett line. I had a pile of left over strips from a batik quilt on my cutting table when I laid a pile of Kaffe fabrics down. I left the room and when I came back I saw how good the combination was. Every so often I have to have my "triangle fix" so this quilt was born. It is about lap size and I'm not planning to add a border. It is next on the list to be basted and quilted.

Robin family

I have been watching this nest ever since the robins started scolding me for using my front door. I was finally able to capture one of the parents and 2 babies all at the same time. It is taken through a window screen but that was the only angle where I could get a picture.









Below the robin are my mini phlox, coral bells and coreopsis. This year I did not spread any of the products that keep seeds already in the ground from growing and the coreopsis is everywhere. I hope I can transplant some of it to another garden area when it gets a little cooler. I started deadheading it so it would have more flowers and then I saw a yellow finch having lunch on the dried seeds one day. Now I only deadhead about half and leave the rest for the birds.

Store Samples

One of the ways I supplement my retirement income is making store samples for some local quilt shops and sewing machine stores. The first picture is samples of a Lori Smith pattern featuring batiks. The quilt store owners know how much I love batiks so they thought this would appeal to me. These are all in the 16"x20" range with a few variations.

The second picture is for the sewing machine store and features machine embroidery. I have had embroidery machines since 1994 and it substitutes for the hand embroidery that I can no longer do. I have always loved embroidery and am fascinated watching the machine do the work. This also serves as a sample for my free motion quilting classes there. There are 2 flowers and 2 hummingbirds in the quilting that were done by the embroidery machine and the rest is free motion leaves filling in the space.

Candy Colors and leftovers

In January I started making some new pieces to send to the Illinois Artisans Center. This was the first one I made and it reminded me of the colors of Chuckles, the candy, so I named it Candy Colors.

Then I had the leftovers. They seemed so cheerful in the northern IL winter that I continued to work with them. First I made this wall hanging from the leftovers, then I made the 2 postcards, and later the journal cover. I still have some strip piecing left to play with.

I usually like the pieces made with the leftovers better than the original project. What is the lesson here? It makes me wonder if I should scrap the original piece. Maybe I just need to design the original, but not sew it together. Then all of the parts will be leftovers. Does anyone have a solution for this?

The strip piecing was all made from the clean up cuts of the fabric so the strips have one side that is crooked and one that is straight. I always make my clean up cuts generous and they immediately go into my crazy piecing fabric bins. When I am ready to work with it I pull the color palette I want and put the rest away. If it is not lively enough I go back to the bins and add a few zingers in.

Using leftovers

I always seem to have leftover blocks from a demonstration or pieces left on the cutting table after cutting a project. It all seems to collect in a pile until one day I decide it is time to just play with it while I decide what I am going to do for my next big project. I sell some of it, donate some for door prizes or use it for small gifts. I have a friend who will take any of the pieces and parts that I don't want to deal with.

Water bottle cozies so you don't make wet rings on the table and you will always know which bottle is yours.

Journal covers that make your little book look so important.

A nice little bag to carry your lunch in to a class at the quilt shop.

Strip Pieced Watercolor

If you are a fan of Deanna Spingola's Strip Pieced Watercolor, you may recognize this one from "More Strip-Pieced Watercolor Magic". It is on page 74 and also on the back cover.

Deanna was at a guild meeting where I gave a program and saw my colorwash quilts with raw edge flowers appliqued on them. She called me the next morning to see if I would do a quilt for her upcoming book. When I met with her she requested that I add my raw edge flowers since it would be different than the others in the book.

I applique by machine with the quilt top in a hoop and a loose cut piece of fabric on top. I don't use any fusible because I like little the raised effect of the fabric. I start free motion stitching like pen and ink drawing and add each piece of fabric as I am ready for it.

Here are some close up pictures of the free motion drawing by machine.

Weeping Flag

I made this piece while at QSDS in 2002. I was frustrated by the class assignments and needed a break. I had just purchased a piece of hand dyed fabric from Melody Johnson at the merchant mall and it was calling me to cut it up.

When the piece was done it had the feeling of a flag but the running of the dye looked like weeping, hence the name, Weeping Flag.