AND THE WINNER IS ...

ME!  One of my favorite blogs to read is cauchycomplete!  I have been following her wonderful quilt designs for about two years now. Her artwork and quilts are full of emotion and are thought provoking! Her art will definitely give you BIG food for thought!  
She ran a giveaway in May promoting Sherri Lynn Wood's book,
"The Improv Handbook for Modern Quilters - A Guide to Creating, Quilting & Living Courageously" and I won!  This wonderful book arrived a few minutes ago!!!  Wow!  It is really packed full of great information and wonderfully beautiful quilts!
Visit Sherry Lynn Wood here!  
Thanks Chawne ! ! ! You ROCK!!!!! 

I can hardly wait to begin this new adventure!

MAY PROJECT - Through the PRISM CHALLENGE

MONKEY WRENCH  -  One of my favorite blocks is  the challenge block for May!  Here is a couple pictures of my project.  My block features the color ORANGE.  

The color choice for my Monkey Wrench block is ORANGE by Cherrywood.  The companion fabrics are by Lonni Rossi. 

I drew (4) pictures on freezer paper and even attempted to make a paper piecing pattern -  the paper piecing pattern was a bust!

The paper piece pattern was too big!

So, instead of the pattern making I decided to cut up the drawn design as I did when I made my wonky pot holders last year.

Freezer paper design cut apart for piecing!

paper piecing the parts!

Voila!  Finished and picture on a cloudy day! But finished!

"WRENCHED"

MACHINE PIECED...MACHINE QUILTED...HAND QUILTED
20" x 20"
Hand Drawn Freezer Paper Pattern

MASTERPIECE

Or just a "F_ _ _ king" mess! 

So, there's this awesome quilter and pattern maker Yvonne - quiltingjetgirl who is doing some extraordinary work and making her own patterns! I loved her latest pattern,  Transparent Triangles so much that as soon as she made it available I purchased it. My sole desire was to make a smaller (miniature version); a version small enough for a tote bag.   Bags are really my focus right now!      So, using 1.5 finished THANGLES to make all the half squared triangle blocks and following the piecing directions according to the pattern I made (4) four blocks.   When all four blocks were joined, they simply were not the same sized blocks and of course do not fit together.  The outside seams (pressed into submission)  are uneven at best!  

These "chopped" seams now mean lost points when sewn into a seam!

REASON #1

My Bernina 830 has been in and out of the shop. Initially, she went for the check up that it is programmed by the maker into the machine!  Since then she had to return because whoever "checked" the machine "up" did something to the tension that causes the bobbin thread to accumulate under the throat plate and of course the machine stops sewing. So basically every 20 to 30 stitches, threads must be cleared in order to keep sewing! 

REASON #2  The carefully selected colors really do not "shade" as I expected them to or as they really need to for the "transparent" effect !!!  Seriously, I did copy the fabrics on the printer using the Black setting so as to determine the color order!  Not a really good selection after all! 

REASON #3

It looks like I just plain ol' SUCK at piecing!!! I painstakingly pieced these blocks, carefully measuring the 1/4 inch seam!   APPARENTLY. NOT!  See this wonky seam - made even wonkier by attempting to force seam matching by wetting and pressing!!!! NO! BIG NO NO!   I know this, this not my first rodeo or even the 10th!!! I've never been thrown so far off the mark!

Yes, I'm in tears because this tote was made to be a gift but she is a precision quilt maker and all of her seams match and are perfect! Her quilting is extraordinary!  It is obvious that she is a perfectionist!  Oh well, if you are reading this, you know that this attempt at making a miniature is an "EPIC FAIL" !!!  I'm not sure that I possess the necessary skills to continue piecing quilts!

Taken outside!

Happy sewing?@$!!#!

April VACATION. TIMES. BOM

Pat Sloan's free block of the month (BOM) continues with the April block, "The Penny Arcade".  After so many years of quilting and sewing "straight" lines, I am always surprised when somehow a block (all on its own) manages a curved or crooked finish! How does that happen? Yes, I practiced making the perfect 1/4 inch seaming; marked the machine with tape and on and on. Why is there variance in the seaming (AND) why oh why must I sew a (SCANT) 1/4 inch seam?  What the freak?  I spent many dollars purchasing rulers and NONE  of them have that measure -a scant 1/4 inch on them! Perhaps I need a metric calibrated ruler??? Whose idea was it to sell us the "1/4 inch" seam and then turn around to say that it is the (non-measurable) SCANT 1/4 inch seams that makes perfect finished measurements? Hey! I loved Maryellen Hopkins's idea of  your own " PERSONAL PRIVATE MEASUREMENT"!  Just saying!!!

Well, I am posting that imperfect  block; however, it will have to be redone so that it will measure an accurate 12 1/2 inches square.  I really cannot abide chopped off points on triangles and such. 

So if you're still with me here at this point in my rant, here is where I ask YOU if you really sew SCANT 1/4 inches OR do you sew 1/4 inch seams OR are you like Maryellen Hopkins-use YOUR OWN PERSONAL PRIVATE MEASUREMENTS?????

ALL OF THE BLOCKS TO DATE!

happy sewing and no "curved" squares! : ) 

  

Pat Sloan's String Bean Challenge

My version of the March/April Challenge

"Eat Your Fruits and Veggies"  by Pat Sloan cut at 2 1/2 inch strips according to pattern directions

A few. Unknown 2 1/2 inch strips added

Flimsy 50 by 62 

I'm looking around now for yardage of any of this fabric line so I can add a six inch border. The backing will all one piece of a coordinating fabric,  probably an orange-red.

"PRIMARY CHARM" - PROJECT QUILTING CHALLENGE 6 !

PRIMARY CHARM

Here is my completed quilt, 26 x 26 inches charm quilt for the "Isn't That Charming" and just in the nick of time too!  

The challenge is to use all 5 x 5 inch squares to construct a quilt.  I used 90 charms from these assorted charm packs _ Windham Fabrics "CITRUS"; Kona Solids and Denyse Schmidt solids, and "HONEY HONEY" 

Here are some pictures of the process.

charm packs!

36 charms sewn together for a start and if you look closely you can see the first 4 cuts

Finished top with the striped charms added!

I thought the reassembled top needed a little something to "pep" it up, so I pulled out my Dresden ruler to make some points!

Top with the Dresden plates

Now, that Dresden center needs something else for a center point!!!

Charms sewn together and cut at 2 1/2 inches and then reattached end to end for the binding...

Here is a close up of the bit of quilting!

Thanks for visiting!  Have a "Charming" day!

Vacation Time! PAT SLOAN 2015

Tuesday  ...   picture of  the one block of the month that's done and up to date!

Pat Sloan BOM 2015 VACATION TIME

March block of the month!  Whooohooo! Beware the Ides of March!  Yesterday was Pi celebration.  Early on in elementary school,  that was probably the only set of numbers relating to mathematical equations that I remembered.  It had to do with eating a generous portion of lemon meringue pie, mmmm yum❤  3.14!  So, I managed to get the March block "Vacation Time"  done today.

Floral Fantasy - PROJECT QUILTING!

Whoo hooooo!   Project Quilting Season 6 - Project 5 -  MY FAVORITE FABRIC!

Last Sunday, I had to report a failure to complete a quilt for Kim's Project Quilting Challenge over on her blog !  Can I get a whoop whoop???  Whoop, whoop, whoop!  Hooray (!) I am happy to report a finish.  If you only knew how many times I started a project over the past two years only to not finish for one reason or another.  I am so happy!

So here is a little about my project.  The challenge is to use my favorite fabric, (yikes!) cut into my favorite fabric to make a quilt/quilted item within the week.  I chose my latest favorite fabric; a lovely green and pink floral by extraordinary artist, Nel Whatmore for FreeSpirit.  It was such a lovely few fat quarters that just blew me away.

Favorite fabric!   So gorgeous!

pictured here with some of the other coordinates

  Sections for the finished quilt.

Here is the finished quilt/quilted item! ! !

Here she is sporting her genuine leather handles and a bit of quilting!  

just a little tuck changes the size of this bag!  This is the back of the bag.

a close up of  the quilting!

Making it Work! or NOT! !

It is Sunday morning and my project quilting quilt is not ready and will not make the deadline over at the project quilting blog .  Scroll down to the bottom of the blog and view all the lovely heart quilts and VOTE for your favorite! Wow!  They are beautiful!  Well, I am not feeling diminished in any way because I did not make the deadline and doing this project this past week taught me a couple things.  I do not make drawings or plans when making quilts - I should.  I now have a better idea as to how long it takes me to actually make the simplest of blocks, and I CAN make a quilt in a week!  Lol.  The most important thing is that I make a plan.  Size is a major factor in making any project in a timely fashion; I ALWAYS go overboard!

In this quilt, I made blocks that I had made before and did so free hand with no patterns.  The nested churn dash block has been very popular and this person may or may not be the author of the pattern, but here is where I first saw it last year.  The churn dash block is a favorite.  The other blocks are log cabins, and an applique center block, a strippy block.  I am not finished and hope to do so in the next week.

 Using Kona Solids, some Carol Bryer Fallert Electric Feather
My hand dyed fabrics and BATIKS,  cut into random sized strips. No measurements. I seem to favor 1/2 inch to 3 inch strips and as I made and trued seams I ended up with 10 1/2 inch blocks!

This is what I created from the strips

       

I used 3 1/2 inch squares of solid black Kona and dot fabric to make the heart shapes.  These hearts are the center of all the blocks so they could only be so big.  There is the first heart using the checked fabric

First block, the nested churn dash with an recess applique heart center

   another  recessed heart!

A look at the blocks

Thank goodness I was able to get my sewing machine back on Wednesday!  

 After 5 blocks

















 This quilt requires something special for a center  block; so using a piece of double folded freezer paper, I drew a heart design and cut. I would love to say that it took only one time to achieve a cute little 4 heart design...but you know how it is!~

I was not finished with paper!  This quilt MUST have some paper piecing in it!  

HEART 

Quilting is still in progress!