The View from the Porch
Thursday, February 4, 2010
Have you had enough yet?
We've had more snow over the past few months than we've had in the past few years. Of course it means its excellent quilting weather! I've made a few small quilts for the Ami Simms Alzheimer Quilt Initiative, the first in memory of my mother who, as the disease progressed was reduced to repeating two words over and over - coffee and kleenex, and lets face it, a kleenex quilt would be a lot more difficult:
I've been busy, as you can tell (no updates since last October!) and on top of it all I started a woodturning course at Maryland Hall. The teacher, Joe Dickey, does some awesome work: http://www.joedickey.com/
Hope you're having fun and enjoying all the snow!
Thursday, October 22, 2009
While I was off sick with the flu I made a raffle quilt for my daughter's school. I used a 6" pastry roll of "Winter" by Minick and Simpson to make the snowball blocks - love this fabric! Its backed with fleece to make it extra comfy and warm:
I quilted it using "Flurry" by Lisa Thiessen - how appropriate for a snow day! I think if I don't win I just may have to make another for myself...
Wednesday, September 2, 2009
While I was busy this summer, some others were napping...
I have added a bunch more pictures, and am busy quilting Fiona's quilt at last.
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
Jeanne's fish quilt is Quilt of the Week at Machine Quilter's Resource:
Thursday, July 9, 2009
Alice had not one but two winners in the AQG Guild show, Quilts By The Bay:
First place Viewer's Choice Group Quilt Small
Third place Viewer's Choice Group Quilt Small
Both were quilted by me! There were three other quilts I had quilted in the show - you can see them on the newly updated Customer Quilts 2009 page. In the excitement of MQX I managed to delete about 60 pictures, so I will be emailing some of you to ask for pics to add if you have them.
Peaches is surprised that she is not allowed to post any more messages to the MQP yahoo group (and Mango is setting a bad example - cats are not allowed on the table!):
Saturday, June 13, 2009
Whew! The craziness is almost over - the quilt show is this weekend, hope you can make it, there are lots of really beautiful quilts this year! School is finished next week. Our new kitten, Peaches (affectionately known as "Stinky") is settling in, and has learned how to open the cupboards by herself (we found her sitting quietly in this red bowl one day:
I made a bag for one of the teachers at school out of my stash of Alexander Henry "Gustav" fabric - she saw mine and loved it:
And we finally made it out sailing last weekend - when we first got the boat we were out at the beginning of April, and now its June before we manage to get our first sail in. It was an exceptionally beautiful day, before the mugginess of summer that has already set in:
The garden is in, and its time to sit back and enjoy, and maybe quilt a little too! I hope you are enjoying your summer as well, and as my friend Shelly at the guild says, sew on!
Thursday, April 16, 2009
It's been a busy few months, and doesn't seem to be slowing down any! I helped my dd's Daisy troop make the above crayon quilt for a young girl scout in WV who is currently in the hospital doing chemo. We hope it will be like sending her a big warm hug!
I am up at MQX right now, hanging out before classes start today. Took four classes yesterday and then went to Sneak a Peak at the exhibits - wow. Some really awesome talent out there, and the coolest part is I get to take classes with some of them ! Woohoo!
Sunday, February 22, 2009
After a relaxing week in Grand Cayman, we came back to a few days of craziness as I hosted a dozen longarmers in a class with Sharon Schamber. I uploaded pictures from this day here http://sunporchquilts.com/sharon.aspx
Cayman has changed so much in the past ten years. Giant hotels and crazy traffic are overwhelming Seven Mile Beach. Iguanas have established themselves post-Ivan and their numbers are rapidly increasing. There's a strip mall across from Morritt's and the shack at Kaibo is now a two story yacht club! Some things were reassuringly the same though: the Cobb salad at Britannia (best anywhere), Stingray City, mudslides at Rum Point and being "axed" to fasten our seatbelts....
And now, after all the commotion, its time to get back to quilting!
Monday, February 2, 2009
Look at all this space! I'm almost feeling a little lost... The big home gym has been moved so that there will be lots of room when Sharon Schamber comes to teach. She'll be here February 19th, doing a longarm class on feathers and stippling. Her quilting is amazing, really the epitome of longarming - as is evidenced by her winning Best in Show at Houston last year. You can see her quilts and classes here: www.sharonschamber.com
Friday, January 16, 2009
My wonderful husband made me a big board out of an old piece of countertop and some 2 x 4's - of course it serves other purposes as well, as Mango is demonstrating above.
Last fall I had such problems with irons. I first bought a Rowenta several years ago, and really loved it, but several falls to the floor later it started leaking ever so slightly from the handle. I must have really had some good shocks as a kid, because I really want nothing to do with electrical problems, so I bought a new Rowenta about a year ago. Well, Rowenta #2 never really worked very well, and sometime in late summer I came downstairs one morning and all the water had drained out of the iron and onto the ironing board. I started looking for another, and in the meantime kept using #2. It kept leaking all the water out, and one day I got so fed up I packed it up and sent it off to the Rowenta service center with a long letter lamenting its many faults. I also went to Kohl's and bought a Black & Decker iron that I thought was $20. It was kind of crappy, but hey, its only a $20 iron, right? Wrong. I had to return something else purchased that day and was horrified to see that it was actually a $38 iron. So, I returned it too. I did not want a crappy $38 iron. So, that left me using Rowenta #1, damp handle and all. Better than nothing, I guess. Eventually one day the iron fairy came and brought me a new Rowenta! It works beautifully! (Although still not as good as #1 did in the good old days...)
My husband also figured out how to create a slideshow, so now there's two - customer quilts and my own quilts - take a look, and stay warm!
Wednesday, December 24, 2008
The Christmas rush is almost over - I have two quilts to finish for my in-laws by the 29th. Ha ha ha ha ha................... I have a ton of pictures I want to upload. I am going to set up a webshots account so its easier to organize and view them. Right after I finish those quilts.... Happy Holidays everyone!
Sunday, November 16, 2008
Panto practice!
The machine is working great now! I've been busy trying to get caught up with all the quilts I've been holding onto. I have some great new pantographs and lots of new threads and thread cards, and even a kewl little ruler for SID (stitch in the ditch). Now if I could only get rid of this nasty cough.....
Thursday, October 23, 2008
Happy Halloween!
These are Susan's Halloween quilts - how cute!
Saturday, October 18, 2008
It's here! Still working out some problems :-( And still working on Karen's quilt on the Inspira. Managed to do a practice panto without speed regulation. That's how I discovered the problems, and also built some muscles!
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
Being a ballet mom is giving me some much needed time to work on Fiona's quilt:
At this rate I may finish it by the end of the school year! I'm also making progress on the circle quilt, which because its all done with templates had to be cut out by HAND! It took days and days! I am appreciating my rotary cutter all the more now!
The big day is set: October 9th the Gammill arrives! Someone said today that its almost like having a baby - hah!, well, except this hopefully won't involve pain, anesthetics,or surgery! Still, I can't wait and am counting the days! I will be selling my Inspira frame and QCC. If you are interested, please e-mail me.
Saturday, September 6, 2008
If you'd like tickets for this very pretty raffle quilt, please contact me!
I have added a bunch of pictures to the pictures page - take a look!
Things are STILL BUSY! Went up to the Mancuso show in Harrisburg yesterday - whew! We arrived right at 10am and by noon had seen so many quilts that my head was beginning to spin. I like to get at least one thing from each show, to kind of remember it by, and boy oh boy, I'll definitely remember this show - found some cool wine themed fabric, got some 5" charm squares for tomorrows class, and oh, also a Gammill Classic Plus. :-) Of course, I won't actually have the Gammill for about a month :-( I can't wait!
Thursday, August 28, 2008
What can I say - its been a BUSY month. DD's violin teacher got married, so of course he needed a quilt!
School is back in and I have a lot more time to quilt again! Woohoo!
I'm making slow progress on Fiona's quilt, but still hoping to finish it before the AQG show next year! Its taking much longer because I decided that machine applique just didn't suit it. Its all Karen Kay Buckley's fault.... :-)
Saturday, July 12, 2008
I just recently finished quilting this quilt for Karen King:
It is such a beautiful quilt, and Karen's work is impeccable. Here's some of the quilting up close:
Now its back to work on Fiona's quilt, but first I must finish a halter top I crazily decided to make. Its from Amy Butler's Cabo pattern, but no, I can't just follow the pattern, I have to change it, and do crazy things like make it from patchwork. With any luck I can finish it tomorrow, and then finally be able to wear it before summer's over!
Wednesday, June 18, 2008
School is out! Here's the quilt, together with the class and teacher and a couple of moms who were kind enough to climb up and hold it so we could get some pictures:
Last weekend was spent at the Annapolis Quilt Guild annual quilt show "Quilts By The Bay" - it was a lot of work, but a lot of fun, and I got to meet and/or get to know many more members of the guild. The weekend before I went to the Quilters Unlimited show in Chantilly, VA. I plan to hit a few more shows this year, but I'm also looking ahead and planning to attend MQX next April. Now that I know a little bit about how a show operates it'll be interesting to see how others do things.
I did my best to keep the Annapolis vendors happy. Found the perfect hand-dyed fabric to make flowers for dd's quilt in progress, and have made four so far. I finally finished the extra row and it looks much better. I'll have to take a picture once I get the inner borders on.
Tuesday, May 27, 2008
I wanted to make a quilt for my daughter's teacher, and decided to try a crayon quilt. I had each child draw their face and add their name on an 8.5" muslin square backed by freezer paper, and then ironed them all to heat set the crayon. I still have a red border to add, and then to decide how to quilt it.
Wednesday, May 14, 2008
This was in today's newsletter from Jan Patek Quilts:
IMPORTANT NEWS UPDATE! IMPORTANT NEWS UPDATE!
A recent study has indicated that fabric gives off certain Pheromones, that actually hypnotize women and cause them to purchase ungodly amounts. When stored in large quantities in enclosed spaces, the Pheromones (in the fabric) cause memory loss and induce the nesting syndrome therefore perpetuating the species (aka fabricus maximus). Sound tests have also revealed that these fabrics emit a very high-pitched sound, heard only by a select few breed of women known as quilters. When played backwards on an LP, the sounds are heard as chants "Buy Me" "Cut Me" "Sew Me"! Studies have also indicated that aliens have inhabited the earth helping to spread the effect that these fabrics have on the human population They are called fabric store clerks. It's also been my experience that these same Pheromones cause a pathological need to hide the fabrics away when taken home (or at least blended into the existing stash) and when asked by a significant other if the fabric is new, the reply is "I've had it for awhile".
Monday, May 5, 2008
I went to Carlisle, PA, yesterday to see Mark Lipinski speak at the LeTort Quilter's Guild http://www.letortquilters.com/ . I drove up with a few friends from the Annapolis Quilt Guild, and we had a great day - Mark was in fine form despite his recent bout with pneumonia. I laughed so much my face hurt! We also enjoyed meeting some members of the Letort Guild and getting a few ideas of things to do at our own guild meetings.
The meeting was held in a church - here's "Father Mark" at the front of the church - sorry, but the black shirt really makes him look like one, and hey, I guess you could say in a way he's a man of the cloth!
Here he is with his son Evan's camp quilt:
We really, really want him to come speak to the Annapolis Guild - maybe next year....
Wednesday, April 16, 2008
Here's my challenge quilt - I won third place!
I decided to do a crayon quilt for dd's kindergarten teacher, with each child colouring a square with their self-portrait - should be cute!
I've just purchased and have been reading the Quilter's Catalogue by Meg Cox - fantastic book! If you're at all interested in quilting, you have to get this book!
I finished piecing the center of dd's quilt and decided it was too small. Luckily the LQS had more of the dark pink fabric, so I picked up a couple of yards of it, and also some nice floral tone on tone white to do the applique on. Now if I only had some time to work on it!
I have managed to quilt almost half of Folk Art Fantasy, but have to redo a couple of rows that aren't quite straight. I decided to used painter's tape to mark the lines, so I don't have to wet it again. I am planning to show it in the Annapolis Quilt Guild show this year, so I really need to finish it soon! The show is June 14 and 15, and the raffle quilt can be seen here: http://annapolisquiltguild.org/index.html - beautiful!
Saturday, March 29, 2008
After auditioning many different fabrics and shopping far and wide, I finally decided on what to use in my dd's new quilt, and have completed eight rows:
Yard work is consuming a lot of time now - spring has sprung! And I've all but completed my challenge quilt for the Annapolis Guild annual challenge - still need to bind it, but I have a whole week left :-) I will post a pic after the meeting (they're shown at the next guild meeting anonymously.) I also need to prepare my entry slips for the annual show... Must get busy!
Thursday, February 28, 2008
Its a cold day, with ice on the lake and just a few geese in the orchard:
Perfect quilting weather!
I have been spending a lot of time ripping - I started quilting Folk Art Fantasy, but the backing wasn't cooperating, so I tore it all out. I'm now convinced I need to put it on a frame. <sigh> I've started on a larger version of Fiona's crib quilt. Its got lots of wonderful Robyn Pandolph pink and green florals. I've mapped it out in EQ5 and need to scan some of the fabrics, and hopefully I can finalize the layout soon!
I've also been busy quilting some quilts for others - here's the 2008 CECDS handprint quilt, made by Susan Donnelly:
Friday, February 8, 2008
I have finished the applique portion of my Folk Art Fantasy quilt, a design by Karen Kay Buckley, and am thrilled with how it has turned out:
I decided to rinse out the blue marking pen used to trace the design and imagine my horror to discover that one of the dark reddish orange threads ran! AAAAGGGHHHHH! Luckily its mostly onto matching fabric, but still. Its not like you can pre-wash thread! I'm looking forward to deciding how to finish it. I've already received the batt I ordered earlier this week (Connecting Threads now has an east coast mailing point - it only took three days to get my order - wow!) and I can't wait to get started on the quilting!
(later note: WAIT UNTIL YOU FINISH THE TOP TO CUT THE BATT (yes, mine is now TOO SMALL and so I have to order yet another.... <big sigh>)
Monday, January 21, 2008
Christmas is officially over! I finally finished this quilt kit that I've had for a couple of years now:
It uses Maison de Noel fabric by 3 Sisters and a pattern called Past Times, and was put out as a kit by Moda about 3 years ago. As a relative newbie quilter, I thought I'd wait until after Christmas to buy it, so I could get it on sale. Hah! Instead, I almost didn't find it at all. I finally found almost the last one in existence at an online shop in Michigan. My first experience with limited production runs. I pieced it in December 2006 - its a lovely pattern from a Aussie company called Threads of Time. Sometime after that I cleaned up my sewing room and lost the pattern. I loved the look of it and definitely wanted to try it with different material, so back online I went. Once again, almost impossible to find - what has happened to Threads of Time? Where did they go? I finally found the Past Times pattern and another one called Vintage Charm, also by Threads of Time. I ordered them both from a shop in Australia called Honeysuckle Cottage: http://www.honeysucklecottage.com.au/shop/ which is run by a very nice woman by the name of Kim Smith, who is both very patient and very helpful! The craziest part is that it took only a week for the patterns to get here. It usually takes longer that just to get stuff from the west coast! I'm now working on a hand applique piece called Folk Art Fantasy by Karen Kay Buckley. I challenged myself to use only stash, and with the exception of the stem material I've been using up some of my Meadow Waltz fat quarters that I got for Christmas a few years ago. I hope to have it finished soon! Ok, this year sometime... :-) Back to work...
Friday, December 14, 2007
I just finished stitching the binding down on this small tablerunner. Its for a school teacher friend who lives in an old converted schoolhouse. I actually hand quilted it, seemed to suit it better, and this is only the second binding I've stitched by hand ever! Its just as well I had saved handwork until today, because our power went out for some unknown reason this morning. Its not like we had bad weather today, it was beautiful out. I'm down to only two more christmas presents to make. Whew.
Wednesday, November 14, 2007
Christmas is looming, but I've just finished all that need to be mailed off to Canada - whew! Now to start on the rest....
I especially love how this one turned out - I used charm packs from Blackbird Designs' Chelsea Boutique for the top, and a soft brown fleece on the back. I might have to make another for me!
Saturday, October 13, 2007
Wow - its been a crazy few months. School is in, and I've been busy! I attended a course on hand applique with Karen Kay Buckley - not only inspiring, but I learned a lot too! I joined the Annapolis Quilt Guild. I bought a Bernina! I've been busy making bags, but since most are presents I can't post pictures of them. I have posted pictures of some other completed projects on the Pictures page, and will try to post more soon.
Wednesday, August 22, 2007
After a trip to Centreville to the Farmer's Market a few weeks ago I had to stop into Peggy's, the LQS, and what did I find but a fabulous quilt top featuring a line of fabric that I have long owned and loved but wondered what the heck I would ever do with: Panic in Provence, by Patrick Lose. LOVE this fabric, and love the pattern: Garden Party, from Designs by Lobo. And I especially love whoever at Peggy's translated the pattern to this particular fabric. I have been so excited by it that I have almost finished the top already! And this despite somehow making the center blocks the wrong size and having to resize everything else accordingly.... <sigh> I can't wait to finish it!