Artful Homemade Quilts Have A Way

[beautress]

*sigh* I'm in love with this one too. /hopeless case​

 

[beautress]

More mosaic quilts, or quilt wannabes:

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[boedicca]

These are so gorgeous!!!!!!

My plan when I retire is to get back to doing sewing projects - I'm inspired!

 

[beautress]

I may look up butterfly mosaic quilts, just because specie Lepidoptera amuse me when they flit about outdoors.

And searching along on bing did not disappoint.

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[beautress]

These are so gorgeous!!!!!!

My plan when I retire is to get back to doing sewing projects - I'm inspired!

Thanks, boedicca. I am such a quilt addict, I know many others who are too, and some of them work, but can't wait to get back to the sewing room when they get off.

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[boedicca]

These are so gorgeous!!!!!!

My plan when I retire is to get back to doing sewing projects - I'm inspired!

Thanks, boedicca. I am such a quilt addict, I know many others who are too, and some of them work, but can't wait to get back to the sewing room when they get off.

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mr. boe's best friend's mom retired a few years ago. She is the Mad Quilter - and my role model. Her town has a senior center with a quilting club - it sounds wonderful. So many creative ladies. I want to be part of something like that when I'm ready for a the big lifestyle switchover.

 

[beautress]

Ran across a Charlie Harper wall.....in Cincinatti. *sigh*

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[beautress]

These are so gorgeous!!!!!!

My plan when I retire is to get back to doing sewing projects - I'm inspired!

Thanks, boedicca. I am such a quilt addict, I know many others who are too, and some of them work, but can't wait to get back to the sewing room when they get off.

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mr. boe's best friend's mom retired a few years ago. She is the Mad Quilter - and my role model. Her town has a senior center with a quilting club - it sounds wonderful. So many creative ladies. I want to be part of something like that when I'm ready for a the big lifestyle switchover.

I know exactly what you mean. I didn't know what I wanted to be until I was about 41 years old. That's when I started a quilt store with stuff I bought from a quilt store going out of business 180 miles from Casper in 1987. I still own the store but live 1500 miles away now since I retired. My husband passed away 2.5 years ago. That's why I wasn't around for such a long time (I used to post as freedombecki). I just didn't have much direction after quilting my brains out all day every day instead of dealing with the pain of losing the best friend that I will ever hope to have when he died. Fortunately, he had such a good sense of humor, every time I thought of him, it was something he said or did that made me laugh. Now, I just miss him. Everything he ever did was for somebody else's good, but most of the time, they didn't know it.

 

[boedicca]

These are so gorgeous!!!!!!

My plan when I retire is to get back to doing sewing projects - I'm inspired!

Thanks, boedicca. I am such a quilt addict, I know many others who are too, and some of them work, but can't wait to get back to the sewing room when they get off.

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mr. boe's best friend's mom retired a few years ago. She is the Mad Quilter - and my role model. Her town has a senior center with a quilting club - it sounds wonderful. So many creative ladies. I want to be part of something like that when I'm ready for a the big lifestyle switchover.

I know exactly what you mean. I didn't know what I wanted to be until I was about 41 years old. That's when I started a quilt store with stuff I bought from a quilt store going out of business 180 miles from Casper in 1987. I still own the store but live 1500 miles away now since I retired. My husband passed away 2.5 years ago. That's why I wasn't around for such a long time (I used to post as freedombecki). I just didn't have much direction after quilting my brains out all day every day instead of dealing with the pain of losing the best friend that I will ever hope to have when he died. Fortunately, he had such a good sense of humor, every time I thought of him, it was something he said or did that made me laugh. Now, I just miss him. Everything he ever did was for somebody else's good, but most of the time, they didn't know it.

I'm very sorry for your loss. So hard to lose a loving spouse - he sounds like a wonderful man. I'm glad you are able to remember the good things as you've moved through your grief. Having an activity you love to do helps a lot. And I'm glad to see you posting again.

 

[beautress]

Thanks for those kind words, boedicca.

Before leaving for tonight's karaoke meeting, I worked on my second quilt this week till dark. I got all but the sides of the outer border after sewing the remainder of the blocks together with tiny red sashes, the black and white houndstooth print for the small inner border, and the cutest little wannabe Volkswagen favbric imaginable on a light turquoise background. I may have to do some more cutting, because I came up short a couple of inches on the top and bottom, and the sides for a crib quilt are much longer, so fortunately, there is almost half a yard left, so cutting extra fabric will not phase.

I sang Simon and Garfunkel's "Bridge Over Troubled Water" and Carly Simon's "Nobody Does It Better," from Ian Fleming's 007 movie, "The Spy That Loved Me." I left early, because I had screaming out loud pain from cramps in my lower left leg last night, not realizing that swollen feet meant so much trouble. So I took my medicine, but left early just in case.

Montana Quilt Artist, McKenna Ryan's work,
"Bridge Over Troubled Water"

Carly Simon's "Nobody Does It Better"
Theme Song of 007 Movie, "The Spy That Loved Me"

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[beautress]

The yellow tapes between crazy quilt squares is just zingy, and I just love it.

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[beautress]

The other day, I finished the little nine-patch quilt I was working on, plus I quilted two a day log cabin quilt squares, quilted onto 7.5" flanellette squares. Today, I finished several more to make 16 total squares, which I sewed together and reinforced the joined squares with a feather stitch, just like the quilting on the squares. I was so pleased, I decided to take it and the two 4-row postage stamp squares the quilt's top and bottom will be made a total of 20 more inches, which when joined will make the quilt measure 36x 56 when done (more or less, because when I start sewing borders on, I can see a need for extra stuff and add more inches to both or either the top-bottom pair or the left-right pieces.

Then I went shopping and found several pieces of beige that will complete this one, not to mention a few others. And I was short of hot pink fabric, after looking at all those beautiful squares and quilts I've been adding to my idea collection of files for making charity quilts. I realized I had some, but not enough hot pinks to make the fabulous quilts that having a variety of pinks can make. Oh, yawn, it's past my bedtime again, and I took a melatonin to help me sleep hours ago. If I comeback here tomorrow and find blatant errors, it will be because of almost falling asleep here several times in the last 2 hours, having visited the Ornithology and Lepidoptera threads I started when I was using the freedombecki name I had forgotten the password to. hehehe Old age ain't fer sissies!

Nighters, all.

 

[beautress]

Been quilting with machine feather stitch on a log cabin star quilt, and attached the squares to same-sized pieces of white flannel. After I finished quilting the logs, 100% in the ditch with little white stitches pointing up one way and down the other, well, I was awestruck by the effect white stitches had on joining light and dark logs on opposite sides of the other shade. The dark ones were dramatically charming, and the light ones were more subtle, but their side showed the shadows, and the dark fabrics obviated the dazzling effect only embroidery can add. Our mothers used to do this stitch by hand with awesome results. My machine only stitches to a width of about 6 millimeters ~ 3/8 inch, but the machine work has a beauty all its own in regular cadence that just made a statement. I couldn't wait till the next day to spend another 4 hours on 3 blocks, skipping a day now and then, until it was done. Oh, I already wrote about that above. Dah! Anyhow, today I took another trip looking for scattered zoo animals or anything that could be given to either a boy or girl baby, and had to go to two places before finding a bonanza of 5 fabrics. The one-inch scale means I only have to use 3" or less 5 times, so I can get two outside quilt from each of the 5 prints. It's so easy in the past to take quilts I made for newborns and put them into a senior citizens home, which I prefer to make small quilts that will double-cover slippered feet on a cold day, and that have dignity to reward someone who spent a lifetime serving family and now just needs a warm wrapping that isn't half bad to look at. I try to make the senior ones dignified, and the baby ones baby-fied. We have a big university in our town, which means a lot of kids are born to single mommies with next to no funding. Since a lot of people are into waiting forever to start a family, somebody has to bring the future generation into the world, and the least I can do is provide a little blanket. I have absolutely nothin' else to do except miss my dear man who has definitely gone to heaven, just for putting up with me, <giggle> and he'd prefer me to be busy and happy, sobeit! He wins again. *sigh* That man never got into an argument with me that he didn't win fair and square. Professional engineers are bright fellas, and they simply hold back their bets until they're holding a royal flush. That's why you should never be daffy enough to challenge a professional electrical engineer to a verbal duel, because they don't engage until they know every little detail and facet of fact before chatting about anything... lolol No wonder he was ready with a joke for every occasion. That would give him a few extra crucial seconds to present his well-ordered case! Nope not many arguments are fun with someone else who always wins each and every time. hahahaha! Just made me love that man all the more. A well-ordered argument augmented by fact beats iq hands down. Just sayin'.

 

[beautress]

Hand Feather Stitch Embroideries

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[beautress]

Machine feather stitch used to quilt around blocks

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Mine were white on dark and light "logs" on 16 log cabin blocks. The Bernina (far right) quilt blocks
are not like other machines. The feather's shaft uses a straight stitch at center, which does perfect stitch in the ditch.
Other feather stitches (5th stitch on red and white machine sampler) have a zigzag appearance, not a straight line down the center.
I'll see if I can locate a log cabin quilt done like mine.


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[beautress]

This scrappy and reversible log cabin quilt was a lot of work, but look at the pair of them admiring her handiwork! So good.

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[beautress]

Another scrappy log cabin in its basting stage (top done, back taped to floor, batting between, stab fingers with sharp needle!!! (it happens!)

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[beautress]

Well, didn't find another log cabin quilt like the one I'm working on with feather stitches on each and every top, bottom, and side seam on the entire quilt. I cannot tell you how long it takes, except I was at the machine before sunup till past two pm the other day. Oh, goodness, today I got up and sewed till noon between two loads of dishes and two loads of clothes. But I got those borders started with 1 1/4" squares, four deep at top and bottom, plus one narrow row of 1 1/4" squares along either side with a cute little coclique beige on off white fabric and went seeking tiny animals, found 5, bought a yard apiece and the rest of a bolt drastically reduced with child animal print for back of log cabin quilts using feather stitch to quilt. huff, puff, huff, puff. And delivered two large quilts (too big for me to quilt) to the Charity bees closet today. They're red, and I found a quilt like them online before starting, except instead of buying more fabrics, I'm pretty sure I had plenty enough of everything Oh, yeah, except the red dot fabric I found somewhere, just because it set off everything else really well. I'm doing a lot of repeating here for which I apologize, and instead of it being 9 pm, it's akkkk! 1 am. Oh, dear, goodnight all.

 

[beautress]

Took a lunch to a shut-in who is suffering from lung cancer chemotheraphy and all the associated side-effects, and sewed on the outer borders to the little log doozy I'm working on, but I keep making mistakes and need to focus more. *yawn* But it's fun trying new approaches to quilt as you go, and after I figure out how to back the 16 log cabin blocks with something warm, I need to attach the complex borders that have, basically postage-stamp squares 4 deep top and bottom, and 1 row of postage stamps on the much longer sides. I'm trying to keep it small so that it will be consistent, flat, sturdy, and has outer borders that reflect childhood things, like baby animals, toys, and stuff that makes kids smile. I think I'm looking at another week on this project. *more yawning* I have get that new printer up and running one of these days, so I can show and tell. You dont' have to talk so much if you show a picture, and in years past on this thread, I was able to show stuff from my old computer and old printer. I'm not sure what happened to that old printer, it doesn't seem to be around. It only cost about $29 five or six years ago when I bought it, so it may be a goner. I'll have to go through the office, which I haven't done well at, because it houses all my late husband's dear collections and business papers he thought were important to bring.

Best wishes to everyone for a wonderful Christmas and a Happy New Year. My cousin invited me to her house which is 40 miles away. I hope I'm well enough to go. I'll have to double down on focusing to be sure I take my supplements that reduce ankle swelling, bad knees, etc. Old age ain't fer sissies, and I'm a certified sissy!

See if I can find a complex log cabin like the little one I'm working on. Otherwise, I'll just post the closest log one I can find and the closest postage stamp charm border as well..
I miss seeing koshergrls' cute stuff she makes. I guess she's got her hands full these days with one thing or another.

Some images, nothing like what I'm doing, though, but add the parts together in your mind, and it will make sense.

a log cabin quilt with a border of squares larger than postage stamp, and on point, too:

This one is waaaaaay brighter than my dusty colors used, but lacks the 4 rows of postage stamp at top and bottom--the sides are similar if you substitute the reds with beige and brown child toy print. The star is a tad different here, too:

I like this one's similar quilting dimensionality, albiet it's done by hand:

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[beautress]

Oh, my, look what quiltmekiwi did at the lower border--a kind of postage stamp, and the quilting is wondrously done:

More pictures of her work here: quiltmekiwi: Log Cabin​