On The Design Wall...

 Blog O' Day Challenge- Day 19

  I'm Participating in the Blog- o' -Day Challenge here's a link back to moppin.com for the link-up;

https://muppin.com/the-2021-31-day-blog-writing-challenge/  

On the design Wall...

I often have more than one project on my design wall.  Such is the case today.  I removed the center of my Orphan Block project which is all sewn together, 'cause I needed space for this little project in the middle.  I'm still struggling with the Orphan Block borders so I thought starting this little Challenge Project might provide a distraction.

The Challenge theme is "Monterey Bay Life".  Anything to do with life in the Monterey Bay, It's rather broad.  I bought this Beach Scene fabric recently so I thought I'd try to incorporate that into the design.

The perspective is really off but I was determined to use that fabric!

I even went to the Beach yesterday to get some inspiration...

Where are the people!  LOL

Anyway,  these were the fabrics  we were given with the instructions to use as much as possible.

The green for the plants and the yellow for the sand was an easy application. The white background I rolled kind of like piping for foam for the waves.  I considered using the batik for the sky but it just had tooo much yellow in it.  So that's going to be the border.  I know that's kind of a cop-out but it actually looks pretty good!

I hope to get the top done today so's I can get back to the bigger project.

The Quilt Show is at the end of Feb. so I think I can get this all cleared off the design wall by then!

I hope you all have a Peaceful Sunday!

take care, cw

"if I Could Sew with...

Blog O' Day Challenge- Day 18

  I'm Participating in the Blog- o' -Day Challenge here's a link back to moppin.com for the link-up;

https://muppin.com/the-2021-31-day-blog-writing-challenge/  

If I could take a class with Nancy Crow I would like to do that.  I have heard from people who have taken classes with Nancy Crow that she is a very challenging teacher.  I think at this point a good kick-in-the-pants to Up My Game would be a great experience!  I did visit her web site at some point in the past year or so but her classes were all booked way in advance, cost A LOT and it's far to go ( she's in Ohio and I'm in California).  Kind of a long way to travel for a good kick in the pants!  LOL   But maybe I should really look into it...

Another short post.  More random photos to entertain ...

My Daughter in-law is a Nurse Anesthetist and she says when your all dressed up for surgery the only way to tell one  person from another in the surgery room is your cap.  She likes to where seasonal fabric caps to jazz things up so I made her this xmas fabric cap for Dec.

I make these caps reversible.  Since they need a lining I figure why not make it decorative!

This Santa fabric is a real hoot!  Deep Sea Diving Santa and his reindeer!  

Who'd thought?

I really like making Holiday gifts!

I think it's a great way to say "I love You!''

Happy Holiday sewing!

take care, cw

Favorite Sewlebrity

Blog O' Day Challenge- Day 17

  I'm Participating in the Blog- o' -Day Challenge here's a link back to moppin.com for the link-up;

https://muppin.com/the-2021-31-day-blog-writing-challenge/ 

 Favorite Sewlebrity

...Would probably be Gwen Marston.  I was lucky enough to see her speak in person a number of times and take several of her classes.  She was a natural speaker with a great sense of humor always able to     ad-lib and her quilts she shared were so wonderful and varied.  She was a great teacher!  She always had a stack of mini quilts (mostly hand quilted) to illustrate whatever design idea she was teaching and she was always encouraging to her students.  Gwen's style certainly influence me as a quilter.   Her Liberated style really allowed me to grow and experiment in my own quilt journey.  

Well another short post.  I will add some more random photos for your visual entertainment...

Here are a few quilts I've made that were influenced by Gwen's Liberated style.

Happy Holidays! cw

A Little Catch-up

Blog O' Day Challenge- Day 16

  I'm Participating in the Blog- o' -Day Challenge here's a link back to moppin.com for the link-up;

https://muppin.com/the-2021-31-day-blog-writing-challenge/

 I've been pretty busy the last couple of days so I've missed a few days.  Here's a brief Catch-up:

Day 14 - My Stash

...Is large!  I like all kinds of quilts and I make all kinds of quilt so I have all kinds of fabrics.  Reproductions, Asian, Batiks, modern, solids brights, darks etc. Right now my stash is a big mess.  It would take awhile to tidy it up so I'm not going to show any pictures, sorry.  I always say if I made a quilt everyday for the rest of my life I probably would not run out of fabric!  But it's like collecting stamps if you see it and you like it you gotta have it for your 'collection' LOL

Day 15- My earliest sewing memory

My earliest sewing memory was probably around age 5 or 6 and I was sewing Doll clothes with my sister (2 years older).  Our mom had given us a small bag of scraps and we were making 'skirts' by  cutting rectangles large enough to wrap around the dolls, sew a side seam and fasten with a button.   I finished what I was sewing and proudly showed it to my sister.  She said it was sloppy and it wouldn't do.  I think this was the beginning of my resistance to Back Stitching! 

Day 16 - Why do I sew?

I love sewing and I love fabric and I love the creativity of making things and giving them  to all the people I love!  

Well,  not a very long post and no visuals so I will end with some random pix just for fun!

My son collected this little souvenir towel when he was in Japan and he asked me to make a wall hanging with it.  I finished it a week or so ago so I could get it mailed off in time for xmas.

Different fighting / holds and positions of Sumo wrestlers

I found some Asian style fabric with tea pots  etc. Perfect for the backing!

This is a perfect example of a fabric I just bought 'cause I liked it and it ended up being just right for this project!

I hope all your Holiday projects are going well!

take care, cw

My Least Favorite Color

Blog O' Day Challenge- Day 13

  I'm Participating in the Blog- o' -Day Challenge here's a link back to moppin.com for the link-up;

https://muppin.com/the-2021-31-day-blog-writing-challenge/

Today's topic - My Least Favorite Color 

If you asked me a couple of years ago "what's your least favorite color?'  I probably would have said a color I call 'Yucky Brown'.   I had a huge stack of Orphan blocks that fit into this ugly Color category.  But I felt obliged to work with the blocks since they had been given to me for the purpose of making donation quilts.  Nothing like a little personal challenge to open ones own bias!

I found in the course of playing with these "ugly' blocks that there were many shades of 'yucky brown' but by grouping some of these blocks together the contrast was not bad.   Here's my first attempt:

Well it might not win any ribbons at the County Fair but it makes a decent lap quilt for donation and I saved some Orphan blocks from Block Purgatory!  LOL  

Encouraged by this result I went back to that pile of blocks and made two more lap quilts.

Of course the yucky browns kind of range from redish- brown to orange -brown and different sashing helped pull some of these blocks together.

I think this one below is my favorite. There's a lot going on in this little quilt.  I count about 15 different contributors to this quilt.  A happy ending for some 'yucky brown' Orphan Blocks!

These are all 36" by 48" the size the Vets program requests for wheelchair bound Vets.

So I guess 'yucky Browns' aren't so ugly when you put them in the right company and I learned a lot about my own bias and it was FUN!

To be honest I'm still a little shy of Orange.  But not because I don't like it,  but it's just so LOUD.

A little goes a long way! 

This Blog O' Day is fun I haven't posted this much in years!

I think I'm going to go sew now...

take care, cw

My Favorite Color

 Blog O' Day Challenge- Day 12

  I'm Participating in the Blog- o' -Day Challenge here's a link back to moppin.com for the link-up;

https://muppin.com/the-2021-31-day-blog-writing-challenge/

Day 12- My Favorite color

I don't really think I have a favorite color anymore.  If you asked me when I was five I would  not hessitate to say PINK!   I probably would have liked this quilt A Lot!

When I was in middle school I probably would have said Purple, green and blue.

In High School things got a little muddled (it was the 60's) all I wore was blue jeans and work shirts...

I suppose now I pretty much use all colors in my quilt making depending on the intended use of the quilt, who it's going to or whatever design idea I'm reaching for.

I probably still use more cool colors than warm but if you look at the quilt I'm working on now (see yesterdays post) even that is changing.

I do like working with modern color schemes, everything looks great with white or grey!

I hope your Holidays are going well.

take care, cw

Most Influential Class

Blog O' Day Challenge - day 11

  I'm Participating in the Blog- o' -Day Challenge here's a link back to moppin.com for the link-up;

https://muppin.com/the-2021-31-day-blog-writing-challenge/

 Most Influential Class

When I first got really serious about quilting in the mid 1990's I took every class I could fit in my schedule.. I took a lot of classes mostly to learn techniques , not necessarily to make whatever the quilt,  that was the end product;   It became clear pretty quick that if I kept going like that I would end up with a lot of UFOs.  So I decided to take the same basket of fabric to a number of classes so that all the different things I was making would coordinate in Color.

During this time I was lucky enough to take a 2 day workshop with Ruth McDowell called "Planning for Piecing".  She reviewed a whole list of techniques that she uses to make her incredible Art quilts and then let use loose to apply the techniques to whatever drawing we had brought.  I still have the drawing that I brought to class.  I did not get very far with it but I use all those techniques all the time.  It really gave me confidence to tackle whatever piecing challenge I wanted.  So armed with what I learned in Ruth's class and my basket of random units from different classes I made this quilt.

                

This represents three classes beside Ruth's.  The drunkard path blocks was one class,  the New York beauties was another and the border pieces was a third.   I learned a lot making this quilt.  It was the beginning of a long series of Composite quilts that I'm still working on now like the one I posted a pic of a couple of days ago...

I've done some work on it since that last picture.  I think I might get it done this month!  Yipee!

Have a great Saturday!

take care, cw