More bindings and hollow cubes

 I spent all day sewing yesterday. I am determined to get bindings on some quilted quilts, so started with those.  Then I worked on sewing the little trapezoids to the triangles on 2 more sets of colors for the cubes. These 4 sets of colors are ready to go! I haven't decided on an arrangement yet, just had to see what they looked like. It's funny, when you are up close to them, you don't see the 3D effect...they look like multicolored hexagons. I will have to take a picture up close next time I have them on the wall and see if it shows in the picture.

 The last 2 sets of colors are going to be mixed, as they show that in the book. I am excited to get these cut and see how they look with the others!

 This is a  kaleidoscope quilt I made about a year ago. I used the border fabric for the binding, so it blends right in. I usually sew both sides of the binding on by machine, because of time restraints. If you are careful, this way works well.

 This Stack n Whack quilt has been around for awhile...in fact I have hung it on display several times as a class model quilted, but not bound. (yea, I have no pride, huh? In my defense, I figure at least it's quilted!) I used the backing fabric for the binding on this one.

Here is the back. It is a more muted green, but love the canopy of trees...it's a rainforest.

I'm going to an auction today. I have only been to one auction, but have always thought it sounded like fun. There are fabrics and craft supplies at this one...so should be interesting.

More cubes and letter progress...

 I worked on another color of cubes over the weekend. Love these so far! It's funny, when you put them on the wall, they don't look 3D, but when you back away, there those cubes are!

 When I went in for my class last night, I got to see some progress on these quilts from a couple of the ladies who had been in the free pieced letters class.  Check out the little cupcakes she is appliquing on her quilt. Her border  has these cupcakes. She has also started a new project!

 This gal was deciding on an arrangement and planning how far apart her letters should be. I love how the letters don't all have to be the same size or shape!

Now, what letters should I make next?

Bindings and kitties

 I finished the bindings on 2 more quilts over the weekend. The Matthew quilt is bound,washed and ready for it's owner to be born...she is due in about 3 weeks. I used the light blue that I used in the checkerboard for the binding. I love how they crinkle up after washing.

 The Diamond Rehash is bound and washed as well. I'm not sure where it will go yet, maybe over my chair. Even though this was made with the leftovers from another quilt, it has its own beauty. Sometimes those are the best!

 I went to Seams to Be Quilt Shoppe in Plattsmouth on Sunday. I found these 3 fabrics that I think will work with the others in the Hollow Cube quilt.

 I was laying out fabrics so that I could take a picture and Conrad jumped right in to help. He must love yellow or something!

 I did find some good yellows! They are hard to find sometimes.

What is it about cats and fabric?  He finally ran off to attack play with Smokey.

I am teaching one of the monthly Sampler Clubs tonight...it's a great bunch of ladies!

Hollow Cubes and bindings

 I spent a lot of time sewing this weekend! I got all of the Hollow Cube strip sets that I had sewn cut into triangles. I have the additional strip sewn to 2 of the color sets. Here is a preview....I had to put some up on the wall to see how they were turning out! I love this 3D optical illusion!

 A lot of you know that I have a "few" quilts that need bindings. I sorted all of my tops last summer into "needs" categories. Some need bindings, some need to be quilted. I didn't post the full list, as it is l-o-n-g and I do have some pride! I sewed the binding on one of them yesterday, the Puzzle Quilt. I taught this class last year 3 times, so it hung for a long time on display quilted, but not bound. At least it was quilted, right? The scrappy binding was all made and ready to go. I have been trying to make the binding when I finish the top, so I am not looking all over for something that matches when I finally do get around to binding it.

I sewed binding on 2 other quilts Saturday, will take pix later and show you. These were not on "the list", but more recently made. I also took a trip to one of my favorite quilt shops yesterday. More on that later.

Conrad is almost as big as Smokey now. Here they are a few months ago. Look at that fluffy tail! It is so long. I have a feeling he will be bigger than her before he's finished growing!

Wonky is as wonky does...

I wanted to finish those wonky stars, so played around a bit with a few fabrics for the centers. I finally settled on these 2, as I decided to make all four blocks have the same center. The two strips that I chose weren't the same width, but I figured it didn't matter as the blocks were wonky, the centers might as well be too.

So I squared up the centers so they were "off". I love them!

Here is one ready to sew!

Another one, aren't they cute?

This one seems a little crazier than the rest, but I like it anyway.

Here are the four that I finished. I don't have any more yellow squares to use up, so will have to cut some more fabric to make more. Not sure if I should buy more yellow, or go with another color. It might be fun to have scrappy backgrounds too.

Conrad is turning into quite a quilt model! As I was trying to take pix, he insisted on being in them! 

I moved a block to the floor, since he didn't want to get off of them, and you can see what happened. 

I think he will make a great quilter!

Funky Rock Stars

I  felt like making some funky stars the other night, so I got out some yellow squares that one of my students gave me. They were cut the wrong size, she didn't need them, and she didn't want to throw them away. So I took them, but wasn't sure what I would use them for either! (Thanks Laura! you know I can't throw usable stuff away!)

They were perfect for this. I used some leftover strips I had from another project and make wonky points.

I love these rose fabrics.

This blue actually looks way better for real, but the color's not great on this picture.

I'm not sure what I will use for the centers, as I don't have a wide enough strip of  matching fabric to cut squares. Back to the drawing board.
Thanks Laura!

Money Laundering & a hoard of dishes

I came by this money legally, really. 

It all started with cleaning. I know, you aren't supposed to clean when there is sewing to be done, but I had a lot of dishes to do.

 I have a lot of tea sets. They aren't fancy sets, or expensive sets. Just some that I have been given or have purchased over the years. I also have some stoneware that my sister has brought from Canada. It all collects dust, unfortunately, that you can only ignore so long.

 It is easier to wash them than it is to dust them, so I just kept washing them up, cleaning the shelves and then putting them back again. At one point, I pulled a $20 bill out of the water. Evidently I had stuck it in one of the containers with lids and forgotten it. Found money! the best kind!

I am downsizing, so have given a friend's daughter some of the tea sets. Hopefully she will enjoy playing with them. I also took down some other soft crafts that I had made, but am ready to pack away for now. I even threw some stuff away! I am not a hoarder, but I like my little stuff sitting on shelves. And I have lots of beautiful oak shelves that my dad has made over the years. So for now they are looking a little "cleaner" and less cluttered.

 I also have a small tea cup collection that my sister keeps feeding. I love them...they are not going anywhere! They are in my hutch, so didn't get a bath yesterday. I will show them off one of these days.

My sister-in-law made this porcelain doll for me many years ago. She has been hanging out on the piano since then, and her dress was very dusty, to the core. Usually I just brush her off, but this time I decided to try washing it. I figured if it still looked bad I could make her a new one. Here she is, waiting for it to dry. It looks almost as good as new.

I still have a few more shelves to empty and a few more dishes to wash, as well as some more downsizing the stuff sitting around, but it's a start.

Free piecing letters is so much fun, now I'm in the mood again!

 I taught a free pieced letter class yesterday, using Tonya Ricucci's book, Word Play Quilts. Gladys loved making her letters, and since the lower case A and E are the same, she made them all at once....

Pat was having fun with her pink themed quilt. Everyone found the K to be a challenge, but loved them when finished.

 As you can see, they did very well. It is sort of hard to wrap your head around just making, without measuring every little piece into perfect proportions, but they were getting more liberated by the hour!

You might remember when I was making the class model, Just Eat Cake.  I wanted to have a starting place for them. Two of the students asked if it was ok to make their own versions, which was fine with me!

Dianne found some coffee fabrics she loved, so she came up with this. We didn't really think she needed the word " coffee", but if she didn't use it, she would have to go shopping for margarita fabric! So think she is just going with the coffee! It will be very cute when finished!

There were two more ladies in class, but they left early because we had some severe storms coming through our area yesterday. That means I didn't get pics of their letters, but don't worry, I will be stalking them soon for them! They can't get away from my camera that easily!

These are the letters I pieced during class, so that they could follow along and learn as I made them. Some they made on their own. They were doing very well! It also got me in the mood to make some more letters....let's see, what goes with J-a-k-s-t? 

Fabulous Friday!

The main reason it is fabulous is because it is Friday!

I did get the bindings pressed and ready to go the other night. Otherwise I have been doing some cleaning and other boring things at night...no sewing. I have had a bad headache since yesterday, not sure if it is allergy related or what. It was pretty severe by last night, but is better this morning. Hopefully it will go away as the day goes on.

I am really excited about teaching a class on free piecing letters tomorrow. It's so much fun and I think I will have some new converts to this style of piecing after the class. I am going to take the baby quilt along, just to show another way to use letters in quilts.

I guess it's time to get this Friday started and head to work!

Binding...it always ends with binding...

I decided to sew together the bindings for the baby quilt and the Diamond Rehash last night. I had some pattern printing to do, so figured I could sew, and press in between printing.

I did get the patterns printed, but this is as far as the bindings got. They sort of look like a kitty nest, don't they? They won't take long to press tonight. 

Quilting Diamond Rehash with a new design...

 I have been wanting to get the Diamond Rehash quilt quilted for awhile now. It's a throw made from the leftovers from the St. Mark's Quilt.

I have also been wanting to try out this new panto. I like to try out new designs on smaller quilts. I used matching blue thread on the back and a bright multicolored thread on the front so it blends well. 

Maybe too much, as it is hard to see how the pattern turned out! 

I love this little quilt and have plans for it....at MY house! Not sure what I am going to bind with. I want to get it made and finished!

You can see the pattern a little better on the back.

My spring break is over and it's back to work for me today! Catch up with you later!