A milestone

I have a milestone coming up soon, my 1000th blog post. When I started blogging in 2007, I wanted a way to post about my classes for the people taking them as well as for other people interested in quilting. I hadn't read a lot of blogs at that point, but I loved what I saw.

I had sort of a rocky start, not really posting much to begin with. I'm not sure why that was, exactly, because I wanted to focus on quilting on the blog, and I am usually doing some type of sewing or quilting related project most of the time when I'm not work. I don't really consider myself a writer, per se, so I do have trouble with the writing aspect, sometimes. Part way through 2008 I started doing a better job of posting more regularly.

 I thought it might be fun to look through some of my pictures from 2007 just to see what I was teaching back then.

I remember that I loved this circular bargello when I saw it on a shopping trip with friends, so came home and started working on it. I had already made a couple of other bargellos, the one below was supposed to depict a garden scene with flowers, a stream and a rocky path. not sure if I succeeded, but I thought so at the time and had this quilt hanging over my bed for many years. 

I bought this panel while vacationing with my sister in Canada...I got one for my friend Jo as well and we put together wall quilts and embellished them with beads and stitching. I don't seem to have a picture of hers, but this is mine. 

A group of friends and I did a round robin block exchange. We gathered our own fabrics and passed them around monthly. You had to make blocks that were the equivalent of three 12" blocks....two could be 12" blocks, but at least one had to be equivalent parts. It was my first experience with a round robin and I loved it.

I designed the Potato Chip quilt around that time and have taught the class and sold the pattern many times. I made this quilt for a friend, so eventually gave it to him. A few years ago I made a new version.

A few years ago I made a new version.  These are just a few of the things I was working on back in 2007...I won't bore you with all my pictures!

 I'm not sure how many of my students actually read my blog, but I have enjoyed the blogging process and met so many wonderful quilters through this medium. I don't always have as much time as I would like to read other blogs, but try to keep up with some of my favorites as well.  I find it to be relaxing and inspirational to read about what others are doing in the quilting world. 

Do you blog about quilting? What is your favorite thing about quilting blogs?

A finish day

I worked on  the bargello today, sewed on  the binding (used the same fabric as the border) and tacked down the sleeve...it is officially finished! The binding is not my favorite part to do, so sometimes I procrastinate. (So I'm really proud of myself.)

I then got to work on this landscape wallhanging I started several years ago after a trip to Canada to see my sister. I found the pattern in a shop there and enjoyed learning how to do this type of applique. I hand quilted it, but was never sure if it was finished. You know the feeling? 

So it has been sitting here for a few years like that. In fact, last year I hung it by my sewing machine in hopes that I would be inspired to finish it. So today I got it down, chose  a binding (it is all of 17" x 24") and sewed it and a sleeve on. I then decided to do a little more quilting, but did it with invisible thread and my machine.

These are closeups of the handquilting.

You are probably sick of seeing the bargello, but here is the proof the binding is done. You will have to take my word for it that the sleeve is sewn down...

Back to the bargello

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I spent all day sewing today. I finished the curvy bargello by adding the border.

I got the backs sewn together for it and the diamond quilt. This dropped out of the backing piece. She pounced on it and claimed it for her own.

 This is more like it.

Then I quilted the bargello. It went pretty fast as it really isn't that big (about 47" x 47"). I used a bright variegated thread and like how it blends in with the front.

You can see it better here.

From the back...I used this panto because it is looser and has lots of movement. With all the seams in it, I didn't want too tight a pattern. Anyone want to guess how many squares in this one?

I cut the binding and made a sleeve for it, so might actually get it finished! But not tonight...

Retreat fun in Bedford IA

I had so much fun at our retreat at the Farmers Dotter Quilt Retreat in Bedford, IA over the weekend I'm not sure where to begin. Here we are, arriving and getting our things positioned for a weekend of sewing. Pat, Dianne, Diana, Cindy and Rose. In the center, by the cutting table, is Brenda, aka the Farmer's Dotter.

Kim arrived a little later, as she had to work Friday....but she was ready to sew when she got there.

We did a lot of sewing and the area was just right for sewing and talking. We wanted to do this retreat to catch up on projects, or just work on something fun. It is not the type of retreat where there are classes.  She has cutting and ironing areas set up for all to use. Pat finished her Garden Window Sampler as did Rose.

Cindy started a brand-new project when we arrived, using some jellyrolls she had purchased last year.

So it was fun to watch her progress.

Everyone finished at least one project except me. I worked on my curvy bargello. I have posted about it before.  I had 20 rows finished when I got there, and got 19 rows on during retreat. There are 43 rows all together.

So when I left this is what it looked like. I only had 4 rows left to do, and I finished them yesterday. So the center is finished. Now I have to decide what I will do next...borders? or not?

Back to the retreat...what was really nice, you can choose to be pampered, and we did. So Brenda cooked all our meals for us. As you can see, it was wonderful. She has been collecting antiques for 25 years, and has her house decorated with them. She also uses her pretty dishes and has many pretty tablerunners to use on the table. It was so nice to be able to sew and just get up and go eat. What a luxury and a great vacation!

We also visited the Quilt Coop quilt store near Clarinda on our way there, and stopped at Seams To Be Quilt Shoppe in Plattsmouth on our way home.

 This is the patio where we ate dessert every night. It was hot while there, but cooler at night, so pleasant to sit outside for a bit. We had a wonderful time....it was a great group of friends and a wonderful hostess who made us feel like we were in the home of a friend.

Bargello progress

I had my stitching day with my friends on Sunday and I worked on my twisty bargello. I now have 15 rows sewn together and about 8 more figured out, just have to cut and sew. Hopefully I will get some more done on it tomorrow night.

It irritates me that this picture will not post the right way, so you have to look at it sideways. Sorry.

Back to the Bargello

I worked some more on the twisty Bargello Mirage by Derek Lockwood. I pieced together 12 more rows, and have 9 sewn together now. It's a lot of fiddling around (sewing and unsewing) for a quilt this size, but I think it will be worth it.

Here are 6 more rows lined up ready to sew to the rest.

 I taught a stringpiecing class yesterday. It was fun and everyone had mounds of strings/strips in front of them. I will post some more pictures later.

It motivated me to come home and work on a model that I had previously made  for a different stringpiecing class. For this one I had colorized the strings just to see how it would look.( I usually just put them together in any color order.) Most of the time I have to finish a whole quilt to make a model for the class, but for this class I had only done 4 rows of 6 for the model, as you can make these any size you want.  I had made some more blocks and just never finished putting them together. So I dug them out last night and and worked on it.  Now I have to decide if I want a border or leave it as is.

It's a start

With this bargello, you make 6 strip sets, then as you assemble the rows, you have to adjust some of them. So you look at the diagram and take off what you don't need on a strip, and attach it to the next strip. You continue to do this until you have your full row, which in this case is 39 squares. Because the pattern changes, so do your rows. On these first rows, even though my green strips have 7 squares I am only using 2 on each end in the first row, 3 in the 2nd row, and 4 in the 3rd row.

The inspector showed up.

More strips

Here are more of the strip sets I have ready for the Mirage bargello. Pinks...

 

  

Oranges....

  

Purples....

  

Blues....

 

All of the strips ready to go.  Had a class last night. but hope to work on it a little tonight.

Pretty strips...new project

 

I bought this Beautiful Bargello book awhile back and have been anxious to start the Mirage quilt featured inside. I have made a couple of other bargellos, but never one that seemed to twist and turn. I am using some gorgeous batiks...even the trimmings are beautiful!

Cut off the selvages too...amazing all the selvages I wasted for all those years.

I cut them in sets of colors, so as not to get too confused on how many to cut of each set. That is how they were presented in the book. With 23 different colors, it would be easy to mix them up.

 

The strips are 1 1/2" wide. I used all fat quarters, so hope it works out the same as it would if I used WOF. I think it should. The quilt isn't very big when finished...about 47" sq.

Here is the first set of strips finished. You make 6 sets of strips, all different colors.