Big Fish

This is my favorite fisherman near Lincoln City, Oregon, last week with a 30 lb. Chinook Salmon. Too in love to keep it to myself.

Magazine Scraps

Apparently, I don't just collect fabric scraps. I collect magazine scraps about fabric as well, which after watching a few hoarders on cable, encourages me to stay organized. Of course, those people probably thought they were organized, too. One of the pages I kept was an article in Better Homes & Gardens Patchwork & Quilting magazine about Kaye England and her studio. I love these pieces, because we get to go inside the homes and studios of the people I love. And you know what? Their spaces are always such a perfect reflection of who they seem to be. Plus, who wouldn't want a design studio like theirs?

On the wall in Kaye's studio (in my picture - on the right), was this fantastic quilt in progress. The caption said it was a pattern she was working on called Statehood. I was mesmerized, so I kept that page. I'm ready to try it out, so I searched her site and she finished it! She ended up calling it Amber Waves of Grain, and I ordered the pattern. Good thing I did. The pieces are TINY!!!! She said it took her seven years and I can see why. Those little stars, seven of forty nine done, are 4" small! The good news is it doesn't take many scraps.

I'm excited to be doing a traditional, quilty-quilt. I'll keep updating you on my progress, but don't hold your breath. I'm in no rush.

Muslim Fabric

Elisa was at Parent Teacher Conferences this week, and this image caught her eye on a Giving Tree for the school.

I'm not quite sure what to say. Paul said I'll be put on a watch list if I say anything. Are they looking for burqua fabric? Would it take two or three Muslims standing on top of each other to reach 4 yards? If we see a word often enough, it even creeps into our fabric.

Scrappy X's

The fun thing about having quilter friends is gleaning from their great ideas. Erica did this quilt from a tutorial online in much different fabrics, and using her scraps, and I fell in love all over again!

There are a few different camps of people who come over and see my quilts. Most often I get, "what are you going to do with these?" as if the having isn't doing enough, which always makes me feel self-conscious. Or "do you ever sell them?" Answer: not often. Another common question is, "do you have them on everyone's beds?" Answer: embarassingly not. My daughter is the only one. Not that we don't use the quilts at our house, I just haven't made any specifically for beds. So my youngest really did need one for his bed and I wanted Aunt Grace. Here's my version of Erica's splendor.

Stash Buster Finished

Family Wheels

When I saw this fabric, the entire line jumped out at me. I loved the fact that it's for boys, very hard to find, and the colors and shapes were so refreshing and imaginative. It's Wheels by Riley Blake. I didn't do anything tricky with it, just a standard baby quilt.

Several months after I had it finished, I went to a family reunion of sorts and saw some second cousins I hadn't seen since I was very young. Turns out, Deena Rutter, one of those cousins, designed Wheels for Riley Blake! Now I really wish I had done something cooler with it. She's working on her first independent line now, and continues to be a successful scrapbook paper designer. I'm so proud of her and so glad she's making terrific fabrics for the rest of us!

Christmas Quilts

I know I haven't shown anything new lately, mainly because life ran away with me. I always found time to squeeze in an hour of quilting here or there, but lately I've been dragging my tongue and falling into bed instead of being productive when everyone is in bed. I'm making a lot of posts this week to show what I've done the last few months. It's not like I've done this in the last week.

This is my daughter's Christmas quilt. The orange and green were left over from the Orange Papillons sample quilt I did. The orange had this great hot pink poof in it, so I matched it for the rest of the quilt. My daughter loves bright and loud and crazy - kind of like her little personality, so even though it seems a bit over the top, I know she'll love it.

IKEA Fabric

And when all else fails, there's always something fun at IKEA. I have no idea what I'll do with this, and it's a bit heavier than quilting fabric like the black border I used on the Simon Schama quilt I did last year. After I washed it, it softened up and now I use it as a rug of sorts in front of the kids' toy bins - hardwood is a killer on their little knees.

And, check out these sweet flowers! They're about 5" and I think the set was $5. I bought two. I might use them with the fabric above . . .

10 Lovely Quilts by Laurie

Laurie Price was good enough to share just some of her many beautiful quilts last night. She likes big block quilts, felted wool, exchanges with her friends, and family heirlooms she's received. Check out her lovelies.

Fall Exchange Party

Last night we exchanged our fall blocks. I'm so happy with how they look, I want to sit down right now and do something with them! If only time would permit . . . And a big welcome to Peggy and Cami who are great quilters that have joined our group!

Fig & Plum Done

I finished quilting & binding the Fig & Plum kit by Fig Tree Quilts. I chose a backing by Anna Griffin that was on a sale table. I really love it.

Another Pass at Raw Edges

Here's a look at a baby quilt done with unfinished edges, for my friend Kerri. I used the pattern Abundantly Blessed, by Cotton Way, and scraps from a sample sale I went to a few years ago. This is a really fun take on cathedral windows. You sew squares together for a traditional quilt top, next sandwich it with batting and a backing, and then sew orange peel templates all over the top - quilting the entire quilt at the same time.