Tuesday, April 30, 2013

Crazy Baby

I've been looking at his pile of crazy 1 1/2" strips for a while. My niece is having a baby soon so I decided to see what I could do with them.
I cut the 1 1/2" strips into various lengths. Added a blue 1 1/2" square to one end, and sewed all the strips together end to end. Now there is one strip yards and yards long. I folded this strip in half and sewed the long edge together. Repeating this step until I got the size I needed.



It just made sense to add a 1 1/2" blue inner border.
 Now comes the fun part. Up until now I had a vision. I'll need to audition border ideas.
The wild print seems too much, and the blue boring.
I tried nine patches mixing the two fabrics. Like this better, but it's not quilt right either.
Here we go, I like this mix.


Crazy Baby


Next, on to the back!

Friday, April 26, 2013

Taking rubbing to the next level or three!



I've been playing around with my paint sticks again. Using freezer paper and rubbing plates. I can see more of this in my future!

Tuesday, April 23, 2013

This years For the Cure Quilt

Let's face it, I make quilts. Lots of quilts. My friend Merry walks in the Susan G. Koman 3 Day every year. And every year I make a quilt to raise funds for this important cause. This years For the Cure quilt is yellow, blue and white.

I chose to quilt in with my favorite flowers in the white strips and straight lines in the blue strips. Simple but effective!



Friday, April 19, 2013

A Sunny Spring Day in Seattle

Sun and spring, means a trip to the The Arboretum. It is a hidden gem on the shores of Lake Washington. Jointly managed by University of Washington and the City of Seattle, its 230 acres are a dynamic assortment of plants found nowhere else.


Tuesday, April 16, 2013

Enlarging & Reducing Photocopy Chart

I am working on a quilting design for my latest quilt. I drew the design just the way I wanted it. But wouldn't you know that it was too small. Here is the chart I use to make it just the right size!


1”
2”
3”
4”
5”
6”
7”
8”
9”
1”
100%
200%
300%
400%
500%
600%
700%
800%
900%
2”
50%
100%
150%
200%
250%
300%
350%
400%
450%
3”
33%
66%
100%
133%
166%
200%
233%
266%
300%
4”
25%
50%
75%
100%
125%
150%
175%
200%
250%
5”
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
120%
140%
160%
180%
6”
17%
33%
50%
67%
83%
100%
117%
133%
150%
7”
14%
28%
43%
52%
71%
86%
100%
114%
128%
8”
12%
25%
37%
50%
62%
75%
87%
100%
112%
9”
11%
22%
33%
443%
55%
66%
77%
88%
100%

Locate your current block size down the left hand column and then across the top find the size that you want your new block to be. Follow the column down and the row across till they meet and this will give you the amount you either need to enlarge or reduce your original pattern.


Example
To enlarge from 5" to 7", from the left column find 5", look across to 7". The percentage is 140% .
To reduce from 6" to 5", from the left column find 6" and across to 5". The percentage is 85%.

Friday, April 12, 2013

UFO's

I think about UFO's and how I don't like having them clutter my brain. I have used unconventional ways to deal with them for years. Pieces I don't want to finish do not remain in my studio for long. I might cut them up and put them on the back of something else. Give them to Community Service at my guild and sometime I even through them in the trash!

I found a new way to deal with them; I cut them up, saving the parts I like and use my Quilt-as-you-go method to sew the pieces back together again.
Calamity

Tuesday, April 9, 2013

The Quilting-Stitching Through the Layers

I'm working on my next competition piece. Looking for quilting design ideas. And thought you might like to see some of my picture collection. I haven't found just the right idea yet, so the search continues!
Florida

Eastern Washington

South Beach, Miami

Friday, April 5, 2013

Friends

 One of the best things about friends is the memories we share. My friend Linda recently shared a very special one, her Mother's red purse from the fifties. I LOVE it! Thank you Linda.

Tuesday, April 2, 2013

Great Tip!

I don't spend a lot of time cruising blogs, but occasionally I see one that I just have to share. This tip is GREAT!

Watch Ricky as he cleans his design wall with freezer paper and an iron!

Monday, April 1, 2013

Thank You For Making Quilting Day A Success



Company Logo


Dear Melody

International Quilting Weekend at TheQuiltShow.com was wild. We had over 90,000 visits and showed over 30,000 hours of video. These people came to see your shows and learn more about the art they love. Alex and I want to say a big "Thank You". 


We have a short video that is going out April 1 that we hope will make you smile. 
Ricky