Returning to Myself

This summer I've been slowing making some changes.  Just some subtle little changes to please me.  It feels like I am returning to myself.  That's a very good feeling!

I pulled out my painted wooden fruit bowl from the '90s.  I have always considered it one of my favorite thrifted treasures.  I haven't used it in 15 years.  I'm sorry bowl.  I'll do better now. 💗

I machine embroidered these flower basket blocks about 6 years ago.  I turned them into pillows 3 years ago.  No one except me has been particularly excited about them.  Guess what?  I don't care.  I love them on my bed now.

Recently I decided to reclaim my guest room.  This is one of the raw edge quilts I stitched last year.  I wasn't sure if I would like it as a bedspread but when I looked at the patches and so many were familiar fabric from my clothes, my son's clothes or fabrics I've had in my stash for a long time, I fell in love with it.  My collection of raw edge pillows supports a few fun thrifted pillows I picked up this year.

The other evening I sat down again with a block I started hand embroidering from a very large crazy quilt project called My Crazy Life.  I did all the block piecing in 2013 - 2014.  At the time I didn't know where I would hang it but now I know it will be hung in my guest room.  

Below are all the blocks.  Nine 20" blocks & I have a box of linens & trims for a wide border.  Lots of significant embroidered motifs, fabrics & trinkets to signify my life.  It's a slow embroidery project.  I really hope to stay motivated & stitch in the evenings.

It's feeling good around my house again.  I'm pleased.  I even went out and looked at my Corvette again.  I'm feeling the urge to drive it. 

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I love reading your comments.

Have a Creative Day Y'All! 

Thinking Ahead: Houston Furniture Bank

By the time Sunday rolls around I'm ready to take a break and relax.  By that I mean figure  something out.   If an idea has been rolling around in my brain I usually need to put some effort into evaluating whether I can pull it off, it has enough interest to keep me motivated, if I have suitable supplies, or who will it benefit.

In the spring I pulled all my fleece blankets and scraps & fused them together into batts measuring 72 x 86" roughly.  My intent was to have a stack of usable batts ready when needed.  I stacked them in one corner of my guest room.

This year my guest room became the dumping ground for my Poshmark clothes, bags of art market items, stacks of finished quilts and the ever-growing stack of batts.  This week I decided I wanted my guest room back.  I also have been thinking about a new bedspread (as mentioned in a previous post). Once I unearthed the bed & looked at the quilts I've already sewn for myself this year, I realized there were 3 that would be perfect for my guest room.  With new resolve I worked on the room and it's almost finished.  I'm contemplating using it for the winter months.  Just a little switcharoo to keep my life exciting.  (Ha! ha!)

I've been spending quite a bit of time looking through my fabrics again.  Some of the boxes on shelves have not been opened in 5 years.  New to me fabric has taken over the once open aisles between the shelves.  There are tubs with all kinds & varieties of fabrics; enough to keep me busy for the rest of my life.  The tubs are roughly divided between fabrics & clothes to use for patchwork clothes & fabrics for quilts.

In a broad way I am asking myself if I still like the fabric and could I see myself using it in the future.  Mainly, the answer is Yes.
I have some foot locker sized tubs containing home dec fabrics my friend gave me about 8 or 10 years ago.  They are taking up a lot of space and I really want to use them soon.  They are valuable  because they are 52 -54" wide, just a little heavier than quilting cottons and the miscellaneous colored batts will not show through them.

My biggest disadvantage is not having any white batting.  I could sew cute quilts with the 5 tubs of quilting cotton fabric my friend gave me last year but I don't have white batting.
So I am limited to fabrics where I can use the fused batts.  I like a challenge.  It's all good.

One of the Houston agencies of interest for my quilt ministry is Houston Furniture Bank.  They have a current initiative called "No Kids on the Floor" where they aim to provide 100 twin mattresses to Houston children each month.  Through various social service agencies families are able to work with Houston Furniture Bank to "Make Empty Houses Home", including a bed for children.  In Houston alone, it is estimated that 300,000-500,000 children sleep on the floor nightly.

I had a casual conversation with the Houston Furniture Bank social media director about the possibly of providing quilts for the kids' beds.  I would start collecting quilts in 2020 when my commitment to Angel Tree ends.  I'll talk more thoroughly with HFB to see how my goals will align with their initiative when 2020 arrives.

I can be a bit of a math head when needed.  As I was eyeing the stack of batts ready for use, I decided to do the math & see how many quilts I could expect to provide with those batts.  Turns out it would be 8 quilts. By the time January rolls around I will have another stack of scraps to fuse into a few more batts.

Then I decided I needed to figure out the most efficient and personally pleasing way for me to sew these quilts.
That way would be the flip & sew method on the longarm.
The row lengths are sewn together with a domestic machine, the rest is all sewn with the longarm.  It's great fun to see it develop!

I'll use the longest lengths of the home dec fabrics (at 50-52" wide) and add another long length to get the 90" width.  I easily have pulled about 25 yards already.  I'm trying to stay gender neutral.

I decided I needed 17 yards of fabric roughly 90" wide for the backing.  I'm planning to sew a long length and load onto the longarm.  Then I can compose and sew the face of the quilt as I want with scraps and yardage.  I'll need roughly 34 yards of scraps + yardage.
Optimistically I'd like to think  this will put a big dent in my fabric supply.  I can be naive at times.

With my current quilt obligations, I won't be able to start the twin quilts immediately.  Working through this scenario has helped me decide what to do with a ton of fabric. I needed to take time to figure that out.

***If you would like to plan ahead & contribute to the Houston Furniture Bank's initiative "No Kids on the Floor" with me, I am designing quilts to be 60 x 85"  (or as large as 63 x 90, if you are so inclined).  Fairly gender neutral but certainly not required. ***

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 I love reading your comments.

Have a Creative Day, Y'All! 

Angel Tree Quilt: Muscle Cars

Here's a Super Muscle Car Quilt for an Angel Tree Boy!  

The only thing that would make it better would be a Corvette mixed in with those Chevy SS bad boys.  💪💪  (Don't tell anyone there's a Winnie the Pooh fleece blanket inside!) 

Thanks Deborah! 

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In Action!

I got a shot of Elvis enjoying his new bed!

He usually jumps up when he sees the phone pointed at him so this is a rare picture!  

Have a Creative Day, Y'All!  

Those 3 Panels . . . . Again!

Those 3 panels wanted to be a dog bed!

I gathered up a bunch of polyester filled pillows and used them as stuffing (as pillows).  So when this needs to be laundered, I can just pull out the pillows. 

Now to coax one of my dogs to use it!  

Join the conversation!  💬💬

Cathy, your comment prompted me:  I have a thrifted footstool I had planned to recover with my raw edge yardage.  

Have a Creative Day, Y'All! 

Those 3 Panels . . . Yea, no.

Reality set in yesterday when I realized I didn't have unlimited energy to work on a project I didn't particularly like very much.  As I was going to bed I asked myself why I thought I wanted to work on the 3 panels when I had a huge crazy quilt that could use my attention and I liked it!  So, that put a quick stop to all the messing around with the 3 panels. Well, and the commission that is waiting too.  I decided to finish it as a couch throw and give it to an organization as a fundraiser for their upcoming silent auction. 

After work today I pawed through the box of samples again and found some full lengths I could use for the panels.  A few hours later I had this dreadful piece.  I would like to say the lighting where it is hanging is the problem.  It very well could be but it really is muddy looking.  It is also bulky & possibly a little stiff.  Nothing about it says "cozy quilt".   It's probably better suited to be patchwork upholstery than a quilt.  Which speaks to the original purpose of the fabric.  Lesson learned.  Not all pigs' ears want to be silk purses.

I'm ready to let the boxes of upholstery/drapery samples go.  My friend is coming over to look at them (for upholstery) and what she doesn't want will go somewhere else.  (I am keeping the bright pieces from the video.  They are not stiff and ugly.)

So what do you think?  I don't want another UFO hanging around . . . . .

I may be reacting a bit harshly to this piece.  It doesn't ring any bells for me.  

It was just more fun than I could handle. 

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Have a Creative Day, Y'All! 

  

STUDIO TALK: Ideas for a Quilted Bedspread

Welcome to STUDIO TALK!

Watch as I work through a design idea for a Guest Room Bedspread! 

Join the Conversation!  💬💬

I enjoy your ideas!  

Have a Creative Day, Y'All! 

Angel Tree Quilts: 4 for the Boys

 These are fun quilt tops Deborah sent me!  They use a variety of green fabrics.  I have this bolt of green check (maybe about 8-10 yards).  Green is not always a favorite color of mine; probably from growing up in the Army.  All that olive green was disgusting.  But, a crisp clear green appeals to me!  I'll be sad when the bolt is finished but happy to use it for the kids' quilts.  I scored a king sized fleece blanket this week for $1.41 at the thrift so it was used for the batting in these quilts. 

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Are you enjoying the Angel Tree quilts?

Have a Creative Day, Y'All! 

STUDIO TALK: 4 Green Quilts

Welcome to these 2 short STUDIO TALKS!  

I'm chatting about 4 Angel Tree quilt tops Deborah sent me.  You can also see my frugal reclaimed quilting notions!  

If you would like to contribute to the Angel Tree project, the most needed supply is batting.  Any money sent to me is used conscientiously for batting expenses; primarily thrifted blankets.

Join the Conversation!  💬💬

Have a Creative Day, Y'All!  

Use something reclaimed in your quilt today! 

STUDIO TALK: Unboxing Mary Lu's quilts

Mary Lu sewed some wonderful quilt tops from thrifted reclaimed nursery linens.  I share them with you in this latest episode of STUDIO TALK.

Do you have favorite ways to reclaim thrifted items for quilts? 

Please Join the Conversation!  💬💬

Have a Creative Day, Y'All!

DeStash: Double Sided Quilted Fabric

I also have a 1 yard length available.

Here's a nice selection of Quilted Fabrics.  They were originally $8.98/yd from Hobby Lobby (I'm guessing).  I'm selling them for $5/yd which is a real bargain!  Email me if interested! 

100% cotton with polyester batting; 44" wide

Have a Creative Day, Y'All! 

Destash: Rose Floral Quilt Fabric Kit

I have a selection of 100% cotton fabrics that were chosen for a Rose Floral Quilt by another quilter.
The selection has about 16 ¾ yards with a nice division of yardage amongst the various pieces.  One piece was originally purchased at Hobby Lobby.  I don't know about the other pieces.  Some do have sizing but I expect they would soften with prewashing.  They are circa early 2000.  I can send additional photos if you are interested.

I would like to sell the lot for $60 ($3/yd) + medium flat rate shipping.  I can accept check or PayPal.

 This floral fabric (above) had a Hobby Lobby printing on the selvedge. 

There are 2 pieces of this GREEN fabric.  It's reading black and white on my monitor. 

Let me know your interest level!  😎😎😎

Yea, doing some destashing! 

Do you Want any of these Quilt Blocks for Angel Tree Quilts?

I have the following fused or fussy cut block kits available for Angel Tree Quilts.  If you want any of the kits and can return a finished top(s) by the end of September,  I will gladly send them to you.  Just let me know in the comments or drop me an email.  If you need some complementary fabrics, I probably have some that will work too.

Set of Fussy cut squares   TAKEN!! 

Set of Fused Blocks

Frog Blocks are TAKEN!

CUPCAKES ARE TAKEN!!

OWLS ARE TAKEN!! 

 If you are interested in this Autumn packet for your own use, let me know.  It's not something I will sew for myself.  The pumpkin and leaves have paper on the back and are fused.
I'll trade it for an Angel Tree quilt top or money for batting (fleece blankets).

Please tell me which set(s) you could use for an Angel Tree quilt!  

I'm happy to share!

Please Join the Conversation!  💬💬

  It's all good! 

Have a Creative Day, Y'All!