Forty Diamonds, a 2013 Quilt show entry that was never shared.

Because of Val's Tuesday Archive post, I thought I'd share my layer cake quilt previously known as the 10 minute block quilt then by the name of my 40 Diamonds Quilt.

While looking for the 40 diamond quilt I made for my husband last year I realized I never shared it here on a blog post.  It was initially known as the 10 minute block anyways, here it is almost finished.  IMHO it needs more quilting.

40 Diamonds a 4 layer cake quilt
King Size - with a brown minkee dot backing
I love me some Minkee!

This king size quilt (and it's huge!) started with the purchase of a kit containing 4 layer cakes of batiks and the pattern in the book,  10 minute blocks.  (BTW, it took me way longer to make a block than ten minutes, sounds similar to those Quilt in a Day products doesn't it?)
It was started at quilt camp that I attend yearly with my best friend Trudy, in March 2013 .  I did show a picture of it in progress and mentioned it here  but never gave you a glimpse of it all sewn together.  While at our quilt retreat, I did get most of the blocks made except for one which didn't play well with the others IMHO.  No problem I thought, I'll just shop for one more batik that would behave better when I got home.  Did that then assembled the 20th block. The Quilt show in my local guild was approaching in October 2013 so I entered it thinking it would be just the incentive I needed to "get 'er done".


 What a Big mistake on my part but that is a whole other story.  I survived and entered all that I had intended to but they weren't quite done, just done enough to hang.  Inserting a red faced here.  :(   and that I know I'll never do that again.

Anyways, I love details so while assembling this now named  40 Diamond Quilt it was sashed with a complementary batik for the cornerstones made out of that unifier print batik used in the diamond areas.   I had just enough to make the binding with this fabric too and I think just a tad more that I'll use as an accent for two pillowcases which I'll make after this gets it's final quilting done, it needs a bit more quilting and am thinking some soft fat feathers circling those diamonds might be just the ticket.   The  quilt was assembled as a top then layered using a brown minkee dot fabric for the backing without any batting.   Oh I love me the drapiness of a minkee backed quilt. 



Lime piping adds a little POP of color.   :  )
You can see some of my quilting in this pic,
diamonds and straight lines..

After that I quickly and simply quilted with echoing that diamond folded shape on those brown print batik centers and also stitched an echo 1/4" on both sides of the sashings/cornerstones to be able to hang it up  for the quilt show figuring I could do more quilting within those grouped sections of the four batik clumps after the show. 


Label made of same lime as the piping.
Name of the 10 minute block quilt is now officially known as the Forty Diamonds.
A tribute and gift for my DH on our 40th anniversary. 













Usually I love selecting fabrics and relish playing with all the possible choices but I can't tell you how nice it was to sit and sew with having all that worked out for you by using those layer cakes.   It was pure heaven and exactly what I needed at that time in my life.  

Hope you enjoyed hearing about this finish from last year.
Jane


















 

A Lovely Surprise!

Friends are so important in the skeem of life.  They are their through think and thin.  They are people who share like interests and it's always nice to spend time with  having fun all the while making fond memories along the way.   They listen, care  and share life stories with laughing, crying or sometimes just being there with understanding and solace.

After my recent illness, many  notes, cards, calls and emails were sent my way and some even brought over  meals and offered to help driving DH to his doctors appointments or do shopping if needed.  WOW!     I thank you all so much.   I can't express in words how your thoughtfulness made my days easier and the pain easier to bear.    I do appreciate and  value our connection.    I am ever so humbled by this showing of love and support. 

My neighbor brought over dinner and with it, a lovely surprise. 

A lovely scarf hademade by a mutual friend of ours, Trudy.  I knew she was knitting them and when I went to visit her several weeks ago, I saw this basket of scarfs she was working on but I didn't know she was making one for each of us within "Our Circle Of Friends" quilting group.    It's gorgeous and so soft.  The lighting and my photography skills leave a lot to be desired and truly don't do it justice.  Thank you so much Trudy, I love it! 



Another shot to show you the texture and the depth of colors of the yarns.



Jane

A bit more done.

It feels wonderful to be finishing up some UFO's I've had going for a bit. Between the Counted cross stitch, quilting, and beading hobbies, many times I feel like my creative endeavors are just running amok!
But Whoo!whoo! several more projects have been finished this past week.
My UFO#6 through Judy Laquidera's UFO challenge, Bird house wallhanging or Waiting for Spring, finished.



There is art glitter glued onto the fleece that I used for the ice and snow. I also changed a bit of the design by also creating some ice spots on the branches. To me it was unrealistic that the bird house was snow and ice laden while the rest was not touched. I know here in the Adirondacks, when something is encased by the elements, many things are encased too so I made it more reflective of that.
Besides the white fabric changed out for a lustrous fleece batting, I also changed some of the fabrics in this kit I got from Nancy's Notions years ago. The birdhouse and branch colors were all brown and too close in color to be visible. So I did some stash diving to come up with a higher contrast values. The pattern is actually "Waiting for Spring" designed by Lake View Quilts adn I am glad that Vince pulled No6 UFO. Just in time for Winter in these parts.

Next are the beaded earrings I finished last Sunday while playing with friends. The "Read and Bead" group I belong to gathers monthly to bead, eat and share lives. Each month a different person will share their technique for a project when we can. At December's meeting, Michelle taught us how to do a dodecahedra (aka: Chinese Pearl Balls). Usually I am not so thick headed but I had an awful time trying to grasp this concept. Poor Michelle actually did one of my beads since it was too difficult for me. Each step that I would do and she'd check it and it was wrong, so she'd correct it. Ye gads! When you work on this bead you need to use 2 needles of thread at the same time. One of the ladies mentioned it may be better to try 2 different size needles to help keep you straight with which needle should be at whichever orientation per row since with each row the needles would change positions and making notes while beading it. So when I got home later that night, I pulled out all of the necessities and I actually was able to finish another bead. Of curse not correctly, but I could tell where the next spin off design was needed and then would work my threads to that area. Close enough I say!
Anyhoo, I made them into festive drop earrings and they are DONE! And I'll never tell that one bead is correct and the other one is a very near miss. LOL



This next photo is of a counted cross stitch design I finally picked up from the framers. Shhhh! it's a gift for a stitching buddy when we gather for our late Christmas party. I know she doesn't read my blog, so it's safe to show here.



It's a Calico Crossroads pattern designed by Linda Connors called "In Stitches". It's just purrrrfect for my bernina and cat loving friend. I even stitched our initials into the outermost border of it with a tiny heart in between as a token of our friendship. I hope she love sit as much as I loved doing it for her.

The last photo is of the pet bed I finished in a gridded pattern for a community project that our guild does for the local animal shelters. This pillowcase bag has been hanging out under my cutting table for the past year. Any snippets of trims not large enough for my scrap bins, found it's way into the bag. Ingenious way of utilizing the scrappiest of scraps. It was finally full enough that I realized I needed to finish what I had in mind. Grid off the main area to stop the shifting of the stuffing.



When assembling the pet bed, it also was a trip down Memory Lane of past projects and felt great to reminisce about all the "love" sewn into projects this past year. Since we don't have any pets currently, but remembering trying to wash the different animal beds from the past, I found it difficult to keep the stuffing from shifting whilst trying to be neat, clean and sanitized around here. So I tried a "grid" of stitching for this bed to help facilitate against the stuffing from shifting where ever it lands up. The most difficult part was trying to keep the stuffing equal in the parts, Of course I used my zipper foot and chalked pencil lines which I needed to continuously re-draw after rubbing off the previous lines by stuffing it. But now it's done and I'll need to cut and sew another bag from upholstery fabric to hang off my cutting table for another bed next year.

Thanks for stopping by. I appreciate and look forward to all the comments from your visits. I'm off to the sewing room now, enjoy your Sunday.

TTFN,
Jane

Look what came.. and Lil Peep, tout fini!

Check out what came by the post this morning.




Investigating further, I kept finding more and more lovely goodies. Love the quilted little bag and the quilted holder that came with it too. Thank you Vicki C! She also enclosed a couple of patterns, a seam ripper token that is essentially a needle stuck into a cork for ripping out any unwanted stitches, besides several fabrics and some hexagon paper piecing kits. It feels like Christmas with so many great and practical gifts. I won the giveaway she hosted at her - my creative corner blog.



I really appreciate them. Thank you Vicki. If you get a chance, check out her blog. She always is getting so many things done. She's very creative yet down to earth. What an inspiration.
Watching Avatar was on my want to see list, so this is what I was working on last night while watching it.



What is it? you say.... Well it's to finish my lil' peep from the Silver Needle.


11 Count Aida with Chick- Medici Light yellow, Lavender Splendor silk 8 strands, Pink Fyreworks 1 strand, Artic Rays and Green Flair 1 strand each for the grass besides DMC.

The kit came with 7 ct Klostern but after several stitches, I did not care for the way the fabric was visible through the stitching, so changed it to an 11 count Aida. I am way, way early for Easter 2011. LOL!
I've had this kit in for about 3 or 4 years, since I picked up a couple of Silver Needle kits for a song on ebay. I was finally able to stitch them up in time for the holidays this past spring, but couldn't find the right fibers to complete them in a timely manner. It's no mistake saying them either, another one will be visble soon, but that's for a March Holday.
I do miss Joann's when it used to be in town. It was a haven I would return to weekly. Thank goodness for Michaels, that we at least have a bit of a selection, but I do mean a bit. This purple ribbon is the 3rd ribbon I purchased to finish this before I was satisfied with how the end result would look. Did a lot of auditioning and a couple of others could have worked, but I was not impressed so ditched each one consecutively. So it was great to finish it while watching a terrific movie.



The fabric I used to make my second flat fold also came out of my stash. I used the tutorial from Vonna of the twisted stitcher blog, but got ahead of myself a couple of times so had to undo and redo. Thanks Vonna, I am learning. I'm hoping to be able to get this done soon without studying your tutorial print out though.

Another fat quarter gone, yippee.
A finished Easter "Lil' PEEP", fantastic.
Gifts from cyber friends, Priceless.

Enjoy your day,
Jane

Look what came in the mail

Megg Jack from Artnomadix participated in the One World One Heart blogging event and selected my name as the winner of her giveaway. The package contained some lovely post cards of Northern North South Wales, Australia that she lives in besides this painting she did of her landscape.

She is a very talented artist and the details in this painting of Magic Wollumbin(Wolumbin), aka: Mt. Warning Caldera are amazing. The colors in it are gorgeous and my photo of it just doesn't do it justice. Here's another attempt at trying to get a better picture of it:



I love it so much. She wrote that she lives next to the large tree pictured. Imagine the history and stories from where she lives. Mystic Lake and Mount Warning both sound so exotic. She also makes and sells on etsy some very colorful hats and hand dyed shirts. Some with emu or tree silhouettes besides loads of color. So if you are interested, check them out.

Enjoy your day. Mine is wonderful with receiving this package from Australia and now my grand children will be visiting DH and me this afternoon. Our daughter has an appointment to see if she'll be able to get back to work after her surgery.

Here's a little peak of my current project.



I had wanted to get this finished in January, but I guess it's a good thing I didn't specify which year. Ah-hummm. Now, I need to get to the framers and select a frame worthy of Wollumbin. Thank you so much Megg, I really will cherish it.

Smiling,
Jane

Couch-Plop, Flip-Flop, House-Mop, Non-Stop

That's exactly how I've been feeling. It's almost Christmas and I am so behind compared to how set I usually am for the holiday. I have not written any Christmas Cards, The tree isn't up, no chocolates or cookies made. All I've been doing is running to the doctors or sleeping with a little shopping thrown in. When enough energy, trying to get my house back in order. Of course in flip flops since all who know me, know my love of the thong! I think I even still have a pair of fur lined flip flops, very essential in the really cold weather we've had recently.

I was able to get the fleece Christmas panel blankets done for all the grandchildren. While I was doing that, DH stepped up and wrapped the gifts. The eldest GS got all of his gifts on Monday when his Dad and Mom went to his school in Massachusetts to visit him and I did meet that deadline nicely.
Several groups of friends and I have met for our Christmas celebrations. It is nice to reconnect. For one group, we haven't all been able to meet since I'm not sure when. It really has been way too long. We actually celebrated 2 Christmas parties in one since, for some reason, it was cancelled last year, I really can't remember now just why.
Boy talk about receiving a mother load of goodies. Check it out.

Sweet! Literally, besides getting a plethora of cookies and edible goodies I received a couple of fabrics from Caryl Bryer-Fallerts line and some Paducah beads, . Friends go every year to AQS in Paducah. Years ago, I was able to clear my schedule AND have the finances to go with them. What a grand trip. So many quilty events going on all in one quaint town and shared with friends. Heaven! Maybe some day I'll be able to do that trip again. I truly loved it.
Here is a photo of one of my gifts I made for a friend for that party.
I saw several candle mats similiar to this on several blogs (sorry, I didn't note where and can't find it now) and I thought I'd customize one for her with her favorite color yellow, besides using some scraps from my basket which have memories between us. She also loves flamingos and I was able to find a beautiful umbrella from a local store this past spring which I thought that she'd love. She did.
Since it was 2 year's celebrations in one, my other friend's name which was for last year's exchange was a DVD from Nancy's Notions of apron making. I also made a reversible apron for her, one side with the 12 days of Christmas motifs, and the other, a custom red apron with a pocket saying Nancy's Creations out of redwork including a glazed cake on a footed cake plate that I colored with a gingerbread color for the cake and red on the cake plate scallops. So appropriate too since this friend is the "Diva of Desserts" in my book. Any gathering we have, she comes through with a luscious offering of her many talents. Such a gracious and handy friend.
Sorry, no photo of this one. I do have my drawings and can pull out a piece of the fabric I used. Perhaps after the holiday I'll edit this post and add it. Came back 1/3/10 and added this photo for a reference of what I did and used.




Going through the house taking pictures of some of my Christmas wall hangings I have up for the season. I hope you enjoy seeing them as much as I love gazing at them while walking by.


An Eileen Sullivan pattern I made years ago. I named it "Pizazzy Poinsettia" It's now a tradition to hang it to the left of the fireplace. Here's a close up showing some of the details. I used razzle dazzle thread via bobbin work to highlight the pot holding the poinsettias.



A wall hanging my flamingo-loving friend made for me years ago. Thanks Bev Bevie, I Love this and it hangs with pride every year.



This hanging I purchased at a show of some sort. Either a craft show or a quilt show. It hangs in my bedroom doorway and it goes nicely with my decor there. Sorry, there is no name on it to credit the work.



And last is this piece I made 15+ years ago. Despite quilting when newly married for baby quilts and duvet covers and such, I had put aside my quilt making for efforts towards making curtains, roman shades, clothes etc. Too busy with the children's sports, dance, school and my work to find time for quilting UNTIL.... I wanted to make this for DH.


He was into collecting Santas and while having lunch with a girlfriend from work, we went to a quilt shop that had this as a sample. Needless to say, I've been almost obsessed with quilting since. I wasn't sure about hanging it where I usually do since we had the kitchen painted but it doesn't clash too bad with the Orange. It's probably a good thing I had used black for the outer borders and it sets the red back from the edge a little. Lucky guess when constructing it 15+ years ago.

Well off to my treadmill before I can continue with my plans for today.
One day before the big guy comes around. I'll have to get the tree up and be ready.

Jane

Ohh, this last little gem is a product of 2 of the grandchildren and I.
Isn't that shiner just perfect. She got it at day care while playing flashlight tag during her Christmas party and the 13 year old GS didn't want to be included in the photo. You know 13 yr old boys, most times they are just way too cool.

Got them framed!

Finished these stitcheries awhile ago and had to order the mats. The Michael's store that I ordered them at sends the orders away and it took a couple of weeks to get it back. I picked the mats up Thursday while in town for a class and finally got to it today.


The first is Autumn Spots put out by Trilogy. Had trouble finding an appropriate "leaf" bead /button, but found this one while shopping with daughter in Burlington. Not quite what I had in mind but it's the best I could find. The picture on the right is the Pumpkkin by JBW that was written about in this post. Love it- 2 more totally finished!

A close friend stopped by to visit and brought a few gifties to celebrate my latest Birthday. Thanks Gina, I absolutely love them. The 2 pumpkins are textured and the burgandy panels complements my living room colors. She had won a raffle with a container full of items.



Alot of these items came from that besides a couple extra that she and her husband selected knowing my interests. Notice that yarn and the Nantucket style basket. Perfect! I do enjoy decorating the house for the different seasons, but even more so now with the grandchildren.
Check out the Pandora bracelet that DD and PGD#1 and PGS#3 gave me. I cried. It was very touching and the charms are perfect. A Granddaughter, grandson and an ORANGE charm (PGD's favorite color, PGS#3 is too little yet to have a favorite).


My Mom did an appliqued angel block and wasn't satisfied with the face she drew on it so was going to ditch it. Luckily, she offered it to me and I thought it would be perfect doll blanket for PGD#1. Since orange is her favorite color, I bought that color binding to make a blanket edge on the little qultlet. I mentioned this project on a previous post and started the orange embroidery someone recently suggested while discussing it at the edging class I took with Diane Shink. Here's a photo of what Mom did with the selected binding.


This will be my next "focus" project in my UFO conumdrum. LOL

Happy Stitching,
Jane

Look what I received!

It felt like Christmas and look what I received. Thanks Bonnie! A blogger I check out routinely was having a giveaway, and look what I won. Beautiful hand dyed fabrics. They arrived in the mail on Tuesday. When DH brought the mail into the house, I got the squishy package I was wondering what it could be. All of a sudden I remembered I had won the giveaway on Bonnie's blog, and couldn't wait to tear into package to check out the fabrics. Her blog is called In stitches with Bonnie and here is a link to it. What a sweetie and how pretty the colors are. She also recommended on testing them to make sure they are colorfast. Hummmm, I wonder which project I'll use them in.

Also- Pat is having a giveaway for her 100th post. She is giving away many beautiful items, like patterns, a layer cake, aurafil thread, etc... Go check out her blog and sign up. The deadline is the 31st. Goodluck and Happy stitchin.

Jane