What The Eye Brings

February birth flower - Iris
Meaning: Faith, Hope and Wisdom
Color: white - meaning - purification

Maybe it has been all the white snow and being home bound, but I have found myself drawn to the white objects in my home. These white objects, Oh, they held the most delicious little 'white' cream puffs. But perfect square containers for holding my 6.5" blocks for projects: Dear Jane, Barn Quilts, Butterfly Blocks




SQUARED UP

I had some 3.5" WOF strips left from another project which I had cut down to squares. Kona Snow - lovely fabric to work with, but this was the last of the bolt and I know a new bolt may not match the dye lot. They called to be used. Being the scrap quilter I am, I grabbed my 'barrel' of left over triangles and started to play. Just the method of sewing at any angle on opposite corners. I press them and then you could either leave the white corners or trim. If you are not so spontaneous, you can use cut squares, sew across corners, trim and press.

This is what I ended up with. A variation of the Stretched Star block. I chose blue and red corners with the white for a donation quilt to the Veteran's Hospital. They use 36" - 40" square quilts for wheelchair patients. This is a 30" center, so I need to put one or two borders on, sandwich up, baste, quilt, bind and it will have a new home.

I did get the umbrella girls trip around the world square worked into a bag. Why do bags and purses take longer than a quilt top? I still need to think about the closure and button - or maybe an inlay zipper (can still get that set in by hand).




Don't forget Gen-X 'Love Nest' quilt contest. The public vote is February 10-16. The top 6 will then be judged by a panel. Just click on the side button and it will take you there. 40 gorgeous quilts - the photos are a little blurry so you may want to click on each to go to the owner's site to see them better as well as their story behind the quilt.

What inspiration will be brought to your eye?
Sewingly Yours
Sharon

Winter - A Lingering Season

"February is merely as long as is needed to pass the time until March."
- Dr. J. R. Stockton

WE HAVE A WINNER

Gosh, you think we could have found a better hat, but lo! So we used my winter ski hat (I don't ski) and my SIL pulled a name. ROMA - I will be sending an e-mail out to you for your mailing address.

I finished the floral 'garden' charm quilt. Just simple straight stitching along seams to form the garden boxes. It needs a toss in the machine and dried (spray basted) for a nice soft, crinkly quilt. Then, if the weather permits, it's off to our Tuesday guild meeting for donation.

This is my second Brown Bag Quilt Swap piece. I received such lovely American Jane fabrics and paired them up with some AJ charms and Kona Snow. Keeping with the heritage of the fabric, I chose heritage blocks - the snowball and the 9-patch. They made a nice secondary pattern. My longarmer and I discussed the quilting, I wanted a light open scrolling vine with leaves - like those in the yellow print. She added little berries and a small heart in the larger leaf - just lovely.

This is the back of the quilt. We had to use 90 per cent of fabrics received, so I pieced the back and pieced the binding. The little baggy contains the bits that are left. I will use some of those when I make up a label, but the label will wait for when I decide who will receive this little picnic quilt.

SQUARED UP

INSPIRATION - A little different this time. I received a new box of scraps for donation and I just fell in love with these little squares of the 'umbrella girls'. There was just the 4 squares, would so love more of this fabric. Has a piece of fabric inspired you?

Another play ground for the square - Trip Around the World. Since I only had 4 little blocks I used some pre-cuts (3.5") and individually pieced a mini 'trip' and will use this for the front of a bag. I would use the strip piecing method if doing a quilt. But we don't always have to do big projects - little ones make nice gifts too.

Have you found your inspiration in the simplest of shapes; or a piece of fabric that calls out to you? Maybe a smell; or a color?

Sewingly Yours,
Sharon

February - latin (februum) - Purification

Mother Nature certainly 'Purified' the beginning of February with blanketing most of the US and Canada with white. Our long country lane is starting to look like a tunnel. The time spent shoveling, tending snow machinery, and re-plenishing wood piles has taken some time away from sewing.

Love Nest Quilt Contest at Gen X Quilters

I decided to enter my 'Morceaox de Bleu' (bits of blue). It was partially shown on my header for a while. Here she is in full view. A full size quilt (for the old rope bed) that was part of a design test that I put a twist on. This is my first large quilt, first quilt with a lot of white, and first play at design. And my first machine quilted piece - It was machine quilted by Sue Reed (my local longarmer).

Blogger's BlockaPalooza - These are my first blocks for the quilt-along. I'm using Moda's Butter Cup line - my selection from Cotton Charms Quilts. Thank you Kelly Guy, she got that bundle before Moda even had it in their shop. I love the entire collection, but splitting this with my daughter. So chose the linen green and apricot, saving her the yellow and blue.

SQUARED UP
I had a lot of comments about the purple plate - wow. How the simplest item can draw inspiration - but that color was a POP.

This is my new square inspiration. This is the time we browse those seed and nursery catalogs that are pouring into our mail box (US). With all this snow I am dreaming of green and flowers. I want to have some raised beds this year. A mix of flowers and vegies. Hmm, squares of squares of color - lots of potential.

I suddenly remembered I had an 'odd' charm pack of florals - it must have been in one of the scrap bags donated to me. Not a full charm pack and they really don't match each other. But how simple to just piece those pre-cut squares into a top - like planting a raised bed garden.

The top certainly wasn't large enough in itself, so needed some borders. I wanted to keep to the look of the planted garden. A lot of new quilters (even some of us old ones) have trouble with color selection. I found this lovely Kaufman floral in my 'backing' stash that would meld the whole piece and decided it would be my backing and binding. Using those color dots - yes they are there to assist you in selecting coordinating colors - I tried finding fabrics with similar color dots. Made it so much easier to select my borders - the medium green and the apricotty tan. That piece has a floral on a trellis - perfect to go with the flower bed. If I hadn't had interuptions, this would have been a completed quilt in a day.

What will be your inspiration? Turn to the simplest of forms - the square - and see what your creative side can grow.

Sewingly Yours,
Sharon

Sewing Party Weekend Over

I enjoyed this weekend's Sewing Party with the "Charming Girls". It pushed me to finish a project I was falling behind on. I managed to get all the redwork blocks stitched up for 'Annie'.

And then I got all those set into their respective pieced settings. These are large blocks - large blocks make me nervous as it is difficult to keep them squared up and then you get the 'waves' in your work.

And then I managed to get my rows into a semi-completed quilt top. Now there is just the last three monthly blocks to set off on the bottom. I feel like so much was accomplished in the company of some wonderful ladies who had some fantastic projects going at the same time - an on-line sewing retreat for me and I loved it.



I had some difficulty with the bloggy world - so many referring to the weekend as the end of the month. I have enough trouble losing days of the week without others losing days for me. This is a person who lost days while in a coma - I get very frustrated when I lose days conscious.

I have been kicking around some ideas of things to add to my blog. I don't feel I'm qualified to do tutorials, there's enough of them out there. I do love to share what I do know and love, as many quilters do. So I approached some 'new quilters/sewers' who could offer the fresh ideas. Thus I have the beginnings of "Squared Up". Just simple sewing of squares - the basics of sewing/quilting. Some color play, fabrics, settings, where to look for inspiration on a simple level.

My inspiration is this lovely purple square paper plate. So simple in design, but so very striking. It leaves room for creative design. Coordinating shades of purple, maybe you think of lilacs, or maybe there's that little paisley print in your stash needing a home in a quilt.

My work with squares in progress. Lots of little (1.5") square colors being melded into a quilt. Some of you are participating in PS I Quilt's postage stamp quilt-a-long done with the strip method. I like to make mine with the individual squares as I get to pet each piece of fabric that goes into the quilt. I have another in progress using 2" squares.

I started blogging to share my journey and to keep me on task with the many projects I seem to 'scatter' off with. I have had some wonderful people support and help me along the journey. I don't watch the 'follower' listing, and get annoyed with give aways and ads with "need to follow, tweet, and like" - they just turn me away. But I suddenly noticed my lovely list due to all you ladies who comment on a regular basis and I do try to peek in on all of you too. So I am having a THANK YOU give away for my supporters. This is ONLY for those on my current list, so no new followers and don't post about a give away. This is for you ladies as a thank you.

I know you all like fabric, but I am gifting something that is close to me. I love cross stitching and combining it with quilting. This sampler is one of my 'house on the hill' versions and is 12" x 14". There will be some surprise goodies with it when mailed off to it's new home. So if you are interested in my THANK YOU, please leave me a note either on the blog or e-mail me. I will draw (names on a strip in the old hat) next Monday - Feb. 7th

Sewingly Yours,
Sharon