Ella Bella's Funky Monkeys

Just in the nick of time.  I completed Ella’s quilt around 1:00 in this afternoon.  Her birthday party is tomorrow so I was cutting it pretty close.  I have mentioned previously in this blog that her quilt was actually a companion quilt to the one I’m making for her dad.  He loves sock monkeys, which I just recently discovered, so I made him a quilt using sock monkey fabrics.  Her quilt was made using one of each of the monkey fabrics in her dad’s quilt, along with some black and whites that I had.  Unfortunately, her dad’s quilt is still at the LA quilters but since it was her birthday, I gave her the one made for her so I guess that will make her dad’s the companion quilt.  He doesn’t know that he is getting one so I couldn’t even till him the story.

The back of Ella's quilt

Ella Bella's Funky Monkey label

quilting patterns completed on DSM

I’m especially proud of this quilt as it was completely my design, inspired by Project Improv.  I traced the patterns onto some iron-on paper and did all of the quilting on my DSM.  The biggest problem is pulling out all of the paper once the quilting is completed; very time consuming! One of these days I will attempt the quilting completed freehand.  I just have to work up my courage and not worry about ruining anything.

This is the first quilt that has been my own creation but I made a small wallhanging years ago that was also my own design, made from some leftovers from one of my first wallhangings.

Leftovers Again

Thanks for stopping by…

Well, it’s been a long time since I actually finished a project.  I don’t remember when I started this one but it’s done.  Actually, there are a few loose threads I need to take care of and I need to add a hanging sleeve.  I had prepared a sleeve but it was not wide enough so I’ll do another.  For all practical purposes…it’s DONE.

Oriental Flower

Close-up of echo quilting

Because it’s my wallhanging and I can do whatever I want (it’s really Bill’s), I decided to quilt a “ghost flower” in some of the echo quilting.

"ghost flower"

I spent most of the day on Thursday working on the companion quilt for Ella.  It has one square of each of the Funky Monkey fabrics that are in her dad’s quilt.  I added the black and white because I know small children see them better and she is only 9 months old.  I used the improvisation technique which I really enjoyed.  I started to sew on the borders but didn’t like the fabric choice, AT ALL, so I took them off.  I’ll have to search for a different fabric to use as the borders.

Ella's FM quilt w/o borders

Yesterday Bill and I took a little trip in the car looking for a quilt shop that I have been to a couple of times.  I knew it was quite a drive and I knew the road but I didn’t know exactly where it was located.  We drove more than “quite a drive” and never found the place I was looking for.  However, we did come across another little quilt shop so we stopped there instead.  I didn’t find any of the FM fabric I was searching out but I did manage to find some bee fabric along with a pattern (POORHOUSE Quilt Designs) for a cute little tote that I may be able to sew together fairly quickly and put into my Etsy shop.  I like it because it has a lobster applique on the front.  There are also patterns for a crab and sand dollar. If I get it done, it may be the first item in my shop, which is currently set up but empty.

Thanks for stopping by…

"quilting bee" fabric

tote bag pattern by POORHOUSE Quilt Designs

photo of starfish tote bag (from pattern)

When I make quilts or wallhangings or bags or whatever, I can’t give them away.  Unless I make them specifically for someone I usually keep everything.  I don’t know if I’m selfish or if I spend so much time (rather anal) working on a project that I just can’t bear to let it go.

Either way, today I let go of two items.  The first was a quilt that I started many years ago in a class at Portsmouth Fabrics.   The fabrics were supposed to be Kaffe Fassett but I really wanted to do something different so I bought all nice, bright colors.  The result was The Bright One.

I took this to Keepsake Quilting in Center Harbor, NH for sale on consignment.  They do it a little differently.  Rather than taking a percentage of your selling price, they add 25% of your price to calculate the total asking price.  At least that way, the seller gets what they want and the shop gets what they want.  They will keep it for four months and then return it to the seller at their expense.  They do not care if you send it in again at a later date.

Of course, while there I couldn’t just walk out without buying anything.  I found several bee fabrics that I purchased for the quilt I will make for Wendy at some point.

The next quilt is the Birthday Quilt.  I called it that because I received the kit from Su for my birthday a few years ago.  After putting it together I used it to practice my free-motion quilting and it turned out really well.  I was putting the binding on one day at work last year and Sue (a different one) said I could give it to her since I didn’t know what I was going to do with it.  We both laughed but I decided then that I would give it to her for her birthday, which is tomorrow.  I think she will be surprised but happy.   The colors are a little off because the photos were taken at night with a flash.   I know I had taken some earlier but I couldn’t find them anywhere.  Guess they are hibernating in cyberspace.                                                                                                                                                                        

I don’t know why but I really like the look of them.   I don’t have one but I really, really want to make one.  If you aren’t familiar with them, here is a link to Karen Griska’s blog.  If you scroll down the page a little, the “Red Zinger” is on the right.  Here is the link to the “how-to” page and another link for directions to make selvage quilts.  Thanks Karen for sharing this info.

I’m not sure what it is about this quilt but I know that I want one just like it.  As you can imagine, this is going to take lots and lots of selvages.  I have asked a couple of my friends that quilt to save theirs for me.  If you are reading this blog and don’t think you will ever have the urge to make a selvage quilt, please consider saving your edges for me.  I’m willing to pay the postage to have them mailed once you collect a nice bag full.  If you are willing to participate just leave a comment and I’ll get in touch with you.  Thanks for thinking about it.

I have actually been doing some sewing lately and will post some pictures, hopefully  tomorrow.

Yeah, it only took a little more than a year but finally, I finished the butterfly wallhanging for Greg and Vanessa that was promised to them last Christmas.  By last, I don’t mean the one last week, I mean the one in 2007.

I did Diane-shiko in the background as well as some fill between the leaves.  It took me forever but I really liked the way it turned out.  Once all the quilting was completed, I added beads and crystals.  My biggest mistake was adding the border and binding before doing the background quilting.  I’ll know better next time.  As I said, this took forever but it took quite a while for the piece to talk to me.  I think Greg and Vanessa were pleased with the final product.

I also made a microwave heat pack for Su for Christmas.  It was very easy thanks to the tutorial on Carla’s blog.  The photo isn’t very good but you get the idea. The fabric is a nice flannel with angels that I have been hording for many years because I was waiting for the perfect reason to us it.  What more perfect project could there have been?

I also finished another small bag made with Christmas fabric.  So, I actually finished three projects in the last month.  Wow, that’s gotta be a new record. I continue to work on the oriental flower as well as the blooming 9-patch.

I was thinking about all of the things I’m thankful for this holiday…

My new granddaughter, Ella; being together with both of my children at the same time; my best friend Su is home from the hospital after nearly three weeks; the weather has been warm; the wonderful meal we had at David and Paula’s; safe travel for myself, Bill and the rest of my family; good health; enough money to pay the bills and play a little; fuel for my heater.  I could go on but I have so much to be thankful for that it would take up way too much space.

Greg, Vanessa and Ella traveled to Maine for this holiday.  They stayed two nights at D&P’s, then spent Friday night with me.  We had a good time and really enjoyed watching Ella’s new “trick”, rolling over.  She loves to eat and opens her mouth wide, just like a baby bird.

They left before lunch on Saturday so Bill and I did some Black Friday shopping.  We were glad to see the parking lots were full but not overflowing and the stores we went to weren’t jammed.  It was a good holiday weekend; time spent with family and time together.

On a sewing note…I finished a small gift bag for my MQResource Secret Sister.

Other than that, I haven’t had any time to sit at home and sew.  I need several uninterrupted hours to work on the background of the butterfly wallhanging if I expect to get it finished by Christmas (it was started for last Christmas).

Happy Halloween!  This is one of my favorite holidays.  Bill and I have dressed up for the past several years and gone visiting to our friends’ houses.  They were quite saddened this year when I told them I was working.  Boo hoo.  A couple of years we even went dancing and won first place in the costume contest (certainly not in any dancing contest).  Next year…I’ll be RETIRED!  That’s right, not working at the fire department any more.  I visited the retirement office in Augusta earlier this week.  They were able to answer all of my questions and give me an estimate of the monthly amount I will be receiving.  Time will tell whether or not I will still have to work and how often.  It will depend on how much is taken out to cover taxes and insurance.  I’m keeping my fingers crossed.

On a good note…my friend Su has finally returned home after 10 days in the hospital.  The news about her health was All Good.  I am very thankful that she is home and on the mend.

I was able to get a little more background quilting done on the butterfly wallhanging.  I had a gift certificate from Keepsake Quilting and I spent it on a Halloween pattern and a fabric pack, even though I haven’t finished the wool wallhanging that I started after last Halloween.  It isn’t finished but it’s hung on the wall anyway.

This was a beautiful weather week.  Temps were in the mid 60’s and Bill and I were able to ride our bikes and sit in the sun.  It always feels soooo good.  On Sunday we rode 14 miles from Bill’s house to the Dunkin Donuts in No. Berwick.  We checked out a craft shop but didn’t find anything we really needed to take home with us.  From there we rode back on Rt. 4 to Bill’s house.  It was a spectacular day and we felt blessed to be outside in October feeling the warmth of the sun.  Not only that, we are blessed to be healthy enough to exercise on a semi-regular basis (as time allows).  We spent another day with Bill picking up leaves with the tractor and I cleaned up the gardens.

On the down side, my best friend, Su has spent the week in the hospital after surgery.  She is doing well but isn’t expected to return home for another couple of days.  She has suffered serious illness for the past several years and this is another bump in the road.  I am considerably blessed with good health, even though I’m approaching 60 (yikes) which is the opposite of Su.  I am always supportive and attempt to help her fend off the overwhelming depression that accompanies another health problem.  I am also blessed to have Su as my best friend.  She is such a wonderful person and I consider her my soulmate.  It is difficult to understand why she is faced with illness over and over again.  I pray that this time the final news is positive and she can look forward to some good years ahead.

On the quilting front, not much time to sew; however, I have been doing some background stitching on the butterfly picture.  I am using a technique from Diane Guadynski which she has termed Diane-shiko.  It isn’t difficult but time consuming.  After 5-6 hours I have completed maybe 1/4 of the background.  ti doesn’t really matter, this wallhanging was for Greg and Vanessa last Christmas.  As they say…better late than never.

I also did a some border quilting on the red oriental flower wallhanging.  I stitched a flower in variegated black and white thread.  I still can’t get the hang of doing it without a pattern so I have traced the flower on tracing paper and use that to follow.  The down side is taking all of the paper off when I’m done.

Two other good things happened this week, I listed my condo for sale and Bill and I finished my sewing room at his house.  We painted the ceiling and I chose a very light blue for the walls.  Bill pulled up the carpet and put down a laminate wood floor.  It looks so nice, clean and bright.  I still need to decide on curtains and blinds but I bought a new 6′ sewing table and it is set up in front of the window.  We moved a small bookshelf from my house.  It is holding fabric right now but will eventually hold children’s books and toys for the grandkids.

I couldn’t stand it any longer…I bought myself a couple of quilting books that I have been wanting for a long time. First of all is Diane Gaudynski, Quilt Savvy. It is a great book and I’m enjoying reading it. when I finish, I’ll start over again, there is just too much to remember after one time through.

Next, I treated myself to Karen McTavish, Mastering the Art of McTavishing. I have been wanting to try McTavishing for some time and the book, along with the DVD, will make it much easier. I got out my white board and practiced along with the DVD. There were a couple of tips that helped a lot. From there I went to the machine and started practicing on my quilt sandwich. It’s a little harder than I thought it would be but I think with practice (lots of practice) I’ll be fairly good at it. I’m using a DSM, rather than a longarm (my heart’s desire) so it’s a little different than the video but I will be presistent. I was thinking about using it in the background of the butterfly panel but I won’t be good enough to do that for some time.

Anyway, I’m a happy camper. In addition to the two books, I received my copy of American Patchwork and Quilting as well as the new Quilting Arts magazine. So much inspiration, so little time!

How many times can a person say WOW! in one day? That was the question that came to mind last night after a day at MQX (machine quilters expo). This is a quilt show in Manchester, NH that highlights machine quilters and their creations. Su and I spent several hours wandering through spectacular quilts exclaiming WOW after every new turn. We also got to see many of the entries in this year’s $100,000 Quilting Challenge. WOW!! It amazes me the creative ideas and workmanship that exist around me (even if it’s not right in my backyard).

Every brand of quilting machine was exhibited as well. Although I yearn for one of these machines, there wasn’t much point in spending time trying each machine or asking a million questions when it’s just not in the cards right now. When I can afford one and have the space for one, I’ll go shopping for one. In the meantime I will just envy the work that is done on one.

I had a wonderful time spending the day with Su. She did very well considering the number of “spoons” it took for her to walk around for several hours. I know she will pay for it today and maybe into tomorrow. It always amazes me how well she copes with her illness; she compensates very well. I wonder how well I would handle the situation if the cards had been reversed and I was the one that was chronically ill. I fear that I would not be nearly as strong a person. I admire her. I know that her time is precious and I’m so grateful that she allowed me to share some of it with her.

I heard from Wendy that Vanessa was home. From what I understand she is staying downstairs in the living room because that is where she can watch the TV. Wendy said that Greg is going to work from home for four days. It should be interesting since Vanessa is not supposed to get up except to use the bathroom or take a quick shower. Everything she needs will have to be provided by Greg. It will be an extended stressful time for each of them.

Wendy went to the baby shower for Ryan today. He is the baby she made the quilt for. Jen and her husband were very appreciative of the quilt and said that it will match Ryan’s bedroom which is blue with stars.

I was able to finish up the “Birthday Quilt” today. Su gave it to me for my birthday about three years ago. Although it is actually a wallhanging and it took me a short amount of time to piece it, I have been using it to practice my free motion quilting. I did some outline stitching in the flower area, some stitch-in-the-ditch, some stippling (which is my downfall) some free-motion outlining of the leaves and some “squiggly squares” in the outside border. Sue N. saw it while I was working on it today and really liked it. She mentioned that I could always give it to her. Soooo, that’s exactly what I will do on her next birthday. That makes it truly the “Birthday Quilt”.

I did manage to meet Bill at the gym after work for 30 minutes on the cardio machines.