Pink House

Fall Leaves Under Night Sky Quilt

I've been trying to spend some of my free time this summer and fall working on FINISHING some creative projects (quilting and knitting) that were started several years ago and have quietly waited in my studio closet waiting for their day to shine. I've made some progress...slow but steady.

I started this quilt in 2002 at a quilt retreat that I went to with my mom in Port Townsend, Washington. We had never gone to a retreat together and thought this sounded fun. I had to get time off work and fly out to Portland with all of my supplies and sewing machine. From Portland we drove up toward Seattle, took the western route up the Olympic Pennisula to the tip where Port Townsend, a cute Victorian town sits on the waterfront overlooking the northern part of the Puget Sound. The views are incredible.

From Port Townsend we continued along the shoreline to Fort Worden historic state park. Fort Worden used to be an military base in the early 20th century, and was inactive, turned into a state-owned retreat center. The old officer's houses and army barracks were transformed into bunkhouses for retreaters and classroom space for workshops. It was quaint, old-fashioned, but adequate. The setting too, was gorgeous - with the waterfront property and the grounds that we walked around on. A fun place to be creative and "camp out".

We were lucky enough to be there in the fall too, and there were lots of towering trees full of autumn colors all over the grounds...falling leaves everywhere of gold, orange, and rust-colored hues. The fall leaves inspired me to create this quilt. I thought of the golden leaves crunching under my feet as we walked back to our room at night from the gathering in the dining hall. The starry skies were above us. It was a magical time.

This particular class was taught by Debbie McCaffrey who has out several quilt books. This quilt was based on her "Noodle Soup" book which uses 2 1/2" strips of fabric to create a variety of quilt designs. It was fun to see the wide variety of quilts and fabric colorways that people in our class were using. All very different.

Well, as good intentions go, I returned home with this and several other quilt projects in the works, and over the course of seven years, I have finished a couple of them. About two years ago, I buckled down and pulled the pieces of this one out of the bag, and got busy putting the blocks into rows, and rows into on-point designs.

Large triangles finished the four corners and "floated" the stars in the center of the dark sky. Sadly, the quilt top sat folded on a table in my studio for another two years until I finally took it to quilt on the long-arm machine last spring. Then it returned home and sat through the summer until I finally made the binding and sewed it on just a couple of weeks ago. This quilt has had a long journey.

But it's finished now and I hung it up on the wall in our basement family room. It helps warm up the room. But mostly, it's nice to finally have it finished.

Another one done, but many more to go!

Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween Quilt! I was going to post this a few days ago and forgot! whoops!

I made this wall quilt with miniature quilt blocks about 15 year ago (1995 I think). I try to get it out every October to add to the fall decorations and usually forget. I'm doing well if I can put if up the week of Halloween at least. When it comes to Halloween decorations, I go for the Great Pumpkin-style rather than the really scary ones. I love this one. For more specifics, click on the "Quilts" photo gallery in the right column.

Another Summer Quilt: "Concert in the Park"

Even though I made this quilt about 3 or 4 years ago, I had never photographed it or blogged about it (when I had my original blog 3 or 4 years ago). So, since I received so many nice emails and comments from readers when I posted about my new summer quilt a month or so ago, I decided to go ahead and post some more quilt photos.

 

Does that photo make you dizzy because it's at an angle? Sorry! Here's another one just in case:

As you can see, this is a simple log cabin, made with wide strips (cut 2 1/2") and the center square is 3 1/2" cut. Start with the center square and begin sewing on strips clockwise, until you have three strips on each side to make a square block about 15" big. Simple! Quick and easy.

This simple log cabin pattern (cut wider strips than traditionally) is a GREAT way to use up your fabric scraps as well. I love putting together different fabrics: prints and colors, and this pattern is all about play with color and pattern. As you can see I used a wide variety of fabrics, but stuck with yellows for the center square, and blues and greens for the outer strips. This inspired me to name the quilt "Concert in the Park" because it reminds me of going to an outdoor concert on a summer day: the green of the grass, the blue of the sky, and the warm yellow sun. In fact, I keep this quilt in the trunk of my car in the summer.....and literally use it to spread out on when we go to "concerts in the park". Nifty.

When I made this one many moons ago, I actually went through my two large bags of fabric scraps (accumulated over about 8 years of quilting) and sorted scraps of fabric into three piles: COOLS (blues and green seen here), WARMS (pinks, reds, and oranges which I also made identical to this quilt), and DARKS (browns, navy, maroons, black prints which I still have to sew together). I then went through the piles and cut them into 2 1/2' strips - something that's a good project while you watch a movie. Mindless. Then it's just a matter of sewing strips (I like to do it assembly line style where you're working on several blocks at the same time) and pressing seams open. Soon you've got a stack of 20 large blocks and sewn together in rows, that will be the perfect size for a picnic quilt.

To finish it, I just used a simple large-scale stippling quilting design, using a varigated green thread. The backing was a simple (on sale!) green speckled fabric (don't even notice those grass stains if there are any!), and finished with a striped fabric for the binding. I love using a striped fabric for the binding because I think it creates a nice little "frame" for the quilt, and it's much more interesting than just a plain solid binding. Adding an interesting binding on my quilts is a signature of mine.

 

This quilt has already attended two concerts in the park this summer alone and behaved stunningly. My friend was nice enough to wear matching toenail polish (turqoise!) and so I just had to photograph her feet too. Dandy!

Quilt for Summer - Photo Shoot

I recently finished a quilt that I made mostly for fun, and to play to with colors, but its primary purpose was to be a summer quilt for the back patio. When you sit outside in the summer evenings and it starts to get chilly when you're reading or talking, it's nice to have a quilt to pull around you. And it might as well be a pretty one. Right?

I started this last fall and most of the fabrics were ones that I had in my stash closet, and I added a few new ones to brighten up the palette. My main colors were greens, oranges, and purples.

There was no pattern - I just made a center square or rectangle and then sewed strips of fabric around each block, in two or three borders. Kind of a modified log cabin design I suppose. I just wanted to make it simple and fun. I cut and pieced it while sewing with friends (lots of chatting) and it was really nice to not to have to follow a complicated pattern.....just mindless cut and sew.

When I had about 30 blocks, I laid them out in rows on the floor and played with placement a bit. Then I began sewing the blocks together in vertical blocks. When one block was wider than another, I would trim down the large block to fit the finished block next to it. I then had six long rows. I should have been disciplined enough to make additional blocks, to add another vertical row or blocks. But I was kind of tired of the project at this point and wanted to finish it. So it's longer than it is wide. But I told myself that it's okay for this kind of casual use quilt. No rights or wrongs. Sometimes that kind of sewing is a relief.

The quilt top sat for a bit in the studio until I decided to look for a backing that would serve as a subsitute "top" when quilting it on the long arm machine. I've seen our local quilt shop owner do this before and had always wanted to try it: to choose a fabric backing with some kind of pattern that could be traced in thread to create a quilting design for the top of the quilt. I looked for quite awhile to find a fabric that would be the right color and offer a pleasing quilting design as well. I finally settled on this cream-colored background with a pale orange flower design.

When I rented the long arm machine at the LQS, I then mounted the actual quilt top (the pieced blocks) on the frame as if it was the backing and added the batting as normal. Then the solid piece of fabric for the substitute "top" which I then "traced" along with the quilting machine, following the flower design on the backing to then make this floral quilting design on the real quilt top. I used a cream color thread (very difficult to see to though!) on the top of the machine, and a varigated green thread for the bobbin thread that would blend in with the quilt top and help blend together the various fabric colors. All went as planned.

When I first pulled the finished quilt off of the frame, I wasn't sure that I liked it - either the quilting design or the thread colors or the finished result. But there's something I've learned in 26 years of quilting - and that's to KEEP WORKING ON IT because it DOES GET BETTER. You have the quilt top, the back, the quilting, the thread color choice. But then...you still add the binding. And then you run it through the washer on gentle cycle and the quilt kind of puffs up and settles into itself and start to look like it all belongs together.

When I made the binding, and sewed it on, I started to see that the quilt was looking better. When the binding was on, there was still one more task to do - one more detail to finish: I added two trims for embellishment. A large green rick rack and a smaller green crocheted trim. These helped pull it all together and add a touch of whimsy too.

I finally took it outside in the sun to photograph. Serendipitously, it matched the colors in my flower pots this season. I must have had orange, purple, and green on the brain this year. These colors are cheerful and just make me happy.

At the last minute Rocco decided to join the photography project, settling himself in the middle of the quilt as I was trying to photograph it. He's that way. Thinking that its somehow all about him.

To Do list: Quilt Photo Shoot.

Check.

Sneak Preview!

I finally finished a summer quilt! More details to come!

Do You Sew?

My gosh! Posie Gets Cozy asked a simple question on her blog a couple of days ago and has been drowning in responses! Over 1000 so far and still growing! It seems that the 20-somethings have discovered the joys of sewing again. How wonderful that something so basic has been handed down from grandmothers and mothers.

I've sewn for about 40 years now, and find it to be the best kind of therapy. But just when I think that perhaps the art of sewing is going by the wayside, there comes a new storm of sewing enthusiasm taking up a new generation with it. Some of the new young sewers/entrepreneurs are putting out interesting sewing books and designing fabric too. See:

Heather Bailey

Anna Marie Horner

Angry Chicken (author's blog of Bend The Rules Sewing)

It's raining outside right now and rain always makes me feel like...sewing!

 

Quilt Class with Kim Diehl

So about a month ago there was a bi-annual quilt retreat here in town sponsored by the guild I used to belong to. I talked a friend of mine into taking a quilting class with me - just for something new and different and FUN in the midst of our long Montana winters when I get a bit weary.

This is the quilt that we were going to learn how to make called "Mocha Stars" by Kim Diehl. I have a few of her quilt books and I like her traditional cozy style (I also like contemporary quilts too). Anyway, the particular reason why I wanted to take this class is that she taught a new style of applique that is half by-hand and half by-machine but apparently looked like it's all by hand. So I was intrigued.

We received a supply list ahead of time and spent a couple of days making sure we had everything on our list to be ready for class day. This was the palette that I selected - which is mostly from the "Meadow Sweet" line that I got at Holly Hill Quilt Shoppe in West Linn, Oregon. I completed the needed fabrics back home by buying the two background fabrics and the dark browns for the border and binding.

I've done the quilt retreat thing before and so I knew that we needed to have all of supplies gathered, loaded in the car the night before, be up early to arrive at the moment they open. All this just to get a seat/table together in the classroom. We also managed to stop for a latte on the way and packed in our stuff, claimed a table and two chairs and set up. All went well.

Kim Diehl, the quilt designer and class instructor was well-organized and did a good job of presenting. We progressed in an orderly fashion, step by step she would demo and then we would work. The technique was interesting and I liked the end result. It was somewhat time-consuming and tedious especially if you like a more free-style and quick approach. But we had a good time. Lots of nice gals in the class that we chatted with.

Midway through the day, they served lunch in a large room just next door, and so we went and ate, and then came back in and got right back to work.

Shelley's colorway

At the end of the day, I had two of my large star blocks for the center of the quilt completed. Lots more work to do! We knew that as a quilt takes a lot of time - you can't just make one in a short day.

My friend, Cheryl's colorway using all batiks

As you can see we have a lot more work to do! We usually try to get together once or twice a month to sew together. But this month following the quilt class has been so busy for both of us that we haven't gotten together yet. So the blocks and supplies are still sitting in a box waiting until our lives settle down so that we can have fun again. Hopefully soon.

Kim Diehl's colorway

Finishing Quilts

I've been on a kick lately to finish a bunch of old quilt tops. In the whole quilt-making process, my favorite parts are at the beginning....choosing fabrics, cutting the fabrics, and sewing. I like all of that....and then I get sewing those rows together and there it is - the quilt top is done.

Next comes the part that actually makes it a "quilt" - which is putting together the quilt sandwich - layering the quilt top, the batting, and the backing. Then you select a quilting design, choose the quilting thread color (so many choices these days!) and quilt it. Then trim to square up, and make the binding and sew the binding on. Turn and hand sew.  The finishing parts after making the initial quilt top is actually quite time-consuming and quite costly too. Why costly? Because the batting and backing (fabric that is sewn together to be larger than the top which is usually a lot of yardage) and the quilting thread are all expensive now. If the quilt top is more than a small wall-size one I can't manage the free motion quilting on my home machine, and so I also rent the long-arm machine at my local quilt shop to quilt it on and I pay by the hour to rent it. All that adds up. And so, over the past 24 years of quilting, I have folded and stacked quite a few of the quilt tops that I've finished into my studio closet to finish "later". Except time goes by, more quilts are sewn, and the "later" almost never comes.

 

And so, early this year, I made a plan that I would FINISH more quilts than I started this year. Seems simple enough. And so I've been going through that stack on the shelf in my studio closet and uncovering all kinds of quilt tops that I'd forgotten completely about. Then fortunately, my LQS ran a special for the month of March to rent out the long-arm quilting machines for half-price per hour ($10 per hour instead of the usual $20). That was an added incentive to get the supplies pulled together, reserve a day, and get in there to quilt. And so since January I have finished three old quilts - which is one a month so far. The strange thing is that I'm working with color palettes and quilt ideas that I had originally put together years ago.....and my tastes have changed. Last week I quilted on the long-arm a navy blue batik quilt that I had started 8 years ago at a quilt retreat in Washington! As the day went along quilt shop visitors would come by and watch and admire the quilt. I felt that I had to keep apologizing for the quilt...saying "It's an old one". Not sure why, but it just felt like I was working on someone else's quilt rather than mine. The colors and fabrics were just dated enough.

The photos here are of another quilt that I pulled out of the closet. The top still had some applique work to finish before I can quilt it and so I've been working on that. Fortunately, I had put all of the extra leftover fabric in a clear plastic bag with the pieced top, and so I am able to finish it with the appropriate colors. But still, the pinkish rose and sage green and burgandy colors date this one too....I think its from 2000 or 1999. Almost like finding an antique quilt in an estate sale. It's kind of a strange feeling. But still...this will be my fourth one I've finished in 2009 so far. Feels like an accomplishment. Kind of like your using up your leftovers instead of just going out to buy more. And that's a good thing.

I'll show photos of the others I've finished soon - need to take photos and do some uploads.

To the Oregon Coast

The infamous Haystack Rock at Cannon Beach

When I visited my family in Oregon a couple of weeks ago, my mom and I went to the beach for a couple of days. We hit the weather perfectly - it was sunny, warm enough, and no wind. We stayed at a great place (The Inn at Cannon Beach - recommend it) and everything was just right. I was in need of a "beach fix" and this did the trick. Growing up in Oregon, I went to the beach often on weekends.

 

I've always loved the classic ruggedness of the beach houses in this area - gray shingled from the rain and salt water with white trim. Wouldn't it be a dream to sit inside one of those windows and write or read while you stare at the waves?

The weather was so nice that a lot of people had brought their dogs to the beach to walk and run. It was fun to see the joyful faces and happy tails of the dogs having their day at the beach. We walked down and back up the beach, past Haystack Rock and back again. We stopped and sat on a log awhile and just watched. Very refreshing. Clean air, mind-cleansing.

And of course, we had to have some seafood................. The first evening (it was cold and misty) we went to Mo's right on the beach at Tolavanna State Park where we could still sit at the window and watch the sunset. I had halibut and shrimp salad.

And the next day for lunch, we went to Dooger's for their great clam chowder and shrimp salad.

We also visited the little quilt shop in the midtown area of Cannon Beach, The Center Diamond. I've been going to that shop for about 25 years now (it's changed owners a few times) and I still like it. I forgot to stop in the yarn shop in Cannon Beach though. I tend to avoid the touristy shops of Cannon Beach and prefer the area just south - midtown and Tolovana instead where you can get out of the crowds. It was a fun couple of beach days. I'm ready to go back this weekend again....

Oregon Quilt Shop

When I was in Portland visiting family, my mom and I went over to an area just south of the city, right off of 205 (near West Linn and Oregon City) called Willamette to visit a quilt shop. When I was in college, one summer I lived in the Milwaukie/Gladstone area, but worked as a receptionist for a company in Tualatin on the west side. So every day I would drive on 205 freeway going south over to Tualatin to work, and I would drive by this exit that said "Historic Willamette" but as I glanced over I couldn't really see that there was much there other than a gas station, grocery story, and a McDonalds. So in the 27 years that I lived in Portland I never took that exit, and never visited Willamette. But last time I was there, my sister-in-law and mom took me there (it's very close to where they live) and I discovered that it's a nice little community - handy to the freeway for communters - and has been enjoying a revitilization of their old downtown street. They also have a great quilt shop called Hollyhill.

Hollyhill Quilt Shoppe used to be in a small older building across the street, but they took one of the spaces in the new, rebuilt part of the downtown which expanded their store considerably. And we went back to the shop on this visit to see their new space. It is really a lovely beautiful store - I wish I would have taken a photo of the inside, but didn't. Lots of high-ceilinged space with dark hardwood floors, painted wooden cabinets for fabric displays, and elegant chandeliers (can you see the one in the photo right inside the door?) hanging from the ceiling! Not your typical quilt shop at all. They have complete lines of fabric - lots of Moda, Andover, Amy Butler, Kaffe Fassett and the usual suspects. However, I think their displays of fabric and their beautiful samples are especially spectacular.  A really nice and upscale quilt "shop" that is more like a quilt salon. Their sales help was very helpful and friendly as well, and the owner even came out of the office to answer a quesiton for me and then offered to print out a pattern from her computer of a quilt I especially liked. Really nice service.

So, of course, I had to buy something and decided to pick up the supplies for the class I was going to be taking when I returned home. There were so many good choices to pick from - it was difficult to settle on just one. But I did. I chose a selection from Meadowsweet line from Andover. I loved the colors - muted shades of coral, paprika, sage, olive, blue, tan, cream, and dark brown.



Here's another peek at the rest of the main street revitalization of the historic Willamette downtown. I just love it! Sidewalks and a mix of locally-owned businesses - boutiques, cafes, shops, accountants, dentists, and other professional offices. So much more appealing and "neighborly" than just a mall or corporate building. If you're in the Portland area, take a trip south on 205 and take the Willamette exit this time - follow the signs off the freeway to "Historic Willamette", park the car and visit some shops on the little main street and have lunch in a cafe there. A fun little discovery.

Historic Willamette - south of Portland on Hwy 205.