Happy New Year!

Here it is, January 7 and I am already writing a post!!

And, I already have a finish to show you!  In January of 2017, I joined a quiltalong on Instagram (my IG name is kelonie).  Following "Tula Pink's City Sampler 100 Modern City Blocks" book, we (a gazillion of us) made 2 blocks per week for 50 weeks.  I must tell you that I was rather impressed with myself...that I did all of them!!  But, once they were made, I put them away and didn't take them out again until after Christmas of 2018...an entire year later!  I was determined to finish it before the end of the year, but I came down with a nasty, horrible and miserable cold that delayed my working on it.  But, it is done now!!!  

I had used all Anna Maria Horner fabrics on the blocks, and the sashing is Grunge Basics by BasicGrey for Moda Fabrics in Stone.  The pattern I chose from the book is called Sliding Scale, is sized at 80x93, and uses 70 blocks.  I made my quilt top to measure 72x84 and used only 54 blocks.  I guess I have enough to make another quilt, hey?  Anyway.  Here are a few photos...

You likely won't see this for another year (or so), because it joins a long list of quilt tops waiting to be quilted.

I have a big project that I'll be starting one of these days...the Bakers Dozen quilt by Jen Kingwell.  I'll also be using Anna Maria Horner fabrics for that one.  Very excited about this, but also a bit nervous, as her patterns can be somewhat challenging.

In the meantime, I have already begun another quilt top...a bright floral patchwork one.    

Have a great week!

Feelin' Good...

So happy to be able to cross 2 quilts off my list of WIPs.  

First up is HST String...I started this in February at the urging of my friend, Brenis.  She was here for a visit and helped me get started.  (Thanks, Bren!!)  It was very easy to put together and I enjoyed working on it immensely.  It measures about (not quite) 60 x 72 inches.  Yellows and grays.  LOVE it!

Of course the backing is pieced!!!

And then we have this one.  I absolutely adore this one.  Anna Maria Horner Pretty Potent fabrics with a Kona Cotton Solid in Charcoal for the backing.  This one is vying for the title of "favorite quilt to keep on the ottoman to cover up with while watching tv".  Measures about 57 inches square. Simple patchwork.  

No pieced backing?!  Gotta change it up sometimes, hey?

I am still working on Snow Days.  I have just a little stitching left to do.  As in embroidery. Backstitch.  It's looking good and makes me super happy to be almost done!!  

Have a good Friday...almost the weekend!!


"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.". Jeremiah 29:11

The Gathering...

I mentioned a month or so ago that I had come late to the Anna Maria Horner party (see those words here).  I  just received my May Gathering and am so in love with it.  Actually, I am pretty much in love with everything I see of her work, whether it be fabric or handwork or patterns.  In my mind, there is a fine line between being obsessed and addicted. 

Obsession...
: someone or something that a person thinks about constantly or frequently.

Addiction...
: an unusually great interest in something or a need to do or have something


I will admit - without hesitation - to being addicted.  It is only because I am addicted that I have the last 3 'gatherings'...having them makes me think about them.  Frequently.  So, I think I am a bit obsessed, too.  Don't you?

At any rate...here is the May Gathering...

photo borrowed from Anna Maria's website

This gathering includes 6 cotton prints, 4 cotton wovens (from her newest collection, Loominous), and 2 cotton solids.

I cannot wait to use the fabrics...I think I have something special and very much far in the future in mind.  Time will tell.

I have 3 months left of this addiction and/or obsession...that will give me a lot of Anna Maria Horner fabrics to play with!

In the meantime, I am working on my to-do list and hope to have a few things to show you sometime soon.



"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.". Jeremiah 29:11

In the Mail...

You've heard me say before that I love receiving packages in the mail.  That excitement has not diminished one iota.

In today's mail, I received a package from my sister, Julie.  She asked me to make a few things for her using these fat quarters from Joann Fabrics (and no, the florals will not be mixed with the puppy prints). 

And, on Saturday, I received my April Gathering of Anna Maria Horner fabrics.  12 fat quarters... 9 cotton prints, 2 cotton solids & 1 cotton voile print.  Love them all!

I will never complete my list of things to sew, will I.  But, hey!  No complaints about that! 

Hope you are having a great Monday!


"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.". Jeremiah 29:11

Scrappy?

                          

Scrappy...being defined as a variety of fabrics of different colors and prints.   

I do so admire scrappy quilts.  But, in my opinion, one has to have something more than whatever it is that I don't have to put one together.

When I buy fabric, I prefer to buy collections.  I try to buy the entire collection.  I guess I don't quite trust my sense of color/style or whatever you want to call it.  For me, it is far easier to purchase a collection, knowing that all the fabrics were made to go with each other.

Of course, there are always exceptions to that rule.  My absolute most favorite quilt that I made back in 2011 was a scrappy one...the Postage Stamp Quilt.  I used several different unrelated fabrics, sewing them into strips with a muslin square between each print square...

I truly loved making this quilt...all 1296 pieces of it.  Baby sister Jill is the proud owner of this one.

I have put together a few other quilts using several prints from different designers/collections, but they each had a color theme, so were fairly simple to put together.  To me, that doesn't necessarily count as scrappy.  Shown here are my two favorites.

One was for my good friend, Doreen, who succumbed to lung cancer almost 3 years ago...

 

The other one was the black/white quilt I made in 2009 for sister Joyce...

                       
Several collections that I have used have made some very awesome quilts.  I rarely buy from the same designer twice, though...but only because there are so many fabrics out there to choose from.  

I have used two collections by Aneela Hoey to make two separate quilts...and even made the same pattern both times!

Sherbet Pips

A Walk In The Woods 

                                    
And, I have combined two of Lotta Jansdotter's collections to make one quilt...

Bella and Echo

      
My taste has changed somewhat over the past 5 years.  One person I have kept my eye on, though, is Anna Maria Horner.  I have been hearing about her - and all that she does - for a very long time.  See her blog here and do follow the link to visit her shop. She is a very talented woman...her fabrics and designs and just everything she does is fabulous and absolutely gorgeous!  I guess you could say that I am a bit late coming to her party.  I bought my first Anna Maria Horner fabric collection last fall.  

I have been following the Blue Elephant Stitches blog for quite some time...and have long been fascinated by the colors/fabrics she puts together.  Her quilts look so vibrant and ultra-rich.  Anna Maria Horner's fabrics are like that...in fact, there are a few quilts on the Blue Elephant Stitches blog made with her fabrics.  

So.  I invested in a bundle of Anna Maria's Pretty Potent line and ended up with this large patchwork quilt (it is not yet quilted)...

Pretty Potent

I love it!  Then, as you may remember from a month ago, I used some birthday money to buy a bundle of Anna Maria's Folk Song line..

Folk Song

Then, one day whilst I was minding my own business, just browsing the web, I found out that Anna Maria offers a monthly gathering of fabrics.  What?  Of course, I ordered the March Gathering...

It  consists of 12 fat quarters...8 cotton prints, 2 cotton solids and 2 cotton/linen blends!  The April offering is available now, so I will be ordering that soon.  I think I am totally addicted!  But, that's not a bad thing, is it?

My point in all of this is...I prefer buying fabric collections.  And, I will buy as much of Anna Maria's fabrics as I possibly can.  I think I will never tire of how those colors make me feel.  

On another, but definitely related, note...in today's mail, I received a late birthday gift from sister Joyce.  Late only because I could not decide how to use the gift card she had given me.  Besides some doll clothes hangers (too cute!), I ordered this book...

From inside front cover, "Get a peek inside Anna Maria's creative process - and stitch more than 24 stunning original embroidery pieces."

It is a beautiful book...put together with much thought and effort.  I am so looking forward to spending a lot of time with it. 

Have a great week! 



"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.". Jeremiah 29:11

What I Made...

In my last post, I wrote that I had made a few things I could not yet show.  Well, those things are arriving at their destinations today, so I am finally able to show you.  Nothing that exciting, mind you...just a few things I made.


First off...linen napkins for Lindy.

Unfortunately, I only had enough of this natural linen to make 4 and she has a family of 6, so when I get more of the natural linen, I will make/send 2 more for her.  I also made her two face cloths...one red and the other green.  Sorry, no photo of them.  

Lindy is my 'almost' birthday twin.  Her birthday is the day before mine (the 15th...and, yes, her gifts were late) and she is a few years younger than I am.  We met on a rug hooking message board several years ago and started exchanging birthday wishes...which eventually turned into gifting one another.  Lindy is the one who gave me the Curio fabric to make this quilt...which, of course, needs to be finished.  This year, she sent a gift card for the Missouri Star Quilt Company!  I had fun spending it.  I bought a layer cake of Denyse Schmidt's Hadley collection, some yardage for binding, needles for Naomi Janome and a package of needles for hand sewing.  Thank you so much, Lindy! 

oh!  I must tell you...dealing with the Missouri Star Quilt Company is a very pleasant experience.  My layer cake was short two 10" squares, so I called them.  Instead of sending two 10" squares, they sent me yardage!  More than 1/2 yard!  Wasn't that nice?  This was not my first shopping experience with them and it definitely will not be my last.  Love to find suppliers that are willing to take that extra step to satisfy a customer!

Next up...more kleenex cozies.  Apparently, there are more people in the state of Maryland who have yet to receive one.  My sister, Joyce, is determined that everyone she meets receive one...so, of course, it is up to me to supply them.  ~grin~

fronts

backs

And, that is all I have done!  Well, I have been planning things, too.  That takes up way more time than it needs to most days.  But, you know, it has been so cold and gray...definitely saps any energy I may have.  Spring is not far off.   

Yes, I had a birthday.  And, the federal government honored my birthday by giving federal employees (at least some of them) the day off.  Nice!  ~grin~

One of the things I bought with birthday money received was...you guessed it...fabric!  I wasn't going to buy any fabric, but then decided that if I was going to, it would be better to spend birthday money than to take money out of my budget.  HA!  So, I ordered a fat quarter bundle of Anna Maria Horner's Folk Song!  It arrived today and I am in love!  Her fabric is so wonderful...the colors and the feel/drape of the fabrics are just something else!  When I made this quilt  back in September...

Pretty Potent by Anna Maria Horner

I fell in deep, deep love.  

So...want to see what I received?  

Folk Song by Anna Maria Horner

Oh. My. Gosh.  I love these colors...they are so vibrant!  There are only 14 fat quarters in this collection, but if I pick up a few of the coordinating solids, I will be able to make a very nice sized quilt!  Not any time soon, though.  It's going into my 'someday I'll make a quilt with this' container.  

Yeah.  So.  My birthday.  In honor of me, I am having a giveaway!  Not today, though.  Check back in a few days.  I need to decide what to give away.

In the meantime, stay warm and safe!  Have a great weekend!




"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.". Jeremiah 29:11