Quilts for Carolina hurricane victims

From my Carolina Home quilt 

   Carole at From My Carolina Home shared a post today about her hurricane project.   She has  also prepared a PDF of the split 9 patch block she will be using.   mIt's the same as those used for the California Fire quilts.  So instead of me "plaining" it all, please drop in and read her details.
 




  Quilts of Compassion are also making and collecting quilts for the Hurricane Florence victims.   Their latest posts lists a couple of shops who are helping collect quilts, as well as address for mailing quilts. 

  The news here is showing rivers are still cresting and rain is in the forecast for the next couple of days.  Some of it actually may be leftover parts of Hurricane Florence that has circled around and reformed into a small system!  Unbelievable -----I have never seen a hurricane refuse to die like this one.  The flooding continues and people are still waiting to get back to their homes.  Many of them know all is lost.  So if you want to help at all, these two projects will be wonderful to support.  Thanks. 
Happy stitching. 

The Unexpected

   Last week I was quilting.....meander quilting....the water color wall hanging.   I had made the blocks for  a class  using the strip pieced method.  Tutorial for this method is  found here.    This type of water color work is strictly dark to light in a block format.  I had at least 3 sets of blocks for this that were left over from demonstrations.








 I had put them together, but goofed.  The top row was sewn on upside down.  It did not look quite right....lol.

  So a little ripping and re-sewing.......add a border  and finish it up. 

     At first I was not happy with the border color I chose.  But the more I worked on it, the better I liked it.
I began to notice how the border color pulled out the odd blues and greens in the floral fabrics.  Overall it softened the effect.   It became the expected.  Exactly, something different than I usually use. 
 










   Then I found the perfect print for the binding....with touches of dark brown on the light turquoise background.  I liked the way it finished off.

  The Unexpected---wall hanging.
  30'' by 36''

 
Happy stitching. 






 

It was minimal for us

  Today all is fine.  The storm has passed directly over us with very minimal damage to our area.    We had some winds on Saturday, and rain began in the afternoon.  Sunday was more rain....light mostly.  But it was a painful day for me....I found out on the weather last night that the eye passed directly over us.  That low pressure had been giving me high pain for the weekend.

  We did hear from a cousin who rode the storm out in Wilmington.  No power, all wind and rain for 72 hours.  Damage to the roof from limbs with some leaking spots.  Little sleep with the house temperature at 88 degrees.  They had no flood damage being on higher ground,  but they sought relief in the car on Sunday afternoon.  They got it out of the garage and turned on the AC for some soothing cooling.  That must have been a wonderful few minutes. 

Thanks to all who checked on us. 

A Little Knot

  I had 6 blocks that did not get put into my large Garlic Knot top.  I thought they would be a good table topper.....A Little Knot.

   Before binding, I was just a little disappointed at how plain it seemed.  I debated on applique in the border or even adding additional borders.  I went ahead an quilted it up and then had the light bulb moment for the binding. 











 A cute flange binding would give this one a pop of extra color and hopefully improve it after all.  So the blue fabric became the flange and a floral print is the outer binding.







   A Little Knot is 18'' by 24''.


Now I am more motivated to get the large Garlic knot pinned and quilted.  I need to piece up some backing.....that always slows me down for some reason. 

  The water color wreath wall hanging is under the needle already.  I have the center section quilted and just need to do up the border. 
Then on to bigger things.

Happy stitching. 

Storm update

  Thank you to so many for the notes and emails about the hurricane.  We are prepped and have been keeping an eye on updates.  If you have never lived near the coast you may not understand how things change in the forecast.  That is one reason we prepare----rather safe than sorry. 
  So this morning, it has changed again.....for the worse for us that are inland even. 



  It appears the storm is expected to take a dip south or even slide south along the coast.  Then it will probably curve north right over our upstate area to North Carolina mountains.  The rains will be our main concern as well as tornadoes.....all this is late Saturday into Sunday. 

I saw this post on Facebook just a little while ago.

Quilts of Compassion· 

***HURRICANE FLORENCE***
The Quilts of Compassion Disaster Response TEAM is currently monitoring Hurricane Florence. We are planning a deployment to the area!!! We will have detailed information once landfall has occurred and Tier 1 organizations have responded to assist with immediate needs of food, shelter, clothing and medical attention. Quilts of Compassion is considered a Tier 2 Disaster Response Organization that responds 6-12 weeks to an area AFTER all “basic needs” ha...

The rest of the post and info can be found here.  

.....I will be going thru my extra quilts today to see what I can share.   

Happy stitching.  

Looking for Signs

  Yes, I know it's the season and the hurricane is heading in this direction next week.  Yes, I know the calendar says it is mid-September and it should be cooler.  Yet, without a few signs I would not believe that Fall is on the way.  It is about 84 degrees with 80% humidity.....so it feels like at least a 100 degrees outside! 




It is way to hot to have a quilt in the lap for quilting even at the machine.......So  I went looking for signs.....

   The small shrub rose in the back is having the second blush of blooms.  If the Fall is mild enough, some of the roses will hang on until November.    The hummingbird feeder hangs just above this bush.  It is good to enjoys the beautiful blooms and watch the antics of those hummingbird above. 

   Lady Writing Spider returns once again this year.  Always by late August, we can find one of them in the back garden.  This year, we have spotted three webs with writing. 

 Usually I am running the other direction when I see a spider....had a very bad reaction to a bite once......but I like to see her work the magic into her web.  She is a huge one, easily 2'' long, and the writing strand is about 6'' long.   Oh....and please ignore the weeds that appear in the midst of the browning daylilies:)








    And this sign must be a sign.....I know I illegally saved it, but could not resist.
I would love this to post on my sun room wall.  It's a perfect reminder that tomorrow will be a better day. 

   I always can use a swift kick by Dr. Seuss to keep me looking up, remind me the glass is half full, and just keep getting back up.  For sure, Fall is coming. 
 

Getting to know you at Stitchin Therapy

  Welcome to my spot in blogland.  Feel free to sit a while and  enjoy my creations.  Many thanks to Benita at Creative Space for setting this up.

String Me Along

 I'm Debbie and I'm a quilter!  No surprise there.   I began my blog about 9 years ago, and consider it my special spot on the globe.   I am a traditional quilter who loves floral fabrics, and found my niche in watercolor quilting. 
    I do multi-color, multi-print quilts....translate that to scrap quilts and watercolor quilts.   String Me Along was inspired by a quilt in a magazine.  I used tons of strip scraps and drew all the applique myself.

Persistence

 This  wall hanging is called Persistence.  It is a watercolor with a thread painted Goldfinch that I  appliqued before it was quilted.    It has a narrow gold flange to set it off from the dark border.   

   Before I get too wound up, I need to point out a few things on the blog tour.

• Under the banner I have various pages listed that highlight and link to posts and photos of my quilts and techniques I use.  
•   A page of watercolor techniques, patterns, a few tutorials, and several years devoted to quilts I finished.
• In the right hand column, there are handy sections to use.  Talking About is the labels used on posts and a quick way to search for what you are looking for.  
• There is also a search this blog box to help find info, too. 
• And email.....this is a quick way to get a reply or help for information from me. 
• And my blog roll.....a lot of great bloggers who inspire me.  Stop by and visit them.  

  

  In the last 3  years, I have been focusing  on very traditional quilt patterns that could feature my extensive floral fabric collection.  See the page here of The Year of Florals.    
   While I thought it would only last a year, I am still exploring patterns and repeating favorites.  

 My blog banner photo is a simple traditional pattern using all floral fabrics. Many Scrappy Trips pattern is from Bonnie Hunter at Quiltville.   I am a big fan of  hers, so you may recognize many of her patterns that I have used. 

  I also do free motion quilting.  Swirls seem to always fill up my quilting space.  And feathers took me a year to conquer, but are now one of my favorite motifs.   The plume motif was inspired by a magazine ad, so I can't claim it as original.

   The trail of plumes turned this border into something quite special.  The more plumes I added, the more I wanted to add.  They really became addictive.  

   I have used this design on table toppers, place mats, and table runners too.  

  Since I can never pick my favorite quilt,  I will end up with my most recent finish.  

Once again a traditional half  log cabin block set on point  made using my floral fabric stash.

  Little known things about me----
I love coffee, cool mornings, and sunsets.   I love to read a good book that takes me to places unseen, and adventures unknown.   I grew up in Orlando, Florida before Disney turned the sleepy town into  a nightmare.   

  I hope you enjoy your visit, as I appreciate your stopping by.    I would love to see you visit again, and share my quilting adventures.  Now venture over and visit some other quilters and don't forget to enter for that big prize.

Happy stitching.  

  

I am returning your to the Meet and Greet home page at Benita's blog Creative Space.

Don't forget to enter for Grand Prize.