Festival of Strings

I almost missed this!   The Festival of Strings is going on at Stitched in Color.  And there are some great ideas, and lots of string quilts.  Be sure to hop over and check them out.

I have a few small finished strings.....string snack mats that I have shared recently.   I know these don't count , but keep reading.  I do have a quilt top. 

Strings and slivers of batiks are fused to batting.  I then stitched row of upon row of parallel lines for the quilting.  Real big bold prints were used on the backs.  

  I also have a finished and ready to quilt string top.  It is next on my list to get quilted.  I caught the string fever a couple of months ago and began working on these rectangular coin blocks.  I love watercolor quilts, so why not a watercolor string quilt?   Last month I figured out how I wanted them blended, and set to work on making enough sets for this top.  It's a simple throw size of 65" by 50".

   I managed to make a small dent in my stash of 2" strips and some extra strings of floral fabrics with these blocks.  Unfortunately...... well not really that unfortunately....... I  added a few yards of floral fabrics  while in Michigan this last week! Oops!  More about that later.   It just means I need to make more quilts.  

  I do hope you enjoy the Festival of Strings. 

Remember to vote for your favorites in the Blogger's Quilt Festival at Amy's Creative Side.     

Happy stitching.

More snack mats

    These snack mats are like potato chips......addictive!    I put together a few more before we left.  This pair has the strings running  in the the other direction along the length of the mat.  Some of the pieces were too short  :(     That's OK....I just over-lapped them and secured the end with a bit of glue stick.  That held them in place until I could stitch it all down.    If you look close at this photo you can see a couple of overlaps.....the yellow strip at the top and the second strip from the bottom.    I was careful in stitching the parallel lines to catch the ends and secure them.  

Some more wild fabric on the back.

Ready for lunch?   Have fun.  

Happy stitching.

Yard sale find

Quick stop on the way to the Farmer's Market yielded this find.  Deana claimed it    

Added info....this is a top only, so it must be finished.  All hand pieced beautifully done.  Colors look like 30s to 40s to me......with feed sack prints.  Cost:  $12.  Is that a find?  :)  

Quilting tutorials for reference

  From an email from Martingale Publishers......52 quilting related tutorials have been gathered into a great reference spot.  You name it and they have it covered, or just about!   Lots of great articles, patterns, and hints on choosing  fabrics and color.  There is bound to be something you need to read.    Click here for their blog archive.   Happy stitching.

A few doll quilts to share with you today.  You know I love getting to open those packages and enjoy the special work that comes from Mrs. Claus.



From Connecticut came 4 of the sweetest doll quilts.
       Quiltlady is a member of the HGTV Message Board online.   She used a darling pale lavender backing on all of these quilts.  The variety of prints is just wonderful, each one quite special.   Thank you, Jeanne, Quiltlady from CT for being a Mrs. Claus.

  How about these cute fairies?   They are sprinkling fairy dust and sweet dreams along their way.
This doll quilt comes from Shelia at Cooksewandtravel.  

 

   Shelia referred to this as the blue doll quilt because of the binding I think.  She used a colorful mix of prints of many colors, yet the binding makes all the blue tones pop.  Just a little lesson in color  ;)  ...... and what borders and binding can do for our quilts.   that you, Shelia, for continuing to be a support and Mrs. Claus from NC.










I just love all of these.  Thank you, Mrs. Claus!

Don't forget to view and vote for you favorite at the Blogger's Quilt Festival at Amy's Creative Side.

Hopefully we are on the road and missing the bad storms.  
Happy stitching.

Dual projects in wood and fiber

    

Note the resemblance between the photos.  Only now I realize my "saw blades" are going in reverse......:(   Too late now!

 
   This is referred to as a carcass in wood shop worker terms.   This project is lying on its side, with the base in the foreground.  Seven panels cut and assembled so far.   This other side looks the same so far......

   Four of the six blocks assembled so far.  I have a dozen of the main blocks to do.  The remaining sections border the full blocks.
     So you know what my project is, what do you think Sir Old Man is up to?


Don't forget the Blogger's Quilt Festival going on at Amy's Creative Side.  Nominations for your favorite quilt are being taken right now.  Enjoy the quilts and projects, and then vote for your favorite overall.  
Happy stitching.

Blogger's Quilt Festival --Part 2

 Welcome to the Blogger's Quilt Festival, and my part 2!

My second entry is Loose Change, a fun scrap quilt that is throw size.  Why did I call it Loose Change.....all the scraps used in this one came from saved 5" squares or nickels.  I rarely buy pre-cut fabrics, but I do clean up my scraps by cutting them into sizes a la Bonnie Hunter.  My 5 " square box was over flowing, so it was time to stitch them into something.  

    This is the block design I developed.  Two 4-patch units and  two HST units equal one block.  The key is to keep the values distinct.....dark verses light.     I work a lot with value, and my scrap quilts are no exception in that.    This block has a lot of possibilities and many layouts are possible.  For this version I chose to use a simple layout of block to block. 

 My thought process for the finish:

    When it came time to quilt this one, I knew I wanted something a little different than my usual swirl.  I loved the diagonal lines I saw with this layout.   That became a clue as to how to quilt it.  I have spent the last year learning to free motion quilt feathers, so that was one option I considered.  Yet  I finally decided it needed a more open style.  Decision made....stitch a long vine with fern shaped leaves and a few curls thrown in...and accentuate the diagonal.

  Loose Change:
      Finished size is 52" by 67".
      Techniques used:  4 patch, HST,   color value
      Machine pieced and quilted by me.
      Category  is Scrap Quilt.

Thanks for stopping by and enjoy the festival.  Happy stitching.