Nancy's Fairy Quilt

This Fairy Quilt was so fun to work on.  Nancy started working on it with her niece, who during the process became ill and passed away.  Nancy finished it, and will be taking it to her niece's memorial service.  This was also Nancy's first time doing applique, and she definitely mastered it.

A shot of the whole quilt

 Border treatment.  I did minimal stitching in the printed Fairy border.  The fairies were too pretty to do much stitching over.

For the blocks, I kept the quilting fairly simple there too.  The piecing and colors made their own statement.

 The large center applique looked amazing with McTavish quilting. 

And a shot of the finished quilt.

I enjoyed working on this quilt because the fabrics were so unique, and the piecing was great.  I was honored to play a part in this special quilt.  Thank you Nancy.

Thanks to all of you for joining me, I appreciate your company.

Esther

HMQS Recap

I'm home, and filled with all things quilty.  It was a great trip, and all in all everything went quite smoothly.  Did I take photos to share, no, who had time for photos?  Not me.  I had really good intentions when I arrived at the SLC airport, but then the shuttle came, and the whirlwind of classes, new friends, quilts, and vendors happened, and I don't  any photos to share. 

Overall I learned something from every class and every instructor.  Some more than others, but that is to be expected with any series of classes. What I found the most consistent among all the teachers, was the complete inconsistency from one to another.  One urges you to SID all seams, while another says she never has and never will.  One will tell you to mark all lines and motifs, and another will steer you in any direction that reduces any type of marking.  So, what I took away from all that is to do what works for you.  I am a 

staunch SID kind of quilter, and maybe I will try marking a bit more.  I learned more about my own style by trying to learn someone else's.  I am not a stencil person, though I can appreciate the opportunities they can give you.  I tend to like rules and order to my quilting, but I was totally impressed watching Sue Patton quilt one handed while drinking coffee with the other hand, and non stop talking between sips.  She is awesome, and she told us to say that. 

I have a quilt on the rails right now, and I am trying some new ideas influenced by my class with Judi Madsen on secondary designs,  I am also really making an effort to plan my quilting path ahead of time to be more efficient and have less traveling, backtracking and starts and stops.  So far I am doing better, and starting to see ahead of myself to better plan where to go next.  This has always been a struggle of mine, and any improvement is welcome.

So, to recap the entire trip, it was great.  If you ever get a chance to go to a show, take classes and get away, I highly encourage you to do so.  Being around so many like minded people who "get" your hobby, passion, obsession, or whatever you call it is refreshing and encouraging.  There is always something to learn, and ways to improve, new things to try, and most of all new friends to meet.

Thanks for all your encouragement in my journey, I appreciate it.

Esther

HMQS in Salt Lake City

Oh my gosh, I am getting so excited.  I am going to HMQS this week in Salt Lake City!  I am almost beyond excited.  I am taking classes from, Pam Clarke, Judi Madsen, Sue Patten, Renae Haddadin, Gina Parris- Perkes, DeLoya Jones, and Linda V. Taylor.  Wow, even now I am excited.  I am so looking forward to meeting all these quilters, learning from them, being submerged in a quilting environment, and honestly, I am looking forward to getting away.  

I love my life, my family, and all that goes with it, but we have had some ups and some devastating downs lately, and this trip is coming at just the right time for me.

Tonight I was able to finalize my shuttle reservations from the airport to the hotel and back, so I am feeling confident and ready to travel.  I am not planning on renting a car.  I can walk to and from the hotel to the show and back, but securing the shuttle from the airport and back was something I wanted to feel confident about before leaving home.  Now I am ready, and will be leaving Wednesday.  I am so excited.

Sharing your good news with friends makes it even better, thanks for sharing with me,

Esther

Mary's Quilt

This quilt is now on my favorites list.  Mary did such a nice job piecing, and pressing (so appreciated by a longarmer) this BOM.  This quilt had it all, assorted blocks, big wide border, negative space,  and lots of room for creative quilting.  I used one layer of Quilter's Dream Wool batting, and Glide thread on the top.

In the border I stitched a big feather all the way around.  The feather spine got its shape because of the crosshatched blocks that also went all around the quilt.

Each block has different stitching

I stitched a replica of some of the quilt blocks in the negative space.  I was very influenced by the work of

Judi the Green Fairy, when I was working on these blocks.

Crosshatching and feathers go so well together.

And lastly, the center stars.

And another look at the whole quilt.  You cannot see all the quilting and texture in this photo, but it definitely shows the beautiful layout of Mary's quilt.  Thank you Mary, I loved working on your quilt.

Thanks for reading, I appreciate your company.

Esther

Other than quilting

Lots of other than quilting things have been happening here.

Ethan turned four and I made him a train cake.  We called it the candy express.

About a month later Micah turned three.  She asked for a raining yellow hearts cake.

We have 17 new baby chicks

Getting a good photo was difficult.  These little guys can move fast, and hide even faster.

This hen hatched out a communal nest.  There is such an assortment of colors here.

And a couple of new dresses for Holly and Micah.  Spring has definitely arrived here in Northern CA

Thanks for joining me in our celebrations and little bits of joy all around.  I appreciate the company

Esther

Central Washington Applique

This beautiful batik applique quilt made by Robbie, shows various scenes throughout central Washington.  I quilted the blocks in a variety of stitches to accent  the applique.

The top of the quilt started with mountains, which I stitched with a rugged zig zag.  I put gently curves in the sky portion.  I was thinking of cool mountain air.

Border and shashing treatments

Birds on a branch before,

Birds on a branch after.

Washington Wildflowers

I love this fish!

And finally the horses. 

I really enjoyed the variety of scenes, which led to a variety of quilting ideas. 

Thanks for reading, I appreciate your company.

Esther

No Fooling, a baby quilt

This cute baby quilt started with a panel,

The family has strong Celtic roots, so a Celtic quilting theme was requested.

In alternating blocks I stitched this heart knot, and the alphabet blocks each had individual treatment.  Where are the pictures of those blocks you ask?  Sadly, I don't know.  Thought I took some, but can't find them.

And this is the border, Celtic interlocking hearts.  

I always love Prairie Points on a quilt, and these added that special touch to this baby quilt.

This quilt was a fun challenge coming up with the Celtic designs, and knowing the family roots, this quilt has some very special meaning stitched into each layer.

Thanks for reading, 

Esther