Quilt for Caroll

Springing into Fall

When my neighbour Caroll told me she was having a baby I said cautiously, "Is a congratulations in order?" 

She smiled widely and said, "Yes.  Very unexpected, but very much welcomed."   

 Colours of Fall

Caroll's favourite time of year is Halloween.  She plans for the magic of Samhain all year.   I designed this quilt to play with the colours of the season, to play on nature and complement Caroll's love of plants.

Back of quilt

Leaf it to me

Which witch is which?

When I first met Caroll Patten she told me she was a practicing witch.  I told her I was a professional bitch and we should get along just fine.  I found this fun "prim" fabric and immediately thought of Caroll.  One of the few times when I made my own binding.  I am pleased with how it turned out.

We spent many hours talking over the fence, under the pear tree. 

Our dogs were the best of friends.  Her little Shih Zsu, Wicket and my Xolo, Remus.  They would chase and sniff and water and chase and run and sniff all over each others yards.   

Sadly, that all ended when Caroll and her husband, Laramie moved away in the fall of 2012.  I am not sure where she is living now, or if she has had her son, Kelly Theodore, but I hope they are healthy, happy.  I hope Kelly likes his quilt, each stitch was made with love.

 



Vital Stats:

Approximately 46 x 37.5 inches finished.

Stitch Per Inch:  body 4, binding 4

Batting Type: Cotton (Warm and Natural)

Binding: Made by Morg
Fabric: Scraps from lots of different places, lots of different sources.
Completed: Late Summer 2012

I miss you Caroll and Remus misses Wick. 

Hugs. 

Sunflowers and Primary Colours

Those crazy braids!

Another creation from my twisted tool box.  By now you should be completely aware of my long term love affair with scrappy quilts.  The uglier the better in my book.  Orgies of incongruent patterns and colour schemes are a delight to my off kilter view of the world.

This quilt is no exception.  Red, Yellow, Blue in a braid of scrappy colour, sashing of a subtle green plaid, bordered by a field of black with Sunflowers, backed with a classic calico of black and white with more sunflowers and bound in basic black to pull the whole riot together in one coherent collection of fabric and thread.



Front View



Back view



Great news!  This fun quilt recently sold and will belong to a new baby coming into the world sometime this fall. 





Vital Stats:

Approximately 45 x 60 inches finished.

Stitch Per Inch:  body 8, binding 4

Batting Type: Cotton/Poly Unknown brand

Binding: pre-purchased
Fabric: Scraps from lots of different places, lots of different sources.

Shocking Pink and Skully

Detail of sashing and taste of pink.

Not much else to say about this one other than it's so shocking pink and gurlie it's really quite cute.  This quilt came together about the same time that I did my ex's quilt.  For some reason I keep coming back to this "stacked coin" pattern with sashing.  I dunno.  It seems to fulfill my need to be scrappy but have some semblence of organisation.  (And it's sinfully easy to assemble and sew.)

The whole quilt in all its garish glory.

"Shocking Pink and Skully" as I am calling it, was made from the scraps of my friend's pink braided quilt from previous entries.  I have a LOT of pink fabric left over and since I used most of the black on a previous baby quilt I thought I'd see what would happen when a pile of pinks get together and make a quilt. 

The sashing  - an odd ribbon print - was another serendipitous find in the many boxes and bags of fabrics I had received from my dear friend, Mary Johnson, when they moved to Lander, WY.  I remember briefly looking at this fabric and thinking, "Whiskey Tango Foxtrot?"  But as with fine wine and diamonds, some things take time.  I knew immediately this was going to be the perfect material for the sashing, and as it turned out, it was.

Detail of backing fabric.

The backing fabric is a darling flannel I picked up at Joann's Fabrics (as I recall).  I am a complete sucker for pirate fabric of all kinds and this was no exception.  Purple skulls with pink bows and roses...yup, I'll take a yard of that, please. 

Binding is always such a hard choice, fortunately the person who bought the quilt decided on pink and I have to say it brought the whole scheme (or is that scream) together nicely.  What's another tone of pink when we have so many!  My other choice was going to be black binding with pink stitching.  Adorable either way!

Peach Out Apricots.
Morg

Summer Time Fun



Close up of quilt detail

Completed in later half of 2011, this quilt was an exploration in three colour:  Blue, Yellow and Green.  I wanted to work on clearing out my stash and playing with some colours.  I love the Stacked Coins pattern with its simplicity, style and flexibility. 


Full view of front

 A little smaller than my usual quilts approximately 44 x 36 finished, I was limited only by the backing fabric, which I could not resist when I saw it on the bolt.  I have learned my lesson about buying fabric and will now only purchase in two yard minimum cuts - unless it is a remnant or a last of the bolt one yard length. 

The smaller size makes it perfect for a baby seat, a stroller or a travel-all bag.  The summery colours are certain to raise a smile or brighten the darkest day. 

Full view of back

I can't say enough about how much I LOVE the backing fabric on this quilt.  I am reminded of tutti-fruitti ice cream, summer time, Woodstock posters, fourth of july fire works and psychedelic sea shells.  So much fun in one little quilt. 

...like a water colour in the rain...

An explosion of colour captured in a cotton hug.

Peach Out, Apricots.
Morg

The Cute the Cat and the Ugly

The FIRST scrap quilt I ever made...

The adorable little baby is my nephew "F." The cat is Bijou and the quilt is the teratogenic nightmare I made for my best friend and her darling son some years ago.  The whole quilt is one big scrappy experiment gone delightly awry. 

The back is a piece of brownish, yellowish floral fabric from the Pamida store in Vermillion, SD which is no longer in business and the fabrics for the quilt top came from my dear friends, The Johnsons.  They are soap makers and these fabrics were all left over pieces from their soap bag packaging. 

I used fleece for batting because I was in the mood to sew and had no idea what else to use and it was there and it was a big enough piece to fit my needs so it was pressed into duty.

The quilt itself is hand stitched using the stitch in the ditch method and was machine pieced. 

For a first shot at quilting and establishing myself as an Ugly Quilter, I have to say it is a personal favourite and "F" still enjoys sleeping with it.   

Peach Out Apricots,

Morg

Boldly Quilting Where I've Never Quilted Before!

Still strippin'

Thought that might get your attention.

I originally saw the design for this quilt in an advert in one of my roommate's quilt magazines.  Being the cheap skate that I am, I decided to wing it on my own and give it a little twist.  The results were this quilt.  Since I did not have the guidance of the instructions I went about this design a little differently.  I looked thru my stash to decide the width of the strips and then just sort of started sewing and piecing. 

 The quilt went together surprisingly quick and I was able to take it to work and pin it that same day.  Good thing I showed it off before I actually fully pinned it as I had managed to screw up the flow of the lines and had to rip out and hand piece a large section of the quilt back together.  Thank goodness it was a slow day.  ;) 

Once again I used the tumbling cows on red field for my backing - effectively using up the remaining stash of this delightful fabric. Well worth it for such a bold quilt. 

Sometimes you can shout with a whisper.  I feel the colour scheme and design of this quilt does just that. I hope the receiving child person enjoys this quilt as much as I did creating it. 

Go Bold or Go Home!

Peach out, Apricots.
Morg

Success for an Ex

Normally I wouldn't be happy for an ex, but in this case, I am most pleased.  My ex texted me to let me know that he and his new bride were finally pregnant and were expecting their bundle of joy in November.  My ex and I have been friends for more than half our lives.  We bumped around for about nine and a half years before calling it quits (and a few other choice names) more than a decade ago.  He married soon after our split and I had the unique satisfaction of seeing how Karma (specifically: Kamma Niyama—Consequences of one's actions) works first hand.  The word on the street about Karma's nature is true, by the way...

After the karmic retribution he weathered, I could no longer hold bitterness in my heart and I forgave this man for breaking what was left of my heart and tearing what was then my already tumultuous world asunder.  Sometimes you need to be completely destroyed to rebuild stronger.

My ex's new bride is the woman who brings joy to his heart and makes him whole.  She is now bringing a babe to their hearth and they could not be happier.  He will make a wonderful father now that he has found himself and is at peace with who he has become as a person.  I am pleased for them and wish him and his new family all the happiness in the world.  I made this quilt for them:

What's black and white and red all over?

I saw this pattern in a friend's quilt book and decided I HAD to do it for my ex's new baby.  It's perfect. Spatially interesting, baby friendly colours, and a fun pattern that can be used for an educational tool (matching, counting, all kinds of fun games). I love the way it came out.  I will do more like this design in the future as it is just too much fun and too good a stash buster to only do once!  ;)   Not to mention it goes together super fast!

Back detail

 My ex is a cellist, or at least he was in High School.  He was amazing and had a real gift.  I hope he picks it up again once his little one is old enough to be encouraged to explore his/her musical talent.  I chose this backing fabric - parchment printed with musical notes as a nod to his beautiful gift of music.

detail of fabric and stitching

I went with a larger stitch to not only show off my stitching but to add to "that dorky handmade look" (see: http://lisaboyer.blogspot.com/) I love so much about hand stitched quilts.  The fabric is pretty busy, so the stitching gets to stand out or blend in as needed and I feel it just completes the whole picture.

Happiness and joy to you old friend, may you be blessed with long life that is full of love.

Peach Out, Apricots,
Morg

Angel for a little Girl

All you need is love, love.

When my friend, Aerial Ariel said she was going to have another baby I was so happy for her.  She and her husband are blessed with a bundle of curly blonde joy and had tried for years to have a second baby.  When all looked like it wasn't to be and they had resigned themselves to a family of three, the miracle of life once again blessed their family.  Baby on the way, better get a quilt started!  ;)

I asked Ariel if she knew the gender.  She said they weren't going to find out, but then she told me and I got started.  I knew I was going to do either a Winken, Blinken and Nod - if it was going to be a boy child, or an Angel if is was to be a girl.  As you can see it was a girl.  This is the same artist who did the Cow and Winken panels.

For Baby Girl Pederson

I knew I would have to search high and low to find the perfect backing material.  I wanted something that would be loud, and hide the fact that I was going to be stitching mainly in black, but I didn't want black for the back.  On a visit to my parent's I went to one of my favest Quilt/Needlecraft/Bead stores and there it was!

The perfect backing material!

Lo and behold!  There it was!  You know the right fabric when it comes along, it just sort of jumps out at you and says, "Tah DAH!"  This great teal with white and black polka dots did just that.  Like Tom Cruise in Risky Business, this fabric was a party waiting for an opportunity.  An opportunity I could not pass up and who better to give this gift to but a new baby.

Party on...Excellent!
Morg

Winken, Blinken and Nod

b

Winken

This was another panel quilt I did in like April or so of 2010, maybe.  Again, my lousy record-keeping has succeeded in making me look like an ass.  Point taken and will be again and again.  Winken, Blinken and Nod is apparently a fairy tale, no clue, but I love this panel.  It is by the same artist as the Cow Jumping Over the Moon and the Angel (later post).  Inweave will be prominently mentioned in another blog entry, but this is the Fabric Mecca from where these panels came.

The whole quilt

Detail of the Sailing Crew

I hand stitched this delightful number in about a month.  4-8 hrs a day 5 days a week for a month.  That's about the time frame I have to work on most of my quilts as I work at a call center and sew while I am on the phone.  I realise that sounds kind of bad, but it's very calming and I am able to keep a level head when I am concentrating on my stitches.  It's a zen thing I think.

Peach Out, Apricots.

Morg

Ed Asner and Noah's Ark



Looks like Ed Asner, no, ah?

This quilt was a flannel panel I obtained somewhere, I cannot recall when or where, but I had had it pinned for some time before I ever started quilting it.  I used about five different coloured threads for each of the different lines in the sections.   It was stitched in 3-2010. 

Noah's Ark in flannel


 I joking called this one Ed Asner and the Ark while working on it.  ;)  This quilt was given to a co-worker for her daughter.  Things came to light later that made me regret giving this quilt away, but at least I managed to get pictures of it.  It was a fun quilt to stitch.

Back of quilt, green flannel



Cow Jumping Over the Moon




 

Close up of the back fabric.

 The Cow Jumping Over the Moon is an all-time favourite of mine I've done probably a half dozen of these panels.  I recall purchasing these at my favourite fabric den in the world, InWeave in Hawarden, IA.  Watch for a future blog entry about this Fabric Mecca. 

The same artist has several other panels out including an Angel and Winken, Blinken and Nod both of which I have done as well.  The free flowing design and wonderful use of colour make this and the other panels a delight to quilt and give.

Normally when I back a Cow Jumping Over the Moon quilt I use a great dalmatian/holstein print I obtain at The World (WalMart) but this time I dug through my stash and found this delightful cow print.  I might have gotten it at this one little pretentious quilt store in Sioux City, Iowa.  Can't remember where I obtained the back fabric, but it's been a fave with all the little cows.  ;)  In fact, I am pretty sure that's where I got it, now that I think about it.  Funny how you remember these things.

Cow Jumping Over the Moon Panel

Back of the Cow/Moon quilt.

This quilt is a panel I hand-stitched and sold in March of 2010 or so.

Baby Quilts

Lately I've been on a kick to make baby quilts. 

Okay, it's not really a kick, nor has it been lately, but I have been making baby quilts. 

My colour palate has been black, white and red.  Unusual, yes, but according to research infants can see red, black and white and other research suggests that large areas of these colours or patterns of these colours can help in developing spatial areas in the brain.  Cool, hunh? 

As per my usual, pictures will be forthcoming...stay tuned.

Yours with a stitch and a smile,
Morg