Projects, the Process, All Stars & Butterflys....

I read on someone's blog that bloggers want to read more about the process, rather than the finished project. Here I try to provide some of both...

Projects:

For someone who's Mom always said 'you have a one track mind', I sure do have 'a lot of irons in the fire', so to speak. Road trip to see family all over the southeast coming up so several of the projects have to be finished, actually, some had to be started. Like the butterfly quilt for my sweet grand baby girl Sara Hope, who is one yr. old already!

The Process & the Butterfly's:  (finding a shortcut)

My first plan was to enlarge a paper pieced butterfly; copied, enlarged, traced, copied, ya ya ya! Pieced a few sections, decided this was not a good plan. OK, find a traditional butterfly template (with like 5 pieces of fabric for each) and various prints and solids to put them together, machine applique onto blocks, yes this will be much faster. So while I'm searching and auditioning fabrics I ran across this: 

Oh baby, now I'm cooking with Crisco! One piece per butterfly, cut them out in various square or rectangle pieces and applied steam a seam 2. I then applied them to various background neutral blocks (I bought the flat fold 102 yd. bundle from Marshall Dry Goods!). So here is how it is coming together on my design wall (really a 'big board' ironing surface, with a grid!)....If I was going to do this again I would have done the patchwork and then applied the butterfly's because orienting these properly 'after the fact' is a pain.  (Duh, you can iron right on your design wall! Is this the 'learning curve'? No, I don't do curves! Wanda, you are in the middle of a post here......)!

All Stars:

I really loved Crystal's All Star quilt that was featured on Moda Bake Shop recently and I thought it would be a great pattern for a 'clown quilt' I'm trying to work out in my brain. So then I was hit with news that requires a quick quilt. (Note* the word 'quick' is in my vocabulary but not my arthritic bones!, another relative term...) I'll try that All Stars pattern (since it is already printed and handy!) That top is finally done but you can't see it yet because I'm not finished with the second one (2nd one?)....There were a ton of scraps from trimming those several hundred little squares that were sewn on the diagonal, with those and more neutral backgrounds I can make a small quilt also! Sew them, trim them and I see pinwheels. Here they are, 2" and 4" pinwheels. I'll post pics of both Mommy & daughter 'Quick Quilts' when they are done. (If I have to write about the process, I expect you back to look at the product!) Yes, I like Crystal's pattern very much!

 
More on Process:
Just had to share this, these little girls denim skirts are too much fun. This one already has red thread and red rhinestone's on 1 pocket. I'm going to ruffle the bottom and add a heart applique since the back pockets have red metallic embroidered hearts. I'm listing these on Etsy along with a few quilts....check out my store there, WandaQuilts!

Glad you stopped by, going to finish the butterfly's!

This one is for Aunt Jimmie...

Two charm packs and some yardage...these Michael Miller fairy frost fabrics are too gorgeous! I want a bolt of every color, yeah...I know there are over 100. I cannot choose just one!!! I want to do another, with shadows!

In a 'bind'?

Isn't it great when you have completed several projects all at once? Sure, except 'finish' is a relative term in quilting.... We finish the blocks, finish the tops and even finish with the quilting but it still is not finished until it has the binding finished (and a label!!) I'm 3 quilts, 1 vest, 1 jacket behind on my binding, just from last week!  Labeling all of these at once will make it a quick project, (I print them on fabric treated with Bubble Jet Set) & may be able to do all of these on one sheet!
The first is a 'bolero jacket'; I've had this 'See & Sew (Butterick)' pattern (#5085) for almost 20 years and finally made one. It was a little tricky since the shoulder seams are offset to the front - (note to self - don't forget to mark the dots!) so when you are setting the gathered sleeve you put the gathers in the right place the first time. This is a size 12 and the shoulders are a little tight getting into it but it fits me nicely. I think it will fit my Aunt, if not, then its a good thing it fits me! The photo looks like one arm is longer than the other but it is just the way one of the sleeves is folded over.

This vest is so simple, if anyone out there has never made a garment, any vest is a great first sewing project. 4 seams and a finish-binding in this case! The crosshatching was not the best choice for quilting this but I had a quilt on the frame and this was quick and easy at my 'sit down' machine. had to Git 'er done!

The flip flop quilt is for my grand daughter. The scrappy one - I was very brave and used RED thread to quilt. Every mistake jumps out but I kept telling myself it is a scrappy utility quilt, it's OK. I'm happy with it and will likely make it my new traveler. The last one is going to to my neighbor, who is a Vietnam Vet suffering the effects of agent orange. I think it will qualify as a QOV but have to check with those folks to confirm and document - it has a plain muslin back and the QOV folks want printed backs.

For my regular followers, I wanted to follow up with you on the vintage selvage quilt. I inadvertently left it hanging out on the porch rail after day 2 of letting it 'air'. Well, it rained overnight so when I looked out that morning and saw it, I ran water in the tub and added a little soap; rolled the quilt up and transported to the tub, unrolled and pressed into the water. Repeat 4 TIMES and rinse, and then gently rolled and pressed the water out. placed dry towels under and over, press and switch towels. I threw the original ones in the dryer and switched them again until I had most of the water out, enough so I could carry it back out to the porch rail and  then before night fell, I threw it in the dryer on the 'low heat' and tumbled it for about 20-30 minutes. She is fresh as a daisy and back in the bowels of quilt storage, until I find that teddy bear pattern....Great, another project to add to the 'list'. Today I have a fairy frost fabric quilt to load on the longarm and do a panto on. 4 quilts, a vest and a jacket to bind....

I have Nott fallen off the face of the earth!

but it likely seems that way from my blog. I apologize to my follower's, you deserve better so I will try to get back in the groove! I've been on a couple of road trips w/DH, reclaimed my sewing room and gotten the longarm back up (cut her back to 8') and tackled the very long list of UFO's or WIP's, whatever you like to call them. I actually made a list which for some reason was so daunting, like the quilt police are going to penalize me? While making a list may not seem like such a big deal to you, mine is a spreadsheet, columns A - O and about 35 lines deep, Phases 1 -3; 1 is a kit or project in the planning stages; 2 is broken down into quilt tops/panels/paper piecing/hand projects/other projects; 3 is the longarming, binding and labeling (binding is broken down into cut/attach/finish). I had to do it this way, it was far to alarming to put each item in a single column, that is heart attack material! This makes me some special personality type but I don't know which, if you know please tell me, unless you see schizophrenic tendencies. I don't need to know about that. Anyway, it is working for me cause I have finished 5 tops that only needed assembling and/or borders, quilted 1 and almost finished another on the longarm and  decorated this little denim skirt.

Two of the quilts were flip flop quilts, one I satin stitched, the other I used a short stitch length and left them raw edge. I think it will be cool once it is washed. These will be on the quilt frame soon as they will be fun and easy background fill mostly. I anxious to put the ribbons on, branching out into a whole new area - embelishment, which reminds me of my dolly dresses panel and the clown quilt I need to start.....

The other 3 tops are approx queen size, one is a gift for a special aunt, (it is all fairy frost and I have heard longarmer's don't like it so we'll see, fairly soon as it is a P1 on the spreadsheet). I'll surely post a pic when it is done. Right now, I'm in wearables mode and going to finish that jacket I started last year....

Selvage surprise!

My dear friend Jane sent me this gift she found at a trade days/flea market about a year or so ago and in my recent 'cleaning/organizing project', it has surfaced from the depths of quilt storage. I was not up to  actually starting on the work that this baby needs but thought a good 'airing' would be nice and I could make notes on exactly what needs to be done. Maybe an appraisal?

The batting is cotton wadding! The hand quilting is giant baptist fans, one of my fav quilting designs!

Imagine my excitement when I found not one but TWO selvages!

The giant prints appear to be decorator fabrics, very thick; some of the center blocks are pieced in crazy patch style and then large strips were used to 'get er done'; definitely my kind of quilter. The back is a very sturdy (and dirty) muslin. The majority of the wear and tear is around the binding and on the edges. I would love to restore this baby but what a project! Washing it in the tub is the only option I know of but with that batting, I doubt I would be able to lift it out of the tub once wet. Anyone out there ever taken on a restoration project? Any tips or websites? The selvage nut in me is screaming "take it apart and check out the selvages, you know they are there"!

Good Grief! How is a Grand-Ma to keep up?

Technology has run over me like a steam roller in the past few weeks. It all started when T-Mobile offered a BOGO sale and DH got me a 'smart phone' cause he 'absolutely had to have a new one'. (Really! I was in agreement.) So this thing connects to gmail and does everything but wash the dishes but somebody has to show me how to make it happen! Just transferring my contacts took me days to figure out so I was feeling a bit disconnected for a while.
So, I also have a laptop that has only been used for business so I'm thinking I really want to do away with the old desktop as it has become a magnet that keeps me tied to the desk, (2006 model) so while the geek kid was here I want him to 'do the deed' and transfer everything to the laptop. We were trying to do this while taking care of Gabe and Renee was grooming the dog out back. The whole process he expected to take hours but one or the other of the 2 computers would go to 'sleep' mode and interrupt (cancel) the process so I start manually moving files, i.e. the fewer files to be moved the shorter the process?
In the meantime I get an E-mail announcing the opening of the Online Quilt Museum from Karen over at the selvage blog and sign up right away! Great, all my pics are on the laptop and I'm still working off the desktop. Karen was a doll and offered to post the pics for me from my webshots album since I was in technology crisis mode. There are issues with the pics but the thumbnails aren't bad. I have to resize the pics, another challenge! Technology 'bullying' me around again. And what the heck is Windows Mail and where is my Outlook Express? Did I mention I'm determined to learn this EQ5 program (maybe before EQ47 is released!) and cannot find the disk?
OK, Windows has this cool transfer wizard but I (duh) gave it a new identity so would you believe I now have 2 users on the laptop, pics are in original owner users files and everything else is in the 'new' users identity. Alas, they can share files, yeah, technology is grand and my name ain't Grand-Ma for no reason! XP to Vista, why can't I just skip up to Windows 7? It costs how much???? Gabe, at 9 months is already playing with an IPad!

Vienna on my mind

Vienna was my DH's previous wife, they had 3 children (Chris, Brandon, Melissa), then Vienna married Kenny and had 3 more (Sarah, Frank, Amy). Vienna passed away (breast cancer) when Amy was 3. That was 5+ years ago. Vienna's first grand child was born on the same date she passed away, 5 years later.

Fast forward about 9 months....Gabriel came to Texas to see all his family! 

Grandpa is so talented....can hold Gabriel and take a self pic at the same time!

Melissa, Sarah & Amy.

Great Grandparents, Jack & Lois Weikel from Montana...

This is a group shot of almost everyone who came, Jeff is the photographer so he's not in there and George & Carol Miller from Waco, TX. had already headed home. Thanks so much for coming everyone! I had a wonderful day.

Vienna took me by the hand and looked me in the eyes before she died. She said, 'Thank you for taking care of my kids'. I didn't really understand at the time, but she did. I could not figure out what I had done that she was thanking me for. Now, I get it.

'No, Vienna; Thank You!' They bring me more joy than I could have ever imagined, so much so, that I sometimes feel guilty for experiencing the joy that is rightfully yours, that comes with nurturing them, no matter how old or how big they get. Happy Mother's Day to all women, even the one's who never gave birth.