Valentine quilt finish!

I am happy to report that I finished the antique Valentine quilt for Jayne! I confess it was a lot of work, but do think it has potential as a local show quilt. I’ll let you know how it does in the guild show later this month. Here is a picture of it on my dining room table as I was clipping any stray threads:

My friend, Jayne, was ecstatic with the quilt and I made sure to praise her for how well this quilt behaved on my table and her appliqué work and piecing. Some quilts are so square that you know they will hang perfectly in the show as I predict this one will.

I promise to share more pics later and yes, I have some pics of the back, too.

I have some work-in-progress to share from my metal art class. Our first piece is a hydraulic press piece where you create designs with wire, then press a copper sheet over the wire design to make this:

First, I had to make a birdy:

And a leaf shape:

I’m still trying to decide what I will do with the above pieces, but I thought i would show you the kind of stuff I’m doing in class.

My first finished piece will be to make some metal beads, then create a metal and fiber necklace with them. I’m also texturizing small pieces to make a metal collage diva pin.

I’m just going to be myself and make what I like. I have a very cool sketch of sterling silver chopsticks holding a metal sushi roll. Of course, I have to first learn the techniques to create my vision. LOL!

I bought Joe a smoker about a month or so ago. He has been teaching himself the art of smoking and how to fix certain recipes. His skill level has improved considerably since his first 2 attempts, so this weekend he is fixing pulled pork- Yum!! Of course, that also means I don’t have to cook- which I’m all for! It’s a win-win!

Enjoy your day and a shout out to all the readers dealing with hurricane season, especially Hurricanes Ike and Hanna!

Finished Quilt

I am happy to finish Doug’s quilt for his teardrop trailer:

Here is a sample of the back:

It feels good to be quilting again.  I have a series of quilts I need to do.  While I was cleaning and remodeling my studio, I knocked my large longarm machine off the tracks and tweaked all my leveling.  DH was on a trip, so I had to wait to catch him  to fix it for me.  I could have done it myself, I know, but one screw was too tight for either Lynn or I to loosen.

These machines are heavy, so everyone seems surprised that I would knock it off its tracks.  Let’s just say I never take the easy route!

Busy, busy day and weekend planned.  Tonight, Joe and I have tickets to see Bruce Springsteen, then tomorrow I get cooking lessons from our friend, Carl, who hails from the Caribbean Island of St. Vincent.

Enjoy your weekend!  Carla

Carolina Lily Quilting

My arm aches, my legs are tired, but the quilt is finished!! It came out very nice, a pretty quilt, if I do say so myself. May I present the finished Carolina Lily quilt:

and the corner:

I’m too tired to reposition it for a back view, please use your imagination- LOL! My next step is to trim it, then ship it off to its owner.

In case you are curious, I use 2 batts for the quilting to give it extra loft with the applique and alternating blocks.  The blank blocks I used a stencil pattern by Anita Shackelford. The edge triangle blocks, I simply quilted an undulating freehand feather and the edge border was my Carla freehand fill. No marking, I simply quilt a freehand design as I go. There was a reason I did this- the 4 borders were not even, so I wanted to quilt something that she could trim anywhere and it would still look good.

Onto the next quilt now. Hope you have enjoyed my approach to this quilt. I like doing custom quilts for special people- and this owner is a very sweet, southern lady. I’ll let you know what her reaction is when she receives it.

Enjoy your weekend! Carla