My Flea Market Dream

I like Flea Market Fancy. Little Blue Cottage is having a giveaway I would very much like to win. Go check it out if you must.

Create

The urge to create has struck hard. I've been a little stressed lately about church and family responsibilities and have really just wanted to close myself up with just my fabric and the hum of my sewing machine. So every spare minute I've had lately has been devoted to a new quilt.

This is how I work:

Gather fabric from my stash.
Not all of these will make the final cut.

Have I ever mentioned that I like scrap quilts? Well, I really do. Playing with scraps just might be my favorite part of making a quilt. I love playing with the fabric to see how the color combinations will work.

And then make pinwheels. I'm making a fairly simple quilt here.
This one looks kinda patriotic.

This one felt very modern to me with the gray and the bright yellow. About as modern as I get, anyway. [side note: Thanks, Kristin, for this yellow and some other cool scraps that are making their way into my projects.]
Oh, and lots of polkda dots of course.




And some bananas, too. Even with the bananas, this block feels very Wonder Woman-ish to me. Anyone else see it?

Now, with 41 pinwheels made (yeah, I won't bore you with pictures of all of them), I'm going to add a little blue border around each one.


I'm really excited with how these are shaping up. I just LOVE seeing all these colors that do not perfectly match, come together in an exciting quilt.

More to come.... The creative urge hasn't left me yet so I hope to finish this one soon.

Quilt Companionship

Hubby has been out of town almost all week long. Its been just me and the two kiddos home alone.

Really, it wasn't that bad. Until yesterday. And then suddenly, I'd had enough of being a single mom. Parenting is tough. Its much easier as a team.

I should clarify that the kids were really good this week. I didn't completely lose it or anything. I just was feeling worn down from giving and giving and giving all week and not having Hubby here. I need him not only as a helping hand but as my best friend and companion.

I love my kids and wouldn't trade being a stay at home mom for anything. But after a long day of staying at home working I need a little bit of refreshing adult interaction.

So this week I sought companionship from my fabric. I got a lot of work done. I'm not going to show pictures of my main project this week because its for Christmas.
But I also started something new. I love starting new projects.

I think I mentioned that my quilt group is starting another exchange. This time we are doing a two color quilt in blue and cream. The block is called Aunt Dinah and I love it. Here are a few of mine. I've got 5 done and 8 to go!

A few happy things

Some of my favorite things from the last few weeks:

#1

Where have I been? I hadn't even heard about this movie! My hubbie surprised me and got this from Redbox last weekend thinking I would like it. It is chocked full of cuteness. I watched it twice in two days and am thinking its one I would like to own, especially since I have a little girl to share it with as she gets older.

One of my favorite things about the movie was seeing all the adorable little girl dresses and hats from the time period.


#2 My quilt wall

My long planned quilt wall is ready for display! I decided to go the easy curtain rod route. I got one that will accomidate both rings for short term displays and sewn on pockets for quilts up longer. As you can see from the picture, the rod is quite long so I can put up some of my bigger quilts. And the rod is unobtrusive enough to not bother me with a quilt of this size. I LOVE the color and character that a quilt on the wall adds to our family room. My sister, when she came over, remarked how much of a difference it makes in this space. Thanks for all of you that commented on how to execute this. Oh, and I did this all by myself! If you remember, I learned how to use the power drill a little while back and used my new skills to finish this project!


#3 Prejudiced No More!


I have to admit that I was reluctant to love this movie when I first saw it. I just didn't think a 2 hour movie could do justice to my absolute favorite love story. I love the Colin Firth version. Mostly because of Colin Firth, I think. But anyway, I just didn't think I could enjoy Keira Knightly's fast paced attempt to recreate the classic Pride and Prejudice.

After watching this movie once, I agreed that it was well done. I liked the more realistic sets and feel of this movie. But I still couldn't let go of my beloved BBC, Colin Firth infused, Pride and Prejudice.

Hmmm.. I guess you could say I was a little prejudiced against this new movie.

Fast forward to now. I watched this movie for the second time last week and boy, oh boy! My prejudices are all gone. This is such a beautiful movie. The love scenes are beautiful. The script is perfectly eloquent. The real emotions are appreciated. This is my new favorite movie.




#4 Quilts appreciated


What is that jumbled mess, you ask? Well, let me tell you. This is a picture of my quilts being appreciated, yet again by my kiddos. They love making tents in the family room. And what is better for that than a couple of large, homemade quilts? I love it when my work is appreciated.

Houston Quilt Fest

One of the perks of living in Houston, is the ability to go to the Houston Quilt Festival each fall. For the second year in a row, my mom came down to spend a quilty day at the festival with me. And this year my sister joined us also. Our little threesome walked and walked and oohed and aahed all day long. We saw all the booths and spent more pennies than I like to count. I spent less than last year, though so I feel like I didn't get too carried away.
Here are a few pics of my loot:


I got this Texas map hankie panel to make a quilt. The booth I got this from had it made up with bluebonnet fabric as a border and that's what I intend to do as well. I love this panel because 1) I'm a Texan 2) I love all things vintage looking and 3) We love maps in our family. My husband is a Geographer so its perfect for us.







I also fell in love with this Santa fabric from Judie Rothermel. I bought it for a vintage Christmas quilt but wouldn't this be adorable as Christmas pjs? I love these cheerful, chubby Santas!



I also bought some Hobbs batting at a great price, a little kit of fabric for an applique pattern I bought last year(so I can learn to hand applique someday) and these fat quarters. I've got several blue quilts planned so I NEEDED to keep an eye out for more blue. That's how it goes with quilt shopping, isn't it? You see something, love it and suddenly NEED it.


I saw Alex Anderson. She has such a nice look about her.

I realized as I was handing the money over for my Santa fabric that I was buying it from THE acutal Judie Rothermel (and her hubbie who was there running the booth). I LOVE all her reproduction stuff.

I probably saw several other 'famous' quilters and didn't realize it.

Makes me get all warm and fuzzy to have these little brushes with greatness. :)

Best of all, I was enjoying spending such a fun and inspiring day with my favorite ladies, my mom and sister. It is so much fun to share a hobby and a passion and its especially fun that I can share that with them.

Joseph Smith Tribute Quilt

Another Finished Quilt! My 2008 completed quilts list is growing. Hooray! And this is a special one. This is my completed Joseph Smith Tribute Quilt. This pattern was designed in 2005 (by some very talented ladies- not me) to commemorate the 200th birthday of Joseph Smith, latter-day propehet of God, chosen to restore the true church of Jesus Christ.

He lived at a time of great religious excitement and confusion. At 14 years of age he was affected by the widespread religious revivals in New England and wondered which was the correct church to join.

“So great were the confusion and strife among the different denominations, that it was impossible for a person young as I was . . . to come to any certain conclusion who was right and who was wrong. . . . In the midst of this war of words and tumult of opinions, I often said to myself: What is to be done? Who of all these parties are right; or, are they all wrong together? If any one of them be right, which is it, and how shall I know it?” ( Joseph Smith—History 1:8, 10).

As Joseph sought truth among the different faiths, he turned to the Bible for guidance. He read, “If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him” ( James 1:5). Because of this passage, Joseph decided to ask God what he should do. In the spring of 1820 he went to a nearby grove of trees and knelt in prayer. He described his experience: “I saw a pillar of light exactly over my head, above the brightness of the sun, which descended gradually until it fell upon me. . . . When the light rested upon me I saw two Personages, whose brightness and glory defy all description, standing above me in the air. One of them spake unto me, calling me by name and said, pointing to the other—This is My Beloved Son. Hear Him!” ( Joseph Smith—History 1:16–17)

(passages taken from http://www.mormon.org/mormonorg/eng/basic-beliefs/the-restoration-of-truth/the-restoration-of-the-gospel)

Joseph Smith saw God, the Father, and Jesus Christ. He was instructed not to join any of the churches, none of them had the fullness of Christ's gospel. It would be his responsibility to restore and reorganize Christ's true church, as it had been when He walked the earth a thousand years before. Joseph was the first prophet and president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.

This quilt is made from 1800's reproduction prints and each block is designed to symbolize a part of his life. For example, the log cabin blocks at the top tell of how he came from humble beginnings and grew up in a small log cabin. The red stars symbolize the Savior Jesus Christ, who Joseph always testified of. The pink and brown block in the middle is a love knot symbolizing the love between Joseph and his devoted wife Emma. The brown, black and red block on the right symbolizes his death as a martyr.

This quilt is special to me because of what it symbolizes.

Normally, when I quilt its all about creating something of comfort and beauty. I was excited to make this one because not only is it beautiful but it also provided me a way to share my feelings and the life of Joseph Smith with my family.

Thanks for indulging me, blogland, by letting me share this quilt with all of you too.

Binding Philosophy

I love sewing on binding. Many people see it as one more labor intensive step before the quilt is done. Not me. I like to think of it as a celebration at the end of a big project. I snuggle under my almost finished quilt and revel in the work of my hands while I add the finishing touch.

I especially love it when the binding is red.

Whenever I use red for binding I think of Mamie from Gone With the Wind. Isn't there something in Gone With the Wind about Mamie getting a red taffeta petticoat from Rhett Butler? She doesn't approve of him giving personal gifts to Scarlett but then he gives her a red taffeta petticoat and she can't resist it. He knows she likes the petticoat he gave to her because he can hear it swishing as she walks by. Whenever I add red binding to a quilt I think of it as a beautiful red petticoat barely peeking out.

Whenever possible, binding should be BOLD. It should be a crisp frame around your beautiful work of art. My other favorite choices for binding: stripes, polka dots (of course), leftover strips of scraps, orange, purple or really anything to add contrast.

My plans for tonight include catching up on my TV shows from the past week (Office, Chuck and a few others) with my hubbie and finishing up my Joseph Smith Quilt. I'll post pictures of the completed quilt later this week.