Comfort Cottage

A Finished Quilting Project

As I shared with you last week, I had planned on beginning the quilting process on one of my quilt tops.  I took out my table runner on Friday and started stenciling the quilting design.

 

 

While I watched the Harry Potter movie marathon, I stitched like crazy!  By Sunday evening, I finished the hand-quilting.  Today, I completed the binding.  Drum roll, please...

 

 

This is a Vicki Bellino design entitled, "A Pack of Posies", from her book, Bloom Creek Quilts.  It measures 17" x 51".  I used fat quarters from Sandy Gervais' Tranquility line of fabrics from Moda.

 

 

I'm kind of a quilting "rebel" in that I don't use a frame or hoop to quilt.  I find I can control my stitch quality better without them.

 

 

I use sharps, which are slightly longer needles than the betweens many frame-quilters prefer.  I used the freezer-paper method for the applique and stitched by hand.

Last time, I showed you some Kaffe Fassett fabric that I plan on using for my next quilt.  I had to order a few more fabrics.  They arrived from Fabric.com today.   I LOVE the polka-dots!   Fabric.com could become a serious addiction :)

 

 

I'm also still in the process of constructing the blocks for the Civil War Tribute Quilt.  I'll probably work on month 4 next.  I'm only a few years behind :)

 

 

Month 4 commemorates the Battle of Antietam.  Next time, I'll show you the completed blocks for months 1-3. 

 

That's all for now!  I hope you are having a good week.

 

Until next time,

 

 

 

The End Of The Rainbow

Hello my friends!  I've missed you but I think I have been suffering from blogger's block!  My creativity has been in a bit of a slump, but I finally have something new to share with you.  As you know, I've been working on Amy Smart's Rainbow Connection Quilt.  After slicing and dicing not less than eighty different fabrics, I have a finished quilt top.  It measures 80" x 80".

 

 

My mantel makes a great quilt-hanging rack!

 

 

I would have posted earlier, but I cut two of the borders an inch short, and I had to start again.  It's a good thing I had some extra white fabric!

 

 

I'm really happy with the way it turned out.  I was really struggling with how to utilize my Soul Blossoms fat quarter set until I found Amy's pattern on her wonderful blog, Diary of a Quilter.

I enjoyed working with wild color so much, that I'm going to do my next quilt top with Kaffe Fassett fabrics from Rowan.  I made a trip to Intercourse on Wednesday, and scored a new quilt book :)

 

 

It's funny how our tastes change.  Kaffe has been around for years, and I never had much interest.  Suddenly, I'm in love with his work!  Go figure.  His books are stunningly photographed.  This one was shot at the Skansen Museum in Stockholm.

 

While I was at the Old Country Store, I purchased some of his fabrics for one of the quilts from his book.

 

 

The quilt is called Diagonal Pathways.

 

 

 

I have four quilt tops waiting in the wings to be sandwiched and quilted, so I think I'll get the process started on one of them next week. 

Spring has finally arrived here in Pennsylvania.  We've had several beautiful days in a row.  I hope things are well where you are.  We'll meet again soon.

 

Until next time,

 

 

Making Progress

I've finally arrived at that moment in the making of a quilt that excites me most:  sewing the blocks together.   With a quilt of many colors, I needed to retreat to the floor again to audition blocks for their proper place.

 

 

Aren't the colors delicious?  Sewing a large quilt together feels a bit like wrestling an alligator.

 

 

 

I'm building a sizable mountain of scraps!

 

 

I need to find some little projects!  I got out of the studio for a few hours this morning to canvas the book store for fresh inspiration.  The beginning of the month always brings a pile of new magazines with it.

 

 

 

This one is fantastic!  This is just one of the quilts waiting to be sewn:

 

 

There were also many lovely quilts in this one:

 

 

In addition to all of the tempting projects, there is an interesting interview with fabric designer Stephanie Brandenburg of Frond Design Studios.  It offers some insight into the process of crafting beautiful fabric designs.

 

 

The next time I share quilting news, I should be finished sewing the Rainbow Connection quilt.  I also have a trip to quilters' haven, Lancaster County, PA in the works to celebrate my birthday.  My bank card will be smokin' :)  I'll meet with you again soon!

 

Until next time,

 

 

 

 

We Shopped 'Til We Dropped For Pink Saturday

I received a note from Beverly at How Sweet the Sound asking me to repost this for Pink Saturday.  It wasn't until I read her note that it occurred to me that yes, there's plenty of pink here!  I think I'm slipping :)

It's been months since my sister and I took our last trip to The Old Country Store.  Yesterday, the weather was cold and clear, and we were ready to rumble :)  We got an early start, and I think we were the first customers in the store!  As usual, there was no shortage of gorgeous fabrics to chose from.  They had many of the new lines and a fresh selection of quilting books as well.  I immediately headed for the mountain of fat quarters which were beautifully arranged according to style and color.  I was not disappointed.  Would you like to see what I came home with?

 

 

These are from French General.  Can you just picture them paired with vintage laces, buttons and vintage jewelry?

 

 

Can you say Oo la la?

 

The next set is at exactly the opposite end of the spectrum...bright, modern and vibrant.  They are from Moda's Terrain collection.

 

Wouldn't they make cute cupcake pincushions?  This pattern by Sandi Henderson of Portabello Pixie is perfect!

I fell in love with this cheerful set.  It's from Riley Blake's Quite Contrary collection by My Mind's Eye.

 

I immediately thought of Heather Bailey's adorable pincushions.

 

 

 

I've had these for awhile now.  I asolutely love them.  They remind me of cotton candy and a summer day.  They're from the Bliss collection by Bonnie and Camille for Moda.

 

Camille Roskelley was featured in the Fall 2010 issue of Where Women Create.

 

 

Isn't her studio cute?

 

Finally, there is a new Moda collection called Prairie Paisley II by Minick and Simpson.

 

 

I've always wanted to do a quilt using the spools block.  I think these fabrics would work really well with a traditional pattern like that.  What do you think?

 

Of course, I really hate to start a new project until I finish the one on the table right now.  I'm making some good progress with it.

 

 

It's all cut out.  It's actually piecing together pretty quickly.  I won't get to work on it again until later tomorrow.  I have to take my son in to have his stitches removed.  His eye is healing well and his cheek has a normal contour to it again.  He's able to see, so we're counting our blessings!  Again, I want to thank all of you for your encouragement and support. It has meant everything to me.

Since I originally posted this last week, I finished the quilt top!

 To visit all of our Pink Saturday participants, just click on the Pink Saturday icon in my right sidebar.  I hope all of you have a wonderful weekend.  I'll be visiting!  Hugs and blessings to you.

Until next time,

 

 

A New Drawing and Lots of Quilting Inspiration

Hello my friends!  I hope all of you are having a good weekend so far.  It's pretty dreary here in the Northeast.  It's been snowing all day, but so far, it's not accumulating.  I have a few things to share with you today.  The first is my new drawing - a bright yellow finch.

 

 

Instead of watercolor, I used Caran D'Ache Neocolor II water-soluble crayons for the finch.  The rest is the usual pen and ink and graphite pencil on Strathmore Bristol Vellum.  It was nice working without the distractions of the last week.  I was able to finish him much more quickly than the last drawing.

I also wanted to share some fabric and quilting inspiration.  Last month I had purchased the new editions of Sew Somerset and Art Quilting Studio.  They always get me to thinking about ways to use my fabric stash and my sewing machine.

 

 

There were several beautiful examples of fiber art that really caught my eye.

 

 

I love the way the artist combined embroidery and vintage bird graphics into this fabric book.

 

 

The combination of lace, sumptuous red fabrics and tassel fringe paired with the vintage photo is so lovely.

I'm sure you know that I'm a pushover for bright colors and bold patterns by now.

 

 

In the latest issue of Art Quilting Studio, I found an art quilt that really excites me.

 

 

I recently found some fat quarters that I've been wanting to use for art quilts.

 

 

The colors and patterns are so bright and energetic.

 

 

I found some ideas in the previous issue of Art Quilting Studio that I think these fabrics would be perfect for.

 

 

This conversation quilt can be based on any theme.

 

 

The colors used together in these quilts are so striking together.

 

 

Finally, I loved the way the artist used variegated embroidery thread in her work.

 

 

I think I'll take a break from drawing tomorrow and put my studio back in order.  It shouldn't take too long this time because I just worked on it two weeks ago.  I'm trying to keep up on it because I've found that the more cluttered it is, the less creative I am.  I think it just becomes too much of an effort to work in a disorganized environment.  After I tidy up, I want to try the darning foot I bought for my machine.  It will allow me to do free-motion sewing, which will give me more options for art quilting.

On the horizon, there's a fabric shopping trip to the Old Country Store in Intercourse in the works for Monday.  My sister and quilting buddy, Lorrie and I will be having a day of bliss at the fabric sale.

I hope you have a happy and restful Sunday.

Until next time,

 

 

 

 

 

Happy Thanksgiving

Gratitude.  There is so much power in the word.  The moment it is uttered, even the staunchest complainer is silenced.   It changes the attitude in a heartbeat and washes over the spirit like a waterfall.  Is there any other word as sweet?  The list of things I thank God for gets longer each day, and my contentment grows proportionally.  I wish for all of you a refreshing shower of gratitude on this Thanksgiving Day.

 

A couple of months ago, I shared with you that I had finished my Christmas quilt.  I promised that I would unveil it at the beginning of the Christmas season.  I saw Santa arrive at the close of the Macy's parade, so I guess this is it - the official start of the Christmas season.  I found this quilt design in At Home With Thimbleberries Quilts by Lynette Jensen.  I've wanted to make it for years, but somehow the time was never right.  This year, I have a wonderful throw to display on the dining room table.

 

 

Each house has it's own theme.

 

 

 

 

 

I love the quilted design in the center.

 

 

My favorite part is the picket fence.

 

 

My heart is full as I wish for each of you the joy of gratitude and contentment.  God bless you.

 

Until next time,

 

A Clean Slate

Hello everyone!  It's good to be back.  This is the first time I've been able to use my computer since last week.  I fell victim to yet another hideous virus that toasted my computer.  It shut down my anti-virus software and wouldn't allow it to be reinstalled!  It then proceeded to hijack my search engine.   Fortunately, I listened to my hubby, and I'd been backing up everything onto an external drive.  He had to wipe out everything on my hard drive and reload Windows.  Aargh!  The up-side is my computer hasn't run this well in months!  My hubby is a techno-god!!  I guess there's a silver lining in almost anything :)

I've been taking a little break from painting in order to finish my Christmas quilt.  I'm very happy to say that I put in the last stitch on Wednesday.  I can't wait to show it to you, but I think I'm going to wait until I decorate for Christmas.  In the meantime, I've started a new quilt.  I've always wanted to work with batik fabrics.  On my last visit to the Old Country Store in Intercourse, I purchased some beautiful fabrics.

 

 

I've been cutting and piecing away!

 

 

I like this particular quilt because it will show off the fabrics.  I've been gettting a lot of mileage out of this book.  It is Bloom Creek Quilts by Vicki Bellino.

 

 

I'm using the fabric on the left for the largest blocks and the one on the right for the backing.

 

 

I'm in quilter's heaven!

 

Until next time,

 

 

 

 

 

A Pink Saturday Giveaway

 

Happy Pink Saturday!  I hope you are all well and enjoying the beautiful spring weather.  I want to thank Beverly at How Sweet the Sound for graciously hosting our pink party every week.  If you would like to visit all of the wonderful Pink Saturday participants, just click on the Pink Saturday icon in my right sidebar.

This week, I made my first visit to The Enchanted Oven.  Lisa is incredibly creative, and has made some very yummy-looking works of art.  Please pay her a visit, and I'm sure you'll love it as much as I did!

And now, as I promised you last week, photos of my Pink Saturday giveaway:

 

I've assembled a few things that I thought might be fun to use in one of your creative projects:

1.)  A bouquet of lovely, crinkly pink rosebuds.  You can separate them and use them individually.

2.)  A large, vintage feed sack.

3.)  A vintage hand-embroidered doily with a crocheted edge.  This might be lovely on a pillow.

4.) A 1 1/2 yard length of antique pleated trim.

5.)  A pink and white striped apron, designed and hand made by me.  The overskirt is trimmed in a vintage pink floral trim.

 

 

 

I've also be busy working on a new painting.  I was able to order some artist grade watercolors for my birthday last week  Playing with color is so much fun!  I've been reading a book called Confident Color, by Nita Leland to learn more about how to use color successfully.  She has you do all kinds of excercises with your paints in order to get to know how they will perform.  She then has you record the results in a sketch book journal for future reference.

 

I practiced mixing colors before I started my painting.  I was amazed at the difference between artist grade paints and student grade paints.  The artist grade is saturated with pigment, and the color fairly explodes on the page!

 

 

I worked out a drawing on my computer.

 

 

I transfer the drawing to watercolor paper with graphite paper.

 

 

I used one of my photos from Longwood Gardens as my inspiration photo.

 

 

Can you tell that I love vibrant color?

 

Thank you so much for sharing Pink Saturday with me.  I'm thrilled when you come to visit!

 

God bless you!

Until next time,

 

Blue and Yellow on a Gray Day

It may be gloomy here in Pennsylvania today, but I have a few cheery photos for you.  I had hoped to have more paintings to share with you, but this has not been the best of weeks so far.  Remember the photos of beautiful Longwood Gardens?  I seem to have paid a heavy price for them.  I was diagnosed with a whopping case of lyme disease yesterday!  My photographic career seems to have hit a snag :)  Talk about being flattened!  Hopefully, I'll feel well enough to sit up in the studio soon. 

For the next month, this is my life:

 

 

Oh well, enough of this gloom and doom.  I have  a few photos from my last visit to the Country Store that I haven't shown you yet.  Their display window was so pretty that day.

 

 

Aren't those little birds adorable?

 

 

There were some beautiful quilts displayed across the street.

 

 

Inside, I saw a lovely applique quilt.

 

 

We have a different kind of traffic here.

 

 

That's all I have for now.  I'm looking forward to having a new painting soon.  In the meantime, take care in the garden...you never know what's lurking there :)

 

Until next time,

 

Nature Study

I spent today at the sewing machine, finishing the nature study spread for my Victorian quilt book.  I wanted it to be more rustic to fit the outdoor theme.

 

I began by stamping a piece of linen with a leaf design.  The bird is a gel medium transfer.   He's mounted to another gel medium transfer of antique field notes.  The bees were printed onto a transparency and then attached to a coffee-stained tag.  The ferns and the dragonfly are also transparencies.   The nest sticker is by Cavalini.

 

 

The large floral print is from the book Florals and Nature by Sterling Publishing.  There's a whole series of these books called Memories of a Lifetime.  They are very reasonably priced, and each comes with a CD of all of the images.

 

This spread is from an ongoing project.  I'm taking a quilt book workshop from a wonderful and accomplished artist, Lenna Young Andrews.  If you would like to see the rest of the book, you can find the photos on my Flicker site, or in recent posts here at Comfort Cottage.

The last thing I wanted to share with you is an art quilt that I did using the fabric from a vintage dress as a background.  I hand embroidered the edge and crocheted the flower.  The antique photo was printed onto a transparency.  The illustration is from an antique children's reader.  I scanned it, colored it with crayons, and heat set it.  I love old children's books.  They represent a carefree innocence to me.  

 

I'm not sure how it is where you are, but Spring finally arrived here in Pennsylvania-at least for a day!  I opened the windows and actually breathed fresh air.  It's amazing what a little nice weather does for your disposition.

Well, that's all for now.  Please pray for the citizens of Japan.  

Until next time,