A Quilting Story

Every year, my guild makes a quilt to give to a family receiving a Habitat For Humanity sponsored home.  These quilts are a lot of fun to make because each of our guild members contributes her talents (and fabrics!) to this worthy cause.

Below is the quilt we are finishing up.  I volunteered to make the hanging sleeve and  binding and sew them to the quilt.  Mission accomplished!  Some of my fellow guild members LOVE to tack down quilt bindings so I will pass this task off to them.

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We always use the same basic pattern but change around the locations of the houses, trees and community buildings so every quilt is different.  Three layers of fabric “bricks”  is our standard to add more color and texture to the outer border.

Each guild member is assigned to make a building and/or a tree for the quilt.  It’s always fun to see the creativity each person brings to the quilting table.  I like the school, it’s a happy color!

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This little log cabin is a favorite of mine.  It’s soft and fuzzy, 3 dimensional and has a cute curtain in the window.

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I always notice roof lines because my husband is a contractor!  This roof line is just plain cute, don’t you think?

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The church windows are made from scraps of iridescent fabric that resembles stained glass.  We all ooo’d and ahhh’d over this one.  How about that cute little french knot for the door knob?

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One of our guild members took a thread painting class and made this life like tree.  It’s a nice addition to our standard pine trees!

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In January, this quilt will be part of our guild show.  After the show, we will present the quilt to a family starting a new chapter in their life story.  It’s nice to be part of their story!

Friends + Quilts = Love

Friends + quilts…what is not to love?!

I recently traveled to Ithaca, New York to visit a very dear friend AND to attend the Tompkins County Quilters Guild Traditions & Beyond 2017 Quilt Show

Every other year, the Tompkins County Quilters Guild organizes and sponsors a quilt show.  Entries are welcome from guild members and non-guild members.

There were hundreds of quilts to gaze upon with wonder and amazement.  Below are a few highlights for your “gazement” pleasure.

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Love the zig zag stitch!

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Bold prints AND hand quilting

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Bright batiks with a dark background were spectacular

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Pretty petals

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Isn’t this quilting beautiful?

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I wanted to bring this home with me!

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This mini quilt had many tiny dots…it was exquisite!

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Another one I wanted to bring home!

After the quilt show, I snapped a pic of this beautiful dahlia in my friend’s garden.  This could be inspiration for a flower quilt design…hmmmmm.

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But wait, there’s more! How about this one?

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Thanks for the lovely weekend, dear friend, I’ll be back!

Stuck on the Border II

In a previous post, I was indecisive about what border and binding to add to my kaleidoscope pillow.  Thanks for all your feedback!

Rummaging through my sewing supplies, I found a package of Wright’s Bias Tape Maxi Piping and my plan came together in a flash!  I was no longer stuck on the border!

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I added a black border to my pillow and used the red bias tape maxi piping for an accent.  This piping went on quickly because I used the zipper foot attachment for my trusted Bernina.  Yikes!  Lots of batting fuzz on my fabric!

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My walking foot was put to good use as I made my way around the outside edge, stitching in the ditch of my seam.

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Here’s a look at the back of my pillow.  It has an envelope back so I can easily slip the pillow in and out of the pillow cover.

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I am loving my new pillow and well, we all know “there’s no place like home”!!!!!

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Stuck on the Border

A few years ago, a friend gave me some cute fabric from “The Magic of Oz” collection by Wilmington Prints.

I love shoes (almost as much as I like fabric) so the ruby slippers print was the perfect gift for me.

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In the process of cleaning my sewing room, I found a favorite book by Sandy Bonsib.  I love Sandy’s patterns and there are several in this book that are on to my “to do” list.  The pattern “Kaleidoscope Kaper” seemed like a good fit for my ruby slippers fabric!

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I cut out all my triangles using the template in Sandy’s book.  Easy, no problem!

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Four sets of two triangles start to look like a kaleidoscope.

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I am liking this block!

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Polka dot corners add some new texture and interest.

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Nine kaleidoscope blocks will make a nice pillow, don’t you think?

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So…I am stuck on the border of my ruby slippers pillow!

Do I go with basic black?

What about a red checked binding?