Fabric Madness

It's not just for humans any more.

On a more spiritual but equally ecstatic note, Debra and I are blogging some new Madonna quilt projects. Check it out at our blog The Madonna Idea.

Girasol

This quilt is square, it just photographed crooked. Honest.

This is the second in my bird series for the 12x12x12 Challenge through Quilt Studio. I'm a quarterly participant and others are making a small quilt each month. Here's a link to my post about "Morning Glory," my first quilt in the series.

When I was finishing the quilt I realized that it looked like a sunflower, so I named it "Girasol," which is sunflower in Spanish. In the next quilts, I'll also be pairing flowers with birds, since I seem to have established a pattern. The color of the close-up photo is truer than in the photo of the whole quilt.


The outline of the bird is from a motif on a Mexican ceramic cup I have. The stitches inside the bird are called Dorset feather stitch (get it? feather stitch), which I read about in an English embroidery magazine. The pieced pickle dish block was an orphan in my stash. I'm very pleased with how it's turned out.


My next bird piece is designed and ready to go. I'm going to do lilies and a blue jay. I'm going to color some drafts of the motifs with colored pencils before I pick my threads and start.

From the Scrapbag

These quilts came from the scrap drawer and from a small stash of squares I had set aside. First is "Mosaic "(48x48). I'm favoring table-sized quilts these days. They're mostly done by the time I get bored. The white and blue inner border is from a piece of vintage fabric that I think may be feed sack. I'm happy to have found a use for some of it.


"Blue Cross" (30x30) is from the stash of squares and the sugar skulls border is from the Alexander Henry Day of the Dead series.



The last one for now is a table runner, also from the squares. I think I will put these little quilts away for gifts.

Playing with Scraps and New Tote Bags

It makes me both excited and a little nervous when the scrap bins start to overflow. I usually have some projects lined up for when the selection gets really good, and so now I'm simultaneously making a number of things.

I'm collecting strips and squares for the scrap quilt pictured in the background of this photo. I think I have enough and I should stop stuffing pieces into this bag.


I've also got these two sets of blocks in the works. The brown background is up there only for contrast. Any suggestions on colors to use in the background of the scrappy star?

And I've been making bags. I love it that I see more and more people in the market with reuseable cloth bags. This one was once a muslin wood carrier. I stitched up the sides and inked over an iron-on transfer with sharpie. I also added pockets inside and outside. That's Bunny the cat walking by.

This bag is more of a purse. I used the Alexander Henry "Loteria" (Mexican Bingo) card fabric I got so excited about, and some deniim from my stash. I added lots of pockets, including a zipper pocket, on the inside.


Have a restful and creative weekend!

Thirty Seconds from My Day

I look out the front door and think, "what's wrong with that cat?"But Fatty has just found the perfect place to relax.
Michael scratches the place the rocks don't reach. He's so thoughtful.
When Louie comes by to join the party, Fatty will have none of it.

I hope your day is half as relaxing as Fatty's. Thanks for all the lovely comments on my last post.