Just Goes to Show You

Or at least it showed me....that would be the 33rd Annual Tyler Quilt Show.

One event after another had delayed the finishing of a quilt that I had committed to enter into the show. (Have you ever "picked out" any quilting?...At least three hours of pulling strings was really annoying.) The day the quilts were to be delivered another un-anticipated event made it necessary to leave town no later than 11:15....quilt receiving was to last until 1:00. (I had anticipated being the last person to deliver my quilt.)  So, the moral of this little tale....Even if you are sitting in the parking lot of the convention center using every last minute to sew the binding close...it can be worth the effort!

My favorite judge's comment was about how bindings should be smooth without puckers! If she only knew.

Now that all the drama has settled, it is back to things unfinished. I had pulled out the 10 completed blocks from the 2013 Saturday Sampler Block of the Month from a local quilt shop. I completed the last 2 today, but before I could get my sewing mess cleared away here comes...

It was just supposed to be a brainstorming session on what designs I wanted to fill in the "blank" spots...

Hey! No Sock Monkeys in this quilt!

...and before I knew what had really happened, I was coloring. 

I think I will call this quilt Saturday's at Home. I am going to color in those things that happen in my back yard. (Like mushrooms, toads and insects! And maybe some flowers too...dandelions teehee)

Lots and lots of coloring still to do!

Linking up with 

Happy Coloring, 

Tana

Quilt in a Box

Square #1 of a pizza box exchange quilt left me today...it will come back home at the end of the year full of 12 1/2" blocks made by my friends of the Have Knots, Will Travel quilt group. I am absolutely terrible at keeping secrets, so I hope no one asks what I made for them. (Of course, they might just find the beans spilt right here on the blog...) I did a variation of the Friendship Star pattern. This quilt just seemed to need that pattern :)

This is the other project I have under the needle. The raspberry orange block on the left was the first 2014 BOM from the local quilt shop that is way way too close to my house. Instead of the 12 1/2" block, mine is 20" finished. I made the half-square triangles from 5 7/8" squares. The pattern is Barbara Fritchie Star, I was so inspired by the pattern and color, I decided to make a small children's quilt from 4 - 20" blocks (and probably a border). Not being able to wait for the February meeting, I cut out more half-square triangle blocks to make the Depression Square pattern. Those two patterns just seemed happy together. The fabric from A Nimble Thimble for our block of the month is the green in between the monkeys. How did she know that would be a perfect fit across from my Depression Square block??

Alternate layout of the squares....

I think I like how the dark green frames the corners. The turquoise and green are from my hand dyed stash. 

I did flip 2 blocks after this picture was taken. Funny what you see in print that you don't always see in real life. Guess I'm off to sew this up quickly, before I start rotating blocks around again or cut into the fabrics I was marinating over.

Happy coloring,

Tana

One Thing Leads to Another (and Another)

So, the painting and decorating that has been happening in the living half of our home sometimes goes by "the remodel", but there isn't anything structural being done, so that really isn't accurate. Then sometimes I will say, "Updating," but since I am not necessarily young and fresh and I like what I like...updating is a relative term. Face-lift....I think that is the description I have been searching for and as I suspect, when you get a face-lift, you then need to color your hair, then you need new clothes, and then you need....well, then one thing leads to another and then another.

Needing another thing is where this large expanse of freshly painted light gray family room wall has found itself.

All the nick knacks and wall hangings have circled round and round, into the entry hall and into the dining room and when the music stopped, this wall remained empty. And this is when I broke my main New Year's resolution.  (Finish the 2013 projects before starting anything new in 2014) 

Enter the new project to hang on the empty wall. The thing that sent me off to sew, was 

being able to finally use some of the hand dyed fabrics in a project for me.

My hubby estimated the wall quilt to be up in about 2 days. (He was seriously being generous on the time frame.) I am ready to trim the blocks and the borders are cut.....it has taken, just shy of 40 hours to get to this point. I am doing raw edge applique on the sewing machine, I would never finish if I was doing hand applique!

It was so hard to make the first cut into my batiks, but so glad I found a fun project where they look really happy.  Wish I were ready to do the quilting...

Happy coloring,

Tana

Shoes on Before Nine Equals Great Rewards

Years of working from home have indulged my preference to go barefoot, especially in the early morning hours when the coffee is hot and the house is quiet. However, this past Thursday and Friday I received rich and colorful rewards for being pressed and dressed before the 9 o'clock hour.

Karen K. Stone (yes, the picture is borrowed~I was too saturated with information to remember pictures) delivered a talk to the Quilter's Guild of East Texas and taught a class on Friday.

karenkstone.com

 O(!)M(!)G(!) !!! 

Her approach to color and her method of harmonious relationships between fabrics is fabulous. Highly recommend anyone seizing the opportunity to hear her speak and a class is better yet! (She has a book too ~ just sayin')

I had to listen carefully to Karen with my eyes (eyes-not a typo!) and was very happy with the resulting quilt block. This is from Karen's quilt "Wild Women Don't Get the Blues". My one block will be made into a wall hanging as a reminder that it is "ok to go wild".

The place of honor is already reserved on the craft room wall!

Happy coloring,
Tana