Friday, August 28, 2020

Denim shirt remix


Years ago, hubby bought me this cute denim shirt from the Biltmore in Asheville, NC. I wore it a lot at first, but for a long time it's just been hanging in my closet. I decided to revamp it into something fresh and new.
A quick trip into the local quilt store and I had some gorgeous Ruby Star Society fabric and a couple of spools of 8 weight thread in coordinating colors.
In a jiffy i had this cute tunic all done! I added a gathered "skirt" with the fabric and embroidered flowers above the front pocket and on the back .



 Now I can't wait for fall so I can wear it! We've been having lots of 100+ degree days here in Texas, not exactly conducive to long sleeved denim shirts! For now it's safely tucked back in my closet.

Tuesday, August 18, 2020

doodling

 


I've followed Alisa Burke for a long time. I just love her art, the whimsical style, huge flowers, vivid colors. So, when she recently offered her doodle it out class 50% off I jumped at the opportunity (it's still on sale as of today! quick, go sign up!). 
Thirty days of video tutorials and prompts went by so fast!
I worked on cardstock, doodling with Sharpie markers, no special supplies needed.
I really didn't think I could draw faces, but with Alisa's excellent instruction I pulled it off! And buildings...
I found myself really looking forward to each day's lesson. Bonus, Ally said she wanted to color them! For her birthday I made copies of some of my favorites on cardstock(just used my printer) and I mailed them to her with a new set of colored markers.
I'm so glad I did this! now I'm eyeing up some of Alisa's other classes.





Sunday, August 9, 2020

colors of the year

When the 2020 colors of the year were announced at the end of last year I stocked up on both solids knowing I would want to do something fun. What beautiful colors they are! Perhaps the best thing to come out of 2020. 

Kona Enchanted, a beautiful deep green with a hint of blue tone....
 And Pantone Classic Blue. A gorgeous true blue! Per Debbie's advice (she always does such a good job evaluating the options) I opted for Kona Regatta.


 At first my plan was to use just the Regatta and Kona White for my little quilt for our guild challenge. I had an idea for a strip pieced "snowflake" design. Once I made one, it kind of fell flat for me. No worries, onto the back of my finished quilt it went. And the extra strip set too.....
I finally settled on some improv framed triangles in both colors. The centers of my triangles are actually some Moda Grunges that I had in my stash

I quilted it with my favorite angled grid and bound it in a blue & white stripe I found sitting on my shelf. It's a perfect little table topper or mini quilt to hang!

Our guild was supposed to have a display at the library like we did last year, but alas, COVID, sigh. We shared our challenge pieces at last week's Zoom meeting and that will have to do!

Monday, August 3, 2020

house swap quilt

Well, I just realized I never wrapped up my saga of all the house blocks! House blocks were swapped, and I adored every single block I received from my friends (people, there is an advantage to being in charge of a swap! YOU GET FIRST PICK! although I will say, every single block turned in was a masterpiece so it was a win/win situation). The blocks only spent a few days on my design wall board and I was off and running. I added some low volume rectangles to stagger my blocks but there was still something missing. If you know me well, you know what that something was. WORDS! Improv letters were quickly in the works and added as two borders (because, assymetry! ha!)


Oh, yes, I did add in a little red car to represent my RAV4 (named James) because it's my quilt and I do what I want, so there! It was quickly quilted up with a walking foot grid on my Janome and bound with a tiny low volume polka dot. I quite love this finished quilt and need to find an empty wall to display it (not an easy feat in this house!)

Also, why have I never thought to photograph quilts on this pretty stone wall on my front porch? I wish I could leave it there but unpredictable Texas weather does not allow for that. sigh.....

my little house quilt finished up at 34" x 36".