Cows on a Quilt?

Well, I have just one thing to say, "Thank God for the doll quilt swap otherwise where else could I express all my goofy and wild ideas?" That swap has saved my imagination more than once, let me tell you.....AND, not only that, but over there they love my whimsey. Cows on a quilt? Of course, why not? After all, I do live in Wisconsin, and there are LOTS of cows here, believe me!!! (I don't live on a hill though and my car is white not quilted.) LOL

This idea actually started with all the talk in the threads about quilts not being the right size, and this and that and jokes about the quilt police coming to get the offenders. Well.......quilt police? Hey, right up my alley!!! I'll show you quilt police! But, before that, I'll show you other peeks of the aspects of my latest 18 x 16 inch creation.

And the whole thing.....which started from a tiny drawing on a 6 x 9 inch sheet of paper.

Who knows what'll be next? I do have a list, but that can always be changed!! Enjoy! And smile! Wouldn't it be cool if life was really this fun?

Working

I didn't want you to think that I was just sitting around here twiddling my thumbs, although I'd really like to once and awhile. I figured I should really work on making another angel quilt, but this time make it for more of the traditional quilter. (Not everyone has my wild color taste and flare for the dramatic, after all, I suppose.) I chose to work with "Martinique" by Moda. It's soft and has a gentle look to it which I thought would be perfect for hand quilting. Can't get much more traditional than that, huh? I'm thinking that this might take awhile, but I am enjoying the process, and that's all that counts! I hope this is acceptable to a traditionalist or a romantic. I think it's kind of pretty. How about you?

This is just the beginning. I bought several colors of floss and we'll see what happens. With me, you just never know! ('Course, you probably already know that!) LOL

Back in the Grove

Oh, I am having such fun! I just love this sewing almost every day, you just don't know. And, now that most of my pincushions are dispersed, and the crushed walnut shells packed in the basement (until the next marathon) I can concentrate on another love of mine.....the doll quilt swap. I am (officially) the angel swap mama for this round too, if you can believe? I was bestowed this honor just recently and I'm so happy!! What this actually means is that all the other mamas work their butts off now and I just sew and have fun and then when, and if, someone needs a quilt later because something happened to their original one that they were supposed to get, I can quickly mail one out. No big deal!! Hopefully, by that time I will have about 6-7 in reserve, or if it is like last time when my partner said nothing the whole time, maybe even 8-9. Why I always get little quiet partners is astounding! (After all, they don't know that I'm their partner so I can't be scaring them off, right???)

Anyway, I finished the first quilt today. I had this one in mind for some time and really like how it turned out....besides, I don't think anyone has ever made a round doll quilt for the swap before. How cool is that?

Stay tuned.........I'm sure there'll be more before you know it and before long, you'll be sick of seeing these too. LOL

Not Done Yetz

I told you I was possessed! Here are a few more.....

And one of my favorites:

I think I did a pretty good job of staging that last one, huh? Well, I'm almost done. Just one more to go (although I have said that before.) Maybe I should make them until I run out of the crushed walnut shells. I do LOVE that stuff!!! It makes the pincushions feel soooo good! And they smell yummy too!

I am shirking my duties for DQS though. (Doll Swap #9 for all you "not in the know".) I'll put a link up next time. I have ideas swimming in my head for that swap too! E-gads, I told you I was going to be a busy girl!!! I wasn't kidding!

I think I'm possessed!

Remember the pincushions from the last post? Well hey, that was only the beginning!! I think I'm possessed with this whole thing now! E-gads! First I had to wait for my 100% cotton batting, (which is working pretty well, I'll admit), but now I'm hearing about all sorts of other stuff I should be using, like reptile litter (crushed walnut shells....and there are different grades) and crushed silca sand (which comes in a 100 lb bag...or so). Now, I really don't know what to do! Should I stop or continue with what I have? I did buy the walnut shell stuff yesterday ($10 for 7 lbs), but have been told that the brand I got wasn't fine enough. Poop! Things are desperate too....see my current pincushion:

Think it needs replacement? Poor thing! Lord knows how many lost pins might be inside!! In the meantime, while I'm deciding, I thought you might want to see the latest creations:

And I'm not done yet! E-gads.....I told you I was possessed!! AND THEN......the doll swap is starting again!!! Oh my....another marathon! Looks like I'm going to have one busy summer!!

Who woulda guessed?

Lord knows why, since I only use my 200 year old red tomato that I've had forever (and is quite beat up), but I joined a new pincushion swap . I only made one other pincushion in my whole life before, (from a turtle pattern that didn't turn out so hunky-dorey), but I am having such fun making them now. Who would have guessed? Now I'm thinkin' that I just might have to go into business. LOL Heavenly days , the possibilities with these things are endless.......!!! I wonder which one my secret partner will like???

Or.....maybe I'm not done yet. (Probably not, knowing me.) Incidentally, if you'd like to buy one of these, or would like me to make you something special, just e-mail me and we can work out the details.

I'm Here

Did you think I was dead? Me too, there for awhile! I've only become among the living since yesterday, really, but prior to that, I really wondered if I'd ever have the ambition or strength again to sew in my whole life (a little dramatic maybe, but in many ways, the truth!!) Some "bug" hit me like a ton of bricks and one day I even was in bed most of the day. I was thinking that I had nothing to show you since I haven't had the machine out for days, but then it occurred to me that you hadn't seen the "Diet Pepsi" disaster. Actually, it's not so bad now, but at the time, WOW!

I had a quilter friend here and had just poured us glasses of Diet Pepsi as I was flailing my hands in wild quilt talk (and I'm not even an Italian...you know how it is), and whoosh....the whole glass (with ice) all over my just finished to the point of hand stitching, doll quilt. It was dripping brown. I quick ran for the sink, while my friend sopped up the mess on the table, floor, my flosses, etc. We thought it'd be fine since I had rinsed it right away, but as it dried throughout the day, stains were showing more and more and the back was a mess. I knew, I'd either have to give it a good bath, or make another one.

I did both! I was more careful with my quilting the second time and it looks a bit better, but the first one's not bad either and I think that maybe it might be used as an angel doll quilt in the latest doll swap. Who knows? Anyway, I thought you might like to see them both.

And the two of them together. Note that I used different floss on the "washed" one. It gave it just a more refined look, I think.

"HI" Quilt

Or at least that's what it looks like to me. You'll see!!! Do you remember this pic?

Pretty, huh? Well, when I saw them, I knew exactly what I was going to do with them (probably because I fell in love with the very same quilt at my LQS and couldn't get it out of my head)! I knew it would just be perfect for either my little niece or grandbaby for naps someday. Well, I went to town cutting and piecing.

If you're interested, the middle squares are 2 1/2 inches each and the outside strips 6 1/2 inches. Easy peasy! You'll see in a minute how to put them together. This is the simplest quilt ever!!!

And when you're all done. This is what you get:

But what makes this quilt so special is the yummy yellow minky backing with very thin batting in the inside. It drapes like a dream!!