Friday, November 30, 2018

Free Motion Friday - Inspiration from Quilt Festival

This quilt inspires me.  Information on the maker is in the second photo.  Enjoy and happy Friday!








I hope you get to quilt today!
Suzy

Wednesday, November 28, 2018

Virtual Cookie Exchange Blog Hop!

Welcome to the Virtual Cookie Exchange Blog Hop!  All the eye candy and recipes you can want are coming your way this week.  


KISSES Candy Cane Blossoms

What are my favorite Christmas cookies?  That's easy.  My kids and I fell in love with Kisses Candy Can Blossoms a few years ago.  You can find the original recipe that was on the package here.  The kids love rolling the cookies in sprinkles and watching the kisses melt afterwards when you push them into the hot cookies.  They've become tradition around here.

As far as quilty Christmas items, here are a few I've made and adore in the last few years.






Be sure to check out all the other amazing quilters on this hop!

I hope you get to quilt today!
Suzy


November 27


November 28


November 29

Monday, November 26, 2018

Inspired by International Traditions

I'm working on a project right now that includes some "international" fabrics that are traditional to places around the world.  I'm using leather from Iceland (fish leather!), hand dyed silk velvet from Australia, and Asian silk at the moment.  It's so much fun and it's truly amazing what fabrics you can find at quilt shows!  Here's a peek.


Here's the back of the fish leather.  It's salmon!  It's amazing to work with.  I haven't bought more.  YET....


I hope you get to quilt today!
Suzy

Saturday, November 24, 2018

Island Batik Ambassador's Cozy Cabins Challenge

This month the Island Batik Ambassadors are making Cozy Cabins!  Anything goes as long as it's a log cabin.  I have made a few log cabin quilts over the years, so I wanted to make this one a little different.  We often see flying geese going through log cabin blocks.  This time I used a different triangle shape and only in half the block.  I love the zing the pink adds to my quilt!


Cozy Cabins Log Cabin Challenge from Island Batik

This quilt is especially puffy because I used Hobbs Tuscany Wool batting.  I love the poof it gives to my quilting!  It's all quilted in various Aurifil threads too.  Blue, green, and pink.


In the blue I decided to quilt swirls so it looks line water.  The pinks got a stack of feathers.  


And the greens got this fun design that looks like a bunch of lowercase cursive E's in a row.


Here's a close up of the feathers in the pink.


I hope you get to quilt today!
Suzy

Wednesday, November 21, 2018

Ombre Oaks - Part 2

I found out yesterday that this quilt is a finalist in the New Quilts from an Old Favorite contest at the National Quilt Museum....my quilt will hang there!  I can't wait.  I'm so excited!  Let's now talk about it's making some more.  Here's where I left you.  I had a gradation of oak leaf blocks.  Now to find the perfect fabric for the large block.


Here were what I had a large enough piece of....orange?  NO.


No turquoise.



Love this, but no.


 This fabric was the original intention....NOPE.


What did I end up with?  A light pink batik that worked perfectly.  I drafted an oak leaf and started filling it with feathers and swirls.  I again used leather, taffeta, satin, and velvet.  It was a blast to see it come to life.



I wish you could see the different textures, but it's hard in a photograph.



I am so excited to see it hang in the National Quilt Museum!!!!!!

I hope you get to quilt today and have a fantastic Thanksgiving!
Suzy

Monday, November 19, 2018

Recent Inspiration

Here are a few photos I've taken recently for inspiration. I love the mural on the side of this building.  Both the pattern and the colors.  It speaks to my love of all things geometric.


I also adore this stack of pumpkins!


And my friend Karen had this hanging on her door.  It's lovely.


I hope you get to quilt today!
Suzy

Friday, November 16, 2018

Free Motion Friday - A Three Motif Challenge from Lori Kennedy

Yesterday Lori Kennedy of the Inbox Jaunt issued a doodling challenge.  She suggested you combine three motifs and some background fills to complete a design.

I picked her Honeycomb Leaf, Fantasy Flower and my own Websterclams.  I decided to start with a frame of Websterclams.


Then I added a fantasy flower in the center.


I decided it needed an outline.


Then I added four Honeycomb Leaves.


They too needed an outline.


And some partial Fantasy Flowers.  I love it at this point.


I did an echo inside the clams.


Then doubled that echo....not my favorite, but you can't erase sharpie and it's just a doodle.


Now for a background.  Wavy lines.  Ick.  They get lost.


Make the waves look more like cross hatching by going in both directions?  Ick too.


Straight lines?  Better.  You can see the motifs more.


Bubbles.  They're okay.  But they'd be better at a smaller scale I think.


Lots of echoing in the last corner?  Eh.  It's okay, but not great.  It goes to show that the background fill can really make or break motifs!


I hope you get to quilt and doodle today!
Suzy

Wednesday, November 14, 2018

Ombre Oaks Part 1

When you get inspired, you get inspired.  Even though the deadline was just a month away, I was inspired by the Oak Leaf and Reel block contest in for the New Quilts from Old Favorite Quilt Contest at the National Quilt Museum in Paducah.

You had to take this block and do something new with it.




Sometimes the ideas just strike and you have to make them.  This happened to me and thank goodness there was a quilt retreat already planned in the month!

I started with an oak leaf idea an a piece of Frieda Anderson's Hand-dyed fabric in pink.

I made some really small oak leaves.  These are cut out of leather!



Then I made a bigger one.  Also leather.  And taffeta, velvet, and satin.  It was an experience working with these materials, but they add so much amazing texture!



When the block got bigger I added some dots inside too to fill space.



And the largest has lots of fun elements.



Now I have this much complete...you'll have to come back to see what happens next!



I hope you get to quilt today!
Suzy