Baby it's cold outside!

I think my blood has gotten thin living down here in Georgia.  I don't handle the cold very well anymore!  This morning it was so cold Watson didn't even complain when I put his jacket on before our walk!

So I am spending a lot of time sewing and sorting "stuff."  These random blocks have made it back onto the design wall...they are 9 inches by 17 inches...

I've passed the halfway point on the Ocean Waves quilt.  Much to my surprise when I was sorting in the sewing room I found a small bag filled with half square triangles that I had made years ago for this quilt!  Good timing on that find...it is enough for at least 6 blocks!

Part of the sorting is due to our house hunting...which has not gone well.  Either we like the house or the location.  So far never both!  On the up side it is making us appreciate our house more.  So the newest plan is to get an estimate on a small addition to my sewing room...we just need about 10 more feet out (the room is 16 feet wide.)  I feel as if I'm living in an episode of "Love it or List it."  Only we don't have the really cool designer to help!

On a serious note...my heart goes out to the French people.  I've had the news on non-stop today.

Quilting Resolutions

After a year of not getting much done this needs to be a year of finishes!  Good news is it is also a guild quilt show year and that always inspires me to get my act together...

However it may also be a year with a lot of distractions.  A possible move...my Dh retired for real this time...some travel...so I want to be reasonable in my goals.

#1...Spiderweb (pink)  needs to be quilted and bound.

#2...Ocean waves...about half the blocks are finished.  This is King sized so still a long way to go.  Would like to have it in the show since we don't have a lot of traditional quilts on display.

#3...Halloween quilt...this just need borders!  Yes, I know it has been on my list before but I lost the border fabric!  It was somehow packed away with the Christmas stuff!

#4...Show challenge quilt...the guidelines will not be announced until February!  Just for fun I may do a modern quilt!

#5...Charleston Basket...hand quilting with slow progress!

#6...A mini...I have a dozen miniature quilt tops in the UFO pile.  Would like to finish one for the show!

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year Y'all!

Our New Year's Low Country boil...

We had a quiet time at home bringing in the new year.  Well, not really so quiet.  There were fireworks exploding all over the area.  They started at 8 pm and went on until well after midnight!

Watson in his usual hiding spot...

The pets are not big fans of the explosions...nor am I!  We spent the early part of the evening in one room with load jazz music playing.  Worked well.  When it came to bed time though...well, let's say Watson acted as if he hadn't heard those roof rocking explosions all night and so he went a bit wild.  Personally I think it was a ruse so he would be allowed onto the bed....

About 1/4 of the Ocean Wave quilt...

I started working on a 5 year old UFO...a reproduction Ocean Waves!  It came to the top of the list when I realized the log cabin quilt on our bed is looking a bit worse for wear...time for a new quilt!  This one is easy to expand...mainly since I had only made a few dozen blocks!

Dobby...guardian of the blocks....

I thought I had made a lot of the half square triangles but as I started piecing the blocks the stash of hst dwindled quickly!  This quilt will take about 900 hst!  Sometimes I wish I didn't do the math...

Merry Christmas All!

I'm back...computer issues, and holidays had me tangled up the past couple of months.  Today I'm starting my New Year's resolution to get back to posting at least two times a week.

Since my last post I finished my spider web top.  This was inspired by a vintage quilt in my collection (the black and gray edging), a quilt if Rod K.'s collection (using a different fabric in each "star") and borders on several quilts on the Antique and Vintage facebook site.

 Originally I thought I make a random pieced border...then I thought a piano key border...after seeing the A&V quilts I went for this slated strips.  (Which also took several tries...all pink? all random fabrics? then pink with just a bit of yellow and gray...)

What was I thinking?  Took ten times as long as my original idea!

So here it is...actually started and finished in the same calendar year!

Scary Halloween!

Needless to say I had to stay alert to keep Watson and Dobby away from the candy.  Difficult when one can go high (Dobby) and one goes low (Watson!)

Early in the day I went on a another Photo walk with the Augusta Photo Festival.  This time we visited a closed Textile Mill here in town.  This mill made Denim used by many of the big name jeans manufacturers.  The mill was in use until 2006 and had been active for just over 100 years.  (for those of you not in the U.S. - 100 years is old here!)

The machinery has all been removed however the power-station still operates and generates electricity from the river.

It was interesting to shoot in such low light. 

As a quiltmaker I was looking for evidence of the textile mill everywhere...The blue is from the dye room.  There was a long shallow pit in the center of floor and the walls were painted various shades of blue and indigo.

So I'm trying to think how I could incorporate this into a quilt.  I don't want to make a blue jeans quilt (been there done that and my hand still hurts!)  Maybe one with lots of indigos, greys and some oranges.  Those are the colors I remember most from the day...

Photo Festival

Every two years there is a week long photo festival here in Augusta.  This is the first time I've participated...learning lots!

The first two days I went to classroom workshops.  Day one a basic digital photo workshop.  Like many folks I use about 10% of what my camera can do.  My goal is to get that up to at least 50%...or to be able to rely on knowledge instead of luck for good photos!  The workshop was great...but it felt like my head was going to explode!

Day two was a into to an editing and catalogue software called "Lightroom."  To be honest until I get to really sit down and play with it I can't judge it.  Maybe it was because my brain still hurt from day one...

Yesterday I participated in a Photo Shoot at a local horse farm.  I had decided to focus on using Aperture priority setting and doing animal portraits.  I thought it would be best if I learned one thing at a time.  Not a bad idea but then the first thing the coordinator announced was they would have this beautiful white Arabian horse run across the field for us to photograph! 

She rambled off some camera settings (none of which included what I had studied!) and off the folks marched.  Duh...it isn't that I don't know the setting it is I don't know where on the foolish camera to get to where I can change them!

On my old 35 mm there were a half dozen knobs.  I knew where there were and what they did.  There are more options on my digital camera then there was on my first desktop computer!  (and a lot more memory but that is dating me!)

Today I am exhausted.  Did lots of walking at the farm!  (and I took Bill V.'s advise to try shooting from a low angle which caused me to do lots of crawling around the ground...the goats thought it was amusing!)  So I am taking the day to play with photo editing software. 

How does this relate to quilting you may ask?  Well, I would like to be able to document my quilts with better photos and to take better photos at events like quilt shows. 

And of course to be able to post better "cat on my quilt" photos on my blog!

New Mexico Roadtrip

Just came back from a great trip out to New Mexico!  It has been awhile since I've been out there to visit my sister and her family.  Amazing how fast the kids have grown (they are driving cars and at university!  how did that happen?!)  Anyway, autumn is my favorite time to visit New Mexico...partly due to weather and partly because of chili harvest!

The colors out in the southwest just seem so much more intense.  Even when the skies were overcast. 

Loads of both color and pattern inspiration all around!  Like these windows in the old railyard building in Albuquerque where they hold an art and farmers market on Sundays.

Or these tiled stars leading to a restaurant in Santa Fe.

and these tiles...hexies below the watchful dog and colorful tiles on the walls!

Visited a wonderful quilt shop in Corralles called "Quilt Ole."  Great selection of fabrics, notions, patterns, and staffed by some really nice folks.  (and if you go there make sure you stop at Hannah's for lunch and get their cranberry bread pudding for dessert!  amazing!)

Getting Ready for Halloween

Since it is October and the weather is now cool in the mornings I went ahead and put out some of the Halloween decorations...

I have two more Halloween quilts in various stages of UFO...I hope to get at least one of them finished this month!

For some reason my DH doesn't love the holiday nearly as much as I do so I slip a few decorations in every few days...

Though I have accepted the ban on dressing the pets...

Cool Weather quilting

As the weather is finally cooling down here in Georgia my guild had a "nature" workshop with Marilyn Walls.  A chance to do some fabric gardening!

My workshop project...sunflower!

Generally I'm not a big fan of fusing but I've always liked her large flower pieces.  Besides learning new techniques help me in doing my appraisals of nontraditional quilts.  Marilyn is a good instructor. I'd highly recommend her if you get a chance to take one of her workshops.   Likely I will finish my Sunflowers! 

Marilyn Walls class sample

Marilyn taking about choosing background fabrics...

 

On other fronts...I broke my beloved camera!  Ok, it was 8 years old and had a hard life but still...it was hard to decide to not repair and get a new camera body.  Still learning new one but so far so good!  I stayed with a  Nikon and it has kept the learning curve to a minimum.

Also, have started my fall cooking!  Out has come the pumpkin and apples...color me happy!  I made a pan of pumpkin cheesecake bars for the workshop...sigh.  Somehow they just taste better in the Fall...

New home for donation quilt!

My quilt guild finally pulled the winning ticket for our "Garden Party" Anniversary Quilt.  The winner was a local man whose wife was screaming with happiness in the background when she heard the news that hey had won the quilt.  So happy it went to folks who will love it.

And even better it looks like we may have set a guild record for money raised for Camp Rainbow.  It is a medically supervised summer camp run by the local hospital for children with cancer.  So good news all around.  Thanks to all who supported this fundraising!

And our next quilt is almost ready for "prime time!"  The binding is being sewn on and should easily be ready for its debut in mid-October!  (No rest for the quilter, aye!?)

And while all this is going on little Watson continues to grow.  Though he did not pass his good citizen test (failed to behave when approached by another dog) he did get a certificate of completion from obedience school.  I think that may be as far as he'll get!