Tonya visit!

My friend Tonya (Unruly Quilter) came to visit and left this "doll soup" on my stove at the Quilt Cottage.  (I know not the most inspiring name but for now it is all I got!)

We did a lot of shopping at the local flea market and now Tonya has more creepy doll parts to play with!

I feel as if I am working on too many projects at once and not making progress with any of them!

Additionally my Goldie isn't doing too well.  She is getting close to 19 years old and very thin.

On the up side I did go to a quilter's estate sale and found a entire fat-quarter bundle of what may be my favorite collection ever!

This is the 1930's Around the World collection from 2005.  I've been searching for the Paris fabric for years now!    It was only $1 for each fatquarter or $3 a yard!  Yes I came home with way too much fabric but I'm not sorry!

An old UFO finished!

What may have been the oldest UFO in my quilting room is now a real quilt!

I started this Baltimore Album quilt in a year long class with Mimi Dietrich back in 1992.  I lived in Baltimore so it seemed like the right thing to do!

Anyway, over the course of a year my fabric choices changed significantly and after my "real" quilt was finished I had almost a dozen blocks that didn't make the cut.  They traveled with me for many years.

Last year when I was packing to move I debated letting them go but instead they went to the top of the "to-do" list!  This is hand appliqued, hand and machine pieced, and hand quilted.

Goldie...my 18 year old quilt cat

Teddy Pruitt lecture

A few weeks ago quilter, quilt historian, and appraiser Teddy Pruitt spoke at my local guild.

If you ever get a chance to hear her lecture take it!  She has great stories and wonderful quilts.

Antique String quilt...

For this lecture "From Sublime to ridiculous" Teddy showed antique or vintage quilts ant then a quilt she made that was either inspired by it or used a similar block shape within the quilts.

Teddy quilt...

A quilter who sat at my table told me "I don't usually like antique quilt talks but this one was good."  I was glad to hear that...and will sit elsewhere next lecture!

Cruise!

I'm not sure it is quite the same going on a Caribbean cruise when you live in Florida.

San Juan...

I mean we see water, beaches and palm trees all the time!  (and why does that sound like I am complaining...hummm)  Anyway, we spent 7 days going from Amber Cove in the DR, to St. Thomas, San Juan, and then Grand Turks.

St. Thomas

All good...not a lot of sewing or quilting but then again no cooking or cleaning!

Now back to reality...my design wall...a zipper Christmas table runner, some grey free pieced background blocks for applique and a couple of random blocks found while folding fabric! The zipper table runner is a good way to use some of the charm packs that seem to be multiplying in the fabric baskets...they are like candy in the checkout lane!

I also have Bonnie Hunter's leader and ender for this year under the needle.  I'm using a controlled scrappy fabric selection since my niece asked for a purple and orange quilt.  I was surprised just how much of those colors I had in my stash!  I now have a very large box of 4-patches and another large box of hst's.  I think it may be time to start making more blocks...

The Quilt House needs a name...

So we moved to Florida but my quilting "stuff" didn't fit in the house my husband picked.  His solution?  A small quilt house for me to sew in...only the little house needs a name.

Well, first it needed some work...but after some cleaning, painting, tree removal...well, you got the picture.  It is now a fully operational quilt studio (and yes, I am channeling Star Wars when I type this....)

It isn't fancy but I have great light and lots of space.  I'll have indoor photos soon.  Best of all the Kola table fits, a huge work table is against one window, and I have not one but TWO design walls!  I also have one room to store quilts on large racks.  I kept the back bedroom as a bedroom so if/when quilt friends visit we have a "clubhouse" and can do sleep-overs!

It needs a name...quilt house just doesn't seem fun enough!  I want to paint a "barn block" and hang it right between the front two windows but think I should know what to call the house first?  Any ideas?

a look back

I was editing some photos today and since my photos are filed by date taken I wondered what I had done previous years at this time...

In 2012 Goldie was modeling on a scrappy top I was gifted.  I started making a repro of this one...wonder where that UFO ended up!

2013 - This was my first project using linen for the background with wool appliqued on top.  It is now an almost finished table runner!

Interestingly Goldie was posing that day too!

2014 - I taught a string spiderweb workshop!  Very fun day...but no cats!

2015 - I was in Boston...not a lot of quilting going on!

2016 - I was doing some work on my Singer 404 with Goldie supervising (amazingly I do have another cat and a dog but I guess they don't pose like Goldie does!)

First Florida Quilt!

My first "florida" quilt!  We live very close (too close even!) to Renninger's Antique and flea market.  It is one of the largest in the state.

I try not to go often as I am still in the process of organizing what I moved down here! But this one caught my husband's eye and while had my back turned he bought it...which is fine by me!

Not sure if it was a kit or a pattern.  The pink fabric is almost a sateen which makes me think this is circa 1920's.

The workmanship is excellent.  This is one of those quilts that looks best on a bed!  Recently I've just kept is folded over a chair in the spare bedroom.

Hello...it's me!

I know it has been awhile.  Lot has happened - the main part being I am now living in Florida!

Pineapple quilt given to me by my quilting buddies in Georgia!

It was tough leaving Georgia.  Lots of quilt friends there.  Slowly I am finding my own space here too.

I am living in central Florida not far from Orlando.  Lots of orange groves and cattle....yes, cattle!  It is very much a ranch and farm area.  It is also a very artsy little town.

Multi-Generational Quilt Top

So my husband calls from an estate sale and says there is a quilt top with lots of brown fabrics in the blocks with a light blue floral alternating block.  He is not a quilt expert so that is pretty much all I could get out of him.  I guessed it might be circa 1870 so told him to splurge the $7...

Well, I was half right!

The blocks are 19th century but that blue (which I hoped was Lancaster blue) is most definitely not!

Plus, the blocks are all neatly sewn by hand while the alternating blue blocks were sewn on by machine.  Since the fabrics are more than 30 years apart it would be considered multi-generational...even though there is a chance it was all done by the same person.

This top was packed away with some of my other fabric study pieces...

That was the cabinet I worked on today...it took a long time to pack.

However I am making progress on the packing front...think my sewing room will be finished by the end of the week!!!

In the sewing room...

So much is stressful right now...Korea...Virginia...my move...falling!  I know they aren't all equal but they are all keeping me awake at night!

So I am spending more time in my sewing room.

When Goldie, my 17 year old cat, gives me a bit of space.

small quilt I machine quilted...still have quite a learning curve but getting there!

I am making miles of binding...have 4 quilts to bind for our show in November and three wallhangings that need binding for the silent auction.  Wouldn't it be nice if they all just used the same fabric?!  Never works that way..

Just a few more feet of binding and the Picasso in Paris quilt will be ready for my sister.  This is a Bonnie Hunter pattern from her website.  I took her scrappy trip around the world blocks and put them on point.

I am really happy with the stripe I used for binding!

My biggest "finish" is my Baltimore Applique leftover top!  I started this 25 years ago...vintage before it is even quilted.  I was happy to find I had enough of the background fabric to piece a back for the quilt.  A friend is going to hand quilt this one for me.

So perhaps a few more quilts and a couple more days of limiting the number of  hours I listen to the news and I'll be back packing up the house again...until then I'm hiding in the quilt studio....

Jones Treadle Machine - go or no-go?

The clear out continues and gets a bit harder with each bag or box packed up for the charity shop...

On the bubble right now is this Jones treadle sewing machine circa 1890 (looked it up once but have forgotten the exact date.)

It moves freely...

had drawers of parts...

including a manuel...

and fun decals...

but do I need it?  It has been in the garage for several years...but I don't have a treadle machine anymore....urghhhhh....

I'll think it about it tomorrow...

in the mean time I will work non the guild donation quilt.  It is the Kaffee Fassett vase and bowl pattern.  It took me way too long to square up the blocks!  That part is done and I hope to have this out of my studio this week...

continue to find some fun things in the piles like this runner (?)  It is all hand stitched and lays almost flat!  I may just quilt it up...

Well back to work now....