August Finish

Back to school, back to work, it must be the end of August. I have my grandson's back so sewing has taken a back seat to looking after those boys.

I have been working on this small quilt for a good friend of mine who has a special birthday soon. I did the quilting last Sunday and got the binding on. It was such a fun quilt to work on. It will go in the mail to her today. I cannot give it to her in person. I would fall apart. Good friends are so special.






















I used a lot of liberated techniques and ideas in this quilt. In this second picture you can see the fabric on the back.

I used Tonya's liberated letters for the FRIENDS part.

I am making a quilt for my second grandson using a pattern my good friend Helen sent. I just fell in love with this pattern.

I think I will put some HSTs as a border and his name at the top. It is fun to do liberated quilting but also relaxing to do something more traditional.

All of the wonderful giveaways! I can't quite decide how I feel about the GO everyone is crazy about. I guess I don't do enough to use one.

I hope everyone is having a great start to the school year. I still get twinges at the beginning of school. I miss my friends and the excitement of a new school year.

One more thing, my son has a friend whose wife is from France and I am making a baby quilt. Does anyone know where I could get fabric with French words on it to use for the back?

Back to reality

We have been at the beach with family for the last week or so. We had a ball but I am exhausted. I am ready to get back to my life and my sewing.

I finished this before I left. There is a lot of yellow!



















My friend Helen sent me this pattern and I love it. I am doing this for my second grandson. Don't tell but I have yet to make him a quilt.



















I love doing liberated but it is relaxing to do something traditional occasionally.

This is my very favorite block. If I ever made a quilt with just two fabrics it would be these two.



















Got these great black and white fabrics. I love the summer but the rhythm and routine of regular life are great too.

My little boys are back with me today. I am not sure if I will find time to sew but I will have a good time with them.

More liberated stars

I have had a wonderful Sunday afternoon. I have been busy with family goings on for the last couple of weeks but now I am doing what I want to do!!
We are having a break in the weather. It has been wonderful this weekend. I pulled some weeds yesterday and I have decided that you never finish weeding you just stop! There are always some more.

This star was made by taking an orange rectangle and cutting it into irregular blocks. I love this method but it can be tedious to be sure you put the square back in the right place.


















I love this star, the purple worked out beautifully. I also added the sawtooth to make it work. This is a technique I learned from Gwen Marston. She encourages you to use similar fabrics to make them "overflow". I also had to add a strip to this one to make it fit.



















This is one of the panels. I used pieces of fabric and sawtooth to make things fit. I didn't put a lot of contrast in my sawtooth this time. I like the subtle color changes.




















This is the other panel. I used the sawtooth in this one too.



















I cannot show you the whole thing but this the central part of the quilt. Yes there is a word but i don't want to show the whole word right now. It is a surprise for a special friend.

These colors really speak to me!

Starz and more

I have been sewing like a demon this week. I have spent hours in my sewing room and having a ball.
I love making these stars and today I was visiting Marit's blog and saw these cross blocks. I think they really complement the stars. They are easy to make but have a big impact. Visit her blog and look at the great things she has done.

I love the way these are turning out.




















I also made some Broken Dishes blocks. I love the ways you can put these together.
I am disappointed in this picture. They look much better in person, more impact. I might use them for a border or to fill in spots.
































One of my favorite little stars. I am experimenting with using rectangles rather than squares for the stars. Gwen Marston has some examples in her Liberated Quiltmaking II book.



















I am using mostly scraps for all the stars I have made. Fun to use them up.

My sweet Gus. We have a big bad summer thunderstorm coming and he does not like storms. He really does not like the thunder.



















I am making parts and my aunt and I are going to put her parts and mine together for a couple of quilts. I am planning some sawtooth and some spiky sawtooth border.

We are expecting temps in the high 90s, maybe even 100 this week. I am staying in and sewing!!

Collaboration

My aunt that introduced me to Gwen Marston showed me this Gwenny style top she put together. Very cool!!





















Her choice of colors is always great. She does quilts for all the babies in the family and for friend's babies. We are having a baby explosion in our family this spring and summer. We have decided to do some collaborative quilts.

These are some squares she did. Aren't they great?















































I love the way she did this four patch as a square in a square. Also, notice the saw tooth she did, very subtle but effective.















After a very busy Fourth of July will all my family at the beach I have had some time to retreat to my sewing room and work. I have been doing the 15 minute thing and that is really fun. I love putting scraps together in random shapes.


















I could not resist doing a few stars.
















I hope everyone is having a great summer. We are burning up!! It is hot, humid and dry. The kind of day you do not even want to stick your head out!!

She's a star

I don't usually name my quilts but this is for the daughter of a special friend. She is a star in every way, she has a scholarship to NC State University next year and she deserves a special quilt.





















My husband chose this backing. I had something else with lots of color and he said oh no. This is the man that usually doesn't notice my quilts at all. He really likes this young woman and has been so complimentary about this quilt. I used my beloved D9P but added a couple of liberated stars for visual interest.




















When I was at my daughters a couple of weeks ago I was looking at a quilt that I did for her a couple of years ago. I machine quilted it and when I looked back at it I thought that's not so bad. I brought my machine downstairs yesterday and put it on my dining room table. I had lots of room and the table supported the weight of the quilt. I will definitely do more machine quilting. This was just a random pattern but it was fun.




















The temperature is supposed to top 100 today. It is a good day to stay inside and sew. I am working hard to get my mojo back. What do you do when you get in a slump and are not motivated?

Garden Views

I love my daylillies! They are so easy to take care of and so spectacular.



















I dug these double oranges up from my uncles yard. They spread like crazy.



















This lantana came back from some I planted last year.




















My gardenia bush is huge. I cut it back every year and it always comes back. I have to tie it because there are so many blooms. You walk out the door and you can smell them.