Work in Progress Wednesday

Life …

Paul has been picking corn and running the grain dryer for the last couple days.

This machine will help with all the field work that needs to be done.

Hundreds of birds landed at the edge of the pond.

… as a Quilter

I started working on the cypress tree with moss here last week. I wasn’t happy that the moss didn’t show up more so I added darker fabric over the lighter pieces of moss fabric. Now the piece is ready to be quilted.

The trunk of the tree and the branches with moss to the right of the trunk are quilted. I have yet to machine quilt the branches and moss on the left side and all the background.

Here’s a close up picture of the left side of the tree trunk.

Bubbles, Work, and Wind

Georgi came one day last week. I tried to make those sturdy bubbles for her and Ashton. Somehow they didn’t work very well.

I did manage to get a few big bubbles but mostly they were piddly and popped before they got to any size.

With my camera in one hand and the bubble hoop in the other I snapped picture after picture after picture.

If I would have tried to get this picture, I’m sure it wouldn’t have happened!

I had a little help cleaning the porch and carport.

A wind storm came through and peeled the roof back on Paul Shirk’s shop.

Ashton, Jesse, Paul, and Paul assess the damage…

…and then Saturday some of the men from church had a work day to help clean up the mess.

Two More Sequoia Trees

I’ve started two more Sequoia tree quilts. These are smaller only 5”X7” each compared the the Sequoia I made here.

And then, I’ve started another tree.

This one is located in a swamp with moss on the branches.

Finished Sequoia

I continued working on the sequoia tree and finished it up yesterday.

This is the picture that I took and worked from.

I tweaked it on the computer to lighten it up some …

 

 … and then changed it to “antique” or “sepia” to print it onto fabric that I had ironed to freezer paper.

Click here to see the quilt before I started with the quilting and thread painting.

Detail

Back

Label

This small quilt only measures 8” X 10 1/2” and is made from cotton fabric and 80/20 batting. I used Superior’s King Tut thread for the quilting and thread painting and finished the back with “fast finished triangles” for mounting.

 

Linking to Thursday Threads

Sequoia, Wedding, and Guests

I’ve started another small art quilt. Inspiration came from our recent trip west to the sequoia and redwoods National Parks.

Click here to see the finished quilt.

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Saturday we attended the wedding of Jason Nissley & Rosalie Petre.

Congratulations and best wishes!  You know they are right pleased with that marriage certificate!

We hosted overnight guests in our home. Davie & Paula Showalter from Virginia and 2 of their children, Hannah and Renae.

We also had Elam and Ellen Heatwole. Ellen and I go way back to childhood days and youth group. It was so good to have them in our home and do some catching up.

Monument Valley – Mile 13

While traveling last month in Utah we crested the top of a hill on US 163 and this beautiful scene was before us near mile 13.

My picture just doesn’t do justice to the beauty so I decided to let my fabric brighten up the scene for me.

I used the “Fast Finished Triangles” for mounting and the label.

Detail

Satistics

Name: Monument Valley

Size: 21 1/4” X 9 1/2”

Fiber: Cotton

Techniques: Fused and machine quilted

Thread: Superior Rainbows and King Tut

Linking with "Off the Wall Friday," 

Watercolor with Robin Whitfield and a “Jelly Roll”

Last Saturday I took a beginners watercolor class with Robin Whitfield.

Her artwork is on display at the Rosenzweig Art Center in Columbus, MS this month.

Here are a few pieces of her artwork that I like.

She does a lot of pictures of nature and really enjoys the swamps.

She gave me permission to translate her work into fiber art.

These are some of the pieces that we, her students, made in her outdoor class.

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My sister Emily gave me some “jelly roll” fabric strips over a year ago. She recently threatened to take them back if I wasn’t going to use them.

So, I decided to quick make a quilt with them. I decided on the pattern “Scrappy Trips” by Bonnie Hunter.

The instructions said that anything goes and will work. I was afraid that there wasn’t enough contrast in the strips, but after I laid the blocks out on the floor, I am pleased as punch. I think it’s looking great. This is only half of the blocks as I have I have another “jelly roll” just like the first.

I’m not too sure about the yellow border but they were 2 strips left over. Maybe pink or the darker blue would be a better choice.

Magnolia Sewing Circle

I attended our monthly sewing circle today with 16 adults from our church. Old timey hand quilting is still alive and well, relaxing and very enjoyable. Of course that’s my opinion.

Some of the younger generation find piecing and sewing projects enjoyable to work on together.

Corina watches her mom and Evie get blocks ready for sewing together.

The children played nice outdoors and indoors. It was a beautiful and warm day.

Twelve of the 18 children present lined up to sing a song before lunch.

Home Again

After being gone for a month the grandchildren welcomed me home for my 60th birthday.

Also awaiting me was a pile of bills and paperwork that needed my attention.

We droved to SC for Paul’s nephew Darryl’s wedding to my cousin Ruthie & Dale’s daughter, Laura.

The bridal party from left: Joel, Amy, Jason, Karla, and Audrey

Nate, Kevin, Carmen, Scott, and Melissa

I love to visit with Aunt Glennys and really enjoy her wit.

We stayed with cousin Wendell and Naomi. Wendell is the closest cousin to me in age, only 3 days apart. Part of Aunt Glennys’ wit has rubbed off on him. Naomi and I are great friends from our youth.

They built this cute playhouse for their grandchildren.

And Naomi has a beautiful garden and lots of flowers. I especially liked the pinkish-orangish-yellow roses.