A Trunk Show at Our House

When Cindy A. asked to bring 19 quilters to our house to see and talk quilts, I was more than happy to oblige.

I draped quilts over the balcony and told stories of each one and then flipped it back to the couch on the loft.

Then they gathered in my bedroom for a …

… bed turning.

I showed them my sewing room and talked about my fiber art quilts.

Lunch was next on the agenda.

It was a beautiful day and some of the ladies chose to …

… eat outside on the carport.

Then we gathered back into the living room to talk more quilts.

I think I enjoyed the day as much as they said they did!

When they left here they stopped at The Ole Country Bakery in Brooksville and then headed South to The Village Cloth Shop in DeKalb, MS. I wonder what all they bought!

WIP Quilts on the Balcony

I gave our balcony a new look this evening. All the projects are quilt tops that are almost finished. Some of them need a border and all of them need quilting.

I guess I need to buckle down and get to work!

You can find more inspiration at these links.

Sunflowers and Design Wall Monday

Life …

Paul and I went for an afternoon drive on some of MS Wildlife property where we do some farming.

I loved the field of sunflowers and …

… Paul spotted some deer, two dots way off at the distant woods.

… as a Quilter

On my design wall is “Cypress Moss” and my peacock challenge. I’ve blocked it once and I’m ready to tackle the piping and binding.

I’m still undecided about a name. Some of the suggestions I received are:

Saucy, Hatched From a Golden Egg, Plain Fancy, Solomon's Splendor, Solomon's Saucy Splendor, Plumed Elegance, Royal Splendor, Solomon’s Chicken, Pride & Joy, Eyes for You, Heavenly Grace, Heavenly Eyes, Eyes of Heaven, Godly Wings, and Proud as a Peacock.

Surely something should “click” from this list, but I’m still undecided.

Super Moon, Possum Town Quilters, and Nell’s Quilts

Life …

… as a Quilter

The Possum Town Quilters are a great inspiration to me. Here are a few quilts shown at our last meeting.

We had a guest speaker, Nell Oliver, who came and showed us a few of her quilts.

I thought this top was finished and ready to be quilted. But no, Nell is adding another round of beautiful applique to make it a bed size quilt.

Our Possum Town quilters are eagerly learning her techniques for hand applique.

Peacock Quilt Challenge

I took up the challenge to use a panel of peacock feathered fabric along with 2 other fabrics to make a small quilt.

I first fused the fabric to Heat-n-Bond fusible. I was wishing for “Misty Fuse” to try out but alas I didn’t have any.

I cut the panel into 1” squares on the diagonal.

I drew a grid 1 3/16” X 1 3/16” on point onto my dusty gold background fabric with a cheap Bic mechanical pencil. I’ve heard that the lead is so cheap that it will dust away by the time you are finished with your project.

Then I added the other squares, the blue squares at the top and the light squares at the bottom. Not appealing at all. There is no contrast.

So I laid the light squares at the top and the blue at the bottom. Much better!

And I fused them all in place. (I’m sorry about the color and lighting)

I thought the quilt needed a focal point and a shot of another color, maybe red/orange.

In the mean time I quilted the squares to the background +/- 1/8” apart horizontally.

I finally decided a silhouetted peacock with a touch of red-orange would be my focal point.

I’m now quilting the feathers with a variegated thread.

And now I'm needing a name for the piece. What does a peacock represent? Haughty pride???? Solomn brought peacocks back with gold, silver, ivory and apes. ... God asked Job, "Gavest thou the goodly wings unto the peacocks? ..." What are your suggestions for a name?

Linking to:

      

Life and Quilts

Life …

Grampa makes a good “horse” for the “riders.”

The field corn just keeps on growing and …

… soon it will be …

… time to harvest.

… as a Quilter

We were invited to Jeff and Kathryn’s for lunch today. I enjoyed seeing her “Rhubarb Pie” quilt. I think it would be something easy for our Sewing Circle to make for charity quilts.

Kathryn, Dorcas, and Darlene put together this “News Flash” quilt for Dorcas from American Patchwork & Quilting magazine. Dorcas is getting married in September.

They also put together this blue and brown “Rail Fence” from their scraps and I think it is lovely, just lovely!

Peacock Feathers

After creating this quilt from squares I thought it very drab and think I need to give it a shot of red/orange zap. I’d like to add a big peacock plume to my background. What are your suggestions for adding that plume? I have laid out several scraps of red/orange scraps on top of the background. I have also made a peacock eye that is still on the white fusible paper. Or maybe you have a different suggestion for color instead of the red/orange. The piece measures approx. 34”X26.”

Corn Day

Last Saturday our day began in Phillip K’s corn patch, filling buckets with Incredible sweet corn.

Even the younger children helped.

Paul’s mom was a trooper and …

… stuck with the job until it was done.

Daddy took his place at the hot stove.

Silking and cleaning. They look like they are having fun!

Emily

Cutting the last of the corn off the cob and bagging it up for the freezer. Little Delta Joy gets special attention from her Great Gramma Graber.

The young cousins earned this swim after helping so well.

~~ Parting Shot ~~