stashing

I've been sew overwhelmed putting together my fmf collection that I haven't been getting much sewing or quilting done. But here's a look at my collection. I've managed to put together not only all of Denyse Schmidt's Flea Market Fancy, but also her other 2 collections as well....Katie Jump Rope, and Hope Valley. Thanks to many, many fabric swaps.
I can't wait to start this quilt! But I'm committing my self to finish my Little Folks quilt first and hopefully also my Kuhora Shizuko quilt.

Just a reflection

Picture is after Friday's torrential rain storm. For about 15 seconds the sun came out and was in position to shine on these chairs. They glowed. All the green plants behind a lush backdrop. I ran to get my camera but already the light had started to shift. Then it was gone. It made me realize how often in photography you get a glimpse of something. For a moment everything comes together; rain, sun, lighting, color, mood, shapes. Then it's gone......forever. If your lucky and have your camera and know what your doing, you CAPTURE it. You can show it to everyone, see what I saw? Feel what I felt? And that's the beauty of photography.

Great tip

I read this today on http://sew-fantastic.blogspot.com/. It's such a great tip for cleaning Olfa self-healing cutting mats.  I gotta try it!                                                                                                           "Directions :: Fill you bathtub with room temperature water (not hot, not warm, and not cold) In the water add 1/4 cup of white vinegar and a squirt of dove dish soap for a good lather. Use a mushroom brush (soft bristle brush) and scrub the mat gently getting a good lather with the soap. Then rinse your self healing mat with cool water getting all residue off the mat. You can dry it with a cotton towel, or air dry. It does not matter how you choose to dry it. (Do not dry it in direct sunlight or it could damage the mat)



The reason for this method is the materials that make your self healing mat absorb the water and make the mat supple again. Not only does this make your mat last longer, but it keeps your blades from dulling so quickly because you are cutting into a softer surface. Makes sense right?"

The Kids Approve

So I put the final stitches in the binding of the quilt, the sun was going down on a beautiful summer day. I just had to shake it out and let the kids all pile on for a picture. I'll have to get a better picture to display at a latter date. The first picture is the front, and the second picture  is the back. I used Lori Mason's design for the front and a Denyse Schmidt design for the back. Many of the fabrics were Denyse's HV or FMF mixed with kona cotton solids and kaffe fassett shot cottons. The final size was 105"x105"

Seams

So it's been quite awhile for an  update. That's because I've been busy sewing. Look at all those seams! Last month I worked on the dreaded "making the quilt sandwich". I stuck with some simple staight lines following the pattern for my quilting. I decided to use grey thread on the top and brown in the bobbin. Now I'm finishing up the binding. I searched through my fabric collection trying to find just the right color binding to work with both the front and the back of the quilt. Surprising, I ended up using some fabric from an antique kimono that I collected. I have a hoard of antique and vintage japanese fabrics, but that's for another post. The fabric is indigo blue with tan pin stripes. I'm almost done with this king size quilt hurray!

Beginning Progress

Starting to lay it out on the big board.

Beware: Viewer Discretion!

Photos contain images of striping!

Decisions, decisions

Wow! There's so many decisions when it comes to quilting. Color, pattern, style, what kind of backing, binding and thread to use. I find it overwhelming. I'm the kind of person that when I go to the store to pick up a steak I can't just grab the first one that looks good to me, I have to look at every package so I know all my choices. It's the same way with quilting. I want to make a quilt for my nephew Mike and his bride-to-be Janet as a wedding gift. I'm not really sure what their "style" is. In fact I don't know if they even know?!Colors? Not sure either. Just know I want to shy away from the very bright or the baby soft colors that many of the masculine opinion in my family shake their head to "Ah, No!" At the same time I want to work with something I enjoy. So one decision made. I love the Denyse Schmidt line "Hope Valley" and have been searching for a project that I could make with it. This is it.

Sew Whats The Point

Well I've joined blog heaven, so here I go. I've been lurking around for sometime now checking out other blogs and I think it's pretty cool. Kind of like a diary to oneself. What I did today. So at the very least if no one else reads this I can go back and explore my crafty, and quilting progress I make over the months. Because that's what this is going to be. My inspiration and expressin to all things fabric, quilting and creating. And maybe a picture or two of life around me since I love photograhy too. So stay in touch and well see where this goes.......