Photographing quilts

One of the hardest things to do is have proper photos of your quilts. I have one quilt that I want to enter into shows and the photos have been the drawback for me. One show had a deadline of the Monday and it rained all weekend, so no outdoor shots!
I have finally got my act together and ordered a proper stand from here.

My gal pal Muriel went halfer's on this purchase and this was the best price I've been able to find. Not only was the list price sharp, there were no shipping charges. It arrived in a timely manner from UPS. I haven't taken it out and set it up yet, but there is a video on YouTube and it looks straight forward.
I've had company so not much to report on the quilting front. I did get one customer top quilted and their second one loaded and ready to to. I have also started my applique project, photos will come later.
Sharon

......he had it comin'

What a great way to spend a Saturday.  A car full of women on a road trip to Seattle.  First stop.....

Fantastic! I've seen this show before, but it did not disappoint on the second time around. I listened to the sound track last night and could visualize the whole play. Just fantastic.
The play ended and we had to walk past Nordstrom Flagship store in downtown Seattle. I got sucked into the vortex of the shoe department and left with these in my bag!

and these made their way into my bag......

And I almost bought another pair but thought I better put the brakes on.....and leave a few more choices for another trip to Seattle!

On a quilting note, I took my hexagons with me, got 5 more flowers with their pathways, and finished the rest of them Sunday evening. They are now on the design wall at work!
Sharon

It's Official

I finally have a "finished flimsy" to show. I've been picking away at many different projects, not feeling like I've accomplished much at all. So last night I took a look around and picked the project that was closest to finished. This is made from 1.5" strips, 7" blocks, set 12 x 12.  Finishes at 84 x 84. 

Well, I'm using the word finished quite loosely. If it was really finished, it would be quilted, labeled, bound and on my bed, right? It's finished living in my sewing room. Now it can be moved over to the huge plastic bin under my longarm that hides holds my finished tops with backs.  Yes, there are a few of them, crying to get stitched!  This year, I promise.  I plan on using this quilt on my own bed this summer. I don't have a quilt on my bed. What's the saying.....a cobblers child???
I'm off to Seattle to see Chicago.
Have a great day; the sun is shining here, hope it's shining where you are today!
Sharon

No Photo Friday

Wow, I can't even believe it is Friday as I feel like the week just went by without any accomplishments. I did manage a haircut and highlites one evening, a movie date with my gal pal Maizie, and a little bit of piecing.
First my movie review! Crazy Heart. Wow, emotionally exhausting and draining, not what I expected, but one of the best acting roles I've seen in years. Simply amazing and if Jeff Bridges doesn't win a gold statue Sunday night, well, then we need new Oscar judges!
I have pieced a bit. Making progress on my Log Cabin. I have all the blocks sewn into rows. The last 5 rows need to go together, then the two halves will make a whole. My pressing direction needs some improvement. I got mixed up and, well, I was unhappy with myself putting some rows together. Right now the 5 rows that are pieced have not been pressed. Tonight!
My Gathered Over Time (GOT Swap) is starting to come together. I have 5 rows sewn together.
Blue Pineapple Blossoms from Quiltville, Bonnie Hunter, is up on the design wall at work. I need 5 more blocks to finish the layout.
Oh, and I'm still stitching away on my hexagons. I decided I'm too close to getting it to the design wall, so I'm persevering.
Saturday is a trip to the theatre to see Chicago! I'll be doing my hexi's on the road trip to Seattle!
Sharon

Generosity

Quilty friends arrive with some of the best surprises. Muriel made her way down to my place Friday night and we had our ritual Friday night dinner at Costco. We are a pair of cheap dates, what can I say. When we came back to my place, she pulled out this amazing book cover that she made for me. Red is my fav color, and her embroidered lady with the sewing machine is all sparkled up! I LOVE this book cover and will cherish it.

It's not so much what it is, but knowing that she spend a lot of time working on something for me, and thinking about me, well, that just makes my heart swell! And look at the pin tucking and beads!

Here is another example of quilters helping quilters. I signed up for this block swap and the organizer of this is simply amazing. If you are interested, click here. This winter we did a Gathered over Time swap along with Nickels and 8" squares in shirtings. I sent off 64 blocks, 8 of each combo and this is what I got back.

I thought I was getting 32 pairs back but I got 64 different 9 patches, and every one is 5". No skinny blocks, no thin nickels. Just a pile of piecing perfection from all the participants. When I included the prints I made and kept for myself, I only needed to make one more 9 patch and cut 5 more nickels.

I can't wait to start sewing this together, my goal is to have the rows together by the end of this weekend!
Thanks to all the swappers, this was fantastic. Let's do it again!
Sharon

Post Olympic Withdrawals

Well, two weeks of tv every night and all weekend long has now come to a close. I kept my commitment of only working on my hexagon project while watching tv and I'm thrilled with the progress I've made. My weekend got a bit sidelined with charity quilts. I finished a big flannel one for the Celilo Cancer Center in The Dalles, OR. I need to turn the binding and hand sew it then off it goes. Paula K. made the beautiful top and I did the quilting.
Them Muriel dropped off a top for the Canadian Military, and so politely asked, "Can I have that back on Thursday?" Of course I replied, chuckling inside. Then she thanked me so nicely and I realized she was serious! *grin*
I got up early and worked on a bit of it prior to the gold medal hockey game, ran downstairs in between periods and then finished it after the game was over.

I love that many hands went into making this quilt and I got the pleasure of quilting it. The backing fabric is so perfect, poppies. So now Muriel has the goal of getting the binding on and delivering this to the group who will make sure it gets into the hands of a deserving military person! They deserve so much more!
Vancouver says good bye to the 2010 Winter Olympics, they say the city will never be the same again, a success on all fronts! Job well done!
Sharon

Making Sense of Hexagons

My quilting goal for 2010 is to work on projects that I've already started.WIPS There were many found and organized when I moved and none of them were ones I was prepared to abandon. Well, OK, there was one or two that made the cut! I've committed to working on my hexagons (see more details here) during the Olympics and I've been faithful to this commitment. There is clarity in this project now, and I've gotten to a place which gives me confidence that I will finish this piece. There were times when I wasn't so sure about that.

Here is my progress, 31 flowers done with the connectors sewn on, 37 flowers waiting for connectors, 18 connectors sewn together, and 19 more connectors to make. That equals to 95 more red hexi's to baste, but there is the Canada/Russia hockey game on tonight, so I should be able to accomplish this tonight.

This picture shows how I'm going to connect the flowers to the red pathways and then how the rows go together. Once each row is sewn together, it will nest with the row beside it.
Log Cabin Update: The start of it all
I've been working on my scrappy Log Cabin and it found a home on the design wall at my work. I know, you're all thinking, Design wall at work? I thought Sharon worked at a trucking co? Well, I do, but we have a huge unused store room and that is were my boss and I have a huge design wall. Anyways, I have had my 144 log cabin blocks up on the wall for a while now, and I've slowly got them labeled and brought home. Here is a peek at my progress.4 rows and 3 rows pinned and ready to be sewn together. Another 5 rows still on the design wall, crying to come home and be with their brothers and sisters!

It's time to go to work, sit and stitch a few minutes today!
Sharon