Dallas Quilt Show

The Dallas Quilt Show was this past weekend.  We went on Friday with friends and returned on Saturday.  We never seem to see it all in one day. This year's theme was modern quilts. I am not a real fan of modern quilts, but there were some very pretty quilts there. They had over 400 quilts and garments entered in the judge to show, 150 vendors, and numerous beautiful special exhibits on display.

I have to admit I was not overly enthused at the show this year. It seemed to be smaller and had less fabric dealers. There were a lot of vendors that were selling crystals, buttons, beads and jewelry. There was a book vendor and several notions venders and of course your usual sewing machine vendors.  But all in all only about 10 booths had fabric.

I was very cautious with my money and only bought a few things. I had taken one of my Martelli cutters with me because it was broken. For a nominal fee they let me upgrade to the newer more ergonomic one and then I bought blades for the 45 and 60 mm cutters. I also bought a charm pack from Northcott called Artisan Spirit Shimmer. it has beautiful rich colors with the glitter to them that is a like glitter on the fabric it's made into it. There were 63 different pieces of fabric in it for $15.

Then on Saturday I bought a couple of big ticket items. Several years ago I had bought a white cutting mat to go on top of my craft table.  I was very disappointed in the quality of the product because no matter what cutter I used with brand-new blades they skipped and you had to cut repeatedly to get a clean cut and by then it wasn't a clean cut. So this year there was a company selling cutting mats that are made out of recycled PVC. They are white and very flexible and starting so once again I'm trying a new cutting mat although it won't be here until they can ship it.  The company was called "Cut it Out! Quilting Supplies" and it's located in my hometown of Plano, Texas. My husband bought me an anniversary birthday gift of a Silhouette Cameo. This is a fancy cutting tool that you can cut fabric with and it works off of your PC.  I've loaded the software and played with it a little but have not cut anything yet.



Now onto the quilts that's what most of us care about. I'm going to start out with the under 17 category.

 This one was sweet. I am sure his family was very proud.

 this one didn't say how old the girl was. I like the colors and the simple design. She did a very good job

 while we were there the young lady that made this quilt was there with her whole family and was posing for pictures .She looked to be about 12 or 13 . She did a marvelous job.

There were many other kids quilts but these three just jumped out at me.  

The next quilt was a non-judged quilt. I have large oak trees in my front yard so this one struck a chord with what I could do with those acorns.

I did not get a picture of the placard that went with this one it was called tree runner. The acron are hung little wires that were hung on the quilt

 

This was a very interesting quilt. the quilting was really fascinating on it. Several of us debated about the little squiggles. We were calling them fortune cookies, macaroni, and worms.

 this is a very simple pieced quilt  but it was the quilting that made the whole piece come together..

 I took a picture of the snake's head.. His body wound all the way down the length of the quilt.

This was one of the dragonflies.  They were very subtle.

 

I did not get the placard on this one either looking at the program I think it is Modern Grandma. I saw another one very similar to this but in miniature and that's the one I would like to do. The quilting on this one is uneven straight lines through the quilt.  Some were a quarter-inch apart and up to an inch apart, maybe an inch and a half. Very simple  but elegant.

That's about half of the pictures that I took. To prevent overload I will save the rest for Wednesday.

February, short, sweet and cold

 

NewFO Chalange

I did not accomplish much this month in the sewing room.  We had many cold and icy days and the power companies were asking that we conserve power so that we would not have rolling brown outs or black outs.  So no sewing machine, iron and extra lights! I did comply.

The first full weekend I went to my first retreat!
The Quilt Mercantile in Celeste, TX offers a Free motion quilting retreat.  Four of us went together and I has a wonderful time. The teacher was Jackie Brown (no relation) .  View her work here! I enjoyed the food and the friendship.   I went in as an advanced beginner and came out with a good knowledge.  The beginners started out on a skill builder panel.  I finished that before lunch on Saturday.  I ventured out to more advanced things.  I traced a pattern on cotton sateen and worked through that very quickly.  So I did a second piece.  I would get to a point and ask what can I do to it now and Jackie would challenge me to do  more.

This is the first piece I did.  We were told to bring a 16 inch square of fabric, backing and batting.  So that is what I did.  Then when we got there  we are told to cut the backing and batting at 18 inches. Oh, well.  This piece should have had a rope border but my block was not big enough so I learned how to do rays! The center hatching was part of the design.

 

This is the second piece.  I traced the flowers and went around them.  Then I added the circle frame. 

Next I did the cross hatch on the outside of the frame.  What now?  It is only Saturday afternoon.Jackie suggested that I add the squiggles in half the hatch boxes.  OK, that did not take long.  So I changed thread color and did squiggles in the other half!. It is now after dinner and I have hours to go.   Learn how to make pebbles.  I practiced on scrap for an hour and went to work.  I finished my pebbles around noon on Sunday.  By then, we were all exhausted and were ready to go even though we could have stayed till 3. 

Next on my list for the month were Block of the month.  

I finished block one from January on the Texas Treasures!  

Then I started and finished Block 2.

Next I did my Third Thursday Block from Old Craft Store in Carrollton, TX.

Lone Star Pizzazz    

(I could not fine it on the Old Craft Stores site)

This is an eight month BOM and we are on block 5.  I am making a smaller version with out the outer star.

Next I went to my kit bin and pulled out two small projects.

Seasonal Silhouettes. This is a BOM, but I did not join.  I found this kit at the Plano Quilt show. 

It came with the background fabric and laser cut applique that already had fuseable on the back.  I did not have the book or any layout guide except for the tine picture on the package.  Thanks heavens for Google!  I found an image I could print for a suggested guide.   I created it on an applique press sheet and transferred it to the backing. I started stitching it down and noticed the flower points were coming up.  I ironed it again.  When I started stitching this time, the leaves were loose.  Back to the ironing board.   I did not know what I did wrong, but the whole mess fell off!   I grabbed the fabric glue stick.   That was not happening either.  The glue would not stick.  So as a last resort, I used double sided washable tape.   I find it hard to believe that I did any thing wrong but something happened.  If all laser cut appliques are going to be like this, I will not be buying any more.   The back ground fabric looked like cracked paint  so I used those lines to quilt.  In the borders, I quilted tiny boots. 

The second project was fall and wool.  I do like working with wool some times but did

not have any.  I was telling a friend that I would have to get some and she said that she would give me hers. She had all the right colors!  This was a combination of hand embroidery and machine work. 

The rest of the month I spent helping friends in their sewing rooms. 

I spent 5 days helping one friend clearing out sheds.  She moved 7 years ago and a lot of things were misplaced or not unpacked. My husband helped with the heavy lifting.  We totally emptied one shed and opened every box.  There were 30 boxes of fabric and probably that many more of other things. The second day we continued that.  On the third day, we started clearing her garage so she could get her car in before the next ice storm.  The next two days were spent in a second shed.   We moved 50 boxes to her patio for her to go through.  There are at least another 75 or more in the shed.  The 50 we moved had fabric, patterns, and notions.  She has unpacked all of the boxes and has sorted the fabric by color so we can pack it in to plastic see through boxed for storage.   It  will probably be a week before she is ready to put things away. 

Empty shelves waiting for plastic tubs of fabric.

I spent 2 days helping another friend folding fabric and organizing her sewing room.  needless to say, I will be helping these two ladies more this month. 

How I spent January

Cat Patches is sponsoring a NewFOChalange again this year.

From her blog :

Each month, start up at least one new quilt project.  It can be anything you like from bags to potholders or mug rugs to king-sized bed quilts.  You do NOT need to complete any project during the year.  All you need to do to participate is start something new during any given month.  On the last day of the month, write a blog post about your new project and link up to my linky party.  As the year progresses, please update us on your previous months' NewFO projects.  If you don't have a blog, not to worry!  Just post pictures of your work on my FlickR Group or any other image-sharing website, copy the URL, and use that to link-up.


This is my first time to play so here goes.

I started and completed several small projects this month. I opened a storage bin labeled Kits and Projects and pulled out the first thing I touched.  That is how I chose all of these projects.

 Box Top Hot Pads. This pattern/kit came from Pass Time Fabrics in Gainesville Texas. There were 5 fat quarters and insul-bright in the kit.The fabrics are folded and layered and stitched.  Then you turn them right side out, through the 'box top' and top stitch.

Folded Fabric Hot Mat.  Squares are folded into prairie points and arranged on a foundation.  This kit came from The Old Craft Store in Carrollton Texas.

This was a new technique and fun to play with.  You start out with four 7 inch squares made into a 4-patch.  Then you cut it apart and sew it back together.  This came from Corner Square Quilts in Cedar Hill, Texas.  I  would like to make more of these 12 inch blocks for a quilt.

Texas Block.  This small simple applique piece finished out at 13 inches.  The appliques were already cut with the fusible on them. I picked this one up at a Heart of Texas One Stop Shop Hop
from Barb's Quilt Nook in Kingsland Texas.

Friend Ship Flowers from Lynn Clark's Cozy Nook Studio.  I picked this one up at the Dallas Quilt Show several years ago.  Each of the twelve flowers has 8 individual petals. This one finished at 18 x 21.5.  The scolloped binding was fairly easy. 
 

Kirby, one of my  assistants!

My First Bear. This is made out of Cuddle fabric by Shannon.  Kit from The Quilters Workshop in Carrollton Texas.  They recently went out of business.

 These three came in one kit.  Purrfect Christmas Kit.  the pillows are tiny, just 10 inches.  One ruffled, one flanged and one plain.  The apron may end up as a gift as I never wear one!  The quilt 41 inches square and has setting blocks  called Puss in the Corner.

 And of course it has a Puss in each corner.

 Max, another assistant

 This is the backing fabric, when I get around to finishing it!  I bought this kit at a Bernina store that was going out of business it was inside a Hancock fabric store.  

These ere Tuffets from Schnibbles by Miss Rosie's Quilt Company.   They were intended to be pin cushions but I used a Trail's End batik charm pack from Moda.  Since batiks are so tightly woven, I made a wall hanging.  These are 5 inch blocks Some are pieced, some are quilt as you go.  Many pieces were 1 inch square.  I really enjoyed this and I plan to make more!


All of the above projects were pulled at random out of a bin and took no time at all to make. 

This next piece is a true NewFO. It is a BOM that goes for 17 months.  Texas Treasures.  I completed block 2 in December. I started Block 1 in January and Block 4 in February.  There is a lot of hand work involved.  Almost all of block 3 is hand work. 

 There are 33 tiny pieces in the Bluebonnet alone. The applique is ready to put on the  cream background and be stitched down. The white bud at the top of the Bluebonnet and the Morning Glory do not show up on the Applique press sheet

That is 13 projects with all but two complete! I also completed a place mat for my youngest grand son.  It is laminated cotton on one side and Chalk Board fabric on the other.  Now when they eat out, his Mom can put his food on that instead of the table. I also made two tiny owls in the embroidery hoop for a friend.  I did not get pictures of these three projects.

Christmas and Birthday sewing done!

We have four Birthdays in November and one in early December and then Christmas.  This year I started sewing for the little kids.  My Husband and I do not exchange gifts, so I do not count his.  Our Lovely Granddaughter was born on Thanksgiving day 20 years ago, in a freak ice storm.  Her birthday was on Monday a week and a half before this years freak ice storm.   We told her to enjoy it!

Her brother was born on the 28, which fell on Thanksgiving this year.  I made him a wall hanging of Space.  It is an OESD collection (special order) and using the color combinations and special glasses, it is 3D.  The backing fabric just happened to be the right color combination and it shows as 3D, too.

 The Aliens are pockets to hold the glasses.They also have 3D books that I will make after Christmas/

My son's third son turned 19 on November 30.  Where does time go!

On December 5 my daughters youngest turned 1.  We have always encouraged books at an early age, so I made him cloth books and a Magic 3D Block  from Kits by Carla.  This was a fun project, but required a lot of hand work.   It folds several ways and keeps little hands busy (big hands, too).

Then I on Christmas presents.  All of the older kids get gift cards or money so they can buy what they want.  It makes it easier on all of us.  No one has to look at Nan-Nan and say thank you  with a smile while they are cringing inside! That is the nice thing about having teenagers.

For the littlest one, I made the Happy Stacker  ring toy.  This is a Heather Bailey pattern that I picked up at a quilt show and forgot about until it arrived in the mail!   I decided I needed one at my house for him to play with when he comes to visit!   These, too, have a lot of hand work.  The center gusset is hand stitched to the 'ring' tops and bottoms.   Then you sew the outer gusset on the machine in two steps and you can turn a complete doughnut (ring) right side out, stuff and hand sew a small two inch opening.  

I also made Minkee Tag Toys,  another OESD embroidery design! .  The red one is a cell phone.  He loves to play with anyone's phone.  Then I digitized the elephant.  The tags are ribbon.  The elephant tail has elephants on it, but I put them in upside down. These were quick projects in the embroidery hoop.

 My daughters extended family has a three year old girl.  he is getting an 18" doll for Christmas.  I decided I could make doll cloths.  I had seen the Let's Play Dolls fabric panels by Firetrail Designs in several quilt shops earlier in the year but ended up having to order them from Quilt Home!  I have a doll to use as a model!

 And every dolly needs shoes to go with her outfits. These were made in the Embroidery hoop from designs from Sewing for Sarah.  They are made of felt I attempted to make the black and white ones look like saddle shoes.  These designs were on a special for $2.00 each! 

Next I found an Apron pattern at Hatched in Africa.  The first day I spotted it , it was free. I was finding lots of good bargains!

Now with all the things I made and what Santa and family will be getting, she needed a storage container for all her goodies.  I covered a hinged shoe box  (Under Armor shoes in a large size) with contact paper.   It will do for a clothe chest!

At that point, I said I was done, but I had one more project.  I make Minkee Hankie  Blankie Pets. It is a Black Cat pattern and has been digitized for the embroidery machine.   A blog friend has ordered many for great nieces and nephews.  She decided she needed a gray kitty for her fur babies!

This sweetheart is in the mail to Georgia to meet the G's and Barb!


Now, to catch up on BOM projects!