Currently on the longarm....

Here's a pic of a quilt that I'm currently quilting on the longarm (click on pic for larger view).  It's one that I started in June 2011 but shelved it after a while, but I recently decided to get it finished.  The pattern is called a "blooming nine patch" because of the way the fabrics are arranged to appear that one color is "blooming" into an adjacent fabric.  I saw someone at a quilt retreat a couple of years ago making this pattern, so have wanted to try it ever since then (thanks, Lynn!).  The top and backing are made with all batik fabric, so it has a lot of rich color and vibrancy to it.  I'm glad to be in the home stretch with this one now.  :)

Flea market finds from the day...

We went to Hot Springs today and stopped through the Rural Dale flea market to see what we could find that would interest us.  I found a couple more of some old wood handled pastry dough blenders to add to my collection.  Try to imagine all the pie crusts that were made from those.  :)   And I also found an old wood handled tater masher.  I like finding old kitchen utensils like these, we're starting to get quite a collection of them now.

The second pic shows some old silver spoons which have a beautiful patina on them.  Sometimes you just kind of wish that all this stuff could talk so you could hear the stories of who owned them. 

The "Trash Quilt" is done.

Here's a photo of the quilt that I finished quilting the other day for my mother-in-law.  This is the one that she found the quilt top in the trash at a school that she worked out a few years ago and fished it out and saved it.  She showed the quilt top to me a couple of years ago and I told her I'd quilt it for her.  So, I finally did.  As they say "One man's trash is another man's treasure."  I think it's beautiful.  :)

Currently on the longarm....

A while back (ok, it was a LONG while back), my mother-in-law showed me a quilt top that she had found since she knew of my love of quilting.  I offered to take it and quilt it for her, so she happily agreed.  Well, I forgot about it and this evening my wife told me that her mother had asked about it.  Panic!  So I searched around the quilt studio and found the top (thank goodness) and started quilting it this evening.  The fabrics in it are classic 1930s, so this top is about 70-80 years old.  I'm just doing a meandering quilting on it with white thread and white backing.  Need to get it done soon so that I remain her favorite son-in-law (well, ok, I'm her only son-in-law).  :)

The Devil's Claw is done!

Here's a quilt that I finished today that had been languishing in my unfinished pile for quite some time.  I started it last summer and shelved it after having all of 1 block done.  :(  So, I pulled it back out over the Christmas/New Years holiday break and finished it up today, New Years Day.  A good way to start the new year!  It's big, measures 100" x 100", so will fit on our king size bed.  The block pattern name is called "Devil's Claw".  I used reds in the sashings between the blocks and one of the borders, and blacks in the cornerstones and border areas.  I really like using blacks in a quilt, it's a dramatic color that gives quilts a nice kick.  I did a scalloped border on it as well, it's a nice difference from doing a straight edge.

Our 2011 year is drawing to a close....

Here we are, on December 31 already.  Can you believe it?  Another calendar year has passed us by, and I hope you've had more joys than sorrows in it.  I'm sitting in my quilt studio as I write this, and looking around at the fruits of my labors for the year.  Obviously, I bought WAY too much fabric this year.  One of my new years resolutions is to not buy any fabric next year ("HA!  Fat Chance!"  Yes, I hear you), but rather use more of what I have.  I may need to seek a waiver of that resolution during late April, though, when I travel to Paducah, KY.  :)  

For myself, I'm pleased with what I got done this year, I will call it productive.  There are so many things I learned from watching and observing others, things that have planted seeds of ideas in my mind for things I want to try in the future, and new directions that I want to go with my quilting art.  I'm excited about those, and I hope you, too, have been observing and thinking in similar ways.  It's how we grow as quilt artisans, forever looking for new avenues to explore.  

I'm wishing you all the best for 2012, and thanks for following my adventures through this year.  I'm looking forward to discovering new things and hope you are, too. 

Currently on the longarm....

What I'm working on at the moment is finishing a UFO (unfinished object) that I started many months ago.  At the time I shelved it I had completed all of 1 blocks.  :(  So, after finishing up all of the quilting that I needed to get done for others before Christmas, I decided to pull this project back out and get after it over my Christmas break.  The block pattern is called "Devil's Claw" and there are 16 of them laid out in a 4 x 4 layout.  I added the sashing and cornerstones, along with a triple border to make it a 100" x 100" king size quilt.  I'm quilting it now with an all over pantograph pattern called "Damask Feathers" that I really like.  I also really like the black fabric in the border - black is a dramatic color that really kicks it up a notch in a quilt.  When done quilting, I plan to also add a scalloped border on the edges and bind it in red.  Will be glad to have this UFO done!  We plan to use it on our bed to have another king quilt to be able to swap out.