Borders on and it's on the longarm...

But now, how to quilt it?  Hmmm....going to have to think on this awhile...

The Cosmos....

 Here's a couple of pics of the wall hanging that I'm working on. If you've seen some of my previous projects, you know that this is really quite a departure for me from the traditional things I've done. It's done in the batiks and is based on a quilt in the book "Strips 'n Curves" by Louisa L. Smith. When finished, it will measure about 50" x 42". This has been a LOT of fun working on and I'm enjoying the "artsy" aspect of it. I used to paint years ago, so this is a lot like using fabrics to paint. I still need to add the borders and will then start quilting it. I've decided that I really like piecing curves. 

Started on the batik Strips_N_Curves

I started sewing some strips sets together of the batiks for the strips-n-curves quilt that I'm going to make.  I'm very pleased with these batiks from Connecting Threads.  They sew together easily and have very little fraying to them.  The colors are rich, and patterns are nice.  Really enjoying working with these.

Some of my other art from the past...

Someone asked me the other day if I had done other art besides quilting, so I thought I'd post a few pics of that.  I used to paint (oils and watercolor) years ago.  I haven't done any in probably close to 15-20 years now.  But here's a few of what I did.

Hoping that Fall will be here soon

I'm hoping that Fall will be here soon, and I'm working on this quilt in anticipation of that.  It's all done in batiks and I'm using raw edge applique on it, fusing the leaves on with Steam-a-Seam and then using a buttonhole stitch around the edges.  I've got lots more leaves to do, and then will quilt some veins into the leaves when I get to the quilting part. 

Last of the batiks...

That sounds kind of like a movie title, doesn't it?  ("The Last of the Batiks")  I ordered some batik fabrics from Connecting Threads this past week and they arrived today.  They have just recently started carrying batiks, so I was a bit wary, but am very pleasantly surprised.  These are beautiful fabrics.  They have a nice feel to them and the colors and patterns are just spectacular (the pic doesn't do them justice). I was concentrating on the blues, greens, reds, and purples, but I can tell now that I've seen them that I'm going to HAVE to go back for more. Love them!!!

More batiks arrived today...

I needed some yellow, browns, and reds to fill in the batik stash I have going.  I got these from Old Country Store Fabrics.  I have some more still coming from Connecting Threads and should be here in the next couple of days.  I should be doing good on batiks for a while.

The batiks have arrived....

I got a package in the mail today.  The batiks have arrived.  Can you tell that I really like batiks?  :)  I'm looking at doing a project from the book called "Strips 'n Curves" by Louisa L. Smith.  I bought the book in Fort Walton, FL this summer when we were down there on vacation.

Fabric shopping

I just went on a blitzkrieg of fabric shopping for some batiks for a project I have in mind.  Besides the local quilt shops, I have a couple of online places that I really like a lot for fabric shopping.  One is called Thousands of Bolts - it's amazing how much stuff they have (like thousands of bolts! LOL!) and the prices are incredible - about $4 a yard for what you'd pay in a quilt shop.  So I've bought tons of stuff from them.  For the batiks that I just bought, I went to Old Country Store Fabrics.  They're very good prices, too (about $7-$8 per yard) and have a bajillion batiks to choose from.  I'm trying to build up my stash of batiks at the moment, since it is somewhat lacking.  I have quite a bit of 1800s/Civil War repros, and 1930s repros, but seems like my tastes and interests wanders at times.  I've got enough fabric at the moment to literally make about 100 quilts probably, so when does it ever become "enough"?  Probably never at the rate I'm going.  :)

"Dandelion Girl" strip quilt for Olivia finished

I finished up the strip quilt that I was making for my youngest daughter, Olivia, today.  It was made from a jelly roll of the "Dandelion Girl" fabric line by the Fig Tree Quilts designer.  It measures 65" x 76" and I did a pantograph quilting pattern on it called "Chantilly Lace".  The blue border fabric is some that I found at Marshall's and is called "Mary Rose" by Quilt Gate.  The backing fabric is by David Textiles.

Blog site updated

I've spent the morning updating my blog to make it look a little different.  I added a page selection bar across the top of the blog to get to different pages, and added pages for Contact and Links.  I'm going to try to get a Gallery page up soon as well.  Hope you enjoy it!

Dandelion Girl strip quilt

I'm working on a quilt for my youngest daughter, Olivia. She's wanting to decorate her room in a shabby chic kind of thing, so I decided to make this quick strip quilt for her from a jelly roll of "Dandelion Girl" fabric. The border fabric is some that I found at Marshall's Dry Goods up in Batesville. As you can see, I've got it on the longarm now and working on quilting it. I'm doing a pantograph quilting pattern on it called Chantilly Lace. I think it compliments the fabric well.

Some notion bags for traveling...

I'm going to be going to India in late September on business for a couple of weeks. I've decided to make a top and take it with me and do some hand-applique on it while there, so will need some bags to take my stuff in.

I used some 1800s reproduction fabrics to make them out of, with a zipper on the side of each one. I made the larger one to take my hoop in, and the smaller one will be used to carry scissors, thread, etc., and will slide inside the larger one. I used batting between the layers to make them cushioned as well, and then quilted a simple cross-hatch across them. Now I (hopefully) won't go stir crazy while I'm over there. :)

Sometimes we have to think in smaller terms...

Last year (yeah, last year!) I decided to start a "Glorified Nine Patch" quilt (aka "Robbing Peter To Pay Paul" ). Well, I didn't get too far before I decided that curved piecing was just not my thing. So the blocks got shoved in a box and placed on a high shelf so I wouldn't have to think about them anymore.

I saw that box yesterday and had an epiphany - why not take the blocks that I had made so far and turn them into a table topper and call it done? So I did. My grandiose ideas of a large quilt in this pattern have shrank down to the table topper you see before you now. Better a tiny done UFO than an unfinished UFO, right?

It measures 30" x 30". Now I just got to find a table to top it with.