Marsha's Smokey River Quilt

Sometimes simple is best.

overall quilt

When Marsha brought me this quilt, her request was to keep the quilting simple, (She knows I can sometimes get carried away!) so that's what I did. The large blocks of strip piecing in the quilt are actually what I puzzled over the most! So while I was thinking about these, I started filling in the other areas, since many times this helps to determine what will be done with those "wonder what I will do with these".

border area

I usually do the border first, just to keep the quilt contained, and as I loaded the quilt, it was obvious that the border was a bit wonky, so the pattern chosen here was a curvy swirl pattern that would take up the excess in that border fabric. The 9 patch areas are a simple basic curve pattern to compliment the border, and the black border has a simple diamond pattern. Since straight lines were used in this part of the border, a triangular Greek key pattern was used for the light blue triangles between the 9 patches.

Main block areas

Moving on to the larger blocks, to keep the star areas simple, basic continuous curve and swirl patterns were used, with the same pattern in 9 patch and chain areas that was used in the border. Okay - so now what's left are those large strip pieced areas. Since line patterns were used in the border, the same concept was brought into these areas to compliment, this time as an "X" pattern running through the 3 colored strips. The result is a combination of curves and straight lines throughout the quilt, and does finish with a simple look. (Marsha was pleased.)

So I hope you are all getting back on to some sort of a normal schedule, now that school in back underway. Hopefully that means you have time to quilt again!


Until next time, happy quilting!
Cathy

A closer view

Verse for the day: " Remember the former things long past, for I am God, and there is no other; I am God and there is no one like Me, declaring the end from the beginning and from ancient times things which have not been done, saying 'My purpose will be established, and I will accomplish all My good pleasure.'"
(Isaiah 46:9-10)

Strip pieced areas

A Cowboy Quilt

Howdy!

This one was really a fun quilt to work on. I definitely had to doodle a bit to figure out what to do for these hats and boots, but it finally clicked for me.

One note I would like to make on this one is that the rope in the border was put on prior to quilting - this is NOT the way to do this. It was very difficult to work with, and also caused the quilt itself to be distorted, especially in the corners. Any embellishments should always be added AFTER quilting. (In case you are wondering, she made the "rope" by braiding two colored rick-racks together.)




The hats were actually a bigger challenge for me to do than the boots, and after looking at many pictures of cowboy hats, I opted to simply decorate the band a bit, and add in what I hoped looked like natural creases. Since the hats also had an additional white space below, a complimentary boot/hat border added a little extra charm here.






Some creases were also added to the boots, as well as continuous curve in the square blocks of the boot top, and they definitely needed some spurs!

Since the hats and boots did not have a lot of quilting actually in them, the background area around them was stippled for some extra texture.








The black border/sashing areas were stitched with loops and stars. To work with the "rope", a simple wavy pattern was used to compliment, and for the red corner blocks, a simple continuous curve.









Well quilting pardners, that's all for now. Until next time, happy quilting!
Cathy

Verse for the day: "Do you not know that friendship with the world is hostility toward God? Therefore, whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God." (James 4:4)

Skyrocket

Colorful and Scrappy!

This quilt uses batik scraps to make the "Skyrocket" pattern. My husband thought it was a bit too colorful, but I think it's wonderful.
The bright colors just give it such a cheerful look.















The blocks were connected through the white space, so I created a line pattern to fit, and incorporated the same design used in the sashing.
















Because the "Skyrocket" areas were so colorful, I thought simple would be best for these, so I incorporated straight lines and curves to fit the pattern.










The colorful border - picked to try to incorporated the many colors in the quilt - needed something to tone it down a bit, so  a detailed star pattern was used with a dark blue (toning down) thread.

The back of the quilt shows up all the designs quite nicely.











Until next time, Happy Quilting!
Cathy

Verse for the week: "For Ezra had set his heart to study the law of the LORD and to practice it, and to teach His statutes and ordinances in Israel." (Ezra 7:10)

Blackford's Beauty & a Red/ Black Bandana Quilt

Crunch Time!

With the Christmas holiday quickly approaching, I am becoming more and more aware of the many quilts there are still hanging in my closet awaiting their completion!

Some quilts just seem to take me a lot longer than I anticipate once I get going on them, and that certainly did apply to this quilt, called Blackford's Beauty in Plaids, but I love the way it came out.

This was one of those with a lot of white space, so I had to use the "divide and conquer" method, quilting a diamond pattern to separate different quilting spaces. Since feathers were used in the  border, the plaid stars, and the pinwheels, they were also put into the diamond area for continuity. A flame fill pattern was used in the center, and a more dense clam-shell fill used in the remainder of the space.

That's it for now - have to get back to quilting! Hope you all enjoyed a very blessed Thanksgiving - we have so much to be thankful for.

Until next time, Happy Quilting!

Cathy

Verse for the day: "Daniel said, "Let the Name of God be blessed forever and ever, for wisdom and power belong to h\Him." (Daniel 2:20)

Woodland Christmas Applique

outer border

Fall Greetings!

It is hard to believe that summer is over and our busiest season about to approach, but yes, it is coming quickly! Already, my schedule is quickly filling with holiday requests, and I love seeing them - it sets my anticipation for all the season has to offer.



Regretfully, I somehow did not manage to take a picture of the whole quilt for you -  I am so sorry, for it really was a wonderful detailed applique and you will miss the full appreciation for the work that went into it. The woodland creatures included bears, foxes, raccoon, hedgehogs, bunnies, and birds among a mix of houses, trees, and stars, which allowed opportunity for a variety of fills and detail work. It has a winter-y looking swirled outer border, leafy corner blocks,  and a holly leaf  pattern for the inner.

One of the house blocks - hmm,
 bears protecting the town hall?

corner detail

Bunnies, fox, and bear admiring
the tree decorations.

All the woodland animals
pitching in to help.

Santa has a new helper!

Hedgehogs preparing for the celebration.

Somehow, these raccoons look
a bit mischievous.

And Merry Christmas to all!

As you can see, this is just a fun quilt and I really enjoyed working on it - thank you, Barb! If you were able to attend Quilt-a-Fair in Longmont, you may have seen it hanging at the Laughing Ladies booth. We have been in New Mexico, so were unable to attend, but hope you were able to enjoy all the variety offered there!

Until next time, happy quilting!
Cathy
Verse for the day: "Sing unto the Lord, O ye saints of His, and give thanks at the remembrance of His holiness." (Psalm 30:4)

A Mansion and a Bear Claw Cabin Quilt

Summer's Finally Here!

I am just returning from a visit with my Aunt in New York. My sister comes up from the Phoenix area, and then we travel on together to Rochester. Our Aunt lives in Bath, which we both affectionately call the town that time forgot. We always plan on doing whatever she needs - she is in her 80's and does not get around very well - as well as getting her out to do some exploring. Bath is in the Finger Lakes region of NY, and is an incredibly beautiful area with rolling hills, lots of gardens, old Victorian homes, and scenic winding roads.

The Sonnenberg Mansion

This year, we made it up to the Sonnenberg Gardens, where you can enjoy a garden and home tour for only $10! The original mansion was built by New York City bank financier Frederick Ferris Thompson and his wife, Mary Clark Thompson, the daughter of New York State governor Myron Holley Clark. We spent a whole day visiting, and because our Aunt was in a wheel chair, received a royal tour which included lots of history and tidbits. There are a variety of gardens, all worth exploring. The many and various trees on the property are attributed to the fact that Mrs. Thompson had every visiting dignitary plant one! (Well, to me this was a fascinating fact.) Anyway, we thoroughly enjoyed our visit, even if we didn't get to plant a tree.

So, my little vacation is over and I am back to work. Here is one of my latest quilts - which will reside at the owners cabin once she gets the binding on- the perfect place for this quilt.

A view of the whole quilt.

The Bear  Claw blocks with a maple leaf quilted pattern.

The inner border with squiggles in the log cabin blocks
and oak leaf motifs in the triangles.

Outer border with appliques details,some oak leaves quilted in, and
all echoed around.

Quilted detail in the flying geese with leafy
bracketing borders.

I have a lot of catching up to do, so until next time - Happy Quilting!

Cathy

Verse for the week: "Many nations will come and say, "Come and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD and to the house of the God of Jacob, that He may teach us about His ways and that we may walk in His paths." (Ps. 4:2)

Embroidered Roses

Hi, everyone. Hope this day finds you well and thankful!

This elegant quilt of hand embroidered roses is a special treat for me. I don't often receive embroidered tops to quilt, and I was thrilled to have the opportunity to work on this one. My picture of the whole quilt is not the greatest, but with the close up photos I think you can get a better idea of what the finished work looks like.















There were large white blocks in the center, and since this is a traditional quilt, a feathered wreath seemed a perfect fit here. This one has a few additional ribbons and leaves which adds to the frilly look of the quilt.

 The setting triangles received a similar look.













For the borders, a rose swag was chosen to go with the theme and enhance the overall look.

 The embroidered blocks themselves simply required a bit of  complimentary outlining and detail to give them a quilted look without taking away from the hand work.


The binding on this quilt will be red, and I hope my client will let me see it when she is finished. The hand work is stunning, and I hope I did justice to her hard work!

Until next time, Happy Quilting!
Cathy

Verse for the week: "Therefore, keep watch, because you do not know what day your LORD will come. So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect Him." (Mathew 24:42,44)

A Funky Autumn Sampler

Quilting Fun!

This sampler had blocks that I have not seen before, some of them really funky looking. It also had some very plain blocks which needed to fit in with those funky looking ones - I had to get my creative juices going! I had this quilt hanging on my design wall for a while, wondering what I was going to do with it. It was not until I loaded it and started working on it that it all came together.













I started with one of the more unusual blocks, adding design elements (curves and zigzags) that were consistent with the shapes in the  block. Adding in the "peas in a pod" circles made a statement, which I continued with for the remaining sampler blocks. Figure 8's and continuous curves were added as needed for some of the block shapes.

The design elements were added to the more  more simple looking blocks to give them the same character as the more complex ones.

The setting triangles were completed with a curved crosshatch pattern for additional texture, which I have shown on the back of the quilt, since it is hard to see here with the busyness of the fabric.The sashings and parts of the border patterns can also be seen here.

Well, that's it for today. I am now working on some embroidered roses, which I hope to show you soon!

Until next time, Happy Quilting!!!

Cathy

A Card Trick Quilt

Happy Spring!

I am so ready for it! It seems like it has been a long, cold and snowy winter, and I am looking forward to working in my garden again and enjoying some warmer weather. I have seen some daffodils and hyacinths blooming, a sure harbinger of spring, and also a few trees beginning to leaf out! I am sure you are as anxious as I am.





The card trick block is an old favorite. This quilt was made for a special granddaughter who is into those pink and brown colors. I have this child in my Awana's group, and she is definitely a modern girly girl, so I tried to design the quilting to match her personality.

Even though the block is traditional, the quilting does not have to be, so I ended up with a bit of a mix in my quilting patterns. I combined all 3 borders and used a more modern feather pattern.

Feathered border

Card Trick block

I thought the blocks themselves needed a more contemporary pattern, so I got out my sketchbook and started doodling. I played with hearts, swirls, feathers, curls, etc., but was not really getting what I wanted, then I ran across this pattern by Quilter's Niche, and thought it was perfect.






For the sashings, I chose a simple feather pattern, adding in a sashiko corner for a different look. I have included a photo of the back of the quilt so you can get a different view and see how the patterns work together.

Back of quilt

Well, I have to get my exercise in and then get to work, but I think the pink backing on this quilt leaves me in the pink with happy thoughts, and inspires me for the blocks on my next quilt. Though it is a little cooler today (with predictions of snow even!) spring is in the air, and I hope we will all be able to enjoy it soon.

Until next time, happy quilting!

Cathy