Adding a Flange to a Quilt Top

I added the striped inner border to the mermaid baby quilt today.  I decided that the stripes were getting a little lost next to the bright squares, so I added a little bold color in the form of a "flange" before sewing on the stripes. 

 

All you do is cut a 1" strip of fabric the length and width of the quilt, fold the strip in half, and lay it along the seam line of the border with the raw edge even with the outside seam.  I decided to stitch mine down near the edge so they would not slip around.

 

 

 

You don't have to miter the corners, just lay the side strips down, then the top and bottom strips.  You are creating a "flap" of color separating the borders.

 

 

Then you pin the next border right on over the flange, and sew all layers together.

 

 

And there you have it!  There is a nice separation between the blocks and the inner border.  I have not sewn the outer border yet, but this is what it will look like.

 

 

 

Now on to the Oscars.  Love to watch the outfits.  Most beautiful so far..Jennifer Lawrence!  Stunning!

 

 

But I also thought Octavia Spencer looked very confident and lovely as she presented.

 

 

 

Hope your favorites are winners tonight!

 

 

 

Auditioning a Quilt Top

I am sure that you quilters are familiar with "auditioning" fabrics for a quilt.  You know, trying different fabrics for borders, sashing, or binding? 

I finished sewing together all the square-in-a-square blocks for my granddaughter's baby quilt.  Since we went out there for a visit on Friday, I took the sewn-together squares and "auditioned" them...with the baby!

 

Well, I think she liked them...and coordinated well with them!

 

Here is the quilt in the crib.  I like!

 

 

And it looks good with the mermaid family painting on the wall.

 

 

 

Now I am motivated to add the borders and get it quilted.

 

I went out last week to help Maureen, my Gammill's "foster mother," get a quilt loaded and quilted.  She was doing great...a natural!  I may have to ask for a day when I can go out there and quilt little Charlotte's quilt.

 

Baby Quilt on the Design Wall

It's been a busy week!  Valentine's Day, babysitting for little Charlotte, a trip to the mountains, and, yes, a little sewing!

On my design wall is a quilt top for my baby granddaughter.  (Yes, I am ashamed to admit, she was born without a handmade quilt ready for her when she came home.)

 

My daughter-in-law, her mother and I made an excursion to a fabric store back in August and selected an assortment of novelty and coordinating fabrics for the mermaid-themed nursery.

 

 

My original idea was to make an underwater scene.  These fabrics were not working too well for me, even with the addition of fabrics from my stash.  After I made a few applique pieces, they stayed pinned on the design wall for months with nothing else happening.

 

I decided to go ahead and make a more traditional quilt.  I made square-in-a-square blocks using the fabrics provided plus some from my stash.  The quilt will be colorful, will match the nursery,
 

and will soon be ready for our sweet little mermaid.

Besides, she already has a pretty awesome original painting of a mermaid family, courtesy of Emily's talented sister Ellen.  Anyone recognize the mer-dog, Roo?

 

 

Here is a little project I finished in a couple hours.  It is a fabric journal cover for a sketchbook.  I used a gorgeous commercial fabric that looks like it has foiling and mixed media.  It did not need anything else!

 

 

I made it exactly like I used to make textbook covers out of brown paper grocery bags back in the day.  The only difference is that you clean-finish the inside edges, and sew a seam across the tops and bottoms of the inside pockets to keep them from coming undone.

 

 

I added a ribbon closure, and it's done!

 

The mountains were cold and a little snowy.  We took a ride on the Blue Ridge Parkway on Sunday.  These icicles were covering the rocks on the side of the road.

 

 

Although our snow barely covered the ground, the distant mountain tops were covered in snow.

 

 

 

Junk Mail Journal- Finished!

I have been showing some of the pages in progress for this painted junk mail journal.  Last weekend, we stayed home...and I finished it, along with several other projects!

I made a cloth cover, sewed on a piece of needle-felted fibers in rainbow colors,  a bit of beading, and lots of ribbons.

When you open it up, all the colorful pages and ribbons and fibers come into view.

Although the outside fabric looks a little gaudy, the inside covers are a dark hand-dyed fabric.  I added a pocket on the front inside cover for bookmarks and a big post-it notepad.  The pocket is made from one of my sun-printed fabrics.

I added lots of bookmarks, clip-on tabs, and binder clips.

I had a few watercolor painting scraps and bits that I added in to some of the pages.  (Now why is Blogger turning the image upside down?)

This was a fun project, easy to work on in small doses if you don't have a lot of time.  Just paint a few pages at a time.  Most of the pages in this journal actually came from an American Quilter magazine.

Going out today to babysit for my little Charlotte.  Can't wait!

Charity Quilt for MSA

Last night, The Whacky Ladies came over to my house despite the rain, and we had a great time together.

I just had to take a picture of my strawberry cake, since I rarely bake anymore.

We were a little short on Show-and-Tell this month, but this quilt was the star of the show.

At our January meetings, we typically work on charity quilts.  Usually everyone makes one quilt to give to Quilts for Kids or Quilts on Wheels through the Capital Quilters Guild.  This year, everyone worked on this project, to be raffled off this fall for the Multiple Sclerosis Society.

Lori headed up this project with her own fabrics.  The others helped cut and sew the patches for the blocks.  Lori will quilt it on her longarm after adding one more narrow border.

The raffle winner will be announced in New Bern at the conclusion of the fund-raising bike ride.

Bike MS: Historic New Bern Ride

Join Us For Our 25th Annual Ride!

Date(s): September 7-8, 2013
Start/Finish Location: Union Point Park
Registration Fee: $35
Fundraising Minimum: $300
Route Options: 30, 50, 75, 100
Age Minimum: 12 years
Bike MS is a 2-day cycling event that raises funds to support people living with multiple sclerosis in North and South Carolina and throughout the United States. Money raised through this event funds MS research, programs, services, and advocacy. In 2012, over 2,100 participants raised $1,714,476 to create a world free of MS. This year, our goal is to raise $1.8 million!
Bike MS cyclists enjoy two full days of riding through rural eastern North Carolina. Each day, cyclists can choose to ride 30, 75, 50 or 100 miles on fully-supported routes. At the conclusion of each day's ride, cyclists are greeted by cheerful volunteers, a delicious, hot meal, ice cold beverages, and live entertainment. It's a great time, you should join us!
Bike MS will take you further than you’ve ever gone before. It’s not the miles that matter — it’s the unforgettable journey. Join us for an event that’s more than a ride — it’s anticipation, camaraderie, personal accomplishment, and the knowledge that you’re changing lives… making every mile that much sweeter.
Don’t just ride, Bike MS.

More Painted Pages

Yesterday I started working some more on the Junk Mail journal.  Here is one signature, not sewn yet but with added tabs, some fibers added, etc.

 

 

 

I can't wait to have enough pages to put the journal together.

 

Here are a few watercolor backgrounds for a different journal.  I use cheap watercolor paper from tablets for these.

 

After watching Beryl Taylor's DVD with my art quilt bee Monday, I decided to start some fabric paper.  Just take muslin, and dilute some white glue with water.  Glue down some white tissue onto the muslin, and coat it with the glue mixture.  I had a piece of muslin with some painting on it, so I used that.

 

When it is dry you can add more layers of collage, paint, or whatever you want.

I also covered some card stock with painted dryer sheets or "wet wipes", using gel medium.

 

These will all end up in something, some day!

Yesterday I got my grandmother fix by babysitting for baby Charlotte.  Love, love, love!

At four weeks, she is really focusing on her toys, faces, and paintings in the room.  And smiling!

Tonight I am hostess again, this time for my local quilt bee, The Whacky Ladies.  Since I'm not sure how long I will have a house, thought I better sign up for both bees this month.  I made a strawberry cake and some brownies this morning.

 

I'm afraid it is going to be a downpour when everyone is traveling.  We are supposed to get an inch of rain tonight.  Hope everyone arrives safely!

 

Anything Art Bee-February Meeting

We got back from a trip to visit family in Spartanburg, South Carolina yesterday in time to watch the Ravens light up the scoreboard during the first half, then watch all the lights go out completely!  Congratulations to the Baltimore Ravens for the very close Super Bowl win.

Today was my turn to host the Anything Art quilt bee.  Everyone was there in spite it being held the morning after the big Sunday night football game. 

Several of us got back our finished fabrics from the Surface Embellishment Round Robin.  Here is Roberta with hers.  Peg used a pleater on the top section for that very cool striped effect.

 

Toni got back her piece, newly embellished with sparkly rhinestones and beads.  This one still makes me happy every time I see it.

 

 

And here is mine!  Da- dah!

 

 

I was so thankful for the journal that I made and sent around with my project.  I could then tell who did what, and how they did it!

 

 

It has been dyed with taupe dye after being folded accordion-style, put through a pleating machine and colored with paint and Shiva Paint Stiks, sprayed with Adirondack color wash after being sewed up with pleating threads, and stenciled with fabric markers.

 

And I love my journal, too!

 

 

Marion showed us a very cool hassock or "tuffet" that she made by paper-piecing.

 

 

And I loved the collaged art quilt that Peg was working on.

 

 

I showed off my two newest framed paintings.

 

 

 

We watched part of a Quilting Arts DVD called Layer By Layer, with Beryl Taylor.  She used very interesting methods to make mixed media pieces with stenciling, molding paste, free-motion embroidery, beading, and other lovely embellishments.

 

 

Some of us decided to do an "inchie" swap, possibly using some of Beryl's methods.  It will be fun to see what comes of this new exchange.