Thursday, January 16, 2014

The quilt exhibit at Gallery 65 was a big success. I was nervous and stumbled over words but the ground didn't open and swallow me up so life is good. I had a big smile on my face as I drove home because 1.) I had a good time and 2.) I was laughing at myself. It's funny how often in the last year my encounters with friends, acquaintances and strangers turn to farm animals. And it isn't always me that turns the conversation that way.  I know I've mentioned before that I want to live in an old farmhouse and have chickens and sheep. I don't understand why people find this to be an odd dream for a 52 year old suburbanite ; c ) Anyway, one of the gals shared a quilt of appliqued hens and roosters. Not one of those comical ones but very elegant and finely done. The husband of the gallery owner told me he really liked that one. He'd raised chickens as a kid and from there we talked about chickens, goats and sheep. I'm now a little wired - up past my bedtime so I thought I'd share what I've been up to in the sewing room.

I was a bit disappointed with the first few lines of curved stitching - just a bit too wobbly. I continued stitching and once the circles started to form I became happy with how it looks. I think in many creative endeavors there is that feeling of dread like - @#$%, I've ruined it! I find stepping back or taking a break from it often (though not always) makes whatever I'm doing look much better. In this case I just had to continue on for the complete pattern to form.

Ages ago I won a Collections for a Cause Comfort Charm Pack from Janet O. of Rogue Quilter. I'd made this tote bag before as a gift and liked how it turned out so decided to use this charm pack to make another. Thanks, Janet!

I took this photo a couple weeks ago. We've had some really cold weather here and these little pansies are doing great. I have two pots of them on my front porch. These blooms are gone now - they stuck around a few weeks and then we had single digit temps which did them in. As I clipped the old blooms I noticed there are lots of buds waiting their turn to open.

I hope to be back soon to share a finished quilt.

13 comments:

  1. Those curved lines are made with a walking foot? Wow! I didn't know that worked. Looks wonderful!
    That is the bag pattern I have been trying to remember. I was gifted a bag from it and love it. I've seen it on blogs, but can't ever remember the name. I need to pin this!
    Oh, what a cheerful sight those pretty pansies are!!

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  2. i knew you would enjoy yourself and i bet you did even better than you think you did~!
    i'm always amazed at machine quilting because the one time i tried it (many years ago) my work just didn't impress me. yours looks great and the colors in that quilt remind m of candy hearts . . . sweet~!

    that bag is very cute and looks to be a really good size.

    pansies . . . and there's green growth in your shot . . . around here it's yellow grass and hard icy earth. we haven't had a lot of snow but it's not warm enough yet to grow anything yet. seeing your flowers is a treat and i am now wondering when i will start seeing things grow here. thank you for sharing these lovelies.

    :-)
    libbyQ

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  3. So glad your presentation went well! The continuous line quilting pattern is a favorite and yours looks great!

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  4. I missed your last post about Gallery 65! How exciting, and I love the 3 quilts you chose to show! I'm so glad it was a huge success, and you are left grinning about the day! (Funny how farm-life finds it's way into conversations, huh?) And I'm loving that quilting you are doing with the walking foot! Those squares look to be about 2 inches, but you are still able to get a nice curve! Awesome! You've inspired me to try it! Thanks! And those pansies are so sweet! I'm still looking out at snow piles! lol

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  5. Oh Maureen, I'm so excited for you, that the Gallery 65 went well!!! I knew you could do it!!! Farm life (ranch life) is a life that compares to no other - hope you get your dream!!!

    Your quilting is awesome! One thing that I've learned doing FMQ is don't look at the little details, look at the over all effect and yours looks grand!!!

    Love those pansies!! Such sweet flowers!!

    Blessings and hugs!

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  6. I'm glad your presentation went well and that you have fun! a real win win.
    I love your tea cup quilting or pumpkin seed - it looks great. I love doing this design and agree you have to get several lines going to appreciate the curves/circles.

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  7. Your stitching looks great from the picture. I need to get brave and try more machine stitching. It's all very nerve wracking to me. So glad that Gallery 65 went well for you. If people can hear and see your enthusiasm, it usually more than makes up for any nerves.:)

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  8. So happy that Gallery 65 was a success! We all knew you could do it!

    For me, machine quilting is enjoyable at times and frustrating at others. It requires patience and a few cups of coffee when I sit down to do it. I keep my machine quilting very simple... knowing someday I'll have to get a bit more gutsy! Your quilted curves look wonderful... mostly because they are yours!!!

    Gorgeous pansies!

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  9. Glad to hear all went well at Gallery 65 and that you had a great time.

    I love the curved quilting you are doing. I need to finish up some tops and then I'm going to get some machine quilting done too!, I love all your projects. Hugs

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  10. So glad to hear that your presentation was a success and that you had fun.
    Your quilting looks good, I think that stepping away is a good idea.
    Lovely bag and pretty flowers.

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  11. Congrats on surviving the Gallery experience! Funny how those farm animals like to worm their way into conversations! Good luck with your dream - I don't think it's odd at all!
    Your MQ looks good! And your quilt has such pretty colors! So cheerful. Same with the pansies. Mine may not have survived our cold snap in Dec. Time will tell.

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  12. What hardy pansies. Great pop of color for January.
    I'm sure you were a hit with your talk. You should be smiling.
    Love that red thread, your circles are fabulous.
    Nice bag, good use of charms!

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