Rainbow Eclipses

Kansas City. Although we're both in Kansas, I had only been to Kansas City a couple of times prior to our son locating there after college 5 years ago. Since then, we have been drawn to KC a number of times - from visiting our son to staying with my mom while she was rehabbing after her car accident to doctors visits to family vacays. Last weekend, our family gathered there for a mini-vacay and we took our grandsons to several of the kid-friendly sites in the city. Though they may have been kid-friendly, they weren't so friendly to me as I tripped and fell while at Legoland (I'm not known for my gracefulness!) and fractured my elbow.

I'm hoping to return to Kansas City next month (besides for follow-up doctor's appointments) for the August 21st Great American Eclipse as KC is in the direct path of the eclipse. Durham, North Carolina, home to Spoonflower, is also close to the eclipse path. To celebrate, their next fabric design competition is "Solar Eclipse". Since I haven't tackled sewing yet since my 'trip', I decided to play with the solar eclipse idea in Photoshop and "Rainbow Eclipses" is the result.

I actually haven't decided whether I really even like this design or not, but I entered it in Spoonflower's contest anyway. It's definitely more modern and computer generated than the other designs I have been working on. It was a fun learning experience though.

The deadline to enter the contest is Tuesday and all the design submissions will be up on Spoonflower's website for voting on Thursday. Stop by and check them all out!

~Sharla

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TBT To WIP

I started to photograph this Spinning Stars Christmas quilt for my 'Throw Back Thursday' quilt series and the more I looked at it the more I had the urge to throw this quilt back on the 'Works In Progress' list and re-quilt it.

This is another one of the first quilts I made back in the early-to-mid 1990s and another one I tried to quilt on my DSM. As you can see, the quilting is quite sparse and, quite frankly, I'm afraid that if it was washed, the batting would wad up and ruin the quilt. (I'm from the "I never wash my quilts when completed" camp because then they look used and I'm not a real fan of the crinkly look on quilts that I plan to display. This quilt hangs over a vintage door in my basement family room during the holidays - ok, maybe longer.)

So last week, I dug out some really ugly (I mean hideous - I apologize to the designer) monkey fabric (that I purchased once in desperation for a quilt backing then never could make myself use it) and cut it up to make leaders to sew to the binding of this quilt to enable me to attach it to the long arm. I finished the edges to keep the leaders from fraying so that I can re-use them in the future. Since I'm staying with my mom while she's recuperating from a fall and shoulder fracture (just when we thought she was getting along so good after her car accident last summer), re-quilting this Spinning Stars Christmas quilt is the perfect project to work on since our long arm is in her basement.

After making a few pattern adjustments and modifications, I've selected the patterns I'm going to use and have quilted the first block, sashings and cornerstones to see what it looks like. I selected a couple of holly and berry patterns following the theme of the fabric and then a couple of feather triangle patterns for the star points. I haven't quilted the background yet, but am planning on using a background fill of pearls with a beige thread. Although you can see the original line of quilting, I don't think you'll notice it so much once the background is quilted. This project may take me awhile as I'm quilting a little at a time when I can sneak a few minutes in.


What WIPs are you working on?

~Sharla

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My Goals For FAL Q3

Well, the 2nd quarter of the 2017 Finish-A-Long came and went and I didn't finish one project on my list. So I'm reposting those projects plus adding one or two. Here are my lofty goals....

1. Bella Solids Quilt: This project is my top priority this quarter as it has a September deadline. I've bought the fabric and have an idea, so hopefully I'll complete a quilt to enter in Moda's Bella Challenge.

2. Christmas Star Quilt: I have a couple of the first quilts that I made that I quilted very sparsely on my DSM that I'd like to load up on my long arm and re-quilt. This is the first one on the list. I want to custom quilt this with different patterns in the sashing, cornerstones, and star blocks.

3. 2016 Quilt Guild Challenge: Medallion Quilt. This one is still at the same place as it was on August 16, 2016 - the day my mom and aunt had their car accident while on our girls quilty road trip. I really want to get this one done. Even if I don't get it quilted, I'll consider it a success if I get the top completed. I have two more sides of the 3-D pinwheels to finish, then I have rounds of 4-patches, piano keys, flowers and stars to make.

4. & 5. Whole Country Caboodle Kits: I'm throwing in a couple of little projects to break up the big projects that I'll be working on. With little projects you can get a quick gratification of completing something and I think I'll need some of that this quarter! These little kits are mini quilts that button onto a larger "A Door A Doodle" quilt that I have hanging in my entryway. There are different seasonal ones that I've never gotten around to making.

6. 7. & 8. Halloween Mini Quilts: This is another set of little projects that I'm tossing in. These are free paper piecing patterns by Made By Marney and I think they are so cute. I'd like to get these done this quarter so I have them to decorate with this fall.

9. Hello Darling Frivols Kit: I started this one while the hubby and I were snowbirding in Texas in January and February, but I didn't have a lot of sewing time while there. I've worked on this some since we're back on the farm and have half of the blocks complete.

Wish me luck! I'm going to need it! I'll be linking this post up to the 2017 Finish-A-Long 3rd Quarter Goals. It's not to late to join in the fun - although today is the last day to link up for this quarter so hurry! Check out the details on the Finish-A-Long here.

~Sharla

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TBT: Half Snowball Star Quilt

I had planned to share this Throw Back Thursday quilt last week for the 4th of July holiday but we were in the midst of our very "big" (yeah, not so much) wheat harvest and I didn't find the time. So here is my only patriotic quilt that I made probably 20 or more years ago.

I used some left over yardage and scraps I had from a couple of crafting projects to make this quilt. The block that creates the stars is a half snowball block. I saw a picture of a star quilt made with this block and decided to design my own quilt to use up some of my red and navy scraps. It was quilted by a long arm quilter who used a star meander pantograph. The quilt measures 67" x 74". I usually use this quilt to decorate my entryway for the 4th of July holiday but this year I never got around to doing any decorating. June flew by - where is the time going?!


~Sharla

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Happy July 4th America!

I've had Thimble Blossom's Flag Quilt on my quilting bucket list for a couple of years now. To scratch that itch to make something new without starting another big project, I whipped up one flag block and made it into a mini quilt to hang on my vintage chippy painted door this weekend.

It was a quick project and I love how it turned out. I used a little Bonnie and Camille fabric but mostly Lori Holt fabric. I love how the aqua/turquoise colors make the red and blue pop. I quilted it on my Gammill Statler Stitcher using a ripples wave pattern. The finished quilt measures 19" x 15".

I finally finished a project so I could use my new quilt labels! I am so bad at labeling quilts so I am loving how easy these labels make that task.

Wishing all my fellow Americans a safe and happy 4th of July!

~Sharla

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