August blocks finished

I'm actually finishing the blocks for this quilt on time.  In case you haven't been following my blog this is the Craftsy block of the month taught by Jinny Beyer.  

This months blocks are both paper piecing.  For me these were much more complicated than any paper pieced pattern I have done.  One of them I had to restart three times.  But, I did it!  I can learn new skills.

Here are all of the blocks to date.

I am enjoying this class.  It's a challenge for me but that's a good thing.  

Have a creative day

Janet

Snowflakes in July!

I was invited to join the group Art Quilts Around the World.  I was feeling the need to get back to making art quilts and thought this would be a fun and challenging adventure for me.  There are some wonderful artists in this group.

I just joined two days ago so I was told I didn't need to do the current challenge as the due date was today.  When I saw it was snowflake, I had to try.  

Obviously really quickly made but I think I did ok for my first art quilt in over a year.  

I had to make each snowflake unique because we all know each snowflake is different.

One made with angelina film

One with angelina fiber

One couched embroidery floss

One with ribbon and decorative stitch.

The rest were purchased at some point in the distant past and conviently resurfaced in my sewing space while I was trying to look for ideas.

I called it blizzard and tried to make it look like the wind was blowing from several directions at once. It seems like that is what happens when it snows enough you can't get out of your driveway.

I also added a decorative stitch to the binding which is something I have never done before, but I thought it looked like snowflakes so seemed appropriate.

If you would like to see the other interpretations of snowflake please go to Art Quilts Around the World. Our next challenge is uniform.  I will have two months to work on this idea.  So look for those quilts at the end of September

Have a Creative Day

Janet

Appliqué

I finished one of the appliqué baskets for the Craftsy 2015 BOM taught by Jinny Beyer. 

 I didn't do it exactly as taught in the class.  I have been researching how to appliqué and discovered there are probably almost as many ways to accomplish this skill as there are quilters. 

 So what I did is a meld of techniques and it will probably change the more I practice. 

 I still have four more baskets for this quilt and then I will begin working on the appliqué for Flowers for my Wedding Ring.  

So, I'd better get back to stitching

Have a creative Day

Janet

Hot, hot, hot!

flowers in my garden

Spring/Summer are always a time for me to slow down with the fiber arts.  I love the beautiful cooler days of spring and early summer.  We are getting to the hot, hot, hot days now though so I will be spending more time inside.  Thank goodness for air conditioning! I have lymphedema, a milder case than some but I am definitely not alone.  Three to five million people are estimated to be affected by this disease and yet very little is known about it.  Kathy Bates has recently become the national spokesperson for lymphedema and is helping to bring awareness.  You can click her name to hear her tell why she became the spokesperson.

There is no cure but there are treatments that can help significantly.  It took 25 years for me to find a doctor who knew what was wrong and knew I could get help for this problem.   I am talking about it so others might realize there is treatment available and it does help. My left leg and foot are swollen from extra lymphatic fluid in the tissues.  This is not edema they are different problems.  Mine is considered primary (which means I was born with it) even though it didn't really become a problem until I was pregnant with my first child.  Some have the condition at birth. The sooner people receive treatment the better the outcome. Many people such as Kathy Bates develop lymphedema after surgery and/or cancer.  I am fortunate as I have decent insurance and it covers the cost of two compression stockings per year.  (They are over $500 each)  Many people don't have this coverage and can't afford the help they need.  Visit lymphedematreatmentact.org to learn how you can help.  Here is a little poster that explains more about this disease.

Anyway, heat makes my problems worse so I am inside more than out now.  The last few days I started to catch up on the Craftsy BOM taught by Jinny Beyer.  I have all the blocks through July completed now.  I need to start cutting out the flowers I will appliqué on five of the baskets.  Once I get that done I will almost be caught up.  I think this will be a beautiful quilt.

Craftsy BOM 2015

I have also been spending as much time as possible with my sweet dog.  He just passed his 14 year check-up.  Not doing quite as well as he used to but still living the sweet life.

Mocha Chip

My husband and I did a 5k on Saturday for the Suicide Prevention Collaborative in our county.  Suicide is the second leading cause of death among teenagers in Minnesota.  These people do wonderful work so it felt good to support their cause. I'm glad it started at 8 in the morning before it got too hot.

Suicide Prevention Collaborative
Together it gets better

Expect to see more posts from me about quilting etc., since I will be spending more time inside.
Have a creative day!
Janet

Loving Spring/Summer!

I am still here.  I have been taking advantage of the beautiful weather at this time of year.  Love to be outside in the spring!  Mowing the lawn, planting my garden, 

pulling weeds, going for hikes, 

bird watching, 

enjoying the flowers 

and a trip to the zoo 

all take me away from sewing.  I'm fine with that.  

I'm glad I took a photo of my peonies a couple of days ago because today they are getting washed away in the rain.

I'm very excited the poppy I planted last year came back again!

The last time I was working on my quilt I was very excited about almost finishing.  I only had the 10" borders left to add.  So I kept working late into the night trying to finish the piecing.  I really need a door on my sewing room so I can lock it at a certain time of night.  Seriously, when I work too late I always make a mistake.  Usually just something silly and corrected with a rip of some stitches.  This time it was a little trickier to fix.  Instead of cutting my miter at 45 degrees I cut one of them with the 60 degree measure.  

Now I could have easily patched in a piece to fill the gap, and I considered that option.  But, it seems to me I've put a lot of time and fabric into this quilt and didn't want to have a patch where there shouldn't be one.

I decided to order more fabric.  After a week I received an email notifying me they didn't have enough of this fabric left.  I was glad I had used so many fabrics in the quilt all along.  Using something different for part of border isn't even noticeable.  I think the fabric I ordered looks good. 

 It finally came last Friday but haven't had a chance to work on it until today.  Today is raining so a perfect day to sew.  All four mitered corners look perfect now, well except for needing a good pressing.

Off to work on my Jinny Beyer quilt and the red work quilt for the afternoon.  Hope you are enjoying your day.

Have a creative day

Janet