Our "PRINCESS LILY"

This is my middle niece, Missy's daughter, Lily. She will be 3 years old in May and everything is Princesses.

This is my own design but I got a lot of ideas from surfing the web and using techniques introduced in books and blogs. The lettering was my first use of Tonya's alphabet tutorial. Thank you Tonya for your help. The wonky stars, hearts, crowns and framed princesses were inspired by Karla Alexander's Stack a New Deck and Freddy Moran and Gwen Marston's Collaborative Quilting.
I enlarged my drawings to actual size and then paper pieced each horizontal section. The finished blocks were embellished with embroidery thread, trims and ribbon. I hope these hold up with use and washing.



These cute noncommercial princesses came from the fabric I chose for the backing. I really didn't want to use any of the Disney Princesses even though they are popular, keeping the quilt more original and creative.


Thanks to Jacquie's Spring to Finish Quilting I took the challenge and finished my T-shirt memory quilt and Lily's Princess. I'm still hand piecing my hexagons and getting close to joining the blocks in rows. April is over but the quilting goes on.

"QUILTING SAMPLER" 2003-2004

When I joined a adult-ed quilting class in 2003, I had 45 years of sewing experience and a degree in Home Economics BUT I learned so much going through the process of this sampler. I had never used a rotary cutter and all I knew about quilting was self taught. This quilt has become the summer cover for our king size bed. Yes, the stain glass window is my creation too. As an artist, I have dabbled in lots of different mediums but never settled in like I have with quilting. It combines my love of both fabrics and sewing with my love of color and design.

The focus fabric, the circle prints, inspired the combination of rusts, browns, and violets.
The original pattern was designed for a queen size bed so I added another row of blocks plus the flying geese. These are the traditional blocks that were included:

Spring Bloom ~Honey Bee ~Old Maid’s Puzzle
Jacob’s Ladder ~Bow Tie ~Bachelor’s Puzzle
Card Trick ~Wedding Ring ~Clay‘s Choice
Friendship Star ~Ohio Star ~Carolina Lily
Basket ~Grandma‘s Fan ~Star in A Star
Rail Fence ~Double Nine Patch ~Box
Bear’s Paw ~Drunkard’s Path ~Lily
Le Moyne Star ~Goose Tracks
Shoo Fly ~Monkey Wrench

THANK YOU

Thank you to all who visit this site. When I started this blog 5 months ago, I never knew there were so many fellow quilters out there like you. I especially want to express my gratitude to those who take the time to comment and send me e-mails. You have been an inspiration and source of encouragement. Janet

"MEMORIES OF AN ART TEACHER", finished

It's done and I'm really happy with the results. The dark border really framed it and tied it all together. Thank you for your comment Connie. The burnt orange is just the right accent for the binding (also from my stash) and the right color for the flannel backing.



I densely quilted as much as possible. I love the texture that shows on the back while images on the front still stand out. The most difficult areas to quilt were the vinyl transfers. They tended to stick to the presser foot and shift.

Time for quilting and bindings

Here's "Memories of an Art Teacher" in the finishing stages.

My Viking machine is what I use when I machine quilt myself. This quilt turned out to be about twin size, larger than I usually tackle on my machine. I wanted to customize the quilting and didn't want to pay for it, so . . . I roll and fold, pull and shove, and continue to sew until my shoulders burn. I'm now hand tacking the binding and will be ready to share soon.

My goal is to fill the quilt with concentrated stitching. There is still more to do after this picture. I stitched in the ditch for the sashing and inside each square I followed the pattern of the t-shirt, some being straight and other areas required free motion.

So Much to Share . . .

We're back from our 5 day visit to Arizona staying with our long time friends, Dave and Kathi.


Their home in Cave Creek backs up to a wash with plenty of wild life visiting. Dave feeds the birds (and rabbits) so there is always a bevy of activity.



Our first day included a hot air balloon ride that was a retirement gift from Jack's friends.



The colors and pattern of this shot makes a great quilt idea.




Day two we went to Out of Africa, a rescue wild animal center in Camp Verde, 2 hours north of Phoenix. Yes Kathi is feeding a giraffe. The park was fully handicapped access including the vehicles. It's so nice when Kathi gets to experience all that is available.


A trip would not be complete without a stop at quilt shops. There's a great one in Cave Creek (but not so wheel chair friendly). I see a circle quilt in the near future.

The highlight of the trip came on the last day. Chihuly, a glass artist, did an art installation within the Botanical Gardens of Phoenix. Hope you enjoy these shots and are inspired to make a quilt from the combination of cactus and glass.

GAMES WITH FABRIC: "Tic-Tack-Doe" and "Musical Chairs"

I just found out how to post two pictures side-by-side. I chose to show these two baby blankets I made for JACK who will be 4 this month. I was helped by Carol, Funoldhag, who also wanted to find out how and posted the question. See her instructions. Both blankets were made with the same fabrics complementing each other.


The backing and blocks are made of flannel and stitched in the ditch without batting, the perfect weight for receiving blankets. Jack still sleeps with these. The patterns come from Quilters Playtime by Dianne S. Hire. Her instructions are easy to follow and she gives multiple variations for innovation.