Seriously?!!

I can hardly believe I won these...

A full fat quarter bundle of Zen Chic's "Juggling Summer" and "OHO" quilt pattern--an absolutely lovely surprise from a giveaway on bon bon atelier's blog!!  Bon Bon has a beautiful shop right here in Kansas City......and to them I say, THANKS SO MUCH!!!

 

Marilyn

No Prints Allowed Challenge

At the KC Modern Quilt Guild meeting last week, I showed the quilt top I made for our No Prints Allowed Challenge...


The challenge started in December with Kona Solids charm packs...one hundred of them, one for each member, generously donated by Robert Kaufman. We got to choose from classic colors, brights, pastels, darks and, my choice, dusty.


We could use our approximately 44 - 5" squares to make any patchwork project, any size, but at least part of every charm in the pack needed to be in it somewhere. I used all of the fabric to initially make a series of 'flying geese'...


They stayed on the coffee table and I continued to move them around for about two weeks until I was safisfied with my design.


We were allowed to use additional fabric as long as it was a solid. I added a medium gray and a dark gray.


The sun from our living room window was making it difficult to photograph the quilt top. But while I was waiting for it shine elsewhere, I noticed this view from the back--kind of a stained glass look;)


You can see more KCMQG challenge quilts in the flickr group, and several from the LA Modern Quilt Guild also...enjoy!

Marilyn

Doll Quilt Swap 9 Received!!

I planned for my next blog post (this one) to be about Hoop Up! Round 2 and the embroidered blocks I've stitched so far.....but I received my Doll Quilt Swap 9 package Thursday evening and I couldn't wait to share it with you!!!

All the way from Vancouver, BC, Canada, Janet created "Birds of a Feather", a gorgeous masterpiece of a doll quilt, for me! I am so in love with it and it is perfect in every way! Can you believe the incredible quilting she did on it?!


I swear she is the best "stalker" ever! Doll Quilt Swap is a secret swap--we don't know who is sending to us until the little quilty arrives. To learn about our partner and their likes/dislikes, swappers can secretly check out/"stalk" the partner's flickr photostream and blog (if they have one). Janet definitely got it right when she chose colors and design based on what she learned about me! Amazing!


She also sent a quilt pattern that I love and can't wait to make and a bundle of beautiful fabrics. And a mug rug, the greatest mug rug, so pretty it makes my morning coffee taste better than ever!


When Janet completed my quilt, she blogged about the process here. It's really fun to see her photos all together in one post.

Janet, I cannot thank you enough...here I am, two days later, still gushing, lol! Although, really, who wouldn't be?!

Marilyn

Happy Quilts...

Actually, as I think about it, I've yet to meet a quilt that isn't happy--it's kind of the nature of a quilt. That said, look at this little piece of happiness.


It's made with the 3.5" blocks I received from The Bitty Block Committee swap. The theme was "picnic/bbq". Everyone's blocks turned out so cute that I couldn't wait to get them put together. 3.5 inches...amazing, right?

And how about the fabulous quilty Cindy sent to me for the "Landscapes" swap?!


She titled it "The Hour of Bird Song", that hour right before dawn when you can still see stars in the sky but all the birds have started singing.

Hand quilted. Beads.


Beautiful batiks. Strips of chenille (that Cindy created herself).


And generosity...threads and fabric for my stash and chenille pieces for me to try out.


It was a such a good.....no, great, mail day! And this is the landscape quilt I made and sent to Cindy...


I named it "Lavender Fields", inspired by a friend's vacation photo--one of her sitting on a lovely deck with a glass of wine and mounds of lavender in the background. I would call that a fine vacation moment!

I also want to share with you the name of an incredible textile artist. Kim Eichler-Messmer spoke at the KC Modern Quilt Guild meeting last week. She is fun and innovative and her work is gorgeous! She talked about how she came to work with textiles and how she is inspired. It was fascinating. You can see her work on her website and her blog.

Marilyn

Here a Swap, There a Swap...

Oh my, two weeks since my last post! Where does the time go?!

Most likely fun times spent with these two cuties...




And I've also enjoyed some time in the craft room. I made a couple of potholders for the KC Modern Quilt Guild potholder swap...

(fronts)

(backs)

We swapped them at last week's meeting and I came home with two amazing potholders!!

This one is from Jaime--isn't the fabric adorable?!


And this one is from Alex--I love the purple and gray, and the grommet!


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An ATC Swap in Mary's Your Vintage Gluebook Online Class is soon and I finished my six cards this afternoon...


This has been the best online class--Mary is an excellent instructor and shares so much information and beautiful images too! I need to show you my lesson pages, and will do that soon, but for now you can see some lovely work in the class Flickr group.

Marilyn

KC Modern Quilt Guild

Before I went to the very first KC Modern Quilt Guild meeting in January, the only thing I was pretty certain about was that there would probably be other quilters there.

Yep, quilters--35 of them. And since then, we've averaged about 70 at each meeting and I've experienced more than I ever expected.

I've been inspired by many amazing quilts. I've learned new things because of shared tips and information. We had our first "Sewing Saturday" this month--the hum of a room full of sewing machines + chatter and laughing = so fun!

I heard about the Downy Quilts for Kids project and requested a kit that I completed this weekend and mailed back yesterday...




Several of us sewed a quilt block for a quilt we're making for a member's daughter. We all received the darling owl feature fabric to use in a "square in a square" block. I think it will be a fun quilt:)


I even won a door prize at this month's meeting! Our guest speaker was Tia of Camp Follower Bags and Quilts fame and organizer of the Bushfire Quilt Project. I participated in that project (in early 2009) and it was very interesting to hear her talk about it. She also brought along two different project bags and this darling pincushion to give away...



Now, imagine a bride tossing her bouquet...that's what it looked like when Tia stood with her back to the group and tossed a bag over her head to the first section of chairs, another bag to the next section, then the pincushion, the same way...and lucky me, I got to bring it home!

Marilyn

Don't Be a Square...or a Rectangle

I was never really sure of the official theme name for April's Swap Til You Drop mini quilt swap, but that just added to the fun!

My fabulously good-time-swap-partner, Dolores (deeroo designs), dubbed it "hip to be (not) square, or rectangle". I also saw "Don't Be Square" and "Don't Be a Square" but whatever the official-ity, no doubt you've guessed that our mini's were to take any shape but.....square!

And "square" it isn't---this gorgeous rainbow-shaped, ticker tape style mini that Dolores sent my way:


I'm in love with it...everything about it! Is that binding not perfectly placed?! Amazing!!

And how about these fun gifties she sent too?!


Those four beautiful fat quarters are laying on my ironing board waiting for me to decide what they'll become. I'm leaning towards a tote bag, for summer--wouldn't the fabrics be perfect?

: - : - : - : - : - :

The mini I sewed up for Dolores is, as you can see, octagonal. The 1" squares were cut from a second charm pack of Tula Pink's "Plume" that I ordered after falling in love with it in Project Plume.


And a couple of little extras...


Dolores, you made it the most fun--thanks very much!!!

Marilyn

Project Plume

The KC Modern Quilt Guild meeting last night was so fun! Actually, all of the meetings have been fun...but last night was the runway showing of Project Plume...


Fabric designer, Tula Pink, is a member of the guild--she is everything you would want in a designer--modern, sweet, fun...and also generous in so many ways.


At our February meeting, thanks to Tula and Moda Fabrics, 36 charm packs of her latest line, Plume, were given to members interested in a quilting challenge...oh yes, please and thank you:)

The guidelines were posted:

- use ONE charm pack of Plume fabric
- use only one HALF YARD of additional fabric for the top (any fabric of your choosing, does not have to be Plume)

You do not need to use all of the charm pack pieces or an entire half yard. That's just the maximum you get for the quilt top.

(front)

- any fabric for the back and binding

(back)

- bring it to the April meeting
Not a competition, just a fun challenge. It will be great to see what everyone will come up with!


And it was great to see what everyone came up with. I would say mine was kind of basic next to some of the others, but I like the results and I'm now using it for a table runner.

If I find pics of the challenge quilts, I'll be sure to add the link here so you can enjoy them too!

*04/21/10* Edited to add: Shea (Empty Bobbins) posted these pics--Enjoy!




Have a wonderful weekend!

Marilyn

Craft Day Shadow Boxes

Today, thanks to Liam's mom (who wanted me to continue with craft days) and his grandpa (who wanted that too and offered to take care of Liam), I enjoyed time with my regular crafting group at Karla's.

Vicki, (This Art That Makes Me Happy) was so nice to send several of her shadowbox die cutouts and Altered Fairies Creative Scraps to Karla for us to play with...sweet, huh?


Beth's:


Shawn's:


Mary's:


Karla's:


And mine:


What fun to craft the same project but end up with a variety of results...thanks so much, Vicki!!

Marilyn

Quilts, quilts.....lots of quilts!

First, let me show you the Doll Quilt Swap 8 beauty I received from my partner, Meg (Boutique NutMeg Designs)!


She picked up on my love of Anna Maria Horner fabrics and put them together in such a fabulous way...and doesn't it look great on the warm tan wall in my craft room?!

Meg is so creative...she also sent the cutest notepad and note cards and wrapped them up so sweetly with ribbon and crocheted flowers!


Thank you so very much, Meg!

******************************************

More quilts? I'm happy to oblige:)

Lots of Show & Tell quilts from the March 11 meeting of
KC Modern Quilt Guild:



and the February 25 meeting:



After seeing these amazing quilts, I went home from both meetings inspired and ready to sew!

However, I'm currently in the midst of a clean-up, re-organize project in the craft room. Maybe I can rush through that and move on to sewing.....OR maybe I can scoot the craft room stuff aside--I'm an expert at making piles--and move on to sewing! Care to wager?

Marilyn