Sew Awesome

 Dear Readers,

I recently made a challenge quilt.  The challenge, sponsored by Mountain Quiltfest in Pigeon Forge, was to create a quilt that represents Celebration.  It was also the 30th anniversary for the show, so as a guild we looked up what color represented the 30th anniversary and it was green.  We also found out that pearls are the gift for that anniversary.  So the guild picked a medium green and a dark green fabrics that you would have to use a recognizable amount.   They also said it had to by 20 inches by 20 inches.  PTQ said your quilt should represent celebration.  We needed at least 5 people to participate.  We ended up with more than that but I don't remember how many.  I will add photos of the others later.  But here is mine:

I decided to Celebrate a win at the quilt show by making lots of mini quilts, using the two greens and had one getting the blue ribbon!  Will found a blue ribbon charm at Michaels web site and told me it was available in the Columbus Michaels.  I made the little quilts, put hanging sleeves on each of them and hung them on zip ties that I had cut to be the right length for each quilt.  I drilled small holes in the end of each zip tie so I could sew them down to the background quilt.  I cut the ladies out of scrap fabric and fused them down.  

I named it Sew Awesome.  

Some of the other ladies celebrated engagements, fireworks, balloons, anniversaries.  I will update when I get photos of the others.

Terry

Hidden Things

 Hi Readers,

I had a finish last week, but have not had a chance to update my blog.  I had taken a quick trip to North and South Carolina.  I stopped in North Carolina, and visited with my brother and his wife.  I had made a quilt for them last year, but decided they should have two, so they wouldn't have to share...so I gave them this quilt I made in 2022.  And in looking for a photo, I just realized I missed writing a post about this quilt.  I will take care of that tonight.

This post is about my latest finish.  I called it Hidden Things.  It is, wait for it, another eye spy quilt.  I haven't done one in a while, but Sue is having another grandson and I thought we would make an eye spy quilt.  So we picked animal prints as they had a theme of the great outdoors.  That is not what Sue was calling it, but it amounts to the same thing.  I found a really cool quilting pattern to put on it.  

The Front

This quilt was a group effort, Sue's mom Betty picked the hexies out of my hexi box, Sue was the ironer and I sewed.  

Close up of quilting

The back 

We had a good visit and got the top done, a sheet, got the back ready and Sue and Diane each embroidered some thing for Oliver James Harmon!!  I look forward to meeting you!

Sew on,

Terry

Summer Breeze

 Dear Readers,

Back in 2022, I did a sew a-long with Pat Sloan called Sweet Dreams.  I decided to do it entirely from my stash.  Of course that did not make a dent, but I also wanted to use an piece of fabric I had bought in Okinawa in the nineties to be the inspiration for the colors that were to go into the quilt.  Pat Sloan was releasing a block a week over the spring of the year and amazingly I kept up!  

I used a swirly pattern that went edge to edge for the quilting.

I used the same backgrought in all the blocks and used up all the green and pink fabric in this quilt.  It was fun.  The back also came from my stash.  

The back

Have fun.

Sew on,

Terry

The Gift - Updated!

 Dear Readers,

I finished a Christmas quilt this week.  I know, I know I am a couple of weeks late, but it is the first finish of 2024 and that is somewhat appropriate.  Will helped come up with the name and scripture, and while I suggested we look in Luke or Isaiah for a verse, he came up with this verse in James and I really like it.  Will found James 1:17 - Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.

The pattern is by Sew Kind of Wonderful, called Starry Night, and requires that you buy their ruler.    I did a block of the month from Stitchin' Heaven.  While I enjoyed the process, I wish I had just bought the book and the ruler.  I like picking my own fabrics a lot!  The block of the month program does keep you on track to finish timely, and if I hadn't let indecision and life in general get ahead of me, I would have finished before Christmas.  

I custom quilted this and changed colors a lot, so I have included close ups of each of the elements of the quilt.  

Stitchin' Heaven sends a backing fabric to use, but it was a tone on tone red and I wanted something different.  So I put that away to use on another quilt.  Finally I found this neat print of Bethlehem and put it on the back, but I made a cutting error so I had to figure out how to make it work, so I put a star in the middle.  Thank you Stitchin' Heaven for a fun quilt.

And finally the label.

PS

I entered the quilt in the Pieces and Strings Quilt Show and it won 1st place in the modern quilt category and a judges choice ribbon.  I was so excited I decided to enter it into the Plano Quilt Show in August.  Here is a copy of the award and the judges comments.  I will sew the ribbons on the back after the Plano show.  Hopefully, I will have another update!!

                                             

Sew on readers,

Terry