Fluffy & Puffy

Baby Ducks and Geese near our pond...

Pumpkin Banner - Getting Ready for Halloween...

I saw several variations for a pumpkin banner/table runner

design on line and that inspired me to create something similar...

So off I went to Hobby Lobby to purchase some colors that

I didn't have in my stash... namely oranges.

I also found a piece for the backing/border...  See it?

It's that outrageous "basketball" print  under the brown fabric.

As you know I always like something that is fun

for the backing since you only see 1/2" of

it around the edge of the completed piece.

I had pieced white & green fabrics together to create the

background fabric.   Then I made some paper patterns for 

3 pumpkins, for which I would use 4 different fabrics.  And then

 placed some simple sketches of the leaves to get the general

"lay of the land".

The pumpkins were constructed as a single unit, and then 

I appliquéd  them to the background fabric.

I had fun researching leaf patterns, and eliminated any

that had to many squiggly edges!!!

 

All 22 leaves were appliquéd to the piece using a 

 "blanket stitch" in complementary color and then I used a decorative 

stitch to create the center "stem" line thru all layers of the banner 

once I had the  background, batting & backing 

(basketball fabric) assembled. 

Pretty fun.  After the photo op, the piece was

retired to the closet to wait for October for it's

official appearance!!!

 

B stands for Black Bear(s)

This is the only item in this blog... it deserves your full attention.

My 32 year old Grandson Max lives in AK and "shot" this

video while he was out and about a few days ago.

I know you'll want to watch it more than once...

©2022 Max Harvey

"Q" Stands for Quality Quilting...

Now, this has nothing to do with quilting, but I thought I'd show you

what CA "fuel" prices were like as I headed off to 

“Coloring Your World with Quilts”, a show sponsored by 

The Roseville (CA) Quilters Guild and was a 2-day event.

My friend Julie, weaver, hiker, kayaker and CA friend for over
 20 years went to the Show with me, and 

this was the first Quilt we saw...  I'd like to say right off the bat

if you're not interested in color, design, wild fabrics which have

been constructed into outrageous colorful quilts of all sizes

using a variety of techniques, you might want to skip this blog.

We're also going to be doing a lot of walking and looking,

but no touching.  Of course you can click on any photo

for a larger view!!!

I loved this piece because it made me smile.

Each piece had an accompanying descriptive tag

that told you more about the work the title of the piece; 

the maker; the category in which it was entered and the name of

the person who did the machine quilting, which is often done

by another person.   The artist "drew" the viewer in with this

sentence.  "Only two houses have the same fabric.  Can you

find them?  (Roofs, windows and doors are repeated.)

I'm going to show you a few of my favorites.

I couldn't always get a "head on" shot because I

often had to take my pictures from an unusual angle

due to the other people who were closely admiring

the work.

A King size quilt...

with a detail photo for your enjoyment.

Another piece that made me smile...

I don't remember the title of this one, but the use of

color was fabulous as a bed of tulips became butterflies.

And who could not stop by to meet "Eli the Elephant"

who was entered in the Small Quilts category.  After

the quilt was pieced/appliquéd together, the maker

did hand embroidery to keep "Eli" together!!!

Bonnie Ellering was the maker and the machine quilter

of this piece called "The Butler Ghost Castle which was

also entered in the Small Quilts category.

She made the design by finding a picture online,

enlarging it and added lines so it could be "paper pieced".

She changed the window to be larger with a view of

The Cliffs of Moher, Ireland.  This is where she imagined

the ghost would like to haunt.  A haunt with a view.

I found the detail in this piece incredible... and if you

look closely you might see a ghostly shape in the dark area

at the left, or was that just my imagination???  Regardless

just take the spiral staircase down for a colorful view...

This picture made my "cut" because I liked one friend

helping another.

And who wouldn't like  an appliquéd

Iris in the center... You know what to do for a closer view!!!

Sorry I couldn't get a full view of this piece called "Critters"

which was entered in the "Medium Quilts, Appliquéd" category

The images originated from a British card company

who granted permission to the maker of the quilt

to use them in her quilt.

The part she enjoyed most was finding just the right fabrics

to make the animals come alive!!!!

The creator and quilter of this piece titled

"My Old Glory" was made to honor her son who served

in Desert Storm as a Marine.  He passed away at 

the age of 42.

As an outdoor enthusiast I loved the subtle shades of

this quilt and the simple story book design,

especially the central panner where the 2 bears are

roasting marshmallows over an open fire.

Funky Stripes was entered in the  "Extra Large Pieced Quilts".

The quilt was made from an Allison Quilt Design Kit that

included fabrics designed by fabric designer Kaffe Fossett.

"Art Quilts" is the category in which this piece was entered.

The artist used preprinted fabrics to build the elements,

such as mountains and trees, and raw edge appliqué techniques.

You'll definitely want to click on this close-up

for even more detail.

What more can I say, I'm going to need another lifetime.

Hope you enjoyed the SHOW!!!

Oh yes, I almost forgot something... Back at photo #13 

"Butler Ghost Castle" I mentioned the piece was created with 

Paper Piecing.  Well I kept asking Julie what that meant and

so a few minutes later she came back with this book from

one of the vendor booths.  I guess I'lll need a lifetime and

a half to learn all this!!!