Twister Quilts

At Bonnie's request, I'll share a little more about twister quilts.  These rulers are so steady with their gripping feet.  I enjoyed the ease and speed of making both the large and small size.  There's another one I'm working on for a baby quilt, but I'll wait to share that one until it's ready.

I saw a twisted heart on the internet and decided to give it a try.  Ironically, I had won a fat quarter bingo (400 FQ's !!!) that Bonnie hosted several years ago.  So, I happened to have lots of perfect fabrics ready for this heart.  First, I sewed 5" squares into a 5 by 5 grid.  Then, I added a 3" border.

Next, I used the Lil' Twister ruler to cut out my new blocks.

Here are several blocks which have been cut.

And now the top is hanging in my LQS (Local Quilt Shop) to inspire fellow quilters.

There were leftover pieces from cutting with the Lil' Twister.  Since these were so small, I trimmed them to identical size and made a mug rug.  Many of my friends select matching coffee mugs to showcase their mug rugs.  There is a little bit of mossy green in some of these fabrics, but they just don't show up here. 

The Dr. Seuss quilt started with the larger Twister ruler.  It had a similar beginning.  Cut with the ruler.  Resew.  Add a new border.  Quilt.  Bind.  Enjoy.

Don't waste those remnants!  Can you see the Twister Ruler overlayed on these pieced scraps?

It's off to work I go.  I'm looking forward to late afternoon when I can get back to my fabrics.  Please come back and visit again.
- SeeingStars

Simple Shabby Chic String Quilt

This top was made over a year ago, but now that I have a plan for it, I quilted it quickly.  The added thickness of muslin foundation made it hard for the hopping foot to glide over the seams.  Once I raised the take up and belly bars, things worked a little easier.
I'm going to use the extra batting and backing to quilt a rectangle to make a little bag before taking this off the frame.  Then, I'll get the binding done quickly so I can mail it to my aunt.

Maybe next time, I'll quilt a design in the center strip (white here)  and then fill the strings with feathers.  There's another WIP (Work In Progress) in my sewing room with red centers and black/white strings.

Enjoy your day!
- SeeingStars

Celebrating Seuss

Here's a quilt I made when my LQS (local quilt shop) hosted a Dr. Seuss challenge.  We quilters scooped up as many Thing 1's, Hortons, Grinches and Cat in the Hats as we could carry and made them into something bright and colorful.

I had seen the Twister and Lil' Twister patterned quilts and knew this was my plan for these fabrics.  For the free motion quilting, I made swirls that look like Thing 1 and Thing 2's hair and I made duck feet flowers.  I'm grateful for a DVD by Myrna Ficken, which expanded my quilting skills and provided ideas for this quilt.

There's about a 4 inch square left over when using the larger Twister.  So I made 4 patches and added the black pieces left over from the first border, used the Twister ruler again and came up with this one.  I've pieced a back with the final scraps of my Seuss fabrics and this one is waiting it's turn to be quilted. 

There's a string quilt on the frame today.  It will bring cheer and comfort to my Aunt Helen, who's fighting breast cancer right now.  I hope I can share it with you soon.

The birds are happy today.  Lots of chirps and whistles.  They must be as thrilled as I am to see the dogwoods blossom.  I absolutely love Spring!

A Christmas wallhanging is finished!

A year or two ago, I received this quilt top in the mail.  My friend decided it would remain a UFO, so she passed it on to me.  How fun!

I've played with various quilting designs all over it - using a few different thread colors.  Mostly the threads match, but the center tree has some contrasting threads.  I've been hand sewing the binding as I wait for kids' music lessons.  Often, it's had to be put on hold while a baby quilt was finished before the shower date.  Soooo, it finally done and ready to be shown off.

I've found lots of inspiration from The Free Motion Quilting Project.  If you want to expand your machine quilting possibilities, you absolutely need to visit Leah and put her ideas into practice.  She's taken the time to video each design as her sews.  I've made lots of small 6" practice squares of her designs with my sewing machine.  Then I've been able to use them or make up my own for playing around like I've done with this tree quilt.

Here are a few more photos.

 This is a view of the back.

Enjoy your day.  Spring here is so vibrant.  Greens, pinks, whites, yellows..... Wow!

Red Feathers

OK.  I admit it.  I went a little overboard.  I also ignored all the wisdom of more experienced quilters.  But I had a good reason..... I just wanted to try this.
Maybe that's a wimpy reason.

So all the mistakes are easily spotted with this high contrast thread, but I hope the end result has brought a playful mood to this quilt.  Someone donated it to Project Linus and I volunteered to quilt it.

Most of the spines are filled in with a design.  I think my favorites are either the dragon scales or the swirls inside of circles.

Dragon Scales ...

And Swirls ...

 - SeeingStars

Joining the Scraps to Treasure Challenge

There's a fresh sign up which ends March 27th (this Sunday).  So, if you're interested in participating, you can follow the link below for all the specifics.

In a nutshell ...
You'll pick out 2 fabrics and send a quantity of 6 inch squares of these to the hostess.  This amount will be determined by how many participants we'll have.  It's around 25 right now.  Then you'll receive a package with a set of squares from all the participants.  You'll get to add a few more.  Finally, you'll make a quilt using at least 2 inch squares (or equivalent) from all these fabrics.

• Fun? Absolutely.
• Challenging?  Of course!  See the title again.
• Rewarding?  Tremendously.  You'll have that feeling of accomplishment after overcoming a little fear and those inner whispers of "What have I gotten myself into this time?"  and you'll be blessed to donate the quilt to a charity of your choice.  Double the rewards.

When you sign up, be sure and mention that SeeingStars sent you.  We'll both receive a couple of bonus squares to use in our quilt.  You get to select any fabrics you'd like to add bonus squares.  They really help when you need a little more lights (or darks).

All the details (Click Here)

SeeingStars

Dancing With the Stars

Well, we all start with baby steps.
For this blog, my first step will be few words and a photo.

Here's a quilt I made from the HGTV Scraps to Treasure Challenge.  It will be in a raffle in April 2011 to raise money for Muscular Dystrophy.  To find out more, you can come back again and I'll have the details.

- SeeingStars