Happy Birthday Morgan!

Morgan (my oldest) turned 18 last week! I can't believe it. She is a remarkable girl. I am very proud of her. Whatever she does in life, she will be successful. She is planning on Nursing school and has all her college applications on in...now to see where she will go. She will make a great nurse. I love this picture of her (she is the red head on the right and that is Paige on the left). It was taken at the Frog Pond at the Boston Common a few years ago. She is brave enough to try anything but smart enough to be cautious. We used to build a skating rink in the back yard - fun for the whole family.
I sold this bag last week, to a wonderful client in Florida. I hope she likes it:)
I made this Christmas tree skirt during my weekend get a way with my quilt guild. I saw the pattern here at sew4home which I found through Vicki Welsh's Whistlestop Web Tour.
I wanted to buy new fabrics for it but I am trying to use up what I have. My friends at the GAW thought it looked like something from the new Dr. Seuss' Grinch movie...that was the goal:)
I did a little quilting and added some Swarovski crystals.
Here is a postcard I made for a friend who just had surgery. She is a quilter so I knew this would be perfect for her. It is a Michael Miller fabric called Dysfunctional Family:)
I made and sent 4 postcards the other day. These are the simple type just fabric and crystals. Everyone seems to enjoy getting them.

Fall 2009 Get A Way

I went to my quilting get a way last weekend and had a blast as usual. It was so nice to sew from Friday morning till Sunday afternoon. There were meals and shopping trips in between but most of the time is spent creating and laughing. The group I go with is such fun. We have a remote fart machine that we plant around the room it is so funny to see the reaction. It never gets old! I bought a bag of plastic cock roaches this year and they were fun too.
There were several of my closest friends missing this year due to all kinds of reasons and they were missed.
Here is my new light box I bought at Ocean State Job Lot - I really like the results.
This is a bag I made for myself for the Christmas season. I made it while giving a tutorial to my friend Gail. She is an excellent quilter and her bag came out beautifully, wish I had a picture.
The inside is fun!



Here is a custom Murphy Bag I made for a woman in Florida as a Christmas present to herself.
This bag has a cute handle...It's adjustable:)

We have a lot of birthdays in the next few months and Kevin's come first - he turned 45! He is so happy with his new dirt bike:)

Thankful Everyday...

Here is what I did with my painted pieces from one of my classes in Houston. Look at the post below for details. I had fun (most important part) and did the whole thing in about 2 hours. I am under the gun to finish something for a challenge. I needed a 10" x 10" piece about being Thankful ~ this represents so many things to be thankful about but the one I wanted to express was my trip to Houston. I am so lucky to be able to go away and do what I love with the full support of my family. I wake up thankful everyday!

This picture was taken inside and the colors are true. I used my hand dyed fabric for the borders.

This picture was taken outside (beautiful sunny day) and you can see the quilting a little better. I tried to add ghost black eyed susan's in the quilting and some meandering for fill. I know people say it's overused but sometimes it's the right choice...like today when time was short:)

I took this picture about a month ago...before I went to Houston. I think it would make a great painted piece....I am looking forward to using acrylics on fabric again.

I am participating in Art Everyday of the Month and so far it has been wonderful. I sew everyday but doing it purposefully to be creative has be great.

Houston IQF 2009 part two

While I was in Houston at the International Quilt Festival I took a class with Patt Blair Her quilts are beautiful! The class was called "portraits eveyone can paint" We used tsukineko inks. I LOVED it. I can't wait to play with them again.

I chose to do a portrait of myself because I figured if it didn't come out good the person I chose wouldn't be happy:) I am pleasantly surprised at the results. It isn't easy to look at yourself and embrace how you really look!

This is how it looked right after the class.

I did added some more detail to the eyes and the teeth...
I added some borders...I used a piece of Christine Fries' hand dyed fabric...it was the perfect color wave for this. I only wish I had inked the background with another color. I could take the borders off and do it but I realized this is only for me, next time I use this flesh color fabric I will make sure I do something in the background. The dilemma is how do I quilt it?? I have to do some research on the best way to quilt the face, I don't want to ruin it!
Below is another class I took was called Magic Garden 3 D taught by Traci Lyn Huskamp and her mother in law Marilyn. They were great teachers and I learned so much in thier class. We used acrylic paints and a light table. Traci is a wonderful artist and photographer, too. I bought her book and I am so glad, it has tons of information in it.
On the left are the photo copies we used in the class ~ on the right are my results.

Here is the latest practice piece on chameuse with silk thread and silk batting. I have learned a lot doing this type of intense quilting. I hope to make a bag using this technique, the texture is so pretty. I am not sure what I will do with it.....

Houston IQF 2009 part one

I had a fabulous time in Houston. The Festival Director Karey Bresenhan, and her staff, are doing a wonderful job of bringing over 50,000 people together to share in a common interest and have a blast while doing it! If you want to see all the winners from the show and a whole bunch of other cool stuff go here and click on the winners button on the left side of the page. I took awesome classes and went to a terrific machine quilting forum. I met lots of cool people and had a nice little break from being the mother of four.

This quilt is called My Quilt Room by YASUKO ITO and Oharibako of CHIBA CITY, CHIBA REF, JAPAN and it is one of my favorites!!!

The Japanese do unbelievable work! They are extremely clever with fabric (much of which I consider ugly) Their quilts are just amazing...This one is a group quilt of their sewing rooms. They won second place in the group category.
This is such a clever way to join their blocks!!! Little slippers attach the blocks and you can see through the quilt...
Another group quilt I loved (of course because I grew up in Melrose and live in MA) is this one of Fenway Park...so cool - they got third place in the category.
The details of the Fenway Park quilt are below...



My friends and travel buddies...Terri, Tammy, me, and June. Missing from this picture is Sue and Elaine. My friend (and roommate last year) Cathy took this shot. We were having A drink at the hotel and had a super time catching up. I saw lots of friends I met last year...so cool to see them again. I think it safe to say that we had a great time together. I brought 5 friends along this year. A couple had been to market years ago but none had ever been to festival. June was the perfect roommate:)

I donated this quilt to the IQA auction and I was thrilled to see the bid sheet (posted below with the names spray painted out) That made me feel good:)

Black and White Diaper Bag

I have a bunch of pictures to upload from my trip to Houston (I had a blast) but until I do that here are some shots of a commissioned bag I made. They wanted a diaper bag and wallet made from the same black and white fabric I used in a bag I made last year for the recipient. They wanted the J added to personalize it. I made the changing mat out of some soft white fabric I had and white Naugahyde.
I used metallic thread for the quilting on the J...always a challenge but with nice results.

It measures 20"x15"x4" - it has a zipper closure and 10 pockets inside.
I used a cute black and white polka dot for the handles and a hand dyed (purchased in Houston) turquoise for the welt and J.

The wallet is a design by June Peckingham...I have made it several times and it always comes out nice. I added an outside pocket for a cell phone. I also did a velcro closure instead of a snap.
Swarovski crystals added to the bag and wallet give it that special sparkle I love:)
The inside has a 6 credit card pockets, a check book and cash section and a zippered pocket for change. There is also a spot for recietps behind the zippered section and a wristlet. I had fun pulling fabric for this one.
I delivered it today and they loved it:)

Kevin and I went to the Fuller Craft Museum last week. We had a wonderful time. We took lots of pictures of very cool art. We had a delicious lunch at the museum. Below is the coolest polymer art piece.

It's about 5' tall, and the colors are amazing!


Here were are...we both realize we are looking older:)
I have been busy making bags...I love the gigham and strips...
I did a lot of quilting on the bag below, and I tea dyed it so the white became a little more like beige.
This bag is a nice combo of off whites and blacks, neutral and funky!

My hand dyed blue free motion quilted. I love the red in the print, so electric!
I made this little cosmetic bag with some pretty scraps... it's 3"X9"
I am heading to the International Quilt Festival in Houston on the 13th. One week from today. I am going with some friends from my quilt guild. I am rooming with June. We both signed up for classes. I am taking a few painting on fabric classes, a foiling class and a machine quilting forum and the sampler on Friday. I am heading to the MIU/Quilting Arts booth 1244 to see what they have in store...they are a fun crowd. I am hoping to come home with new fabrics for more bags and some new painting techniques. The hardest part about going is leaving the family. Kevin is awesome but four kids and a dog are a lot to manage. I know they will do really well but I will miss them! Love you guys and thanks for letting me go away!

Live and Let Live

I was pulling the morning glory off the railing this morning. The stuff has been a bit if a nightmare. I threw a packet of seeds along the sunny side of my house a few years ago and now it's everywhere. I let it go this year but it needs to be eradicated next spring. Anyway while doing that this morning I found this. Luckily I thought to look in this little batch of cozy leaves.
I rested in my bowl of heart shaped rocks (I have been collecting since the summer I lived on Martha's Vinyard - 1985) to take some photos.


Isn't the design on it's back beautiful??
It has legs like a crab...
I think it may be dead because it hasn't moved. I was very gentle with the leaves so I don't think I killed it. I used to be really afraid of spiders, not so anymore. My friend Paul Knapik told me it's good to have lots of bugs and stuff, it means your environment is healthy.

I took this picture last week, so I have been having some good luck with spiders.
My latest Murphy Bag - I got this cool buckle at the Franklin Mill...It sold the day I made it. To my hair stylist - Linda.
8 pockets in two different colors, helps with the organization of your life.
I had fun quilting curls and I added a welt around the top and Swarovski crystals of course!

PS it's Show and Tell Friday...I just found this blog amylouwhoquilts this evening after posting this today...I hope to blog and Show and Tell every Friday!

altering * practicing * giving

I am getting my quilt ready to send to the AQS show in Des Moines. I needed to move the sleeve a bit to give it some slack.
It's called 1970's Corduroy because it reminds me of a dress I had as a child. I used my hand dyed fabric to match the border fabric.


I have always liked the back of this quilt. I used a thread that was too big but the shapes are pretty.

I am taking a class with Diane Loomis. She is an unbelievable quilter, her work is outstanding. I am learning so much from her. I seem to want to move too fast, I must slow down if I want to improve but it's hard. I have 4 kids! I am so lucky to be home all day with them all in school now (my youngest is in third grade) for 3 years. I have a lot of catching up to do and I have so much I want to make.
We used Silk Charmeuse and silk thread.





I made some postcards for friends who have had some health problems. I love making them, they are tiny little canvas's where you can do whatever you want.

I used triangles cut hexagons, silk waste ( which I discovered along with a million other cools things from two workshops I took with Christine Fries), variegated thread and Swarovski crystals.

recycling shirts and donating more art

I finished my donation for the International Quilt Festival in Houston. I put a little binding on it. No crystals though, unusual for me...
I ended up making two quilts, I like to give back when I can. It was such a special thing to go to Houston last year. The IQA treated me so well that I wanted to say thank you. I hope they raise some money with my donations. I faced this one, I love the facing, it works well for a landscape.

Here are the supplies I used last week to recycle a shirt that had a stain on it. I bought the paints in Houston from Artistic Artifacts. I had the other stuff lying around. I learned (of course you always do with the first) I am looking forward to making more. I have a few shirts with stains...
Here is the shirt! It washed beautifully and I got a few compliments on it when I wore it the other day...I offered to do some for some friends, for practice.
I need help deciding which Murphy Bag to donate to a Breast Cancer Fundraiser. Which one do you think I should donate?

Comfort Quilts and more Blue Willow

My guild, Thimble Pleasures Quilt Guild, makes and donates comfort quilts. We have given quilts to hundreds of people. They go to people who are ill, lost a loved one, lost their home - basically anyone who needs comfort. My friend June made three tops just like this and let me quilt them while practicing on my Bernina quilting frame and my Bernina 440. I didn't take pictures of the first two but here is the third. I learn more every time I use it. I give you long-armers a lot of credit...it is very difficult! I did circles - varying sizes. I am practicing for my green and brown quilt for my bedroom.

I serge the edges of my quilts to keep them in good shape while they are being bound.
I washed the quilt so they are really puffy:) I had to wash it because the needle marks really showed on the white on white fabrics. Some of them had a lot of paint on them.

Below is the best shot to click on to see the quilting.

Below is a auction piece of the International Quilt Festival in Houston. I made it using left over pieces from my Blue Willow quilt (in an entry below). I had some trouble with my quilting on the white. I used a blue backing and every now and then you can see a hint of it. I should have used a white back. Lesson learned.
I had fun with my threads and stitches....
I appliquilted (did all my applique stitch after it was sandwiched with batting and backing) everything and now I am working on the quilting. It will be 20" x 20"when it's finished. I am really looking forward to going to Houston; seeing the quilts, vendors, friends, people, time away....

Ted Kennedy

This picture was taken when I was in elementary school. My mother worked for the Melrose Evening News and he was planning a visit that day to her office. She let us miss school to see him. He was very nice as I recall and looking at the picture over the years I always thought he was handsome. My parents were divorced and I remember this seemed so much like a family photo. Also in the shot is my mother, my sister (in the cool patchwork blouse) and my brother John. He autographed the original photo "To the McKenna kids--nice to meet you! Ted Kennedy" We took it to school to show our teachers and classmates.

He is someone that cared about vets, firefighters, teachers and the vulnerable. I guess to a kid from Boston that was who we wanted as our Senator.

I got a notice from the AQS today that my quilt 197o's Corduroy was excepted into their Des Moines show. I was very happy to get a ribbon on it at the Lowell Quilt Festival. It was a teacher's choice award from Christine Fries Ureel. She was a featured quilter at the show. I wrote to her to thank her (she and I have been in contact because she is coming to my guild to lecture and teach in September) and she said she hadn't known it was "my" quilt. That was nice to know that she chose it because she liked and not because it was mine.
This is the border fabric and the inspiration for the piece. I used my hand dyed fabrics to make the flowers.

Iraqi Bundles of Love

I am participating in this great idea! You can too...here is the link to the Iraqi Bundles of Love blog. There is also a Face Book page. Basically you get a medium size APO box ($11.95 to ship) from your post office...follow Art's (he is a Major in the Army serving in Iraq who has a wife and family members who are quilters) instructions on filling the box and send it to him. He'll do the rest. I love the idea of helping woman and girls less fortunate to sew/quilt. You can also visit Sewmamasew.com and they will ship a bundle for you. The picture below is a request from Art to take a picture of my husband (an army vet) eating ice cream after sunset. It's a bowl of Hood Red Sox Caramel Comeback...he was happy to oblige.....


Here is the stack of fabrics I pulled from my stash...
Here is an overall shot of the stuff I am sending....
It feels good to pay it forward.

2010 Award Winning Quilts Calendar

I was excited to get the mail today...the calendar with my quilt came in the mail! It's so cool to see something you made in a product sold to so many people.
The other quilts are amazing and I have seen them all in person because they are all winning quilts from the International Quilt Festival 2008 Show. The page above has a nice write up about each quilt and quilter.
My quilt is the month of August which is perfect since I took the picture for the quilt in August. The garden looks just like that as I write.
Martingale Press prints the calendar and they did a beautiful job. Mary Green was so helpful they even sent me a disk of the shot the photographer, Brent Kane, took of my quilt for the calendar. You can read more about the here . It was part of a Round Robin Slice Quilt made with 7 woman who made a block for my quilt: Suzanne Thibeault, Louise Redding, Gail Niland, June Peckingam, Carol Middleton, Jane Lowell and Linda Ramrath. They each ended up with a quilt too.
They were on display as a special exhibit at the Lowell Quilt Festival. The pictures below show all the quilts.

Fall on Your Wall

I got a letter from the International Quilt Festival Houston asking me to donate a quilt for their silent auction during the show-so I will have a quilt in the IQF show after all :)Below is the quilt I made "Fall on Your Wall". I have made a few like this but this one is slightly larger and I handled the reflection differently. I couldn't believe I had that (the reflection) fabric in my stash. I wanted to use only batiks and I didn't want to buy any fabric. I quilted it on my new Bernina quilting frame and I am feeling a little more confident.



I tried to quilt in tree branches to fill the space. I used 5 different colored threads in the tree quilting and then I used a decorative quilting stitch to applique the trees down.
I not only found the perfect fabric for the reflection but I had the perfect variegated thread too!
Below is a picture of Griffin with the pillow he made. I told Paige and Griffin we would sew this summer and it finally happened. It went really well and it will happen again:) They both did such a good job with matching their squares and keeping the pattern that we laid out originally.

This is Paige with her pillow. We used fabrics that are in her bed quilt. She did and awesome job, too. They both enjoyed the stuffing part. I don't know what we will make next...maybe some grocery store bags.

giving quilts away for good causes

Below is a gift I made for a friend who was recently diagnosed with Breast Cancer. She has an amazing attitude. She knows she will come out of this a stronger person. I am inspired by her. I thought she could use this to take to her treatments to bring whatever she may want while she is there.


One of the highlights this summer was going to Albany to see family ~ which was just wonderful. We went to celebrate my aunt Sister Mary Glavin's 50th Jubilee. We loved seeing all of our family and hope we get to see them again soon! Below is the quilt I made for her. It is a signature quilt and I had everyone at the celebration sign the wings with a purple pen. She loved it and I love her. She has been a very important part of my life. The quilt was made for her and for my guilds annual challenge meeting - this year the theme was butterflies.




Below is my donation to the Priority Quilt to help the Alzheimer's Art Quilt Initiative. I used all the scraps from my Blue Willow quilt seen below in a few other postings. I was bummed to get the letter saying it didn't get into Houston but I will enter it in a few other shows.




Below is a detail shot of my guilds - Thimble Pleasures Quilt Guild - latest raffle quilt. It is a queen size and machine quilted by Kathy Sperino . She did an exquisite job on it.


Here is a shot of the whole quilt. The guild members made the blocks and did the hand applique. Gina Brooks is the chair and I know Shirley Bangma, Donna Hopkins, Sharon Morris, Coral Barry and Susan Arena helped. Bravo ladies. If you want to buy some tickets 6 for $5 or 1 for $1 email me at quiltsomuch@aol.com


My nephew Stephan and his wife Stephanie had their baby in late June, her name is Natalie and she is precious.

piano and purses

Paige had her Piano Recital in the middle of June and it was amazing...She can play so beautifully, I just can't begin to understand how she reads the music and plays the notes. Bravo Paige!
Below is a new Murphy Bag I made you can see it for sale at my etsy shop. It was fun to pull the fabrics for this and the quilting is that teardrop shape I like so much.
This is the quilt the kids in Paige's class made for the teacher. They each made one of the stars in a fabric that was hand dyed. The center is a panel from keepsake. They study the Solar System in fourth grade so she will be able to display this in her classroom as a learning tool. I quilted it on my new Bernina quilting frame. I finally had a chance to treat it with a flame retardant. We had so much rain I never had a long enough period to spray it and let it dry.
These are three bags I made recently, I sold the two on the top of the photo. I love them both and was happy to sell them both to friends:)

quilting with kids

Here are some of the blocks from Griffin's teachers quilt. He is 8 and in 2nd grade. I really respect the work teachers do and I am so thankful that my kids have had wonderful teachers:)
I love to go into the classroom and sew with the kids. A few years ago our guild did a community service project for a year making quilts from The Quiltmaker's Gift book. The idea was for us to go out into the community and make quilts with people who may not ever have the chance to sew or quilt. It was a huge success and it's legacy lives on in quilts like this.
The kids used my hand dyed fabric to create a unique butterfly. They are studying the butterfly life cycle in school. I had them sketch a butterfly on paper and use it as their inspiration. They used their neighbors scraps to decorate the wings, etc. I gave them each 12 crystals to embellish the butterflies wings.
I had lots of help from mom's who didn't sew but could iron, supervise, etc. This is a close up of the quilting - it was good to practice on my frame. I almost ran out of thread and called followthatthread.com and it was here the next day!
Here is the quilt! Can you believe these kids are in second grade? They pieced the quilt and they did a nearly perfect job, I am just amazed!
This is the label I made (I hadn't stitched around the pieces when I took the picture). I am going to have the kids sign the center for the teacher.

lucky me

Here is Paige on her 10th birthday! She commissioned a Murphy Bag for a new school bag:) She liked it (thank goodness).

Here she is with her new ipod - it was all she wanted. She had a party at a plaster painting place with 10 friends. She donated all her gifts to the Lahey Clinic. We got the idea from a friend. All the gifts her friends brought were donated to the kids who are in the hospital. The gifts are dolled out to the kids while having treatment. She is a very kind kid:) Her haircut is a big hit!

Here is Morgan just before the prom, I think she looks beautiful! She picked out the dress all by herself. I was frustrated because she bought a 3 but needed a 1. I am not a seamstress and altering was stressful:) I miss my friend Sharon T!

I love the colors and pattern of the dress. I can see a quilt here:)

This is one of four commissioned Murphy Bags I am making for a friend. They all have the dragonfly fabric. The dragonfly is significant to the family due to a death. She wanted one for her mom, sister, niece and herself. This is the bag for her mom.



I am working on two quilts for Paige and Griffin's teachers. I will post pictures when they are done.
My cell phone quilt is on display at the Mazmanian gallery at Framingham State this month. I hope to go to the reception...

Finishing

I finished my Blue Willow quilt (well almost finished - I have to tack on the birds and hand stitch the fused facing) I made it for my dining room to go under the glass - you can see a picture of the dining room in a posting below.
I learned to face the quilt from this great blog! Barnyard Chatter I am happy with how it came out and it was the perfect solution for under the glass - I thought binding might be too thick.

I did most of the satin stitching before I quilted it. I used lots of different stitches when I quilted it but not as many as I would have liked. I sometimes used the BSR on my Bernina 440 and sometimes I didn't. I am not sure how I feel about it but I did use it on the white background.


I had a great time picking fabrics, threads and crystals for this quilt. Some of the vegetation is 3D - I like to make those fusible sandwiches (I first learned from Joan Shay with misty fuse or heat n bond light.

Blue Willow Progress

I have made a lot of progress on the quilt but it is not quit finished. I am done quilting it and I'm pleased with how it came out. I faced this quilt and love the results. I put crystals on there, more to put on just waiting until I have finished the three people on the bridge and of course the birds.
I am hoping to enter it into Houston International Quilt Festival. I am going back this year and bringing 7 friends who have not been:)

I am pleased with the fence, it's 3D. I had just enough thread - it was scary watching the last little bit come off the spool as I finished the last section of fence.
I love the tree with the silk trunk, I think its that Broderie Perse flowers. There are about 35 different blue fabrics in the quilt.
The willow branches are 3D and tacked on so that they have some deminsion and texture.
Below is how it will look when it's all done. It will be under the glass of our dining room table. You can see the facing in this shot.
When it's all done I will post another picture. Hopefully by then I will have started my next quilt too:)

what makes something pretty?

I was asked to make a quilt for a woman as a gift from her friends. The recipient is a young mother with cancer. They wanted to put a piece of clothing from each of their (13 total) kids into the quilt as a reminder to their friend of all the love and memories they share. Below is the label they wanted to add to the quilt.



At first it was hard to design because I am used to making pretty quilts, coordinating fabrics, pretty patterns, etc. I decided after the quilt was done this was one of the prettiest I had made because of the love behind it:)
My daughters and I went to a shower last weekend for my niece. She is a lovely girl married to my terrific nephew. In the photo is Morgan 17, me, Jillian 15 and Paige 9 - with her new haircut.
I made this for the baby. It's a girl! I wanted to make her something she could take to sleepovers at Grandma's house. I consider it her first piece of luggage.


Her are my bags with my new label on them. I like the label and it seems others do too.

This is the new backpack I made. It has lots of room and it 8 pockets inside. The flap is heavily quilted and has lots of crystals on it.
I had some of my quilts professionally photographed by Andy Spencer He did a fantastic job.
This quilt was made using a photograph from a magazine. I made it in a year long class with Louisa Smith.

new spring murphy bags and the weekend in Sturbridge

My quilts were on display at the Charlton Sewing Center during part of February. It was fun to see them all hanging up in one place. The lone star (to the left in the picture below) was my first big quilt. I machine quilted it. I can remember my friends thinking I had unusual taste in fabric.

Kevin, Paige and Griffin came to the reception and he took this picture of me (I dyed this sweater).
I have been making new bags for spring. I realized I only had a couple left and so I began pulling fabrics for the next wave. I really like the color coral...can you tell.

These are my new labels! I have to get used to sewing them on before the bag is done! Can you believe that the flower matched up so perfectly...it was totally by accident!


This is a messenger style bag ~ called the Griffin after my son...I love this fabric! I put jewels all over it:) here is the video so you can see how the crystals sparkle.


These are Flat Sharon's (like flat Stanley the children's story) ~ we made them in honor of our friend Sharon. We were away at our Get A Way weekend quilting in Sturbridge. We were hoping She could come up from NC but no such luck. We each took a few minutes and embellished FS with some fun fabrics, accessories....We had so much fun decorating them. My favorite is the bottom left...Elisa Murphy made Flat Sharon "emo" or goth looking.
I miss Sharon...she was a good friend. Thanks to facebook and email we keep in touch.

Blue Willow underway

The quilt I have been working on is the second in a series. I made the first one "Jade Willow" last year for my bedroom. I had planned on making this quilt first and I have been collecting the perfect fabrics for a few years. The inspiration for this quilt series came from my collection of blue and white plates that are hung on the dining room wall. I like to collect pieces with blue willow theme and also commemorative plates. My first pieces came from my Grandmother ~ Ruth Gordon Glavin aka Vava. She had been to Copenhagen and brought back some pretty little (3") blue and white plates. You can see the plates from her in the center of the wall. She was a great lady.
Below is the section with most of the Blue Willow pieces. I love the lid and the candle holder best.
I am making the quilt to go under the glass of the dining room table. We eat here often because the island only has four seats.
I am at the point that I should iron on the fused pieces and begin appliqueing them. I need to clean off my ironing surface and then get Kevin to help me carefully move there. I am a little anxious about the white background for obvious reasons. I am planning to put the quilt under the glass on my dining room table.

Below is a detailed shot of the focal point in the quilt, the willow tree.
Another detail shot - I loved choosing the fabrics for this quilt. I tried not to duplicate - however there are few places where I did.
This is one of my favorite parts of the quilt, I had been keeping this piece of variegated blue fabric for some special reason and I think I found the perfect place for it. I haven't decided how I am going to handle the circles yet. When I am done, I will post a photo of it:)
My quilts are on display at the Charlton Sewing Center until 3/1/09. If you haven't been to this shop it's a must! The shop is in a former church;high ceilings, lots of light, beautiful stained glass windows. The owner Cathy Racine is a terrific lady. The last time I was there, everyone shopping was offered hot cider or coffee. Cathy will often play the organ for visitors to the shop. I don't want it to sound like a religious experience because it isn't at all ~

There is a reception on 2/22/09 from 1-3. If you live in the area, come say hi!

I am a guest blogger this week on quilting bloggers. I am giving away a Murphy Bag to someone who leaves a comment until 12:00 am on 2/20/09. I would like you to tell me your most recent Random Act of Kindness. The one I like best will get the bag in the photo below. The bag has lots of pockets, it's machine quilted and has lots of Swarovski crystals on it.

Secret Valentine Revealed

My guild has a Secret Valentine Swap every year. This is one of the best parts about the guild. You make something for a member anonymously and mail it or deliver it to her for Valentines Day. I have received many beautiful things,a rumbleford bag, table runner, quilt, etc. Below is the Valentine I am sending off. I made the apron using an apron I have as a guide. There are Swarovski crystals all over it! I hope she likes it:) I also bought her a cloisonne brown and pink tape measure but I forgot to photograph it and it's already wrapped. Everyone brings in their gift to the February meeting, we sit in a huge circle and we introduce ourselves to each other and show off our Valentine. The funnest part of this is that some people have hilarious stories about how they delivered it or how they received it. Last year my friend Jen donned a wig and sang like Cher when she delivered my Valentine for me. It was a hoot. I don't think my Secret Valentine uses the computer much (I asked her DIL) so no worries that she will see it early.







I met up with friends from high school last weekend in my hometown of Melrose MA. It was great to see them. I left at 17 for college and never really went back home. I felt like a journalist asking a million questions. We are getting together again in a few weeks because a freind who moved to FL is coming home. I am looking forward to seeing them all again. We found each other again through facebook!

Studio Redo Again

When I was in Houston at the International Quilt Festival I bought a Bernina Quilting Frame. I can use it with my Aurora 440. It came in several boxes so I asked Kevin to assemble it for me as a Christmas gift. While planning where it would go in the studio (cellar) we started talking about my sewing table. I wanted one that had a bigger surface. Below are the results of that conversation. The table was built for the garage to store the kids toys on and under. It was a great idea but ended being a catch all. Kevin cut the legs down to the perfect height and then cut spaces for my machines. It wasn't that long ago that I fixed up my studio but somehow we were redoing it again. I guess it will be a constant evolution to the perfect space.

In the photo are the cool quilting lights my sister Maureen gave me for Christmas....

From this shot you can see that both machines are on one side of the table. Great for sewing with the kids. I keep the Bernina 1130 threaded with white and use it for all those things that need to be peiced...
This is my tool box that I keep next to my sewing table. I have been using it for about 10 years. It's on wheels and I take it with my when I go away quilting with my guild. I love it....
These are my purchases from The City Quilter in NYC. It was on my list of places to go. Great shop with lots of fabric choices. The piece of lexan was cut by Kevin for me as a trimmer for my postcards. He has cut a bunch for friends, too.
This is my favorite part of the new sewing table. The storage space is awesome. Everything that I need is right there in front of my but not in my way!

Here is the new frame. My friend Kathy Sperino - Finishing lines is going to come over and help me get my first "quilt" on it so I can start practicing! She is unbelievably talented and I am lucky to have her as a friend!

the happy and the sad

I have had so many things to blog about and written many posts in my head over the last month. We had a terrible tragedy in our lives last week. Our next door neighbor Ty Nakamura was killed in a car accident on Christmas Eve. He was 39, married to a lovely girl named Stephanie. They have a little boy who will be one in a few weeks and she is pregnant. Words can't express how sad we feel for her. This community has been fabulous in gathering around her to help her in any way they can. There is a fund set up to help her. Checks in any amount can be made out to: Stephanie Nakamura FBO the Ty Nakamura Memorial Fund and mailed to Milford National Bank,14 Hastings Street, Mendon, MA 01756. The other part of this tragedy is that the car that Ty was in the accident with also had a fatality and it was another neighbors 93 year old Grandfather. Such a sad loss for his family and such a terrible time to lose a family member.

Here are some of the things I wanted to blog about.

I got an email before Christmas that my Slice of Life quilt was chosen for the IQF 2010 Calendar! The note said they publishers from Martingale Press chose from 400 finalist. What an awesome thing. They also asked if I would lend them my quilt for their Chicago and California 2009 Shows....

I had a commission quilt to make for Christmas from a friend. She wanted to give her husband something special this year. She gave me photo (via Flickr) of her two Siamese cats. Here is the finished quilt.

I made a commissioned bag for someone for Christmas for her daughter. She chose the fabrics she thought her daughter would like and left the rest to me. The lining and pockets are vintage fabrics. The messenger style is fun to make.

Below is a picture of my family taken at the Murphy Family Christmas Party. We had a great time seeing everyone. My SIL Pat and BIL Dave did a wonderful job pulling it all together. We look forward to seeing everyone again soon!

Kevin and I just returned from NYC. We went for our 20th wedding anniversary. We stayed at the Warwick Hotel (lovely place) and were there from 12/30 to 1/2. We stayed in room 2009! Can you believe that? We didn't request that room, just lucky. The hotel was across the street from the MoMA (Museum of Modern Art) and they had a special exhibit of Van Gogh. It was terrific. There has often been discussion on the the Quiltart.com list about copying. I learned to become an artist by copying and it was how we were taught in College (I have a BA in Art). Several of the pieces in the MoMA are copies of others work or styles. One of Van Gogh's pieces specifically says that it is his translation of Millet's work. With 30,000,000 million quilters in the world (and billions of artists) there is nothing new that can be done, just translations.....

We also went to see Spamalot on Broadway! Hilarious even if you aren't a Monty Python fan. Clay Aiken was Sir Robin which made the show even more fun to watch. I am not a fan but he was great! We met a really nice couple from Canada on New Years Eve in Randolph's Lounge in the hotel. We met them again on New Years Day and it was great to get to know them. We talked about everything from fishing to politics! We hope we meet up with them again, they were really cool people.

Kevin built me a new sewing table...it's 4'x8' and he sunk both of my Bernina's into the top. We reorganized my sewing room to fit my new Bernina quilting frame. I will take some pictures when I am finished reorganizing.

Some of my goals for 2009 are; to make lots of Murphybags (I sold 25 in December) and quilts, enter some quilt shows and return to Houston.

somethings fishy

After going to Houston I had a few weeks home and then I was lucky enough to go to Hyannis (Cape Cod) MA for three days with my quilt guild. We stayed at the Cape Codder and it was awesome. I roomed with Gail, Annie and June and we had a blast. There were 51 woman in the ballroom, all working on various quilting projects. Most of those projects were being made for other people. Quilters are such generous people. The weekend is filled with laughter! One reason for this was the serendipity of finding a joke shop in downtown Hyannis where we bought a remote controlled fart machine. I know it sounds immature....but seriously it was the best money I ever spent (the four of us chipped in $5 each). We hid it in scrap boxes and peoples project boxes and let the magic happen! We laughed all weekend. It really was the funniest thing. It's still funny...
Below is the quilt that I finished while at the cape. I bought the pattern in 1995 and my husband made the blocks in 1996. He wanted to try quilting so he came down to my sewing room a few times and worked on this. He traced every piece of the pattern (12 blocks total) and cut them out. He chose all the fabric - he did an excellent job considering the choices I had for fabrics then ! He was able to get 5 blocks ready for applique. I don't know what happened but we never went back to finish the blocks. I felt a little guilty leaving again so soon after Houston and it was his birthday on Sunday (the day I was due home from the cape) so I snuck the blocks out of the house and finished it for him! I was a little worried that he would be disappointed that I finished it for him. He was thrilled! He said it was the nicest quilt I had ever made. I really felt rushed to finish it because I hadn't planned on working on this during the get a way weekend. I had plans to finish my brown and jade bed quilt and to start my next art quilt.

This is it's new home. I thought he would want to hang it in his office by he wanted to enjoy it (and he can show it off when someone comes over). I hung it in the front hall. I also hung my Slice House Quilt in a new spot. When I took it down from over the mantel I filled the open spot with art work and more plates. I like the new spot because it isn't in sunlight but it seems a little cramped.

I am really looking forward to this weekend ~ it's my 25 class reunion. I have only been in touch with a few people from high school so this will be really fun to see everyone. I have been in touch with a few friends recently on facebook. That has been fun and if you don't have a facebook I suggest you get one. You are never too old to reconnect with friends and family.

Home from Houston

Group quilt: blocks made by Jane Lowell, Carol Middleton, June Peckingham, Gail Niland, Linda Ramrath, Suzanne Thibeault, Louise Redding and Kathleen Murphy (front door). Borders and quilting by Kathleen Murphy


Well, I had the best time in Houston. Many, many thanks to Karey Bresenhan and Nancy O'Bryant (founders of the International Quilt Association) and their staff. It was all just so incredible! I would like to say hi to all of the great people I met last week. Meeting you all was the best part of this trip!


I had two awesome roommates. One from NE PA named Cathy Neri - she is an expert dyer and made me a gorgeous silk scarf. She made all the arraignments and she has been going to Houston for many years. The other roommate was Margarete Steinhauer. She is from Scituate MA. She won first place in the small art abstract category. You can see her quilt and all the other winners here~ http://www.quilts.com/fqf08/enVivo/ click on the Quilts: A World of Beauty button on the left side of the page. You can see the quilt she won first place in the same category in 2006 on the front page of her web site www.margaretesteinhauer.com/index.htm Her quilt sold on Saturday...It was really beautiful. Below is a picture of Margarete with the winning Tiara for the QuiltArt Reception hosted by Karey Bresenhan and Nancy O'Bryant. The ladies at stickball fashioned this one of a kind Tiara and loaned it to Margarete for the night. It was worth about $200.00! She won a beautiful and coveted Tiara pin from Karey's collection. The food was deliciuos too. I made a Tiara for the parade using my hand dyed fabrics and crystals but it fell out of the bag in the taxi on the way to the reception. I wore it the next day to lunch...and plan to wear it now and again at home:)


I enjoyed everything about the show: The award ceremony - sitting in front of Sharon Schamber (you can see her quilt at the top of the page of the winning quilts) It was the most beautiful quilt in the show, Preview Night - seeing the quilts in person, QuiltArt Reception - meeting online friends,The Silver Star Salute Dinner honoring Alex Anderson~ she gave a lovely speech (the winners speeches were wonderul too, including one from Japan who gave her speech in English), the vendors - I bought some crystals from Cheri's at www.cheriscrystals.com, some paints and goodies from www.artisticartifacts.com(thanks again for the help Judy), a quilting frame from Bernina, I bought some magazines and goodies at the Quilting Arts Magazine booth quiltingarts.com - those ladies had great Halloween costumes, and last but not least lots of fabric from many vendors. I shipped home a big box with purchases and I can't wait for it to get here, I almost forgot what I bought!
I encourage any quilter out there to join the IQA ~ they are a wonderful organization doing tremendous things for woman Quilts.org and Quilts.com.
I can't wait to go back and bring some friends from home so they can experience it all.

making plans

Well, I am going to Houston! I found some roommates (really they found me but you know what I mean) They are members of quiltart.com and both of them have been to Houston before. One of them is a winner from the 2006 show. The other is a winner because she had the room reservation! The International Quilt Festival has 50,000 attendees each year. I will be gone from 10/28 to 11/2...I am so thankful my family is supportive of me going. I will miss a couple of things going on, Halloween for one. Halloween with 4 kids can be challanging with two parents:) I know Kevin can handle it and hopefully Morgan and Jillian will help Paige and Griffin with their costumes maybe they read my blog?)

Here are some photos of the quilt I sold this week. It is from a photo Kevin took of a waterfall at the Mumford River in Uxbridge, MA. I couldn't find the photo in my pictures but I think it is in his folder, I will look later. I made two of them, the other one is very similar but not exactly the same. There are NO crystals on it but lots of pretty threads and silk fabric. I got most of the Batik fabric at the quilter's loft in Webster MA. I heard they are closing:( I went with my friend Kathy - you can check out her blog from the link to the right of this page - finishing lines. She is an unbelievable quilter/artist and a great friend.




I sold 5 Murphybags this week! What a thrill to make something that you love and have other people want one too.

IQF Winner

I got a phone call today...One of the best I have ever had...my quilt "slice of life" won a cash prize at the International Quilt Festival in Houston. I entered in the group category and so I share the honor with the 7 woman who made a block for my quilt: Suzanne Thibeault, Louise Redding, Gail Niland, June Peckingam, Carol Middleton, Jane Lowell and Linda Ramrath. The subject line was the heading of the email I got.
This is such an honor. I would love to go and receive the prize in person. I don't know if I can make it happen but I will try. Anyone have a friend in Houston that wouldn't mind a house guest:)?

I also entered the quilt below "Jade Willow" but it didn't get in.

I love the story of the blue willow and have a collection of blue willow plates. I made this quilt to be hung over the bed in our masterbedroom done in the same color scheme.
this is a close up of the willow tree, it's 3D I want to do that again, loved the results.

the color is off in this picture the true wall color is in the background of the quilt photo

murphy bag

I am thankful to be able to say all is well here. The kids are back to school and they are all happy and busy. Morgan is still working at the zoo, secretary of the Impact team and has a very heavy class load (junior year), Jillian is playing JV field hockey (she scored the winning goal last week) and taking tap/jazz and ballet, Paige is playing piano and Griffin is playing soccer. We are looking forward to the fall, we got a couple of pumpkins last weekend across the street. Vandervalk Christmas tree farm is across the street - great neighbors. They sell Christmas Trees in the winter, blueberries and lily's in the summer and pumpkins in the fall. We can walk home with all of that good stuff.

Kevin (3 miles), Paige and Griffin (1 mile) ran in the Douglas family fun run last Sunday and that was very cool. Kevin came in 27th out of 99 for his age group (43) not bad for a guy who never runs.

I get a lot of compliments on my bag seen in a post below...I have made some for friends for birthday gifts and I am teaching a class called What's Your Bag? I am planning to have a bag party at my friend Jen's house to launch my new line of hand~made bags. I am calling them Murphy Bags. Here is the write-up:
I make my bags with the user in mind. I want it to be functional and cool. I make each bag combining my favorite fabrics. They are all one-of-a-kind. There are at least 8 pockets in every bag. One large enough to hold a water bottle. I use two different fabrics for the pockets so you can remember which one holds your cell phone. I custom machine quilt each piece and add Swarovski crystals to them. My bags are light-weight, have comfortable handles and they are machine washable/air dry. I opened an esty.com account kathleenmurphy.etsy.com I will be adding more bags to the shop. I love to make them ~ each one is like an art-quilt.

I would love your feedback.

Challenge 2008

Our Guild challenge this year was "How does your garden grow?" I had the border fabric for this quilt for a few years and just loved it. It reminds me of a corduroy dress I had in elementary school. My goal in the challenge was to use the hand dyed fabrics we had been making and the fabric was the perfect compliment to the hand-dyed pieces. I replicated the border fabric in the center using one full repeat of the pattern and enlarged it. I wonder-undered each flower on to the background, quilted it with black thread (I wish I had a picture of the back, but I am too lazy to go and take another picture, upload it, etc.) and then made three dimensional petals for all of the flowers and tacked them on to the quilt. The photos don't show the 3-d flowers too well but they add a nice texture to the quilt. I put crystals on it and it is now hanging in my daughter Jillian's room.




Summer has been great, the kids had a busy June and July but August has been laid back and we all need that. They start school on the 27th :) Kevin is on vacation this week and that is always nice.

coming full circle and planting the seed....

Below is a picture of the Massachusetts Quilt I helped my daughter Paige's third grade class make for her teacher, Mrs. Berthao. The kids did all of the work, I quilted it and put on the binding. Some really nice parents and a quilting friend helped the kids with the wonder under part and the sewing of the sashing and the posts. I am amazed at the wonderful work. Each square is a symbol of Massachusetts. The label lists all the symbols and has a class picture. The teacher can use the quilt year after year with her students as they learn the unique symbols of our state. I love quilting with kids, they are so creative and it plants the seed for future quilters!

This my new license plate. I have always wanted a vanity plate.


Here is a shot of the Gallery where my quilts were hanging during Alumni Weekend at Framingham State College. The gallery is in a nice location in the newly renovated campus center building. The campus was beautiful and it was great to go and see an old professor of mine. I was lucky to have seen her because she is retiring. Her name is Sachko Fuji Beck and she is a wonderful artist. I wish her well. Life has come full circle, I had visited the gallery as an Art student here and now I had my own art on display. Wow.

What's your bag?

I am teaching a class called What's your bag? The gist is that you make the bag the size you want, no pattern needed. People like my bags but often say "I would like to make one smaller, taller, more pockets, longer handles....Check out the cool glass button from We've Got the Buttons - She was a vendor at our show and I bought several....wish I bought more. I bought the piece of hand dyed fabric at the sew expo. but I don't remember from who. They were a nice couple and very helpful. My friend Susan F. bought a beautiful piece of brown from them.
This is Paige, daughter number 3! She just turned 9 and here she is opening presents. She is a great kid, so easy going and smart. Happy Birthday Paige!
I am trying to get a lot of quilting done in the next two weeks. Summer vacation with four kids doesn't allow for much to to make ART! A couple have asked to sew with me during the summer so that will do, I guess:) I am looking forward to the break in activities...

Mother/Quilter

This is my oldest daughter, Morgan, before prom last Friday night. She was (is)beautiful. The boy who asked her is a friend. We had never met him until he showed up at the door, cute kid. She has braces so she is trying to hide them in the pictures. She is a sophomore so I can look forward to 2 more proms for her, I don't want to count the total including her 2 sisters and her brother.

I have some exciting news regarding quilting. 2 of my quilts will be hanging at the Mazmanian Gallery at Framingham State (class of '88) during alumni weekend in their Alumni Art Show.

I gave a lecture a few weeks ago to a guild in Townsend, MA on the slice house quilts process. There were 125 people in the room. They were a great guild with lots of good things they do and a lot of show and tell, my favorite part of our meetings.

The end of school is quickly approaching which means I better get any quilting projects done soon. I am working on my challenge. I am using all hand dyed fabrics. We have gotten together 3 times now to dye and the results get better and better. I am sketching lots of ideas for future quilts so hopefully I will find some time to make them during the summer.

I am working with my daughter Paige's class (3rd grade) making a Massachusetts quilt as a gift for her teacher Mrs. Berthao. Each child chose a symbol to reproduce in fabric. It is going to be awesome. I will post pictures when it is done.

I made this bag for my friend Tammy Sue...She is an unbelievable quilter/artist. It was a little nerve wracking to pick out the fabric but she was pleased. I found a great glass button from a vendor at our quilt show and the best bra fabric for the lining. She was chairperson for our Embellished Bra Exhibit at our last quilt show so it was appropriate. It is jeweled, of course.

Shows over, back to life

The show was a success, whew. We had approximately 1,300 attendees. We had a state senator and state rep. come! It was so much fun to be there watching people enjoy all the quilts. We find we don't want to go home. Much like a wedding, you greet friends, take pictures and wonder at the end of the day, where did the time go.
This is a picture of my friends Shirley, Kathy and I standing with our replica's! The pattern is by Amy Bradley. So much fun to make. The quilts were a big hit at the show. I loved picking out what I would wear:) Her (my) beaded purse was made by my friend Sharon Thornton who lives in NC.


Below is our Slice House display. They were a big hit. Everyone was amazed at the work. One comment was what a generous guild we are. They were impress that we would work so hard on each others quilt and spend almost a year and a half on this project. We were asked by a few people if we could put them on display is some cool venues, more the follow.

This is a photo of a portion of the journal exhibit. There was a nice tribute to Karey Bresenhan at this display. She is the founder of the Quilt Journal Project. The journal quilts were really amazing. I loved reading what each quilter wrote.

It is great to be back to quilting just for the pure joy of it. I am looking forward to many projects that are waiting to be started/finished.

I sold 4 bags that I made for the boutique...I was happy about that.

bags for the boutique

Thanks to my friend June for helping me with my blog the other day. She is so cool.....she makes very cool quilts too. FYI - You can click on any of the photos to see the details.

I wouldn't be doing my duty as publicity chair if I didn't give you the specifics about the show again:

Thimble Pleasures Quilt Guild Quilt Show
Nipmuc Regional High School, 90 Pleasant Street (off Route 140), Upton, MA
March 29 & 30/Saturday and Sunday from 10 – 4
$5 Admission/Free Parking/Handicapped Accessible

thimblepleasures.org

This Biennial show will feature:

180 Quilts - Made by members with Viewer’s Choice Awards – voting on Saturday only.
Raffle Quilt – Brightly colored stars with hand appliquéd floral border
Silent Auction - Quilts made by guild members
Boutique Table – Various quilts, quilting related items, patterns and books
Vendors – 11 vendors ranging from sewing machines to our favorite local quilt shops
Round Robin Exhibits – 40 quilts featuring traditional round robin, block robin, slice houses and row robins
Boxer Shorts Exhibit – Fighting for a Cure - Embellished boxers made by guild members. Proceeds from this exhibit will be donated to Prostate Cancer Research
Journal Quilts – 39 8 x 11 quilts made by members

I have been making some tote bags to sell at the quilt show boutique. I finished my quilts a few weeks ago and because I love to create I have spent my free time making bags. People often ask me if I sell the bags I make for myself and friends.

This fabric came from The Franklin Mill store in Franklin MA. They are vending at the show and I am really happy about that. Mary and her sister Margaret are gems and we are lucky to have a place that has every sewing notion you can think of .

I love this bag, the fabric from The Franklin Mill, the piping, the velvet button, the braided button clasp, the jewels. If this doesn't sell, I am keeping it!
This bag is recycled from a jacket I made 5 years ago. The blocks took me a year to make. I never wore the jacket, it just didn't fit well. I made 3 bags out of that coat. It has a funky button clasp. I had this cool selection of beads from Friends Fabric Art that I bought at our last show, they are vending again this year.
This bag is made from the fabrics we dyed a few months back. I love this one too, I may have to make another one.
I made this wall hanging for the Silent Auction at the show. The inspiration was the birch tree fabric, I love birch trees.

time to blog

It has been crazy around here but I finally had time to upload pictures and blog a bit.

This is my slice house. Sixteen of us started this round robin in October of 2006. There were two rounds of eight quilters. We started the round after making a quilt for a friend who was moving to NC. You can read about that below. We each made a block for the people in the round. The owner of the quilt made their own front door. The quilters who worked on my house are starting from the top left clockwise: Suzanne Thibeault, June Peckingham, Louise Redding, Jane Lowell, Carol Middleton, Me, Gail Niland and Linda Ramrath. I am thrilled with the results of the quilt and it is hanging up over the fireplace, Kevin says it makes the room! Here is a detail of my block.



I made this tote bag during the weekend away with my guild. It is for an auction item for the Nipmuc Warriors Athletic booster club. I hope they make some money from the Auction and the bag. I jeweled it (of course) and I must say it was hard to part with.

I made this bag for my secret valentine. My quilt guild does a secret valentine swap and it is such a wonderful thing. The gifts that members make for each other are exceptional. I had my friend Shari this year. This bag was also made during our GAW and Shari was there too. I had her help me pick out the fabric for the bag. She did suspect that it was for her. I didn't care because I wanted her to like it, she can be hard to please:) I think she likes it. I added some funny stuff to it, that most of you reading wouldn't understand but we got a good laugh from it.

getting ready for the big show!

We had a fabulous Christmas here at our house. Kevin took two weeks off and we enjoyed every minute of the vacation. Personally for me it was the most pleasant Christmas as far as shopping and planning goes. I did a lot online, early. One thing that didn't get done was Christmas cards. I have always sent them out. The picture at the top of this page is the from our 2006 Christmas card. The kids all got the things they really wanted for Christmas and that feels great as a mother. With Kevin home (playing guitar hero on the Wii) I was able to spend a lot of time in my sewing room. I decided to take the two weeks off from work (making window treatments, etc.)and just quilt. I got a lot done.



Below is our Raffle Quilt to be raffled at our upcoming Quilt Show. Thanks to Piece O' Cake Designs for giving us permission to use their pattern. I am the publicity chair for my guilds quilt show Thimble Pleasures. I have begun the mailings to local shops and quilt guilds. I will be busy these next few months.

Show Details:
Thimble Pleasures Quilt Guild Quilt Show
Nipmuc Regional High School, 90 Pleasant Street (off Rt. 140), Upton, MA
March 29 & 30/Saturday and Sunday from 10 - 4. This Biennial show will feature:
· 180 Quilts - Made by members with Viewer’s Choice Awards – voting on Saturday only.
· Raffle Quilt – Brightly colored stars with hand appliquéd floral border
· Silent Auction - Quilts made by guild members
· Boutique Table – Various quilts, quilting related items, patterns and books
· Vendors – 10 vendors ranging from sewing machines to our favorite local quilt shops
· Round Robin Exhibits – 40 quilts featuring traditional round robin, block robin, slice houses and row robins
· Boxer Shorts Exhibit - Embellished boxers made by guild members. Proceeds from this exhibit will be donated to Prostate Cancer Research.
I am really excited about this show. The Round Robin Exhibit will feature several rounds. I participated in the slice houses, the display is going to be so cool. There will be 16 of these quilts in the show and they are all incredible. You can see some of the quilts in progress below in an older posting. I am working on the border to my house right now. It is coming out great. Here is an example of one of the slice quilts- it is incredible. It is Suzanne T.'s house. Isn't it beautiful?

The other part of this show is that I am looking forward to is the Boxer Shorts exhibit. We had a Embellished Bra exhibit at our last show and it was terrific. We donated the proceeds to the Susan G. Komen Foundation. The Embellished Boxer Short exhibit was born when a friend Tammy D. was talking to a reporter about our last show. The reporter Linda Bock asked how we would top the Bra Exhibit at our next show and Tammy said "We will do boxer shorts". The proceeds from this exhibit will be donated to prostate cancer research.

Here is a a quilt I started at our last quilting weekend at the Cape. It is for my master bedroom. I have plans to use bias around the circles. I will show it when it is complete. I love our room. It is so relaxing an peaceful. We painted the ceiling the same color as the walls. One of the walls is painted brown-to camouflage the dressers.


I am working on a landscape for over the bed. I am using the story of the Blue Willow as my inspiration. I used most of the fabrics in the circle quilt in the landscape. I am almost ready to quilt it. It will be in our show.
We went to Albany to visit my cousin Jimmy and his family including his mother, my Aunt Aggie, who is like a mother to me. The have a new baby named Quinlan and a 3 1/2year old daughter named Shea. They graciously offered to watch the four kids overnight so Kevin and I could go to Saratoga for the night to celebrate our
19th wedding anniversary. We had a blast! We ate our dinner in three different restaurants! We bought ourselves a beautiful piece of art in a gallery.

This is the quilt I made for Quinlan. I used several of the fabrics I dyed. I love using them. I put flannel on the back and binding. I did a lot of quilting on it. I was pleased with the way it came out.


Our Guild is headed to Sturbridge MA 2/1-2/3. It will be great to have three days to finish up projects for the show. My friend Sharon T. is coming up from NC. She used to live here in Mendon. She is the one we made the first slice house for. We are all really excited to see her and to laugh for three days.

busy, busy, busy

Below are some postcards I made at a Handmade Holiday open house at the Franklin Mill. I was able to sit for 5 hours demonstrating how to make a quilted postcard. It was a good gig! The Christmas ones are going to be our Christmas card this year. I normally send out a picture but this year the kids weren't cooperating.....I had started a Christmas table cloth years ago in the braid pattern. I decided I would never finish it so I cut it up for postcards and a tote bag for a Christmas gift. The flag postcard is for service members in my area (I made 20 so far). The local newspaper has been listing service members addresses overseas so I will be sending them a quilted postcard.

I love this one, it came together very quickly and I am happy with results.

The fourth in a series of Journal Quilts my guild is doing for our show. This is my daughter Morgan who just turned 16 and is the oldest of four. Side note - one of the reasons I have not blogged in a while, We have 3 birthdays and Thanksgiving in a two week span in this house. Not much gets done with the shopping, wrapping, cooking, baking, party throwing...... Morgan is an awesome kid....She plays field hockey and lacrosse, high honors student, works as a babysitter and at the Christmas tree farm across the street, student council member, impact team member......She is a terrific kid and I am so lucky to call her my daughter.

This is a baby quilt I made for a neighbor (also my daughters' math teacher) who had a baby boy a few weeks ago. I used the hand dyed fabrics I made a few months back. I made it spur of the moment but I got it done in about 3 hours.

Studio Redo

This is my studio/sewing room, in the basement, all cleaned and organized for the sewing room tour my guild had this past Sunday. The tour was great - eight of us opened our homes to members to come and see where we create. My husband (funny guy) called it an inspection all week. kept asking things like "what time is the inspection?"

Back to my new space......I love it! My husband, Kevin, was a huge help. He made: two large design walls using homosote, put tyvek on the ceiling (suspended ceiling to follow when money allows), made me a peg board for all of my scissors, rulers and stuff and he has been a great support in getting me an awesome space I can work in.

One of my favorite parts of is the two tables pushed together, one has an ironing mat on it and one has the cutting mat. Together they make a great space to work, especially when doing a fusible project.


I have taken shots from each corner so you can see the whole thing.

postcards with a purpose

I have been making postcards for lots of different reasons, some happy occasions, some sad. I love making them...they are like making a quick quilt.

I have been busy cleaning and organizing my sewing room for a sewing room tour this weekend with my quilt guild. I believe there are 30 people signed up for the tour. I will post that pictures when it is ready for the crowd.

I have been planning out lots of quilts but I am working on my last two blocks for the slice house quilt round robin I am in (see posts below). This last round has my house in it, I am very excited to see how it comes out! I am also excited to go away with my guild for the weekend in mid November. It is tricky because it starts on my husbands birthday but he didn't mind, he has never big on birthdays.

It has been 7 weeks since my kids have all been in school. I haven't been getting as much done as I thought. Partly because I started exercising and it takes a couple hours between driving to the gym, class, drive home, take a shower...... I feel great but I am losing about 8 hours of housework, sewing time.....

I have been tagged and I will work on that for my next post along with shots from the sewing room tour.

Fun with Friends

Yesterday my friends Kathy, Sharon and Gail came over and we played like little kids on the front lawn. They are all friends I have made through quilting and I feel lucky to have them as freinds. We started with all *found* fabrics, meaning we didn't purchase any new fabric for this adventure. Kathy brought some old linens which came out really cool. We also dyed some white velvet, and a sweater that I ruined in the laundry.

We had good results with the dye for the most part.
We approached it very unscientifically.
We did use the zip lock bag method again which was great.
We used the squeeze bottles this time and that made for some funky pieces.
We learned that using more dye does improve the depth of the color.
We tried some folding and elastics with some cool results.
We mixed dyes to get variations of color with good results.
We learned to do a glove check first, one pair had a hole in each of the pointer fingers, the wearer looked like an Iraqi voter:)
We didn't have any lunch, next time I will be better prepaired to feed my friends:)

What fun it was to sit on the grass on such a beautiful day waiting for the sun to dry our new treasures. I can't wait to do it again!

The fabric we started with.....

Waiting for the sun to do her part......

The finished products.....

Jillian's Journal Quilt

This is my third journal quilt (for my quilt guilds show as a special exhibit - only guild members are participating) and it is my daughter Jillian, she will be 14 tomorrow 8/29! She is an awesome kid. Not only is she tall (5'8") and beautiful but she is a great student and athlete. She is currently trying out for JV soccer and she will no doubt make the team:) She is into fashion and photography and I am totally supporting her dream to become a stylist, I would love that job.

There were challenges to this little quilt, mainly that when I did some stitching on the hair it made the face fabric pucker. I used stabilizer but maybe not the right kind? Any suggestions would be appreciated. I put a couple of layers of batting under just the face and then a whole layer for the quilt, almost like trapunto.
The nose was a challenge, I ended up drawing it on. It has some stitching holes from a nose I tried on, but they actually accentuate the line so they can stay. I made the eyes and mouth. I will add a necklace with beads or crystals.

My goal is to make each of my kids and my husband and myself (during the month of that family members birthday - so far, so good.

new bag for me

I made a bag with my pattern from Robbi Joy Eklow's class in Lowell, MA ~ LOVE her quilts and her book! I used my hand dyed fabrics for the spirals and gears. It sure is hard to take the first cut into those pieces of fabric. I would have made it into a wall hanging but I thought it would be a fun bag. Isn't it happy looking? I was thinking about making it for someone else but I am going to keep it for me, I like it.


The end of the bag is funky - adds some curiosity :)

I did a lot of experimental quilting on this bag. There are tiny little circles to quilt. I am still practicing on my Aurora 440 using the BSR. I have been free motion quilting for 10 years so it is a little tricky to get used to, but I do love the even stitches. I prettied it up with crystals of course. This pattern lends it self very well to adding crystals, but I didn't want to be tacky :)

A class I am teaching at the Franklin Mill Store

This is a quilt I made for a class I am teaching this fall at the Franklin Mill Store in Franklin MA. The class will show you how to make a quilt from a photo using fusible fabric and machine quilting. I did all of the thread painting when I was quilting ~ in the past I have done some of the applique first but this time I did it all in one step. I practiced doing lots of different machine quilting and only stippled in one small spot. I love stippling and think it has it's place but I do think that using other stitches is fun and the possibilities are endless. I had permission from the photographer to use his photo.

New Tote Bag

Here is the tote bag I made for the fall/winter. I wear a lot of black in the winter and my new down jacket is plum. I made a summer version, too. I love this pattern http://www.quiltsillustrated.com/servlet/Detail?no=13 and I am teaching this class at the Franklin Mill in Franklin MA this fall. http://www.franklinmillstore.com/craft_classes.html

The photo below demonstrates the problem I had with the variegated thread I used (mentioned in a previous posting). The top half of the bag is before the alteration and the bottom is after. The fix is subtle but I am much happier now. I should have laid the thread out over the plum fabric so I could have seen that the light was too light. I fixed it by using a permanent fuchsia marker over the lightest areas of the thread. I don't like this solution but it was better than ripping out the stippling. I wanted the sample to be simple for people who want to make this bag but haven't done a lot of quilting. I put some jewels on it, of course, and I bought a hand made button at a quilt show.

dyeing to do it again

I dyed fabric yesterday with my friend Kathy. We had too much fun. We plan to do it again soon. We want to try painting the fabric and some dischargeing. We both said how we didn't think we would like to dye, it seemed like too much work, not anymore. We used zip lock bags, very easy and managable. I do think the PFD fabric was worth the price but next time I dye I will buy more than 10 yards ~ it wasn't enough!

summer post cards

Here are some post cards I made last week. I have gotten a lot of mileage out of that butterfly fabric! I need to send some thank you notes, farewell notes and I needed some samples. I have been practicing with my new machine and using the BSR (stitch regulator) feature. I love it, it is amazing to be able to machine quilt so easily. I am working on a few samples for classes I am teaching in the Fall at the Franklin Mill Store. They have a beautiful new artists studio! I am working on a Fall bag as a sample for a class and I used some variegated thread......I don't like it - I should have stopped right away but for some unknown reason I kept going. I solved the problem and when I have a chance to take some photos I will post the pictures.



My husband was on vacation last week and I had a lot of time to sew. He took the kids fishing and stuff and I was free to work (my interior design stuff) and quilting. I try to do my work first and then reward my self with time to quilt. He did put Homasote (good for the environment!) up on two of the wall in my "studio" so I have lots of design wall now. It is a paper like product that pins can easily penetrate. I need to paint it, it comes in an ugly gray color, but it looks great!
Maybe if I get it clean enough I will take some pictures :)

Slice Houses

A friend moved to NC a couple of years ago and so as a gift to her 7 of us made the quilt below. I had the photo of her house here in Mendon blown up and separated into 8 sections, handed them out and said "have fun". We all did different techniques and as you can see the results were fabulous. I put the blocks together, put on the digitized border and quilted it. She loved it and it won a blue ribbon at our guilds show.

There was interest in my guild to do this type of quilt in a Round Robin so we are in the midst of doing two teams of eight houses each - 16 houses total. Below are photos of two of the houses. We have two blocks due every other month. Revealing the blocks to the owner is great fun. We began in January and we will be done with all of the blocks in October. The goal is for everyone to have them done for our next show in March of 2008.

I finished the block below last night with my brand new Bernina 440! I have been sewing on a Bernina 1130 for the last 11 years and love it, I kept it for work.

detail of the block

One thing that is important is to make the block a little larger than the photo to allow for seam allowance. The photo does have seam allowance in it but a little extra makes assembly easier.

my block and the photo used of my friends house

My guild is doing a journal exhibit at our show in March of 2008. We are doing six each. I chose to do each member of my family - 4 kids, my husband and myself :)

This is my daughter Paige, she just turned eight. She is the third daughter and she is doll! I always say I would have "100 Paige's" She is sweet, easy going, smart and kind. This is a picture of her ski boarding at her cousin's house in NH. She was having a blast! I bejeweled it with iridescent jewels.

This is my son Griffin, he is six. He is the youngest of four and the only boy :). He is a great little kid - he loves to fish, play ball, swim and tease his sisters. He has a great sense of humor and adventure. He holds the record for ambulance rides and broken bones!

This is my Guild Challenge for 2007. We picked a bag with a crayon and a popsicle stick with a word on it. I got a pink crayon and the word circle. The center circle's are machine appliqued and bejeweled. I also jeweled the border circle's. The fabric was tricky mathematically. I am making a quilt with my 8 year old daughter for her room with the fabric in the border, so this will hang in her room.

I made this quilt for my guilds show in 2006, it took a few years and I loved buying the fabrics! It is a Maggie Walker pattern - The Blue Collection. I named it "you must like blue" because I have a collection of blue and white plates on the dining room wall and that is the comment everyone makes when they see it.

This is the Bra I had in our last quilt show. We had an exhibit with 40+ Bras made by our members. My Bra was called "cups & lumps". The show was hugely successful, in part because of this exhibit. My Bra is on Display in the mamography room at a local medical center.

year long class with Louisa Smith

This quilt was made in a year long (1999) gathering with Louisa Smith for a book she is writing on one patch design. The foundation is all hexagons. Some are solid and some are pieced - 6 triangles. I machine appliqued and quilted it. The colors look a bit muted in the photo, I need ot have my daughter take a better one. The photo I used for inspiration is photo transferred onto a label on the back, it came from a gardening magazine.

first blog post

Here are some postcards that I made recently. I love them because the "canvas" is small enough you don't mind doing a lot of "work" and because I can use my Bejeweler! My friends say I need an intervention!