I see with my little eye

the newest project currently underway is another 'welcome to the world' quilt. I finally broke away from the faithful friendship star pattern and am giving the kaleidescope a whirl!

like with most of my quilts, there's a story behind why I go off on a particular direction for a project - whether it's the pattern, the palette of colors, or the type of fabrics. for this quilt I chose the kaleidescope pattern because the mama of this particular baby is an ophthalmologist. I thought it would be fun to play around with a pattern that is actually based on an optical instrument! I chose bright batiks with colors spanning the rainbow. the baby that this quilt will be given to arrived last week - three weeks ahead of schedule! impatient to enter the world thus putting a little 'production' stress on the quiltmaker - that would be me. well, truth be told, I'm really not feeling stressed. the quilt is coming along nicely - next tasks in line - the borders and choosing fabrics for the back. things get done when they get done and not a second sooner.

blocks in progress.

detail of center of top. 6-inch block (finished)

twinkle, twinkle little star II

here's a picture of another twinkle, twinkle little star quilt which I completed yesterday. I played around with the sizing of the blocks (increased each star by a third from the last star quilt I made) so I would have a quilt that was a larger. border hand stitched with the lyrics to twinkle, twinkle little star along 3 borders and the baby's name and date of birth along the fourth border.

each star block is a 9-inch block. overall size is approximately 52 x 52. top composed of batik fabrics. all materials 100%. center of quilt hand-tied.

above detail of quilt showing a bit of the back- back is blank & white and a red frame. there is a border past the red of black and white checkerboard fabric (not shown) .

although the pattern is the same, the color, scrappy-ness, and size of the blocks convey a totally different feel for me. I think I prefer the scrappier and smaller stars. what do you think?

twinkle, twinkle

I've returned to one of my favorite patterns the friendship star. this adaptation I'm calling 'twinkle, twinkle little star" the words to this much loved children's song are hand stitched in the border encircling the center (which is hand tied). quilt measures approximately 40 x 50 - all cotton materials, cotton batting.

lullaby village

generally I like to take pictures of finished quilts outside in the backyard, however winter has arrived and conditions aren't very conducive for my typical clothesline shots.

so here you go - ta da - a studio shot - literally!

although I haven't posted anything in over a month, it's not because I haven't been sewing and stitching away. well, maybe I haven't been too far away, but I am working on a few projects. there are babies happening out there and I'm doing my part to make sure that babies get a handmade quilt to help promote sweet dreams. and then there are some other life passage projects ongoing....

this quilt I'm calling the lullaby village. for the last quilt I hand stitched quotes about reading around the border. I kind of liked doing that and decided it would be fun to add words to my bag of tricks - this quilt has some lines from the well known lullaby hush little baby, don't say a word. this quilt was commissioned for a little boy who entered the world during november (we thought he was coming in december - whoops!) . well, he joined a very loving family and I'm sure he doesn't really care that his welcome to the world quilt was a bit late. the quilt is being given to him by his mother's cousin and her mother (don't ask me how to represent those kinship relationships in words!). I'm very happy to say that all three siblings in this family have magical mouse quilts to cuddle up with. at times tradition is a good thing.

this quilt is measured 52 x 52 and constructed of 100% natural materials

black & white & read all under update

the quilt for 'the daily dose of reading' fete was handed off this morning. not a day too soon nor too late given that the event is happening this evening. hey, it would have been done earlier but I had one of those 'life gets in the way' last couple weeks.

I really liked the way the quilt turned out, however, I wish I had used black fabric for the borders as the quotes I wrote and stitched in red thread really looked dramatic on a black background. they got lost in the print.

but for the discerning eye there are two quotes to read, encircling the center.
"The pleasure of all reading is doubled when one lives with another who shares the same books." (katherine mansfield quote)

"If I read a book and it makes my whole body so cold no fire can ever warm me, I know that is poetry." (emily dickinson)

on the board next are a slew of baby quilts seems that there were quite a few romantic folks february through april of 2007! have another block for the safe motherhood project and some memory quilt work. it's going to be a busy fall and winter in the studio!

black & white & read all under

a couple weeks ago I started work on a new quilt which will I'm giving to 'the daily dose of reading,' a local literacy organization. this quilt will be added to their stockpile of goodies that will be raffled or auctioned off during their annual benefit in november.

a couple months ago I had bought quite a few pieces of that new retro 'dick and jane' line. I thought I would do something fun with those fabrics. unfortunately despite being quite cute and whimsical the fabrics just didn't inspire my muse. I think it was the colors. they weren't what I was needing, I needed some type of spark.

funny that what I settled on creating is a quilt that primarily uses just black and white fabrics. but somehow this summer, when my friend susy asked if would make something for their fund raiser, the children's joke "what's black and white and read all over?" came into my head and wouldn't leave. I think that joke was my muse.

this is a pretty simple quilt to construct and put together. it's another variation of the log cabin block which seems to be the block that's been inspiring me for the last six months! I do tend to latch on a block or pattern and make a a bunch of quilts using that block or pattern until it exhausts my imagination.

so here is my quilter's take on that classic joke, but this time it is: what's black and white and read all under. the back of the quilt has a large center panel of red fabric and I bordered the back with some of the dick and jane fabric. so I did get it in after all! of course I do have about 6 fat quarters of other fabrics in the series - but I'm certain they will not go to waste! after all one of the rules of this quilter is waste not want not!

because speed is of the essence I'm simply tying the middle of the quilt and then will handquilt the border. I'm still debating the binding - I keep alternating between just plain red or black and white check or mixing black, white and red. knowing me and how I work, I won't settle on that decision until the attachment process is all done, the excess batting is trimmed and I can play around and see what looks best. the finished quilt will measure approximately 50" x 64"

I apologize for the top picture it was a very, very gray day when I took it and well it's just not as sparkly as I'd like. hopefully when the final picture is to be taken it will be a sunny day!

nesting village

last weekend I finally finished the quilt entitled "nesting village" - I include a card when I deliver the quilt.

This quilt is an adaptation of the traditional “log cabin” design. This handmade quilt was created to welcome and celebrate the birth of Natalia’s and John’s child. The quilt was commissioned by friends & co-workers from Neighborhood Family Practice.

The quiltmaker, aware of Natalia and John’s connection to their Ukrainian roots, has incorporated fabrics and colors which evoke this rich cultural heritage.

Made with “mouse magic” and 100% natural materials, this quilt is guaranteed to stimulate sweet dreams and provide comfort and protection to all sentient beings that cuddle underneath.

To care for the quilt: machine wash in cold or warm water on gentle cycle and tumble dry on low heat.