Design Wall Monday March 13

Happy Monday!!  Just when I thought my design wall couldn't get any more colorful, well I just added another layer!!  The Queen of the Nile from Pride and Joy Quilting is a new guest on the design wall as we gets started, just completely smitten with her!

I think I need a bigger design wall!!

But alas there is some custom quilting that must be done and it's a great wintery day to get that started.   But I will have the queen of the Nile peeking over my should as I quilt.

Did I tell you about my wonderful time in FL?  I spent two full weeks at Santa Rosa Beach with a friend who graciously and generously hosted.  We did watercolor (I painted people who actually look like people!!!), we made a small collage project, made some hearts for IFAQH foundation, some slow stitching on a project that I can't share or they will boot me right of the group and not look back, there was mediation at the ocean front almost every morning, some really good seafood, a quilt show, some thrifting, some shelling and the BIGGEST and BEST  fish sandwich I've had in life (and that's quite a few years....)  I now understand why people snow bird.  I just can't tell you the impact to my psyche with the sun shining, the greenery and the sound of the gulf coast, did my soul good!  I am definitely a midwestern girl, there's no doubt about that.  But finding a place to go that is sunny and warm for a month in the winter, is now on my todo list. Phew, time for vacation right?

this is what daily morning beach walk and meditation were like

Sunsets all different, all beautiful

Spreading some quilty love

I hope someone found and felt the good vibes coming their way

Cooper loved a morning walk and mediation too!!

Some slow stitching by the sea, this is a sharable project!

there were a few little sand creations found along the way

Shells, shells and more shells!!! what fun we went home with so many!

Peg Leg Pete's in Pensacola area  - hands down the best fish sandwich I have had in over 60 years!!  The grouper was amazing!

And there we are seeing Forest Williams at a local bar, the ladies were with were hot and everyone wanted to dance with them.  What a great time, thanks Kim!!

I did actually finish a couple things of my own.

My Squash squad is now complete!!  Yeah, she will be entered into the NSQG show in May.  She has a double bat, 80/20 with wool on top.  FMQ with 60 wt thread.

My first real collage (not counting the peacock).  I added a little yarn couching to this guy.  I started with some thread painting and that was taking way too long, so I stepped up my game and add some yarn.  Less than 2 hours to finish this little guy.  This will be my mini donation for the sale at NSQG show in May.  I hope he's not the last one there!!

Judy has a blog post on her Birds of Feather Quilt here. This quilt, I'll never make one but if someone wants to make one like this for me, we can trade quilt top for custom quilting.  I just absolutely adored this quilt and I hope she'll enter in a show.  Judy has more pics on her blog, check hers out too! She's got the story about the pattern and how this came about. It's a good one!

Don't forget to check out all the linky parties on the side bar. So much to be inspired by! Have a great quilty week!

San Marco BOM

Happy Monday Quilters!!!   If any of you know Lynn Schmitt from a different box of crayons, then you know she does the most fabulous BOMs every year.  They are saturated with color, with texture with all sorts of materials from quilting cotton, to silks to home dec fabrics.  And this is Kim Rogers version of San Marco.  If you know Kim, you know there's going to be a beachy vibe and this one did not dissappoint. She changed up the center medallion, the bird and the border and made this her own.  Wow, the silks shimmer and shine don't they?  Ok so lets see if we can talk about the quilting of this beast a little.

San Marco BOM from A Different Box of Crayons

I'm not gonna lie, it was tough!!  Usually you have a theme that you can pull through a quilt so that once you get the first block or two done, then it's a breeze and just execution.  With this quilt there were multiple areas that needed design  which was different from other areas so it felt a little like design, quilt, design, quilt, repeat.  So here's how I tackled it.

First it's a custom job so I loaded sideways.   There is is some extra stuffing in the buds (can you say puffy sleeves) and I don't float quilts that are larger than a baby quilt, so the buds and the vines went first.   The first border with the black and white sqaure in square block was easy. They are very graphic simple design but the quilting won't so up  well so just a continous curve along the outside and the middles did the trick.  Of course we need feathers, it's a bird quilt after all!  so simple feathers in the colored triangle. So far so good!

Next we move to the vine areas.  We have the paper pieced triangles which only get continous curve and straightlines in the background easy peasy yet very effective.  The background of the vines I always new was going to be a feathery, leafy swirly background fill.  The buds, well nothing needed there!  The quilting on the leaves I talked about last week.  The leaves on the vine were a unique shape, I didn't have any rulers for those curves so I just marked the vein free hand, making sure they were all similar and I think they look nice, leafy just like they should be! Then the last of the easy things...the dark blue border which I really wanted to enhance the frame and have that linear break from  free flowing vines.   Three lines 1/8 inch apart, then 1/2 space did the trick.  And then things start to get a little tougher...more design elements, more quilting designs needed. 

And then things start to get a little tougher...more design elements, more quilting designs needed.  I started with the Medallion.  I really get a 3D vibe when I see the medallion.  I wanted the quilting to bring out some of that as well.  I chose lines 1/4 in  then 1/2 in at the same angle as the seam.  The thread just sank into that wool!! I didn't want too much quilting on any of the silks so they didn't loose that shine.  

Then we go on to the blocks surrounding the medallion.   I wanted those quilted densely to help with the 3D illusion of the medallion.  I just carried through the background fill from the vines but also leaving a few of the silk triangle unquilted.  They just shimmer in the light!!  On the blue postage stamp areas (and the rust in the next set of blocks,) I filled the blocks that weren't silk with match stick quilting and left the silk unquilted.  That rust color silk, it just looks like copper on that quilt doesn't it?

Next we have the last set of colored blocks.  These I thought were a bit easier to design, it just needed the arrows and  a little fill for texture.  I kept the same arrows in both the gold and the rust color blocks.  In the setting triangles, just keeping it simple with a little crosshatch and some feathers, similar to the colored triangles on the first border.  Pulling the designs through.  

The hardest part for me to stitch was the bird!!!  This is a beautifully collaged peacock with a layer of tulle over it to keep the pieces all in place (Susan Carlson has some great tutorials and suggestions on this).  But I dunno about you, but I can't remember the last time I've done a custom quilts and not taken out stitches.  Not only that but you can't take stitches out of tulle, seam rippers and tulle are not the best of friends! You have to do that from the back and I had no idea how that would work or what would happen.  So, I just knew that whatever stitches went in were staying and there were no redos.  I wanted less quilting on the bird as he is a similar color to the border, so I wanted, puffy and cruve to differentiate between the linear and dense.  This is what we got.  It took a lot of staring before those first stitches were sewn!

I love Kim's embroidery on the Peacock

The final border was more of the same, a vine with the same leafy, feathery feel from the vines.  I do wish I would have made the fine 1/2 in thick rather than a single thread.   But by the time I go to that I just wanted to be done!!  I added a small bud in the corner, but no puffy sleeves!!  

I used mostly 60wt glide thread.  I did switch to a smoke colored invisible thread for the bird. Two layers of batting, Quilters Dream Blend with Wool on top.  It's very difficult to see the thin thread on the home dec and wool fabrics.  I think I may go with a 40 wt thread when I do mine.  Yep I have one too, mine is a little different from Kims. We both made ours our own.    I can't wait for the next one!

I'd love to hear about your quilting adventures how you decide to do certain things.  Leave  your name and a link to your post and I'll be sure to check it out.

Take a look at  linky parties on the side bar, so much inspiration out there. 

I'd like to introduce 3 more care givers

I have 3 special caregivers to introduce, one of which is the inspiration for the care givers drive.  They are all so special and dear to me.  I'd like to introduce Amy, Steve and Allison.

Amy is a nurse and works in the emergency room at a local hospital.  Her job is caregiving in critical circumstances. But that's not why I nominated her.  I nominated her for the work that is above and beyond her job.  For the last two years her and a co-worker run a program for high-school students at the hospital.  The students come to the hospital for a semester and learn all the different areas of healthcare.  These kids want to be there, less than 10% that apply actually get in.  The work that she does to not only show them the field of nursing but making sure all other aspects of career opportunities are exposed. This provides a wealth of  knowledge as these Junior and Seniors make very critical choices that will be with them for the rest of their lives.  Some come and solidify their choice, some see new doors open that they weren't aware of and some learn the health care profession may not be for them. All very important learning no matter which way it steers you.  For this caring for the youth and the generation that will someday lead this nation, I thank Amy.  Keep doing what you're doing it's wonderful impact on the world.

Simple but with a big impact, that's Steve

Next is Steve, a physicist.  Steve has always cared for my dad in ways that none of the other kids do or can.  It's just in his heart.  He does this from the East Coast when my dad lives in the MidWest.  He makes sure he gets to his Dr appointments, he makes sure his Gym membership is up to date.  He talks to him weekly and visits multiple times a years.  He's helped to make sure that dad stays connected and finds good things on the internet from time to time.  Words just can't describe what he's done for him and at times I"m not even certain my Dad knows or appreciates it. But that doesn't stop Steve.  He's driven from deep within to care and there is nothing that can stop him.  I have felt that care myself many times.  Thanks Steve for all you do, you make a difference in this world.  Well I didn't have anyone taking pictures as it was a bit of a surprise that they actually came out and I was able to give to him personally.  You can see which one he got. Thanks to Arlene for grabbing some pictures.

It was so nice to deliver n person in Georgia,

The inspiration for the Caregivers Quilt Drive

And finally Allison. The inspiration for the caregivers.  Allison is away studying to be a clinical psychologist in FL.  As part of her PHD program, she does counseling.  Her areas of speciality are suicide, alcoholism and substance abuse.  She works at one of one of the state  psychiatric hospitals.  One day I called her and she was a bit down. When I asked, she had a hard day with one of the patients.  It was then that it just hit me. Yes, all the cancer patients and those that need quilts for health issues or reasons we may not know, bless them they are valid. But what about those that care for the people with Cancer?  With Mental Illness?  They do this day in and day out.  They need a bit of self care. They need to understand how to recharge, rejuvenate from the thing that they can't help but do - care.  So one third of our quilts this year went to caregivers.  As a small and simple way to say thank you, you are making the world a better place.  And to provide just a tiny bit of self care when it's' needed.

To all the caregivers, not all are in the healthcare profession, thank you for all you do.  The world is a better place because of you!! If there is a special care giver in you life, just let them know you notice, you see it and you appreciate it.  That goes a long way!

Blue Dot, Blue Dot, Where Are You? - Denniele's Quilt

I posted a block of this one, but now I"ve gotten permission to post the full quilt and all it's wonderful blooms.  Denniele Bohannan from Louanna Mary Quilt Design made this incredible Blue Dot, Blue Dot Where are you,  quilt designed by Barbara Brackman who has a free BOM - Hospital Sketches  which you can find on facebook.  This one is super sweet.  Two layers of batting, Hobbs 80/20 and Hobbs Wool, I used a 60 wt Glide thread that just blended wonderfully with everything.  Yep only one color of thread on this beauty. And Denniele won a Blue Ribbon at the Missouri State Fair, congrats Denniele!! Get cozy and get ready for some wonderful pics of this work of art.  Thanks Denniele for letting me quilt for you!

Make sure to stop by the linky parties on the side bar, there is so much inspiration out there.   Next week I hope to share more stories of the care givers.

Have a great week!