Blog Anniversary

It is hard to believe I have been blogging here for 3 years now.  I intended to make an entry on March 5th the actual day I posted my first entry but forgot.

Here is a link to the first blog entry in case you want to see what I wrote back then. March 5, 2008 I just wish I had that Amaryllis yet as it was so pretty, but alas it died last summer.

I have enjoyed telling you about my activities and showing you the quilting I have done plus shared some of the other things that go on around our farm here in Nebraska.  Blogging has been a wonderful way to meet other quilters around the world and I have met many people through my blog as well as reading other blogs. 

Here's to many more years of blogging my friends!

Lynn

One stitch forward….One stitch backward, and backward, and backward!

News on the quilting front here is not good, sorry to say.  I was so proud of myself as I had quilted the outside border feathers plus one round of echo quilting.  I worked for several days off and on to get it done so as not to stress my shoulder too much at each sewing session.  It all looked so nice, even with the few slight wiggles every once in a while.  I did find a big problem this afternoon that requires me to rip it all out though.

You all might be wondering what was so wrong that I have to take it all out.  You may have to enlarge the photos to see but I quilted the feathers with the wrong color of thread, plus to add more ripping I did that first row of echo quilting with the wrong color of thread too.  I sure don’t know why I didn’t pay more attention when I grabbed the thread to do the feathers.  The other feathers are the color of the silk thread I used for the echo but instead and on this border I quilted them with the gold colored silk thread.  The echo quilting should be the really neutral ecru silk thread instead of the light tan.  The thread color doesn’t look so different in the photo but in real life it is quite noticeable.

This ripping is going to take a while as the stitches are small (1.8 on my Bernina) and the top thread is silk so breaks if I tug on it too hard.  I am using a bright light and my magnifying clip on lenses to make the job a little easier.  Think this is going to be a TV watching project and may take a while.  I am so bummed as I thought I was nearing the end of the quilting.

Oh well, at least I didn’t get all the echo quilting done plus the fill quilting around it finished before I saw the boo-boo.  The thread didn’t look bad but want the piece to look coordinated with the same threads so it has to come out and be re-done.  Guess I need to think of what I am removing as practice and maybe when I stitch it again it will look even better.

One major good thing about this whole disaster is that I didn't remove my feather quilting design marks.  I thought about spritzing the border with water last evening to remove the blue marks but decided to wait until today and boy am I glad I made that decision!  Remarking would have not been easy so guess things could be much worse. 

Wish me luck and a fast ripping job!

Lynn

Inspiration–Windows

Windows can also be an inspiration source for quilters.
 
My in-laws lived in an old two story farm house before they built this ranch style home in the mid 1970s.  The old house had this lovely window set above a larger picture window in their dining room.  They saved it to use in the new house and installed it in a wall in their office.  You could see into the office from the hallway through this window.  When we remodeled, the office (very small at about 5 feet x 7 feet) became a closet for my fabric and other storage so we removed the window.  Our kitchen designer came up with the idea of installing it over our sink and I just love it there.  The window design is etched into the glass and I love looking at it and wonder how old it is.  John says he knows it is over 100 years old.  Isn’t the center design wonderful with the man on horseback riding towards the cabin.  I think the border designs could again be quilting designs or applique. 

Think of the beautiful stained glass windows in the churches and cathedrals as design inspiration.  I took this rose window photo at the Episcopalian Cathedral in Spokane, Washington in 2007 when we were on a trip.  The design in the glass is not clear but the design of the window framework is worth noting.  Wouldn’t that make a lovely quilting motif or an applique?
This photo was taken of the sidelight next to my front door.  I can see it in a pieced design with a little tweaking.  This window really is vertical in the wall but fits the blog post so much better when it is placed horizontally.

Look at the windows where you live and in the buildings of your community and snap some photos.  You never know when you might need this design inspiration. 

How do the photos look...too big?  Am experimenting with size and want to know how they come up on other computers.

Lynn

Inspiration

Have started doing a little sewing and it is working OK but it seems like life is getting in the way of me doing any quantity of sewing/quilting so I have nothing to show on that account.  Recently was looking though the quilt related files I have stored on my computer and came across a file called Inspiration.  I remember creating this file and putting photos in it quite a long time ago and now think this would be a good one to look at more often.

What I have in this file are photos of anything that could be used as a pieced quilt pattern, applique pattern, quilting design, etc.  You get the idea.  I took digital photos of anything and everything around my house that could be adapted to quilting in some form.  I decided to start posting some of these photos and maybe that will trigger an idea for you. 

This first photo is of the rim of an antique platter.  The edge decoration could be used for an applique design or a quilting design with a little tweaking.  It could be used straight or on curves by making the scallops a little different shape or at different angles.

I have a bunch of photos in this file so will post them occasionally.

Lynn