Artful Homemade Quilts Have A Way

[freedombecki]

Ok, here are 3 more, the center one of which is colorful if you double-click the thumbnail:

 

[freedombecki]

Well, there were a couple of pretty ones more after the shop hop:

 

[freedombecki]

Now, all that has to be done is to choose which colors go where color squares play against the values presented in the black-dominant squares with visual textures in the mix.

Might as well post 3 more:

 

[boedicca]

I remain in awe of your talent, sweetie.

 

[freedombecki]

I remain in awe of your talent, sweetie.

Thanks, boedicca. Right now, I still have the above 24 building blocks pending the reduction of my little case of CFS. When it goes away, it takes the fibrofog out and I can get back to work! For some reason, coffee seems to ward it off and I forgot my morning cuppa today.

Not all medicine comes in pill form.

 

[boedicca]

If we were neighbors, I'd bring you over a homemade cappuccino or latte right now!

 

[freedombecki]

Thanks, boedicca. I toast thee with a cuppa!

And all I managed to underachieve in the last 24 hours was joining 24 of the Steps log cabin squares into 6 pieces, three are below:

 

[freedombecki]

And 3 more joined squares:

 

[freedombecki]

And Whitehouse Steps Log Cabin is done!

I'm free! This is gift# 46 and measures 50x70, more or less.

The upper left credits with small red batik border:

 

[freedombecki]

Wow, spent all morning on the tractor, then went back to it later after lunch. <huff, puff, huff, puff> The residue from dry grass that gets hashed up in the Kubota blade works its way under the collar and cuffs! If it weren't for the moccasins, copperheads, and other snakes that hang around the pond, I'd tell the egrets to move over. Fortunately for them, they have beaks that look like snake-efficient eliminators. Their only fear is us. Silly birds!

Actually, I'm totally fond of the gracious great egrets when they elect to visit. They are regal and well aware of their strength and power against all other pond visitors. They're so huge and beautiful.

 

[koshergrl]

Ok I'm back, lol. Sooooo...

We are working on getting a couple more pillow cases for another friend of my daughter's, who is having a birthday party on the 4th. By the time she goes into highschool, all the girls in her class will have matching pillow cases!

I told you, becki, that I was slowly working on getting more organized for sewing, with the objective of creating a quilt in August. So towards that end, I have acquired another dining room table, which is right in the middle of my kitchen. My other table set up was not conducive to setting up my sewing machine; the table rocks, it's a bench/corner set unit, and there are no handy plug ins for my machine and iron.

Plus if I'm there, I have to clear everythign away every time I cook a meal...

My cousin gifted me with a round oak dining table...it's more stable, and it is right in the middle of my kitchen, but handy to an outlet, so I can be in my kitchen, cooking, but still have a place for people to eat, and I can leave my stuff out at least for a little bit. It's also nice because it means that even when I have company, I can seat everybody for meals. Kids at one table, adults at another!

Tonight, I'm canning beans...and I'm going to get the machine revved up. Thursday is payday, and I'll be able to get the material (I need some whites for my log cabin blocks) and we'll be on our way.

Also tonight I'm going to put together a sewing basket for my daughter, with her own stuff in it, so she can be organized and help with the pillow cases. I have one that's almost finished, we need to whip out another one and I need to crochet the edgings (which are fast).

That's what's cooking here.

 

[freedombecki]

So happy to hear things are going well with sewing and to have you back here, koshergrl. In the meantime, I bought some pillowcases on eBay--old, but pretty nonetheless, but not near as pretty as the ones you've complained about not "being perfect" in some way. It would take me the time it takes to make 5 of my little quilt tops to do one set of pillowcases, and the lovely members of the Tall Pines Quilt Guild like the "salability" of my little quilts when they quilt them. Someone put a 167-year-old log cabin in the local town square, and let local artisans sell their crafts there by letting people volunteer to work there during peak hours for 3 or 4 days a week, one being Saturday. The Guild is one of their best sellers, and a percentage of the sales go to maintaining the historic cabin, and the Guild gave out several $500 scholarships at Sam Houston State University, bought batting and backings for quilts and pillows distributed to shelter families, Hugs babies, Senior and Hospice homes, etc. The women are selfless, and I love every one of them for all the good they do for the community and county. I can't even fathom the time they have to take to do my quilts last year.

So looking forward to seeing you show the girls' and your embroideries, koshergrl. And the quilt too.

Hang in there!

 

[freedombecki]

Here you go Beckums. My progress so far:

OK, Ms. Sunshine, I know you're working on finding the right machine, getting the yard right, and getting the house in shape, but was wondering if you are still doing stitch or two now and then on the tablecloth...

 

[Sunshine]

Here you go Beckums. My progress so far:

OK, Ms. Sunshine, I know you're working on finding the right machine, getting the yard right, and getting the house in shape, but was wondering if you are still doing stitch or two now and then on the tablecloth...

As I told you it has 6 of the church motifs around the center. Last night I started number 5. I put it down for a few days. After not playing piano for years, I picked up a piece that was too technically difficult and my knuckles got really sore. Hands are better now, and I picked it back up last night. Two more church motifs to do then I'll start the border, which no doubt will be as thrilling as the borders on all those quilt blocks! LOL.

But great minds are alike, I was going to post the above and found you had asked.

(I'm waiting on the piano tuner to come do a little work on it, then it will be easier to play. I let it set for too long in between times.)

(I was determined to play that piece that Bryce Dallas Howard played in The Loss of a Teardrop Diamond - Liebestraum or Dream of Love by Liszt. I have two versions and even the easy version is hard when you haven't kept your hands limbered up! Lizat did a book of technical exercises to help make playing his music easier. I'm thinking of getting it. After so long not playing my hands are very tense and my right pinky finger has gotten a mind of its own and is staying up in the air which makes it really hard to play. That is hand tension.)

 

[freedombecki]

Here you go Beckums. My progress so far:

OK, Ms. Sunshine, I know you're working on finding the right machine, getting the yard right, and getting the house in shape, but was wondering if you are still doing stitch or two now and then on the tablecloth...

As I told you it has 6 of the church motifs around the center. Last night I started number 5. I put it down for a few days. After not playing piano for years, I picked up a piece that was too technically difficult and my knuckles got really sore. Hands are better now, and I picked it back up last night. Two more church motifs to do then I'll start the border, which no doubt will be as thrilling as the borders on all those quilt blocks! LOL.

But great minds are alike, I was going to post the above and found you had asked.

(I'm waiting on the piano tuner to come do a little work on it, then it will be easier to play. I let it set for too long in between times.)

(I was determined to play that piece that Bryce Dallas Howard played in The Loss of a Teardrop Diamond - Liebestraum or Dream of Love by Liszt. I have two versions and even the easy version is hard when you haven't kept your hands limbered up! Lizat did a book of technical exercises to help make playing his music easier. I'm thinking of getting it. After so long not playing my hands are very tense and my right pinky finger has gotten a mind of its own and is staying up in the air which makes it really hard to play. That is hand tension.)

I think that it's wonderful you're playing music again after a long career away from the fine arts. Hope your hands heal and strengthen!

And thanks for letting us know how the tablecloth is coming. I hadn't heard, and knew you were doing what everybody does after retiring--getting involved in too many things at first! It'll all settle down in a few weeks, and you can learn how to moderate time into parcels that will be conducive to good health and a broad range of activities--some for nutrition, others for large muscle exercise, some medium and others for fun. Walking your dog, stitching, playing music, reading, and doing the things you just have to do to live rotated for optimal joy in your life. I'm so grateful you share your sewing thoughts and other finer things of life here, Sunshine. And you know how I love red and white from last year's quilt show and my silly little tall ships quilts that I hope are going to children in need, or other community benefit.

 

[freedombecki]

Since the last top, I found some left over from a fiesta top I'd made earlier this year and decided to shoot for a top about the same size as the last Whitehouse Steps quilt most recently completed. A best case scenario would be for people to stop the physical abuse, which would mean we wouldn't have to worry about children and other adults being frightened of others by an abuser who has never received counseling for his or her management of anger. Until that day, I'm still going to make quilt tops that will last from childhood through young adulthood, and hope that some time, someone in the guild will take pity and make it up with batting, backing and bind them into a useful article that will give warmth in winter and comfort always that a quilt is to its owner.

For this quilt, I've been piecing away little by little for the past several days, fashioning the light squares rimmed by dark red and the dark squares rimmed by a lighter print. Also, an inner and outer border have been cut, and here are the brown small inner print and the brown and red large outer print, along with scan 1 of one of the squares:

 

[freedombecki]

Some more light and dark red-bordered blocks:

 

[freedombecki]

S'mores:

 

[freedombecki]

Yet more:

 

[freedombecki]

Two more blocks, and think I will follow my own advice and do something outside while there's still not as much heat as there will be this afternoon! August is our steamiest month here...

It would be so lovely, however, if I could spend the hot hours of the day doing the rest of the joining and border-adding tasks to complete the top before sunset.

I know that's asking too much. But some days just go well. Others, well, life happens.

The quilt will have 24 squares. I made up two sets of each of the 12 blocks shown, to have the same size as the preceding Whitehouse Steps quilt.