I shared on my Facebook page “HollyDee Quilts” a quilt on my frame and promised photos of the finish. So here they are…
Maria made this Feathered Star in a workshop I taught last year. She wanted her star to float on the background and to have a “winter” look to it. Using mostly “Stonehenge” fabrics really helped us to pull of the look Maria was going for. The original pattern, by Quiltworx, ends at the first pieced border, Maria wanted her quilt a little larger, so she added 2 more borders and took it from 60″ x 60″ to 76″ x 76″
Maria’s Feathered Star -before quiltingQuilting of the feathers – be sure to click on this photo – it is very dark hereQuilting in the setting unitsQuilting on the back, love those square feathers in the outer dark blue borderTexture on the back
And here is what is coming up…….
And what is next on the frame? Susie’s Glacier Star!
I meant to share this on the previous post and forgot….
This was my mom’s and now it calls our house it’s home. We have lived in Houston for 17 years and it took about 14 years for us to find this plants happy spot. Just like my mom, this plant likes to be part of the action, resting in the corner of the kitchen, next to the window to watch the outdoors and next to the kitchen table to reside over meals. Yes it is a happy place!
Where is your happy place? Mine is where the action is!
I may be the last of the bloggers to share our special Christmas memories. Oh well better late than never – right?!
I love Christmas – the grandkids make it even more special. Each year they come over to help trim the tree and put out my Snow Village houses. Also at some time during the Christmas break we decorate gingerbread houses. I purchase the pre made houses, not brave enough to attempt baking our own yet….. Over the years they have become quite the little artists, I love to watch them be creative. I don’t show them the photos on the box or give them any other ideas for how to decorate their houses – this is there thing!
The Village ChurchThe Tree is Trimmed!The Stockings are Filled!My first pie with homemade pie crust. It was huckleberry and very tasty!My beautiful daughter in law!The grandkids gave me charms this year – the one was from Mr. BWe like to give a gift that my son and his wife wouldn’t expect – this year was an enamel cast iron cooking pot, with confetti and look closer – we crumpled up cash in with the confetti – 1’s, 5’s, 10’s and 20’s. It was pretty fun!Mr. B had asked for a new train for Grandpa – this is a really cool train! It really isn’t for grandpa!The train engineer!And Little Toot with her present. (momma is a little jealous!). That is a lace heart for the sound hole.Getting the feel! Always encourage children to make and enjoy music – think what your life would be without music!Pre-decorating. Side-note: The icing did not dry like glue this year, so hubby used epoxy to build the houses. We build before the children arrive because the icing/glue needs to set before decorating.The new Cake Bosses! Those containers are filled with various candies!This years box came with fondant – this was a lot of fun to add to the houses – guess I will have to learn how to make fondant now!More fondant creations – with cookie cutters from my friend Jerrianne!Little Toot’s – I love what she did to her windows!Mr. B – look at the chimney he made!How much stuff can he put on it! This is Mr. B’s – he only decorated the front! He also figure out that 2 candy canes make a heart!. On the left is a fondant wreath he decorated – I think it fell of the house and that is why it is squished now!Little Toot with her creation!The back of Little Toot’s – I love the collar and bow on her reindeer! She also made the fondant tree on the bottom – it had so many decorations on it, it was sliding down the house.Hubby surprised me with this fabulous table, made by a young neighbor from recycled wood. (Her original prototype for a school project was made from a pallet!) And my son and his family surprised us with a wonderful photo album of memories from our trip to Disney World!
The Man Cave is BUILT! I was really worried the green we chose for the siding was going to be hideous, but we couldn’t have a red barn because our house will not have red. I don’t like those putty barns, they just look plain! We wanted a sage green, not too dark but natural. Mueller’s only option was a green that had a little bit of blue in it. When you see these metal buildings in fields they look really blue-green and that was not the look I wanted!
Well I was so happy when we drove up the property and the barn did not scream “Look At Me – I am the big huge metal building!” When we have leaves on the trees I don’t think you will even notice the building! PERFECTION!
The view from farther up the driveway – put a few leaves on those trees and you won’t even notice the barn! They were still working on trim but almost done!This side didn’t have the trim on yet – just like the binding on a quilt – the trim really dresses it up!This side has the trim up – much nicer2 overhead doors to provide lots of airflow during the hot summer –Lots and lots of space – we were both surprised by how light it was in the barn. The white insulation really keeps it bright. In that corner we will build a “clean” room that can be air conditioned. Batting storage will be above that room.Nice roll up doors – they are smooth!The next projects: bringing in the electricity from the road and then adding the well. This well belongs to one of the neighbors. We will be placing our tank in the barn – so the only parts I will need to disguise are the well head (the piece on the left). I think planter boxes will work nicely!
We have met with the designer for the new house and made many decisions; I have homework I am working on prior to our next meeting….. stay tuned for all the fun!
Maximum # of students is 10 – sign up soon to reserve your spot!
Venue features include: big open spaces in the sewing room, design walls, comfortable chairs, wonderful lighting, ironing and cutting surfaces!
When: August 14-17, 2014. Check in at 11:00 am / check out Sunday at 3:00 pm
Price is $375 per person ~ this includes instruction from Certified Judy Niemeyer Instructor, Denise Green! That’s ME! It also includes lodging for 3 nights and your meals.
Contact our wonderful retreat organizer Ronda at ronda926@comcast.net for more information.
I have also been working on my Captain’s Wheel and I am having so much fun! I can’t wait to start putting it together.
Start with this! (But later take out that dull gold and the very bright yellow behind it!)Chop it up! What a pretty rainbow! (See those pretty pieces in the very front – that replaced the dull gold and very bright yellow!)Almost done with 72 A Units! Then I can start putting it together!Make some Captain’s Wheels!
If you aren’t available for our retreat, then be sure to check my schedule on the blog! Or contact me by leaving a comment on the blog!
If you would like me to come teach at your guild, local shop or retreat let me know and we will put something together!
This year my focus will be centered around the word MOVE – I need to be more physically active – MOVE
We are building a new home – MOVE
Sometimes I get lazy and I need to remind myself – MOVE
I actually started implementing this a few days ago – I have been working in the yard for a minimum of 1 hour each “sunny” day. This worked 12/26 and 12/27 and today 1/2. The other days were spent with hubby, running errands and playing with grandkids!
Mr. B spent the night on 12/31 so on New Years Day we took him to the park – boy he knows how to MOVE! Perpetual motion!
Stretch…… Can’t quite make it!RestingUpside down on the swingHappy Boy!Weeeeee…
Cool photo – no he isn’t upside down – grandpa had the camera turned that way – I would not have thought to rotate the photo!Flips!Pole climbing
And a few of the yard work accomplishments…..
12/26 I worked on the herb bed!
Before…. That lion’s tale was gorgeous when it bloomed!After…. Ready to buy plants – need to get the shovel to dig up the lions tale. Look at that happy Copper Canyon Daisy in the back corner!
12/27 I worked on the elevated strawberry patch…..
Before – the tiered strawberry patchAfter – need to add some more strawberry plants!
Today, 1/2 I cleaned out the cucumber and egg plant bed!
The cucumber bed – no before photo – but these vines were everywhere!The mother plant to the vines – good grief!And the after!
So I hope you will help me MOVE this year! Lots to do and lots to see!
I just finished quilting this fabulous quilt for my friend Marilynn. It will be a house warming gift for a friend of hers. Marilynn and I were at a retreat this past summer and stopped by a wonderful little quilt shop in Castroville, TX. The shop is Fabric ‘N Friends and it is always fun to visit them when I am in the area. This quilt was among the treasures we found that day.
Northern Lights – pattern by Jinny BeyerA close up of the quiltingThe back shows a little more of the quilting
Today’s post was short and sweet – I hope you enjoyed!
Well not really, but we do have a double wedding ring quilt to celebrate. This is a pattern by Judy Niemeyer aka Quiltworx. It is called Grandma’s Wedding Ring. In the original pattern the “center” is a 4-patch unit, but Julie decided she would rather have one solid fabric, no problem. Julie had taken the wedding ring class from me at Pinwheels and Posies in Dickinson, TX. She lives in Austin, TX but has attended a few classes that I have taught. I must say, Julie’s work on this quilt was a delight to quilt. Her curves are smooth and her intersecting points when adding her corners were done very nicely. She loved Judy’s technique for assembling this quilt, I call it making apple cores! The arcs are paper-pieced and using rulers designed by Judy Niemeyer for the melons and centers insures you too will have a beautiful quilt!
I wasn’t sure how I was going to quilt this one when I put it on my quilting frame, but then some magic started to happen – I hope you enjoy! (Remember to click on the individual photos to see more details!)
Some minimal marking was required for the designThe beginning of the designOn to the melon, that is the little “football” in between the pretty arcs. Can you see the quilting in the arcs? I decided there wasn’t enough so I added some more!See there is more quilting in the arcs now. Can you see the “star” I quilted in the blue/green corners?The melon and a peek at the centers.I fell in love with this one. Alas, I have emailed Julie that her quilt is ready and at some point it will go home!Looking across the quilt – don’t you just love the rich autumn colors?And – an overall look at the quilt….
I liked the feather design in this quilt so much, that I am now adding it to Ronda’s pretty cheddar civil war quilt – who wants to see?
All of these bring smiles to me – Shirley Temple “On the Good Ship Lollipop” can’t you just picture those curls? Or the very popular tune from 1958 sung the The Chordettes “Lollipop” but today it is “The Lollipop Tree” quilt made by Karla from the pattern by Kim McLean using those fabulous Kaffe Fassett fabrics.
Karla used a machine appliqué technique to apply her “Lollipop Tree’s” to the background fabrics. Her technique uses invisible thread and it is very difficult to tell it is not needle turned! I had mentioned a steady betty to Karla a while back, well, she could not believe the difference pressing on her steady betty made for all of those setting squares. Do you use a “steady betty” you might want to add this essential tool to your box of tricks!
Karla used 4 different fabrics for her background. Pink, tangerine, lavender and blue – I matched the thread colors to the background so help pop the color. At times it was very difficult to tell the difference between pink and lavender on the backgrounds. For the quilting in the large appliqué leaves I used a yellow, it just seemed to be the best blender. For the X quilting in the small setting squares I used a plum thread – it also proved to be a good blender!
The overall quilt – see – it makes you happy! (Along with a snippet of my wine tree!)Be sure to look how Karla used the various Kaffe fabrics for her leaves and lollipops.Karla used “perfect circles” by Karen Kay Buckley for those lollipops! Another great tool! Lots of pebbles for the quilting on this block!Background fill – small swirls – I think they took longer than the pebbles!Ribbon Candy quilting – seems appropriate for a lollipop!More background filllots and lots of thread put down on this one!A grouping of how the backgrounds look next to each other – click on this photo to see more detail!Look at this fabulous backing – no you can’t see the quilting – but what a fun fabric!
A very popular quilting book a few years back was titled – It’s Not a Quilt – Until it’s Quilted – well this one is quilted! Yippee!
This quilts journey began in a “quilt til you wilt” back in March. For you that are new to the blog – a quilt til you wilt is a teaching event that I have hosted 3 times at Pinwheels and Posies (Dickinson, TX) and once at Elaine’s Quilt Block (Salt Lake City, UT). I teach and the students work on their Judy Niemeyer project for over 36 hours over a 3 day period. The shops provides meals and students are able to leave their sewing stations setup. It is a great way to immerse yourself in a project.
Liz purchased her kit from Pinwheels and Posies. This kit was the cover quilt for the pattern. Liz chose to make a few changes that I will point out in the appropriate photos. As Liz worked on her quilt she asked to be placed on my quilting schedule and now we are to the quilting portion!
The thread palette – Sew Fine by Superior ThreadsThe pattern – Mariner’s Compass by Judy NiemeyerThe center of the quilt, this unit is called “Compass Rose”These are the B units, surrounded by feathers, ropes and spokesClose of of the outer rope, the original kit had Hoffman Brown Sugar as the background, Liz chose a more dramatic Hoffman Black, it has just a hint of blue. There is a lot of background fill quilting in the black, but it is very hard to see!Liz chose to flip her sails – placing the dark on the bottom on the left side and the background on the bottom on the right side.The back of the quilt – this is the brown sugar fabric – Liz thought it would work great on the back and it did!Some more quilting on the back! (Brown Sugar is actually darker than this but I have having trouble capturing the quilting and the color!) Here you can see the background fill that is in the black on the front!
I hope you enjoyed this brief quilting share! Next on the frame is “Grandma’s Wedding Ring” another Judy Niemeyer pattern, made from a class I taught!
Once a month I hostess a finishing class for students that are working on their Judy Niemeyer quilts. Some come to pick out fabric, some come to cut fabric, some come to sew. We all show up to be inspired! I have been teaching these classes for several years now and watching these quilts come together is always a treat!
So to inspire you I have chosen a few delights!
Rita’s Flowers for My Wedding Quilt – This will be for her Granddaughter.Pauline is working on Indian Summer – here are a few of her lights.Marilyn has been busy working on Mariner’s Compass – her first Judy quilt!And look – here is Cheryl’s Mariner’s Compass – she has her center completely doneBut she will be adding 4 Compass Rose units to elongate her quilt!Cheryl has already chosen the fabrics for her split log cabin!Shirley has had her center done for her Mariner’s Compass and is now working on her borders!But look what else Shirley has completed – this beautiful feathered star came home with me for quilting!And another feathered star – Janeane added the queen borders for Glacier Star to make this beautiful Feathered Star Quilt!And Janeane has also completed her Mariner’s Compass!Janeane’s time consumer has been this rendition of Flowers for My Wedding – a 50th wedding anniversary gift for her parents!Won’t appliqué look stunning in this wide open corners!
Be sure to check the calendar to see if I am coming to a guild or shop near you in 2014. I would love to come teach at your guild or shop!
