Show and tell…

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Lisa Corneilson sent me pictures of two of her (amazing) ecently finished quilts. The first quilt is Tulips in the Park…

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I love the setting Lisa used on this quilt. I would never have thought of using those stars in the block corners and they are an excellent choice. Well done, Lisa!

Here is what Lisa wrote:

I started “Tulips in the Park” as a block of the month back in the 1900’s, lol, and I finally finished quilting it! I decided to hand quilt it with this curly Q whimsical, free hand quilt design, and it got old fast, so I put it away for years at a time taking it out and quilting for a few days and then back it went to the abyss of unfinished quilts.

 

This year I decided to finish things up so it’s my first finish of 2018 and I am so happy with it.

 

I love your patterns and this is one of my favorites. I changed the setting and created my own border and luckily I saved material for the binding, using the stripe from your collection of fabrics at the time. I can’t tell you how many times I wanted to use that fabric. Now it is free to use in other projects. I learned a lot about appliqué from your books and I thank you for your inspiration and wonderful patterns!

 

This blue one was a guild challenge – monochromatic while including the guild block which is “Country Roads.”  It’s been awhile, 2000 I think, but I also used your flowers in this one. I won the challenge.

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This quilt is also very well done. The flowers are taken from Stars in the Garden and it is an excellent example of how you can use elements of pattern in new ways. I especially appreciate the pieced background behind the flowers.

Lisa, you made two lovely quilts AND they are finished. Way to go, you!

 

Show and tell…

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SusanAhmad

Susan Ahmad sent me a photo of her finished Tile Tango quilt—it’s lovely! She told me that she is an avid gardener with a special passion for day and Asian lilies. This flower design felt lily-like to her so she matched the colors of her lilies with her flower fabric, except for the blue. She says she’s still hoping to grow a blue lily.

Susan altered the setting from my original quilt (Tile Tango from The Quilter’s Practical Guide To Color) removing the corner triangles and adding sashing. It’s a very good look. You know that there is nothing wrong with changing a pattern to suit yourself. Personally, I enjoy seeing how you all make my designs work in your quilts so please do send pictures :-).

Thank you, Susan, for sharing you quilt and the story behind it.

Amy Marson, on embroidery…

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My good friend, Amy, offered share more about her embroidery art. Yay!

Do you spend a lot of time commuting? passenger in a car? on an airplane? I do! And I am fidgety, always needing something in my hands to keep me busy.  Well last April I started embroidering when I travel and I am hooked. I have done two famous paintings, The Scream and Starry Night. My favorite part of both of these is the sky done in a big chain stitch.

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I am fairly new to embroidery and I like it when my work looks a bit rough (I am a recovering perfectionist) and not precise.  I really enjoyed trying to figure out what colors to use where and how to make certain sections stand out. I made different choices than the artists just for fun and I am really happy with the results.  My Starry Night hangs next door at my neighbors house (a Christmas present) and I am not sure yet what to do with The Scream. I may keep it…

Amy_The_Scream

A few good things to note. To transfer the pattern I used C&T Publishing’s Wash-Away Stitch Stabilizer, a great surface that you can run through an ink jet printer and adhere to your fabric while you are stitching, and when you are done you swish it in water and it melts away!

I got some great needles from Becky (this is a good set) and used a variety of perle cottons (lots of choices here) for much of the designs. I love how the perle cotton sits on top of the fabric. Also, I did not stick with one weight of Perle Cotton, I used three different weights, my goal was to create a lot of texture and I think it worked.

I am a self taught stitcher using Judith Baker Montano’s Embroidery & Crazy Quilt Stitch Tool and I work very quickly with the goal of done is better than perfect. What am I working on now? I sketched a world encircled by houses, trees and a book. I started freehand stitching and it is coming along beautifully! If Becky let’s me guest post again I will show you my latest project. Until then, needles up!

Amy

PS from Becky: Amy, you can guest post any time!

Wednesday Giveaway

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Mary Kastner is the lucky winner this week. She will receive the 2 spools of Dazzle thread. You can embroider with it or use it in any of the Purl & Loop Weavers. (Don’t forget about the weavers… they are great fun.)

If you aren’t Mary but would still love to have some Dazzle of your own, click here to find spools in more dazzling colors.

Dazzle Thread

 

Wednesday Giveaway

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If you have vintage textiles that look like the before image on the label below, you should try using Retro Clean to make them look like new again. And, if not like new, make them look a lot cleaner!

RetroCleanLabel

Lynn Jarozombeck is this week’s lucky winner. If you are not Lynn and you would still like to have some Retro Clean, I can help you :-). Click here. You’ll also find Retro Wash which is great for washing new fabric.

Color(s) of the year…

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I’m busy working away on the next new thing that I can’t tell anyone about for months. It is ever thus. BUT, as I’m working, I can’t get these colors out of my head.

First, did you see the Kona Cotton color of the year announcement? The color is Tiger Lily and it does make me happy.

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Click here to see the Robert Kaufman Tiger Lily Look Book. It’s full of designs from their designers using this color.

A few days later, I became aware of Pantone’s color of the year, Ultra Violet. Who knew, right? I remember when there was one color of the year and that was that.

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Do you remember last year’s Pantone color of the year? It was Greenery…

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These 3 colors form a triadic color combination that is both lovely and not often used: purple, orange, and green.

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I’m hoping that now that I’ve shared this with you, I can stop thinking about these 3 colors because it’s very distracting when I need to be thinking about other colors :-).