Of Theories and Friday Finishes

Yesterday I decided that I wanted to see a finish. Something. Anything. Since sitting is a bit of a problem still, I decided to finish something at the long arm. Hey, if you can't sit, stand.

So I dug around in the bin of "ready to quilt" tops (RTQ--they aren't UFOs if I intend to finish them) and found the easiest, smallest little pink quilt in the pile. I didn't count how many are in there, because some things are best left alone. As you can see, the bin is full. 

Now, don't think I'm just about getting the quilting done. I'm not. I enjoy a bit of slow stitching. Nevertheless, there are times when I want to finish without much hoopla and times when I need to practice. I want to be able to accomplish the practicing AND not take forever on a particular quilt. You know those quilts: donation quilts, easy quilts, fast-finish quilts, and those you just get sick of--that generally end up in the UFO-forever pile. Those need to be quilted. One way to get them quilted is to find a fast, easy, not-so-boring way to get them finished. I have the solution!


My Theory:
It's possible to accomplish a quick finish using graffiti quilting. 
The trick, I thought, is to quilt using only one or two large motifs. But you know that gets boring. Quick. The point of graffiti quilting is that the quilter can change motifs often to avoid boredom. 


My Solution:
I'd use the same basic motif and make little changes with each one. For this quilt I chose large basic flowers changing the centers of each one so I wouldn't get bored right away. 

My Conclusion
I am happy with the outcome. It was fast work since I was sticking to one motif. Thinking of ways to fill in the centers and the outlying edges was quick because I wasn't trying to come up with many different changes.  

	Quilt Stats
	Name:	Pink Pieces
	Size:	35" X 41" baby / throw
	Fabrics:	Scrap fabrics from stash
	Backing:	Pink camo from stash
	Binding:	Scrap fabrics from stash
	Pattern:	String pieced squares
	Quilting:	Free motion in large flower motifs

I thought this might be one of my (possibly)
hair-brained ideas, that only occasionally turns out to be useful. But no matter, I have to figure it out or admit defeat. Yay! This one's a win! Do you ever get some idea that you just have to work out? 

And in my personal life...

there's not much going on. I am slowly healing from the surgery two weeks ago. Mostly I am resting, napping, and sleeping. However, yesterday and today I went into the studio and actually made some stitches. Of course, some of those stitches were to hem up Lane's pants for graduation, which is tomorrow night. That  took all of maybe 15 minutes. 

The other stitches I made had to do with the Cotton Robin final round of mini-quilts. (Here's a sneak peak. Shhh!) It won't be long till the Big Reveal. That's when I can post about my doings on that front. I'm excited to see my own little quilt and to get reactions for the ones I worked on. This robin is such fun!

Yesterday, Richard and I finally went to the cemetery to put new flowers on mom and dad's grave. I meant to do that for Easter, but the hospital wouldn't give me a pass. So I figured Mother's Day would be a good plan B. I just couldn't get myself to take the trip. It's only about 25-30 minutes away, but any sitting in the car can be painful. So I've had to pick and choose my drives and take only one a day. Even so, not every day.

I bought these beautiful blue daisies and white magnolia flowers several weeks ago. I really like the way they look together. Dad's favorite color was blue and mom loved blue and white so it's a perfect combination for their flowers. I may add some red roses later in June in preparation for July 4th. What do you think? Will that be too obvious?

And finally, here's Meme riding her rocking horse that her poppa made. She has had it for at least a year and still loves to ride it. Though, truthfully, she's on it for about 30 and then she's gone again. She reminds me of a hummingbird, flitting around from one toy to another. Or one person to another.

How is life in your part of the world? Are you getting any stitching done?

Pin It Weekly #277

Let's say hello to a couple of followers! It's been a while since we've done that, hasn't it? So. Time.

Janice Crane has a board titled "decorating" that has some interesting pins. Check out these rocks. I think they are covered in felt then embroidered. Is that the sense you get?

I wish I'd had the idea for this Noah's ark wall!

Or these book shelves!

And this is just too cute for words:

Dianne Gale has a "needlebooks" board! I can't show you all 15 but here are a few of my favorites.

They are all so pretty and practical that I kind of want to make another--I have two already--just for fun. It would be difficult choosing one! Which would you most want to make?

Cave in Yellowstone ~~ an art quilt FINISHED!

A couple of years ago we visited Yellowstone National Park and much of the Great Northwest from the Dakotas to Montana and points south all the way back to Louisiana. (The post marking the beginning of that trip is here.) Although we have visited over half of the States, the beauty of our country amazes me. And I hope we live to visit the ones that are unbuttoned on our Across America map.

The beauty of the West, especially Yellowstone, has really stayed with me. I love looking at the photos and decided a while back that I needed to create an art quilt that would capture some of the beauty of those mountains.

 This is the sixth art quilt in this series. Because they are hand quilted with little space between the lines, it takes quite some time to complete one. Nevertheless, I really like this one. 

The yellow colors and striations, the darkness of small caves and rock shelters, peaks against a brilliant sky are all part of what I had hoped to capture in this quilt. 

Other pieces in the series: 
Indigo Dusk
Sunset in Utah
Big Sky in Montana
Southwest Strata
Louisiana Swamp at Sunset

I am enjoying making these art quilts and am not sure I've gotten it out of my system. In fact, I have the next one planned. Want a sneak peak this week?

Sunday Quilt Inspiration: Easy Piecing

I've been thinking that sometimes a person just needs an easy project. Just a little mindless stitching to allow our brains to rest. Here are some quilts that would fit the bill.

If you're new to quilting, any one of these quilts would be easy enough to begin with. Take you time, ask questions, and lay the blocks out on a flat surface or design wall. Feel free to email me at mary.marcotte@gmail.com if you need help. I'll gladly try to help.

And now my Red Is a Neutral challenge

AHIQ has a challenge going. Ann and Kaja discussed the possibilities and introduced readers to a couple of shows in which the makers used red as a neutral in their quilts. 

I love the idea! I really wanted to get started back in January but one thing and another got in the way. Finally, I lost my guild BOM blocks when they got caught in a flood of my doing. When that happened, it occurred to me that I could simply change the colors of the blocks and meet two challenges at once. 

So figuring it out took a while, but I rolled up my sleeves and got to work. I went from no blocks to five. At the time we had instructions for nine blocks. That left me four blocks when I went into the hospital. On Monday we received two more blocks, so I have to get back in gear if I plan to catch up.

I definitely do not have enough of these grays and blacks to make all the blocks, so I'll be adding more of these colors and mixing up the blocks when I put them together. Hopefully the quilt will have a coordinated scrappy look, not a disjointed messy look.

Do go by and take a look at some of the quilts other participants are making. I promised you will enjoy the show!

Pin It Weekly #276

Are you having a good week? I pray that's an affirmative.  And I hope you have had a few minutes of pinning.

It's one of the few things that I have felt well enough to do. I can get off my feet and my hiney, kick back on the sofa, and enjoy some beautiful photos of things I really love. So that's what I've been doing. It's difficult not going into the studio, but I just don't have the stamina to be on my feet for very long. 

Of course, I've found a few quilts to pin to my "heart, quilts" board. 

And a few random barns for my "barn, shed, corncrib" board.

What have you been pinning anything? Share one of your boards with us in comments!