Sunday Quilt Inspiration: Red and Black

 Four years ago I wrote this SQI post because, as I mentioned, I was deep into making these red and black headbands for students at our school. The end of football season is generally a couple of weeks of miserably cold, damp wind. Ear coverings are especially nice if you're sitting on a metal bleacher.

Uniforms are khaki pants with either red or white polo shirts, so the girls are looking forward to having something that matches their uniforms but still can add a little contrasting color.  These headbands are reversible, which makes them especially useful for that purpose. 

It's interesting that this particular SQI is still especially popular and that the red/black colors are even more popular in buffalo checks and winter cabin colors.

Red and black quilts? Well, of course!

Here's wishing you a wonderful week and lots of quilting! 

ROAR! The Dinosaur ~~ a finish!

"ROAR! The Dinosaur" is a recent finish that I have not written about because, frankly, it's been too hot to go outside for more than a few minutes. I won't even attempt to describe the mosquito problems. Let's just say I'm thrilled to have cooler weather. It's amazing that temperatures in the 80s is miserably hot in May, but in September the 80s are remarkably cool. 

So back to "ROAR!" It's the little quilt that I cut out and sewed up at the Cotton Quilters sew day last month. I was able to finish the top and loaded it on the long arm the following day. It waited on me for a while, but the thing about having a quilt loaded is that I am committed to that quilt before working on another. It's a sure way of getting a particular top quilted.

There's not much to say about this little quilt. It's simple but cute and definitely for a little boy. I had enough of the dinosaur fabric to use for backing and almost enough (but not quite) for binding. I used a solid brown in one of the corners to "stretch" the binding. It works and so far no one has noticed unless I point it out.

I actually have a couple of other finishes to show you. I just let them pile up and today hung each one on the line to get some photos. 

		Quilt Stats
	Name:	ROAR! The Dinosaur
	Size:	44" X 46"
	Fabrics:	various juvenile fabrics from stash
	Pattern:	my design
	Backing:	dinosaur fabric from stash
	Batting:	100% Cotton
	Binding:	fabric from stash
	Quilting:	improv with various motifs
	Completed:	2020

 

Hmm, things to share.

Every now and then, I run across some article or blog or whatever that sort of draws me in and then holds on to me for a while. I often leave a tab open to the last page I visited so that I can easily return to the site. Most recently I've begun keeping a list of sites that I thought I might share with you. The Sewcialists is one that's chock full of interesting articles about sewing. 

A few highlights that I especially like 

• challenges. Though, honestly, I haven't tried any. They do look interesting and are in keeping with the many issues happening in the world. Perhaps I'll get to one eventually. 
• q&a section called "Ask the Sewcialists" that covers any topic you might want to ask, sewing related of course.
• Theme Month. which is self-explanatory.

If you're looking for a new sewing society, this might be the one for you. It's progressive and liberal, so you know going in that there's a hint of politics hovering around but not so much that I was offended or turned off. I prefer to keep politics out of my sewing room (and most of my life).

Another website is called "Wooden Quilts" and is about an artist from New Orleans who writes, "As a visual artist, I work mainly with wood and junk....These wooden quilts are my way of being with the spirits of my late great elders. They are also a way of finding a higher purpose for the pile of debris hurricane Katrina left me with." 

I wish I could show you one of his pieces. Ahh, you would be intrigued. Go visit and see for yourself.

Lastly, I'll remind you that almost every tool in your sewing room comes from a company that has a website with information meant to keep you engaged. Sure, they want to sell you their products, but they also want to inform you, entertain you, and help you. Fiskars is a prime example of such a company. Their website is amazing: beautiful and easy to negotiate. I have spent much too much time perusing. 

I hope that these sites will interest, teach, entertain, engage you. 

Pin It Weekly #332

 It's Weekly time! Here's hoping that you're having a fabulous week. I've been crafting. That's all. Crafting. And enjoying every minute. I thought I'd share some of the ideas that I've been toying with. I haven't made them all, but I'm hoping that the next week or so will see most of them complete. 

I really want to paint a mason jar!

 Who doesn't love wooden candy corn?!

 

And because I've gone a little crazy with the door hangers. 

 Hopefully I'll finish the door hangers that are waiting on the final coat of sealer then the ribbon. Richard and I went to Alexandria today and I made ribbons in the truck while he drove. It's amazing how much I can accomplish when I'm not playing with everything at once. 

Which of these crafts do you think I'll experiment with next? Perhaps the painted mason jars? (I do have everything I need!) Find many other ideas for crafts on my "craft diy make" board. As always thanks for visiting and please leave a comment.

Griffins Antiques and Main Street Market

I may have mentioned that I've decided to join lots of friends in a new adventure. There's an old antique store in Bunkie and a young family has purchased the building to turn into an artists/crafts market. I bought the smallest size available and will attempt to sell some of my work. I'm committed to four months of rent, so that means through Christmas. Hopefully, sales will pay the rent. 

So what will I be selling? Well, I've decided to put out the cotton and magnolia paintings, perhaps a few of the stitched art pieces and some scriptural quotes. The newest pieces are the quotes. (I've been calling them simply "the quotes.") They started out as a fun, fast way to get some painting in. Quite by accident, actually. I went out to meet Rich in the shed, saw some scrap pieces of wood and picked them out. 

A little sanding and a good cleaning, and they made for fast canvas. At the time I had no idea what to do with them, but hey, that's how I roll. After painting sunsets/sunrises on them, I decided to add quotes. (Thus far no costs since everything was left over from other projects. Huge selling point, BTW.) When I ran out of pieces of scrap, I mentioned it and ask my guy to put some pieces aside as they  arrived. I meant arrived naturally, as discards from his projects.

He bought me a sheet of plywood. The good plywood (as opposed to MDF or cheap plywood.) Hmm, that's eating into my no cost budget!

So for a while now, I've been having great fun painting, searching for quotes, and relearning the Silhouette machine. Those are the quote pieces that I mentioned. I'll take pictures of the booth when it's all set up. I probably have about ten quotes and a couple of door hangers/welcome signs. I've also picked out about 10 or so lap/baby quilts that I will drape over a quilt rack. I really hope those sell, but who knows what people are looking for? Wish me luck!

Sunday Quilt Inspiration: SUNRISE / SUNSET

Sunrises and sunsets, when I get to see them in person, remind me of the beauty of individuality. Every one is stunningly beautiful and stunningly different. In fact, I've been on my way home, seen a gorgeous sunset out of my windshield, and pulled over several times to take pictures of the same sunset. 

One time, while driving across the I-10 bridge in Baton Rouge the sunset looked like it could not get any better, so I pulled over in Lobdell to take a photo. Then on Hwy. 190, it changes before my eyes--every few minutes the colors become richer, the sunlight changes. So I pulled over in Livonia, and again in Krotz Springs to take photos. 

And so it went until, finally, the sun settled into its cozy sleep, and I had given at least 30 minutes of a long drive to pulling over, taking photos, and waiting for traffic to give me space to jump back into the fray. Only to discover that the sun had played another trick. Because, you see, as beautiful as one picture is, every time I pull over a better photo opportunity presents itself. 

I've played this game with the sun on several evenings. But the sun is a trickster and knows the game better than I. Interestingly, I don't win, but I also don't lose, because I have had the opportunity to experience and appreciate the beauty of God's imagination. 

So that brings us to sunrise/sunset quilts. I'm sure someone has figured out a way to determine whether each photo is a morning or evening capture, but I just enjoy them regardless of when they were taken. I love to paint a sunset, but we need to look at quilts of sunsets.

The next time you notice a sunset, take a photo and wait five to ten minutes. You'll want another. Then another. Perhaps one more. Or have you already found yourself in awe at the changing beauty of a sunrise or sunset? Which are you more likely to see?