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Sunday, November 23, 2014

Thanksgiving Cards

Happy Thanksgiving where you may be spending your holiday this year!
We have a tradition to share the three things we're most thankful for each year. These are mine. Probably for the end of time, but they continue to mean so much to me, even more so, with each passing year.
1) Jesus Christ
2) My Family
3) My Health




Tuesday, November 18, 2014

Sky Full of Stars

That Halloween quilt was finished last week. I've officially named it, "Sky Full of Stars." Yes, after the Coldplay song, but that title just seems to fit how it looks - the black sky filled with stars of many colors. I learned in Astronomy 101 long ago that there are several colors of stars, and while no red ones here, there are some black ones :-)  It was so cold here like it was in much of the country, so having this over my lap while I sewed on the binding kept me nice and snuggly. I am just so happy with how this all turned out. I shall enjoy it for years to come.

I think you can see on this picture, that after I hand quilted the inside of the stars, I used my walking foot and machine quilted in between the sashing in black, just enough to keep it all together, and hopefully not fall apart after its first washing. Its hanging on the railing until I set up for Christmas. 

Just last night, I woke up around 1:30a.m. and saw a large shooting star fall in the sky. It was spectacular to see, and reminded me the universe is dealing with much bigger things than I do every day. 
And makes me grateful to be able to trust a Heavenly Father to manage it all and keep things going as they do without my even casual regard for it most of the time. 

Wednesday, November 12, 2014

Card Design

This is a very basic card but points out a design principle that works.
When you take three colors plus a neutral there is a balance that feels right visually.
Here the pinks and oranges aren't all the exact same, but because they're in the same color family they feel harmonious. Adding the blue, which is a contrasting color to the orange, and is a brighter hue, also tends to balance the oranges and pinks which are side by side on the color wheel.
Think of it like a stool - three keeps it in balance. The touch of off-white could have been much larger. I could have used that for the paler pink background, but instead I kept the neutral as a small part. Using neutrals is a matter of preference but because they don't compete with the colors, they also feel in balance.
Just something to think about when you're making cards.



Sunday, November 9, 2014

Updates on Barn Quilts

Finally remembered to take some pictures. Below is the October barn.

 This quilt is all about the details and its only half finished when you see my embroidery. My mom adds the ribbon embroidery and then it really comes alive even more. Like on the barn below, the roof that doesn't have a black outline in thread will be bigger and more substantive in black silk ribbon. The pumpkins will have green silk leaves on top. . . details.
 Here is November's quilt before all the embroidery is done, but it gives you a good idea of how it will look.
 Love that airplane. Looks even better now that its outlined, as well as the moon, in brown embroidery thread. But I really love the white circles coming out from the moon. I think this is one of my favorite skies. Whoever designed this, I can tell, had fun, because its fun to recreate it all. Happy Creating! Now I need to get serious about Christmas creating!!!

Monday, November 3, 2014

Halloween Star Quilt

Even though its not done, I thought you'd want to see it, since I did complete most of it in October.
The top was done on Oct. 9 so I've kept it on the large sofa all month to remind myself to keep working on it and so I could enjoy it for the rest of the month.

I saw a quilt similar to this on Pinterest, but it was much larger and had a green six inch border and all the quilting was done on a diagonal, so I give them credit for the original idea of using black background and sawtooth stars. Their black stars had olive green backgrounds, and it was all pretty mellow. I wanted to take that idea and make it say FUN!
So, with fabrics from my stash and only one fat quarter purchased after I recreated the pattern I wanted, I was off. Total size is 56 x 69 inches. Using 10 inch sawtooth stars, I've combined a mixture of solids and patterned fabrics on a black background with three yellow backgrounds for the black stars, just to keep things interesting. Black sashings in between are 1 1/2" finished.
 I hand quilted all the stars. This is one of the first ones I did.
 Then I realized it needed more quilting, so I quilted a diamond inside the stars as well as the 1/4" inside the stars. Notice how there are a variety of orange fabrics. (I told you it was one of my favorite colors.) I think all these colors play nicely together, even though they're not all in the same hue. Color play is SO fun! I wanted lots of oranges to remind us it is really a Halloween quilt, then I added some purple, gray and lime green to keep it fresh and modern.  The yellows just keep it all balanced and contrasted so nicely with the black. I really loved putting all these fabrics together and watch them turn out as fun as I hoped they would.
 This pumpkin fabric is MyGirl's favorite. Now on to quilting the black in the middle and the orange binding, and it will be done. I have loved making this. Sunday night I threw it over my feet as I was listening to a devotional and its really warm too. It shall be a fun way to welcome in every October from now on.