Riley's Roses #185!

Meet the latest challenge from the Modern Quilt Guild!
Play with Riley Blake's Cottage Garden fabrics!
They sent us 6 different fabrics - about a fat eighth each and said make something and it has to be quilted! So of course I had to add a few more fabrics from the line and maybe a bit more of my favorites! As soon as they arrived I knew I wanted to play with Heather French's French Roses. I bought the pattern, resized it and played. I am really happy with the roses - love them. I should have washed it for more fray but sure I will someday. Very happy! Will have to find other fabrics to make more of them!! Thinking maybe Kaffe? Or Jennifer? More fun heading my way!!

Oh and #185 - my entry number on the MQG gallery. Not sure where the numbers will end but I am in. (and that is another adventure technology for the another day)

Yup still here -

I know, I know I am the worst quilt blogger ever!
I am owning this title!
Yes it has been 6 months since I last typed words here, yes I am still quilting - no I have not tossed in the fabric bolts and called it a day.

So the last six months -

Finished a few quilts, couple of guild monthly blocks, shopped for a lot of fabric, one might call it hoarding if one does not quilt. I simple like to think of it as collecting. Yes I will need more shelves and boxes and maybe a bigger room. Went on an awesome retreat with the Slow Stitching Movement. Best time ever. And I sewed a little bit. Of course a new addiction/obsession came out of it - hexes! (thanks Liza!) Couple trips up and down the eastern seaboard with family - not too many quilty stops along the way. The start of Row by Row or as I think of it a scavenger hunt for shops I did not know existed. But will now Have to stop as I pass through again. Challenges. Think that about wraps it up.

Anyhoo - here is my latest finish!
For the Modern Quilt Guild's Riley Blake challenge. They sent 6 fabrics and of course I added a few. (sanctioned shopping!!!!)
It could be anything and as soon as I saw it I knew it had to be French Roses!! Heather French's pattern was easy to follow and adapt to my own needs - smaller flowers. I used my fish bowl from my Houston quilt as a model for my rose bowl. I was thinking peonies but actually made roses.
Finished!
About to be submitted. Not sure how Modern but I love it and have hung it with pride!

Ok - so it will not be another 6 months - promise!

Ready to Explode

Ok, so I took a bit of a break for that whole holiday thing and a running of a half marathon thing (more walking than running to be honest). And then there were the children home and houseguests - so not a lot of free time for quilting - this is how I keep justifying my lack of work. I did manage a small mini christmas quilt - but we can talk about that later (oh and I finished it in January.)

Last Friday I headed down to Old City Quilts for a fabulous quilty experience! First up was a Gallery Show featuring Luke Haynes' quilts and Thomas Knauer's quilts. AMAZING! So much inspiration! Wow! As if getting to see them was not enough - we got an audience with Thomas - a meet and greet if you will. He walked us through all the quilts. The stories he told about his were all so wonderfully personal and had so many different levels, textures and intricacies. Needless to say many of them spoke to me - I got them. And now I want to make quilts like them. Deep, meaningful and right.
Ok, we will see how that goes . . . .

A few photos of inspiration  - all of them are Thomas' -

You Are Here 

Ampersand 

Quilting detail from one of his amazing Marriage Series Quilts featuring the text form the original Common Book of Prayer.

It Takes a Million Stitches to Tell You How Much I Love You

Full Circle

I have now come full circle! I have gone back to my roots if you will.
While I was away in London, an email popped into my box announcing space still available for a New York Beauties class at Lady Sew and Sew in Henley. As I had just landed and a little bleary eyed I skipped over the email until massive amounts of coffee and naps had occurred. Not my typical class - love the block but curves - I have plenty of my own and have a fear of them in blocks. However, Dawn Cameron-Dick was the teacher. I called, registered for the class and then promptly announced that I had no supplies having just gotten off a plane - come early - so they could fix me up! I did.
So why the interest? Why drop into a class on vacation without supplies? Simple - Dawn. She was my very first quilt teacher all those years ago in Brussels. She taught me to quilt when I really wanted to learn to knit and have been grateful ever since. Her words still swirl in my head as I sew, and as I teach. Totally thankful to be able to tell her in person all that she has meant to me and my craft.
It was a huge surprise for her and such a fun day. Tons of giggles and catching up. The other ladies in the class where very gracious about our catch up too - big thank you to them.
If you are ever in Henley - pop in - Lady Sew and Sew has an amazing collection of fabrics with way cool fabric lines from the Isles and Europe! Plus you never know who is teaching that day!!



Oh yea - and the curve piecing is awesome!! Fun even! Dawn has an amazing method that makes it easy! Bring on more blocks!! Who is with me?!

One year!!

So one year ago I moved from one side of the Atlantic to the other.
Home! After many, many, many years and countries later.

It has had many ups and downs as most have. But let's talk about the ups!

Since hitting the shore line I have been crazy busy with this awesome quilty world!
I have hit Houston, Hershey, New Jersey Quilt Festival, Flights and Fantasies shows! I have hit every shop I could find and was open between McLean and Cambridge. I have attended classes with both Victoria, Lizzie, Kate, Kaffe, Brandon and Liza.

I have worked with the amazing Jennifer Paganelli with her latest and greatest (yes each one is the greatest) fabric lines!

And of course my fantastic local quilt shop - Christie's Quilting Boutique. Where I get to play and share and play some more. (and fold and pet fabrics!)

Not to mention all the new friends along the way - Julie, Terrie, Toni, all the ladies at Southern Connecticut Quilt Guild and of course all my friends from the quilt shop!!
Reconnecting with old quilty friends - Trudi and Susan - nothing better!! I am very blessed!

The journey so far has been non-stop and more than I could have asked for!
So happy to have landed back on these shores - here - right here!!
Game on!!

Been Quilin' . . .

and bout to resurface.
What a ride and a crazy month - promise to catch you up soon!
Best couple of weeks - sharing soon!!

Today is the day!!

The latest name of one of my quilts!! Means sooooo many things but here are 2 of them!
One - I finally decided to make a quilt that I had hiding in my quilt papers from sometime in 2005/6/7! And two - it is a line from one of my favorite movies - The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel!

This quilt has been made through the kindness of the Southern Connecticut Modern Quilt Guild, Denyse Schmidt, Terrie and Jennifer (members of my guild). SCMQG and Denyse threw down the challenge of making a quilt based on her patterns using her new Hadley fabrics - now available! Didn't make the first round of the challenge - limited number of bundles but through Terrie and Jennifer sharing their extras - game on!!

I created it Denyse style - using bags to put the strips in and them pulling them out blind. I really tried not to edit tooooo much but I kept pulling out the same color/print strip as I went along.
Love this quilt!!!

I let the quilt do the talking in terms of the quilting - never again - it wanted soooooo much! But I kept going and going and tying strings. Very pleased with it now but wow it was a lot.

Now it is to hang in Christie's shop for a special preview night with Denyse on the 11th (next week!)
Then it is going to hang in my house! Woo hoo!

Huge thank you to SCMQG and Denyse and Terrie and Jennifer for letting me play!!
Loved every minute of it! Even when tying off all those strings!