Oh, You Beautiful Dolls...

Although I didn't make these dolls, 60+ of them have joined me in my sewing room until I can deliver them to the Dollies Without Borders program. The Dollies  project, which is part of an Arts in Medicine program, distributes dolls on mission trips to children in developing countries. The founder of the program visited the inmates in a women's prison crafting program to introduce them to making the Dollies. Of course making dolls is a big hit and a project the women look forward to. Using donated materials, the women in the program sew, crochet and create a variety of items that are donated to community and charitable organizations. I'm a volunteer with the program, and enjoy being part of their efforts. They meet daily in a secure workroom, and spend their time creating and completing projects like these cute dolls.

The program has value in the prison setting as women get a sense of giving back to the community, a feeling of being productive, and a boost in their self-esteem. They were a little sad to see the dollies leaving when I took them out last week, but they offered a prayer for those children who will receive them. I love to see the variety of faces, clothing, and styles in the dolls they make. And they'll be creating lots more. 

At the End of my Rope...

These fabric-over-rope bowls are ones I made to donate for a fundraiser. I had forgotten how much fun they are to sew. I was trying to come up with a small project and our local library had a copy of the book "It's a Wrap" on the shelves. Seeing it jogged my memory. I still have some rope and plenty of fabric scraps. So off to the sewing room I went.

When I made fabric bowls before, I relied on some online tutorials and videos. But what a difference having the book made. Author Susan Breier offered some very helpful tips and instructions. So helpful, in fact, that I'm certain that the quality of these projects is much better than my previous attempts.

The book also had lots of ideas for embellishing the bowls, on using stripes for a spiral look, and on making lids and other bowl shapes. It was a very valuable resource. I still need to add some beads or some kind of accent trim. This yellow bowl is the second one. They're not easy to photograph, but I like how this one looks when shot from above. In addition to using them to store assorted items, I hung them on the wall and thought how pretty it would be to have a grouping of them as a wall display. I think a Christmas bowl is next, and then I'll need to get more rope... I'm about at the end.

It's Not So Bad....

Well at last the roomy tote bag is complete. And despite the mistake I made in misplacing the center front line on the pattern, the bag is still a success. In the class model, the deep curve you see on each side of my bag is located at the front between the two handles. The result is that my version works better as a market-tote hand bag as there is not enough room to put the straps comfortably up on my shoulder. Since I didn't know how things would turn out once I realized my error, I did not invest the extra time or materials to make a flap or add the inside pocket, The instructions illustrate steps for both. But all in all, I'm happy with the bag. It's called The Tinker Tote, and is the project in Craftsy's online Quilt-As-You-Go Patchwork Bags class. I may make a smaller version, too.

Here's the back side of the bag. I'm trying to reduce the scraps in my sewing room, so limited myself to using pieces from two bags of scraps I pulled from storage. They are impressively close to empty now which is a good feeling. I did purchase the medium-weight tan denim for the bag bottom. And when the title of this post popped into my mind, it reminded me of a contest I saw reported in the newspaper some years back. When the Super Bowl was going to be held in Jacksonville, a contest for a tourism slogan was held in order to convey a catchy concept and a positive image for the area. The paper published a list of the top 15 losing slogans which really gave me a chuckle. The one that got the loudest laugh was this one: Jacksonville- It's Not So Bad. Ha- Who thinks of this stuff? And now, that's the one I always remember. I don't know the winning slogan.  Indeed Jacksonville is not bad at all, and I'm looking forward to the big Quilt Fest to be held there in early September. And my bag is not so bad either! 

More Quilts from Maine...

Here are some more delightful entries from Maine Quilts, 2013. Several that drew me in were created with an animal theme. This one is "Pig Joy" by Linda Shepard. She designed her quilt using Susan Carlson's Collage Technique. I like the method, and used Susan's books when I made a couple of fish quilts. But I haven't tried one yet that contains as many fabric bits as this one does. You can see that Linda earned a ribbon for her efforts.

Also inspired by Susan Carlson and working from a photo, Kate Rogers made this portrait of her Arabian Horse, "Radly." Great colors!

This is "Meet the Girls (Starr, Ella, Flo and Maisy)" by Jeanne Funk-Gedies. She used a variety of techniques including hand and machine applique, and paper piecing for this whimsical wallhanging.

There were several entries with an Asian flair. Megan Farkas was inspired by woodblock triptychs by Eisho and made her hand-quilted piece "Sakura !: Hanaogi Views the Cherry Blossoms". She used hand applique and embroidery, and added inking. Fabric choices are just beautiful.

And this one by Frances M. Parker is titled "Torii-Sacred Gate" which incorporates a variety of techniques, including "bias-strip clamshells" from a Quilter's Newsletter article ((June/July 2009). Such a pleasing combination of fabrics and design.

It's always fun to see what quilters come up with when they use the same blocks and some of the same fabrics. The Canoe City Quilters of Old Town provided three fabrics from which to make 12 blocks for their Chapter Challenge. They swapped their blocks so each participant wound up with an assortment for a sampler. Then each one joined the blocks in her own setting style. There were more than 12 of these Chapter Challenges, including a Bargello one, an America the Beautiful one, black & white with an accent color. The Maine Modern Quilters did a rip-and-tear challenge where each member ripped a piece from a solid-color fat quarter brought to their meeting by other participants. They had to use all of the pieces they ripped, and they could add other fabrics. Lots of ideas for future guild challenges. 

This stunning whole cloth quilt was exhibited by teacher Pat Ferguson- "Zen Garden." She combined free-motion quilting with Zentangle-inspired quilting worked in bright color thread on a brownish batik (front) and purple batik (back). This quilt looks as good on one side as the other- choose your favorite!

Quilt shows are ever-inspiring and always inspire me to get back to my sewing machine.

East, West, Home is Best...

We're back from a week in Maine and had a lovely time away. The air there is indescribably fresh and refreshing. We do the same things every time we go, creatures of habit that we are. I even take the same photos over and over! You'll see a few more below. These are fishing boats at Cape Porpoise.

The cairn builder has been busy along The Marginal Way in Ogunquit. These intricate piles of rocks and beach materials seem to weather all storms. The Marginal Way is a beautiful public path that stretches about a mile or so from Ogunquit to Perkins Cove. Lots of views like this one along the way.

And we had the opportunity to again attend the Maine Quilts annual show in Augusta. There was a delightful array of quilts from traditional- like this hand-quilted beauty, “Elegance” by Pat Burns, above- to Modern like “Beatrix” by Betsy Cannan, below. Pat made her quilt from a workshop on Blended Quilts with Marsha McCloskey. Betsy's quilt was a pattern in Modern Quilts Illustrated (C&T Publishing).

I'll share some more quilt photos in another post. There was much to see and inspire!

And what trip to Maine would be complete without some “lobstah”? Delish! We rented a small cottage overlooking a marsh and steps from the beach at Goose Rocks Beach. I'm rested and refreshed, and ready to get back into my sewing projects. I was feeling weighed down by the number of works-in-progress before we left. But now I feel hopeful and energized about moving them along to completion. That's what a trip like this does... glad to get away, glad to get home!

Going Backwards?

It seems as if I've gone from summertime plodding on my quilt projects, which manifests in s-l-o-w forward motion, to going backwards! I sure hope my quilting skills haven't peaked and are now going the other direction. I made such a blunder on this project. This is one panel for a bag I'm making as part of a Craftsy class taught by Tara Rebman, Quilt-as-You-Go Patchwork Bags. She's an excellent instructor, and I enjoyed making the pieced panel. I pulled two storage bags of scraps from my collection, and have pretty much limited myself to using only those in the patchwork. It's good to use up bits and pieces, and fun to see how they blend together. I did purchase the larger bag bottom piece which is a medium-weight denim. However, I made a blunder in tracing the bag half-pattern. Of course I saw it after completing the piecing and quilting. It was a "smack your forehead" moment for sure. Want to know what I did, or can you spot it?

The panel doesn't look like much at this point, before trimming. But it was here that I spotted the error. I placed the fold line of the half-pattern on the side of the bag rather than at the center, flipped the pattern and repeated. So the deep curves at the sides in the photo above are really supposed to be at the center of the bag. My mistake places the bag handles closer together and leaves the sides of the bags shallow. I was chatting and laughing with others while tracing the pattern, which is a lesson to me in keeping a better focus at critical points. Not that I wouldn't have done the same thing if I was at home alone! Tara also provided a full-pattern piece, but I'd have had to make a special trip to town to print it out, so I opted not to. Rural dwellers do stuff like that. Live and learn. What to do?? My answer- I got this far, let's see what the bag looks like by finishing it up anyway. So stay tuned, time will tell. The lining is done, and I have one more panel to piece. Hope I don't regret investing more time in it. It sure won't look like any of my classmates' bags! Maybe I need a vacation... which is exactly what we're going to do. I get to go to the Pine Tree Quilter's show in Maine over the weekend. That's sure to get my head straight.

And the quilt-as-you-go (QAYG) acronym reminded me of another one that stumped us for quite some time. AUCE. We kept seeing it on restaurant signs, and tried to figure it out. Thought maybe they left off the S for Sauce, but that really made no sense. At last the light dawned and we understood it represented all you can eat! Can you tell we don't dine in buffet restaurants much? Ha!

Just a Little Sewing...

Summer is flying by and I've been sewing only a little. And sewing little projects, too. I had so much fun making this quilted book cover, that I had to make more. I notice that when I start to pull fabrics together for a project, other fabric combinations that I like also emerge. So what else can I do but set them aside to make a second... and a third... and ... well, you get the idea. This small project was a great use for the batik scraps I seem unable to use up and certainly cannot throw away. While you're looking at these, I'll also ask- what do you do to keep corners on projects like these or pillows square and sharp? Mine always seem to poke out or look rounded or misshapen. I clip diagonally at the corner to reduce the bulk (there's batting and a lining along with the front piece), and I use a point turner. But still the corners don't quite measure up. I'd appreciate your tips if you have any.  

This is the second one. It also requires me to go through my collection of fibers and beads and incorporate some of them, too. Always enjoy that. The third book cover appears below the quilt pic for some unknown (to me) reason. Two of the book covers will be donated to a group for a fundraising craft table. Now to decide which one I'll keep.

I've also worked with other quilter's to help with their projects a little  bit this summer. A quilting friend was given these redwork blocks and wanted to use them in a quilt for her veterinarian who is expecting. Perfect place for the cute animal designs. So we turned them into a quilt-as-you-go quilt, using red print scraps. A photo of the back is below. I like this method of making quilts, and it goes along quickly. She met her deadline of having the quilt done ahead of the baby's arrival!

The third book cover. I may keep this one for myself.

Dog bones and bandana prints look lively and fit the theme on the reverse side.