This is one of the most cheerful quilts I have seen in a long time. I really like the background squares butted up against each other and the circles taking up almost all the space, but leaving just enough for the backgrounds to peek through.
Author: Jaye
Deirdre’s Peace
Gift Bags From Afar
Last year, Mary-Jeanine and I exchanged emails about gift bags. She had already put her Christmas ornaments away when we had the conversation, but she promised to send me one of her bags this year. I also sent her one of mine.
Mary-Jeanine’s are about the same size and proportion as mine. I am sure hers vary depending on the size of the gift, though.
She serges the inside of her bags, which, I am sure, makes the construction go a lot faster.
M-J also does a little different closure construction. She puts a grommet in on each side and makes a casing, so the wrapper can pull the top tight
I really like seeing different takes on these gift bags, especially on the closures.
Thanks for sharing Mary-Jeanine!
A Different Bullseye
I always like to see different people’s interpretations of blocks. The Bullseye design is no exception.
I am still working my way through the DS Pool on Flickr. There are a lot of great quilts and projects in that group. Part of the reason is that the the DS fabrics are pretty great. Here is a bullseye, which I came across. It is a different looking Bullseye than the ones that the Julie and AJA and I have done. I like it.
Perhaps My Favorite Color is Really Blue??
I have, as you know, been thinking about turquoise A LOT lately. I have, at the same I think about colors in and for quilts, been thinking about what color to paint my bedroom. So far I have been leaning towards some type of periwinkle. Truly I am actually thinking of painting my bedroom the same color TFQ painted her bedroom. Partially, because it is a very restful color and partially because the decision is already made.
Yesterday, however, all that changed. I am thinking that all the trouble I have had for years identifying my very favorite color is because I haven’t wanted to acknowledge that my favorite color is blue. I am still not willing to acknowledge the humble blue as my favorite color, but progress on self improvement is always slow.
![copyright Anna Maria 2008](https://artquiltmaker.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2008/12/AnnaMaria2008-300x204.jpg)
When I saw this picture on Anna Maria Horner’s blog yesterday, it occurred to me that I need to rethink my thoughts on color. I like the whole look that Anna Maria has created here. And part of the issue for me is the whole look. I can just plop that lovely (if a bit dark) blue onto my bedroom walls and call it good. However, there is a look here and I will be disappointed if I don’t do something about the rest of the parts. I would have to think about what could realistically translate from here into my bedroom.
Anyway, Anna Maria has a bunch of photos of her Houston booth so go take a look. All the photos I saw on her blog are wonderful. Sigh. I have a ways to go in that department.
Any suggestions on dealing with a look, especially on a budget, are welcome.
Quilt History/Pattern Site
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Holiday Spirit?
Aren’t these cupcakes gorgeous? I delighted in the artistry the bakers exhibited and it made me think of the human need to create. Some of us make quilts, some knit or crochet; some people create with wood, glass or metal. I think all of us have an innate need to create. I think these bakers are lucky that they get to create something like this as a job.
What do you create?
Winter Stillness
As an aside, Lisa and I have Internet-known each other since about 1992 or 1993. We were on the original quilt listserv, QuiltNet and I was in a block swap that Lisa organized.
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Getting to Know Lizzie B Cre8ive
Lizzie B is essentially a pattern company. I usually don’t do patterns, so I probably won’t buy anything from them, but they do have some nice bag patterns. If I can figure out how to make them useful, perhaps I will make one. In the meantime, I will just admire. I did find that the photos and text on their website and blog were rather small and hard for me to see. Perhaps it is time for a trip to the eye doctor!
City Intersection at Twilight
Denyse Schmidt Pattern / Black & White Quilt
I thought this quilt was a great use of Black and white fabrics (white on black and black on white), AND a great and different use of the Denyse Schmidt pattern from her book Denyse Schmidt Quilts. I like the very graphic nature of the fabric choices.
Clever Holiday Gifts
![CraftSanity Napkin](https://artquiltmaker.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2008/11/CraftSanityNapkin-300x248.jpg)
I am mulling over hostess and cousin gifts as the holiday season officially arrives with little to no inspiration. I really just want to sit around and work on what I want to work on. Fortunately, Jennifer Haywood- Ackerman, creator of the CraftSanity podcast, also has a great blog. Today she is talking about these fun napkins. The folding is the key to making these look great and she includes the directions for this and another project.
Flickr I Spy
Julie pointed me to this Flickr image of an I Spy (Eye Spy??) quilt. In this one, the maker cut half hexagons and half triangles and used them for the border.
Cheerful Christmas
Various and Sundry Late November 2008
It is entirely possible, though kind of unbelievable to me, that I haven’t breathed a word of the Cross Blocks (Flowering Snowball) since September.
This is the block that I finished this week. it is the first one where I took the Child’s advice and used some calmer fabrics.
The two above were taken on 9/29, but I didn’t see them posted. There are some calmer fabrics in them and I like the layout of the block on the right better than the the layout of the block above. It looks more balanced to me. How do you like that handbag black and white fabric I found?
And on another topic….
Following up on the longarm demo CQFA had earlier this month, my mom came over and showed me what she had done. She went to a friend’s house. The friend has a Handiquilter and they worked on the HandiQuilter.
This is the quilt top Mom quilted. She has no idea where she got it, but it has a wide variety of fabrics. Some of them are not 100% cotton. There is a lot of interesting texture. I ended up sewing part of hte binding on for her on Pie Day.
Here is some of the quilting she did. Mom said that she spent all week, while on public transportation, doodling and that really helped her feel comfortable with the motions of the machine.
Flower motif.
Little house. She had some issues with the tension here, but was able to figure out what the problem was. Mom said that she is not going to take the longarm class at Always Quilting; that she is just going to use her friend’s machine. I am still taking the class on Jan 9.