Snow? Really? I Can't Believe It!

Three days ago I was roller-blading through the nearby park in a t-shirt. Today I woke up to five inches of snow. How do you explain that? All's I can say is, it's typical for North Carolina. We don't normally get snow every year...at least not this much of it. Usually it snows one night and then melts completely the following day. This time we got tons of sleet and the temperature remained freezing cold! My sisters and I took a break to go out and "play" in the snow. Yeah, I know, we're just about through with college and should be too old for that stuff....but we just couldn't resist launching snowballs at each other. We didn't last long against the fierce wind which was plastering our faces with sharp sleet. Ouch! The landscape was beautiful at least; so it was worth the trek to snap a few pictures. I did manage to start and complete a customer's quilt today. I plan to load a king size one tomorrow. I still have tons of photos of the Butterfly Garden Quilt; so stay tuned for more photos! I plan to take advantage of not being able to go anywhere. Sometimes it's really nice to be snug and comfy at home.

My sister was making me crack up when she took this photo.

Here's the clown herself...

The twins are not only my sisters, but my best friends. Candace is in the red hat and Caitlyn's the cool chick sporting the shades.

Goofiness at it's best...(Do you like my hat? I knit it. It's my favorite snow hat.)

More of Thing 1 & Thing 2 ~ i.e. Candace and Caitlyn.

Butterfly Garden Quilt #1

Ilene loved her quilt. The fusia star sitting on the cream background with hints of periwinkle was a striking color combination. The free-form feather design I stitched in the background and the swirls I sewed inside the star enhanced the the bold, fresh look of the quilt. She requested that I stitch butterflies. I had never done butterflies before. After several bizillion sketches I had finally designed the perfect butterfly. They turned out so whimsical and fun. I did a huge photo shoot of this quilt today...so more photos coming!!!

It's SpOoKtacular!!! #3

Here are the rest of the Halloween quilt photos I promised. I hope you enjoy looking at them. I had a BLAST doing this quilt. Kris always tells me to just go for it! You don't have to tell me twice! I tried to vary the backgrounds as much as possible to give the quilt more interest and to match the feel/attitude of the appliqued character in the block.

I also stitched spider webs into the blocks at random. They fit in perfectly. I realized I could just continue the background filler right up to the edges of each web. Spider webs weren't as hard as I initially thought they would be. Rather fun actually.

It was fun to sew spiders dangling from the words....

Some of the spiders turned out pretty short and stout. Their cartoony feel was appropriate for this whimsical, funky quilt.

I had a big light bulb moment when I decided to put a web inside the "O" in Halloween. It turned out better than I imagined.
After all that crazy, lively, busy quilting - a calmly quilted border and sashing was needed. The meandering blended well into the sashing and really set off the busier appliques. The big curly q's in the border added texture and complimented the polka dot border fabric.

A slightly "zoomed in" view...

I broke my own rule with the quilting on this one. I would normally never use dark thread on light fabric, esp. not black on white. The spiked curly q was the design I had already decided on in my mind. The more I thought about it, the more I convinced myself that black would actually look really cool on this white fabric stitched in this particular motif. By golly it worked!!!! After stitching the first one I knew I had made the right decision. They looked soooo awesome!

This smiling pumpkin had to be my favorite block. He just looks so comical. I laughed at him, when I saw him for the first time. If Dick Van Dyke was reincarnated into a pumpkin, this is what he'd look like. (I know, crazy thought, but it's the end of a long week, and 10 pm...don't expect me to be totally sane right now).

It's SpOoKtacular!!! #2

I don't know why photos occasionally post sideways!!!!! But it's ANNOYING!!!! I tried 3 times to get these to load the correct way, but alas, technology has once again left me baffled. Anyways, you still have a nice view of the stitching design at least. Just turn your head sideways to look at it. This quilt, as I said earlier, is the first one that I have ever stitched spider webs onto. I had a ball throwing in the webs here and there, and especially in the words. I still have more photos coming so stay tuned!

Click on photo to see upclose view:

It's SpOoKtacular!!! #1

My friend Kris has been at it again. She always pics really great quilt patterns to make with really fabulous fabric combinations. I love the colors and craziness of her latest Halloween quilt. Her only request for the quilting was that I make it "spooky" and just to have fun - and maybe throw in some spider webs etc....Well I didn't have fun, I HAD A BLAST quilting this baby!!! I was very proud of how my first-ever spider webs turned out. I kept thinking: "Oh, there's another perfect spot to stitch a spider web in!" And of course I had to throw in spiders; they turned out so whimsical and cute. I still have several more photos of this quilt that I will be posting in the near future. As soon as I can get my first math test (yuck!) out of the way for school I will have some more time to blog. Actually, I might be blogging more frequently. I can't wait to un-wind after a long day at school and blogging is definitely one of my favorite ways to de-stress and enjoy myself. After several hours of homework/quilting I can give myself permission to create a blog post for just half an hour, right?! Then again....it's just the beginning of the semester so....we'll see just how intense all my classes really get...hehehe...gulp.

Something Spooky Coming Soooooon.....

More coming when I get done with my latest Biology, Math and Geography assignments...

Deanna is one of my newer customers. She is also new to the world of quilting. However, her progess as a beginner quilter is outstanding. She's fast becoming an advanced quilt addict. Check out her lovely applique' border. I enjoyed working with the soft pastel colors. The large swirl stitching in the center of the quilt and the mermaid hair in the borders complimented the fresh, romantic, springtime feel of the quilt pattern. Mermaid Hair also adds a lot of movement and life-like qualities to a quilt. The vines, for example, look like they could be swaying in a breeze. Thanks Deanna! It was a pleasure.

A Hint of Spring...

Pam loved her quilts! The leaves & vines and free-form feather designs turned out perfectly. She did a great job with the piecing and color schemes for these two quilts. The addition of the paisley motif always adds a new dimension to my free form feather design. The paisley motif was also appropriate due to the many paisley printed fabrics in the quilt. The elegant, flowing feel of the ff feather complimented the pattern Pam used. And of course, ribbons always glam up the quilt! I love "tossing" them on.

Pam's little green quilt seen below, was the first time I ever tried doing the all-over leaf and vine design. Whenever I try a new design I practice drawing it. If it can be drawn, it can be sewn. So I drew & drew & drew....and drew some more. As a matter of fact, I pulled a wad of paper out of the printer and doodled away. The practice paid off! It was a success...the design really made the quilt. And it was fairly easy to work around the appliqued border. I didn't have to constantly stop and start.