Quilting – Page 17 – Thimbleanna

The Old and the New

33 Comments / February 23, 2010 February 22, 2011 / Quilting

Thanks for all the baby gift love! Sometimes I wish I could work on small, quick projects all the time. I’m sure that would get boring, but they’re so great for instant gratification. Unlike all of my UFOs — they have delayed gratification. It’s probably much greater gratification when it finally happens, but for me, my long-term projects, sure do take a loooong time.

At the risk of causing SweetiePie to have heart failure, I’ve resurrected my most pressing loooong term project, the wedding quilt. I started it before TheFirstChild and SweetiePie got married, but shortly after the wedding, I got sidetracked … and somehow never got back to it. The plan is to put the newlywed monogram on the quilt and I think that’s where it took a wrong turn. We got locked up trying to figure out what font to use for the monogram.

(That’s my story and I’m sticking to it.) Yesterday, I finally dragged my big sheet of paper to work and hooked my laptop up to a projector at lunchtime, so that I could get a big enough monogram for the quilt. I took the picture above with my cell phone, ’cause, you know, we aren’t allowed to have cameras at work. Uh-uh. That’s not a camera. It’s a phone. Say it with me now…it’s not a camera, it’s a phone. That’s not a picture you’re looking at, it’s a phone call.

Last night, I came home from work and started pressing and cutting. I’m hoping I’m over the hump now and that I’ll get back to work on this quilt. I HAVE to chip away at my UFO pile — it’s driving me nuts!

And, um, I can’t drag out a UFO and not start something new, can I? Did you notice that Cassie is going to have a crochet-along for those adorable pillowcases that Beate at Rose Hip makes? I’ve got some fabric and as soon as I get some thread/yarn, I’ll be ready to get started.

You should join us! Cassie promises to walk us through these pillowcases, step-by-step, and if you don’t know how they’re made, I promise you’re going to discover a cool little surprise in the technique. Go check out Cassie’s post, grab her button, and play along with us!

XOXO,
Anna

Oh. My!

79 Comments / December 24, 2009 February 22, 2011 / Chat, Quilting

Whew! We’ve had a whirlwind of a day here in ThimbleannaLand! TheFirstChild and SweetiePie were here for a very short 10 hours (it’s their year to spend Christmas with her family, so they stopped by here early.) It was non-stop fun — we went bowling, held the gingerbread competition and had our little gift exchange. They left at 1 a.m. and hopefully they’re home safely by now.

In the middle of it all, there has been some serious — and I mean SERIOUS — hyperventilation going on around here.

OHMYGOSH!!! It’s Here. IT’S HERE!!!

It’sHereIt’sHereIt’sHereIt’sHere!!!!!!! HERE it is!

And Holy Cow — it’s absolutely gorgeous! I mean Really. Words can’t express how beautiful this quilt really is. And the pictures truly don’t do it justice. (I had to take some snow pictures — Just for you Kellie! It’s so amazing to me that in only five days, this quilt went from being in Hot Australia to landing in the cold snowy midwestern United States. Poor shivering little quilt — it probably wishes it could go back home!)

Oh. Just in case you’ve been hiding under a rock you’re new to this blog or Kellie’s, several months ago I won this fabulous quilt from Kellie at Don’t Look Know. Shortly after I ripped open the package today, I took it to our family get-together where there was MUCH oooohing and aaaahing and quilt fondling. And fortunately, I came prepared with paper bags.

Because, there was MORE hyperventilating. I had BIG plans for this quilt. I reasoned that if I could only SEE Kellie’s fabulous machine quilting up close and personal, surely I’d be able to teach myself how to machine quilt the way Kellie does. Silly Me. There is No. Way. On. Earth. I could ever quilt as beautifully as Kellie does. She jokingly mentioned in her note “don’t look too close”. That just made me laugh. Seriously. Those quilted circles are perfect. PERRRRR-FECT! So, So Beautiful! (And look at the adorable bead eyes on those birds!)

I feel so Very Honored to have this quilt. And it means so much more to me than just a quilt. The fact that quilters who live half a planet away from each other can become friends, never ceases to amaze me. And then…to have such a beautiful piece of workmanship to remind me everyday — wouldn’t you hyperventilate too? Look at this adorable quilt label that Kellie put on the quilt. It tells the story of the quilt.

Kellie. I wish I knew how to truly thank you. There just aren’t words — and words aren’t enough. Thank You. Thank You SO Very Much! I’ll treasure this quilt always, and I promise I’ll take very good care of it. Did I tell you thanks? Danke. Dank u. Merci. Grazie. Obrigado. Gracias. Thank You from the bottom of my heart. You. Are. Amazing!

And, (and for the rest of you too) a very heartfelt wish for a very Happy Holiday season. Merry Christmas to those of you who celebrate.

Merry, Merry Christmas!
XOXO,
Anna

Aaaatttt Laaaassssttttt…

89 Comments / November 13, 2009 February 22, 2011 / Quilting

I’ve had At Last running through my head all day long. At Last. At Last! I’ve finally finished CrazyMom’s nine patch.

As a two-time flunkie of her quilt-along, I’m feeling very happy to have finally finished this quilt. And I promise, those edges aren’t wavy — it’s just the way it’s laid out on the grass. I couldn’t find anything tall enough to hang this quilt vertically. It seemed like it took forever to finish. The day job is really crimping my style. (Though, not as much as unemployment would, I’m sure, so I’ll try not to whine.)

This past spring, Penny invited me to participate in a fabric swap. There were 8 or 9 of us, and we all swapped at least 25 small scraps of fabric. The deal was that we were supposed to swap fabrics and then make something out of our scraps and post it to the flickr pool by Oct. 1st. I flunked that assignment too, but I guess six weeks late is better than never. ;-)

I’ve been inspired by all the beautiful straight-line quilting that Ms. Red Pepper does, so I decided to quilt this nine patch that way. I love the way it turned out. I have no idea though, how CrazyMom and Ms. Red Pepper manage to get SO many quilts done. They’re incredibly inspiring!

While I was outside taking pictures today (it was gorgeous) Mrs. Ladybug came by to give her approval. I sang the little Ladybug song, and she dutifully flew away after posing for me.

CrazyMom made two of these quilts, and like her, I think I might have another one in me. I’d like to have a second one, so there will be one for each of my guest beds. This took me awhile to make though, so I’ll have to wait awhile before I start a second version. And it probably won’t be as cute as this one, because I don’t have as many modern scraps.

Thanks Penny for the fantastic swap idea. Thanks Ms. Red Pepper for sharing all your wonderful quilts. And Thanks CrazyMom for your endless quilting inspiration and for having a great quilt-along. Twice. ‘Cause some of us need remedial training!

Have a great weekend!

XOXO,
Anna

Candy Corn, Pranks, and a Quilt Frame

65 Comments / October 22, 2009 February 22, 2011 / Chat, Quilting

Otherwise titled, three random items:

One.

Fall is definitely here in ThimbleannaLand. Although we didn’t really have much of a summer this year, it seems as though we’ve jumped from warm weather, right into the chilly stuff. We’re in for several days of drizzly, rainy days. That means the start of yummy oatmeal breakfasts. And it’s October, so forget the raisins and bring on the candy corn!

Two.

If you’ve been a reader very long, you know how much I love a good prank. I love to laugh and make merry — I feel that Laughter truly IS the best medicine. Are you all familiar with Improv Everywhere? These are the people who were responsible for the prank in Grand Central Station where a bunch of people just froze in place. And the prank that I recently referred to, where they took subway yearbook photos on a NYC Subway train. They have a new prank that I watched, grinning from ear to ear, wishing it would happen in my local grocery store. And a really fun video on their website is a Today Show Interview that occurred this summer. I love this stuff (and there’s tons more on their website) — everyone needs a good pick me up now and then!

Three.

When I showed you my Jumbo Applecore Quilt, I meant to show you my quilt frame, but after three applecore posts, I decided to take a little quilty break.

I love my quilt frame. It’s not the new sexy kind that tilts and has three rods, but it’s great for setting up a quilt for hand quilting. Several years ago, MeMum, BigDaddy, TheManoftheHouse and I went to an auction. I could only go to the preview, and I was so surprised to see this quilt frame among the household goods. After close inspection, I had to leave for an appointment and I left TheManoftheHouse with instructions to bid on it. “But don’t pay more than $40 or $50.”

Knowing what auction items will sell for is always tricky business. I was just sure someone else would walk off with this frame and the bidding would be fierce. It’s solid oak (it’s very heavy) and is beautifully handcrafted. I could just imagine some woodworking husband lovingly making this for his quilting wife.

Look at the pretty details! All the pieces are held together with pegs and it’s really sturdy. Imagine my surprise when I arrived home at the end of the day to find TheManoftheHouse waiting with the quilt frame. I was beside myself with excitement and afraid to ask how much it cost! The auctioneer tried to start bidding in the hundreds of dollars and he slowly came down to $20, where TheManoftheHouse decided to jump in. “Twentygimmetwentyfivegarbledstuffnoonecanunderstandtwentyfivewhatsmybidmoregarbled
stufftwentytwentyfivec’monwhat’swrongwithyoupeopleTwentygimmetwentyfive”. Silence. No. Other. Bidders. So, TheManoftheHouse scored this beautiful quilt frame for the paltry sum of $20. The oak alone is worth so much more than $20. Auctions always make me a little sad for the families that must sell the goods, but I was so happy to give this quilt frame a good home!

The only down side to the quilt frame is this:

It doesn’t fall over on its own. When I’m not quilting on it, I have to tip it on its side — the resident felines seem to think it’s a giant kitty hammock. Bad Kitties!

If you’re still here, thanks for sticking with this week’s random. I hope you all have a wonderful weekend!

XOXO,
Anna

Amy’s Quilt Show

79 Comments / October 9, 2009 February 22, 2011 / Quilting

Well, sadly, if you’re following the links to Amy’s quilt show, it means you’re one of us deprived kidlets who isn’t at quilt market this week. Leave it up to creative bloggers to keep us all entertained as we wait for reports from those who were able to attend (Thanks Amy!)

We’ve had two or three days of gloom and rain here in the heartland, and when you combine that with the fact that I don’t get home until after 6:00 p.m., most evenings, you have a recipe for poor lighting. Please excuse the sad, gray quality of my quilt pictures! My entry in the quilt show is my favorite quilt that MeMum has made for me.

It’s a Dresden Plate and each “plate” has been made from fabric scraps from clothing that either MeMum or I made for MyDadLovesMeBestSister and me. So, as you can guess, it’s very sentimental. MeMum made this quilt in the late 70’s/early 80’s when there were hardly any quilt shops around and it’s all beautifully hand quilted. She’s always hated the sashing on this quilt because it’s not 100% cotton — it’s a blend. I love it though — it’s a reminder of how hard it was to find good quilting fabrics 30 years ago.

Probably more than you care to know about a few of the plates:

And, once again, a kitty approved quilt. I laid this quilt out on the bed just to take one simple picture and before I could even get it straightened out, TheEmptyNestChild was up there in a flash. Bad Kitty! We don’t allow our kitties on the hand quilted quilts in this house!!!

If you click on the quilt show button at the beginning of this post, it will take you to Amy’s blog where you’ll find a huge list of quilters participating in the quilt show. Thanks again for hosting Amy!

Happy Quilt Surfing!

XOXO,
Anna