Recycled Swap

Our small group from the Dallas Modern Quilt Guild held another swap last week. It was to fit on a 8 1/2 by 11 inch acrylic frame and be made with something recycled. The idea of putting it on the frame was great. You just make the quilt and bind it with a sleeve that the frame fits into. Very fast and easy.

I did my swap out of the new Denyse Schmidt line. It was a recent topic on twitter and blogs and Ellyn decided we needed some since there was a bit of controversy involved. Using the flip and stitch method made the quilting so easy. My daughter doesn't realize I used one of her t-shirts as my recycled requirement. The flower and the BLOOM were made from the back of a her shirt.

Angie loves to embroider and I was the lucky one this time to receive one of hers. The hexagons are from one of her antique shopping adventures. The saying is perfect for this time of year and I love how it looks vintage.

Richard claims these Crown Royal bags were given to him. What a great way to re-purpose these nice bags. And we all know who is the best quilter around so, of course, his quilting is amazing!

Just by looking at these colors, those who know Sarah would pick this one out as hers in a heartbeat. I definitely have to try a dresden plate someday. The recycled buttons are perfect for the center.

Janet was working on some blocks awhile back not knowing what she was going to do with them. She decided to chop them up and use them for this swap. I love how modern it looks with the clean lines.

Swaps are really fun and it is nice having to play by a few rules. We had a great time at our small group and we looking forward to playing again in July. With Quilt Market coming up, our group is busy scoping out how they are going to stock the stores so we are taking a small swap break.

Just One Star

There is still time for everyone to contribute to the Just One Star program hosted by Moda. They are making 100 quilts in 100 days to give to men and women who are injured in the line of duty while serving in Iraq and Afghanistan. The deadline is May 1st and just about any quilt store in the area would take your donation of blocks. Click the highlighted link above for all the details. Here are the ones I made and when I went to turn them in at The Quilt Asylum, there was a basketful already.

The hardest part was not trimming them down to make them look nice. They ask that you don't trim them that way they can square them all up to be the same. Way to go Moda and all the quilt stores and quilt guilds that are promoting your efforts!!

Pictures

I have been spending quite a bit of time going through pictures for our big "6th Grade Graduation" event. I do not really get the whole thing but somehow it got started that our 6th graders should have a graduation ceremony. Well, I have found that our fourth child does not seem to have nearly as many pictures as the other kids...no surprise. While trying to find pictures, I ran across these that I took of some of my mother-in-law's decorations for Christmas. By the time we arrived at her house, the tree and things were already down since we were there for New Year's Eve. I love these ornaments that she displays in a bowl and she told me they were many years old. They were a gift to her and she still treasures them.

As long as I have known her she has cross stitched...

One of her nativity sets is by Jim Shore and since I am a quilter, this is exactly how I like to picture baby Jesus, the wise men and the shepherds.

It has been fun going through pictures even though I don't seem to have what I am looking for. I really need to scrapbook and journal before I forget all the stories that are behind the pictures.

Pillow Play

A few weeks back I participated in a Pin Cushion Swap through The Quilt Asylum. They held another swap which was 16" Pillow Covers this past week. It was really exciting to see what designs everyone created.

This year I had chosen my "word for the year" to be SIMPLIFY. I just decided that I was adopting this word and adapting it to my life. I have even been enjoying a podcast about the Amish people and the wisdom they have to live a simple life. Well, due to 3 recent funerals of 3 very young people, another theme for the year kept haunting me. My new phrase is "everyday is a bouquet". Life is precious day to day and we are granted a fresh new bouquet each new morning. This is how I came up with my pillow design. It was adapted from a Nancy Halvorsen design with a few minor changes and definitely my own spin on fabric choices.

LaDonna made the the pillow cover that I received. It is a simple pieced cover but the workmanship is superb!! Her points match perfectly and the quilting is precise. I couldn't be happier with what I received and will use it to remind me to slow down and make my sewing projects more accurate.

Here are a few of the other ones that were swapped out.

It is always nice to get a group picture. I appreciate that people took time to participate in the swap making it a fun evening.

Dallas Quilt Show

I have been going to the Dallas Quilt Show for about 10 years. It always lands right around Spring Break in March. This year was really amazing especially since I had a few friends enter quilts. Mardy Cronister is the one who really got me interested in back-baste applique. I tried other techniques and was just going to give up on the process but she assured me I could do this. Mardy entered "Mardy's Birds in the Garden" that took 5 years to complete. It won a first prize award at the show and for good reason. It is just beautiful! I may never get a detailed project like this one finished but I am not afraid of the "A" word. I am currently working on two hand applique quilts.

I have known Jane Bayarena for about a year since we have been taking a quilting software class together. She is an amazing artist and quilter with a passion for original work. She is not afraid to make up a pattern and very much inspired by her travels. Her work is gorgeous!!

My favorite quilts involve applique and houses so I wanted to include this one from the show. It is made by Stephanie Hanson.

A quilt I would love to do someday is Lollypop Trees by Kim McLean. It is just wild and fun using lots of Kaffe Fassett fabrics.

There are tons more pictures I could post. I am way behind on blogging so hope to catch up in the next couple of weeks. I highly encourage everyone to attend a quilt show because pictures just do not do them justice. The quilting is as much as the art as is the piecing itself.