More from Quilt Group

 

I have a few more pics to share from our last quilt group meeting. 

Yes, we're still in love with circles! Kareena's this time...

  

And classic 9-patches... this one by Lori...

And we love a good dose of sweetness with white too... Lori had so many quilts to share, it was almost a one-woman show!

And Zig Zags continue their popular run with all of us too!

It was a very gray day...sorry the photos aren't better!

 Lori wowed us with some other fun items- doll diapers to keep the older sisters busy while her daughter, the mom, takes care of the new baby...

 And Lori shared an adorable bib for her newest grand girl.....

Can I say how much I LOVE Lori's quilt with these beautiful giant blocks? It's fun to see how scale changes something traditional and makes it new again...

Make it a Wonderful Day!

Colorado Blue

Have a Wonderful Day!

January Q Group Friday

Quilt Group met last week. And as is always the case, I was inspired by everyone. But photographs just don't do them justice. It's one of the challenges of living in the gray Pacific Northwest. Low light indoors, gray and rainy outside much of the time...

We have to provide our own sunshine and this sunshine is brought to you by Helen.
Half square triangles for zig zag warmth. Love the yellow. Find Helen's inspiration here at Sujata's blog.

Denise hosted, so I took advantage of the opportunity to enjoy a couple of her quilts on display...

 

I had to leave early, so I missed out on her delicious lunch. A protein bar on the way to the airport wasn't nearly as tasty, I am quite sure!!!

Terry shared her red and white quilt. Red and white is a great year-round fabric combination. And after seeing the red and white quilt show in NY a couple of years ago, I have come to appreciate this classic choice even more. 

Here are a couple of beautiful baby quilts from Kareena. (I think zig zags may have become the new "circle" for our group!)

Denise's friend, Neva, is new to our group, and she shared this lovely quilt with us.

And here's a top Barbara put together from squares she bought at a garage sale. It's going to be perfect at their family cabin...

Helen brought another top she's working on. Love the "low volume" prints....

And how nicely they contrast with the "high volume" squares that make up the heart in the middle.

Nan  brought one of her custom tablecloths. She can create a special keepsake for your events and milestones, real or otherwise. Yes, fake parties seem to be a new hobby in some parts. But this cute applique is real. I didn't get a good picture of the whole table cloth, but we adore it.

 

Some more sunshine from Helen....

And I'll post more photos from Q-Group next week.

And I'm going to try and track down a few missed photos too-our Christmas gift exchange among them. I'm really behind, on so many things!!!

Make it a Wonderful Day!

Jared's Quilt

This is a big quilt. It just kept getting bigger. Originally, it was going to be a low-volume quilt, all in mid-tone grays. But I had to add a bit of the butterscotch browns and a few darker black/grays too. And so the quilt kept growing!

I made this for one of my sons for Christmas. I did want his quilt to be big enough to share with his wife and four kids. And I think it is!

The inspiration for this came from Amanda Jean of Crazy Mom Quilts. Thanks Amanda!!

Terry did the great long arm quilting for me. I love the texture it creates.

I didn't get a photo of the medium gray flannel I used for the backing. It's a heavy quilt!

I was afraid it was too big and too heavy. But Jared says he likes the "sharing size" of it, and he also loves the weight too.

Good thing, or I'd have to take the quilt back.

Make it a Wonderful Day!

Board Book Gift Wrap

 I attended a baby shower recently, and this is my gift- a stack of some of my favorite board books.

I wrapped each book in a different shade of tissue paper. The stack was gathered in clear cellophane, and tied with a felted wire (kind of like a long fluffy pipe cleaner). I attached a small stuffed bear and a tag made from paper scraps to mimic the tissue colors. I added a pop up flower made from my favorite daisy punch.

I love giving books for gifts. This stack included some art-themed abc, number, and shape books-so Anna will start her art education early!


Make it a Wonderful Day!

Hoar Frost

Have a Wonderful Day!

Collaged Glass Plates

 

Here's a recent Art Club project that I just love!

 

We used Mod Podge and assorted tissue papers and a few handmade paper on the back of clear glass plates. I encouraged the kids to limit their choices so the papers would have unity, a design principle. (The younger the artist, the less they wanted to limit their palette-they loved all the prints and colors!)

 

I love this use of print tissue paper from House of Blues. I bought some hot sauce for my sister, but I kept the paper they wrapped it in. (Are all art teachers hoarders like me? Well, at least all my tissue paper scraps are in one box. Umm.... make that three boxes. In my garage. On the shelves. Every time my husband suggests we downsize, I realize I use at least 75% of all the space in the house and 99% of the garage. But we can still park two cars in there, so it's not THAT bad....) And all that hanging onto supplies is worth it when I see the results from my artists!

The kids and their familes loved how these turned out. A couple of things:

• Light colored tissue needs more than one layer to maintain color. White tissue almost goes transparent.
• In the past, I've allowed for choices of paint color to finish these. For ease this time, we only used gold acrylic. If I do it again, I'll offer silver or gold. Some of the plates would have looked better with cool silver instead of the warm gold poking through. 
• Handmade papers are pricey, but they add so much interest. 
• Remind kids to build backwards-applying small bits that they want to show first. (Younger kids had trouble remembering that they had to glue prints face down for them to show through the plate.)

Make it a Wonderful Day!

Bag Painting

 My college roommate K came over for a short visit, and one of the things we did was play with paint.

 She's working on a Maine series, which includes lots of lobsters. 

 We used old paper gift bags for warm up papers. Readily available, mostly recycled, and then usable too.

We had a fun morning. Just wish she lived closer for more frequent play dates!




Make it  a Wonderful Day.