Thursday, March 14, 2024

Secret Garden appliqué is finished!

Well she’s finished!
The top anyway!!
My Secret Garden Quilt
Is ready for basting and quilting.
Yes I’ll be quilting her on my 
Little domestic Janome!
Probably outline each of the motifs
And then some nice floral background 
Fillers - should only take me a few years!!

The pattern is The Secret Garden
By Sarah Fielke
Fabrics are from Tilda
Except for the tree branch-
that’s from my Japanese Taupe collection. 

There are cute little critters and motifs throughout the quilt

Mostly things I see in my own garden!

Had to add the seashell - since I love the beach!

We have a number of squirrels that visit
the flower garden, they sit under the 
bird feeders waiting for droppings!

A few years ago we had a momma red fox trot
through the garden - unfortunately she was carrying
one of the neighbors chickens.

More squirrels!

 
Had the add the painter!!

One of the many birds that visit the garden!

Hubby loves elephants!

Me and my Raven!
There are three Ravens that hang around 
the garden all summer - they
are quite comical to watch!


Onto the next project….
Another Sarah Fielke pattern!
Rainy Days & Sun Rays
It was a BOM from 2020.
She’s been sitting on my design wall
patiently waiting for me to finish her!


Preparing to start another block.
I changed the pattern up - making
the pattern smaller ( to fit a certain wall!)


Here is my prepared edge system!



Sometimes we need a diversion from our crafts! 
Mine is watercolor painting!
Below are some of my paintings that
have been printed into 4x5 cards.

                                          

                                                        

Stargazer Lilies are one of my favorite flowers. 

 this one was painted during a zoom workshop with Alex Kincaid, 

pleased with how it came out!


Tried another version of the lily using the techniques
learned in my zoom workshop 
and came up with the next
Stargazer painting


Got a little daring and added a deep blue
background - it pops the flower
right off the page!


Over the past two months I’ve had the pleasure 
of showing my quilts and speaking
at local guilds!
Huge shout out and thank you to:
Holly Berry Quilt Guild in Falmouth
Thimbles and Friends Quilt Guild in Abington
Hands Across the Valley Quilt Guild in Amherst 
Cape Cod Quilter Quilt Guild in Brewster 
Thank you for inviting me to your wonderful guilds!

My classes at QuiltCorner Studio in Sandwich 
have been keeping me busy:
Collage
Domestic Machine Quilting &
Three different style Bags

In June I’ll be teaching my
Prepared Edge Appliqué method
at All About Quilts in Walpole

Life gets busy - so remember to take time to smell the flowers!
Happy Spring!



 

Monday, January 29, 2024

Had the pleasure of going on two quilting retreats in January!  
Always fun to get away with my Quilty Friends!! 
This past year I’ve been working on my 2023 BOM from Sarah Fielke… “The Secret Garden”
All I have left to do is the large branch and a million and one leaves!!!

So a few days before the first retreat I spent time prepping the leaves using 

the freezer paper and starch method that has become my favorite! 

Once the leaves and flowers were prepared they were glued in place using Roxanne Glue.



This is my set up at the retreats! 
All of my Quilty utensils in my “A Place for Everything” 
Bag, my little Needle Book and the Lap App - which I’m trying very hard to use! 
It does make a difference in reducing the stress put onto my 
neck and shoulders after many hours of appliqué stitching.


Another project that is in the works - to quilt my sister’s Mariners Compass quilt.
She started this quilt way back in 2007! After deciding she will never finish the quilt
She has decided to just stop, remove the pinwheels and make it a wall hanging!
My job… is to quilt it!!!


Using my Boogie Board I’ve come up with a few quilting designs,
Now to transfer the designs onto the quilt and get it DONE!!



Spent some time playing with my watercolors this month!
I decided to join an online watercolor workshop with Alex Kincaid.
There is a monthly fee - but it is so worth it.
Alex’s weekly class and instructions are wonderful and I’m learning 
To become a better watercolorist with each class!

 

For Christmas I painted two pet portraits for two of my friends…
When they both cried I knew I captured their fur baby just right!!

                                              Brady                                                         Louie 


Till next time ….