Trunk Show 2016

                                                             

I've been sewing for the past week and am thrilled to report that my shoulder has healed enough to allow me to do some work on my treadle. I made some arm rest protectors and antimacassars. Antimacassars--ooh, what an old fashioned word! You might remember them from your great-aunt's or grandma's parlor chairs. They are the pieces of fabric (or crocheted doilies) that go over the backs of chairs to protect them from hair products-- literally, grease. When I got hurt, we bought me a recliner to sleep (and pretty much live) in, and then we ordered another for my husband. (Caregiver's chair?) I know they'll get a lot of use, and I want to keep them fairly clean. I've also needed a therapy project. I was going to quilt the protectors, but then I found some upholstery fabric in just the right shade, so I didn't quilt them after all. They won't be making an appearance here, but I'm just glad I was able to do some basic sewing. 

Not having a recent quilting project to share--I found that Soma of Whims and Fancies is doing a trunk show this week. It's the perfect way to sum up my quilting for this year. And it gives me a boost to see what I've done since not a lot of quilting has been going on for the last couple of months (and that can make me cranky). So here they are in roughly chronological order. If you want to read more, click on the link for each one. 

 1.  Choose Your Illusion. This quilt is from a pattern called Use Your Illusion by Cheryl at Meadow Mist Designs. I donated it to A Mother's Hope program of Margaret's Hope Chest.

2. Random Experiment. This quilt is from a freebie pattern in a mailing from American Patchwork and Quilting called Now and Later by Kathie Holland. To make it, I pulled my fabric units from a grocery bag and used them just as I pulled them--truly random placement of the colors. This quilt also went to A Mother's Hope program at Margaret's Hope Chest.

3. Big Quilt. This is a quilt I designed and made for my son and daughter-in-law based on a screen printed pillow. It took me a little over a year to make from first idea to binding. It helped me become very familiar with quilting on my treadle sewing machine. I wrote about 50,000 blog posts about it as I made it. Well, maybe that's a slight exaggeration.

4. Round and Round. This is a piano quilting stool cover I made using a Spirograph style quilting. Tiny quilt, and the quilting looks so complicated, but it isn't. The basic design is all straight lines. I embellished the outside edge with some curves and added some FMQ flowers. So much fun! 

5 and 6. Old Fashioned Values and Leftovers! I made these quilts from a huge batch of charm squares that were gifted to me in an unusual way. The first is named for the vintage looking prints and value placement of the squares. It's based on the Flower Patch Quilt by Kathryn Ludowese. I had enough squares left over from the first quilt to make the second. So that quilt really named itself. These quilts were donated to the Hands2Help challenge hosted by Sarah of Confessions of a Fabric Addict. 

7. 2AM Quilt. This quilt was a wedding gift for my niece and now nephew, who were married in August. They wanted a vintage-y style quilt, so I went with a scrappy Burgoyne Surrounded, called Tone-It-Down by Lissa Anderson in the February 2014 American Patchwork and Quilting. I couldn't resist a more modern back. 2AM refers to their first and last initials, which are the same.

8. LOVE WINS. The basic whole heart is from Cluck Cluck Sew. I designed the fractured and broken hearts. I made this quilt for distribution by the Orlando Modern Quilt Guild to the survivors and families/friends of the victims of the shootings at the Pulse nightclub. This was a very emotional project. The message was specific to the event, but given the divisive nature of my country's recent election, I think the words can be applied and will echo in a more general way for a very long time. 

  
So that's this year's batch of quilts. I completed some other quilted projects as well, and there are several quilts in progress, going oh-so-slowly right now. But I am confident that in the coming year they will all become part of the next trunk show of finishes as my shoulder gains strength and healing.  

I'm looking forward to seeing all your favorites in your own trunk show! Don't forget to link up with Soma's party and to check out the other posts. 

Autumn Inspiration

I haven't had an opportunity to quilt in the last week, but that doesn't stop me from thinking about quilts or what inspires me in color and design. And right now my inspiration is definitely autumn. We've had a long-lasting color season this year. Most of the reds are fading or gone now, but there are still yellows and oranges with just enough green for contrast. 

I love how the yellow veins in this leaf contrast with the orange. It would make a good model for a wall hanging. The leaf isn't perfect, but that's what makes it interesting. 

We took a little trip to the Grand Rapids (Michigan) area on Tuesday. It was a balmy 78 degrees and a bit hazy. I love those kinds of (rare) days in November. We spent some time at the Grand Ravines park by the Grand River. 

Muted colors by the river--

I like to try to frame my photos with a tree branch/trunk when I can...

...or a railing--or both.

The woods in the protected areas of the ravines still had quite a bit of green.

But the colors kept changing depending on the sunlight. Look at those interesting lines. I think they were a vine winding through the trees.

I've always admired quilted landscapes with strong vertical trunks. There are so many techniques available to construct them. I really need to try one. (That's why there are so many pictures here.)

An overlook by a deep ravine. Kind of chapel-like.

Lovely path.

Spots of red. Twins.

And another view.

Such a beautiful day. I haven't been able to get out much this autumn--but this made up for it. And now a shout out to Soma, whose pattern Autumn Harvest is featured in my Autumn Abundance project this year. Thanks, Soma, for your wonderful paper piecing patterns and for encouraging us all to seek inspiration with our cameras.

I'm linking up today with Wandering Camera, hosted by Soma of Whims and Fancies.

                                                   
                                                       
I hope to be back next week with some quilting. In the meantime, I hope your week is inspiring!

Autumn Abundance Giveaway Winner

Thank you to everyone who commented on my post for the Autumn Abundance Blog Hop last week. I was overwhelmed by the compliments and good wishes and had a blast reading about everyone's autumn projects and favorite things about autumn. 

Last night I used a little program to choose a random comment for my giveaway, and the winner is Kathryn, the 36th person to respond! Here's what she said:

"I love the return of cider to my local stores in the autumn. Best wishes on your recuperation from your 'autumn' event. Thanks for the giveaway."

Last night she told me that she has some fabric that will work very well with the bundle of leftovers I'm sending her. Congrats, Kathryn! The fabric and little collection of binder clips will be on the way to you soon!

And here are some awesome mums. I'd like to say they were the inspiration for my quilt, but I didn't see them until yesterday near my dad's condo. 

Everywhere I look right now there is great color inspiration for quilts. I display a calendar in my living room as part of my decor. For many years, it was a quilt calendar, but this year I had to choose something else because the calendar company discontinued the quilt-themed one. So I bought a landscape calendar instead. I love it! Every month is new inspiration for color and even design for a quilt. This was October:

And today I turned the page (yes, I know I'm a day late), and there was this! 

Those colors look kind of familiar, don't they? Yay, Autumn!

Happy November! As I said, I know I'm a day late, but I was busy yesterday enjoying our gorgeous autumn weather (upper 70's with hazy sunshine). Maybe tomorrow I'll post some pictures of my little field trip. Not exactly quilt related, but oh so quilty inspirational. And since I've had to take a little break from quilting, this is the next best thing. See you then!

Linking up today with Sew Fresh Quilts for Let's Bee Social.