Category Archives: quilts

What’s Next?

Posted on July 14, 2009 by ginabean • 2 Comments
I still have not decided what my next project will be. I am itching to do something, but I just can’t decide what. I have a few projects to get done for customers and I would like to get them done before I meet with the surgeon next week. I am hoping that they can do my surgery soon after meeting with him and put me out of this misery. I have all my applique blocks ready to go, so that I can work on them after surgery. I am going to decided very soon what quilt to do next and I will let you know. In the meantime, this is a quilt that I also made for my sister’s baby. It is a little nine-patch. I never took a picture of it so she brought it back to me the other day so I could. I thought I would share it with you.
I’m open to suggestions about what to make next if anybody has any.
Filed Under: quilts, sewing

The Pinwheel Quilt is Done!

Posted on July 10, 2009 by ginabean • 5 Comments
I got the last stitch put on the binding last night and I got it all washed and dried before I went to bed. I am so please with how this quilt turned out. I used Heather Bailey’s Freshcut fabrics and the pattern, Tessellation from Sandy Klop’s Quilts for All Seasons book. The book is very good. Her patterns are easy to follow and it has several good quilts in it. I have an American Jane Recess jelly roll and I think I am going to make my next quilt using that. I made one out of her Wee Play jelly roll and it is my favorite. I just need to decide which kind of quilt to make. Decisions, decisions. What I really should do is work on my spiderweb quilt and get some blocks done on that before I start another quilt. And work on the Dresden quilt before I start another one. It is just so fun to start a quilt. My friend is making this quilt and I want to make it too. (Focus Gina, Focus.) It is amazing to me that I get any quilts done at all. Everyone around me continually inspires me with their quilts and I want to make them ALL. I hope everyone has a great weekend and enjoys a little sewing time.
Filed Under: fabric, patterns, quilts, sewing

A Little Summer Reading and Some Country Sunshine

Posted on July 9, 2009 by ginabean • 4 Comments
I love to read, especially in the summer. I used to spend a lot of Fletcher’s nap times and evenings reading, but then my sewing obsession took over and I have done very little reading. (unless you count pattern books and quilting magazines) I’m an all or nothing type of gal, and when I get into something, I go at it hard. I have been spending all of my time sewing, but I am trying hard to put a little more balance back into my life so, I decided that it was time to get into a good book. I went yesterday and picked up a few: Wuthering Heights, because I feel like with my limited time to read, I should be reading something worthwhile, Nikon D60 For Dummies, because I really need to figure out how to get the most out of this camera I have, and I couldn’t resist, a new quilting book.
I am also wanting to get WIP’s done and my applique project is something I really need to focus on. I am NOT an applique quilter, but I wanted to get out of my comfort zone and work on one. I am in a little applique workshop and we are making a beautiful applique quilt called “Country Sunshine”. (I am too lazy to look and see what book it is from, so I’ll tell you later.) To say that I am a little behind on this one is a huge understatement. It is 9 large blocks and I have four done. (well, almost done) This is block #5. I have three more like this to do and then the center block. Did I mention that it has a huge applique border? Yeah, huge. HUGE. I might get this quilt done in about 2 years. What was I thinking?!?
Update: Pinwheel quilt is quilted and binding needs to be sewn down. I’ll have pictures soon.
Filed Under: life, quilts

Quilting is Crazy!

Posted on July 6, 2009 by ginabean • 6 Comments
If you think about it, it really is crazy. It is crazy to take perfectly beautiful fabric and spend hours cutting it up into little pieces. Only to take those little pieces and spend even more hours sewing in all back together, pressing it, pinning it, pressing it some more, and sewing some more. But by doing all these crazy things, I get to create things that look like this and I think, well …maybe it would just be even more crazy for me NOT to do it. I love when I finish piecing a quilt. I could sit for hours after it is done and stare at it, studying all the little pieces that went into it. It always makes me feel like I have completed something really special. The Pinwheel quilt top is done! and I am lovin’ it! I can’t wait to get it quilted and completely done. Hopefully, by the end of the week it will be. Hummmm… what’s next?
Filed Under: quilts, sewing

Little Baxter Quilt

Posted on June 28, 2009 by ginabean • 6 Comments
I got the binding sewn down on the Baxter Quilt and it is all finished and ready to go to my new niece. I’ve even got the label put on it.
We went to my parent’s home in the Virgina Mountains this weekend. The mountains are beautiful this time of year and we had a great time. We went to the Roanoke Farmers market and got peaches and tomatoes. We also spent a little time watching the horses jump at the local equestrian center down the road from my parents and the evening catching fireflies. It was a great weekend.

Filed Under: family, quilts, sewing

Ready to Go

Posted on June 25, 2009 by ginabean • 7 Comments
I have gotten the Baxter Quilt all loaded on the frame and I am ready to start quilting it. It took me a little while to get it on there. Thank goodness I took detailed notes while they were going over how it is done. Otherwise, I would probably still be working on that. After I got it all loaded I decided that it might be a good idea to stop and actually watch the DVD instructions that came with it. I also worked on this little clutch. It, of course, is not exactly how I would like it, so I am sure there will be more versions in the future.
On another note, I have been having some terrible “attacks” over the last couple of weeks. What I thought might just be the worst heartburn in the history of heartburn turns out to be gallstones. I meet with the surgeon in a few weeks to schedule having my gallbladder removed. I’ve never had surgery before, so I’m pretty nervous about it. I have been needing to slow down, so this might be just the thing that helps me to do that.
Filed Under: purses, quilts, sewing

New Longarm!

Posted on June 23, 2009 by ginabean • 6 Comments

The good couple from The Cottage Quilt Shop in Taylorsville came yesterday and set up my new longarm! I am so glad to have it. I can’t wait to start quilting on it. I want to get the Baxter Quilt done first. My brother and sister-in-law are coming here for the 4th of July, so it would be nice to have it done by then. It is going to be quite the learning curve. Doing the pantographs is HARD. I think I will just start out with some stippling and then go from there. I am going to have to practice a lot on the pantographs before I feel comfortable doing them on a quilt. So, so happy to have it! Hope everyone has a great day!
Filed Under: quilts, sewing

Pinwheel, Part 2

Posted on June 19, 2009 by ginabean • 5 Comments

Well, I sat down and counted up how many WIPs (works in progress) I have and it isn’t pretty. To make things worse, the list is really just quilting WIPs and not even purses or other sewing endeavors. ( I can’t go there, yet.) I am embarrassed to say the number, so I won’t. All I know is I need to get cracking on finishing some projects. I neeeeeeed to stop buying fabric to make new things until I get some of these WIPs off my list. Well, this Pinwheel is on the list. I got one more row done and I have all of the fabric now cut out to make the other rows. It is not much progress, but it is some progress and any progress is good, right!

My big news is that I am getting a longarm. After a year of deliberating about it, I finally am going to stop driving my poor husband (and myself) crazy over it and bite the bullet and just do it. They come Monday to deliver, set it up and show me how to use it. I am very excited.
Enjoy your weekend! Have a Happy Father’s Day.

Oh yeah, crazy sale at JoAnn’s. Go there…get thread, cutting supplies, batting, interfacing…all things quilter’s need for 50% off. Seriously, go there.
And , I did go short, had about 3 to 4″ cut off my hair. Still getting used to it.
Filed Under: quilts, sewing

Baxter Quilt Top

Posted on June 16, 2009 by ginabean • 4 Comments

Well, I got the quilt top for my baby niece done. I finished putting the borders on last night. I am so pleased with how it turned out. I love the Heather Ross fabrics and piecing on my featherweight was so nice. For a old machine, it worked great. I almost hate to give the quilt away. Lucky for me that I have enough fabric left over to make a second one just like it. Now I can have one to give away and one to keep. I think next I’ll try to get some blocks done on the pinwheel quilt I started and haven’t worked on in months. I am trying to stay focused on getting UFO”s done. ( I do have a hard time staying focused, though.) Off to get me hair cut now. Might go short…we’ll see.
Filed Under: fabric, quilts, sewing

Ahhhh, quilting!

Posted on June 11, 2009 by ginabean • 6 Comments

Yeah, I got to quilt some this evening. I worked on the quilt for my soon-to-be-here niece. I am thrilled about this quilt for several reasons. First, I am actually getting to use my new featherweight for the first time to piece it. Also, I am using the most fabulous Heather Ross fabric. It is super sweet and super soft. My sister-in-law has a Boston Terrier named Baxter and when I saw this fabric I knew it was perfect. There are little Baxter’s all over it. I am keeping it simple and just putting 4″ blocks of 12 different fabrics together. To make my life even easier, I’m just going to strip piece it together using three fabrics and then sub-cut them and put it together like a nine patch. She is using black and white gingham in the nursery, so I am thinking about adding that into a border. Not completely set on that yet, though. I think it is hard to find good gingham. This quilt should come together quickly…(as George Costanza would say, “seemingly”.) Can’t wait to get it done so I can show it to you.

Filed Under: fabric, quilts, sewing