Megan's Quilt

I've been slowly working my way through all of the blogs that entered the quilt festival, there is so much inspiring creativity! It is exciting to see that a number of quilters have gotten kids involved in the craft. I think it is so important to expose kids to all of the arts, I believe everyone needs a creative outlet of some kind.

Looking at some of the quilts that kids have helped make, or choose fabrics for, reminded me of a quilt my girls helped make. I wasn't sure if we still  had a photo of it, so I dug around and finally found this one. When my twin daughters were in elementary school, their best friend moved to Hawaii. They wanted to make something that she could take with her to remind her of all the fun times they'd shared. So they drew pictures on fabric of  the school they went to, their troop girl scout vest, their favorite cartoon of the day- Scooby-doo, a snowman they'd made together, their favorite foods, etc.  They chose all of the fabrics and how they wanted it layed out. I sewed it together, they began quilting it, then after a number of finger stabs, decided it wasn't fun to hand quilt ;-). So I finished that task.  This quilt is far from perfect, and yet everything a good quilt should be- truly made with love.

Quilt Festival Fun

  
I discovered this wonderful quilt festival while reading my very creative and talented cousin's blog,  Dolly's Home. So I decided to join in the fun!  My entry is Birdwatching, which I made several years ago. It was based on a pattern in the spring 2000 Quiltmaker's All-time Favorites. I changed the colors of course, and made a lot of the birds look like the ones that visit my yard, like the goldfinch, robin, bluejay, and junco.

 
 This is my favorite quilt since I used  to be an avid birdwatcher, and I love all things having to do with nature and animals. It was also one of the first that I machine quilted. I did  part of it using meandering, the sashing with an ivy leaf pattern, and outline quilting for the birds.

 I made this around the same time I saw my first bald eagle,  and was so excited to find bald eagle fabric that I used on the back.      

I hope you enjoyed my entry. I am so inspired by all of the talented quilters who entered the festival and intend to visit each and every one as time allows.       

Rainy Day Inspiration

It has been cold, windy and rainy here for the last few days, and I needed something to brighten the day. So here are a few reasons I love springtime, and it inspires me.
 My irises began blooming last week, and I took a few individual shots before the rain set in. Here's another-

  The rest of them decided to fully open during the storm. The strong wind gave the flowers a beating, so I have no photos of  the eyecatching group.  But I find the vivid colors and shapes of the irises inspiring, I have a few ideas in my head for an art quilt.    

When I looked out the upstairs window the other morning, this little cutie was resting on the shortest stub of a branch he could find-

 When my kids were little, I tamed a few squirrels and they would eat from my hand.  They lost all fear of people, which made them very vulnerable, and sadly not everyone thinks they are as cute as I do. So for their safety I stopped  feeding them. But I still enjoy watching them and having them around.                      

WIP Wednesday

 

I couldn't decide if I should call this post work in progress Wednesday, or ufo Wednesday. My unfinished objects are works in progress, it's just that sometimes they take me a really long time to finish them. But they are not forgotten. I just don't often have large chunks of time to put into them, so they get done little by little.

 On mother's day I had a large chunk of time, so I spent most of the day working on hand quilting my star quilt. This quilt has been moved around a lot. It was in my floor frame, which I decided was not comfortable to work on, so I moved it to a large lap frame. Still not comfy. So I moved it into the hoop and now it's very comfy to work on. Sadly I am out of practice, since I had this packed away for several years. But hopefully by the time I finish this my hand quilting will be presentable once again. Some of it looks as though it was quilted by a child, lol, but that's ok, this one is for me ( although both of my dogs curl up on it while I am working, they think it is for them).

I am also working on this cabled wool sweater. The back is pictured.  This is my portable project,  I take it with me when I know I am going some place where waiting is involved.  I am not a good waiter, I get crabby unless I have something to work on. 

And finally, the rag quilt I am working on. I started this at the same time as the one I am hand quilting, I guess I was going through a star phase that year ;)  I had a lot of tan, beige and off-white fabrics I was trying to use up.

Do you have multiple works in progress going?      

Spring Craft Sale Finds

My oldest son has had cancer and is mentally impaired. He attends a special school that teaches daily living skills as well as some vocational training.  Today was the school's spring craft sale, where they sell crafts, foods, and plants made or grown by the students. Proceeds from the sale go back into the program. These young folks put their whole selves into everything they do, so I was happy to go and support them. Everything is so much harder for them, yet they never give up. They are so inspiring! And I got some great stuff! A lovely little sage plant which they grew in their greenhouse, a hand-painted garden marker, and some pretty tile coasters. I also got a delicious vegetarian quiche, which I posted about on my other blog.

Here's a better shot of the adorable coasters:

I have also picked out my summer project, it is going to be for a cause,  details to come soon.

Electric Quilt 7 Giveaway

I stumbled across this great giveaway while surfing today. For a chance to win EQ7 go here- http://bloominworkshop.wordpress.com/2010/05/04/eq7-give-away/#comment-3351

New Craft Room

Welcome! My name is Janet and I love to knit, quilt and craft. Hence the name of this blog.

Since this is a new blog, and since I recently redid my sewing/craft room, I'll start with a photo of it. I love my left-handed table! After years of working with a righty desk, this makes working so much easier. The color of the walls is a really pretty soft sage green that doesn't show up too well in this photo. The boxes on the shelves hold buttons, notions, beads and other crafty paraphernalia. The shelves, desk and organization boxes all came from Ikea.  The wine bottle holders on the top shelf hold knitting needles and crochet hooks. I still need to create a quilt to hang on this wall. A very simple shawl I knitted is on the back of my chair. When I'm not using it, it often falls onto the floor where one of my dogs likes to commandeer it.

 I am in the middle of working on two quilts. I'm hand-quilting the one in my header, and I am three-quarters through piecing the one which is the mess that's all over my table. The quilt on my table is one of those that's pieced and quilted a block at a time, then put together with raw edges exposed, so that they fray. I believe it's called a rag quilt. I started this one a few years back, but our guinea pigs took over my craft room, so it didn't get finished. Now that they are all gone and I have my room back, I am finally getting it done. I plan to use it for a picnic blanket. Since it will have frayed edges, no one will be afraid to use it outside. The large section of this quilt that is already put together is on a chair in this room, so no more pictures of this room till the quilt is finished ;-)

I blog about vegetarian whole foods at my other blog  Meatless Mama, where I share recipes and info. on healthy living. While I believe that some form of creative outlet is essential for good health, my crafty pursuits aren't really appropriate for that blog. So I decided to start this one. My posts here will be a little less frequent than on my main blog. I run a household of six, and there aren't always enough hours in the day.

 Crafty people are so much fun and share tips and info. so generously. So please feel free to comment, leave helpful hints, or ask questions.