Mariner's Compass

After all my years of quilting, my sweet husband asked for a quilt for his office--WOW! I did make him a quilt right after learning to quilt and he loves it...but it stays here-not in public. I felt honored that he wanted to hang one in his office. I shouldn't be surprised because he is super supportive...it still was fun to be asked.

So after some collaborating, this is what we decided on. He is a career Coastie (Coast Guard) and lives his life by this motto, 'Honor, Respect, Devotion to duty'. He has been my compass through every storm and so this was a joy to make.

The compass is an original hand drafted design. The corners are machine quilted drawings of an anchor to represent his enlisted years and an eagle to represent his officer years. All the lettering is hand appliqued.

It really turned out beautifully and was a learning experience for me in regards to the compass. I love you, Jim.

I am the nose!

"‘Fresh Picked!’ Finalists Announced
We’ve just announced the finalists of the 2010 Quilting Arts Calendar Contest on the Editor’s blog! This year’s finalists were especially hard to pick, as we had to choose from more than 300 luscious depictions of the “Fresh Picked!” theme, including flowers, fruits, vegetables, and one nose. "

I have been so busy that it feels like I lost the month of March and I was having a blast doing so. One of the reasons was working on my entries to Quilting Arts 2010 Calendar contest. The above piece titled "100 Pages to a New You" wasn't chosen but it was fun to make. Learning this morning that I was the only one to enter a nose, just made my day.

When I heard the theme, my husband and I both thought noses--I guess we are a bit twisted. I mulled it over for weeks until a conversation with friends from my art group brought the design around to picking a new nose from a catalog in a plastic surgeon's office. After that the design and layout went very smooth. I don't know what will become of it now unless someone knows a surgeon with a sense of humor that would like to purchase it.

Here is a picture of the other entry titled "Bursting Sweet":

This piece was inspired by an original grape piece with just one cluster in another color way. I used painted Tyvek, free motion quilting, and hand beading. All in all a fun experience.

In the meantime, March brought about enough experiences to blog for a month....now just to do it:) I thought I heard a news story this week that procrastination was healthy for you...I am working on improving my health---Have a fantastic week!