What have you been doing the last 2 months?? Part 2

Thought I would share some of the beauty from the Hampton, Mid Atlantic show before finishing my trip story.  I take pics of all the write ups for the quilts but blogger kept placing them sideways so you will just have to see my write up:)
I will start with a couple of my friends from North Carolina.....


Eileen Williams
Shell Study #1

 

Katherine McNeese
In the Beginning
From the Bending the Rules Exhibit of the VA and NC Carolina Artists 

Now to some of the show that I was fascinated by-  We will start with Linda M Roy who won Best of Show.  I know her work immediately upon seeing it and am always intrigued and impressed by the amount of detailing.


Linda M Roy
Vintage Button Bouquet
Best of Show

I think you will see that for the last few years I have been infatuated with the actual quilting of the quilts.  Therefore I spend a lot of my shutter time on the quilting details.



Judith Heyward
Summer Soiree

  Look at the gorgeous applique and quilting....



Karen Marchetti
Wonderlust

The quilting here is phenomenal and I was intrigued by the little circle type stitches (below in the white area) that have a starburst effect...are they just circles and the thread makes that look???


Wonderlust Detail



Carolyn True Ito
Red & White Delight

Having done my first Cathedral Window (very small) piece this past year, I was in lust with this one!  There was much discussion between my mom, myself, and another quilter as to whether the color placement alone was causing this illusion that there are two different blocks at work here???  To me the blocks through the center don't look like the same blocks to either corner....What do you think?

While in Hampton, my mother and I took a couple of classes.  Blogger rotated it but I think you can see that there are 2 little crab molas here...This was our class with Phyllis Twigg Hatcher.  The stitching really changes the look of the crab.
Neither of us were too intrigued by this until we got into the class. We signed up without really researching it.  I have to say that although I won't be making molas, the class itself was fun due to the history lesson Phyllis gives while teaching.  She has a wonderful slide show about the people who make these.  So I gave Mom my crab and once home she found the perfect fabric to accent the mola concept.  This will be an adorable table runner once completely done!

Part of my visit to VA was to take my mom to DC for a few days.  We had so much fun walking around the city and the weather was absolutely gorgeous for early March... 70s. 

The flowers were blooming and this little purple one is just so vibrant.  Anyone know the name??

Here is my beautiful mom in a moment of Zen in the garden behind the Castle building of the Smithsonian...All the magnolias were in bloom!

We stayed in Alexandria where we could walk the Torpedo Factory and the shops and restaurants.  It was a very girls weekend...my favorite!

Before we headed back to Mom's we took a tour of Mt. Vernon.  It is so surreal to walk the same floors and touch the same banister that George Washington touched.

My VA portion of my trip ended with my parents and I going to see Wicked---SO COOL!!  I did not read the book but loved the story and the sets and the costumes and the music.  The performers gave you goosebumps and I once again longed to be on the stage!

Opening Night at Chrysler Hall, Norfolk

I ended my long trip with a visit to my older daughter back in NC.  It was wonderful that I started and ended with daughter one-on-one time.  Both girls were very open to doing movie double feature days so I was able to catch up on movies my husband wouldn't dare see:)  I miss them so much and am thankful to have had that time with them!!

What have you been doing the last 2 months?? Part 1

Mid February I headed to North Carolina to visit my younger daughter.  From there I headed to Virginia to visit my mother and attend the Mancuso Mid-Atlantic show in Hampton, VA.  I have gotten very spoiled being juried into the show every year for the last 5 years.  This is my 2012 entry and soon to be pattern.  These colors just sing to me.

SimplySweet
Juried entry, Mancuso Mid-Atlantic show.

Simply Sweet detail

This quilt is hand appliqued, hand quilted, and hand beaded.  Quilt designs come easy to me but the actual quilting designs are harder...all that blank space is like looking at a blank piece of paper when you are expected to write something.  Thankfully over time the meditation of applique brought me some fun designs to play with and I was very happy with what I came up with.

SimplySweet detail of center.

In the second detail photo, you can see the actual quilting stitches that I did in different colors of variegated threads from Weeks Dye Works.  I used their floss for years when I cross stitched and was delighted to find they have quilting thread now too in lovely colors.

You can also see more of the beading.  Stopping was so hard and thankfully the deadline was there to tell me to stop beading.  At one point I wanted to bead the entire border...the gold beads looked so wonderful on the purple border!
In the first photo you can see the border beads just in the corners.

How do you know when to stop a project?

DaGMT

For those of you perplexed about the post title, it stands for Drop and Give Me Twenty:)  It isn't too late to join us...just click on the link in Beth's name below.

So, I know it doesn't look like much but this is my other handwork the last 2 days...I have hand pieced 7 Drunkards Path blocks and have an 8th one on the pillow:)  I took a class with Pepper Cory, Queen of the Drunkards Path, about 2 years ago.  This block has always intrigued me and then I found out how much more you can do with it!  Curved piecing intimidated me for years and I hoped that a class would boost my confidence...well how could it not when the pieces are so big:)  Still after being all cut, they sat in my closet scaring me from the dark.  Now that I have pulled them out and taken a deep breath, they are actually getting done. I am still a bit nervous about stretching them too much but they are coming together nicely.  I will still have to find a way to add applique because that is what I do!!!

My friend, Beth, is getting so much more done...check out her blog and join us:)

The House Quilt Project

16" x 20"

"When the world is upside down, there is no cliche to "Home is where the Heart is" for the military families who keep a strong home base no matter where in the world it is! Thank you to the active duty and the families for their sacrifices. It is an honor to give this small bit of myself to you!"
This is such a great project and if you have a bit of yourself to give, visit The House Quilt Project to read more about my donation, see lots of others, read the guidelines, and maybe donate one yourself.  Thank you Jamie Fingal for all you do for this project!
I thought I was being so clever with the upside globe as my roof and it is cute, I guess, although a bit cartoony:)  I hope the recipient enjoys it.  It is sometimes difficult for me to walk away from an idea once I have it and that is what happened here...Once the upside globe was in my head, it had to work!  I have been fortunate to know only a handful of people that have had to endure these hardships and my heart aches for the rest.  May they all come home soon, for good!!!

My "Drop and Give Me 20" project is coming along but not as well as I would have liked.  I am so out of practice with my machine quilting!!  This was the first day of February where I spent my dedicated time (and then some) getting it basted.  I committed to 30 minutes a day and am still getting it all in, and more, just with handwork that I can't quite show yet:)  Keep it up my fellow 'committees':)  If my machine work improves, I will show a detail shot of what I am getting done.

In the meantime, keep quilting even if it is one stitch at a time...They all add up to done:)

February Drop and Give me 20!



Full Challenge Here

Did you read my UFO post and recognize yourself?  Would you like some company?  Beth has started this challenge and I highly recommend you get on board...even if it is just for the comic relief you will receive from reading her updates... Great sense of humor and fun designs will make February just fly by.  Join the fun!

The UFOs are taking over....

and I don't mean the space kind :)  If you are like me, then you know exactly what I mean.  This year I will be attempting to finish one per month, put some on etsy, donate some to my guild luncheon boutique and to the Alzheimer's Priority Auctions.  That should put a dent in the old ones as I start new ones:)) Here is my January UFO...it has been done except for the frog for over a year and a half.  Now the froggie is on and it is ready to be shipped to my sweet daughter, Devin. She has waited patiently long enough!

Devin's Frog
copyright 2007 NESTLINGS by Robin

This quick quilt was made using scrap strips and the very easy Quilt-as-you-go Tasseled Strip quilt pattern from Suzn Quilts.  The froggie is my design and was used on my nephew's baby quilt back in 2007.

Meet Avery

The froggies on his quilt were about 4" x 5" so I traced the outer edges of the froggie and scanned that into the computer.  Then I printed it as 'fit to page' onto 11' x 17' so that I would have a larger template for fusing onto the quilt for Dev.  It isn't exactly proportional, but what she wanted.

Dev's Frog Detail

What UFO will you finish this year??  Pick just one and you will be amazed at how good it feels to finish--so good, you will choose another to work on:) Until February, Keep quilting!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

What a beautiful way to start every day and a Happy New Year...


How it looked on Dec 5th
This is the view from my computer:))



So a new year is preparing to bloom, what is your biggest goal?  Normally this is where I post my list of all that I accomplished this year but it hasn't been written yet since I have my girls visiting and I don't want to waste one moment with them!!

My word for 2011 was 'Transition' and it really was:

We bought a house--moved from NC to FL, leaving my children behind,--I vended at Houston Market for the first time--met new friends.  From July to December was the longest I had ever been away from my girls and we have all had to transition through this new stage of family.  I would say that has been the hardest of the transitions.

Who knows what 2012 will bring for me, my family, and my business but I am hopeful and excited and looking forward to seeing dear friends in all my journeys!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!