Bringing in the Old and the New for 2017

The old and the new in my world are, of course quilts and quilting :0) The New Year brings new beginnings, goals and resolutions. I like new beginnings, that's easy and fun to start new quilt projects! Goals are good to set in order to try and finish those new projects from last year (and beyond ;0)  Resolutions, not so much. 2 out of 3 is good!!! 

A new beginning for 2017 is a new membership to The Quilt Show. The 2017 BOM is a medallion quilt designed by Sue Garman, I am always a sucker for a medallion!

Yesterday I started part 1 with the center called The Halo Star. Plus a year of learning new techniques. Download the DVDs with Lynn Wilder from last year. Looking forward to learning lots of new things as well as finishing my goals from 2016 including Gypsy Wife, almost finished to a flimsy.

 A few more of the holes have been filled since this pic.
Also in the works is Gravity, an ongoing BOM with Kelly at Honey Run Quilters. 

Block One

I am up to block 5 and the class did block 6 at the last meeting that I missed, almost half way. It starts off with the outer star points so it's difficult to do a layout yet. The Gypsy needs to be finished to a flimsy before I have room to layout anyway. They are stacking up!!!

I do have a finish in 2016...

One of my Toes in the Sand 

finished for my son's birthday 💖 

and a top I put together last weekend...

 is quilted now. Pattern is called The Big Easy (and it is!)

Just binding and a label and it's on it's way to Texas 

for Michael's brother in law, Jim who loves to... yes you guessed it... golf!

Backing is golf ball fabric and will be the binding as well.   

Looking forward to the new year. I hope that it will be happy

and pray that it will be peaceful. 

It will be interesting at the very least. 

Wishing you all a good, healthy and productive New Year!

Tot ziens, Jo

Rows of Toes!

Toes in the Sand

Making good progress with my quilting projects this week! One reason... the summer temps :0( it's been triple digits all this week... yuck! Too hot to run my longarm computer except in the early early mornings. It's not even 6 am and it's 80 degrees outside already :0( The studio hitting 90 by late afternoon. Sew, I've been spending the afternoons working on my Toes in the Sand and Gypsy Wife, sewing in the house (my studio is not air conditioned) or, as I have the last two days, with friends sewing at Cathy's/Honey Run Quilters classroom. Thank you Dan for keeping us nice and cool! Plus, Dan came in and helped me get my Singer Featherweight running. Yea! 

In June a herd of us started Toes in the Sand with Kelly at Honey Run Quilters. Toes is a quilt from Jaybird using the Hex and More ruler designed by Julie @ Jaybird Quilts. As a very traditional quilter, this has been a really fun project to make new shapes... allot of them! Hexies, triangles, half hexies and jewels. We are getting close to finishing our tops, a few like Linda with two finished! I'm getting close with this one :0) and a second in batiks that will be finished during the August meets. Here are a few of the 'blocks' in progress...

with a little fussy cutting going on :0) 

Allot of fun working out of my box both with shapes and color! Texture too :0) Still keeping my hands busy with Civil War fabrics! This month Karen, Barb and I started Gypsy Wife, mine in CW. That is quite the project! Right now we are working on the 'filler' blocks, more on that later. For now, off to get longarm work done before it gets too hot. Have the whole house fans on trying to pull as much of the cool air into my studio as possible before the sun is up. Happy Friday! Tot ziens, Jo

 

 

Pairs of Sandy Toes

I've made each workshop at Honey Run Quilters
 for Toes in the Sand by Julie Herman at Jaybird Quilts.

Last Wednesday we made four blocks

Two blocks of two blocks, if that makes any sense ;0)

Starting from the beginning of Kelly's workshop...

Block One ~ Baker Beach

Each block is made twice, in different fabrics, usually reversing the values 

These are pix of my batik version

Each block represents a different beach along the California coast 

Kelly does research and reads us the history of each beach while we work on our blocks :0)

Block Two ~ Santa Barbara

Block Three ~ Venice Beach

Block Four ~ Sonoma Coast

Block Five ~ Torrey Pines

These are blocks Three of the version I am doing in other fabrics

along with the background fabric that will be used for this quilt.

I picked out the background fabric for the batik version last week 

pix another day, it's not cut yet. 

Come to find out, Karen picked out the same fabric for her background! 

GMTA!!!

First three sets of blocks in my other fabric with 

blocks four and five to do. 

I am also working on a costume for my son... that will be a kick! 

I haven't made clothing in a zillion years!!! It will be fun

Costume we are working on is Max from Where the Wild Things Are

Max without his crown altho Chris is making that too

Have a great weekend!

 Tot Ziens, Jo

April showers, May flowers and Sandy Toes

April brought showers for May flowers!

Happy here in California we received a decent amount of rain. Not enough to get us out of the drought, however, happy to see the glass half full, it's allot more than last year! 

My garden is fully in bloom and the pollen, well, let's not go there! 

Happy May Day!!!

I remember as a kid we would make a cone out of construction paper, attach a piece of string and fill it with flowers. Then we would hang them on the door knobs of each of our neighbors. Mom was pretty creative and I am glad because the apple didn't fall very far from that tree :0) 

One of my goals for May is to keep up on Toes in the Sand

In April we had 2 BOM meetings, completing blocks one and two

 making 2 of each block with different fabrics/values to make each of them different.

I am making two quilts :0) one with batiks...

  I began after I saw three participants using blue batiks.

Sew when I went home after our first meeting I pulled all of the ocean and water 

themed batiks out of my stash that I could find! 

Which, btw, works perfectly with my goal of using up my stash ;0)

My original fabrics pulled for Toes in the Sand

Kelly asked each of us which was our favorite California beach. Mine is Prairie Creek. I've camped there many times. Located on the northern coast of California, it's one of the few places you will find Roosevelt Elk right there in the park. There are California Black Bears, Redwoods, coastal cliffs, the beach and Fern Canyon. It's an amazing place! My fabrics are textural, have prints with deer, bears and shells. 

                                           

Toes in the Sand is a BOM from Jaybird Quilts. Each block is named for a California beach. Kelly researches the history about each beach and shares what she finds with us, reading aloud as we work on our blocks. It's great! Thank you Kelly, you are the best! 

Happy with the April finish of two quilt tops!!! A Linda Ballard workshop quilt You Need a Rita! pictured in my previous blog post and Calypso Kaleidoscope, now with all it's borders. Made two blocks for Westering Women. Several blocks for Patchwork City. Keeping up with Sandy Toes. Good progress!

My May goals: 

Two more blocks for Westering Women ~ Barbara Brackman's Civil War blog. 

Make more blocks on a WIP ~ Patchwork City. 

Two more blocks for Moon Glow to get caught up with Beckie and be ready once she is ready to get back to working on that WIP. She is working on wedding quilts! 

    

Piece the back and quilt Calypso Kaleidoscope. Ok, that's allot especially given that I have a full time job keeping up longarming for my customers!

Enjoy your Sunday 

Tot ziens, Jo