Happy Birthday

Joyze had a birthday....unfortunately I was not here for it. In fact I didn't even get her gift done before I left town, but it is done now....Hooray!
It turned out fun and happy and oh so fitting for her. She wanted a nice big bag for toting all kinds of things around. (Of course in her favorite orange colors)

I had fun buying a few bright orange fat quarters, using blue fabric for the lining that I already had and filling it with an old blanket instead of buying the expensive iron-on fleece (it worked great)

Newspaper Riddle

This quilt was inspired and started by a trip to Tucson for a quilt show. Jaime invited me to join her going with a bus load of women headed to Tucson. It was fun and awesome to see all the quilts and all the quilting supplies available to buy. At the show I fell in love with this "Bento Box" Quilt pattern and was anxious to make one. I purchased a jelly roll of whites and blacks, used a red material in my stash and went to town sewing. It didn't turn out exactly like I had in my mind. My black and whites are not quite different enough from each other. My blacks needed to be stronger, darker blacks and my whites lighter whites, so the quilt didn't come off with quite the romantic feel I was going for but instead it has a funner lighter feel. So my unromantic quilt turned into a fun, frenzy of ........ what is black and white and red all over? The NEWPAPER RIDDLE!

Just My Luck

It is a brand new month, the year is zipping by so I need to take off my valentines stuff and get out some St. Patrick's day stuff. I knew it was coming so I started on a great green quilt. I pulled out all the misc. greens I had and started thinking. At first I was thinking only about using green but as I stewing over ideas in my head I saw a beautiful multi-colored Irish Chain quilt. Now I have always wanted to make an Irish Chain and what better time than for St. Patrick's. I had always seen an Irish Chain with 2 and sometimes 3 different fabrics but this one had a multi chain. So off I started. I wanted it very mish-mash with no planning so I sewed a white strip to any green strip (2 1/2 strip x about 21 inches -or whatever I had) then I cut those into 2 1/2" double blocks and started putting them together in 3's (with either an extra white or green block. Next made those into a 9 patch then pieced it all together with extra white squares. This is a really simple quilt but with stunning results.
Welcome.....Just My Luck!!

Of course this is still a "flimsie" but I did get done the Table Topper I made to match which I am calling "Lucky Charm"

Lesson Learned: The thing I gain from this quilt is the importance of simple space (or solids) that is what makes this whole thing visually work. Space that lets the eyes rest and makes the color pattern POP out and SING at you. It all the colors were mushed up right next to each other all the time it would be so busy, but with the space it makes beautiful harmony. How we need our own space too. How much better we are to each other when we have space and time to be ourselves, to do things we enjoy alone and apart but then when we are together we are ready to pop and sing and just a much better person.