Focus Friday on a Saturday this week, because, well, I forgot! I’m going to go for color this week with “Endless Possibilities”. The block is simple, only four seams! But the possibilities are endless!!

This pattern includes instructions and fabric requirements for a lap quilt, a wall hanging, place mats and a table runner. The photo shows the 60 x 63″ lap quilt illustrating the possibilities of a multitude of scraps, or possibly you would rather do planned design, with only a few coordinated fabrics. It’s all in the pattern. Possibly you will work small, possibly you will work large, the possibilities are limited only by your imagination!

“Endless Possibilities” – many possible sizes – $9.00
Click on patterns in the side bar to order.

The sample quilt is for sale, machine pieced and machine quilted, for $1250.00. Email for details. The wall hanging sample is also for sale, approx 49 x 37″, it can be seen on my website, listed above. You will be surprised at how different it looks!!

For today’s Focus Friday, I am showing you “The Northern Lily and the Southern Rose”. This bed size quilt was inspired by a talk by quilt historian Barbara Brackman, and pictured in one of her books. She talked about how the Northern women made utilitarian quilts for the Civil War soldiers which were long and narrow, small enough to carry but large enough to lie on or under. In an effort to keep Kansas a free state, ads were placed in northern newspapers to recruit settlers sympathetic to that cause to come west and settle Kansas. The quote in the border, included in the pattern, by Lucy Larcom from 1855 was from one of those ads. “Sister true, join us too, where the Kansas flows. Let the Northern Lily bloom, with the Southern Rose”.
This design is not meant to be an authentic reproduction of those quilts, but rather, a tribute to the women of old, who, in ways both quiet and bold, endured and participated in times of war. The central portion is reminiscent of the soldier’s quilts made by the women and the border holds appliqued roses and pieced lilies as well as the verse by Lucy.

“The Northern Lily and the Southern Rose”    80 x 94″
INNOVATIONS Pattern # 97309 $8.00.
Click on Patterns in the side bar to order.

The cover sample quilt is machine pieced, hand appliqued and hand quilted. It is for sale at $4,000.00. Email if interested.

It’s been such a busy week, I have not found any time to sew. The fabric I ordered came, but was not what I had envisioned. I am ready to try some summer fabrics to see if that is better! I hope to do something with it today.

Reviewing my last post, I see I was in the euphoric beginning stages of a new work! The fabric was pulled, (way too much!)

The process of creating was in full force and I was having a great time making the vision in my head come to life. It’s going to be a Flint Hills landscape with an exposed ridge of rock ledge the focal point. So far, so good.

The problem is, the fabrics that look so nice up close, are, from a distance turning to mud and it is all blending way too much. All of a sudden all that “Too much” fabric is not enough as I am not finding the contrast that I need.

Sunday, I placed an order for more fabric and I am now waiting to see if there is anything there that will help.

In the meantime, I’ll work on book keeping.

Yesterday evening was my presentation for the Topeka Art Guild, “Painting With Fabric” and there was a nice turnout. It had been postponed from a week ago when the roads were so icy and the weather cooperated this time! I even pulled some non-members in and away from the local quilt guild which was also meeting last night! Everyone seemed to enjoy it and I think it went well.

I am also enjoying my time auditing the watercolor class at Washburn U and even did my homework! As an auditor my work is not graded, but I hope to find the time to keep up and do the homework as it is such a nice opportunity to learn from a master.

I am also trying to find the time to get started on my next art quilt. I know what I want to do, but am finding it hard to get inspired to draw the scene that is in my head. At least I have gotten started with the drawing and pulling some fabrics off the shelf to try and help me decide which season of the Flint Hills to feature, the greens of summer, the colors of fall, or even another prairie fire.

At this time I am leaning toward fall. I find the fall color in the Flint Hills to be quite lovely; a quieter beauty than what I grew up with in New England, but still….beautiful!

On the business side of things, I got the sales tax filed last week, EARLY, yeah! but still have book work to do for regular taxes, got entries submitted for a few more shows and have had to spend time packaging patterns and shipping – that’s a good thing to have to do! But still, it all takes time.

The heron quilt is FINALLY finished. “Tranquil Dawn”, 40 x 52.5″

It’s not that I’ve been working on it all this time, but so much time was wasted looking for that “perfect” fabric. When I just let it go and added some others, I think it was even better than it would have been had I found the one I wanted in the first place. More is usually better! As usual it is loaded with machine quilting with many different threads used.

Now I am seriously thinking about what is next; it is always exciting to start something new, and I hope, smaller!

But first I need to get those books caught up, sales tax is due soon……

The day before Christmas, I finished quilting the Heron quilt.

There are some metallic threads in the water for sparkle.

I settled in to watch some TV and bury all of the missed thread ends. I get most of those as I do the quilting, every time I change to a new color of thread, but there are always a few that get missed. I got interrupted and then didn’t get back to it til after Christmas.

I always like to lay it out and check it from the back side to be sure there are no missed spots.

This backing fabric is a home dec fabric that I like to use on the back as it has a nice weight that helps to keep the work flat.  But it does present a problem when it comes to blocking because it is treated to repel water.  I prewash to help overcome that and work a little harder to make sure it wets evenly.

Before blocking, the work is already pretty flat,

but after blocking and drying it is perfectly flat!

I’m not doing so well, am I?  With classes ended for this semester you’d think I’d have more time, but it’s not happening. It seems like there are so many things vying for the available minutes; meetings and appointments, shopping, wrapping, decorating, entertaining, plus all of those daily tasks that are never really done. Same for you, I’m sure!

I grab minutes when I can to try and finish the heron quilt. It’s deadline is in January and I have the next project bouncing around in my head. I laid it out after yesterday’s session to examine it from the back and found a few spots needing more quilting, plus the majority of the sky left to do, but the end is within sight finally!

I thought Focus Friday might help me focus more on this blog, and it has to some extent but I don’t want it to dominate and turn my blog into a sales venue, as it has been doing. I will try to do better. I did meet last week’s deadline on Facebook, but it didn’t make it over here to blog land. This week’s Focus Friday quilt is “Strip Trip”. I love this quilt. Not only is it pretty, it is so easy. There are only six different fabrics and they are cut into large units of color that get sewn together into a large block and then sliced into strips to be re-arranged and sewn together for the top. A great way to use the bright large contemporary prints, or even in solids for a more “modernâ€� look.

Strip Trip – INNOVATIONS #06447 approximately 56 X 71â€� Pattern: $9.00
Click on Patterns in the side bar to order.

The Cover Sample quilt is for sale, machine quilted, $1500.00. Email me for details.

The weather has taken a decidedly wintry turn with freezing cold rain and icy conditions. Time to start thinking about a nice cozy quilt project to take you into winter. Here is just the thing to use up a lot of scraps!

Focus Friday for this week is “Scrapmagic Starsâ€�, a true scrap quilt made up of repetitions of just one 12â€� block. Even the border is just more blocks colored in such a way as to imply a border by concentrating more dark fabrics there. I’ve placed my lightest fabrics toward the center to make it ‘glow’. The corners of your blocks done in contrasting color make the stars appear like magic when the blocks come together! So fun and easy!!

Depending on the fabrics you choose, you can get a totally different look as illustrated by the baby quilt shown below.

The pattern contains instructions for five sizes.Baby-36 X 48�, Crib-48 x 60�, Full-72 x 84�,
Queen-84 x 96, King- 96 x 108

“Scrapmagic Starsâ€� – Pattern: $8.00
Click on Patterns in the side bar to order.

The cover sample bed quilt is no longer available but the baby quilt, machine quilted, is $200.00. Email me for details.

Focus Friday for this week is “Cornflower Blues�.  This charming original 12� block design was inspired by Bachelor Buttons, I love blue flowers, but being a fantasy flower, it can be made in any color you like. Since it only takes three easily pieced blocks and a few half square triangle units ( Papers included in the pattern) it is quick and easy to make!

I used this pattern one year to make multiple versions for Christmas gifts, based on the individual likes and styles of the recipients and their homes.

Cornflower Blues – approximately 24 X 28â€� Pattern: $9.00
Click on Patterns in the side bar to order.

Cover Sample quilt is for sale, machine quilted, $250.00 . Email me for details.