Background is a printout of Spoonflower color palette, fun using as a background for dotty cat! Permanent gel pen used to make the eyes. All scrap from my stash which grows smaller with each project completed. This was finished in August and with exercises I’ll try sewing again in the new year to check pain level. Talk about losing the sewing mojo…
2024 started with good intentions to sew my stash making “cute” animal quilts. Perfect for our Sarasota Modern Quilt Guild charity gifting. The more I sewed the body aches increased until I stopped and focused on physical therapy. I’m going to keep up the PT exercise program but I wonder if it is time to move on… Quilting and sewing have been full of fun, friendships and creativity but now I associate it with aches and pains. Mainly from a fracture but also from poor posture and more exercise needed over the years. I’ll decide in the Spring for sure. Now I’ve cut way back with only one finish this fall. I’ve got four quilts I’d like to make before de-stashing and moving on to other activities. I’ll see how it goes…
After a triple F (Faint, Fall, Fracture) sewing commenced in late April and May timeframe. Feeling vulnerable I realized it was time to SEW my Fabric Stash and concentrated on finishing UFO's (unfinished objects) and plan a way to use a lot of fabric quickly.
As a longarmer there are many scraps on the sides, top and bottom widths that are needed to attach the quilt back to the longarm frame, plus fabric widths in strips are quick to sew. So strips for backgrounds and bits (scraps for animals) became my logo. The fabric bits are for the crazy animal critters, and monsters - no patterns. I used clip art to get the basic shape and free cut. I used Elmer's glue stick and tacky glue to create the animals. The layout was all glued down including the yarn outlines as that works to be quickest to stitch on. Free motion applique went quickly - especially feeling "free" using the techniques learned in the Sophie Standing Mustang (horse) class I took the first of the year. I really appreciate the fact that she explains it all in videos and keeps it on the class page for 6 months as with the injury I needed all that time to finish. SMQG Gifting chair also sent me the "farm" fabric to use in this technique.
This year I kept track using google slides to add photo's and stories of the quilts made.
I’ve admired Sophie Standings textile artwork and finally am taking her workshop via Zoom. Class starts in one week, kit received and there will be lots to learn. Click here to see her website. Here is the project we will learn her technique to make….a mustang horse.
Jon and Jack chilling on room divider scratchers.
This is the closest the sand cranes have let me- I think they’re focused on the crunchy nibbles afoot.
And a surprise gift in the mail, a 2023 calendar with photos of Joe and family. 💕 💕 💗 it!
Remember the Asparagus quilt? Got the sweetest photo from Jodi of
Asparagus on Asparagus. Such a cute Kitty!
Use what you have - and one item I have plenty of are quilt photos. As webmaster for the Sarasota Modern Quilt Guild (SMQG) I take and receive many photos for our monthly Show and Tell and activities. With the new year I decided it would be fun to look back on some of the outstanding 2022 Show and Tell quilts to post to our social media sites. You know, one of those end of the year reviews. It’s made using the CapCut app. Enjoy…
(I learned to format it in 9:16 not 4:3 the Google inquiry stated. Both Instagram and Facebook automatically changed it so it lost part of its background blur….had to takedown redo upload again.) A learning point…
Just amazes me, another year for…
Watching Hall Hill Farm on FB with its gorgeous views and animals
And then there’s ads I’m working on for the SMQG Quilt Show
Every year Helen Godden offers a free Christmas quilt along. This year is a nutcracker -just finished. This is painted on muslim using Caran d’Ache pencils. They are permanent when heat set. She quilts a section each day leading up to Christmas. Here’s my version of the Nutcracker finished and hanging by last years Partridge in a Pear Tree. Click here for Nutcracker info.
No kitties have sniffed or sampled yet…