What, A Quilt??

Yes, I really do quilt! Seems I've been side tracked for quite some time, but it feels nice to be back in my studio, finishing up a few things that have been sitting on the back burner....this bargello quilt, for example. I'm making this for a friend who fell in love with a larger version I have hanging in my house. I made it in different colors, and also used a design from the book Bargello Quilts, by Marge Edie.

I love the process of making a quilt, but when it gets to the quilting stitch design I often get very frustrated, one reason this has been sitting around for so long! I knew I did not want to follow the wave pattern for my quilting design, so I pondered what to do. I began by printing a copy of the quilt, placing tracing paper over the top and drawing several quilt stitch options. I decided on random diagonal curves, which criss cross each other, but now how do I want to transfer this design to the quilt? Typically, on my smaller quilts, I use a flexible curve to mark my drawing lines, but it is much too small to cover this quilt. I decided to use string. Inexpensive, easy to move around, and I can recycle it when I get my fabric dyes out. These leftover strings will work great for tie dyeing and wrapping fabric for shibori. I placed the strings in the desirable locations, then marked my stitching line with a colored pencil. Now, for the quilting......
This quilt measures 59" wide by 67" long, which isn't that huge, but it's larger than most quilts I make. Every time I do a large quilt, I tell myself I will never machine quilt another one. I've heard of being out of physical shape, but is it possible to be out of "quilting shape"?? My shoulders and neck were sore, my stitches were uneven, stitching lines out of whack, and I was getting very frustrated moving that behemoth through my machine. I really admire you quilters who can manage large quilts on a regular machine. It's not for me, I tell you! Could it possibly have something to do with lack of patience??

So, here is the finished product. I'm still debating on whether I need to make the quilting lines closer together. I think I'll let it hang on the design wall for a few days before I make my final decision, but I would appreciate any comments or suggestions you may have.... as long as your comment isn't to rip the whole thing out and start over!

Next time I decide to make a large quilt, I'm going to call one of my long arm friends!

If It's Meant To Be.........It Will Be.........

My blog has not been very quilt related in quite some time. There is a good reason for this.... I haven't been quilting much lately! Life is a journey, and it's been quite the trip the past several months.

When we first decided to purchase a place in western Colorado, never in our wildest dreams did we imagine we would end up with a piece of property directly across the road from the Colorado National Monument. We were happy with our little 1905 built home on the edge of downtown, but you see, I have this thing for the red rocks.

A friend told us about a piece of property for sale, which piqued our interest. Directly across from the Colorado National Monument, 2 1/2 acres, views, house, outbuildings. OUTBUILDINGS, you say? This caught my attention! As much as we were interested, we thought it was too much of a long shot to even attempt this property! We would have to sell our existing home to purchase this, and the way the economy is, the chances were slim to none that it would happen. We decided we HAD to go for this, so put our house on the market. After three months on the market it sold, and amazingly, our dream property was still on the market!

We closed on the property last Thursday, and have been getting settled in since. The views are spectacular......

A lawn tractor left in the shed was a bonus............. but there is some work to be done on the property. I'll be working on getting the one outbuilding turned into a studio, but check out this space...........




I know it's a mess now, but it has POTENTIAL!!!! I can't wait to get busy creating here!


Of course, with the good comes the bad. The house is livable, but needs some work.The pet odor was too much to take, so we pulled carpet out. This is what's left. Let the work begin!

But, with views like this, the work will be worth it!

It was meant to be................