Saturday, September 7, 2013

So many little quilts! (and an AAQI update)

The blocks from my summer swap with Maureen are all sewn together now. I just need to attach those borders and this baby quilt will be ready to baste and quilt. After quilting it will be about 42" square. I am loving this! Someday I want to make a churn dash quilt for our bed!
I tried so hard to just be random in the block placement and not over think the spacing of colors and values. Looking at the photo now I see things I would have moved if I had studied it harder, but this is for DD#1 and she does random very well. I was trying to think like her and not stress over it. How did I do, Angie? : )

The braid table topper from men's shirts is quilted, the binding is on one side and clipped down, ready to sew by hand on the other side. Not the best photo, but you can get an idea of the quilting. I put cables down the braids and did straight line quilting in the ditch and on the side of each lengthwise seam.
I had lots of strips left over after making this, so I used them as leader/enders while sewing other projects and did a quick stipple quilting job on it to come up with this. Don't know what I am going to do with it, but it came together very quickly.

On the feather front, I did one more hyper-quilted feather piece. I've learned that I prefer a lighter colored fabric with a thread color on the original feather a little darker. On this dark piece the original feather melts into the background and all you can see is the hyper-quilting. It is a deeper color than it appears here. I had to put a bright light across the surface to give a better view of the quilting.









DH and I have dear friends who just returned from serving as humanitarian missionaries in Ghana, Africa. They brought us this beautiful hand carved nativity and I felt it deserved a special table topper all its own. Last year I swapped scraps with Sandi (kwiltnkats blog) and I ended up with lots of batiks--including a bag of HSTs. I've already used a bunch to make two little quilts. This time I separated all of the brown/black ones to make this topper.
Can you tell that this nativity includes a brahma, a small giraffe, and a couple of baby elephants? We're talkin' Africa here!

Finally (I know, that is what you are thinking, too, right?), I was in communication with Ami Simms this morning and apparently my last two AAQI quilts were on the "For Sale" page by mistake--that is why they didn't have prices or "Add to Cart" buttons. They will be going with the other quilts selected for the Houston International Quilt Festival, though they are not listed on that page yet. If you will be at the Festival, stop by the AAQI booth and select from the hundreds of quilts that will be available for sale.
And Flowers for Market is still available.  Sold--Thank You!

Until next time,
Janet O.

33 comments:

  1. Love the hyper feather piece & the plaid braid runner!

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  2. Janet, I just loved reading this post! The churn dash is wonderful -- looks spontaneous but very pulled together - so hard to do with scraps. Congrats! I also love the braided quilt from men's shirts; the colors are warm and glowing!

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  3. Another wonderful newsy post. So great to see what you are doing with all your 'bits!' Love how your churndash is looking, yumyum. In fact I love it all! Wow with your hyper feathers :-) :-) :-) And the nativity set is gorgeous too. Have a fabulous weekend!

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  4. I love churn dash quilts! And have thought about making one. The quilt on our bed now has some CD blocks in it, though. You have been busy as usual and everything is wonderful! What a special gift from Africa!

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  5. what a beautiful nativity set, what a special gift and YES it deserved its own little quilt :)
    love seeing what your up to and always in awe in what you accomplish.
    love the machine quilting feather, wow is all I can say.
    Kathie

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  6. Janet, I just don't know where to start...everything you make is so pretty. Your feathers are amazing. I absolutely love your Nativity! My little Hunter loves them and wants every Nativity that he sees. He told me the other day that he wants our Christmas tree decorated in nothing but Nativities.
    Kristie

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  7. These are some really nice pictures! I love, love, love the churn dash quilt. What is it about that simple design that just "says it all?" I think the placement is fabulous. It looks really antique. I drool over your feathers, too.

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  8. OH, where OH where has my rainbow gone? (just kidding I know you wanted a change) But it was so beautiful as well as the above photo.
    Your gift from Africa is so nice, and you made the perfect little quilt for it to be displayed on. Your quilted braided runner is awesome. Your have the feather fever and it shows. I just love your work.

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  9. Oh my what a lovely nativity set!!! My brother has a mission in Malawi and often brings me things back from Africa, but nothing quite that beautiful. I'm going to have to have a talk with him LOL!!! And you made the perfect little quilt for it too - love those warm colors. Your DD is going to be VERY happy with her churndash quilt - I love the random color play in it, and I'm betting she will too :*) And of course, your feathering is amazing! I agree though that your original feather disappears into the fabric. It's still gorgeous!!!

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  10. Your exchange blocks went together great. You could have spent hours arranging and rearranging, and your final placement looks super. The churn dash is a favorite of mine too. Love your new header.

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  11. Every time I read your blog I just want to go sew. I ALWAYS adore it all.

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  12. Your feather quilting is da bomb! Really amazing, gf!

    Love all the other goodies... you have been sewing up a storm in your neck o' the woods. So many pretties...

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  13. I was especially attracted to the red/green braid quilt and your use of the cable design for the quilting. I have been sewing up a storm with the braid design using the half-hexies as shown on Debby Kratovil's blog. Two finished with random design all-over quilting and 9 more rows complete for the next 3 quilts. I've been making a lot of quilts for charity and have decided to make something for each of my friends as I don't know how much more quilting time I have (health problems). I thought the braid design was a good one for these as we've woven so many braids of memories over the years. The cables will be perfect for the finishing! This is the first time I've commented to you but I've gotten lots of ideas and inspiration from you. Thanks.

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    1. Carole, I don't know if you will see this, but in trying to reply directly I found that your settings are still "noreply-comment@blogger". If you go to the very bottom of my blog you will see a red button for such, and if you click it you will be taken to a blog where a nice woman shares how to change the settings.

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  14. Angie's quilt turned out great!! And what an acheivement for you to do random so well!! I'm proud of you!! I love your African nativity and the quilt you made for it is purr-fect!! And I saw that this is the last year the AAQI is doing to do fund raising - that's kinda sad!! You are the queen of feathers, that's for sure!!

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  15. How exciting to have your mini at Houston. LET's GO! LOL. Great way to use those hst's. I have a few to use as you may have seen on my DWM from the Fair. I love Feather and the Churn dash quilt. Lucky Angie.

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  16. My favs are the baby quilt, the feather and the nativity quilt.
    Of course, everything is beautiful though :)
    Great new header too!

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  17. I love all your little quilts! And that churn dash is fantastic! Well done with the random, too! :o)

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  18. Love your churn dash! I've been working on one, but it's not happening very quickly. Thanks for the info on the AAQI quilts (even though it's NOT what I wanted to hear!).

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  19. Your churn dash looks fabulous! Mine will wait a bit before I can stitch them together.
    I love the cable quilting on the braid quilt. What a cute little quilt from the scraps. I love plaids!
    I think you've got feather quilting down! Each one is more beautiful than the last.
    A new nativity for your collection - how nice! The batiks make the perfect setting for it.
    That's cool that they are taking two of your AAQI quilts to Houston.

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  20. Everything looks fabulous Janet.
    The nativity quilt is just perfect....and your feathers as I've said before are amazing. Each one has surpassed the one before.. Love them!
    Congrats on having your AAQI quilts going to Houston.

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  21. LOVE, LOVE, LOVE! your churn dash quilt! Your little quilts are so wonderful...the nativity is beautiful and your little quilt is just perfect for it!

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  22. Love the churn dash, it's one of my fav blocks. And how sweet of your friends to think of you while away in Africa, what a gorgeous gift.

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  23. Janet - Have you ever attended the Creche Exhibit up in Midway at Christmastime? They have the most amazing displays of nativity sets from all over the world - made of the most unusual materials - your African set would be right at home there! You've been busy, busy! Love the churn dash - the black sashing strips make all the other fabrics pop!

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  24. Your quilts are amazing! Love your nativity set and glad you are enjoying it now:)

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  25. Dang...drooling here again! Your on my TOP TEN for best Quilting blogs...it just keeps getting better and better!

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  26. Those brown/black HSTs are very rich, just as they are in my Knickles quilt. They make for a perfect setting for your wonderful gift from Africa. Sandi

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  27. I so enjoy visiting your blog to see your creations... one is never disappointed!
    Love the churn dash quilt... for me, the churn dash block is a traditional favorite... it says "home" to me.
    Your cable quilting is the perfect choice for the braided mini... I may be copying this idea in the future!
    The batik mini showcases the gifted Nativity set beautifully... I think they were made to go together!
    You are becoming a FMQ feather queen! Absolutely gorgeous!

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  28. Finally getting around to commenting - I LOVE the new photo in your header!! From your back porch? Beautiful!!!

    All your AAQI quilts are adorable!! I too was interested in the patriotic one - but glad that it is going to Houston for all to see!!

    Your churn dash is soooooo cute!! I'm sure Angie will love it. You and Maureen did a grand job!! So fun to share like that!!

    The braided quilt is tops!!! I've seen the braided quilt, but just haven't put it on my list yet!! The little leftover one is cute too!!

    Now the nativity - It is absolutely fabulous!!! And the mat is perfect! I'm so pleased that your friends brought that for you!! So special!!

    Best go for now! I could go on and on about your quilting - keeps me going you know!!

    Blessings and hugs!

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  29. I love what you've been up to... your quilting is jaw-droppingly gorgeous! That African nativity is beautiful, I absolutely love the shapes and the colors and your topper beneath is sets it off to perfection. Your AAQI mini is just beautiful, too! Well done!! :)

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  30. That churn dash is so lovely in all its primitive glory, I just love it. My goodness you have been so very busy making so many pretty quilts, the two pieces in the red and green shirting plaids are so rustic and charming. No one would ever guess that one of them was made up out of "leftovers",LOL! good job!

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  31. Your posts are a feast for the eyes! Love all the machine quilting you are doing...the braid quilt is awesome...well, everything is awesome!

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