Six years in the making... and it's finished! - #10

Yippee!! I finished my NY Beauty quilt on 7/28/16... only six years after starting it.

I loved making this quilt since it was a first in so many ways. I tried paper piecing for the first time... I found free blocks online (here) and printed them off onto bond paper. And, at first, it was a real struggle to wrap my head around how to paper piece since it seemed as though I was wasting a huge amount of fabric! :) But, I got over that and with practice, I came to quite like paper piecing. I also used some batiks and a lot of my own hand-dyed fabrics - something I've not done before this quilt although I have a huge stash of batiks and quite a lot of my own hand-dyed fabrics.

As you can see, I quilted it using organically straight lines about 1/2 inch apart since I wanted a more modern look than these quilts are known for having. I agonized for quite some time trying to decide how to quilt it, but kept coming back to the straight, vertical lines. Even as I started it, I wasn't sure it was the right choice. But, I love the way it looks so I'm happy I went with my instincts. And, it's the 10th WIP I'm able to cross of my list for 2016... I'm on a roll!

Progress shots along the way are here, here, here, and here!

When I showed it to my husband he said, "Wow... that's a work of art!" That made my day!

I've finally caught up posting finished projects and from now on, I hope to keep them in order! It got confusing (even to me and I knew what I was doing)!

Take care,

Wanna do a little shopping?

I'm participating in Bonnie's Saturday Yard Sale today and I thought you, too, might be interested in seeing what I've got listed to sell. I'm using my Quilternity Too/Two site to do it and if you go here you'll see lots of goodies!!

Blogger's Quilt Festival....my quilt

Even though this quilt isn't finished, it's my very favorite so far. That's really hard to say about just one quilt because every quilt I've ever made has been a learning experience. It's just that I've learned sooooo much making this one.

I admit that I was terrified of paper-piecing before I started to make this quilt. And, not just a little bit. I didn't paper-piece for a number of years after the technique was introduced. That's really not like me so you know how afraid I was. For one thing, my mind doesn't automatically work the way paper-piecing requires, but I've overcome my fear and now find it rather challenging and then rewarding to complete a block/quilt. This will be my first entirely paper-pieced quilt when it is finished.


You'll notice there is a space for another block. I've completed several more blocks than show in this quilt but not the one for this space yet. I'm going to put one more row around the entire thing. I just thought the photo looked better this way for now.

I've also used many of my own hand-dyed fabrics in the making of this quilt. That's another departure for me since I'm not overly fond of "solids" or fabrics that "read" solid.

And, even though the size of this quilt will be manageable for me to quilt if I want to, I've promised it to Jackie. Once I saw the quilting she did on a customer's New York Beauty quilt, I was hooked. The problem is....she may have to wait a while before I get it completed! :)

Thanks for visiting!

Blogger's Quilt Festival...are you ready?

Tomorrow starts the Blogger's Quilt Festival! Are you ready to join in? I participated in the one last spring and it was great fun. The Quilt Festival is run by Amy at Park City Girl and she does a terrific job!


This time I'll also participate as a sponsor and this is the prize I've donated.


Hope you join in!

I took a couple days last week and dyed some fabrics, t-shirts, and beach sarongs. I love dyeing fabrics and usually just mix up some colors and go for it. I'm not a planner when it comes to dyeing. I love washing the fabrics after they've been batching and pulling them out of the dryer to see what surprises I've got.

I did a two-color run using Better Black and Bronze and I absolutely love how it turned out. My photos do not do any of the dyed fabrics justice. They are very deep colors and very color-saturated!


Another two-color run using Lapis to Black Cherry. I love these colors! Honestly, I need to dye some medium and light shades, but I just can't seem to force myself to do it. :)


This photo shows all the fabrics I did. I haven't taken photos of the t-shirts or beach sarongs yet, but will do that soon! Two of the t-shirts are gifts so I don't want the recipients to see what I've done just quite yet!


Lastly, I did a two-color run using Olive Drab and Sun Yellow. I didn't realize that I was using a different fabric than I normally use and that it has a flaw running through it too. You can see the flaw in the photo - it's a lighter line across each piece of fabric.

Since I can't sell this fabric and I have a LOT of this color in my personal stash already I thought it might be fun to give-it-away. It's really quite mottled and lovely in person. If anyone is interested in this fabric - eight 1/2 yard pieces (that's 4 yards) - just leave me a comment and I'll pick a random winner sometime next week. I would love to hear what you might use it for.


Take care,

This is the quilt that is on my design wall right now. I've been working on it for quite awhile and I guess I've started to take it for granted. When I took this photo I realized just how much I like it and want to finish it.

I've been using quite a few of my own hand-dyed fabrics in this which is very different for me. I've always been one to use prints and prided myself on never owning a single "solid". I still don't love "solids", but hand-dyeds are somewhat solid although mottled.

I can see in the photo that it needs more contrast. I've used a lot of mediums and darks, but not many lights. I'll have to work on that.


I'm planning to put one more row of blocks around the entire quilt and then I think I'll be done!

Some more of my recent hand-dyed fabric to show you. It's always when I'm playing around that I get the most interesting results, I think. I've got many more of these to get listed...I wish I could hire one of you to help me. :)) There are only so many hours in a day, ya know?


I love this one and I'm keeping it. I keep very few of my hand-dyed's but every now and then one just "grabs" me. I don't yet know how I'll use it, but it will look great sitting in my studio until I decide!



This one is fun and was truly unplanned. It just happened. That's what's so fun about dyeing fabric.



And this last one is very color-saturated. I can see a flower in the upper right-hand corner. With the perfect quilting and maybe some beading, couching, etc. it could be exquisite!

Here's a second batch of fabric I recently dyed. I guess it's pretty obvious that I'm ready for fall. September rolls around and I'm usually tired of the hot weather and ready for something cooler.


But, the weather usually remains beautiful and warm, sometimes even hotter, until well into October.


These last three are 1-yard pieces. All the others were half-yard size. Both sizes are fun to dye, but half-yards go further!









Take care,

I've managed to do a bit of fabric dyeing recently. The first of this season...I can't believe I've been too busy to dye fabric before this!!! Anyway, I was playing around with color and got these...



















and these. The second batch are commercial fabrics I overdyed...just for the fun of it!

How fun!

Hoffman Bali Pops are here!!


Precut 2 1/2" x 44" strips, in a 40-piece collection. These "Pops" come in a delicious assortment of patterns and colors. Including...

Butterscotch,


Kiwiberry,


Mint Chip,


Mulberry,


Sherbert, and


Strawberry Fields.


Aren't they great? Hurry, because I only have a limited supply. I was told by Hoffman, that they probably would not re-ship.

The 3-in-1 Color Tool is here! I ordered a dozen and before I could even get them listed, five had already sold! This is a wonderful tool, as I mentioned here. I cannot live without mine and think you will feel the same way once you get yours!

I've got a huge pile of hand-dyed fabrics that I need to get listed on my website, but I thought I would show you a few first. Every time I dye fabrics, it's a thrill because I never really know how they will look when completed. Even as I wash them it's not obvious. Only as I iron them do I see how absolutely gorgeous they are. I don't mean to be immodest, it's just that I think every piece of hand-dyed fabric is gorgeous no matter who does the dyeing. Anyway, here are just a few...




This last fabric is an overdyed commercial fabric which was originally black and white.