Another Lovely Visit!

Has it truly been a year (actually longer than a year!) since Mary was here visiting her sister?  Has it truly been a year since I had the opportunity to meet her and get to know she and Mike and her sister Dorothy?  Mary's blog is Faith Fabric and Photos and she also has a quilting blog called FFP Quilt Corner.  Visit her at both!  Also, last year I posted pictures of her visit to Tucson from Indiana on my main blog A Colorful World...see that post HERE.  Today I want to share on my quilting blog because, after a marvelous lunch at Union, we all headed to Cactus Quilt Shop to do some looking and buying!  Cactus Quilt Shop is located on the corner of Orange Grove Rd. and Oracle Rd. on the west side of town, and has been my "place to go."  They had been to the shop before as well.  We all had a great time getting caught up and visiting, enjoying our marvelous lunch, and then doing that little bit of shopping.  So good to see them again!

Dorothy, Mary and Mike in front of one of the gorgeous quilts hanging in the shop.

We three ladies....Notice how colorful we all were with our shirts!My hubby did not join us, since he so kindly takes care of our grandson so I can get away.  He's such a sweetheart, that way!  I was a little disappointed he got left out both times, so NEXT year! :-)

Interior of the shop.

A rack of vintage quilt treasures near the checkout counter.

I asked permission to pull out one end of the pink applique one so I could take a photo of one of the squares to share with you.  Isn't it adorable!

Free Motion Quilting...Oh My!!!!

You look at pictures of quilts, and you sigh...wow!  Look at all that beautiful quilting!  It isn't just about the piecing or the applique, it's also about amazing quilt stitches!  And, true...many quilts are done by a professional with a longarm quilting machine.  But, many aren't. I look at those and I know that if I don't learn to free motion quilt, I will never have such beautiful quilts! I love intricate designs, and for the most part I have only quilted baby quilts or lapthrows, so turning my quilt under my needle (and stuffing it through the machine throat) wasn't TOO hard....but what about the larger quilts!

Sooooo I am doing my very first free motion quilting...and I have to tell you, it's difficult! :-)  Yes, I'd tried it a couple of times in the past, but not with my new machine, so I practiced for about fifteen minutes on a scrap fabric. Granted, I probably should have kept practicing for about six more MONTHS before I started doing it on my quilt, but I was impatient!  I have removed about a third of the stitching I have done (boy, going backwards is REALLY hard!) but I have to say even with the un-sewing I am enjoying learning this new skill!  Here's a sneak peek....

This was the first thing I did...I didn't even draw it in first.  I have four of these on each corner of a grandmother's flower garden block, and then placed a flower right in the center.

I had already sewn the leaf shapes, but added free motion veins. (Compare them to the quilting I show on my last post--no veins. Big difference!)

I had already made this lozenge shape with straight sewing also, then added the interior designs.  You can see where my straight lines are not up to par!!!

More leaves.

Leaves on part of the center panel, and leaves on the border of that panel. I like the light blue quilting against both the muslin and the darker fabrics.

Still Working on Two Projects

I am now quilting the quilt top I finished early last year.  I will of course show you the whole thing once it's done.  I am machine quilting it with light blue thread (the red threads you see are my basting stitches).  It's a compilation of different squares (I started some of them when we lived in Texas, and did some while living in NC and attending the Va Quilt Bee, then I did a few more squares plus the center panel and all the applique and embroidery work here in Tucson).

I am also working on cutting out the pineapple quilt strips as well.  Had a hold up on that for a while because I ran out of a certain piece of green fabric with pink roses.  I am now doing the last section of colors (the pinks, purples and lavenders) and then I will be finished cutting out all the strips.

This is the pineapple quilt I will be making, except I have changed the colors from the reds and greens to  pinks, purples and tans. I also have a quilt partially pieced of Sawtooth stars for my daughter that I have to get back to.  And of course, I am embroidering that red, yellow and blue panel of flowers for a future quilt as well! :-)  Too many quilts to make, too little time!

Getting There Slowly...and some tea towels to boot!

As I reported earlier, I am working on an embroidery panel that was started and abandoned by my Mom.  I plan to use it as a center panel in a red, yellow and blue quilt later.  It is taking me quite a while to get it done.  here's the progress I have made so far....

As you can see, my work is a little more tight than it should be!

Guess I should try to 'loosen up!" :-)

And I have started making some tea towels out of a large collection of feedsack fabrics I have accumulated over the years!  Here is the first completed one...

And here are some of the fabrics I have chosen to make more...

And as long as I am sharing some of my creations, I thought I might show you a gift I sent to a friend recently.  When my friend from Colorado was here she  really admired these tiles I have hand-glazed back when I was still doing tiles...they weren't set together on a board yet, sealed with mastik, so I did that for her and sent her the gift in the mail.  If you want to check out some of my other tile work, click on Blue Lotus Tile on my profile page.  I don't make these any more, so please don't order anything! :-)  I kind've miss it, though.