Finishing up Summer!

August was FANTASTIC!  So much quilting, so much sunshine, just so much happened it's hard to believe it's September all ready!

August was also a month for finishing projects!  Around the house and yard we've been doing a lot of work landscaping and cleaning and we're starting to feel really proud of our little corner of earth!  The best part was celebrating with friends over Labor Day - sitting back to enjoy how far we've come this year and sharing it with our favorites!

We added a pool!!!  My favorite part of this Summer!!

Mr. Django was our fantastic helper outside - always happy and just so darn cute!!

Watching sailboats from my office!

Labor Day was a fantastic celebration with the best of family and friends!!

In the Studio it was all about finishing up Summer projects!  First was for a Mug Rug Swap from Quilting Gallery!  The theme was "Summer Memories" and my absolute favorite memories all have sailing or being near water around them.  Lucky for me, my amazing swap partner, Marie, also happens to really love sailing.  So designing was easy and a lot of fun!

I was feeling romantic, Summer date nights at the Fair!

Sunset sailing - from memories back home on Lake Ontario!

Made for me by the wonderfully talented Marie!

Last night I finished my Guild's Modern Wall Hanging Challenge and am really, really happy with the outcome.  I stared at the top for 2 months and doodled on post-its a ton until I figured out a theme I was happy with.  My secret design helper, the Hubs, also came to the rescue when I worked myself into a corner!  It is an amazing help to have a second pair of eyes to keep everything balanced and, in my case, to get the non-quilter's point of view! 

"Odd Feather" wall hanging, 20" by 23"

Feathers within feathers quilting.  I took the feather motif of quilting, enlarged it as an applique then added more feather quilting in it.  I have never been more proud of my quilting - so love the outcome!

Pieced back from scraps of the front, shows off a lot more of the quilting!

See you all here soon with updates for the Lap Quilt Summer Challenge as I finish that one up!

Teaser!!

Cheers and happy stitching!!


Mood: Sunny
Music: "Big Black Car" by Gregory Alan Isakov

Sun-Sunny Days!!

I love Summer! Mostly because it means I can go to one of Boston's many beaches!  So when a good friend invited me to a beach outing, I was excited!!

But I couldn't find my beach bag anywhere...! 

Well, it was time to update it anyways, right?  Last Friday evening I whipped up this guy: 

It was super simple to make: cut various width of fabric strips, alternate colors, sew strips into one big panel, fold in half and sew up the bottom and side! Add handles and you're done! I did not want to put a huge amount of effort into a lining or pockets (by all means you can!!) and if I were making it for any other purpose than the beach, I would have put more details into it. I did add top stitching and French seams on the side/bottom to keep things from unraveling but that's as fancy as this one gets! Start to finish, this project took a total of 35 minutes!

Same night, still feeling the glow of a new bag and couldn't shut my brain off.  Plus I had The Princess Bride playing in the background (ooo that Dread Pirate Roberts...!) and ended up with this little tote.  Lately I've been thinking through what our family coat of arms might look like, if I were to create one. Of course it would have to be piratey on some level. Combine the two trains of thought and you get:

Not bad for a project started after midnight!!

The next day was GREAT!!  We went to Revere Beach, just outside Boston.  Our original plan was just to see the annual Sand Sculpture contest. It also happened to be Disney's Kid Triatholon, a country music fest, and the Food Truck fest - all at once on the beach!! What a day!!  It was a bit breezey and cloudy but, with the overwhelming crowds, I didn't mind one bit!  Not to mention just having a great time with friends, new and old! 

I can't rember the exact title but it had something to do with her transforming into waves of the Ocean. 

This one is called "Fear"

This is "Double Vision" - study it a bit you'll see why! And this beauty won first place!

I LOVED this one, called "Eternal Love"

Dedicated to our Troops of all branches of service!

And finally, the sand castle!!

Keep enjoying the Summer Sun and we'll chat soon!  Keep stitchin'!!

Cheers!

Maer

Feathers All Around!!

My poor husband has been so sick the past week or so, making me the loving nurse! He is finally feeling better (thankfully!!) but his nurse caught all his germs.  There is nothing worse than being sick in hot weather, agreed??

Which is why I hid in my sewing studio the past couple days - it has beautiful air conditioning!! :-)

My studio recently got an upgrade, which my fellow tall quilters might appreciate! I've always complained about cutting because it meant bending over to awkward heights. When you are 5'10", the standard table height is not comfy at all.  The Hubs suggested bed raisers. Sold in 4 packs from Amazon or Ikea for roughly $15, these are back savers!!! Best $15 I've ever spent!

Today's post is a combo of 2 different day's work, both of which are part of my Guild's summer challenge.  We were given the panetone of Radient Orchid and told to create a wall hanging using at least one fat 16th of that color.  Luckily it happens to be one of my favorite colors!!

The top I made 2 weeks ago and really enjoyed making it! It is fusible applique with random pieced sides, no boarders.  It measures 24" by 21".

I held on to all the scraps in order to make the back - today's project!  despite feeling like Death warmed over, I had a lot of fun with this.  And I find myself loving the back a smidge more than the front...  

Did this just become a pair of wall hangings?  Or perhaps a double sided piece to blow in the breeze?

Next step - quilting!! Which will be my weekend project!

Enjoy the sunshine!!

Cheers!

~M

Laptopped

Talk about a scorcher, woo!! I love Summer but I love Summer because of air conditioning.  We just built a sewing studio in the only room in our house without air conditioning... So I worked in shifts today rotating to other, cooler rooms of the house!

I have needed a new laptop bag for ages and today I finally had the chance to make it!  This was my first complex style bag, taking it a step beyond just a simple tote. Lined, with stiffening batting and a few quickie pockets, I did pieced bottom, sides and a curvy front flap. I haven't decided on a fastener just yet but that can come later. And to make it my style, I had to add an applique feather or two!!

The front!

The back with the flap open.

The inside. The whole project was done with leftovers of previous quilts so the feathers don't exactly match pinks but I love all the fabrics, so yay for mismatched!!

All packed for the office tomorrow!

Stay cool my friends!!

~Maer

Starry chevrons

Today was a red, white & blue kind of day, I'm always excited for July 4th!! We recently repainted our dining room to a bright blue & white, picked because I've always wanted a Colonial style dining room. Secretly, I think I picked these colors because they are so fun to decorate with during the Summer!!

So today my job was to make placemats for our new dining room!! I've always wanted to do something with chevrons - today was my chance!! The fabrics were part of a collection I picked up at our Guild's UFO auction last year and are actually Christmas fabrics - tho I think they work great as Americana, too!!

 I think later, they might become our picnic mats, after I add the binding that is... :-)

But I couldn't stop with the mats. I had a few leftovers that were just begging to be used! Pink the edges, add some twine, and a cute banner is made to match!

And our dining room is ready for the 4th!!

Happy 4th!!!

Cheers, 

M

Catching up, as always!!

2014, so far, has been a year of action.  And good action, at that.  Since last we chatted, I've taken up part time work for an amazing bio-tech firm here in Boston as a legal writer.  I'm sure there will be a time when I go further into what I do and where it is I work, just let me say  that, by far, this phenomenal company has been one of the best experiences in my career!

Another massive(ly awesome) change is that I'm married!!  For many, many reasons, J and I felt like we needed to move up our date and got married May 3rd in Pekin, NY (just outside Niagara Falls...).  We had an intimate, outdoor ceremony with our family and nearest-dearest friends and a small dinner after. A rainy, cold day turned out to be a sunny afternoon just in the nick of time and we had a beautiful, memorable day.

Among the many, many wonderful people who shared in our day was our lovely photographer, Elizabeth Snyder of Elizabeth Snyder Photography.  Most of the above photos are hers and we are so thrilled to have these keepsakes.  She has even more lovely photos (not just of our day...) on her blog - check it out!!






Quilting in 2014 has been a great experience so far this year!  You may remember the Bright Day of Thanks Turkey from this past Thanksgiving - he's been busy traveling and has had great success.  We're very proud of him!

In March I was invited to enter the Amherst, NY Guild show and decided to do a piece new for that show.  "Bloomin' Spring Peacocks" was lucky enough to win President's Choice in New York and will be traveling out to Grand Rapids, MI this August for the American Quilter's Society Quilt Week Show.  I'm beyond excited to attend the show and will be sure to post LOTS of pictures of the show!

This past weekend, I had the great luck to participate in a get-together in Rindge, NH at Franklin Pierce University with some of the greatest quilting friends a gal could imagine!  We were surrounded by gorgeous nature, situated on a lake, and got to sew to our hearts' content!!  I left not knowing entirely what I'd be doing and worried because I've had a bit of a dry spell as far as creativity.  For future reference to anyone who feels this way, the instant fix is to surround yourself with fellow creators and artists and you can't help but feel the inspiration flow!  I came back with so many ideas, I'm nervous I won't get them down on paper in time before I forget them!  Love my Proper Bostonian Ladies!!

Binding in the sunshine and breeze!

This was my view from my machine - amazing!

Everyone hard at work!

Project experiment #1 - I'll be continuing this one as a paper pieced quilt.

Another experimental project using Kona solid charm squares.  I will play around with the background spacing and flow of colors.

If you are at all interested in checking out the quilting scene in Boston you can find more info here for the Proper Bostonian Quilters Guild or, of course, you can always ask me!  

Thanks for checking in!  Stay tuned this summer - I have a feeling it's going to be a very colorful season!!

Cheers!

Mood: Chipper
Music: "Come with me Now!" by KONGOS