Unity Quilt Block

The internet is such a fabulous communication tool. Last Thursday I learned that there was a group in Israel asking Jews the world over to send a quilt block so that quilts can be made for the families of the three Israeli boys that were kidnapped and subsequently murdered a few weeks ago. I knew I had to make one.
The block needed to be 10" and predominantly blue and white. This was the first block that I made. (It looks quite yellow due to the lighting, or lack thereof. )I thought about how the many diverse pieces of fabric represented all of the diverse people around the world who were mourning for these three young men.

Then I added a heart, thinking about all of the hearts that were breaking for these three families.

At this point I thought the appliqué did nothing to enhance the block and vice versa. The background was just too busy. Contrast continues to be an issue for me.
So I decided to create another background that had a simpler pattern.

And then added three hearts with high contrast, to represent the three young men.

I sent it off to Israel via US Mail and it will arrive in 7-10 days.
I certainly hope these quilts give some comfort to these families. They will feel the love from around the world.


If you would like to participate, here's the blog address:

www.unityquilts.blogspot.com

The deadline is August 15th.  If mailing from the U.S., it takes 7-10 days to get to Israel.

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It's A a Happy Birthday

I usually have trouble buying gifts. I change my mind a million times trying to come up with the perfect gift that the receiver will love. I make myself crazy. It's just not intuitive for me. EXCEPT, for my DIL. She has so many interests and is so passionate about many of them. She is Martha Stewart mixed with Carter Oosterhouse (from HGTV) mixed with Bear Grylls!

She built this table and benches using discarded wood from a store.

I found this very funny tote bag on a weekend trip to NYC from this wonderful store called West Elm. I couldn't resist.

And I just loved those Wecks canning jars. She made apple butter and a bunch of other canned items last year.

And then to appeal to her handy woman side, I found a great tool apron. A little embroidery made it special for her. Can you see the Shop Fox label?

I had to do a bit of a repair job myself. I sewed over the belt on the back side when I was doing the embroidery. Oops! I hope she doesn't notice.

Happy Birthday Loren!

 

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For Pet Lovers Only

This is my most favorite quilt that I have ever created. I love my dog, Bailey, and I love this quilt. If my house was on fire and I had to grab one of my quilts, it would be this one. I spent 2 months creating it during the winter of 2013. You can read about it HERE.

I brought my Bailey quilt to MAQ last weekend as a possible class for next year. A few people approached me about offering a workshop outside of MAQ as a retreat for them to recreate their dog. Then a few more and a few more. I had the beginnings of a list.

So I'm putting it out there. I have a lake house in the Pocono Mountains of Pennsylvania. I have done retreats there before. I can accommodate 5 women. So I'm thinking about doing a 3 day retreat in the fall or spring. It will include lodging, food and instruction for you to create your own Pet Headshot from a photo. You can do your dog or cat or iguana.

I haven't chosen the dates yet, but this is the makings of a long weekend engrossed in the love of our best friend and other like minded quilters. If you are interested, shoot an email to oyveyquilts@yahoo.com. When I choose a date I will email whoever is on my list.

 

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MAQ Fun Class Of The Day

Of course I had to share my Curvalicious class as the fun class of the day. I had such a great class of women. It was a mixture of beginners and more experienced quilters. I knew some of the ladies from last year and some of them from my local area. They all made great progress and I was so proud at the Show n a Tell on Saturday night as they paraded across the stage.

 

 

This was new to me. A wallpaper seam roller to press open seams. I have to go find mine, because my wallpapering days are over.

The quiltaperazzi!

Day 3 I taught my fiber mosaics. It was a perfect class for a Sunday.

A no sewing machine class.

Can't wait until next year. Thank you to all of the staff that worked so hard to make this a wonderful experience. And I am so happy to have reconnected with women from last year and to have made so many new friends.

Try it next year. You won't regret it.

 

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MAQ's Fun Class Of The Day

Today was the first day of the Mid Appalachian Quilters get together. I wasn't teaching today, so I was able to check out a bunch of the classes and chat with teachers and students. It was great to see all the different classes being offered. There was definitely one class that I would have loved to take. Theresa Fusco, a fire cracker of a test her, was teaching how to make your own unique floor cloth.

It looked like so much fun and I wish I had been one of her students. The students loved her. Everyone had a blast and they all finished, except for the final seal coat. Here are a bunch of photos of the floor mats in different stages:

Teresa gets down and dirty with her students.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The class was so well received that she is going to do it again next year.

Check her out: www.teresasquiltstudio.com

 

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Where Do I Buy My Silk?

I am often asked where do I by my dupioni silk. Although Philadelphia has a fabric district, it is a mere shadow of what it used to be, so I hop on the bus and travel to the garment district of NYC. This is my shop:

It's called Butterfly Fabrics or Bazar Fabrics, located on 39th street. All the fabrics in the store are from India. Looking at all their beautiful fabrics, I wish I had a fancy event to attend because I would love a ball gown made from many of their them. This is their wall of silk dupioni:

If I won the lottery I would buy 1 yard of every single color. My favorite ones are those that are iridescent made using a different color silk thread for the warp and the weft. I was there shopping for my upcoming workshop at the Mid Appalachian Quilts education seminar.

There's construction everywhere in NY. This is outside of the shop.Lots of scaffolding.

I met my cousin who lives in Manhatten when I was done shopping. We visited the Hell's Kitchen Flea. I passed it walking to the Garment District from the bus stop and it looked irresistible. I don't know what came over me, but I couldn't resist these African masks.

And I bought one!

My cousin spoils me when we get together. She had a list of things we could do, but we ended up catching up and visiting with her dear, sweet dog. She did take me to the roof of her apartment building and what a treat that was.

And look at these views:

Empire State Building

The Chrysler Building. This is my favorite building in the city. I remember when I did a Wednesdays Wandering block about this building. You can see the post HERE.

And I love these old water cisterns.

And of course we had lunch at a wonderful deli. I had the most delicious matzah ball soup with half a summery egg salad sandwich on real rye bread - that's with carroway seeds. Yum!

 

 

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Done! And It Feels Good

I finished my silk flower quilt. It measures about 40" square. I call it Chrysanthemums. I love the combination of dupioni silk and batiks. A little bit of hot pink velvet thrown in, really makes it pop.

Most of the flowers aren't perfectly symmetrical. I blame it on my discomfort and working in the mountains without all my tools. It is said that to do a job right, you need the right tools. I do love my nested acrylic circles.

I have started doing a lot of my bindings completely by machine. Why not? Not only is it quicker, but it think it will last longer over time. I have to admit that it has taken several quilts before it has gotten less nerve wracking. I still have corner issues. But I have them even when I bind by hand.

Here are some photos of how I attach my binding by machine.

The first step is to stitch double fold binding to the wrong side of the quilt with a 1/4" seam allowance.

 

Then I turn it to the front, just covering the stitching line and top stitch it down. I move my needle to the left so I can use the edge of my walking foot as a guide.

The only place where I pin my binding is as I approach the corners. I try my best to make it as perfect as I can.

As I miter each corner, I stitch into the point and back out again and then continue on my merry way.

I stitch into the corner and back out, turn the quilt 90 degrees with my needle down, and then keep going on my merry way. I stitch the entire binding down without cutting my thread. I tie them off at the end.

While we were in the Poconos, we surprised the kids and took them out to dinner where they were married. I can't believe it was 2 years ago. When I made the reservations, I made a note that this was their wedding reception location. Lo and behold, they brought over flutes of champagne for all of us to celebrate. How lovely.

 

Bailey was kind enough to put up with Cooper. Kind of!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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