EBAY ROCKS!

Remember way back when Mary blogged about not winning the chicken wall hanging pattern on Ebay?  I think she told you that Marsha had alerted her to the pattern and Mary, in turn, alerted me to what was posted because there were several redwork patterns up for bid as well.  (And everyone knows how much I like that!)  Well, I didn't win the patterns I wanted, but I did win a Sunbonnet Sue "tweener" (isn't that what they call 11-13 year olds now?) applique pattern.  It is really cute.  The dresses and bonnets are appliqued and the details are embroidered.  One Sue plays with a puppy, another is holding a watering can, you get the idea.  Unfortunately, I put the pattern away so I wouldn't lose it and then "lost" where "away" was, so I can't show you the cover.  Sigh...

In any case, for some reason I kept an eye on that particular vendor, and she (I am assuming it is a she) put up some more items.  I placed the asking bid on this embroidery pattern.  I think they look like the Campbell Soup kids.

Not too bad for $2.99, huh?  (Though God knows I don't need any more transfer patterns. I think it's a sickness, really I do.)

Among the other items up for bid, 3 caught my eye described variously as 6x6 inch Asian prints, 50 or 40+ or 49+ pieces and the asking bid was $7.99.  There was one bid on the 50 piece package.  I was pretty sure I knew what was being offered and bid on the other two.  There were no other bids and I won!   The package arrived yesterday.  Here is a sample:

I must tell you that I am thrilled.  These are exactly what I thought they were.  There are at least 90 6x6 inch squares and they are all different fabrics (well, there are 3 or 4 that have a twin) and all Asian prints.  I have some Asian print yardage that I have been accumulating, hoping to have enough to make a quilt someday (the fabric is really expensive).  I think I may have enough now, don't you?

Liri

THE PHILADELPHIA "INTERNATIONAL" FLOWER SHOW

I went to the Philadelphia "International" Flower Show on Thursday, March 4.  Note the quotations around International.  For as long as I can remember it has been the Philadelphia Flower Show.  The International was inserted this year - I don't know if it will be permanent.  The show is held at the Philadelphia Convention Center but I can remember when it was held at the 34th Street Convention Center. 

Because I have been attending for so many years, there is very little that really captures my attention and makes me say "Oooo, Aaaah".  Now don't get me wrong, the Flower Show is ALWAYS beautiful.  With all the plants and flowers it really can't help it.  But, there is very little that has real WOW factor - for me, at least.  So without further ado, here are some pictures of exhibits that had a bit of WOW factor, in my humble opinion. 

From the India display:

From the Africa Display:  (The shaggy one is a Lion)

I am not sure where these next two critters came from.  Isn't he scary?  He's a water feature.

And this is Mr. Lobster:

Bamboo.  This went all the way to the ceiling.  The gentleman in the front was six foot tall, just to give you an idea of the scale.

 And, of course, the prerequisite orchids.  This one is a tree.  The guy in the second picture is also a six footer.

More Orchids

Every now and then, an exhibit captures my attention and actually makes me say WOW out  loud.  These next pictures show that exhibit.  The plant bottles were suspended with monofilament twine and filled with colored water.  The plants in the bottles graduated in color up a slope to the back.  I don't know how else to describe it, but a picture is worth a thousand words, as they say.

Don't you just love the color gradations?

Normally, I don't do much shopping at the show.  The merchandise is overpriced for the most part and any plant material is better left for another month, or even two, because it is too cold outside just yet.  However, this year I found something that will speak to all my quilty friends.  Isn't this just lovely?

It is an Indian market bag.  It's all purply and embroidered, very deep and it slings over your shoulder.  I love it and used it this weekend at the flea market.  Drafting a pattern from the bag shouldn't be very hard.  When I get it done, I will share if you are interested. 

Liri

PHILLY MODERN QUILT GUILD

OK, so this blog is a little late!  I attended the first meeting of the Philly Modern Quilt Guild on Saturday, February 27th.  I met Christine (Stitch Niche).  What a thrill after having blogged with her for so long.  Oh, and she does absolutely beautiful work!  There isn't much to report from the first meeting 'cause it was mostly the administrative stuff being set up - choosing officers, deciding on dues, determing in what direction the guild wants to go, that sort of thing.  We have over 50 members but there were only 13 at the meeting - 2 had to cancel at the last minute!  In any case, it was fun to finally meet women who share my passion!  No blank stares when mentioning fat quarters & jelly rolls.  I am looking forward to the next meeting in March!

Liri

CATHEDRAL WINDOWS

I did a lot of research before I made my first quilt - reading books, looking at pictures and magazines.  The first time I laid eyes on a Cathedral Windows quilt, I knew that I wanted one, but geez, it looked like an overwhelming task.  I really didn't think I would ever be able to make one.  But once I got a few quilts under my belt, there was no stopping me!  I started constructing a Cathedral Windows in January of 2009.  Here is a picture of some of the blocks:

My APQ Blogger Buddies have seen these shots before.  By June of 2009 I had this much completed:

I am doing all the work by hand.  The quilt is now wide enough for a queen size bed with a 12-14 inch drop on each side.  I am now working on the length.   Here is what it looks like now:

This is one end.

Here is the other.

This is a shot of the back.  Hope you can see the stitching:

I've run out of the muslin fabric I have been using.  It is unbleached but almost white.  This requires a trip to JoAnne's Fabrics.  I still have plenty of colored squares.  I really like how it is turning out.  Here is a question:  Do you think I should bind it?  Traditionally, a Cathedral Window is not bound but I am worried about the edges "unsewing" themselves just through handling.  What do you think?

Liri

PINK LADIES

In my last post, I told you about the Playful Puppies I made for my grandsons and that I had a third puppy transfer for another grand.  Marsha suggested that, if the next grand is a girl, I should do the quilt in pink.  Well, I did this quilt in pink - sort of.

I had an idea for a quilt before I made the first puppy quilt, but it was very nebulous.  I had always liked the Southern Belles embroidery designs.  My idea was to compose (like that word!) a quilt with the Belles embroidered in pink.  I actually gathered quite a few.  But the Belles demanded colors - there was just too much detail to do them all in pink.

Joanne's Fabrics carries a line of embroidery transfer patterns called Aunt Martha's.  A lot of these patterns are day-of-the-week designs and she didn't let me down.  I found the perfect transfers for the quilt - Old-fashioned Southern Belles in just the perfect size.  I did them up all in pink!

I had planned on using the Irish Chain blocks like in the red and white quilts, but the little ladies had other ideas.  They wanted pink and white crazy quilt blocks!  Put on my thinking cap and came up with a method using ribbon and lace to make the blocks look like crazy quilts.  It worked!

The border was an accident.  The original idea was a ribbon border, but a little finagling and a touch of serendipity and I ended up with something completely different (I almost ran out of fabric, too.)  But that worked, too.    Here is how it started:

Here is how it ended up:

So here is the Pink Ladies quilt!

And here is the sweet little girl I made it for.  Her name is Gabrielle (Gabby for short).  She is the daughter of my dear friend, former coworker and adopted son, Luis Torres. 

And here is the pillow sham:

Luis was and is the best friend of my two sons, Luke and Joe. He and my sons grew up together all through elementary school and into high school. Somethimes I wasn't sure just how many sons I had, LOL!  Which then brings me to the quilt I made when Luis got married.   But that's a story for another time!

Liri

WITH TWO YOU GET "PLAYFUL PUPPIES"

Alice of  BCQuilter challenged us to write about our first quilts.  Well, I can't write about the first one without including a second.  (The second was actually my 4th quilt.)  You will see why.

I spent about 4 years reading and researching quilting before I ever attempted my first quilt.  Everything I read made quilting seem really complicated and difficult, which really surprised me because I have been a sewer all my life.  Makes me laugh because those of us who learned by sewing clothing think quilting is difficult and those who learned by quilting think making clothing is difficult.  I looked at patterns and blocks, read directions, bought magazines, cutting mats, rotary cutter, pins (already had plenty of fabric), put sampler blocks together, and practiced pressing, but was never motivated (make that confident) enough to attempt a fulll-size quilt.  And then I found a quilt pattern in a little book that combined redwork embroidery and irish chain quilt blocks.

Well, I fell in love with the pattern (still love it) and decided within 5 seconds that I would make that quilt for my grandson, Liam (he's my first grand).  Instead of using the redwork designs from the book, I already had transfers for day of the week puppies (did I mention I love hand embroidery?), so decided to use them.  Cut the fabric, stamped it and started the embroidery.  I embroidered 4 sets of puppies using different shades of red. Found the red and white fabrics, paying careful attention to buy a light, medium and dark (I had never bought fabric that way before) and jumped in with both feet.  Here is the quilt:

That is Liam and my daughter in the picture.   Here is a look at the detail:

I made a pillow sham to match:

Here is Liam with his pillow sham:

 
But, Liam has a little brother, Warren.  So, of course, you can't make for one and not the other.  So, I found another set of puppies and made the same quilt for Warren.  The fabrics are diffent but the pattern is the same.  Here is Warren's quilt:

This is Warren and my daughter in the picture.  Here is a look at the detail:

Here is the pillow sham:

(I make pillow shams for all my quilts.)   The  two quilts are called "Playful Puppies I" and "Playful Puppies II".    I have a third set of puppy transfers for a future grandson, too, but we won't tell my daughter that - yet (BIG GRIN).

Liri