EZ Quilters - August

Last week our monthly EZ Quilters meeting was at Liz Isom's house.  Her house is so fun to visit.  She is quite the collector from antiques to quilts to small handmade objects, many by her.  I could just wander around her house for days looking at everything she has collected.   and she lets me touch stuff ;]

After looking at these pictures, I have decided that I really need to work on my photography skills.  But hopefully you can get the gist from these candid shots.

Sandra Usher had a lot to share.  She has been a busy girl this summer, with her visiting 10 year old grandson, but she still managed to get some beautiful quilts completed.  This quilt has cameos of little baby angels and scripture.  This is a gift for one of the ladies at her church.  The soft florals are her MO and she does some beautiful work with them.

Here is another she made from the leftovers fo the previous one.  Just gorgeous!

This one is a gift for her brother's library.  She did some fabulous quilting on it and used some different textured fabrics.  The pictures don't do it justice, it is such a treasure.

Next was Liz Isom.  This one is a piece she made for her brother who is a wine connoisseur and she made this applique quilt for him.

She does some beautiful work with panel fabrics.  I don't know where she finds these but it is amazing what she does with them.  The way she quilts it, its hard to tell where the panel stops and the piecing begins.

This is a wool quilt that she recently completed.  It is just stunning and again the photo just doesn't cut it.  I just love her work.

 Next up was Sharon Sutton.  She has a real love for Christmas and scrap quilts.  Here you will see how wonderfully those two go together.  This is a string quilt.  My photo shows it a little dark but it is really bright and just lovely.

Here is another string Christmas quilt by Sharon.  She is really good at making scrappy look planned.










My pal Joan Rossen has been diligently working on this tumbling blocks quilt.  She asked is there a way to do this by machine? We couldn't think of anything.  The fun part here is that when I showed her this picture, the 3D really pops out.  I think its hard to see when you are too close to the project, as in putting in every stitch one at a time.  You can see that a black border is starting to develop around the outside.  Can't wait to see this as it progresses.


 

Here is my show and tell.  Its little about 12" block.  I got the idea from One Day in May, A Wreath for All Seasons  http://onedayinmay.typepad.com/one-day-in-may-creations/2011/06/a-giveaway-where-everybody-wins.html  

It is such a pleasure each month to visit with these ladies and see what has been cooking up in their quilt studios.

With my sewing machine out of commission I have been working on hand projects and as you know they go more slowly.  I finally got it back and have been sewing all weekend.  So hopefully I will have some more to share soon.

Hope you all get to quilt this week.

Love Aunti Nicole

It never rains in Southern California!

But it pours, Man it pours!  I love a rainy day when my husband and I are posted up in our house on the hill.  He is in the other room gaming (DC Universe) and I am in my sewing room finishing up some little projects I have due soon.  I'm back to work full-time so I really only get my weekends to come into my sewing room.

My Wool Gatherer's friendship group is making an auction quilt for our Flying Geese Quilt Guild's Bi Annual Quilt Show in Oct.  I'll post more details about the show as we come closer to it.  Mark Your Calendar for a visit to Orange County, California the first weekend in October.

My contribution to the quilt is a single block. I have been struggling with the wool projects I have been doing.  Most of what I have done has been really primitive and unfinished looking.  

I have come to the conclusion that the fun is in the embellishments. I have had a ball making these leaves and flowers 3d.....

.....and my little spider buddy.  Proof that baby anythings are cute.  

I'll share pictures of this quilt as it develops.  Can't wait to see what everyone brings to our meeting on March 30th.  

Have a great week,  hope you all get to sew!

Love Aunti Nicole

Finishing Touches

So nice to have Christmas Eve off work tomorrow.  Mom and Dad are visiting and we will probably sew and cook all weekend.  Nice!

Last Gift is for my Gramma who found only recently that she loves embroidery. I made this little wooley needle case for her.   Kinda looks like it got socked in the eye but ok.  I will place this in a box with gobs of other embroidery goodies, like floss and an organizer box and on and on.

 Mom said the butterfly should be in color, but the butterfly was an after thought, he's lucky to be there at all    

I wish you all a Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!  I hope you all get to visit with family and share the warmth and joy ....and food that family can bring.  

Peace on Earth to all y'all.

Love

Aunti

A bit Sheepish

A few months ago I joined a new friendship group.  The group is called "Wool Gatherer's" and I would say rightly named on all accounts. 

wool·gath·er·ing  –noun

1. indulgence in idle fancies and in daydreaming; absentmindedness.
2. gathering of the tufts of wool shed by sheep and caught on bushes.

The group is a great group of women from the Orange County area. All are extremely experienced quilters. Our common goal is to have a support group while we emmerse ourselves into the art of woolgathering. Each week I hear of new tools and materials to use in quilting with wool. I am so engrossed in our meetings that I forget to take pictures to post for you or write down the tips that I hear, but I promise I'll try harder ;P and share what I learn here.

So this is my first piece 28"x20", pattern by Lake View Primitives called "Love in the Spring."  My nieces helped me pick out the bead for the sheeps and birds eyes.  It really didn't take too long once I shut and started sewing.  I mounted it to a thick piece of fusible that I had wrapped in Kona black.  

 My 2nd project is almost done and I'll post it as soon as its done. 

Have a great weekend.

Aunti

Nicole