Birds of a feather

Flock together!

Look what little birdie flew in from Tennessee, Mary Keasler!  We had SO much fun.  She got to come to the Rebels meeting.  Then we went to the Pacific West Quilt Show.  Here are a few of my favorites from the show.

This was made of wool from thrift stores and free boxes.

One of my favorite quilt makers, Jean Wells, of Sisters, Oregon.

Nancy Lee Chong

Ode to Matisse

I just finished hand-quilting this piece. It's a rendition of "Ivy in Flower," made by Henri Matisse in 1953. His was 112" square. Mine is 38." It's one of the many wonderful collages he made late in his life. It's my first attempt at hand-applique.



The stitching isn't perfect, but I don't mind. I would never make anything if I was striving for perfection!




This is the first time I've used a facing, instead of binding. It's really just a binding, turned all the way to the back.



After a year of working on the Matisse piece, I've become addicted to hand-work. I get fidgety if I don't have something to stitch in the evenings. Do you? This weekend, I started hand-quilting this. It should take me up through the end of the year at least. Phew!



Meanwhile, look what came in the mail from Tonya over at Lazy Gal! We'd been talking about thrift store finds, and I'd been drooling over her sunny, Florida plaids. These bright, clear colors are almost impossible to find here, in the moist Northwest. So I sent her some of my "b__uglies," in trade for some of her plaids. And she threw in the labels too! I tell you, I got the good end of this deal! If you haven't already, make sure and visit her to see the happy stars she's making with these.

Confessions of a Thrift Store Junkie

Like many of you, I've been shopping thrift stores for bargain shirts for the last couple of years. I love to cut them up and mix them with new fabrics from the quilt shops. I think the clothing fabric adds a sense of history and nostalgia to our quilts.



Deb Rowden said on her blog recently that you get about a yard of fabric from a man's 4XL shirt. And look what else you get! You can take these seams...



And make these balls.



You can arrange flowers in the buttons.




You can see where some of the old quilting designs may have come from. The collars could make Dresden plates.



The cuffs might become rail fences.



And here's my thrift store stash. You can see it's pretty full. Better get sewing!

So gratifying

Just got this photo from my friends Janet and Jen in NYC. Doesn't it just warm your heart to see one of your quilts in use?

Quilted at last!

The last few weeks, I've been quilting old tops from a year or two ago. This one's called "Green Spools" because it's made from 100% "green" (recycled) fabrics and, well, it's green. If you look closely, you can see the Old Navy signature on the grey spool.



I love fabrics from the 1970's, back when I was a teen and energetic young woman. The border fabric is from that era--you know--peace, love and flower power.



The back is from a garage sale. I love the old wall paper look.





This one I call "Sunshine and Scraps." It's inspired by one I saw on the Material Obsession site a few years ago. Everything came from my stash.







The Amy Butler fabric on the back came from a sale rack a few months ago.

Special thanks to Shelly for her encouragement about free-motion quilting. As she says, "Sit up straight, stick the girls out and breathe."

A Few Finishes

Finally quilted this top, which I made two years ago. It's a stack and cut pattern from the book, Certifiably Crazy, by Janet Nesbitt and Pam Soliday of Buggy Barn Quilts. I made it all from thrift store shirts. The shirt backs work nicely as fat quarters.



This fabric is on the back. I found it at Goodwill, 4 yards for about $2. This really took me down memory lane. In 1973, my high school graduation dress was made of the same fabric!


Here's another one made from those shirts. It's a pattern from Priscilla Bianchi's book, Caliente quilts!


This is the back. I found this fabric at a yard sale, and bought it all--I think I have 12 yards of it.



This quilt just came back from being quilted by the lovely Holly at The Quilting Loft. It's off to NYC for Janet and Jen's 10th anniversary! I thought it looked nice with the Johnson's Blue geraniums.

Vintage Quilt Rescue

I've fallen in love with vintage fabrics! In Sisters, I bought this quilt top for $39. The little rosebuds and paisleys really caught my eye. This quilt contains four different rosebuds and three paisleys. Apparently they ran out of one and added another. That adds all the more charm.




The sashing appears to be newer than the blocks. Both are machine pieced. I almost didn't buy the top because of the sashing. Then I realized I could salvage the blocks and replace the sashing!



My very talented friend, Shannon, at Fabric Crush, found this fabric. I can't wait to put it all together!

Inspired by Gee's Bend

Last summer I got to be in a short workshop with some of the Gee's Bend gals in Sisters, Oregon. It was nothing short of a spiritual experience--truly!

There were about 7 of the ladies there, all ages. First they sang some rousing gospel-type songs. Then they scattered around the room and started working with us. No lecture, no introductions, just gather the inspiration and start.

China Pettway came over to our table, and began to work with my sister-in-law, Bonnie, and me.

The first thing she said was, "Where are your pieces?" I pointed to my nicely folded stack of fabrics. She said, "Well, we'll need to cut some pieces first." OK. I grabbed my rotary cutter and mat. "What are doing with that thing?" she asked. "Get some scissors over here." Lesson one--no rotary cutters.

She took the scissors and cut two rectangles, free-hand, one peach and one red. Then she said, "Sew these together." OK. Then she cut a piece of turquoise and said, "Sew this onto there." Yes, Mam. Then the red polka dot.

I asked her how she decided to put these particular fabrics together. She just ignored me. I asked THREE times over the next hour. No response. Lesson two--let the spirit move you.

As I added fabrics in the same way, she kept saying, "Now that's beautiful, just beautiful." I felt like a little girl with the most encouraging mother at my side. Lesson three--be sweet to yourself.

We made two blocks this way--the top two in this piece. She offered her signature. I went straight back to our cabin and made the other two. I was hooked!



I came home and kept going, humming one of those Gee's Bend songs.


I just finished quilting this one for my sister, Kimber, who lives in Idaho. The back includes a strip from a shirt that belonged to our Dad. Now she can wrap herself in a hug from him--and me--anytime she wants!

Another Hawaiian Shirt Quilt

My sister-in-law, Bonnie, just finished this baby quilt. I love the mix of stripes with the print! She also enhanced the print with hand-quilting.

Hawaiian Shirt Quilts

Don't you love the Hawaiian shirts you find at the thrift store?
Just one will inspire a whole quilt!



I just finished this one. It's on its way to NYC to live with friends, Janet and Jen.

I made this one a few years ago. It's made of 100% thrift store shirts.






Here is my very first quilt. I bought a packet of pre-cut squares at Hasegawa General Store in Hana, Maui in 2005, sewed them all together, 10 rows, 13 squares each. Somehow, the quilt measured 4 inches wider on one side! Then I signed up for a quilting class.