Crooked Gulley Art Quilts

Long time no post! I've been busy remaking a T-Shirt quilt for my niece's husband, Tanner. He has a collection of t-shirts from his adventures at Camp Olympia in Trinity, TX, both as a camper and a counselor. His mom had the t-shirts made into a quilt, but the lady didn't use the correct fabric color and the finished quilt wasn't quilted at all... it was tied with random tufts of yarn (again, the wrong color). So, enter Aunt Mary... "I'll redo that for you!" Yikes... It took a while to rip all the squares apart. It took a while to remove all the bits of thread. It took a while to cut all the new backing squares (in red, the correct color). And, it has taken more than a while to quilt all the squares!  The caveat for me is knowing that my niece's little girls are going to have so much fun discovering all the letters and eventually reading all the words that I FMQed around.  Plus, it was all great practice in FMQing for me! There are 16 squares in all....

I finished the border with fabric by Phillip Jacobs. It is giant chrysanthumums. (Gosh, I don't think I spelled that hateful word correctly!)  I love the colors and the size of the blossoms in it. I am going to cry when I run out. I don't think it's available any more.  So, what to sew next??? I want to do some wearable art. Maybe a vest. Also, I've had a darling Carolina Wren pattern for a year that I have been wanting to do. Oh... I also need to do my nephew's T-shirt quilt. It is most unimaginative and was tied with yarn tufts rather than quilted. I'm sure he would love to have it before the winter is over! Lots of fun stuff to do! We all just keep stitchin' for the ones we love. Hugs from Mary

Happy New Year! I've got Christmas put away and am back at the sewing machine... One of my most favorite places to be! I've nearly completed a new wall hanging, and decided to use the free motion background stitching as outlined on SewCalGal's  Free Motion Quilting Challenge . Each month something new is taught for all of us to practice and use... AND, it's FREE! How cool is that? Go on over there and register to be a part of it. Fun! So, this month's instruction is taught by Francis Moore. The lesson is how to do a simple heart shaped leaf on meandering vines. I used that instruction for my latest Great Blue Heron piece. I used the meandering vine down the center red strip of fabric with a crimson metallic thread, and off to the left in the beige/gold fabric using a variegated wheat/gold thread. As I evaluated my effort, I'm pleased with what I see.  The vine is an easy quilting pattern that I've never tried. I'll use it again and look forward ...

All the projects are finished. Baking is done. Prime rib is seasoned and ready for the rotisserie over the grill. Presents are wrapped. Our daughter, Amber, arrived safely... But, our son, Brit couldn't get here from Japan. It's a long way... We miss him. This is the third Christmas he's missed. The US Navy keeps him busy. To all of you who are missing loved ones around the table tomorrow... I send you my warmest hugs. I know how you feel. Merry Christmas and a most wonderful New Year to all. Hugs from Mary

Well, DH thought it would be fun to head down to Hilton Head Island for a little golf... We have friends visiting from CA, and they think it's also a grand idea.  I do too, but none of them smiled when I asked if I could take my sewing machine. DH thinks the golf clubs will keep me busy. DOES NO ONE UNDERSTAND THAT THIS IS THE BUSIEST TIME OF THE YEAR FOR A QUILTER???  Smile, Mary... Take a deep breath, Mary... Remember, no cooking dinners for the next 5 nights... Oh, yeah ;-)  That's a good thing. Besides, think how satisfying it will be to picture DH's face on the golf ball every time I hit it! (just kidding - I love him dearly) Here's a poor picture of my latest art quilt that sold for $150 at our garden club's charity auction... I'm very happy about that! The pine boughs were FMQed with a double needle using two tones of green thread. I also left loose threads on the egret to look like feathers blowing in the wind. Keep stitchin' for the ones you l...

The quilt block is finished and attached! The darling DH getting the job done!  The big picture... Our sweet little dream cottage on the golf course; near the beach  now has a beautiful quilt to showcase the house numbers! The neighbors probably think it's part of the Christmas decorations. Won't they be surprised when it stays in place forever! BTW... The window above the quilt block is my sewing studio. I get the whole room over the garage all to myself! I'm just a happy camper up there ;-) Keep stitchin' for the ones you love! Holiday Hugs from Mary

I'm finished!!! After lots of taping and delicate painting, I can now say... "I love it!" Our address numbers will stand out bold and proud on this quilt block.  The exterior of the house is the same color as the center light sage green. So, drum roll please... here it is... The next step is to spray a clear satin polyurethane to seal and protect the paint. After that DH and I will seal the plywood edges with a waterproof clear caulking and put a wood fame around the edges that will be painted the maroon/brown.  When I get the barn quilt square hung on the house with the numbers I'll post it. By the way...Head on over to Tops and Bobbins for a "Thankful" give-away! Keep stitchin' for those sweet loved ones. Hugs from Mary