Quilts for Grandchildren

Hi this is M.  In my real life I work to pay the bills and I relax by quilting. Well I have been on a mission to finish a bunch of projects. I had a couple of quilt tops for two grandchildren done and since I was planning a visit to Alaska I thought I would finally finish them.

But since my daughter added to her family I had to make one quilt more. Three quilts quilted in less than two weeks. I also squeezed the work during the evening, since I ended up going out of town the weekend before our trip. 

Fun quilts fun kids.  

So the two year old got a pink quilt with sheep and lots of dots. The 9 year old finally got her African animal quilt (fabric she picked out several years ago). The 5 year old boy got a quilt with cowboy fabric and quilted with horse heads.

So  Major Mom tells me I need to blog for each quilt  but since I finished them all together I am talking about them together.  

But I have 6 grandchildren. The youngest of McH came with us. He had a very sad face grandma didn't have one done for him.

So Major Moma I have lots more to blog about!!

Back from the Brick Wall

   Hello everyone!  M here. I haven't posted in a long time.  I admit, I took advantage of Major Moma's willingness to keep up on the blog....  and got out of the habit  of blogging.

Well what happened?   Well I bumped into one of these:

Yes the brick wall....I creatively hit the wall and found myself frustrated.  I wanted to make a simple quilt for a friend. But I couldn't get the colors right, couldn't get the pattern right, couldn't think clearly.... 

It was supposed to be a simple fun quilt to help a friend get better....

so I went simple and just made it simple with simple colors.

Cute huh?



then I took a quilt class on a 5 yard quilt...  only 5 fabrics!  that is so weird for me.... 


made this one...

then this one,

now working on these.....

Now I am feeling better....  back on the horse again


If I could only figure out how to rotate the picture.

Now to get them quilted!

What do you do when you hit a creative brick wall?

Sewing Love

M here,  today my blog will be a montage of pictures and thoughts.  It's easy to to be a little self serving in a blog,  especially when you like to show what you make or create.  But really....  why do I craft?  I suppose there as many answers to that as there are projects.  Mostly I do it because it is fun. Sewing relaxes me, and when I am feeling stressed concetrating on matching opposing seams on a quilt helps me get my emotions in control.

But lately,  I have had several friends with life challenging illness, and my reaction?


First of all I have been praying.  Not the vague please God bless me and mine.  Or the even vaguer and useless "sending good thoughts your way"  But praying...  God please heal my friends, their families, my mom.   God please grant them the strength to go through these terrible times.  God please grant them the peace that they will need to walk through this valley of shadows....
Then I sew, or crochet, or anything I can think of with a needle.



My friend is going to start chemo soon... what was my first reaction?  Well of course she will need a cuddle quilt.  I guess that started this whole train of thought.
 

14 Years ago my dad fought his last battle, I remember spending long hours at the hospital with him and my family. I had to have something to do. So I embroidered... and when dad passed, I put these away.

I am ready now to put them in a little quilt for a little boy in honor of my dad. 



Another friend had some serious health issues a few years back. When he was in the hospital, and we were so worried  I prayed and I sewed... and when he came home I handed him this.

My best friend in the whole world is a quilter like me.  We have shared many a battle together.  She always had a dream of making a quilt for her brother,  but life intervened, and she has lost most of her vision.  Her brother, also my very good friend has had some serious struggles,  so I thought why don't I finish that for her and for him... so I sewed and had a great time finishing up my friends project.

 So a couple of weeks ago,  Mom fell ill and was in the hospital.  During the time I spent with her I had to have something to do.... so I got some bright colored yarn and made some hats... and this little girl loves them.

All of this,  was yes, meant to show some of my projects.  But I like to think about what my motivations are when I make things.  I guess the process of creating helps me to deal  with some of my  life's circumstances

Why do you craft?  How do you deal with life's difficult issues? Does using a needle and thread keep you sane? 

March Inspiration

It is March and what does that mean?  It is almost Spring!  And we get a new image for our Inspiration Point.

Last month we had a video, but we are back to a good old fashion picture this month.

But what did we make last month?

Major Moma sewed up a tunic from a BurdaStyle magazine for her eldest daughter.

And M worked incredibly hard on a quilt.  She was able to get all the blocks done (along with several not blogged projects) by the end of the month.  She will share the quilt when it is completely done. 

On to the new picture....

As always, make what ever you want and upload to our Flickr site!

If you need to see the rules again, please click on the Inspiration Point tab on the top of the blog.

Red Inspiration. Yes there is red in there

Hi this is M. I have been madly trying to finish this month's IP project. "Mom are you going to post?" ,Major Moma whined. Well maybe she didn't whine, but she sounded a little squeeky.



Yes but it is a Big project.. I have been loving all the scrappy many trips around the world based on the pattern from Bonnie Hunter . Not loving them: adoring is a better word. I love scrap quilts and I am committed to using up my stash.




So here are the 56 blocks, the last row is not visible because my wall was too small. They aren't sewn together in a top yet. But they will be soon.




So how does this fit in with the IP video for February ? Look carefully there is a big red T. I have lines of red throughout the quilt, although there are at least 10 reds, I wanted those red lines to be the unifying note.




No, there is no quiet place to rest your eyes on this quilt, just bright movement to make you happy.

February's Inspiration

We had a great time with last month's Inspiration Point.

M stretched herself and made a modern quilt.





Major Moma made some warm pants and a hat. 

and McH was the most adventurous and made plaid antlers ... but hit a major snag in figuring out how to mount them.

For February, we are doing something different and giving you video.  It is of a cello and spoons making some fun music. 

 

You can create something inspired by the music, the spoons, anything in the video!


P.S.

Without Directions is now on FaceBook!  As soon as we figure out how, we will have a "Like Us" button.  But until then you can follow this link:  Without Directions Facebook Fan Page.

Inspiration Point. My take on a deer in the forest

This is M, (Major Moma has been insisting that each of us identify ourselves early in the blog post).
So this month we were challenged with a great picture of a stag in a misty forest.

So how can I interpret this great picture?  I am a pretty traditional quilter, I like big bed quilts, and although I prefer mid century modern in my home decoration,  nothing makes me happier than a pile of 1930's pastel fabrics.  The song from Sesame Street rings in my head most of the time: "One of these things is not like the other" 

But true growth in art or craft comes from stretching your boundaries.  So I have been reading:   Quilting modern by Jacquie Gering and Katie Pedersen  Here  is the link to Tallgrass Prarie Studio. Jacquie has amazing work,  and this book really inspires me to go beyond the cute and comfortable.

So with inspiration from a deer in a woods, and from my current reading list, here is my take  on this month's inspiration point.

Yes,  I just wanted to show the angles and lines and a little of the color,  and was perfectly inspired by a quilt in Quilting Modern called Shattered. Difficulties I had with this little wall hanging... one thing I learned don't let go of the fundamentals when stretching yourself,  a wonky border will distract from the overall message that you are trying to convey.  And the wonky border drove me nuts.

But after a little blocking and stretching, the quilt is not totally square, but enough that I can live with it. It does lay nice and flat on the wall, although in the tree it is listing a little...

I also got to play a little with the quilting.  I decided to scribble most of it, trying to emphasize the lines and the negative space with swirls and circles,  that was fun, basically coloring in the lines with my thread. 

I had a great time making this quilt.  I am glad that I tried it.  I may be doing more contemporary type quilts , although I don't think I will limit my palette quite as much in the future.  And (and this is a big AND)  I learned that doing things correctly give me MORE freedom to be creative.  I then won't get bogged down in the errors and enjoy the process.

Can a deer in the woods inspire you?  How about stretching your boundaries?  Do something different that helps you look at things in a new way.  I did and it was fun.

A Winter Quilt.... In red and green

Ok I love Christmas. I decorate my house,have a big tree and each year add more ornaments. That being said, December 26 I am done. I might take the entire week between Christmas and New Years Day to put everything away, but the day after Christmas I want my life back to normal. Until this year

I am trying so hard to get my unfinished projects done. I have been moving this quilt around in my sewing room for 2 years... Always meaning to get it finished and having other projects come first.



I machine embroidered blocks and made scrappy 9 patch blocks. I took a class where we exchanged Christmas fabrics,and used every last bit of Christmas fabric I had. The top made me happy, until I moved it around for two years.

So I finished it between Christmas and New Years. I really did a minimal amount of quilting,just enough to hold the sandwich together, I would have liked to do more, but this quilt is DONE!

So it went on my bed, it is no longer a Christmas quilt but my new Winter quilt. I am going to enjoy each cuddly inch and enjoy the bright red winter colors.

The Best Yellow House that is a Chocolate Factory

The C Shop,  

Have you been there?  Well if you ever are in Northwest Washington in the Summertime,  this is the place for you to go.

http://www.thecshop.com/


Pat and Pat Alesse have been operating the CShop at Birch Bay since 1971.  The CShop is a wonderful candy shop, bakery, cafe and a great place for a summertime treats of ice cream and sno cones.
But however as good as the homemade candy is, the most delightful part of the CShop is the owners....
Pat and Pat are delightfully gracious hosts and very good friends.  Everyone in my family has worked there,  me,  my husband,  and all of our kids. If a kid has his first job at the CShop, they learn to work hard and have fun at the same time.  

So what does that have to do with this quilt?  Well  Patricia  gave me a bunch of old aprons that her mom had made years ago for the Candy Shop employees to wear.  No one was using them so she thought well maybe I could use them....   then it hit me...  these were the color of the Shop.  I thought  a log cabin design would mimic the cedar lap siding.... and the other logs would be fabric picturing all the goodies that are available there.... candy, cookies,  ice cream...chocolate!

Well, Patricia had a birthday, and I had an inspiration,  and now she has a quilt. It has memories of her mom and lots of memories of many summers.

Well  the CShop remains the same and yet is changing.  The Pats are still involved in the day to day operations,   but are their son Keith Alesse and his partner Saara Kuure are partnering with the Pats in running this Birch Bay icon.  
As my granddaughter once said,  "are we going to the big yellow house that pretends to be a chocolate factory?"  No Sarah,  we are going to the CShop, the big yellow house that IS a chocolate factory.
M

***Note:  M submitted this quilt as her Inspiration Point project so you can check out more pictures on our Flickr page.  Also, it is a new month, so you can join in on the fun and create something based on our new inspiration.  Check it out HERE or click the Inspiration Point tab up top. ****

Pay no attention to the man holding the Quilt

Our Mother needed to blog.  Major Mama and myself, McH, decided to help.  A couple of weeks ago Mom posted on Facebook this picture. The caption said it all. 

"Pay no attention to the man holding the quilt." 

 So Major Mama being the oldest and control freak of the family grabbed the pic and wrote a small paragraph about it.  McH joined in the fun and now we have a blog for our Mom. 

Next week we plan on posting something extremely embarrassing about Winocologist if she doesn't get her rear in gear and blog.

Major M is in Bold.  McH in Italics

My mother made this quilt for the youngest of us girls, Winocologist.  She used mostly fabrics from her stash which is slowly being used up.  She has been diligent in her effort to use what she owns, and not buy more.  I love how most of it is blue but there is that pink stuff creeping in from the corner.

Of course when she needed a picture of it, she asked her husband (our father) to help Wino hold it up.

He could not simply stand there... he had to be goofy.  This is typical.



This is not just typical, this is the story of our life.   If you take a jaunt down memory lane  and open the many albums and boxes of pictures throughout the years, you find this one consistent.  Our dad is weird.  My friends after meeting my dad for the first time then end up looking at me with more understanding.  What can I say, weird is hereditary.

Dad is the person who makes the jokes that everyone groans to.  He even won a talent contest doing fake magic tricks. But most of all he is known for his rubber face and funny pictures. 

Our family has an entire set of photos we call the "dad with something on his head" series.  The most famous is the one at Major Mama's wedding with a plastic swan on his head. 

Mom takes it in stride that her husband is an odd duck.  She chose him after all.  Not to mention she was his lovely assistant in that famous magic show.  So when she took a picture of the beautiful quilt she made for my sister it did not surprise her when she downloaded it to see that dad was once again

was being funny. 

So pay no attention to the man holding the quilt.  He is just dad, being weird and proud of his wife and her beautiful work.