Yukata Table Runner

I have finally finished this latest Yukata cloth table runner. (This striped Yukata cloth is a type of Japanese fabric that is traditionally used to make men's kimonos. You can see other ones that I have made here and here.)


Despite the fact that it is entirely hand quilted with approximately 7000 stitches, (no, I didn't count them all... I do have a life! I just counted one row and multiplied it by the number of other rows.) ...I am still not sure why it took me soooo long to complete. (I've done more extensive hand quilting on other pieces that seemed to take me a fraction of the time.)


With this one, I felt like no matter how much I stitched on it, there were always lots more rows to go. It began to remind me of some nightmare where the hall you are walking down just keeps getting longer and longer, with no end in sight.


Because it was such a bugaboo, I've decided to keep this one for myself. :0)

P.S. That old scale with it's original weights, was just given to me the other week by my aunt. It had belonged to my Greek immigrant great-grandparents who used it to measure out candy in their confectionary shop in Baltimore, Maryland. Pretty cool, huh?!

Small Stitched Work no.1

I've begun work on some small stitched pieces... little spaces where I can just play, experiment and have fun.

This piece is just 7.5' x 7.5" and features small blocks of hand quilting and bits of assorted Japanese fabric prints that were hand appliqued onto a piece of blue cross weave cotton. Shot cotton was used for the binding.

I was at complete peace while stitching this. No preconceived expectations. No cluttered mind. Joy.

I think it looks lovely displayed on a table top


or hung on the wall.


Now available in my shop.
(Update: Sold)

Big Thread Love

The number one question I have been asked since first posting about my Work Quilt Series is "What type of thread are you using for the hand quilting?". I get asked this almost daily, and have lost count of the emails received. Suffice to say the thread has made an impression!


I put a lot of thought into what type of thread I wanted to use for these quilts. I knew I wanted certain elements... high quality and durability, 100% cotton, matte finish, beautiful and wide color range, and thick enough that it showed well on the surface of the quilt, but thin enough that it could easily pass through the eye of a hand quilting "between" needle and go through the various layers with ease.


I decided to use Sulky® Premium 100% Egyptian Cotton Threads, as it had all the elements I wanted. I have not been disappointed. In fact I have been so happy with the product and viewer response, that last week I decided to write a Thank You letter to the Sulky folks. I wanted them to know how much I loved their product and also showed them some pictures of my quilts so they could see how I incorporated their lovely threads into my work.

Later that same day, I was delighted to hear back from Patti Lee, Vice President of Consumer Relations for Sulky of America. Her prompt and personal reply to my letter only made my admiration for this company better. (How wonderful to know that the personal touch still exists in at least one large company.)

But here is the best part... Just look at what came in the mail today...


A Sulky Slimline Storage Box...


Chock full of 42 gorgeous Sulky Premium Cotton Threads!


Patti was beyond kind... Generously gifting me these delectable Sulky Cotton Blendables in 12 wt. to try out in my quilts!!! I feel like I won the lottery, and am beyond excited!


Previously I have only tried the solid thread colors, and Patti thought that I might also enjoy trying these beautiful Blendables...

I can barely wait to get started and I know they are going to look fabulous against the shot cotton fabrics in my Work Quilts! I am truly blown away by this gift, and deeply appreciative.


If you would like to try some of these Sulky Premium Cotton Threads in your own work, and are unable to find them where you live, you can purchase them here on-line at Speed Stitch and/or Uncommon Thread

P.S. Thank you for all the well wishes in regards to my daughter. Happy to say that after several rough days, M. is feeling much better and went back to school today. xo

Sewing Again!!!

Here is a peek at my Spice Market bed quilt. Yes, after a year and a half of hand quilting (very slowly) the quilt is on my bed. I love it! I'll show you more once I finish the pillow covers.

Last weekend my mother and stepfather came for a visit. I am always grateful to have company. I enjoy spending time with family and friends. I love the added incentive it gives me to clean the house. I finally completed a huge reorganization of the house before the long weekend. Life is in order and the house is still clean. I can sit and sew with out guilt. I also completed a month long stint of fabric dyeing last week.

This is what I spent part of my weekend working on. These are some of the more popular colorways of my quilt block jewelry. I keep running out of stock so I am sewing many multiples to try to build enough stock to get me through the summer.

Last night I worked on the most tedious part of making the jewelry. I cut two 11"x 14" pieces of thin glass into 3/4"x 3/4" squares. To cut, wash and dry these tiny pieces of glass takes about 6 hours. I will clean the glass one more time with window cleaner before assembling the pieces.

Greetings From Wisconsin

On Friday morning I headed north to pick up my son from Duluth. It was a such a beautiful day for a drive. It makes my heart soar to travel across this state. The scenery is diverse and the forests seem to go on forever. The trees were bright green when I left our home in Southwestern Wisconsin. As I traveled North the leaves became sparse. Here Spring is two weeks behind. This photo was taken about 20 miles from the Lake Superior shoreline. The land drops off sharply here. I wonder if it was once an ancient shoreline. The temperature here is 65 deg F. Near the lake it was 41 degrees. Saturday I traveled on a shop hop with the Piecemakers Guild hop through rural Southwestern Wisconsin.
One of our stops was an Amish store near Cashton where our host Laura treated us to a bed turning. Laura has been selling quilts from her shop for more than 20 years. All quilts are made locally by as many as 65 Amish women. Piecing is done by hand or with a treadle sewing machine. All quilt tops are hand quilted with beautiful and precise tiny stitches. You can also find handmade baskets, rugs and wooden bowls at this stop.

Down the road a piece....

Another one of our stops was at "Down A Country Road", a gift shop that sells local Amish wares.

Follow this link to their website where you can view a short video about their business and a look at Amish life.

So Little Time to Write Lately

A few weeks ago I received this from Lynn andLinda:

Thank you Ladies! I've recently gotten to know them. They both have beautiful art quilts on their blogs and are both members of Around the World In 20 Quilts. I can't wait until December to see your "Stellar Progress" completed.

I have homework to do. I hope you don't mind if I wait to name some of my blogging friends in another week once my Christmas items are all assembled and the next craft show is over. I will be vending this coming Saturday at the Elroy Quilt Show and Christmas Craft Fair at the Royall High School in Elroy, WI. Stop by and say hello if you are in the area. I'll post some photos of my last few weeks of stained glass work in a few more days.

I leave you with a photo of part of my first quilt. It is a king size quilt. I read the advice "start small". I'm not so good at following advice. I wanted to make this quilt for our guest bedroom. I figured if I didn't like quilting at least this quilt would be finished. It took me a couple of months to piece the blocks and then I hand quilted it. The project took me 11 months. Most of the quilting was completed in the last two months. I quit smoking during that time. Whenever I felt like smoking I hand quilted instead. Now I'm addicted to hand quilting.

Pineapple Class Again

I love Pineapple Quilts. The framed quilt is from a class taught by Doris M. Deutmeyer last summer. This pineapple quilt is well loved. It was the second quilting project I completed when I was a new quilter. This class was taught by quilt designer Suzanne Unbehaun.
This weekend I will be taking another Pineapple Quilt class from Barb Vlack at the quarterly Wisconsin Quilters, Inc guild meeting in Green Lake, WI. This will be the third and once again different technique I learn to construct this block design. I wanted to play with some colors that I love but don't always choose for my finished quilts. I haven't made final selections yet. I can't wait to see what I end up with. It could be amazing or just plain scary. Wish me luck!

Lazy Weekend, Friends Reunite, and Quilting Again

We had a wonderful weekend. On Sunday we went to a picnic at a friend's farm which reunited us with good friends. It was a lovely settling at an old farm house.

Their youngest son Benny started this stacked stone wall when he was in sixth grade. The wall is made from the stone found in their fields each spring. The now completed wall wraps around the front and side of the house. Benny just left for his first year of college. Yes, that is a working cannon you see on the porch. Mike is a civil war buff and enjoys firing the cannon on special occasions. I have always been surprised that the old glass windows of the house are all still intact.

I decided to take a break from my fourth art quilt this weekend after two failed attempts at machine embroidery. I took a little time to work on a favorite project. I started this quilt in April of 2007. It has been pieced and basted since January of this year, but I have allowed very little time for projects of my own this year. I fell in love with this fabric line from Fun Quilts and the simplicity of the quilt pattern. This king sized quilt is going on my bed so I decided to hand quilt the top. I love the feeling of hand quilting on a finished top. I also love the relaxation and satisfaction that comes from hand work. I have one third of the quilting completed. I have vowed to get this quilt done before the first snow. Wish me luck as it snows early in Wisconsin.