Butterfly Fabric and Quilt and Kaleidoscope for May

Monarch Butterfly for May 2017

My butterfly project has more rows added, interviewing going on here.

Black and white butterfly fabric by Jennifer Sampou for Robert Kaufman .

I'm capivated by this fabric.

Hello and happy Wednesday from sunny Rancho Palos Verdes.

This month's calendar butterfly is the Monarch butterfly. 

They are a milkweed butterfly which means they lay their eggs on milkweed plants and eat milkweed plants. They also migrate thousands of miles. We see quite a few of them around here.
I'm linking up with Ann and Cathy for Kaleidoscope of Butterflies , in appreciation of butterflies!

I'm adding more rows to my 'Liberated' butterfly quilt/runner. I've decided it's going to be runner size,

approx. 44" x 20". You can see it in the photo above as I was 'interviewing' block arrangement on my 'design' blanket.

My design blanket is my pineapple fleece blanket, it's very cozy in the evening when it gets cool and it doubles as a design 'wall' during the day.

My order from Missouri Star Quilt Comp. came in, fun time. I ordered black and white fabric with butterflies on it by Jennifer Sampou for Robert Kaufman. It's delightful and I do have a weakness for a good butterfly fabric as you might have guessed. I'm putting it to use right away.

I hope you're getting some work done on your projects and remember to enjoy the beautiful spring happening around us.

I'll be by to visit!

Woven Star block, Pieced 'Coins' Back, Angela Walters New Tutorial

Windy evening in Rancho Palos Verdes.

My version of 'Coins', approx. 20" x 16".

'Woven Star' block in 'Rest and Refreshing' designed by Piecing the Past Quilts .

Piecing 'saw teeth" liberated style, I use a 2 1/2" sq. base.

This is the back of my 'coins' small quilt.

Happy Friday from windy Rancho Palos Verdes!

Angela Walters has a new tutorial on YouTube, Scrambled Plus Sign Quilt

She's fun and her machine quilting ideas are great, easy to understand.

I've had time this week to finish the first block in Piecing the Past Quilts' b.o.w. quilt 'Rest and Refreshing.' It's a beautiful design. Sign up if you want a bit of a traditional challenge, the link is above.

The backing to my 'coins' small quilt, 20' x 16', is done today. I made up more 'saw teeth' for it and check out that butterfly in the purple strip on the left, 'Mariposa Meadow' fabric, by Elizabeth Isles. Lovely.

I'm also linking up with JulieLou and Linda at Sew Stitch Snap Share. Hop on over to see great projects and progress and join in!

Have a relaxing weekend. Share a smile!

I'll be by to visit.

Improv Quilt Designs, my 'Coins' for AHIQ with Orange Triangles!

Wasabi #1, 19" x 16", my design, is all finished, just sayin'.

My version 'coins', I've added 'liberated'  borders all around.

We took a road trip to Irvine, CA , view of Saddleback Mountain.

Hello, from windy Rancho Palos Verdes.

Busy week for me, a road trip to Irvine, CA. It's a very beautiful city, not compacted at all, in some areas you can see the land start to stretch out into open spaces. A nice change from LA.

I had some time for sewing and planning. My Wasabi #1 is all done. You can see 'improv' blocks and 'coins' in it.

My 'coins' I started for AHIQ now has a turquoise border with orange 'liberated' triangles in it.

I do love orange and turquoise, any little excuse and I'll throw those two colors in!

The lighting was not so good here today so a better photo is coming soon. Who knows, by then maybe it will have more borders added.

I'm linking up with Ann and Kaja at Sew Slowly

for AHIQ, where fun design happens. Stop on over to get inspired!

I've also decided to try something new and I'm doing a block of the week, by Piecing the Past Quilts designed by Debbie MacInnis, Rest and Refreshing- A Civil War Sampler Quilt.

Yes, I know, very different for me, but I want the challenge of traditional piecing.

I certainly cannot promise to stick to historical reproduction fabrics exclusively, but I think it'll turn out fine just the same.

I'm linking up with Linda and Julie with Sew Stitch Snap sharing projects and progress, hop on over for inspiration!

Hope you're having a productive week, dreaming or piecing or stitching.

I'll be by to visit!

Mod Block by MSQC, New Edition Out, Wasabi #1 small quilt almost finished!

Butterfly fourpatch, adding and rearranging.

Asymmetrical Wasabi #1 almost finished with hand sewing binding.

Back of Wasabi #1 approx. 21" x 18" , I machine quilted it.

New issue of Mod Block by Missouri Star Quilt Comp. great ideas!

'Oberlin' by Heather Jones in Mod Block, so cool.

Happy Friday from Rancho Palos Verdes!

Sunny and windy today.

Almost Happy Easter too!

I've been replanning and changing around my liberated butterfly fourpatch quilt I started last fall.

There was just too much white in it so I took apart rows and blocks and I'm in the process of adding more color to the fourpatches and making more butterfly blocks. More color makes me happy.

I was going to have it fade out to white but just wasn't pleased with that effect.

Also Missouri Star Quilt Company has their new Mod Block out, full of ideas and colors. I highly recommend it. Heather Jones quilt in Mod Block, 'Oberlin' is the perfect size for me as I like to work small, just 36" x 36". I made a sample Ohio Star runner for work over a year ago but I had to leave it at work as it was a sample. I would like to make another one, it makes a nice gift; object de arte.

Nobody's paying me to say any of that either, I know a good thing when I see it!

I also machine quilted my asymmetrical Wasabi #1 and I've almost got the binding all hand sewn down on the back. I machine quilted it rather than hand quilting because it fitted more with its personality. Yes, true confessions, my projects have their own personalities. 

Enjoy your Easter weekend and all those chocolate bunnies.

I'll be by to visit soon.

Midnight Quilt Show and a Lighthouse

Painted Lady butterfly at Point Vicente.

One of many goats at Point Vicente kept there to keep the brush under control.

Point Vicente and light house.

Point Vicente Lighthouse closeup.

Happy Friday from Rancho Palos Verdes!

Today for fun we visited the Point Vicente Interpretive Center. It's a good spot for whale watching and walking around the nature trail. Goats are kept there in fenced areas to keep the brush down and they are entertaining to watch. There's also a working light house on the point closed to the public except on certain days and times for tours. It's only about a mile away from where we are staying.

Angela Walters hostess of the Midnight Quilter Show ,

has a fun tutorial, 'Wallflower Variable Star' on Youtube.

In fact she has several tutorials and all are entertaining. Each 'show' features a different quilt pattern which Angela pieces together. Then she machine quilts it giving ideas and tips.

Enjoyable and she is a hoot!

I hope you have a good weekend. Don't forget to share a smile and I'll be by to visit.

Kaleidoscope of Butterflies and Orange Triangle Border thingy

Clouded Sulphur for April 2017.

Tilted 'coins' with border added, that's right just two sides for effect.

Happy April!!

 

Featuring my butterfly for April, from my butterfly calendar, the Clouded Sulpher .

I'm celebrating butterflies with Ann @ fretnotyourself , Kaleidoscope of Butterflies.

Clouded Sulphers  live in North America and can be seen in meadows, fields and roadsides.

They're also known to swarm around mud puddles.

I've had some time to work on my version of a 'coin' quilt. I tilted the coins and now they're on edge and I've added borders on just two sides. The asymmetrical look is speaking to me. This is another of my small quilts. I don't have a large work space right now so small is the thing. And small is great for trying out design experiments.

Have a great Monday and I'll be by to visit.

Quilt Binding Finish, AHIQ # 19 Coin Challenge progress

The sun's back in Rancho Palos Verdes.

The binding is on and this quilt is done!

Another row added to my coins quilt.

Closer view, the turquoise and orange are the wow element to me.

The sun is out in Rancho Palos Verdes, CA and the wind has quieted, gorgeous today.

I was out of town for a week, we were in Kirkland, WA where it is cooler. I came back with a cold but that's cleared up. I'm recovered and rested now back to business!

 I'm linking up with

Ann @ fretnotyourself and Kaja @ sewslowly they are hosting AHIQ # 19.

My coin improv small quilt now has another row. I've been working on smaller projects because I've been on vacation for a while now and I don't have room to work on bigger projects.

Stop in and take a look at the beautiful, fun projects going on there.

I've finished the binding on my 'liberated' log cabin done in batik. My daughter-in-law suggested I name it 'Amalfi' after the gorgeous Amalfi coast of Italy. Many of the houses there along the coast are terraced and painted knockout tropical colors. The water and sky on a sunny day are a lovely turquoise. The backing on my quilt is mostly turquoise, the log cabin blocks look very much like stacked houses. So 'Amalfi in Batik' is the name.

Enjoy your day and share a smile, it always comes back.

I'll be by to visit!