Quilt News, Primary Plaid Small Quilt Layered Ready for Basting, Calaveras Big Tree Visit, enjoy Summer!

Calaveras Big Trees State Park

My small quilt, 'Primary Plaids', hand piecing in progress.

Primary Plaid backing in yellow plaid and my copy of Liberated Quilt Making ll.

Yellow plaid backing in morning light.

'Primary Plaids', layered ready for hand quilting.

Closer view, of improv piecing, fun don't you think?



Quilt News from beside the American River.
And it's hot and sunny here, I hope you're enjoying your summer.

Last Tuesday we visited Calaveras Big Trees State Park. It was a hot day but the trees were impressive and the forest smell was intoxicating. Note to self; when going on a hike in hot weather, go early and bring plenty of water. We did both but I saw an older couple who didn't bring enough water and looked heat exhausted, I think the First Responders had to come and rescue them, really.

I finished hand piecing my Primary Plaids small quilt and layered it with batting and backing, ready now for basting and hand quilting. It goes with my color calendar color of the month, Primary. And actually we know that the primary colors are three, red, yellow and blue. But that's okay, I'm flexible! 
I used cotton fabric from shirts I picked up at the local thrift shop. Wouldn't you know it, they were perfect for my primary color theme.

You know what's exciting? My color calendar color of the month for August is blue! I peeked ahead.

And we're probably moving in a week or two back to Santa Clara Valley, some call it Silicon Valley.
I will miss the quiet here and watching the wild turkey families tour for bugs.

And that, Quilt Friends, is the quilt news from beside the river.
Where we're remembering to be thankful and helping others as we can.

Hope you're enjoying color and process and I'll be by to visit!

Quilt News! Color for July Primary, Study in Green, Hand Piecing Project Progress

Color calendar color for July, Primary; red, yellow, blue!

A Study in Green, inspiration photo, taken in Maple Valley WA.

Study in Green, blocks began with hourglass challenge.

New Kona Roll-Up, Spring Meadow Palette.

This is the beginning of my hand piecing project, Primary Plaids.

More progress here.

And more....

This is how it stands as of today.

Back View of Primary Plaids.

                   Quilt News from alongside the American River, where temp.s are in high the 90's, it is July after all!

This week I finished more hand piecing on my quilt project, Primary Plaids, naming it for the July color on my Color Calendar. I want it to be longer than wide, haven't decided on when to stop.

It's fun to work on because I'm doing it 'old school', no rotary cutting, no sewing machine.

Then my Kona Cotton Roll Up in Spring Meadow Palette came in the mail. I'm going to use it to fill out my green blocks started with the AHIQ Hourglass challenge. Slowly but surely things will get done.

I'm in no hurry right now.

So Quilt Friends that is the quilt news from along side the river, where I'm remembering to be thankful and praying for healing for our nation. We don't deserve his mercy but he is a good God.

I'll be by to visit.

                                  

Quilt News Along the River, Hand Piecing Progress and Thankful for the Fourth of July!

Many years ago with one of my darling babies.

Fourth of July fireworks stand in town.

Hand Piecing into sections and arranging.

A different angle.




Happy July and almost the Fourth already!
Quilt news from along side the river where temperatures are in the 90's this week.

There are firework stands open around town and I heard some experimenting with fireworks going on last night. I think sparklers were my favorite when I was a kid. What was your favorite?

And I am grateful and thankful for all those who through the years have held our nation dear enough to serve and give their lives for our freedom and safety. And for those simple folk in my family who immigrated to this nation in hope of a better life. Who farmed and while not ever being rich, they had food and clothes and safety and self respect.
My God we have so much to be thankful for!

More hand piecing has been accomplished. It's not the fastest process but after a while when your hand eye co-ordination improves you pick up speed. And I have found a YouTube video showing the hand piecing technique of Mieko of Mieko Happytime. She does amazing work. Her blocks and fabrics are beautiful. 

That my friends is the quilt news from along side the American River. 

Is freedom really the ability to do anything you want whenever you want? I overheard a veteran say after he had been complimented for serving our country and protecting our freedoms, 
'You know, real freedom is a state of mind.'
God bless him and all those brave veterans who have served and gave their lives for our country.

Quilt News, Hand Piecing Plaid Blocks, Wild Turkeys, Happy Summer!

Fountain at El Dorado Hills.

Folsom, Old Town clock tower.

Neighborhood Wild Turkey.

Hand piecing patchwork, fabric from thrift shop.

Happy summer and Father's Day!

Quilt News from alongside the river.

The weather is hot and good for morning sightseeing. 

The local wild turkeys stroll through the neighborhood in the morning looking for bugs. There are several adults and various sizes of youngsters, peeping as they scratch along. Fun to watch.

I hunted through a thrift shop and found some cotton plaid shirts, just the thing for a summer project.

I cut them up and measured out the fabric and I don't think the price I paid for them was any better than I can get for yardage using coupons at Jo Ann Fabric. And when Missouri Star Quilt Company has a Daily Deal and offers free shipping, it doesn't get better than that.

So I'm not at all won over that using thrift shop clothing is any great deal.

I suppose if you compared that price with the super expensive yardage at specialty shops, $14.00 a yard, well thrift shop old shirts are a better price.

Anyway it's a good experiment, and I think there's an art to shopping at thrift shops, the more you practice the better you get at it, so I've heard.

Happy Father's Day! I was going through old photos and found one of my Dad in his younger days, I sure miss him. He was dedicated and steady, priceless!

Hope you're making progress on projects, I'll be by to visit.

Remembering to be thankful alongside the river.

Quilt News! Happy June, Yellow the color for June, Embroidered Art Quilt Finishes.

Yellow! Color Calendar color of the month!

Queen Anne's Lace wildflower, this photo goes with my art quilt below.

My art quilt, 'Queen Anne's Lace', is finished.

My small 'wrapping cloth' quilt is finished and at work.

Wrapping cloth opened out and keeping my embroidery thread.

This is how I attached the ribbon on the outside for tying.

Happy Friday from beside the river!

Where we've had triple digit temperatures but now it's cooled off for a few days.

My Color Calendar color of the month is yellow! That's an excellent color for June.

And the words used to describe yellow are; enthusiastic, optimistic, persuasive, imaginative, joyful and carefree.

Those are powerful words. 

My Queen Anne's Lace Art Quilt is finished and the wildflower photo I took of Queen Anne's Lace growing wild goes with it perfect.

There's something amazing about wildflowers, they are opportunistic and come back from a take down swinging. 

I also finished my little quilt made of similar colors as 'Queen Anne's Lace Art Quilt'. I'm using it as a wrapping cloth as in Karen Ruane 's modern embroidered and embellished wrapping cloths.

Karen is known for her beautiful modern embroidery and her great embroidery/project online classes.

My wrapping cloth will hold my embroidery threads and keep them protected.

Also visit Cindy Grisdela  and see her new quilt, 'Picasso's Chickens.'

It's a wonderful example of improv design and piecing.

Stop by Pamela 's to see her beautiful finish on her embroidered bag, talk about a work of art!

That's the news from alongside the river, where I'm remembering to be thankful. 

Very daring don't you think?

How are your projects coming along?

I'll be by to visit.

Quilt News, Happy Memorial Day, Wild Flowers, Art Quilts, PieLadyQuilts

Queen Anne's Lace

Yarrow

Lady Bug on fennel.

Figs forming.

Blackberry blossoms.

Wild Cherry.

Hiking Path along the American River.

Yellow Iris grows along the river bank.

Wild flower, Triple Lily.

My art quilt, 'Queen Anne's Lace' more embroidery added, couching lace down.

Another of my small art quilts with running stitch added, I'll wrap my embroidery threads in it.

Hello from beside the river!

Sun and warm/hot weather here.

Happy Memorial Day to you, remembering those who gave their lives and served, those who've gone on before us and remembering to be thankful.

Along the river walk there are wild flowers blooming and wild cherry and fig have their green fruit forming. 

This week I added more embroidery/couching to my 'Queen Anne's Lace' quilt. Yes, I changed the name, naming it for a wild flower made more sense to me.

And I finished my smaller art quilt (which has some similar fabric and color as my 'Queen Anne's Lace' quilt) by embellishing it with running stitch, leaving the starting and finishing knots exposed for effect. It is now a wrapping cloth meant to protect my embroidery thread. 

And be sure and visit Jill @ PieLadyQuilts to see her inspiring quilts, they are exciting and amazing, very improv, very liberated.

And that is the Quilt News from along side the American River, where projects are progressing!

What are you working on?

I'll be by to visit.

Quilt News, Quilt Sampler Progress, Embroidery, Embellishing Fun, Happy Friday!

Hand quilting progress on my Bright Sampler.

This is a couple of years ago when I finished piecing the center.

Wild flowers, note the orange, green, red, fuchsia and white colors!

I pulled this piece out of storage and thought it needed more embellishing.

The vintage glass buttons look like seashells, going with this art quilt's theme, sea life.

Hello quilt friends and Happy Friday!

 from alongside the American River.

Where yesterday we had clouds and today it's clear skies.

This week I got more hand quilting done on my Bright Sampler, the outside border is all that's left to quilt! I started this quilt as a BOM free pattern by Piecing the Past Quilts. The block choice and arrangement and choice of borders is mine.

And since my sewing machine is in storage and I don't have a lot of room here,  I rummaged around in my project box and found a small art quilt that needs more embellishing and embroidery. 

Its theme is sea life, kind of along the lines of what you might find in a tide pool or washed up on a beach. I wanted the colors to be neutral. You are correct, red is not what most people would think of as a neutral but I'm going along the lines of Freddy Moran when she said, 'Red is my neutral.' 

The wild flowers along the river are an amazing source of color inspiration. 

The Folsom area has historical monuments to the Gold Rush. Main street is named for John Sutter, the man who owned the mill where gold was found and the 'rush' started.

Folsom is also home to the Folsom Powerhouse  State Historic Park. The power house, up and running in 1895, was the first alternating current hydro-electric power station in the U.S. providing electricity to Sacramento, 22 miles away, one of the longest electrical distribution lines in America at the time. 

A lot of people come here to see the American River and tour the history info.

And that quilt friends is the news from beside the river. 

Where I'm remembering to be thankful. What projects are you working on this week?

I'll be by to visit.