Author: renegadequilter

book · WIP Wednesday

WIP Wednesday

renegadequilter3 Comments
its time for WIP Wednesday again & i have nothing to show with regards to the world of sewing.  i did get the quilting frame from my neighbor & i am in the process of getting it together.  its almost there.  maybe by tonight i will have fabric on it & take some pics for a post.  let me just say that Christmas came early to me.

so with no progress on sewing related things i thought ‘how about a WIP on something else.’  why not?  right?
awhile back Denise & i both read The Four Agreements by don Miguel Ruiz.  it is a good book with some simple suggestions to help you through challenges & the daily stuff that life can throw our way.
the book is based on 4 agreements that we are to make with ourselves.
1. be impeccable with your word
2. don’t take anything personally
3. don’t make assumptions
4. always do your best
they seem simple enough right?  let me tell you when i am in the middle of some of the stuff that life throws me these are the furthest thing from my mind.  however, given a little time & distance from the situation they really do help me to process through the stuff & get back to center.
so today’s post is about a different sort of a WIP.  me.  i am a work in process & will continue to be so for the rest of my life.  i have found that when things get rough as they sometimes do that going back to the basics like the 4 agreements can be helpful.  that & some of my favorite music.
so with Dave playing in the background.  myself re-centered.  i am ready to take on the next thing that life has to throw at me.
WIP Wednesday

WIP Wednesday

renegadequilter1 Comment
Wednesday again……..
where does all of the time go?
nothing too exciting this week.  a finish & my next sewing project.  oh & some none sewing related info.

i finished my jelly roll race car quilt.  i totally lost the race but i love how it turned out.  i added a narrow dark brown boarder & then wider print boarder.  i decided to miter the corners.  someone showed me this way awhile back & it works every time for me.

remember me telling you i unsewed 800″ because i didn’t want my snowmen standing on their heads.  i am so happy i did that.  i love that they are all going the same direction.

just a close up of a mitered corner.  i love how they look & after i do them i always say that i am going to always do my boarders this way.  but…..  that doesn’t always happen.
so this quilt gets added to the stack of others that need to be quilted.
speaking of quilting.  i was in my front yard the other day & my neighbor comes over & asks me if i quilt.  my answer was ‘yes’ & she proceeds to tell me how she is a seamstress & tried quilting but didn’t like it.  i about passed out thinking how could anyone not like quilting.  then she tells me that she has a quilting frame that her sister gave her.  her sister is big into quilting.  my neighbor wanted to know if i wanted to have it.  as in free.  heck yes was my answer.  i don’t know much about it except its metal, expands out to a king size & that she & her husband are going to bring it over this weekend.  i am super excited to see what it is & if i can use it.  i will keep you posted.

this is the next project on the to do list.  i can’t say much about it except it going to be a gift of sorts that travels.
now for the none related sewing stuff.  nothing major going on.  i will just have less time to sew & that means being less productive.  i have decided to make a change in my life & that is going to require a bit of my time & energy.  i have lots of (none sewing related) projects that need to get done to make this change happen.  i will still be sewing just not as much.  who knows.  you might even get to see a couple of those none sewing related projects here.  misery loves company right????
i hope you all are sewing away & being productive quilters.
charity · fabric purchases · http://schemas.google.com/blogger/2008/kind#post · renegades · WIP Wednesday

WIP Wednesday

renegadequilter2 Comments
so what have i been working on.  i have been sewing & i have been unsewing which is something that we like to call ‘successful training’.  hahaha. 

a couple of quilt camps ago a few people got on the jelly roll race car quilt kick.  at the time i did not.  i though about it & thought about it.  i thought of ways to change it up some.  make mine a little different.  i am a renegade after all.
in McCall i decided it was time to make the jelly roll race car quilt.
so, i took my jelly roll, trimmed the salvage edges & cut them in two.  instead of 40 strips i had 80.  instead of mitering the ends i butt seamed them.  then i started to sew the 1st seam.  my jelly roll has directional fabric in it.  i realized that if i put the quilt together like the instructions said that i would have snowmen standing on their heads.  i only did the 1 seam in McCall before we packed up & came home.
a few days of being at home & i decided to unsew that 1st seam.  all 800 inches of it.  for some reason i could not have my snowmen standing on their heads.  yes, i am crazy.  but, at least i admit it.


so, here it is.  my renegaded jelly roll race quilt.  if i was in a real race i would have been black flagged for going too slow.  i love that all of my snowmen are going the same way so if 1 stands on his head they all will be standing on their heads.
i have 2 borders to add to the quilt.  a narrow solid brown & then a wider print from the same line.

i make & sell handbags at a local artisan barn & they were out so last night i took these to the barn.  a little bit of variety.
for the camp in McCall i thought it would be nice if each of us brought fabric so i could sew up a pillow case to donate.  we got the fabric but the sewing up part didn’t happen until this past week.  they are washed & ready to be delivered.
lastly, i must share.  back in March or April when i saw Countdown to Christmas from Sweetwater i knew i wanted some.  so my friends who have a quilt shop near by ordered my a fat quarter bundle.  i has forgotten about it until i got the email explaining why i didn’t have it sooner.  no big deal.  i have no plans for it except to sit and look at it.  i love this fabric.
i hope everyone is having a productive week.
giveaways

Winner Winner

renegadequilter3 Comments
the lucky winner of the 2 countdown to christmas charm packs is……

Debra said… 
Defiantely color catchers and the heat set signatures should be fine!
i am sending her an email to get her mailing address.
thanks to all of you for your great suggestions on my siggy swap quilt.  i think that the signatures that i am unsure of i will go over with a sharpie & heat set them all again.  i will then wash it in cold water, very little detergent & about 10 color catchers.
i will let you know how it turns out.
thanks again.  its nice having a great group of people to answer questions like this one. 

giveaways · renegades · WIP Wednesday

WIP Wednesday & A Giveaway!!!!

renegadequilter67 Comments
this week i am sharing what i got done while i was at the Renegade’s quilt camp in McCall this past weekend.  if you stick with me through the entire post you will see a giveaway at the bottom.  no jumping ahead.  there might be a quiz.

no, this is not mine.  Denise put this together at camp.  amazing i know.  she does beautiful work & is very talented.  she is also super nice so she shares her knowledge with the rest of us.

another Denise creation.  she started this at my house back in May & finished it up at camp with adding the boarders to it.

i made this quilt awhile back.  i quilted & bound it at camp.  i think i have about 13 quilts or so that need quilted.  at least one is done.

i used a studio dye cutter to cut the tumblers which went super quick.
i love the front but i also love the back.  its a modern twist on the back & i am beginning to love this look more & more.
i quilted & bound this baby quilt that i made at the previous camp.  i called this my WAG quilt.  i gave it to the gal today who asked me to make it for her & she loved it.

i took my serger to camp with me as well.  i made 9 pairs of pajama pants.  i can not show you all 9 pairs here because 7 of them are for gifts & some people do read my blog.  the 2 i am showing here are for me.  i have 1 more pair to make then i am done with pajama pants for awhile.

i put together this top at camp as well.  these blocks came from a block swap thing i did with some local quilters/friends.  our theme was a holiday or a season.  i picked Christmas.

an up close shot of my focus fabric.  i am pleased with how it turned out.  so add that to the list of quilts to be quilted.

i took my 2010 Modern Siggy Swap quilt to quilt while i was at camp.  i got it done but not without some challenges.  i spray basted it in the garage at camp. i then got Denise to look at it with me to talk about the quilting of it.  it was then that i discovered i had put the bottom row on wrong.  ugh.  so, i peeled back the quilt, unsewed the bottom row, fixed it & re-basted it.  yuck.

i used rainbow variegated thread for the quilting.  i just did swirls around each block.  this is a shot of the back of the quilt.  the quilting frames each siggy block.

i am very happy with how it turned out.  white is not a color that i normally use but for this i thought it was the right way to go.
so now for the $64,000 question.
do i wash it?  yes or no?
if i wash it then how?  or do i use special quilt washing soap?
i want to wash it but i am afraid of lightening some of the signatures or having some of them bleed.  someone said as long as its heat set i should be fine washing it.  i don’t know what to do.  i want the puckery look of a washed quilt but i don’t want to loose any of the signatures.
HELP
this is where i get your advice & you get a chance to win something fun.
my previous post was #200 for me & so i thought i should have a giveaway.  i am giving away 2 ‘countdown to christmas’ charm packs.

for 1 entry leave me a comment about washing my siggy quilt.  would you wash it?  if so how?  or any tips, tricks you may have for me regarding this issue.
for a 2nd entry blog, Tweet, Facebook or tell a friend about my giveaway & leave me a comment letting me know what you did.
so, that’s 2 chances to enter.  you must leave a comment for each item.  i will leave the giveaway open until 5:00 pm (pst) Monday the 17th.
so get out there & spread the word!!!!!!
renegades · WIP Wednesday

WIP Wednesday

renegadequilter6 Comments
WIP Wednesday on Thursday.
no surprise there.  yesterday we traveled to quilt camp & got set up & settled in.  the Renegades are in McCall, ID for a long quilt camp.

here is a pic of the lake & the town.  taken from the City of McCall’s website.
McCall is a great place to come anytime of the year.
sorry no sewing related pics.
but…….
this is my 200th post so i will be having a giveaway soon………
make sure to come back for that.
http://schemas.google.com/blogger/2008/kind#post · WIP Wednesday

WIP Wednesday

renegadequilter6 Comments
WIP Wednesday & Quilt Camp III post
i saved what i did at quilt camp for this post since this is what i got accomplished this past week.

a bee block that i still need to get in the mail.
i quilted this quilt which i have had the top done for sometime now.  truth be told i have a total of 11 tops & now a few more that need to be quilted.  it was a fun quilt to quilt.  now i just need to get the 11+ quilted.

i pieced the back & i love how it turned out.  i mentioned to a co-worker that i was thinking of selling it & she bought it.  hello more fabric.

i was hired by a friend to make a baby quilt for her sister who is expecting a girl.  i took my box of pink scraps to camp with no plan for the quilt in mind.  i went through my scraps & pulled light pinks.  then went to the cutting table & cut them to 6″ with varying lengths.  i then began to lay out rows.
i added a boarder & this is what i got.  i call it my WAG quilt which stands for ‘wild ass guess’ because i had no plan & it turned out pretty good.  i will be quilting it next week at my next quilt camp.

i got the last 2 boarders on my modern siggy swap quilt.  finally.  i was working on this quilt in March when the call came that my niece was about to be born.  sad to say i not had touched it since then.  but, its now finished & ready to be quilted.
i finished this quilt top which started out as a quilt along in blogland that stopped at block #9.  i picked 3 more star blocks & sewed them up then laid out the quilt with sashing & corner stones.  another quilted needing to be quilted.

drum roll please…….
my Cartwheel quilt top is finished.  i LOVE this quilt.  i LOVE the fabric in it.  i LOVE the pattern.  i LOVE it all.

i laid out all of the blocks at camp & played with the layout some.  then i asked what some of the gals thought.  we moved some blocks around & walked away from it.  came back awhile later & looked at it.  i still liked how the layout was.  so i picked up the rows in order & labeled them.
when i got to the point of being ready to sew the rows together i laid out the quilt again.  making sure for a 3rd & final time that i was happy with the layout.  i was.  so now its finished.  another quilt needing quilted.

what would a quilt camp be for me without a bag.  so, i made this one.  i took a couple of patterns to camp with me.  some fabric. some supplies.  i had nothing pre-cut & ready to go this time.

the pattern is from Pink Sand Beach Designs.  its called Huntington Hobo.  there is an outside zipper pocket which you can see in the 1st pic.  the bag also has a zippered closure which was sort of new for me.  it went together really well & so now i might do some more bags with zippered closures.
i love the lining fabric.  bright & fun.  the pattern calls for 1 set of pockets but when i make this again i will do pockets on both sides of the inside.  i haven’t sewin shut the lining yet because i want to add some heavy duty interfacing to the bottom for stability which the pattern doesn’t call for.
so there you have it.  what i have been doing in the land of sewing for the past 7 days.  quilt camp was a lot of fun & we had a lot of laughs.
i leave next Wednesday for another camp.  so hopefully i will get a lot done at that camp as well.
also, i noticed that this is my 199th post.  after post number 200 i will be hosting another giveaway so check back soon.
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Quilt Camp II

renegadequilter1 Comment
here is my 2nd post from the quilt camp that i was at this past weekend.

a flip flop quilt made by Leslie.

a Strip Search quilt made by Shelly.
this quilt was done by Joyce & her daughter.  hand embroidery.  amazing.


another top pieced by Shelly.


a top by Jacki.

a ring bearer’s pillow by Leslie.

a fun pot-holder that Rhonda brought supplies for & showed everyone how to make them.

a project by Sharon.  not sewin together yet.  its amazing what you see in a picture that you don’t see with your eyes.

a top by Leslie.
an amazing quilt top by Joanie.

a few gals did the race car quilt.  this is Shelly’s.
this is Leslie’s.
tomorrow you will see what i did while i was at this quilt camp.
i realized last night that my next quilt camp is next week.  eek!!!!!!  i leave Wednesday.  its a mini one in McCall with the Renegades.  i have some stuff ready and some stuff to get ready.
fun fun
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Quilt Camp I

renegadequilter1 Comment
this past weekend i was at quilt camp.  first one of the season.  we had a fun group of ladies & we all got a lot done.  here are a few pics from camp.  i will be doing a few posts from this camp.
a top finished by Shelly.
at this camp we were asked to make a baby size quilt top for a charity project.
this is mine.

this is Shelly’s.

this is Sharon’s.
Elizabeth made this adorable baby bonnet.  this camp was filled with some amazingly talented women. 

2 baby quilts by Shelly.
a king size quilt top put together by Joanie.  its a monster.
check back for another post from quilt camp with more projects.
the month of September is coming to a close this week.  the weather is cooler and the days are shorter.  i am sad to see September go.  i had a great month with 3 amazing & unforgettable trips.  thanks a million to those people who made those trips possible.
http://schemas.google.com/blogger/2008/kind#post · WIP Wednesday

WIP Wednesday (a day late)

renegadequilter3 Comments
a day late but hey that is how things have been for me this month.
i am leaving bright & early this morning for quilt camp.  i packed the car last night & as i got things ready i took a few pics of stuff i will be working on at camp.


i have all of the blocks done for my Cartwheel quilt.  so i will be getting these sewed together.  i can’t wait to see how it turns out.

i will finish sewing together this simple baby quilt.  Rhonda who puts together this camp has each of her campers do a baby quilt top for a charity & then she quilts & binds them.  i know.  great idea.

i have a Bee block to put together.
i am going to attempt to quilt this quilt.  depending upon the space i have.
as well as my Opening Day quilt.

i am also taking along my fabric for my drunkards path quilt.  i have no idea if i will get to it because there are several other projects that i packed but didn’t take pics of.  par for the course for me this month.  lots going on & not enough time to focus on what to take to camp.  so my logic was ‘when in doubt – pack it.’
i will be posting some from camp so you can see my progress.
this is my last journey away from home for a couple of weeks.  it will be nice to have sometime at home.  however, my next trip is to another quilt camp.
happy sewing!