Someday

A few year ago, we transplanted an oak that had come up volunteer in our back yard. http://elzbeesplace.blogspot.com/2011/02/one-busy-guy.html  We weren't sure exactly what kind of oak it was, but we hoped it would be one that would give us some fall color.  This is the first year that it has showed us its potential and I am so pleased.  If our crepes myrtles manage to hang in there after these tough drought seasons we have had recently, in a few years, come fall, I may be able to step out into our back yard and get a good soaking of fall color. Happy sigh!

This is my last post for the year.  Merry Christmas to everyone and a Happy New Year!  See you in 2014.

Churning Day

Continuing with a nostalgic theme, here is another quilt made from some older blocks donated by the neighbor of L, one of my quilt ladies.  The name of the block is Churn Dash. W set the blocks with blue and yellow gingham and then quilted in the ditch around the block pattern and sashing.  

Since the background for the blocks was a plain muslin, I did some fill work to add some texture.

We used muslin for the backings as well, so this quilt has a sense of real old-fashioned comfort.  

Family Ties: Connections to the Past and Present

The old always has a certain fascination about it--a certain patina and romance.  My latest commissioned project gave me opportunity to tie together the past and present.  A woman in my church had some friendship blocks that had belonged to her mother and she wanted them put into a quilt.  I overheard her say to someone that everyone named in the blocks was family.  So I bring you Family Ties:

Using some fabric from my stash, I pieced together the blocks.  

 Here is the finished quilt.

In the blocks I did a simple outline around the names and then a heart and leaf motif in the corners

 Heart stippling in the sashing.

A simple leaf design in the first border,

Flower and leaf design for the outer border.

Back details.

 I had two extra blocks, so I hemmed them to the back.

Happy Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving:  an offering of gratitude.  a looking around at life and seeing God's grace in both the joys and the sorrows.

For my family:  a loving husband. wonderful kiddos and kiddos-in-law. grandbabies! :-D extended family gatherings we look forward to attending instead of dreading. 

In this winter weather:  a pleasant home, warm clothes, good food.

Time:  time to quilt. time to knit. time to be with my quilting conspirators each week. :-)

Beauty:  sunrises. sunsets. fall color. wild flowers.

Fun:  good movies. music. meaningful conversations.  

Grace: comfort. encouragement. guidance. communion.

Enter His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise.

Give thanks to Him and praise His name

For the Lord is good and His love endures forever;

His faithfulness continues through all generations.

Psalms 100:4-5

Happy Thanksgiving!

Studio Tour

Back when I purchased Mr. J, I rearranged my studio to accommodate two machines and to create a larger work surface for machine quilting.  Though the new set up functioned pretty well, I didn't like the way the room felt as much.  As I started working on larger projects, I had problems with the quilts catching on the corner of my sewing table.  Also, as I shifted the quilt around, I would find myself fighting the weight of the quilt not under the needle when it would start to fall to the floor.  

I had been mulling over the idea of a new configuration, but didn't think I could get everything to fit in the space right.  Finally, I pulled out my measuring tape and decided to give it a try.  Wow!  I love the space so much more, both how it looks and how it functions.  

Here is the before arrangement:

And here is the after:

View from the door

The first area is where I piece/sew.  I roll my chair around to where ever I need to work.  In the old arrangement, I tended to bump the wall as I got up and down to press or cut.

I moved this Elfa unit in from another part of our home. It will hold current projects so I can keep my workspace clear.

 To the side is my actual desk space where I do card making.  

A very important aspect to the arrangement was keeping a peninsula for cutting so I can work from either side of the table.

 And now I have an L-shaped workspace for quilting, eliminating the "catching on the corner" issue as well as creating a space for the quilt to spread out without falling onto the floor.

The workspaces feel more spacious, the overall feel of the room is more pleasant, and everything functions wonderfully.  Elzbee's Place is a very happy place.

Pooh and Friends

When great-grandma is a quilter and a new great-grandbaby arrives, well, obviously, that great-grandbaby needs a quilt.  L. is such a great-grandma and so she made this cute Pooh-themed quilt. And I had the privilege of quilting it for her.  Here it is:  Pooh and Friends.

 A little meandering in the main blocks.

 Sprinkled some stars in the nine patches.

 L. really like these honey bees that I had done in an earlier quilt and requested them. 

 And Pooh just has to have honey bees.

More stars in the border and this quilt is ready for sleepy time.  

Fall Color

What a glorious way to start the week!

Wooly News

It has been a while since I have shared any knitting projects since it is harder for me to find opportunity to get photos of them.  My younger daughter lives in a much colder climate than I do, so I will send her wooly items now and then so she can find good homes for them. Several of them are soon to be on their way to her, so I needed to get on the ball with pictures if I was going to have any at all.  

Here are some of them:

Negative Spaces

Since I was a bit under the weather on Monday, I am getting to this a bit late this week.  Now that I am back to normal (happy sigh), here is a little quilt for your enjoyment.

I named this project Fern Bluff both for the fern pattern in the focal fabric and the actual fern bluffs that are along some nearby walking trails.  This little quilt will be the spring season quilt for above our fireplace. 

As I was working out the quilting patterns, I realized how one pattern created negative spaces in which I could do another pattern--a interesting experiment and something I want to keep in mind with future projects.  The squiggly lines I did in plain blocks created space for a flower design.

I outlined the stars and then echoed the flower design in the middle.

Image Bearer

Sculptor's tools in hand

Love mingling sorrow, joy

Reflecting His heart

Waterlily

Every quilt is an experience.  And every quilt has its own expression.  Some are bright and cheerful.  Some are warm and cozy.  Some just make me smile.  Some are a little aggravating in the process, but we usually end up friends by the end.  And some are just lovely. 

Waterlily falls into the lovely category.  The colors are calm and soothing.  The quilting worked out just right.  It was a pleasure to work on, and tempting to keep for myself.  I hope it is a comfort to who ever receives it.

 A Disappearing Nine Patch done by D.

The border was Pinterest inspired.  Very fun to do. 

Taking Care of Business

Have I mentioned that I love machine quilting?  If not, perhaps it is somewhat obvious from my posts. ;-)  Have I mentioned that others have show interest in my quilting?  There are a few posts on that, too.  That interest brought me to a bit of a crossroads in my quilting endeavors.  As my profile states, I lean towards a quiet life and being entrepreneurial has never really been more than a fleeting thought here or there.  However, with requests for quilting coming my way now and then, I needed to decide what direction to take.

After weighing the options, I decided to take the plunge and make myself an actual business.  I am working through the permit process slowly and hope to have all that figured out before too long. Though I am officially a business woman now, I am not trying to be a business in the sense of actively building clientele.  Rather, when requests do come my way, I want to be able to take on that work without any questionable money issues.  

The other side of being a business is time, and that, as much as anything, was a big factor in my consideration.  While I love working on projects for other people, I still want time to do my own projects.  I also didn't want to have a schedule that was constantly pressed for time.  The house still needs to be cleaned, the laundry done, and meals fixed.  Nor do I want the pressure of a backload of projects.  

The blessing of my situation is that I don't need to do this for income, therefore I can take on only the amount of projects I have time for.  I can devote up to four hours a week for commissioned quilts--not a lot of time, but enough to keep things moving steadily.  I will have two hours a week reserved solely for my own projects.  And, of course, when I don't have any commissioned quilts in the works, I can spend more time on my own projects.  

So, I am headed down a new path, and I look forward to seeing where this adventure leads.  

Retreat!

Our forces gathered.  We loaded our equipment. Drivers and troops entered the vehicles and off to the country we retreated for an overnight, nothing but quilting, getaway.  

The retreat center is a work-in-progress begun by the son and daughter-in-law of one of my quilt ladies.  Though the facility is still lacking finishing touches, it is a great workspace with all the necessary amenities for all day quilting fun.
  
We each had our own table--plenty of room spread out all our fabrics and supplies.  There were also a couple of design boards, an area for ironing, and one for cutting.  The chairs were comfy and had wheels, so we could maneuver around quite easily.  

A full kitchen made meals quick and easy.

Here is my space.  The proprietors had several Ott lights available, so we had excellent lighting in our workspaces.

And here are some of our projects.  K finished binding off one of our group quilts.

B had this wonderful wall hanging of Kaffe Fassett fabrics.

N was working on this project.  Love the fabrics. 

D started on a cute baby quilt.

W worked on a charm quilt.  Really pretty.

P began a quilt for her granddaughter.  Great colors.

L put the binding on a quilt for a soon to come great grandbaby.  I did the quilting on this one and will have more details on it in another post.

P helped with the binding on this group quilt.  

K used a curtain panel to make this sweet group quilt.  

 S made this lovely Christmas table runner.  

We had lots of fun, lots of quilting, and lots of fellowship.  We will definitely have to plan to do this again.  Retreat!