I Do Love a Challenge!

I do love a challenge, and this octagonal orb pattern is not one to disappoint. I have finished the first eight wedges that make up each orb, and I can see all kinds of fun waiting for me.

Every quilt seems to come with a lesson or two...a skill that we can hone. The irony, though, is that once I get fairly good at said skill, the quilt is nearly finished.

Something else is making me happy. I found some more modern fabrics in my stash to incorporate into this quilt. I honestly had no idea what I was going to do with them when I bought them, but who can resist all that pizazz?

Have a great weekend!

Thoroughly Modern Me?

Yesterday I celebrated International Quilting Weekend with the Bakersfield Modern Quilt Guild. My friend Darla invited me to attend their Saturday Sew-In at Strawberry Patches. What a nice group of ladies! And all of them are so smart. They reported on everything that they had learned from their visit to Quiltcon 2016 in February. I left knowing a whole lot more about modern quilters and their quilts.

My afternoon turned out to be very productive. Looks at all the strips I cut!

I brought this unruly stack of hot pink, orange, and silvery gray fabrics. There is still plenty left over.

This pattern has intrigued me for years. I am going to make the inner and outer rings out of the pinks and oranges. The center ring will be gray prints. The background will be silver gray. And don't expect to see the orbs arranged in an orderly grid. That wouldn't be any fun at all!

The link for the pattern can be found at:

https://themodernquiltguild.files.wordpress.com/2012/01/octagonal-orb-quilt-block-tutorial.pdf

Enjoy the rest of your quilty weekend!

"Rustic Cabin Holiday"

There is nothing better than a box of batik scraps that have been cut into a variety of strips. About four summers ago, I set about making some irregular log cabin blocks.

 

The log cabins remind me of the funky little cabins at a beautiful yoga retreat I have visited in the Sierra Nevada Mountains.

 

 

Last summer I finally got the blocks sewn together along with the sashing, cornerstones, and red setting triangles. I didn't have a bit left of that lovely red batik when it was all said and done. I can't remember the name, manufacturer, or where I bought it.

 

The quilt is sandwiched now, and I have finished stitching the anchoring lines. I plan to do some free motion quilting over much of the top, so that should take just about forever.

"Chinese Magnolias With Bamboo"

I always promised myself I would eventually make a bamboo inspired quilt. I wasn't really sure what my color choices would be or what else was going to be on the quilt. I just let those thoughts percolate in my mind for about twelve years.

Finally, when I came home from my visit to Utah in August of 2014, I found myself feverishly piecing tiny blocks made of some gorgeous Asian fabrics I had purchased on my trip. When I eventually came up for air, I realized that those ornate blocks definitely needed some appliqued bamboo to go with them!

And some Chinese magnolias.

I finished this wall quilt just days before I had to drop it off at the Home Arts Building at the Kern County Fair on February 10, 2016. That's where the Cotton Patch Quilters collect their entries prior to their shows. I am really not sure what took me so long to finish this project, but it seemed to go on and on.

Here is a detail shot. I always have such fun with the rich Asian prints.

"Chinese Magnolias With Bamboo" has been juried into the Best of the Valley Regional Show and will headed that way in early April. In the meantime, I will enjoy seeing it hanging on my dining room wall.