Bricks Quilt--the second

This bricks quilt was so easy to machine quilt. I simply quilted in the ditch. I think that I should have made it a bit longer, though. But it is a nice size for a lap quilt. I'm putting in a close-up photo because I think that this fabric is so amusing. I found a fat quarter that's printed to look like money. I'm putting this quilt away for a rainy day. I plan to donate it to a sick person as a Healing Quilt.
Sad news here, one of the sick people that I gave a quilt to has died. I'm planning to attend a prayer meeting at the home of the mourners this evening.
Meanwhile, as my blogging friends know, I'm already sewing another quilt. It's a log cabin. More news to follow.
Here's a question for you--if you were planning to take out insurance--how much value would you place on your fabric stash and sewing equipment?

Dove quilt

This is the Dove quilt completed. Now I have to do the application process at http://www.alzquilts.org/index.html because this quilt is to be donated to the great cause of medical research to find help for those suffering with Alzheimer's Disease. It took six hours to make. It's an original design of mine. And I hand appliqued, embroidered and quilted it. But it's quite tiny, under 9 by 12 inches. The embroidery stitches are blanket stitch and fly stitch. Now on to the exciting topic of Tonya Ricucci's book Word Play Quilts. I'm the proud owner of a copy. It's so well written. And the illustrations are excellent. Tonya, it's a triumph! I'm sure that it will be a popular book with quilters, and words will be sprouting up on all sorts of quilts. Furthermore, the book has a great deal of humor, and it's entertaining. That's a big achievement for a technical book. For anyone who has been in the Antarctic for the past few months, Tonya's blog is http://lazygalquilting.blogspot.com/

Completed flannel quilt

I thought I would add some autumn photos to my blog today. These trees line the street near my house. I call that a California maple, but I'm no plant expert. Anyway, it's a charming tree and they grow lots of them around here. I figure if I can't travel to New England to see the fall colors, I'll just take a walk in my neighborhood. As Rabbe Nachman of Breslov said, "Have you looked up at the sky this morning?"

Good news, I've completed the little scrap flannel quilt, sewn on the binding--and it's all ready to go to the charity. I quilted it by sewing one of the fancy stitches on my machine along the seam lines, and down the centers of the blocks. Finishing this quilt was a challenge from Finn at http://finnleah.blogspot.com/ Pieces From my Scrapbag Blog--to complete unfinished quilt tops by New Year's. I guess that I made it on time. I'm now in a thinking mode, as I decide what quilt pattern to make next. I want to donate another quilt. The charity group that I volunteer for asked for blankets--so it's blankets they will get. I'm also making a granny afghan using bits of left over knitting worsted yarn. Got a granny block done last night while watching TV.

Happy Thanksgiving! My daughter and son-in-law live near me, and I'm going over to their house for dinner. What I love most about Thanksgiving is joining with family and friends for a lovely time together. It's a big group hug.

Tribute to Modigliani

First of all, the star block that I posted the other day is on its way to being the center of a medallion quilt. Only one big square in the center, and then add on borders until it's big enough--whenever and wherever that takes me. I'm inspired by Gewn Marston's book "Ideas and Inspirations" which has some medallion quilts. Pardon me, Gwen, but I'm using some prints! Her book only uses solids and with great effect. She is a quilt artist. I don't make medallion quilts much, because I generally make quilts in sections, which I machine quilt before putting the whole quilt together. And medallion quilts don't lend themselves to that method. But, depending upon this quilt's final size, I will make the decision of quilting or tying later. One thing about making a medallion quilt--there are no squares to be joined together. Oh, that's not quite correct--I'm making some to sew into the border. But it's not quite the same as making a whole quilt out of equal sized squares.
Second of all, I'm posting a free-pieced quilt. It's tiny because I'm making it for http://alzquilts.org as a donation for research and care of Alzheimer's Disease patients. The largest quilt that they want is 9 by 12 inches. I was inspired by the books "Modigliani" by Douglas Hall and Gwen Marston's " Collaborative Quilting". Modigliani and Van Gogh are a couple of my favorite artists. Unfortunately, Modigliani died at a very young age from tuberculosis.

MLK Day

In honor of MLK day, Cheri at http://jovaliquilts.blogspot.com/ suggests that people work on some donation project. I think that's a good idea, especially for an old (1964) picket line walker like myself. I was one of those strange white people who "suddenly turned up on line." Check out her blog for more details about the donation plans. I have just donated a quilt to an organization that helps the homeless today, and I'm hoping to start another one. I'll plan to start it on the 19th.