In featherbed with Anna Maria and Denyse

A (long)while ago I started this very cute quilt designed by Anna Maria Horner. While I was enthusiastic I finished all the blocks very fast. I sewed in chains, whirled through my sewing space like a hurricane. But what happened then? As soon as I had finished the blocks they sat there. And sat there for months.

 That happens to me quite often. I start very enthusiastic and shortly before it is about to put it all together, my quilting energy level for the project gets lost. I still have some projects like these in the drawer.

Well but this weekend I managed to finish the featherbed quilt. I call this quilt "In featherbed with Anna Maria and Denyse", because I used the  Flea Market Fancy fabric line of Denyse Schmidt. I really like how it turned out. First I wanted to do somy fancy and crazy free motion quilting on it, but then decided that I´d rather finish it with a stippling pattern, just to get it done.

Because I am in a creative quilting hole at the moment. I don´t know what project to start, don´t know which fabrics I want to use. I go through my stash once in a while and then I put all the fabrics I had chosen back on the shelf, because I don´t even know what pattern I want to sew.
The fact that I still have some quilts to finish might be the reason for that. The reason that I am blocked.
I hope this will change as soon as I have finished them up.

 

Until then I will enjoy my new quilt and will go to featherbed with Anna Maria and Denyse tonight.
Have a nice day, everybody!

Quilt Workshop

Ein herzliches Hallo an alle Leser aus Berlin!
Am kommenden Sonntag gebe ich mal wieder einen Workshop in Sachen Quilten. Hier könnt Ihr Genaueres darüber erfahren. Zwei Plätze haben wir noch. Bei Interesse einfach melden!
Eine schöne Woche wünscht Euch,
Miriam

A Christmas Present

Before Christmas I started this quilt as a present for a good friend.Unfortunately life came in the way and I couldn´t finish it in time. So now that work is a little slow I find the time to finish some quilts up.

 I wanted to do some special quilting on this one. It took me a whole day, but I like how it looks now. 

I dove into my Anna Maria Horner fabrics and chose some of my favorite. For the backround I used a red solid, to show all the dense quilting.

I used this tutorial from Missouri star quilt company for the front. I have to say I really like the tutorials, they are so easy to follow and quite inspirational.

Have a wonderful, inspirational and productive sunday.

P.S. By the way, my friend received another quilt as christmas gift.

SWAP*PEN Pillow swap

I finished the pillow for my secret partner. A few minutes ago I posted the picture of it on flickr. And I can say I never have been so excited (and afraid), if my partner likes it. I absolutely have no clue why I am so nervous this time.

Ich habe das Kissen für meinen geheimen Tauschpartner fertiggestellt und vor wenigen Mintuten das Foto bei flickr geposted. Komischerweise war ich noch nie so aufgeregt und ängstlich... ob es meiner Partnerin wohl gefällt.

Anyway. To make it was a blast allthough it took ages. I was extremely inspired by the supernova quilt from Jacquie Gerings book Quilting Modern.

 Trotzdem, diese Kissen zu nähen hat riesig Spaß gemacht. Der Supernova Quilt von Jacquie Gering aus ihrem Buch Quilting Modern diente mir als Inspiration und die Anleitung für den Quilt habe ich mir auf Kissengröße "heruntergerechnet".

I think the outcome looks more like a giant rare flower than a supernova. One of the amazing things about these swaps is,that you can dive in other styles and techniques which you never would have tried, just because you think your partner could like it.

Ich finde das Ergebnis sieht eher wie ein große, seltene Blume oder wie ein Blumenwiese aus, als wie eine Supernova. Das tolle an diesen Tauschgeschichten ist, daß man neue Sachen und Stilrichtungen ausprobiert,weil man etwas machen möchte, was dem Partner gefällt.
So sei es, Euch allen einen schönen Tag!

Chuck-A-Luck

I am a vintage girl. I love everything vintage. My furniture at home come from times between the 20ies and today (who could live without a little ikea?).
I have a dressing table here which my mother already used as a young girl, my living room cupboard is from the 50ies, my couch from the 60ies and so on. I really love old stuff. I also love the music from the 50ies and 60ies  and I recently started old fashioned swing dancing.

 Why I am telling you that? I think one of the reasons why I love quilting so much, is because there are so many wonderful vintage quilts and quilt patterns out there.
Unfortunately we have no quilting history in my family, I wish I had something which was given from generation to generation. A lot of house moving and so throwing away things, happened in my childhood, a nasty divorce  of my parents with fights about things did the rest. There is not much "Miriam family history" left, at least not in things.
So the idea of making something that expresses me and can be given to next generations makes me happy (unless, until now, there is no next generation unfortunately...).

Oh I don´t know how to come to the point again.
I was invited to the Nancy Cabot made modern group a while ago, and so found an index of very interesting vintage quiltblock patterns which I wanted to try someday. These patterns are quite old if you combine them with wonderful modern fabrics, they look totally modern and cool.

Here is my interpretation of the chuck-a-luck block pattern which can be found here.
I really love how this quilt turned out. And what I like even more (and what I would never have guessed) is the puffyness of it, because of the less quilting.

 So this is it, another finish. And today I have some hours left to start quilting the next one. Whowho  I am getting there.

Take care and have a wonderful day!

A "scrap vomit" wanna be

Juhu!!! I am getting some quilts done. It really started to overwhelm  me, so I had to get some finished. Here is number one:

 The quilt who wanted to become a scrap vomit when grown up. While making it and combining the scraps I had on hand, I noticed that I don´t like it at all. The colours where lame together and there was definetely missing something. Pink.

 And in general I noticed that I start being into pink recently. The funny thing is, that I have a lot of pink fabric in my stash, but don´t use them in my quilts very often. Maybe in the future I will.
Anyway, because of the lack of colour, I cut some strips and sashed the blocks. I think this is really cute now. This babysized quilt will be in my shop, soon. No babygirls around at the moment to give it away.

I know that it is not just me having the "problem" of not finishing up my quilttops. Do you, too?
How many unfinished quilts do you have lying around?
I think here there are still 3 tops. So I better get quilting.

A Very Special Swap

Aylin is hosting an awesome pillow swap. It is a swap within germany and german speaking countries only and it  is so exciting because  there are a lot new "faces" which I hadn´t seen in the community before that swap.

 I have the feeling that everybody tries her best to make the most beautiful and matching pillow for the secret partner. My partner has a bit different style then me, but I think I am on a good way.

  In fact I think I never had such a mess in my sewing space before. The pattern I chose for the pillow needs a lot of cutting and piecing and again cutting of tiny pieces. What I know now, is that I think I wouldn´t make a pillow like this for me, allthough the result is wonderful. I am just not that patient. I love me  a good chain piecing, big pieses of fabric, fast.
 
 But this is the wonderful thing of these swaps, that you have the possibility to chalenge yourself and learn new things.
So the top for the pillow is done, now its about the quilting but this has to wait, because there are still three quilts to be basted and quilted.

Have a wonderful rest of sunday,
Miriam
...and in the back the scrappy trip blocks... obligatory.