Sew Elbow

October 2, 20145 Comments

I’m suffering from lateral epicondylitis, also known as “tennis elbow.” My doctor says I have “sew-itis.” So, no sewing or cleaning or sweeping for at least three weeks. I can type, though.

I thought I’d share some photos I took at the Richmond Quilt Guild‘s recent show. The first two are by ladies I know.

Annette Lemon designed this fabulous quilt, “Liberated My Way”:

Joyce Brown created this stunning quilt, “Dancing Batiks”:

I really liked this appliqued quilt:

And, the subtle mix of fabrics in this quilt caught my eye:

Take care,

Wanda

Row by Row Experience: Sew a Season

September 14, 2014August 26, 20257 Comments

The theme for the Row by Row Experience was “Sew a Season.” Each quilt shop chose a “season” and created a pattern which you could pick up for free at each of the shops. My intention was to make a project from each of the quilt shops I visited, so 8 shops 8 projects. So far I had made a tote bag using the pattern from Blue Crab Quilt Co., and a pillow cover from The New River Fiber Co. Next up on my list was Creative Quilting Connection, located in Roanoke, Virginia. Their block was called, “Autumn in the Star City”.

The fabrics reminded me of the quilt pattern, The Grove, by Carolyn Friedlander. I purchased it some time ago:

I made four trees with the batiks, and of course they look like “Autumn.” Now I needed the other seasons: Summer, Winter and Spring and maybe Football Season because it’s always Football Season at my house.

During my Row by Row by Experience, I traveled across almost all of Virginia from the city to the valley to the mountains and to the sea. We visited Chincoteague, Virginia, an island on the Atlantic Ocean, and I got the kit from Quilts by the Sea. The fabric was perfect for my “Summer” row of trees:

After making a few “Summer” row trees, I didn’t like having to add a border in between the blocks so I flipped them. The blocks are mirror images left to right anyway, so up and down seemed like the perfect solution:

I had “Spring” fabric from the kit I purchased at Sew Biz, located in Radford, Virginia:

I liked the idea of white trees for winter, and I made “football season” in school colors: black, blue and white. I plan to hand quilt it.

Just a quick note on our trip to Chincoteague Island. We ate the most heavenly ice cream at The Island Creamery.

Raspberry — my favorite!

UPDATE: Here’s a photo of the finished quilt:

Row by Row Experience: The New River Fiber Co.

September 6, 20142 Comments

The New River Fiber Co., located in Blacksburg, Virginia, was a great find during my Row by Row Experience. It had a modern vibe, and I just loved the “Spring” block they created for this “Sew a Season” shop hop:

The photo, taken from their Facebook page, does not show how beautiful the fabric was. I bought the kit:

The New River Fiber Co. had wonderful quilt fabric as well as lots and lots of yarn. They also had really soft pillow forms. I bought one and made a pillow with this quilt block.

The “dogwoods” were easy to make, basically a snowball block with one background corner missing:

I made two big, one medium and two small “dogwoods.” I machine appliqued the centers using decorative stitches:

I played with the arrangement until it pleased me:

I initially did not have the “half” dogwood on the right side, but when I squared up the block it just seemed like that part needed a flower. I used the part cut from the top dogwood. Thank goodness for seam rippers.

I used the leftover fabric to make the back: