I've Been Framed!

Yep! You heard correctly.... I've been framed........ Allow me to introduce the culprit!

Frame Profile: Forty-five inches long; thirty-two inches tall; and eighteen inches wide

This wonderful quilting frame was lovely made by a friend who has since passed away.

He heard some of us quilters talking one day, years ago, about hand quilting and the woos of finding a good frame. His wife explained how important height and adjustability would be to a quilter and the weight of a frame would need to be light and easy to move and/or store in the home.

He quietly went back to his workshop and drafted several frames before coming up with a workable one that would fit a quilter's needs for the home.

I can just imagine his workshop, the sawdust, the sounds of the saw,  drill and router..... oh I've been around carpenters, if you're wondering (great-uncle was carpenter).

Hinges and wing screws aid in adjusting the tilt of frame.

This frame tilts for ease of quilting and as you can see is spring tension adjustable so that the quilt does not fit to tightly in the frame.

Groove where inner frame fits.

Springs on both ends of the inner frame holds the quilt in place.

Frame can be tilted downward or remain upright.

Needless to say I love this frame.  Only a couple of us were able to purchase the frames before the builder passed away but each time I use it, I just smile and remember how wonderful he was.

 

Dressing Up A Bland Quilt

I don't have a photo of this radiating star quilt before I applied the flower pots but I think you can imagine how bland this quilt was without them.

I pondered a solution for several weeks before coming up with the flowers.

I started with the center one and immediately decided to not stay within the confines of the block which, in my opinion, was a smart decision.

In the following blocks I used some of my favorite textured fabrics and of course use my favorite adhesive, Steam-a-Seam.

The final measurements of this quilt is 48 inches square and I'm much happier with it now.  What are your thoughts on the subject of dressing up a quilt??

Template Difficutlies on Design Wall Monday

Make sure you pop over to Judy's Blog to see what everyone else is up to.

First template.... Template A...... I'm thinking something to do with the "Y" seam should do the trick......... let's see...... Mine you, I'm really not that good at developing my own template but how hard could it be???

"Y" seams are great if you want a less scrappy look but I figured out very quickly that that method was not for me...........LOL

Plan B........ new templates for a more scrappy look...... let's see.

Pick out several fabrics from the old stash and cut using the Plan B templates.

Stack kites and templates in the order you wish to sew.

Notice the sewing method I'm using above which is sewing the one side, pressing it, then sewing the second template and pressing it.

I'm happy with this look!! 

Love the scrappiness of this block and my basket of scraps is dwindling..... I think.  

I will make a PDF of Template B if anyone is interested..... just leave a comment expressing that or any comments about what you think so far would be very welcomed.

Stay tuned for more later on in the week.

Stay At Home Robin

Kate is hosting a "Stay At Home Robin".........what is that?  Well, I'm sure we're all familiar with Round Robins where a group of people make their own center blocks then pass their blocks around to each person who that borders are added. By the time you get your quilt back, you'll have your center with several appropriate borders.
Kate's idea is to do everything yourself but on a very small scale.  If you're interested, pop over to her blog, scan down to July1st to read the instructions and ideas.
This is a great way to use up some of those scraps that keep piling up.