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“I have given skill to all the skillful, so that they may make all that I have commanded you. “ Exodus 31:6


“O Thou who art the all pervading glory of the world, we bless Thee for the power of beauty to gladden our hearts.
We praise Thee that even the least of us may feel a thrill of the creative joy when we give form and substance to our thoughts and, beholding our handiwork, find it good and fair. “.
Walter Rauschenbusch


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"Come, and listen, all you who fear God; let me tell you what He has done for me.
I cried out to Him with my mouth; His praise was on my tongue.
If I had cherished sin in my heart, the LORD woud not have listened and heard my voice in prayer.
Praise be to God, Who has not rejected my prayer or withheld His love from me!" Psalm 66:16-20
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Saturday, February 13, 2016

Quilt A-Peel

I'm setting out upon a new quilting adventure.

For many years now, I have been all about making quilts as quickly as possible, including switching over almost exclusively to machine-quilting.

But I am starting a new quilt that I intend to keep for my own bedroom.  It will be hand-appliqued, and may take a LONG, long time.  Then again, maybe NOT.  I don't know, but I'm fine either way.  I would even like for it to be hand-quilted, but that decision can wait awhile.

I've collected white/grey, and white/black backgrounds for awhile now, thinking that I was going to make some kind of PLUS quilt with them.  But now I'm cutting out Orange Peel pieces, and I am hand-appliqueing them to 5 inch squares of these white background fabrics.    

My main color will be a range of turquoise fabrics, but I intend to mix in some greens and blues along the way.

Here is my EQ5 mockup,


and here is my meager beginning.

I've spent the afternoon readying several blocks for needle-turn applique, so most of the blocks in the mockup are not finished.  I have a better mixture of fabrics than what are seen here, too.  I hope to have blocks ready for anytime I have a few minutes to sit down and work on mindless applique....including trips to doctor's offices, or whatever opportunity presents itself.

So..........here I go !  I'm EXCITED !

Saturday, February 6, 2016

Scattered Stars........Use it up !

When JoAnn asked me to make two of the "Hero's Tribute" quilt tops, she sent me an OVERLOAD of fatquarters to use.  Many of them were medium-browns that were too dark to be used for backgrounds.   When I finished the second top, I found that I still had about 15 good new pieces of these browns.

So I asked her if I could put together one more top for her.
Here is the design that I came up with, using EQ5.

I used the few pieces of reds, blues, and golds that were leftover from the earlier stars construction.  And I am amazed at how well the colors from EQ5 match the colors I had to use.
This is what I came up with, finishing the piecing today.  The final measurement of the top is 51 x 71 inches.  It could be quilted as is, or have a border added to it.

 Either way, it makes a generous-sized couch/nap quilt......my favorite type of quilt !  I hope she likes it.