Exploding star quilt.  Designed be Teajuana Mahone.  She taught a workshop at guild last summer and I finally got the top together last week.  I had the blocks done last fall but I just didn't take the time to sew it.  It is 84" square.  Now I have to quilt it.  I'm thinking just an all-over design.

Miniature exploding star.  20" square.  Sometimes I think I'm nuts to do such small stuff but I think it's worth it.  Not sure how I'm going to quilt this one.

Jennifer Bernard finished my hunter star quilt and got it back to me in September last year.  I really like what she did in the light spaces and the stars.  The quilting is way beyond what I'm capable of doing at this time.  I'd have to quilt a lot to get to this point.  Some detail shots below. 

I'm quilting a fat quarter shuffle quilt -- the bigger size.  Part way through it I realized that the thread I was using was intended for a different quilt.  So, of course, that meant a stop at Quilter's Cupboard in Ankeny for more thread.  It looks like that was a good idea since I'm almost through the second spool that I had.  Oh, well.....

I got two third place ribbons at the fair this year.  One on the butterfly quilt and the other on the crossstitch picture I entered.  

I got my stripey quilt back from Jennifer Bernard at the end of July.  I really like the feathers!

Back of the quilt.  The feathers really stand out. 

I finally got a grown-up sewing table.  This is from Tracey's Tables.  I ordered it at the Ankeny Quilt Guild show in July and it came about a month later.  Lots of storage and above all, a nice flat sewing surface.

The San Clemente bag from a Quilter's Dream of San Dimas, CA.  It uses 6 fat quarters and goes together fairly quickly.  I bough this pattern because my laptop will fit in it with room to spare.

This is the 16" version of "Beauty Bright" from New Leaf Stitches of Fergus Falls, MN.  Kari Carr came to speak to the guild Monday night.  She did a workshop on the Sunday before, teaching this pattern and demonstrating her notion, CLEARLY PERFECT ANGLES.  This notion helps you sew half square triangles and diagonal seams without drawing lines on your fabric.  Works really well.

This is the president's challenge from last month at guild.  After the meeting I was thinking about what I was going to do with the small quilt (such as frame it) when I decided to "frame" it with another quilt.  I made the black quilt, put piping on it the color of the butterfly and sewed the small quilt on top of it.  Worked out pretty good!

yucca blooms

fringed daisy

daylilies

cone flower

coreopsis

                                            a few flowers from my back yard



My entry for this year's President's challenge at guild.  Black, white and a color that we picked from paint chips at an earlier meeting.  I pick blue.  The background fabric is purchased.  Three of the flowers have 3-D applique with french knots covering the centers, the petals are accented with ink and colored pencil.  The butterfly wings are a heavy interfacing fused with two layers of fabric.  The top fabric has Shiva oil paint and crystals, there is a thin wire satin stitched on the edge of the wings to hold them up.  The body is fabic fused on Peltex, satin stitched on the edge and crystals added.  I think it turned out really well.