The Madness Within

“The Madness Within"

An Improv-Pieced "crazy" quilt.

This was a quilt I started at the beginning of the covid era, taking my raw emotions out into the making of this chaotic acid-trip style of a design. All of the fabrics consisted of scraps leftover from past quilts and sewing projects, and my Spoonflower design sample pieces.

You can see that the center of the quilt starts out in a small, circular type of design, and gradually gets bigger until the outer edges where there’s less chaos but more normal shaped pieces. As time progressed, social distancing and other things in life gradually became to somewhat of a normal state again as 2021 rolled in. The anxiety & stress of covid and all the stupid crap associated with it (hoarding for example) lessened, and my nerves calmed down a bit. So it took me a year and half from start to finish, April 2020 to September 2021, to make this. With the long arm quilting skills of Quilting by David, this quilt completely represents how I felt since March 17th, 2020… the day most of Wisconsin shut down at 5pm, aka: St Patrick’s Day… also my birthday. Dinner plans with my bestie had to be canceled for after work that day… so I’ll always remember that dreaded day and when it all started…

 
One person commented on my Facebook post, prior to reading my description, that she thought my design resembled a rose.  I love her interpretation of what first came to mind when she saw the photos.  Once she said that, I couldn't help but to agree with her!  It really does resemble a rose.
 

"Birdsong" - A Quilt

This is a quilt that I started in 2019.  It wasn't being made for any specific purpose.  Mainly to use up some bird pillow panels and scrap fabrics.  Sometimes I like having an extra quilt laying around in case I need one as a last minute gift.  Well, this didn't get finished in 2019, but it did in early 2020.  

I had been invited to my ex-husband's niece's 2020 high school graduation party, so I decided to gift her this quilt.  It was very well received and I'm so glad I had it finished, to be able and give her.

I made a quilt carrying tote to gift it in, and that way I didn't have to buy a gift bag!

The long-arm quilting done on the quilt was by Amy Ellis of Amy's Creative Side

Here's a view of the back of the quilt... I like doing scrappy quilt backs...

Pinky - A Baby Quilt

 

“Pinky” a baby quilt finished and gifted to a coworker/friend and her husband at their baby shower in October 2020, for baby-to-be. 

I love this quilt so much! It’s made from a pattern designed by Creative Bee Studios, which I purchased in her Etsy shop. It features a technique I’ve never used before, “Use Both Sides”... in other words, use some of the fabric’s backsides rather than the front. It mutes the colors and gives a creative effective that I just love. Four of the fabrics in this quilt were sewn in backwards, and it turned out perfect.Can you figure out which ones they are?

I'm sorry for so many photos, but it was a gorgeous fall day out and I couldn't decide which photos I liked best, so decided to use them all!
 

A huge heartfelt thank you to my friend Dorie for her long arm quilting, and for putting the binding on for me as well since I have been so far behind on sewing projects this year due to mask making. This quilt turned out beautiful!

 

Added Note 6/18/2021:
I'm linking my Pinky - A Baby Quilt post up to blog post "Show Me Something Outdoors" over at Sarah Goer Quilts.  Give her blog a look and follow for great inspiration!

"Celtic Morning" - My Stonehenge Block Party 2019 Quilt

Last year I participated in the Northcott Stonehenge 10-year Anniversary International Block Party.  This is my brief story and my quilt...

I titled my Stonehenge Block Party 2019 quilt “Celtic Morning”.

It gave me great pleasure to work on this project, seeing the vision in my head become reality.   And with the help of my friend, Dorie Hamilton, who did the custom long-arm quilting on this for me, (which just blows me away)... my quilt is complete and was finished on time to submit a photo for the contest!
Note About the Northcott Stonehenge Block Party 2019 contest: The requirements were to purchase at minimum, 12 quilt block kits from participating quilt shops nationwide and in Canada, then create a quilt using said blocks. I purchased 13 block kits from quilt shops throughout the US... one of which from a shop right here in Wisconsin, and two of which were purchased from quilt shops in Canada. I used 12 of those blocks in my quilt top and am planning to use the 13th Block to make a matching decorative pillow.


The Celtic Cross in the center area of my quilt was designed by me since I couldn’t find a block kit pattern for one that was similar.  And I just had to have this style of Celtic Cross in my quilt.

The Stonehenge rock formation also in the center area of my quilt, was cut from a quilt panel that I purchased from the quilt shop here in Wisconsin. The image of my quilt label design lists all the shops my purchases came from, including the required color lots of fabric I purchased for filler, border, binding materials. My label is on its way from #spoonflower, and I’ll hand sew it on the back of the quilt once it arrives.

When I had the vision in my head how I wanted my quilt to look, I wasn't sure if I could pull it off or not. But it all came together in the end, and Dorie’s custom long-arm quilting details are the best final touch I could’ve ever asked for. I am extremely proud of this quilt... it would be an honor just to have it chosen as one of the top ten finalists.  But regardless of the outcome, this is one quilt challenge I'll never forget!

Computer design image of my quilt label,
featuring the Celtic ripped paper background, found online,
which was PERFECT for my quilt label

 

  

An improv-pieced cornerstone block that I added for character.  ;)

Pictured on a queen-sized bed.

 

 

Photo edited using #distressedfx and #picsart

 

Contest results will be announced sometime in early February, from what I understand.  Last I counted, there were 217 photos submitted, so the competition is tough.  And there are so many stunning quilts entered...I'm blown away by them all!

UPDATE:  I didn't win, but I sure had fun!  And I love my quilt!

Added Note 6/18/2021:
I'm linking my Celtic Morning post up to blog post "Show Me Something Outdoors" over at Sarah Goer Quilts.  Give her blog a look and follow for great inspiration!

"Deep Forest" Quilt

I'm so thrilled to be closing out the 2019 year with two quilt finishes!  (But I'm going to share them with you in two separate posts).  In this post, I'll share with you about "Deep Forest."  I finished this one right around Thanksgiving, but waited until after Christmas to share photos of it.

The kit for the quilt top was purchased online from Quilter's Clinic.  (There are other pattern layouts/quilt kits for the Deep Forest fabric line, but this is the exact one that the gift recipient had chosen).

It was 

The fresh, snowy-white football practice field, along with the gorgeou blue sky, made the perfect backdrop for bringing out the colors in this quilt!  The colors seem to just pop in these photos!

Quilt Label Printed on #spoonflower petal signature cotton fabric.

Preparing to sew the label on the back.

Closeup of the details/info on the quilt label.