Jacob's Ladder Series-Drawing #76

84" by 96", 6" all A blocks, slight color change, white is replaced with a light gray.

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Jacob's Ladder Series-Drawing #75

84" by 96", 6", all A blocks, rotated to form diamond motifs, then color placement forms larger, overall diamond. White replaced with charcoal gray for a darker quilt.

To learn more about this series read this

A Trip and an Art Show

     I can't believe another week is beginning already! Wow! It is said often, but only because it's true: Time Flies!!!

     So last week I presented a guild program to The Western North Carolina Quilter's Guild. Georgia Bonesteel is a member of that guild, and SHE WAS THERE YA'LL!!! YIKES!!! She was so kind and gracious, but I must admit, it freaked me out a bit (or more than a bit) to speak in front of her! Now I am kicking myself because I didn't even think about how cool it would have been to get a picture with her until now.😦

     While I was there I stayed with Linda Lou, who took me to a fabulous Caribbean restaurant that was sooo delicious, and then to a beautiful waterfall, and some other natural sites. I just love the North Carolina mountains! And it was such a treat, not only because it was so beautiful, but also, because it has been so hot in my neck of the woods.  

     

 

     When I got home, I had just 1 day to regroup and get my self ready for our local fall music festival, The Yellow River Jam. This is such a fun event! The idea is to get there in the morning for a kayak trip down the river, then come off the river and spend the afternoon and evening eating, drinking, looking at artist booths, and listening to some fabulous live music.  A dear friend of mine, who is a potter, sets up next to me and we have a wonderful time. I look forward to it every year! Here is a photo of my booth. 

     So now I have a relatively quite week ahead of me. I will use it to get some weaving done, and get ready for my next 2 adventures. On Oct 3, I will speak at the Georgia Friendship Quilters Guild in Smyrna, GA, which is nearly local for me, then come home an again have one day to repack before I leave to set up a booth at The John C. Campbell Folk School Fall Festival, in Brasstown, NC. So if you live near there, come and say Hi! 

     I have some room available in my 2019 schedule. I would love to come and speak, and/or teach at a quilt guild near you.

     This Sunday, after the YRJ, I made 4 new sets of potholders. The fabrics on the top are what I plan to use to bind them. The ribbon is what I will use to make hanging loops.

      Then, I ran out of blanks, so I had to make some more.
    

      When I am making potholders, I like to make a bunch of "blanks" first. I cut the backs from ironing board cover, that I buy at JoAnn's. I cut it about 1/2" larger than I want the potholders to be. Not sure it is necessary to use ironing board cover, but it seems that was on the backs of potholders my mother had when I was growing up, and it keeps me from having to use my quilting fabric. I cut 2 layers of batting, and spray baste the batting to the ironing board cover. I cut the batting from scraps of batting I save from quilts. Then I just flip and sew pieces onto the potholder, until its covered. 

 
     Trim, and bind. I add a loop of grosgrain ribbon for hanging. 

     So that is what I have been up to this week. I will link to:Oh Scrap!
                             Monday Making 
                             Main Crush Monday 
                             Design Wall Monday 

     Check them out to see what other folks are up too.  

    Thanks for stopping by!

Jacob's Ladder Series-Drawing #74

84" by 96", 6" All A Blocks, rotated to form diamonds, then color placement forms large, overall diamonds, lots of white bands for a light, airy feel.

To learn more about this series read this

Jacob's Ladder Series-Drawing #73

84" by 84", 6" A and B Blocks, playing with rotation. Rotated blocks to form diamond motifs in some columns, and to form chevrons in others. 

To learn more about this series read this

Preparing for Fall Shows

     We are rapidly hurtling towards autumn around here. It sure doesn't feel like it if you go outside in the afternoon, but the calendar tells me so. Since I have 4 fall shows coming up in the next 3 weeks, I thought it might be a good idea to make a few new sets of pillowcases and potholders to add to my small items. 
 

     I just enjoy choosing the fabric groupings for the pillowcases, and the improvisational piecing on the potholders is so much fun!

     I also finished putting the rest of my Van Gogh economy blocks up on the wall. I will study them for a couple of weeks to make sure I like the layout.

     I sewed with my friend Eleanor last week, and she has started another beautiful quilt, from one of my drawings. I just love the fabrics she chose this time!
 

     So that is what I have been up to this week. Thanks for stopping by! I will link up with:  Design Wall Monday
          Main Crush Monday 
          Moving it Forward Monday 
          Oh Scrap!

Jacob's Ladder Series-Drawing #72

63" by 90" 9" A and B Blocks, rotated to form diamond motifs
Used purple, green, and white blocks to make a smaller quilt, with larger blocks, in a simpler layout

To learn more about this series, read this

Jacob's Ladder Series-Drawing #71

72" by 90", 9"  A and B blocks
went back to the black, red, gray, and white layout, and rotated blocks to make chevrons

To learn more about this series read this

Economy Block Quilt Finally on the Design Wall

     So I am finally beginning to put my economy blocks up on the design wall.

     I have been working on these blocks for years, but they are finally all completed. It has been handy to have this easy project to carry around with me on trips, and visits and such. The best part is that all of the fabric for this quilt came from my stash and scrap bins.

     I want to finish it to show in a class I will be teaching for the Lake and Mountain Quilters in Seneca SC this November called My Water Lilies. I got the color way for this quilt from this painting from Vincent Van Gogh. I always like to show class participants several different ways to use any idea iof I can.

     The My Water Lilies class is about using paintings as a reference for your quilts.  

     I am so excited to see it finally going up on the design wall. I think there will be a fair amount of rearranging before I am satisfied with the layout, and can start sewing these blocks together. 

I am linking up with: Design Wall Monday
                            Moving it Forward Monday
                            Monday Making 
                            Oh Scrap! 
                            Main Crush Monday
                               
     That is what I have been up to! I hope you have something you feel you are making good progress on. Thanks for stopping by!

Jacob's Ladder Series-Drawing #70

72" by 90"
9" blocks
A and B blocks with some rotating to form chevrons

To learn more about this series read this

Jacob's Ladder Series-Drawing #69

72" by 90"
9" A and B blocks
Rotated to form small, diamond motifs, but red forms strong diagonal lines

To learn more about this series read this

Finally, A Jacob's Ladder Finish

     I finished this quilt awhile ago, but I never posted the photos of it completed.

     If you have read this blog lately, you may know that I am a bit obsessed with the Jacob's Ladder block.  A couple of years ago, I started trying to come up with a design for a wedding quilt. In the process of playing with this block on EQ, rotating blocks, moving color around, I ended up with over 200 drawings! It was so much fun. I urge you to try it. I would love to see what you come up with. You can email me at candacequilter@hotmail.com. If you would like to read more about the beginning of this process, click here  I have been posting the drawings on my blog, and you can see the drawings under the Jacob's Ladder Series tab at the top of the blog, but this is the first completed quilt I have been able to post.

     Since I knew I would never be able to make all of these quilts, I thought it would be fun to share the drawings on my blog. Before I did that though, I wanted to try making one of the more complex quilts to make sure that the design held together when it was made into fabric. 

     So this is my first completed quilt from this series.

     I named this quilt Kalina. I found the name on a website for baby names. Kalina is Polish for flower. 

     I love that this quilt looks as complex as it does, but it is made entirely of HST and 4 patches. A couple of blog posts ago, I was writing while traveling, and talking about working on the units for my next Jacob's Ladder quilt while away from home. I love how easy and portable these units are to make, and how versatile they are. Here are a couple more views of my Kalina quilt.

     So that is what I have been up to lately. That, and waiting for cooler weather to get here, now that September has finally arrived.

  
I am linking with Moving it Forward Monday  
                        Monday Making
                        Design Wall Monday
                        Oh Scrap!  
                        Main Crush Monday
                        Needle and Thread Thursday 
                               
     Check them out, I know there will be lots of inspiring projects to see! Thanks for Stopping by!

Jacob's Ladder Series-Drawing #68

84" by 96"
6" blocks
More playing with color, add gold intersections

To learn more about this series, read this