Lynn Carson Harris

Secret Stalker Swap

Last night at the Ann Arbor Modern Quilt Guild we revealed our Secret Stalker Swap quilts. It was hilarious fun. I loved hearing about the stalkees and trying to guess who they were before the name was revealed. Some of the stories of online research and stalking social media sites were so funny. A few guild members really went over the top with their designs and made such amazing and personalized quilts for thier recipients.

The person I was stalking has tastes very similar to mine. She loves solid fabrics and improv piecing. 

I posted a couple of process shots on facebook and instagram while I was working on this and was THRILLED when my quilt recipient, who never usually comments on things that I post, commented that she loved the quilt. She didn't know that it was for the swap and of course did not know that it would be for her.

The secret stalker swap is a great way for members of the guild to get to know each other a little better. I know I'll be participating again next time around. 

Less is More

Yesderday, I read Rossie's recent post, Bits and Bobs, a compilation of things she finds interesting and wantedto share. I clicked on her link to the Live Simply blog to a post on decluttering and ended up reading a number of posts there. Annie really has some good tips on organizing your living space and simplifying your life. 

That diversion led to some time organizing and tidying in the studio. While cleaning I found two panels of Brandon Mably's Gone Fishing fabric that I had purchased a while back. They were neatly folded with a few coordinating solids. My original plan was to make a two sided quilt called Bright Fish- Night Fish with the bright fabrics on one side and the dark fabrics on the other. I pressed them and put them on the design wall thinking that "cleaning up the slow way" was the way to go with this pile. Making a quilt from the fabrics will eliminate the pile. A new quilt and a tidier studio, it's a win, win!

 

Looking at both pieces at the same time, I wondered what thread I could use that would look good on both fabrics. I was also a little concerned about getting the front and back of the quilt lined up with each other.  I may end up with two different quilts - a bright quilt and a more subdued quilt. We shall see.

I'm leaving the print all in one piece so that you get the full impact of those huge fish and then adding a simple border of half square triangles. I think it will be a nice size for a baby quilt. 

 

What do you think? Should I do a reversible quilt or two quilts? 

Thanks for sharing those tidbits, Rossie!

 

String Pieced

Here you see 120 string pieced melon blocks. I worked on these on and off for months- at a quilt retreat, on the back porch with using the hand crank machine, sitting at my desk while watching Netflix, even Miss Petunia sewed some strings together. After I finished the last of these I did a little celebration, as one does after such an accomplishment,  and then carfully sorted, tidied, and folded the remainder of the light scraps. It felt so good to have them neatly stacked and the scrap bin back in ship shape. I thought I had finished enough of these melons for 89" by 101'' quilt, but alas, after double checking my calculations and counting the finished melons I found that I need to make seven more. Still, this lovely pile of string piecing makes me giddy thinking about the next step (after making seven more blocks). 

Soaking it Up

We're trying to soak up all of the warmth and sunshine that we can this weekend. 

The last of the flowers are fading fast and the trees are getting bare. 

 

Winter will be here soon.

I hope you are also enjoying a beautiful weekend.

Scissor Sunday

I've been participating in the Soak &Flatter Quilter's photo a day challenge on Instagram this month. Come join the fun.

Streak of Lightning

As I mentioned before, I love a good red and white quilt. This quilt uses the same triangle unit as the first red and white quilt that I made only this one is set as a streak of lightning. The small half square triangles were cut with the smallest triangle die on my Sizzix cutter. 

I can hardly wait to see this one quilted. I think I'll put vertical feathers in the muslin.