Garden Gnomes

The big Guy as a garden gnome!

The Big Guy has a birthday next week. What to give him is always a conundrum for me as he has at least three of everything he might want!  While riding home from Mom's last week with artquiltmaker we stopped in Pismo Beach at Quiltin Cousins. This is a cute little shop with lots of fun fabrics.  The owner had curtains on the windows in the back of the store made from a garden gnome border print fabric by Michael Miller.  TBG is a master composter and dresses like a giant garden gnome when he speaks to gardening groups. What better gift than a garden gnome pillowcase!



(FYI - I just blew away two paragraphs two times! AARGG)



 Well, enough of this. Here is the picture. It is obvious what I did and that when laid on the bed it will be just fine!

The Big Guy and I delivered the Orphan Block Quilt to our daughter in Montana in August. We stayed a few days to visit, too!

A week before Christmas TBG asked me to  make this for his daughter (my favorite step-daughter) for Christmas! I said I'd love to  make her a quilt, how about for her birthday in March? Even that was a stretch as I had several quilts going - a block of the month, a buck-a-block and two childrens quilts for my girlfriends grandchildren. But I always love starting a new quilt. I love deciding what kind I am going to do, the design, the colors and piecing it all together. Roller Derby Daughter is a combination of all the good qualities of both her parents and she is a pleasure to be with. I had promised her a quilt with wool batt because it gets cold in Montana, where she lives. But more about that later.

This mermaid block is from a piece of Laurel Burch fabric I have and love.I used it because RDD has great and long hair, very curly.

This is the backing that I chose. It is  reproduction of an eighteenth century fabric commissioned by the DAR. I made the back all one fabric in case RDD didn't like the front.

The bright color strip is from a color challenge quilt I did early in 2012 at Quilter's Quarters - Stockton.  It was a lot of fun.

Just thought I'd stick this in! It is my own design and I stitched in the ditch to quickly quilt it.

This pinwheel was in my orphan block bin. I don't remember why I made it but I really like the dark-medium-light contrast in it.

This was the first block of the block of the month I did last year. It was the second one I did and I reduced it from a twelve inch block to a six inch block. I like it a lot better small but the lower left corner was really hard to piece!

This block was a practice block I did with my own fabrics before doing the block with the "official" fabrics. It was after I realized that my piecing left something to be desired. Doing a practice block worked out the kinks. The center is appliqued.

All in all this was a real learning experience for me. Here is what I learned: 

1.  I don't like following directions

2.  I am a freethinker when it comes to making a quilt. My design, my way!

3.  I am a little sloppy when I sew.

4.  I give my quilts to non-quilters (usually) and they love them no matter how they look so I can do what I want.

5.  I will do a quilt and let others pick the colors but I don't enjoy it.

P.S. Here are three of the other quilts I was working on  when I started this one (all finished and delivered)

This is called Puppy Love.

This is Kestrel's cousins for a little girl named Kestrel who lives in Idaho.

This is R.J. and Sarah's wedding quilt and it currently lives near Venice, Italy. It is my own design and my cousin-in-law and I picked out the colors. I designed the quilt and I love it.

Happy Quilting!