QOV Done, and the next Kaleidoscope Quilt

This is ready for it's new home It's approximately 62 x 78 inches. Below is a closer look at the quilting - from PatsyThompsonDesigns.com, called Loosey-Goosey Revolving Axis patterns. (I'm still not sure of the difference between Revolving Axis and Rotating Axis but ... )

This pattern works well for me, given the space I have on my machine, and my own hand movements - oh yeah, and one I can do reasonably well. I had no negative issues with the Dritz basting gun tabs at this point (crud to my earlier experience learning that basting technique!) and will try that method of basting yet another time.

Here's the start of my Fairy Quilt (above, a little dull in this photo). See that melon strip, with the orange-y blotches - those blotches are fairies (directional fabric), and for the last several months, I've NOT been able to figure what blends nicely with it. I HAD 2 yards of it, but it just didn't 'do' for a border. So I bowed to temptation and bought the 2 1/2 yards of fairies (laying in the center of the photo) from Keepsake Quilting. I've NEVER spent that much $ on fabric, but it IS gorgeous, and now, can pull fabrics using the newest Fairy Fabric.

I'm trying a different technique, and will make 2 strip sets of the SAME fabrics, sizes, order etc. One set will be pressed UP and the next set will be pressed down. This way, my K. blocks will look more like Rosettes. And the wedges will butt up neatly next to one another, with seams closely aligned. This is not much more work than earlier methods, but the optic illusion will not be visible. I'm already starting to like it!


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Mother Earth DONE, and Fairy Fabric

Lesson -- If a woman saves her buttons for 47 years, and carts them around for 47 years, and dusts around them for 47 years, and plays with them for 47 years, she will eventually find a use for $5.00 worth of buttons! It's truly amazing how many are NOT suitable! There are little button buds on this vine, and the centers of the red flowers have khaki colored buttons, highlighted with tufts of black embroidery thread, knotted and left about 1/2 inch long, looking very interesting, as I wanted to divert attention from my flower edges not done well, but done well enough.

The shadows of the morning light in contrast with the brightness of the quilt were too delicious so both photos are included. I was very thoughtful and did not insist DH walk in the wet grass in his bare feet to hold this recent treasure. I'm not gifted at applique, but better than I used to be! At least I'm no longer afraid to try - another one of those danged life-lessons! Thanks for the suggestions of crosshatching by many of you. It's exactly what was needed. This will look amazing, when washed and all crinkley! This is a gift for my SIL, also named Elaine, who has 5 children, many grandchildren, and a gift for gardening. She picked the pattern from a Mimi Dietrick book, Bed and Breakfast Quilts (out of print), but I made it smaller. Elaine is just 5 ft. tall, so it didn't have to be made large!

New subject - here is the fairy fabric for a 3-yr old great niece, that I 'found' in my own stash after unsuccessfully searching 4 quilt shops all over this section of Nebraska. THAT'S why we have 'stash'! And that's also why we need to keep a handle on those messy stashes! LOL I don't have a pattern yet in mind, but I DO have a good supply of pale blues and greens, corals, white, pinks and oranges. (yeahhhhh, I just cleaned out my stash drawer!)

Links and Organizing

I'm still crosshatching, and it's looking good, and my current "Mother Earth" (previous posts) should be done this weekend. I MQ'd in line with the diagonal squares. Now, after the fact, I wish I'd just measured from line to line, instead of using the diagonal squares to measure the crosshatching - there IS a difference, not greatly noticeable.

After adventurous efforts to update my page resulted in lost links, I am slowly restoring them. That was a painful lesson to copy those links somewhere! I must be the slowest person on earth, plugging away, getting them all back to 'normal.' So if your name is not there, and it previous WAS there, I'm working on it.

And these photos are of little interest to anyone except ME, who is thrilled she's gotten off her you-know-what and organized her fabric, so she can actually FIND something!
I cleaned fabric drawers! My "blues" are done, my "Neutrals", my "Yellows/Creams", my "reds", my "plaids", my greens.
I've pulled out the smaller bits and cut them into 2 1/2 inch strips. Those 2 drawers are filled up again, but my working table still has a pile of "Melons, oranges" with no place to go! Maybe I'd better make a HUGE "Melons, orange" quilt! LOL
I could not even plan anything because of the mess and disorder! My head was in a muddle, and concentrtion was nil, until I restored some order.


A great neice (age 3) wanted a fairy quilt. I hunted high and low, in town, at 2 other quiltshops - no luck, no fairies, except for Tinkerbelle - NOPE I want pretty fairies! E-Bay, E-Quilter, QIAD, no luck. Guess what I found in cleaning out my own stash. Yep, the perfect fairies. 8-))

BTW, I have a other places filled with fabric, this is some of the neatest piles.

Today, the thermometer is hugging the 100 degree mark. Whew!