Carli The Quilter

hi folks, this is a quick post with few words, I've got company coming and doing housework, but just had to share the latest progress on a new t-shirt quilt I'm making. Generally, the colors are decided prior to beginning. I cut various sized strips and then start creating various patterns around each precut logo. Then, lots of new color is purchased as I go. This block is just one example. Eventually, you'll arrive at some kind of layout, you decide what is happening to make the quilt. You'll see that this layout is not quite set. I don't like how the two lower left blocks have a similar strip of the same fabric on the left sides of each of those two blocks, that is not satisfying to me, I'd move it. I find making one of a kind quilts is the thing I enjoy and love to do, its the same with my crazy quilts that I've got all  being completed, these will go into my first show next year. Must run now and get bac...

I think my readers will really enjoy seeing this whole layout and see what can be done when making custom quilts. I would love to do a workshop on using this book. Sujata's way of describing her process is really like sitting beside  her. I found this version twist of the Rail Fence really exciting. I love to play with fabric in new and interesting ways, mostly this happens when I'm experiencing a happy diversion. I used the Rail Fence blocks from |Cultural Fusion Quilts" book by Sujata Shah in a commission quilt. I used the method from this book to create what I thought of as water flowing over the whole quilt, in the full view you'll see what I mean. This next photo displays how in my mind these blocks can behave int his manner for a memorial quilt for someone who lived  beside a river all his life would want. This block is also very interesting if you use blocks from two color sets.  These last two blocks of grey/whi...

Just a quick flower photo from our beautiful Bulkley Valley. Hudson's Bay Mountain with ski runs with little snow left. Wild roses are prolific in the valley, alongside roads and lakesides. I hear that moose really like them in the winter. Anyway, quilts friends have a great day and if you're wondering what has happened to my crazy quilting, no fear lots of finishing going behind the scenes. More on that later. Happy Quilting!

It was a hard choice to make, deciding to go with Hourglass Baby Quilt pattern done with Sujata Shah's versions of craziness in piecing. I've used her book, Cultural Fusion Quilts- A Melting Pot of Traditions. I totally recommend it if you are looking for a way to make your own original looking quilt. This book is to provide quilters with reasonable guidelines for those wanting to explore playing with fabric. This baby quilt is by far the most interesting version of a baby quilt in my opinion. I'm always seeking something inspiring in a pattern. I see lots of new versions of blocks from this book which anyone can play with and it will not look just like Sujata's, it will be your own. I chose to use lightweight denim with 100% cotton prints from Dr. Suess collection from Robert Koffman I love the free spirited way these blocks go together and hoping that my family will like its modern way. This little quilt was hand quilted with #5 Per...

Rusty has that look on her face, she is telling me she wants to come along too!  So I gave in and she came along.   Its very small and if you blink you'd miss it. But quaint homes and laughing people at the local gas station greet a newcomer to Fort Fraser, B.C. The parking lot beside the hall was pretty full and I had my favorite companion along with me. She required shade and open windows. So I managed to "Go 4x4ing" with my Toyota Corolla! I eased my car in underneath a tall shady tree at the farthest part of the parking lot. My car was lopsided and looked like I was trying to climb the tree, but Rusty didn't care! This fly hook is only one of dozens that decorate the border of this following quilt done by Debbie Petteplace. Its simply stunning This photo doesn't do this quilt justice. When I saw this fish quilt I immediately fell in love with this one made by Debby Petteplace which she made for her son.  I just loved the tempe...

I recently picked this book entitled "Quilts Among the Plain People" and I was refreshed by the way the Amish people seem to get along with each other.  Quilting and sewing skills are taught in the early ages, where girls learn how to sew beside their Mother. I've always been attracted to this idea because of my own lack of learning from my own Mother. Its a wonder I turned out at all. Little encouragement for others can be found in the heart of a person suffering a mental illness. My mother was ill for all her life.  That's the sad part and the part that all us kids didn't fall by the wayside says a lot for my sweet older sister.  T-shirt quilt making for me started in the 1990's when I became very focused on reusing as much as I could. I decided that our used t-shirts required alternative uses from becoming automotive rags. This article from the 1980's told of making t-shirts into quilts. I was hooked. Unfortunately this well before...

We were out on walk and saw this spectacle on a recently fallen birch. I think they were drinking a liquid that was flowing very slowly. I think it must be butterfly wine. Happy quilting everyone.