Progress & My Character and More Quilts from Paducah

Me, lol.

This week I'll show you some progress on my latest landscape and show you more quilts from the big AQS Show in Paducah. Thank you all for your comments last week, you all were right on! Debbie mentioned 'anchoring' the base - that started me on the road to the finish line. And Ellen also wanted more depth... and she was right that one thing always leads to another...

As it turns out, I only had a couple more hours of work on it and I was ready to quilt. 

One thing I've learned about myself over the last few years, is that I don't finish a job well. I get bored easily and then I make myself continue to work and get the thing done - sometimes pretty poorly I'm sorry to say.

I was looking at personality traits this morning and saw these graphics listing all the nice ones. The tricky bit is acting them out even when we have headaches and 2 hours of sleep, lol. Oh to be clever and alluring at those times! 

 This one is a little more work oriented I suppose - 

This is me. At times that is... 

Garfield and me when I'm bored with something! 

 You see, I've made quilts like the one I'm working for years and years now and I lacked motivation to do a good job with it. I got tired of it and bored and wanted to 'just get it done".  Maybe you get like this too at times?  I think this is one of my character flaws. It is just not easy for me to follow a project through to the end with the same diligence and care that I started it with.  

(This means my quilting will be the thing which suffers the most.)

As I said earlier, I've learned this about myself and now that I've acknowledged the problem I can work on it.
Afterall...

Soooo, back to this quilt. Which incidentally I can't wait to finish - but in a good way. It will look so good on my living room wall this fall! Remember last week when I said I didn't like muddy colors? (Those leaves are muddy colors, really nasty. lol.)  WELL, I love the colors in this quilt now and I think it is a lovely little landscape. 

It might even be one of my favorites. 

Here is where I left off last week... I was bored and didn't want to do anything more with it, I just wanted to be done so I could go on to a more interesting project.
(Bad me, no-no!) 

End of last week, see the previous blog for step by step pics.

 So, with the idea of 'anchoring' the base and adding depth, I pulled out 3 fabrics and cut some patches which worked well. 

Adding messy cut patches which blend with the background a bit.

 If you get into landscape quilting, you need a 'palette' of fabrics. This means that you need to buy bits and pieces of a lot of things over the years and build up a supply. I often buy 1/4 yard pieces of stuff when I don't have a specific project in mind. Those leaves and red berries for example... I've had them for nearly 10 years. The background of that print makes it perfect for this quilt.

I am very serious by the way, you need a stash of fabrics you can go to for problem solving. You don't need lots of yardage, a simple fat quarter will do. 

(And I'm not saying this because I sell landscaping fabric, you really do need the right stuff to pull off these quilts.) 

By the way, the light golden brown leafy print is the back side of the fabric. I always look at the wrong side as well as the right side of a print. Vendors look at me funny when I'm ordering bolts of fabric, if the backside works as well as the front I'm much more inclined to buy the bolt. 

Adding a bit of green

 Ok, I found this old Hoffman print with a bit of green and added it too. I love it! I kept trying to add stuff behind the branches, but the quilt wouldn't let me.  *Insert Smile*

The next thing I did was draw in some saplings with an olive green crayon. 

Using a crayon to draw branches 

 Drawing on things with a crayon is not as scary as you think! 

NOT SCARY! 

And this is why...

Lightly drawn branch

 Can you see the lightly drawn green branch? When I draw a branch I start lightly to make sure I'm going to like it.  I didn't like the branch above. 

Sticky packing tape - who knew?! 

 You'll have to look very very hard to see any traces of the branch now. I simply lifted it off with packing tape. And, this was on pretty light colored fabric making removal even more difficult...
So, when staring to draw on branches or saplings with crayon, start light and have your tape handy.

Added crayon branches

 I admit, I kind of went crazy with the green crayon! I drew saplings and branches everywhere! 

More crayon branches

 I kind of feel like that song 'Old Mcdonald had a farm... eeei eeei oh". Only it should be "Cathy Geier made a quilt, eeei eeei oh. And on that quilt she drew a branch, eeei eeei oh. With a branch branch here and a branch branch there, here a branch, there a branch, everywhere a branch branch, eeei eeei oh.

Ok, I'll shut up now and get more coffee. Or, maybe I've had too much coffee!? 

Before quilting

 And this is where I am now. I've started stitching stuff down and will show you the finished project in a couple of weeks. Next week hubby and I go to the Shipshewana Quilt show where I entered Sunset Sentinel in the Wall Quilts, Mixed category.  (Wish me the luck!) 

Sunset Sentinel

It occurred to me that I'll be coming home with a camera full of images of quilts from Shipshewana and I haven't even finished with pictures from Paducah yet!  Soooo, here are some more beautiful quilts from that show.  Be amazed, be very amazed. 

My, My My, My Sedona by Alice Allinson

 I love her colors! This was her first entry to the Paducah show. Good for her! 

Almost Amish by Tamara Watts-McPchail

 Pretty colors! (This was in Bed Quilts, longarm quilted.) 

Phantasmagoria by Christina Belding

 I think the New York Beauty is one of my favorite blocks. Maybe it is my favorite... there is so much color and movement as it dances around. This quilt was also in the Bed Quilts, longarm machine quilted category.

This next quilt is FANTASTIC. Look at the feathers!

Captain Kimo by Nancy Sterett Martin

 I took some closeup pics for you too oooo and aaahhh over! 

Fuzzy feathers! 

Awesome head!

 I love the way she quilted the beak. Just enough to give it a 'strange' texture and not enough to draw a lot of attention to it. I think most people might have echo quilted the beak, she didn't and what a great job she did!

This next quilt is a modern beauty.

Kelp by Sheila Frampton-Cooper

 Sheila's mom actually helped her name it. It must be nice to be able to just piece something spontaneously and have it turn out this good! 

Closeup of Sheila's piecing and quilting

 Bet you'll recognize this artist before you even look at the caption.  Her quilting is wonderful as usual!

In the Marsh II by Caryl Bryer Fallert-Gentry

Golden Temple of the Good Girls by Susan Carlson

 What a fun quilt! I love Susan's collages and bought her book. Someday I'm going to try making a collage... someday. Someday, lol. Here is a closeup of 2 of her good girls. 

Detail, her cat is called Djinni and her dog's name is Kali.

 This next quilt is by a friend of mine on facebook. She paints her flowers on silk and then appliques them to background. I stand in awe. 

Dazzling Dahlia by Andrea Brokenshire

 And here is a closeup of her quilting. 

Detail of Andrea's quilt

 Do you need some cheery color? I have a quilt for you. 

Summer Serenade by Sherrie Grob

 Sherrie's quilt was in the Small Wall Quilts, home machine quilted category.

10 Dangerous Beauties by Jennifer Horsford

 Jennifer always wanted to do a lionfish, and decided to add even more dangerous fish to her scene. She lives in Australia and these scary babies are in her area. 

Ranunculus' Forest by Nancy S. Smith

One of my parents used to say "there is a fungus among us", lol. Nancy was inspired by some wild mushrooms growing in her neighbor's yard. 

Peeking In by Anne Marie Miro 

Anne was wanting to do a Mother Nature peaking through the kelp scene. The kelp never made it in the quilt though! Remember what I said earlier about my quilt not wanting me to add anything behind the branches!? Sometimes quilts take on a life of their own. Instead of kelp, all her scuba diving adventures came to life.

Well another week has gone by. I hope you've enjoyed my blog. Maybe, if you are like me, together we can learn to go the extra mile and finish our projects well. I'm off to my sewing room to start stitching down all the appliques.

Comments Welcome!
(And thank you for the good advice last week!)