Computer has been down 06-28-22

The problem isn't with my laptop, but with the AT&T connection.  Paid a visit to the Geek Squad today and Sean showed me a couple "go arounds", but I have been bounced twice.  Maybe it is time to try another carrier - Spectrum is about the only other possibility.  Sigh.  For the moment I am on line, but can't think of anything to say here.  It has been very hot, over 90F every day, and we are walking when it drops to 79F  usually after dark.  8:30pm tonight.  We live in an area that doesn't get much through traffic and there are lots of street lights and people leave their porch and yard lights on quite late or all night.  I always carry my cane and keep my eyes open for coyotes, other people walking dogs, and any strange cars.  It is very pleasant to walk just as the sun is going down, lovely skies with silhouettes of the trees.  

I have talked about Monthly Minis at Surfside Quilters Guild.  At each meeting tickets are sold for a drawing featuring something donated by a member.  Could be a small quilt, handbag, tote, placemats, aprons.... whatever anyone has donated.  For our June meeting I donated a little quilt that I made as a sample for a pattern I designed in 1994.  At that time I was thinking I might develop a line of patterns, but eventually decided that the logistics were more than I wanted to handle.  So this little Uncle Sam has been in a drawer all these years.  I recently came across it and thought it would be a good time to donate it for a Monthly Mini.  

The figure on the right was another design about the same time. 

Pam Hadfield, the lady in the center, had the winning ticket.  I am on the left, not realizing how silly I would look with my mask pulled down off my face.  On the right is Pattie Sexton representing the MoMini committee.  The income on this was about $280.  The tickets are a dollar or six for five dollars.  

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Looking back 04-16-21

Every now and then I try to think of a way to sort through my thousands of pictures.  As you have read here previously when Picasa sold out to Google all my titles and captions were erased.  I have never been able to get things sorted out.  I need a computer picture guru to hold my hand.  Know anyone like that?  I added Photoshop Elements, but haven't spent the time to figure it all out.  I think I am just getting too old and my brain is not as flexible as it once was.  Anyway, I came across a picture of this piece I did in 2018, but I hardly remember it. And I don't know who owns it now.  

"Camellias"  Del Thomas  2018   Maybe 36" square.

This was a contribution to the Surfside Quilters Guild Monthly Mini where items are donated and tickets sold at the meeting for a drawing at the end of the meeting. I rather liked this one, but it didn't draw as many buyers as I expected.  The background is pieced and the flowers raw edge machine applique.  Machine quilted. 

 

What do you do when at the very last minute you realize you have messed up the label?  Just grin and make a correction!  No time to rip it off and make a new label.  

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Halloween quilt in the past 10-31-20

Here is a Halloween quilt from 2013.  Surfside Quilters Guild has a Monthly Mini every month where a member donates a quilt, purse, table topper, etc., and the guild sells tickets at the meeting.  Whoever holds the winning ticket wins the Month Mini.  I've donated most years and in 2013 I did this fun quilt in October using a Halloween print for the background to provide the eyes and bats and other spooky things.  

(Thanks for the correction, Carol)

"Jack"  Del Thomas  2013  Fused, Machine appliqued, machine quilted.  I don't find a measurement on this quilt, but I think it is about 30" wide. 

I don't usually even look at Halloween fabrics, but I did for this one and was delighted to find this creepy black cat for the backing. 

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White Camellias 09-20-18

Here is one of the quilts I was working on last week.  "White Camellias" was made for the September Surfside Quilters Guild Monthly Mini.  The flowers and leaves are cut from a printed fabric, fused, and machine stitched around the edges.  

White Camellias   Del Thomas 2018  21.25"W X 22.5"L

Cotton fabric, batting, thread.  Fused, machine appliqued, and quilted. 

Other than the quilting and the zig-zag edge finish everything is fused together. 

Every quilt I make has a bird in it somewhere - appliqued, cut from commercial fabric, quilted in, drawn with permanent fabric marker.  Somehow I squeeze one in somewhere.  

The full back of the quilt.  The sleeve is hard to see because I made it with netting, a technique I have been experimenting with. 

 Works good, but it requires more stitching than a cotton fabric sleeve. 

The top threads are mostly variegated but basically match the fabric, however the bobbin thread is always black.  

The quilt was raffled at the meeting and only made $50.  It was won by Joann Bishop. 

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Sewing Again! 08-28-18

After at least a year and a half I have started sewing again.  Sitting down at the machine (newly cleaned and oiled) I really enjoy hearing that sewing machine buzz again.  

Why?  You may ask and the answer is DEADLINES.  Nothing like some pressure to get the creative juices flowing.  This project is not finished, but will be by the end of the week and I can go on to another deadline.  

"White Camellias"  Del Thomas  2018  21"W x 22.5L

Commercial cottons and batiks, cotton batting.  Fused and machine appliqued and quilted. 

This will be the September monthly mini for Surfside Quilters Guild in San Clemente.  I do a monthly mini every year, some more successful than others.  The goal is to sell lots of raffle tickets at the meeting to add to the income of the guild.   Hope some people like this one. 

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Monthly Mini for Surfside QGuild 02-16-17

Isn't this a sweet little quilt, about 15" square.  It was the Monthly Mini for February at the Surfside Quilters Guild.  It is a group quilt made by the Mini Maniacs Friendship Group.   

 

Every month a member volunteers to make a small article (quilt, bag, table runner, etc.) to be raffled at a monthly meeting.  The money goes into the general fund.

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Donating a quilt 08-04-16

"Lunch in the Garden, Again"  Del Thomas - Placentia, CA  26"W x 30L

 

I've always been especially fond of this quilt which I made way back in 2004.  It was a time of watercolor quilts, so the background and the flowers are all done in that style. The birds and cats and bird bath are all fused applique with a machine stitched edge.  100% commercial printed cottons.  Machine quilted.

 

I think I have enjoyed it long enough and it has been in half a dozen exhibits in various states.  So, now I am going to donate it as the September Monthly Mini at the Surfside Quilters Guild.   I wonder if there are those who will reject an "old" quilt - I hope not. There comes a time when we have to let go of some of our "stuff" and most of my stuff are quilts and quilt related things. 

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Thursday Threads 02-18-16

Here is another of my quilts, made for the Monthly Mini of Surfside Quilters Guild in March 2013.  It isn't a "series", but is similar to other Monthly Mini quilts I have made over the years.

 

"Summer Garden #2"  Del Thomas - Placentia, CA  2013 19.5"W x 15.75"L

Fused and machine pieced, machine quilted. faced edge.   

The flowers are cut from printed fabric, fused to background and then quilted.

I do like bright backs and this seemed to go with the front - in color anyway.

I think I got everything on the label, including a bird - weird bird.  Sort of a heron.

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A Halloween Decoration 09-09-14

At the Surfside Quilters Guild meeting today this Halloween decoration was the Monthly Mini offering.  Monthly Mini's are items donate by one member who signs up for a specific month.  Tickets are sold, only at the meeting, for $1 or 6 for $5; at the end of the meeting one ticket is drawn for the winner.    Member Tatiana Owens made this charming piece using her embroidery machine.  The winner is Jhone Hardesty. 

 

"Haunted House"  2014  Tatiana Owens  Approximately 9" high by 7" square.

Notice the little bumps along the roof ridge and on the sides - it can be unfastened and collapsed for storage.  The machine stitched mat and a battery operated candle are included.

Although the color is not true, it is all black, I put this photo in so you can see the fine embroidery used in the embellishment.

 

There is a spooky image on most sides - a ghost, a bat, a black cat, a pumpkin and, of course, lots of spider webs.

 

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"Jack" completed 09-10-13

Just as with Kodachrome film, digital does have a problem with red-violet.  The tree and the fence below are all much more red-violet (purple) than the image shown.  I don't know what to do to make it more color true.  Not ever use red-violet in quilts to be photographed?

"JACK"  Del Thomas 2013  19.5"W x 15"L 
Fused, machine edge stitched, machine quilted.
Background fabric: "Midnight Colony" from Alexander Henry - 2010
I purchased this fabric for the yellow eyes on black which seemed usable - somewhere.
Jack, himself, comes from "Feeling Witchy" (Half to Have #566) a rather cursory pattern by Bloomin' Minds  http://www.bloominminds.com/multiplepagesection.asp?page=6

 

I didn't start out to quilt around the bats, but as I made the wavy quilting lines on the background it seemed a shame to ignore the bats.  Some unstitching was necessary, but I went back and outlined most of the larger bats.  And I added some hand stitching to give the tree some creepy fingers, along with withered grass by the fence. .
 

All my quilts have a bird in them somewhere - obvious or hard-to-find (even for me).  I looked through my fabric library for an owl, but they were all too large.  Finally I settled on this cartoon-like bird because the color goes nicely with Jack.
 

 
Backing fabric "Hocus the Cat" from Alexander Henry - 2010
 

Great spider (which is saying something from a arachnophobe like me) and even though it doesn't lend itself well as a label, I just wanted to put it on the back of this quilt. 
From a panel "Be Witched" by Carol Eldridge for Andover Fabrics - 2011
 

Here I am with the winner of the quilt, Jackie Buck.

"Jack" was the September Monthly Mini for Surfside Quilters Guild.   A member volunteers to make a small quilt, table runner, pillow, handbag, whatever, for a certain month.  At the meeting each month, tickets are sold ($1 each or 6 for $5) and at the end of the meeting one ticket is drawn from the bowl for a winner.  The funds go into the treasury to help pay for programs and other guild expenses.  The "take" varies from about $80 to less than $400.

Still working on "Jack"

Thanks to kind Susan who sent me an e this morning to say my blog was missing pictures - again.  What is with that? Anyone know why?  Since it is daylight, I retook the pictures and redid my blog.  I didn't change the text, so it might be a little askew. 
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I had to give up all night sewing some years ago.  And now I am going to have to give up all day sewing. I just need to start my projects earlier and work in shorter spans of time. I have the Tylenol bottle sitting on my breakfast (read "anytime") table along with a bottle of water.  Old, tired muscles.  Groan!

I promised that tonight I would show you the changes in "Jack".  These are not great images because I took them inside when it was already getting dark.  I couldn't take them outside due to the heat.  ONLY 100F today (and 80F at 11 tonight).  I had to go out about 4pm to bring in the trash cans and I thought I was a goner.  When I came in I had a little 20 minute snooze, which helped, but I have just felt puny the rest of the day. 

You see above that I moved the tree to the left side so the bat wasn't covered and added a little rickety fence in place of the tree. I used a variegated cotton thread to quilt it and, as usual, like the look.

 "Jack" still needs a binding and a sleeve. I have the label made, ready to hand sew on.

By-the-way, the light bats are grey, not pink.  What did I say about the images?
 

Creating a Quilt (3rd try on blog) 09-03-13

I promised a Monthly Mini for Surfside QGuild for October. I started working on it a month or so ago, but have been putting it aside to work on things with closer deadlines! But now I am under-the-gun, because the meeting is next Tuesday and it isn't finished. I have taken some in progress pictures with the intent of showing what I am doing along the way. But that also has taken a back seat. Here are a few beginnings and some closer to finished.

I narrowed my fabric choices down to two backgrounds and five pumpkins.

 

I have to shift the fabrics around to see what will work best for my eye.

 

And then try the pumpkin fabric on the backgrounds. When I placed it here the bat to the right of the moon popped out and was an ah-ha moment.

 



 

Other fabric choices needed to be made and finally ended like this. However the tree is right across the wonderful bat. Nothing is attached to the background so I could try some different layouts.

 On Thursday I will show you the changes I made and the final image that developed.

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"Summer Garden #2" 03-12-13

I FINALLY finished the Monthly Mini for Surside Quilters Guild - early this morning!  When I was working on it yesterday morning, my back-up Pfaff wouldn't turn on.  The switch is just stuck, or broken or... whatever.  So, I uncovered the Juki that I bought to use for FMQ, but I haven't used it for several years.  After a light cleaning and a drop of oil I read the instruction book - it had been so long I couldn't remember how to thread it!  It does sew beautifully, a nice even stitch, but it only goes forward and backward.  I had to revise my plan to satin stitch the two side edges, but forward and back were adequate for everything else.  I took the quilt to the meeting this morning and hung it up.  Then I realized I had not photographed it, nor had I done a final measurement.  I hope it is straighter than the images below indicate - they were taken with the camera above my head since the quilts are hung high.  The color is a bit off also.  Maybe Mary Crawford, who had the winning ticket, will bring it back someday so I can do better photography.



"Summer Garden #2" Del Thomas 2013  Approx 18" x 12"
Cotton fabric and batting.  Fused, machine pieced, raw edge applique, machine quilted.
Owned by Mary Crawford, San Juan Capistrano, CA
 

The flowers are cut whole from yardage, they are basically just one piece - however, I slipped in a petal in a few places because of the overlap of the print.   In this picture I notice that I missed the outlining stitch on some of the holes on the left leaf.  Guess I'll have to borrow it back from Mary!
 

 
There is always a bird on the quilts I make and this one is one the label.  But I fused the label too close to the bottom and the facing covered up this guy's feet.  So, after the facing was done I drew them again over the facing.  Something I might do on purpose sometime in the future.
 

I like to use colorful backings on my quilts.  This one isn't as outrageous as some, but it is bright!  Sometimes I match the print in the sleeve, but I just ran out of time on this one.  Why, oh why, do I leave things to the last minute?   

I like this quilt, but I think it would have been a better design if I had allowed more background space around it.  Especially at the top of the flowers and the sides.  Has it started my creativity motor?  I'm not sure yet - I hope so.

A quilt from the past 02-08-13

I was looking through some pictures from 2006, early in my digital camera experience, and came across this one I photographed that year, along with a few others.   This little quilt was made in 2002.

 
Seeing it reminded me of how long it has been since I have quilted anything larger than a postcard!  Two years, I think.  I need to find my creativity again.

 
"All Thumbs"  Del Thomas 2002  14" x 14"
 Cotton scraps, fabric markers, beads, cotton batting.
Machine pieced and quilted, FMQ.
The FMQ is my "floppy flower" design using dark red thread.

I made another version  with autumn colors that I donated as a Monthly Mini to a guild I belonged to.

 
I felt like I was all thumbs when I was trying to learn to free motion quilt.  But the "secret" I learned is that I have to keep in practice (which I haven't) in order to do any kind of a decent job.  I wonder if I am going to have to learn all over again....  when the creativity returns.