New pictures

The Coffee Classics wallhangings are great. The Big Shots is on my wish list--was it difficult to do? Like your Ravens, too!! Isn't Ami Simms a hoot? I get her newsletter and it is sure fun to read.

Donna, Donna, Donna..... As you know, I am a HUGE McKenna Ryan fan and your coffee classics are just gorgeous. Per your advice, I too have enlarged the pattern 150%, and it is waiting patiently for me to tackle. I'm afraid it will have to wait until after the holidays, but your pics have certainly inspired me! Have you seen her latest series with all the flowers? I got an email from Batiks Plus about their "kit", and it weighs 17 pounds!! I think all the fabrics and the pattern were something like five or six hundred dollars - but it's just stunning.... Thanks for sharing your photos.!

Patti in Seattle

Oh, Donna, that coffee quilt is just beautiful. I really love it. You did it so well. . In message , Donna973 writes

Thanks Donna. I don't think the patterns are difficult; it is, however, a lot of fussy work. I always end up knee deep in piles of fabric trying to choose "just the right one". Lots of cutting, some tiny, tiny pieces to deal with. The applique is fused - I'm pretty good at needle turn, but I can't imagine doing these by hand! Just be aware of how small the individual quilts are; I think Big Shots is only about 7" x 23" in it's original size. Great for a small space, but I needed them bigger. Re: Ami Simms, I laugh out loud every time reading her newsletter. She just has a way with words that strikes me as really funny.

Thanks Patti. I don't think you'll be sorry that you made them bigger. Some of the pieces are still pretty tiny. Because this project (and my normal life) stalled out over the summer, I can't remember if I sent you what I said I was going to! Anyway, if, when you get to it, you need any lights, let me know. I think I have some extra.

I saw that new MR quilt the last time I was at the Batiks Plus site. It's beautiful! Very "cottagey". Very "expensive" . If Batiks Plus is making up the kits themselves, they're probably worth every penny, though. I bought a small kit from them (Letita Hutchings sunflowers), and the presentation is fabulous. It came in a nice box, and each of the batik fabrics is individually bagged and labeled. No guessing! I haven't made it yet, but the fabric amounts seem to be quite generous. I would think that this new MR patterns must use dozens and dozens and dozens of fabrics, so a kit may prevent one's head from exploding!

Your quilts are beautiful.

I love the coffee series but like you - I thought they were too small. The raven is stunning!

All gorgeous! Nice job. :)

Nancy in NS

Then there's me. Who also thought the patterns were on the small side, but bought the kits in Paducah and I'm making them in the small size anyway! Well, "making them" might be a bit of an exaggeration at this point....two are cut out and fused. Lord knows when the other two will get to that point, let alone when they would all be finished....the "F" word in my vocabulary. Donna, did you stitch the appliques down? If so, what stitch did you use? Your finished pieces are BEEEE YOU TEE FULLLL!!!! KJ

Thanks to all for your nice comments.

The ravens are my next step in attempting to design some art type things myself. The postcard swap was the first (Thank you Leslie!). The funny part is that the first "raven", was supposed to be a crow. I made a postcard using the bird I drew and sent it to my crow-savvy best friend and she thought it looked more like a raven! So my two little quilts became Raven 1 and 2, instead of Crow 1 and 2. Obviously drawing is NOT my strong suit. I guess I'll chalk it up to artistic license....

I did stitch all of the appliques down. I just used monofilament thread and a straight stitch (free motion). It's certainly not perfect close up, but I figure it's still honing my skills and the pieces are so busy that the stitching isn't really noticeable. The batiks don't really want to ravel much, so the fusing and straight stitch is fine. Again, with some of those tiny pieces, I wouldn't want to try to satin stitch or pin stitch around them. I took the same approach for the quilting. Just free motion stipple, and it just about disappears. In the little Raven quilts, I used Bottom Line (one of my new favorite thread finds) instead of monofilament, and that works well too. Not very noticeable. Oh, and I also tried out Susan Cleveland's Piping Hot Binding method on the raven quilts. Her directions are great and the little ruler tool is too! I'll definitely add that to some future quilts.

I have some of the Botton Line threads, but haven't really tried them yet. Just like the Piping Hot Binding tool and book. Surprised, aren't you?? heheheh KJ

your coffee classics are great, but I also love your other quilts. Especially the baby quilt. It has such a great use of colour, oh and such sharp points. I love triangles, but mine are far from yours. But I'll continue trying :-) Heidi from Germany

"Donna973" schrieb:

Thanks Heidi. I have to admit to being a little obsessive about matching points and intersections. It's just the way I am about my own stuff, not others people's work. I do use pins and I will tear out and re-sew if I'm not happy about how things line up. This does not make me a speedy worker. I have to try hard not to "fix" things that are only a few threads off. Really, what baby is going to care if my points don't match! I think all of this stems from my prior garment sewing and tailoring life. Anyway, one of the best things about quilting is that they are all fabulous when they're finished. I don't think others take less enjoyment from a quilt because something is a little wonky. For me, the colors, textures, patterns and joy that go into a quilt are most important!