Take Joy!

Bubba's Quilt

This is both my August journal quilt (remember those? I was doing one a month? . . . once upon a time, B.T. [Before Tailgate]) and Daddy's birthday present. Bubba was his cat, who died earlier this year at a ripe old age. His bedroom (Daddy's, not Bubba's) is decorated in red, white and blue, so I made the quilt to match. It isn't quite to size—it's 9-and-something inches by 11 instead of 8 /2 by 11—but that was the size it worked out to be.

It doesn't show terribly well, but I trapuntoed (is that a word? Well, it should be.) Bubba's head and body, and his eyes are accented with little green beads. He had the most beautiful green eyes—clear like creek water. And he was an agreeable cat, unless you attempted to rub his tum—then he was all claws. He used to ride on Daddy's shoulders while he was working in the garden, and if it was too hot he'd follow him around, lying in his shade and moving when he did.

Now, I only have to catch up with quilts for May, June, July . . and September is fast approaching . . .

April's Journal Quilt

Yes, a trifle late . . . but here it is:

I decided that simplicity was the order of the day for this one. Once I'd finished with the painted fabric, that was complexity enough.

The little round things are horn disks, and the heart's edging is made from seed beads.

Coming Along Nicely

I'm going to add embroidery next. As soon as I feed the starving hordes, get the eggs in, pot the plants I bought yesterday, take the trash out . . .

April Quilt . . . so far

Yes, I'm late. As usual . . .

However, better late than never. This is the woven fabric part of April's journal quilt. The strips are muslin that I sponged with dye inks, then added more ink dabbed on through a piece of punchinella, and stamped with more ink, and then sprayed with webbing spray . . . too much is just about right is my motto.

Updates coming soon, I hope.

March Journal Quilt

Better late than never, I suppose. I thought I'd never finish this one! But here it is . . .

The Tree with The Moon in Her Branches

Finally! My February journal quilt is finished—and, as usual, doesn't photograph very well. There are a lot of little beads on the left side, but they don't show up. Perhaps I need a book on photography . . .

At any rate, a bit of explanation: the quilted background fabric is sponge-painted muslin, overlaid with net and [on the left side] by a piece of cotton print and some trim. The tree herself is embroidered in stem stitch over wool felt; the leaves are beads. There are more beads floating in the branches, as well as shisha mirror moons and a hand charm. The corner piece is a couple of vintage velvet leaves and some silk ribbon.

And there you have it . . . I think it works pretty well. I'm happy with it, surprisingly enough, for I am not a "red" person and I'm not usually comfortable working with red.

January Journal Quilt

Finally! This is called "Seeds of Spring" (unless I think of a better name later) . . . it's my maiden effort, as it were. Since in January all thoughts turn to seed catalogs, this one represents the seeds and bulbs and roots waiting underground, all ready for the warmth of spring (although, this year, some of them have settled for the warmth of December, but that's another story entirely . . . ).

I've never quilted anything before (we won't mention the hideous doll quilt when I was seven, alright?), and it's harder than it looks. My corners are wonky. My stitches show. My embroidery skills are . . . well, shaky is being charitable.

However, I really enjoyed myself! And February is waiting, and I have an idea . . . which is probably beyond my grasp, as usual, but who cares? . . .

(And, for those who expressed condolences on the demise of my sewing machine: reports of its death were greatly exaggerated. Turns out that only the on-off switch was bad, and John replaced it with one from Radio Shack . . . so all is well again.)