Carlene Foster's Gallery : Home Machine

One block wonder

Carlene Foster — Sat, 13 Apr 2013 12:03:26 GMT

This is a repeat of the same star block, just by using different corner pieces, they look totally different. Of course, it is me, so it is still scrappy. :) The small sashings bring your eyes out so that it looks like one star is framed in the middle of a bunch of x's. I just thought that was the appeal to this pattern...starting with one thing and ending up with something that appears much more complex than it is. Downfall to this pattern was that it called for 2 5/8 inch squares for the outer corners, and I was using scraps from 2 1/2 inch strips, so I lost most of my star points in the process. Even rounded off, I like them (although it obviously bugs me).

Amish with a Twist-BOM

Carlene Foster — Sun, 31 Mar 2013 23:21:56 GMT

My last two weekends have been consumed with the finishing kit for this quilt, including some applique along the edges. My sewing machine did not play well with the blanket stitch on these appliques, so I ended up unsewing them and doing them all by hand. I will really need to watch the quilting process to make certain that flowers and leaves get permenantly set, as I am not a proponent of hand stitching for heavily used items. I am just glad to say that this is done. The blocks were way too simple, some of the colors in this fabric line were really awful. We were supposed to go until May, and the BOM ended in February due to lack of continued interest. I would do the second Amish with a Twist, but not as a BOM. Just send the fabric and directions for me to do it at my own pace, and I'd be fine.

Hanging Gardens

Carlene Foster — Sun, 03 Mar 2013 15:55:50 GMT

This quilt is called "Hanging Gardens" and was designed by Georgette Dell'Orco of Cozy Quilt Designs. It is meant for 2 1/2 inch strips. I ran across a 30 strip 5 x 22 bundle of cuts from a quilt show I had attended a couple of years ago and thought it was time to put them to use. This is a twin size quilt, as I only had a potential of 30 full strips after I cut them in half, one piece was black, so I took it out of the stack and was down to 29. The border fabric was in my stash for about the last 4 years, so it was time for it to go as well. It's a fast quilt to piece...I started Friday at 5:00 pm and finished Sunday morning at 12:35 am. (Let's say I was possessed and let that go! LOL) The background has a very light beige print on it, but I think the quilt will have more character if I have the long armer do it with a varigated thread.

Strings!

Carlene Foster — Sat, 23 Feb 2013 15:26:09 GMT

I cannot bear to throw away those strings: the cuts left at the end of the fabric that are less than 2 inches wide down to 1/2 inch wide. I sew them to 7 inch mujslin backs and then trim to 6.5 inch squares. This quilt top is 84 x 84. That is a lot of strings!

My first St. Louis Star Quilt

Carlene Foster — Tue, 12 Feb 2013 12:34:00 GMT

This is one totally versatile design and can be done in many different sizes and arrangements. I have done.....4? I saw this first published in a quilting mag and used my own red/green/black and wow fabrics. As it turned out, the original quilt was done in kind of a rusty brownish red and a kind of olive green. I took a class from the designer a couple of years later to learn how to do the glorified 9 patch. It was an experience I won't soon forget. :)

Buggy Barn teapots

Carlene Foster — Tue, 12 Feb 2013 12:25:04 GMT

Ummmmmmm....in my typical buggy barn fashion, I forgot to shuffle the bases for the teapot, so I had coffee pots instead. I took the dainty little bottom off the cups and made them coffee mugs to go with my newly formed coffee pots. It was a way to use up a fat quarter bundle I got from Connecting Threads.

Sampling sampler quilts completed

Carlene Foster — Sun, 10 Feb 2013 23:04:25 GMT

This is how I finished the blocks into a completed quilt top. You would think I shouls be finished with these fabrics by now, right? I found another 4 yards of the wild rose in the house after I had ordered 3 more yards (that brought the total to 15 yards purchased outside the original finishing set for the original wildflower rose BOM. And, I find myself with a bunch of the other fabrics left as well. Might be a lap quilt or more left in this batch....we are beyond bonus. Now we are into the "challenge phase" of how to use up this fabric.

Meet me on Sesame Street

Carlene Foster — Sat, 02 Feb 2013 15:39:58 GMT

This was just a fun quilt that I did for a friend's upcoming grandchild. I just love the bright colors! The pattern is a free one online and could be used for several adaptations just by using large preprinted panels with some coordinating fabrics. It is fast and fun!

Stonehenge BOM 2012 (full picture)

Carlene Foster — Tue, 01 Jan 2013 16:04:52 GMT

Daylight allows me to take a picture of the entire quilt, as long as it is not raining or the wind is not blowing excessively. A little wind today, but not so bad temp wise, and no additonal snow (yet) I love the full effect of this quilt....more than I liked some of the individual blocks. If you make this one, watch the color combinations. I had a couple of blocks that were brown on brown with the biggest contrast being another shade of brown. I substitued the orange to liven it up a little.

Christmas Pillow shams

Carlene Foster — Sat, 29 Dec 2012 19:28:13 GMT

Ever want to just decorate a pillow for the holidays, and then be able to go back to the normal decor? I made two of these shams to adorn a holiday seating arrangement. When the holidays are over, they can be stored with the Christmas decorations until next year, without having to dedicate special space for the actual pillows. Just slip over the throw pillows you already own. I could think of making these with someone's favorite color schemes for birthday celebrations as well. Marti Michell template set L and her Encyclopeida of PatchWork Blocks, Volume 4 were the inspiration for this creation. (That, and my obsession with Robert Kaufman's Christmas fabric from last year that I still own a bag of scraps from <grin>)

Christmas Place Mats

Carlene Foster — Sat, 29 Dec 2012 19:18:02 GMT

I had a 20 fq pack of coordinating Christmas fabrics that had been in my stash at least a year (more likely 2 years), that I couldn't get inspired to use. Quilters World December 2012 issue solved that problem for me: Stretched Nine-Patch Place Mats. If I were to do it all over again, I would use the Buggy Barn stack and whack, then reshuffling the order of certain stacks. Sometimes, I don't stop and plan that part so well. LOL I had leftover pieces of batting and backing was from Benartex...the line was called "dreamline" by some vendors. The idea was that the pattern was on the background in water soluable ink, you sew on the lines from the back and then when you wash the piece, the lines disappear. Loved the product, cannot find it on the Benartex website now. I bought mine through fabric.com and Amazon. From 20 fq's, I have a total of 30 placemats. I have actually completed all but 8 (due to lack of extra batting now!) Love the pattern.

Modern Christmas table runner

Carlene Foster — Sat, 29 Dec 2012 18:56:04 GMT

A few scraps, a simple pattern.....you have a table runner for the holidays. This was totally a "leftover" project, which used up every useable inch of this fabric that was leftover from 2 other planned table runners.

Duck tracks--very scrappy

Carlene Foster — Sat, 29 Dec 2012 18:32:25 GMT

This is the reason my local quilt shop owner hates scrappy quilts. This is a 60 x 80 quilt top made with nothing but scraps, the colored pieces were all 2 x 2 or smaller. Unfortunately, this didn't make as much of a dent in my scraps as I was hoping...more scraps to come! :)

Buggy Barn Christmas Stockings

Carlene Foster — Sat, 22 Dec 2012 15:22:29 GMT

I actually took a class to figure out this technique. Somehow, the directions in the books kept me confused. The buggy barn concept is to use a number of fat quarters of varying color shades/contrasts, stack them in the order that they will appear, cut all layers in one feld swoop, reshuffle the order of fabrics in some of the stacks, then put it all back together again. In the putting it all back together, there was a lot of fabric waste, which made this particular method not so popular with me. The results are cute...not breath taking or gorgeous.....just cute.

Grandmother's Flower Garden made modern

Carlene Foster — Mon, 10 Dec 2012 12:30:52 GMT

Most of us have, at one time or another, gotten the English paper piecing bug, if for no other reason than a multitude of scraps and a curiosity about the process. I had done several flowers and they had set around for a few years waiting for me to address them. So.....I used mine in a quilt as you go setting, separating each flower into its own block, then surrounding the garden with a picket fence. Now, I don't have to feel guilty about not tending to my flowers. :)