Featured Quilt: Spooky Tree

Spooky Tree

by Ricky Tims, 2011

Tis the season - the spooky season that is. Spooky tree was a fun project to make. The idea was that it would be like Mr. Potato Head. The base is there, and you can create your own spooky or funny face. This is a super great project for kids. The appliqué can be stitched - or just fused in place.

I think you'll have fun, make a keepsake, and make a few memories along the way. This is a fun jigsaw puzzle to do with the youngsters too!

GET THE PATTERN HERE

click on quilt for full size view

TRY THE JIGSAW PUZZLE

Choose your own difficulty. Click the 9-patch grid to change number of pieces. Click the circle arrow to make the puzzle pieces rotating instead of stable orientation. Also, there are tips under the "?" on the upper right of the puzzle. If you'd like a full screen version, click the button below. Have fun!

Jigsaw Puzzle

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Photo of the Week

Photos of the Week - Week 34

Critique Group Challenge:

Week 34, Eyes

Photo by Lisa Flannagan

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Lisa says:

I was hesitant to use this photo because I look like an idiot. However, I think it shows the length that we go to in trying to capture an image. Especially tough when you have a small dog on a low chair who won't look up at you.

52-Week Photo Challenge Class
Week 34 - Focus Stack

Week 52 Photo Challenge:

Week 34, Found Alphabet

Photo by Laurie Lee

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Laurie says:

I put in lots of thinking of this week's challenge. From word selection, where to find those alphabets, color theme, sizes and more. Well, "JOY" was not my first pick word but with my thought process keep changing throughout the week, here is what I have. My final plan was to use images from nature with square format for all letters, so a three-letter word would have a good visual balance in my humble opinion. All three photos were taken at our local farmers market with my phone so the image quality was not the best, but I love that bee's visit to add some interest to my capture

Smart Phone Photo Challenges
Week 34 - Lamplight

Smart Phone Challenge:

Week 34, Lamplight

Photo by Cyndi Johnson

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Lynn says:

The light shines early in the morning (5:30 am) on the concession stand at our football stadium. Soft but beautiful for so early in the morning.

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Featured Quilt: Summer Storm

Summer Storm in Clay CO, TX

by Ricky Tims, 1992

When I first began quilting (1991), I was smitten and obsessed. I delved into every technique that came my way. I also was rubbing two nickels together trying to make a dime and so my fabric stash was comprised of cut-up clothing given to me by friends. The fabrics in this quilt are scraps. My dad’s mom, Marble Virginia Chesher Tims, had recently passed away. She was a quilter. Dad went rooting through the attic in the old family farmhouse (located in Clay County, Texas) and discovered a box of Grandmother's fabrics and scraps. He brought them to me on his next visit to St. Louis and I added them to my growing fabric stash.

Somewhere I had read about creating a pictorial quilt by using traditional blocks and maybe one or two theme blocks. I sketched out a design on grid paper that included the old red-roofed farmhouse and used the pinwheel blocks to represent the windmills on the farm. I used my grandmother’s scraps to make the quilt. To this day, I love this quilt—and I love looking at the prints in this quilt. The cowboy and horse fabric are a favorite, but there was not much of it. The dark burgundy print was once, without doubt, one of Grandmother’s dresses. I hand quilted the quilt as I hadn’t really delved into machine quilting at this point. It was my first attempt at creating quilting textures. These were meant to enhance the furrows in fields and the wind blowing through the windmills.

I should note, North Texas is known for big thunderstorms and tornadoes. The fabrics were placed on the horizon to give the impression of an impending storm. This quilt has always held a very special place in my heart. For me it represent so much - memories, family, and a milestone on my quilting journey. In 2021 I finally created an online class…Gridified Art Quilts. The class is about this traditional method of piecing to create artful wall quilts. From time to time, this Gridified Art Quilt class is offered at www.letsquilttogether.com. If this appeals to you, I hope you will join me for a future class on this method.

click on quilt for full size view

TRY THE JIGSAW PUZZLE

Jigsaw Puzzle

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Photo of the Week

Photos of the Week - Week 33

Critique Group Challenge:

Week 33, Rhymes with HIP

Photo by Allison Haggarty

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Allison says:

Paint CHIP as Modern Art aka Impression of the Harbour at Night

One day I would like to meet the person who comes up with paint names. :)

I pulled a few samples off the display so see if my idea would work. This one had the best title for this week's theme.

52-Week Photo Challenge Class
Week 33 - Focus Stack

Week 52 Photo Challenge:

Week 33, Focus Stack

Photo by Lynn Watkins

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Lynn says:

Since I struggled so much with macro because of the focusing I decided to try another macro using focus stacking. It worked! It took 5 photos to get everyting in focus and I had to crop the left side a little bit because it didn't focus clearly but everything else worked pretty well. Good to know how to do this in the future.

Smart Phone Photo Challenges
Week 33 - Hello Yellow

Smart Phone Challenge:

Week 33, Hello Yellow

Photo by Carol Huston

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Ricky's Challenge Photos

Smart Phone Challenge:

Week 33, Hello Yellow

Photo by Ricky Tims

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Ricky says:

Not a lot of yellow in my Covid quarantine hotel room - but once I got out for a walk I found a yellow stripe. Hope it is suitable. Edited in Prisma app with Blossom

Critique Group Challenge:

Week 33, Rhymes With Hip

Photo by Ricky Tims
from the 2022 Critique Group

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Ricky says:

Laid up in Dallas with Covid kept me stewing on a multitued of rhymes. I did Snip, Drip, Lip, and Sip - but went instead with...

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Featured Quilt: Summertime Serenade

Summertime Serenade

by Ricky Tims

Pink Flower Prelude, 2022

29” x 37”

Machine pieced, free-motion machine quilted, antique buttons

Roberta Horton and Mary Mashuta, twin sisters from Berkley, California, are notable influencers during the renaissance of quilting. Both ladies were popular instructors and authors. Roberta attended a quilting event in 1970 and instantly knew the trajectory of her life from that point - quilting! In 1973 she taught the first accredited quilt-making class through adult education in California.

Traditional quilts were her source of learning. She studied antique scrap quilts which taught her much about fabric usage. Amish quilts provided a key to color. She explored international aesthetics (Japanese, African, Australian) and soon realized that traditional formats were somewhat limiting. Roberta wrote, “Studying African-American quilts taught me how to build a quilt in a new way. The acquiring of the fabric is half the fun. The other half is figuring out how to best showcase it."

Roberta designed several lines of fabrics and was known for her plaids. She passed away on February 4, 2021, but her legacy lives on. Mary Mashuta contacted me with a request to make a quilt in tribute to Roberta using her fabric line. Summertime Serenade was my attempt to honor Roberta with the use of primitive and whimsical patchwork while taking her fabric and “figuring a way to best showcase it.” I chose to use her plaid fabric and blend them with a few batiks (fish) and an over-dyed print (main background). Of special note are the two buttons (fish eyes). These are antique fabric-wrapped buttons from my own grandmother's button tin. The Roberta Horton tribute exhibition will be held at the Pacific International Quilt Festival on October 13-16, 2022 in Santa Clara, California.

click on quilt for full size view

TRY THE JIGSAW PUZZLE

Jigsaw Puzzle

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I'm Just Sayin

Featured Quilt: Spooky Tree

Photo of the Week

Photos of the Week - Week 34

52-Week Photo Challenge Class
Week 34 - Focus Stack

Smart Phone Photo Challenges
Week 34 - Lamplight

Featured Quilt: Summer Storm

Photo of the Week

Photos of the Week - Week 33

52-Week Photo Challenge Class
Week 33 - Focus Stack

Smart Phone Photo Challenges
Week 33 - Hello Yellow

Featured Quilt: Summertime Serenade

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I'm Just Sayin

Photos of the Week - Week 34

52-Week Photo Challenge ClassWeek 34 - Focus Stack

Smart Phone Photo Challenges Week 34 - Lamplight

Photos of the Week - Week 33

52-Week Photo Challenge ClassWeek 33 - Focus Stack

Smart Phone Photo Challenges Week 33 - Hello Yellow

More Articles ...

52-Week Photo Challenge Class
Week 34 - Focus Stack

Smart Phone Photo Challenges
Week 34 - Lamplight

52-Week Photo Challenge Class
Week 33 - Focus Stack

Smart Phone Photo Challenges
Week 33 - Hello Yellow