Author: bramangirlsquilt

Summer of 2021 a friend of mine posted a beautiful photo of a sunflower on Facebook. With her permission I used her photo to make a sunflower collage pattern. It wasn’t until November that I got a chance to make it. Actually it’s still waiting to be quilted.

Fast forward to March 2022 and Emily Taylor of Collage Quilter posted her sunflower pattern as a fundraiser for humanitarian efforts for the people of Ukraine. Well I loved that pattern and even better it was available to buy as a downloadable pattern.

I already had lots of yellow fabrics with Steam a Seam II on it, so I was ready to collage.

The background fabric I found was actually leftover backing and it was a pretty good size. I’d say 30×36. Well if I had that big of a background, I should make more than one sunflower.

A few years ago my son planted sunflowers in his food plot for white tail deer. That hill of sunflowers was what I had it mind when I kept making the collage sunflowers.

I had my sunflower pattern on my computer, so I reduced it, and reduced it again. Three different sizes of my original pattern; Emily’s pattern and then I made a few tiny Accuquilt sunflowers to fill in.

My sister Jenean suggested that I make one flower from a side view.

Needless to say, this project just keeps changing. Now I decided that I wanted to piece the background to give it more depth.

This is the finished quilt top. Not sure how I want to quilt it yet. But I’m sure I will figure it out. Will post an update when completed.

All of us were sporting our Midwest Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show shirts. Ready to see the show and do some shopping.

Friday we attended a lecture by Susan Carlson. On Saturday morning Nance and I went to see Susan’s quilt as the show opened so we could enjoy them before the crowds got there. Susan’s crocodile is over 20 feet long.

As I looked at the photos on my phone at the end of the day I realized lots of them were collage quilts. Guess we know what I enjoy.

Not sure who made any of these, if they are original designs or patterns but they were the ones that caught my eye. Because of the way they were hung it was hard to get a good angle to photograph some of them. Enjoy.

“We will make this project together, it will be fun,” Nancy said. I signed on. Little did I know that Nancy may have started more than one of Bonnie Hunter’s mystery quilts, but has yet to complete one.

First step was to gather fabrics from my stash. Pinks, yellows, neutrals, deep reds and turquoise. Sounds pretty. I did have to buy a few 1/4 yards of deep red and neutrals. But for the most part, I make this quilt from fabrics I had.

Now to wait for the first clue to appear on Bonnie’s blog. Then the cutting and sewing began.

I have always loved watching football. Nancy and Jenean not so much. Today Nance called to remind me to post a picture of my collage owl wallhanging as she had already posted hers on line.

I’m taking my owls south with me to warmer weather next week. I’m really looking forward to making new collage wallhanging with friends at Orange Grove RV Park in Texas.

Of all the posts I have on this blog, The Hen House has by far had the most hits. How can you not love that quilt with beautiful Kaffe fabric and Moda Grunge?

Last March while I was on vacation in Texas I found another pattern with roosters and knew it would also be a hit. So I’ve had this pattern for 10 months and I’ve just finished it. I made the fatal error to not buy the ruler set to make the sunrise. I didn’t think I needed it because I had three different size ruler sets for drunkards path block. When I got home I realize none of those set would make a 10 inch block.

It was October before I got the background sunrise blocks made.

Time to get those roosters on the sunrise.

I did get the blanket stitching done around all the rooster before I went to a quilt retreat in November. It was at that retreat I got the blocks all put together with solid blue sashing between the blocks and a small border with the same blue around the outside. My thought was to add another border with a printed blue when someone, and I’m not even sure who is was that suggested it, that I use a yellow for the outside border. What a great idea. I didn’t have fabric for that second border with me so when I got home I auditioned a blue as well as a yellow.

Well the yellow was perfect. Here the quilt is on my Simply Sixteen. I make a few thread changes getting this quilt completed because I didn’t want the quilting to compete with the look of the roosters.

I finished the binding this weekend and got to hanging it on the fence at the lake house in the snow. But the story doesn’t end there.

Every time I showed this quilt to my sister, Nancy, she always commented that it reminded her of Kellogg’s Corn Flakes. Our Dad ate them every morning for breakfast so we had seen that box our whole lives.

I made these three hot pads, one for me and each of my sisters, using the colors of that Kellogg’s Corn Flakes rooster.

The Houston Quilt Festival was not exactly what it had been in the past. No market this year, but the quilt show was a go. The real pull for Nancy and I to attend was the first showing of all three collections of the Diana Cherrywood Challenge quilts. These had been years in the making since 2020 quilt show was cancelled. Nancy’s quilt had been selected, and we were determined to see the collection.

We attended the preview party on Wednesday night. Walking into the sea of pink was overwhelming.

One packet of Cherrywood fabrics and a theme, amazing how many different quilts. Each quilt a masterpiece in 20 inches.

Nance and I signed up for classes the first day would could. I got into the one I wanted, Nance was wait listed. By the time of the show in late October, her class as well as a lecture she had signed up for were cancelled. But my class, taught by Katie Pasquini Masopust, was still a go. I was a bit nervous about dedicating a whole day of my quilt show to one class, but I loved it. I made a small abstract quilt from a photo I brought. I left with tons of ideas how I was going to make more.

My family does not like it at all. But I think this is a great start, and can’t wait to improve using this technique.

We had a great visit, saw many quilts, bought more fabric and learned new techniques. I’d say it was a successful show. Nancy even talked me into accepting the next Cherrywood Challenge, Graffiti. Stay tuned to see what I make.

No sewing today. I’m in my hunting shack with my grandson. November 15 has always been a holiday for my family.

It all started with a discussion that my husband’s friend, Mark needed a quilted wallhanging in this office to help with noise reduction. This is the end results, Fishy.

So with that first discussion I had fishing as the inspiration. I started by gathering some green fabrics, okay lots of green fabrics. Because when doing collage quilting I use small pieces of many different fabrics. Then I drew a picture of one fish.

I made my first fish on my silicone mat. Ironed it together and started thinking about the background I’d use.

I hadn’t figured out the background yet, but knew the fish would be in water, so I decided to make a log for the bottom of the lake/river. I started on my little silicone mat again, which ended up to be a little too small.

That one walleye seemed a bit lonely so I drew a pike and made him up too.

By this time I had bought some batik fabrics I thought might work for the background. So I auditioned them.

Background chosen, now to start the layout. Then I decided to make a few lily pads. But they would be from the viewpoint of the bottom of the lake with tails hanging down.

If I’m making lily pads, I might as well make some little bass swimming around them.

After quilting and binding, I got two of my husbands lures and added them to the log. I hand stitched the line that had broke when the lures got caught.

I gave it to Mark on Thursday evening and he had it hung up in his office Friday morning.

I usually have more than one quilt started at the same time. This fall I can’t seem to get any one of them finished.

I’m stitching around my roosters.

I’m creating a log for the lake bottom on my small silicone mat. As you can see the hangover, I should have used the big mat.

Quilting on the background of my collage flowers in a vase.

Hope to finish at least one of these before I leave for Houston Quilt Show next week.

Last spring I got a new Laura Heine pattern with a Christmas theme. So I took everything I’d need to complete it to the lake house while up there for the 4th of July.

This is how far I got that weekend as we lost power soon after I’d taken this picture.

As you can see, Santa is made on pattern ease. I made the tree and bag of toys on my pressing mat.

While Laura does give instructions to collage the background as well as the motif, I cut Santa out of the pattern ease and put him on the background I had already sewn together.

I added some Christmas llamas, presents and lights. Ready to press and steam.

I got Santa completed in time for him to hang with Nancy’s Little Red Truck at Midwest Sister’s Quilt Show.