Saturday, March 31, 2012

Building Easy Piecing Borders and Quilts-Step OUT of the BOX and Stretch



I am always talking in my workshops about your stash and what you can do to build it up for better quilts _see my website Marylouweidman.com for some fabrics for sale that are good lightgivers and black and white magic in your quilts.
Since I am doing my retreat soon (beginning of June) and also going to California, West Virginia, Tulsa, Arkansas, Idaho, Washington, Illinois, Texas, Tennessee, Memphis and Alabama, I thought I would show you advanced blocks for easy piecing that anyone can do with a little know how. I like to say (in gest and humor) "anyone can make a perfect traditional blocks and it takes no how to make an out of the box block like these". I like "clear" crisp designed fabric with "light" in them for successful quilts....this is my signature. I came from an art background and think this is a great help in making successful quilts!
SO, if you are coming to one of my workshops or you have one of my books, you too can make these great blocks with a good pallette (stash) some value and some invention. They are fun and cool!

AND by the way did you see that I mixed different styles of fabrics together and just because you have chicken fabric does not mean you have to fussy cut to get the whole chicken in...it is more interesting to just cut them up....like when you cook them. :0)



Thursday, March 22, 2012

Old Photos Take me Back and Make Me Happy TOO


I love old photos that remind me of my childhood...especially lately as I am seeing that I am on the downside of my life as time moves on and I get older and older.... :0) (By that I mean I know my years are numbered). Minnie Pearl was an icon in our home and I had an Aunt named Bess who was very fun and reminded me of Minnie. Once in awhile I put a price tag on a hat of someone in my story quilt because of her. Do you remember how she yelled "Howwwwdy! ?

I have lots of photos on my computer from who knows where. I had the flu today and can't sleep so I am going through files.
I LOVE this photo because it reminds me of my Grandfather Leonard and his wife Louise (my darling Canadian Grandmother). At night he would always sing a song to her in bed and kind of make up the words as he went along but he always called her "Lou" when he sang the song and always called her Louise when he spoke to her in the kitchen etc. He always ended with "did I ever tell you about the redhead that was crazy about Me?" And then they both told each other they loved one another and went to sleep.
I have probably told you this before but it was so sweet and my husband and I often speak about it.
He was very eccentric and really my Grandmother was a Saint. Enough said. :0)

I have been thinking alot about grade school probably because my Grandkids are there and a couple of the older ones are getting to that age...you know. This photo reminded me of dancing in a girlfriends kitchen and talking about boys and a night when I was in 7th grade when we had a party and made pulled taffee and I wore one of my dad's shirts to be cool...thank heavens NO one took photos...I cringe when I think about it but really everyone in my neighborhood was naive, innocent and dopey and I wish for that for my Grandkids. It is such a nice way to grow up.

I loved this photo because I often see older couples when I travel where they help each other out because of bad health etc. It is lovely to see this sweet couple remembering that once she was young and they knew each other when they both had good health and could do all of the things young people do. It does get harder as we get older but my goodness we gain so much wisdom and sadly we "think" we know so much when we are young and we don't. That isn't a bad thing though, it is just the nature of being young. Looking at this again, the guy is probably her son but that is ok too because he knew her when she was young and visa versa.

You know it is very nice to be a quilter or someone who sews or does something with your hands. Here is why. It gives you the chance to get to know new people and make friends and take classes and make more friends. As we get older we need friends. This photo reminds me of my Grandmother and my Mother who both had good friends who were widows and they all had fun doing things that were new. Their generations waitied for the word to make a sandwich, do something (anything) for their husbands to please them. Then when the husbands passes away they were kind of lost because they had based their life on giving to their life partner. I saw this with alot of women. My Grandmother always told me to get up before my husband and to get dressed, look pretty and make a nice breakfast or he would go down the street to meet the lady who lived there. :0) My husband told me early on not to make him breakfast (thank you) because he liked a cup of tea in the car on the way and nothing more. I fugured if I didn't get up with him he wouldn't see how bad I looked in the morning and we would both be happy. I have been married 43 years so I guess something worked.

I love putting the moon in my quilts and as I often tell my students it is a nice way of remembering God in a symbolic way, just so He knows. These moon photos both made me smile....I wish we had some place to get a photo taken with this backdrop....with quilting girlfriends...how fun!

Today count your many blessing and share your smile and say something NICE to someone. You will make the day better for BOTH of you!

Monday, March 19, 2012

Perpetuating Quilting through our Grandkids and neighbors and community


My dear friend Susan sent me this darling photo of her Granddaughter Maya. She is teaching her to sew on a "Hello Kitty" machine. I have been teaching my Granddaughter too. I hope that we can get some new and young and excited quilters in a new generation. Maya is a girly girl and look at the hat and the jewelry and the background. So cute and so much fun!'
Show a young person how to sew and you will both be happy girls (and teach those boys too- I am).

Wednesday, March 14, 2012

H*ILARIOUS if you are a quilter and there is a little truth to this too + NEW RETREAT INFO


FOR GREAT PHOTOS AND THE REAL DEAL ON MARY LOU'S RETREAT GO TO:
http://marylouweidman-marylou.blogspot.com/
SUCH FUN!

Want This Quilt? Go to Paducah! It's by Carol Kolf



This quilt will be for sale at Paducah...it is fabulous and wonderful in person! This photo has had a lot of hits on it and I can see why-wonderful Flower Power!

Saturday, March 10, 2012

Whimsical Joy from Great Girls who Got Creative! And a surprise if you read this.....


It is always music to a teacher's ears when someone tells them the class made her find her quilting "nitch"! This darling girl has been quilting and making perfect seams and stitches and learned the rules. This week I showed how to break the rules so your artist can come out to play and experiment and grow and be joyful. She told her husband this is a life changer...isn't that lovely? She commented that her children are gone now and her dog passed away and her day to day experience was kind of the same...do I ever know how that feels. She thinks now she has a whole new journey and will be creating and growing. I can tell she "get's it" and she will be growing and having fun! So for me it is kind of like remembering where I was when I started working my art concepts into quilting....every day is an adventure as I create and invent. Is your day routine and hum drum? Learn to bring your artist out for play! This is what quilting should be about. Discovery, fun, and "ah ha" moments to grow from. It was fun to see many of my students as repeat friends who came back for more adventure and stretching. Now, to take that home and keep the discovery going!

Mary's Flower Power Wall-quite lovely!

Carol makes a quilt we all would love on our door, bedroom or kitchen very whimsical!

The samples and people here are from the Port Orchard/Gig Harbor area where we had a lovely Flower Power class and a couple of lectures and alot of laughs and fun. The weather was sunny and beautiful with blooming flowers and on the last day it was over cast and today I drove home in the rain (382) miles....Nice memories of nice people and fun blocks and good show and tell from Western Washington-quilting is alive and well on the coast I am happy to say.









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and since you read to the end of this nice post I have a nice surprise for you.
I have a neat page I use for making your own awesome buttons for projects as in the middle of flowers. buttons down someone's blouse and a million other creative ideas....check out this wonderful link!
http://scissorspaperwok.com/2011/07/18/how-to-make-clothing-buttons-from-shrink-plastic/

Monday, March 05, 2012

A Creative Couple of Weeks for Us! A NEW STORY Quilt.....


The photo above is of a woman in France at Monet's Flower Garden...it still needs a nest (such a cool technique to make it!) in the tree and a sign that says in French "Please do not pick the flowers" or "s'il vous plaƮt ne pas cueillir les fleurs". It is a story quilt I wanted to do since I went to see this fabulous garden and now it is coming along quite nicely. It was nice to have a good stash of Timeless treasures Fabrics to use for this fun project. If you haven't made a story quilt, you should. You can leave a legacy of who you are and what is a good memory of someone or something or some place. Better than a diary I think.

This photo is taken in my diningroom with my daughter "counting" strawberries with her son. It is so much fun having them come over. His sister is the family drawing artist-she is amazing at the things she comes up with. So much fun!

Anytime I have my Grandsons over it is creativity time! I bought "Marble Magic" thanks to my friend Peggy and they have spent hours building towers for the marbles to go through...it is fun for me and so much fun for cousins to be together. Encouraging creativity is something I really value.

I talked about helping my ten year old Granddaughter make a quilt. She is hooked! Got this together and now we need to pick a border and then I teach her how to do a quilting big stitch....so much fun and my daughter in law commented that this pattern reminded her of hockey blades...all of this kids and Dads play hockey so naturally they all loved it. It is alot of fun showing a younger person how to sew and give them something that most kids can't get at school.