It all started with tupperware

Amy, from Amyscreativeside.com, is hosting a Blogger's Quilt Festival to coincide with Quilt Market. To see some amazing quilts by bloggers everywhere, click on the link below:

I'm pretty sure that my love of orange is directly related to my love of all things from the 1970s.

What really epitomizes the color palette for me is, and always has been, my mom's funky set of tupperware:

I've always loved this set!

It's still in pristine condition, too. That handle really keeps the set together.

My name is on the bottom of the yellow bowl, made with a labelmaker much like this one:

I can't think of one thing that wasn't labeled with that label maker.

Coming up with a palette for a quilt for myself wasn't too hard. I usually start with orange.

Above is a shot of all of the blocks together, but not in the final arrangement.

Below, all set together:

The best part of this quilt, tho, isn't the color palette.

(even tho they're all my favorites)

The best part about this quilt is that it is just my second quilt hand-quilted piece.

And, it is the quilt that brought all of these fabulous people together to put it in a frame and help me start hand quilting.

We put it up in the driveway - on my grandmother's frame.

We used the quilt stands my granddad made.

Above, the backing is pinned to the boards first.

Then (below) the batting and top are attached.

And the quilting began.

These two great gals took me into their quilting circle!

Some quilt-enthusiasts showed up to support us:

Here's a great picture of one of my grams' best pals, showing me how it's done:

It was a perfect day to start a fun 70's tupperware-inspired quilt!

Particulars: 42 blocks, log cabiny, cotton batting

Progress to date: 29.5 blocks complete, binding machine-stitched to the backside.

Sewing Machines and Studio Bits

I've been upgrading, repositioning, and rearranging the studio

for maximum sewing pleasure.

Here's the quilt rack I finally assembled. It's a Grace Z44.

It's been mocking me for a month or so now.

Once I figure out how to load the quilts on this monster, there'll be no stopping me!

Here's a few shots of Grams' sewing machine.

This is a Singer 329K.

It sews like a dream.

This is an entry-level bells-and-whistles Baby Lock Grace.

It's nice & light. It makes great stitches.
A White Serger Superlock 2000. Groovy seams!
Janome Coverpro 900. groovier seams! all knit all the time.
Both the coverstitch and serger on Grams' potting table I refinished.
My super workhorse - Juki TL98Q in a nifty race car red dust cover...

And a bonus new fabric storage cabinet:

Quilt Story for the Blogger Quilt Festival

Here is my entry for the quilt blogger festival.

This quilt is special to me because it marked a turning point in my own sewing.

My grandmother taught me to sew and the joy of making quilts. For years, I had been working hard and improving my skills, but it wasn't until the few quilt tops leading up to this one and this quilt that I believe my grandmother was proud of my sewing.

Throughout my apprenticeship with grams, she was part of a hand-quilting network of women in the community. She would tell me about it, but it was this quilt top that she allowed to be hand-quilted by her group.

Here's some photos of the quilt in the frame - with me and grams at the library where she quilted:

And the finished product, with prairie points:

Grandma's Apple Pie

Early this morning, I made Grandma's Apple Pie for a friend's birthday.

It looks wonderful! I'm sure the birthday girl will love it.

Grandma preferred a crumb-top, but I did not have brown sugar,

so I went with a lattice-topped pie.

Grams' potting table... in use!

The table is working out perfectly for sewing. It holds the serger and a few extra tools.

What a perfect fit in the studio!