Clam Shell Quilts

Halloween Clam Shell 2.5"

Since I began to quilt, I've always loved clam shell quilts.  I loved the symmetry, the gentle curves, the scrappy look. Before I took to hand piecing or hand piecing took to me, I never  imagined I would make one.  Even after I discovered hand piecing,  my brain rebelled.  Tracing templates, plus marking sewing lines and registration marks, was way too tedious and time consuming. Plus I'm not a really big fan of large bed size quilts.  I get great ideas, but the follow through sometimes escapes me.  Doing a large bed quilt in clam shells would probably end up as an incomplete. 

Then a few months back, Linda Franz created several new Inklingo Clam Shell Shape Collections.    Two were small!  Big smile here.  😊  Finally I could make a clam shell that had sewing lines and registration marks that were easily printed on the back of my scraps...and it would not take me forever to make  (thus in line with my short attention span and lack of follow through). And here it is.  I started before Halloween, but it didn't get finished because....
I'm waiting for Linda Franz to come up with 2.5 inch edge collection.  I just know she will (right Linda?).  Hopefully before next Halloween. 😉   Well some would say, just cut off the edges why don't you.  No can do.  I'm OCD about wasting fabric.  😏  In the mean time, in between other projects, I'll wait or add an embellishment or two.  I'm thinking about making a few of the black clam shells into little cat faces peeking out.  I can make a game of "Can You Find the Little Cat Faces".  😸  (Bye the way, I'm having great fun with these emoji Blogger is finally allowing for.)

Snowbuddy: A Symbol of Renewal

I'm in a club at a local quilt shop. The cost of admission is $10 and it carries one requirement...to finish a pre-selected UFO each month.

Snowbuddy was my September pick. You can see the original Snowbuddy below. He hung on my sewing room wall in Toledo Ohio for years and years, waving and smiling and encouraging me on. Snowbuddy was wonky and poorly quilted but he was  my own creation and he was ever so happy.  My buddy smiled back at me from his place of honor from the time he was created in 1998 until the time we moved to the South in 2015.

Original Snowbuddy

After I arrived at my new home,  Snowbuddy was unpacked. I took a good look at him. Fabrics used in 1998 were beginning to show ware. (That was before I discovered quilt shop fabric.) The workmanship was poor.  The applique was good, but the machine quilting was really bad and my buddy needed a wash.   My skills had miraculously improved with the decades it was time to put these improved skills to use.  This Northern girl was about to start her new, unexpected Southern life with a new, renovated, spruced up Snowbuddy.

First, my buddy was lovingly disassembled. The machine quilting was carefully un-quilted. The binding and borders were removed.  He was given a gentle wash and hung up to dry.  The embellishments were removed and he was given a press.  My wall hanging was now ready for reassembly with new borders, backing, batting, and hand quilting.

Snowbuddy got a new face.  Tufts of cotton became his eyebrows and nose.  Buttons were stitched on for eyes. 

Embellishments were added:   A winter moon, hearts, stars.  The star on the right was hand pieced using Inklingo and then appliqued down.  New buttons were added along with a hand crocheted red scarf. Hand embroidery was added to the hat and mouth.   

Snowbuddy 2016

Then finally a label was printed and attached.

Snowbuddy helped me through the transition from North to South.  I worked on him here and there for over a year.  Each day this quilt was renewing, so was I.   I miss the north with the change of seasons.  I miss winter and the snow.   Snowbuddy allowed me to remain in touch with winter, as I sweat through the heat in the south.  My buddy now hangs in a place of honor in my Florida sewing room, smiling, waving, and encouraging me on. Looking at him, I can almost feel and smell the fresh Northern Winter air.