Don't Leave Home Without It

There are two things I don't leave home without.......The first is my camera.

Just think, I could have missed the motorcycle riding cat in the photo above, if I didn't have my camera sitting on the seat beside me.  That is my red pick up in the background.  I was parked in town, when I heard this man talking......I thought he was talking to himself......until I leaned out my pick up window and saw the gray cat.  

Click on the photos to enlarge them and see the details.......

This cat absolutely loved riding on this big, noisy motorcycle.  I wouldn't have believed it if I hadn't seen it for myself.  I grabbed my trusty camera, jumped out of the pick up and introduced myself to the cat and his motorcycle man.  They were more than happy to pose for a few photos.  They also told me they were at McDonald's every Sunday morning for breakfast......just in case I wanted to see the motorcycle kitty again.

So remember........don't leave home without your camera!

The second thing I don't leave home without is.....my Featherweight 221 portable sewing machine.  When we are going on a trip, I always bring along my FW221.  It is small and doesn't take up a lot of precious cargo space.  I also have a narrow folding table that goes along and is a perfect work table for wherever we end up for the night during our travels.  There is always enough space to set up the table, sewing machine, I grab a table lamp from the room and I am ready for some quality sewing time.

This FW221 was made in 1959.  It is a little, lightweight workhorse.  It has the best piecing stitch of any of my sewing machines.  It is a pleasure to work on, and is so easy to bring along when we are on the road.  On this particular trip we traveled to eastern Oregon to the painted hills country.  My husband and son went on a bass fishing trip.  They fished and I sewed........all the world was in harmony.

These are the gorgeous painted hills in Oregon...........yes, this photo will make its way into a quilt someday.

These are my fishermen.  It was a great trip for all of us!

Remember that camera.........and that sewing machine.

CLICK HERE to view My Quilts

Don't Leave Home Without Them,

LuAnn

My Happy Place

I have sewn everywhere.........the kitchen table, my bedroom, a walk-in closet, motel rooms, on trains, planes, in camp trailers, and in pick up trucks. I have even been tempted to take a few stitches while I am stopped at a long traffic signal in town. If there is an inch or two of space and I have a moment of time......I sew something.

The summer of 2001 the Thread Shed was born. It is 16 feet wide and 20 feet long. A free standing building in our yard. My husband and 2 sons built it in 90 days! As they worked on it, they had lots of questions for me: How big do you want this thread shed? How many windows? Where do you want the outlets in this thread shed? When we moved everything into my new quilt studio, of course, it was officially named "The Thread Shed." My brother-in-law, a sign maker, came by and put Thread Shed on the front door. Click on each image to enlarge it.......

Over the years we have landscaped around the Thread Shed. A license plate, Jersey Girl, hangs from the arbor by the front door.

The Thread Shed has become my happy place. This little building brings me joy. And, the textile art that is created in here brings joy to others.

I have a gorgeous view of Mary's Peak out the back window where my sewing machine is set up. From the big picture window I can watch my favorite guy out at the barn while he is working. In the summer, when the windows are open, I can hear the cattle and smell the horses. I am surrounded by inspiration.

Quilting, Photography and Gardening are my passions. Holly hocks are the newest additions to the Thread Shed flowerbeds. When I have quilted for hours, and need to get up and stretch out a bit, the hollyhocks lure me outdoors to photograph them and appreciate their beauty.

I am never alone......the hen house sits right next to the Thread Shed. The girls are good company. Their gentle clucking soothes me as I sew.

Wherever you sew, whether it is the couch for handwork, the kitchen table or a motel room, may it bring you joy and may you always have a happy place.

To see more of the Thread Shed CLICK HERE

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From The Thread Shed,

LuAnn

A Year of Journal Quilts

"Leftover Sunshine" was made from leftover fabrics from my sunflower quilt. Sunflowers have always reminded me of sunshine. This 9x12 inch journal quilt was later donated to the Alzheimers Priority Quilts auction.

Click on each image to enlarge it and see details.

"You Rogue" is a memory quilt I created from a wonderful day spent with my favorite guy fishing along the Rogue River. This is a photo transfer journal quilt of pictures I took that day. The water was so crystal clear, we could watch the fish follow the lure right up to the bank. The background is different water photographs.

CLICK HERE to see more Photo Transfer work

"Bounce".....is the result of my obsession with circles. I love them, I am attracted to them and can't get them out of my system.

"It's Been Lovely" A gelatin printed background using bubble wrap, rubber stamps with images of women parade across the top. We have all had days when we felt just like this......It's been lovely.....but now I think I'll go scream!

Click the image to enlarge it and see the detail.

CLICK HERE to see more Jello/Gelatin Printing

"You Spoil Me Rotten" Photo transfer of a copyright free image. I struggle in the summer with trying to find time to quilt and work in my flower garden. My husband doesn't mind the laundry piling up and no hot cooked meals. He puts steak on the BBQ and calls me when dinner is ready......he spoils me rotten.

"Tinker turns 50".......12 x 12 inch journal quilt to celebrate my sister's life. I like to remind her that she is my 'older' sister.

"How old would you be if you didn't know how old you are?" a journal quilt to remind me I am as old as I feel. I am 17 in this photograph, which is how old I feel most days.

Quilt Pink......a memory quilt I made for myself. These are leftover fabrics I found in the trash after the class was over. 20 quilters gathered to create quilts to be sold at auction to benefit the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation. Free-motion quilted feathers and embellished with glass beads.

" A Study in Purple" Created as a sample quilt for a class I was teaching to beginner quilters.

"Big Bloomers" was also created as a simple quilt for a beginner class I was teaching.

"Reflection" was inspired by the background fabric in this journal quilt. I loved the black trees, so I free-hand cut a tree from black fabric, then free-motion quilted the tree to attach it to the quilt top. This was also created as a class sample for beginners.

"Fly Away Home" the background was created by making a print on gelatin with acrylic paints. A feather is free-motion quilted across the top, and embellished with crystals.

Journal quilts are a wonderful way to complete a project in 2 or 3 hours. It gives you a sense of completion in such a short period of time. Most of our quilt projects take weeks, months or years before we get that feeling of completion. With a journal quilt you can try out a new technique, put your thoughts into fabric and thread, and create something tangible in just a few hours.

Give it a try..........you are worth it.

p.s. To see more Journal Quilts Click HERE

CLICK HERE to view My Quilts

May Your Bobbin Always Be Full,
LuAnn Kessi

Sunflower Quilt........In Progress

Sunflower quilt......in progress.

Random size strips of sunflower fabrics pieced into 8 inch blocks. The piecing of all the strips was very therapeutic and I got in my "piecing fix." Sometimes we just want to sit at the machine and piece.......it is good for the soul.

After most of the blocks were together, I put them up on the design wall in random order. The blue blocks were just begging to become the sky, so I moved all the blue blocks to the top portion of the quilt.

A vertical design wall is a necessity when designing your quilts. Get those blocks off the table, off the floor, and up on the wall. You will be amazed at how much your work improves when you can see it up at eye level.

When I was happy with the block arrangement, I pieced the top together and began adding the sunflower applique. I love the contrast of the sunflowers against the blue sky, they just jump off the quilt.

I began introducing batik fabrics in the sunflowers. I did not use batiks in the background blocks, but they were perfect for the flowers. The shaded colors of batik fabrics lend themselves well to flowers.

In this photo the sunflowers have no stems, they are just hanging in mid-air.

Click on each photo to enlarge it and see details.

A close up view of some of the sunflower heads. Rather than just use one fabric for the center of each flower, I chose 2 different browns to represent the middle of some of the flowers. If you look closely at a real sunflower, they appear to have an inner circle within the center.

I also turned the flower heads at different angles to give the impression that they are 3 dimensional and bowing their heads forward or to the side.

Close Up view of sunflowers with stems.

I used Steam a Seam Lite 2 fusible web. I like this product very much. Once the fusible is applied to the back of the fabric, you can place the sunflowers temporarily on the quilt and they stay there.......they don't fall off the design wall. The flowers stayed in place so that I could do the design work, be happy with all the placement, before I ironed them in place. This product is also very light and does not leave a stiffness in the fabric, or gum up your needle when sewing through it.

This quilt.......still in progress......measures nearly 100 inches square. The sunflowers are 7 feet tall. I plan to add a few more sunflowers in the lower portion, and add chickens at the bottom pecking around in the grass.

Right now I don't feel the quilt needs a border treatment. I think a border will close it all in.........I like the open feeling it has right now.

I will post more photos of this quilt as I work on it.

I hope to have the quilt completed in time to enter it in a show in September 2009.

I asked my husband if he could work me up a flowerbed in the yard so I could plant a few sunflowers. Later that day I arrived home from town to find a 100 foot long flower bed ready to be planted...........what a guy!

These are photographs I took of the sunflowers that grew. These became the inspiration for the sunflower quilt.

The blue sky in these photos inspired the blue sky in the quilt.

I kept these photographs close by as I was designing the quilt. They were a big help in determining what the flowers should look like, the shape of the leaves, the centers of the flower heads, etc.

Later in the fall, as we were cleaning out the flowerbeds, I cut the last remaining flowers and brought them into the house to enjoy.

Just looking at these photographs today transports me back to days filled with flowers and sunshine and warm weather. They make me feel a bit warmer this morning when the thermometer reads 30 degrees.

p.s. To see more Sunflower Quilts Click HERE

CLICK HERE to view My Quilts

Wishing You Flowers and Sunshine,

LuAnn

Baby Season in My World

It has been baby season in my world. No, I am not a new mother, or grandmother. My nieces and nephews are starting their families, and this is a good excuse for me to take a break from my quilting projects to design a few fun baby quilts. They are delightful to create and the flannel backings make them so yummy.

The first baby quilt is.....Bubbles. This is flannel on both sides. I have been having fun making circles. I tried one of the new acrylic circle cutter rulers, it made perfectly round circles and was fun and easy to use.

Click on each of these photos to enlarge them and see the details.

This is my grandnephew just home from the hospital on his bubbles quilt.

The entire time I was designing this drunkards path quilt, the colors and softness of the flannels kept reminding me of cotton candy...........again I am creating circles. The flannels are very forgiving when curve piecing. I used lots of spray starch to keep the fabric stable while I was handling it. I used 6 inch drunkards path acrylic templates, and cut around them with an 18mm rotary cutter. This quilt was a pleasure to make.

My niece and I with her cotton candy baby quilt at her baby shower.........

My grandniece snuggled into her Cotton Candy Quilt

I was quite taken with this fun balloon fabric, so much so that I bought what was left on the bolt and pieced it into 4 different baby quilts.

This Dancing Stars quilt has a large pieced star in the center, 3D prairie points on the inner and outer borders. Prairie points add so much fun to a baby quilt.

This is my grandniece just home from the hospital wrapped in her pink Dancing Stars Quilt with her Great Annylu holding her.

Dancing Stars in Pink

Pinwheels........this is the third baby quilt with the fun balloon fabric in the border. This quilt has 3D pinwheels in the center of the quilt, and prairie points on the edge.

Twinkle.......has friendship stars in the center, prairie points on the inner and outer borders, and the last of the balloon fabric in the border.

After a big quilting project, I actually look forward to taking a few days to create a baby quilt. It is fun, joyful to handle and look at the fabrics, and helps me clear my head, so that I am ready to take on the next big quilting project feeling refreshed and ready to go! And......it is fun to wrap up and hold the babies in their new quilts.

To see more baby quilts CLICK HERE

CLICK HERE to view My Quilts

May Your Bobbin Always Be Full,

LuAnn

Seize The Moment

Snow photography is my favorite. When I wake up and the world is white, I quickly throw on my clothes and ask my husband to take me for a ride. The photo you see here was taken at the Westfork Barn where our cattle are fed in the winter.

Click on this photo to enlarge it and see it close up. I love the frosty tree limbs on the left side of the photo.

The white sheep against the snow is one of my favorites. These are North Country and Lincoln sheep. They knew my husband was there to feed them, so they came out of the barn to greet us........it made the perfect photo.

Do things when you are inspired to do them. Don't put them off until a more convenient time.........by then the snow may have melted and the opportunity is lost.

In quilting, use that fabric while you are still inspired to make something with it.

Your enthusiasm will eventually dwindle, and you will forget why you purchased that fabric. Make notes in a journal when you are inspired. You can take out the journal at a later date, see your notes, and that inspiration will come flooding back to you.

We need to cultivate our creativity, like a gardener tending to his flowerbed.

To see more snow posts CLICK HERE

CLICK HERE to view My Quilts

Seize The Moment,

LuAnn

Inspiration

Our home along the Big Elk River has a definite impact on the quilts I create for my husband and two sons. The beauty of the river, the hills, fields and surrounding area all end up being a part of my quilts.

Click on each image to enlarge it and see details.....

"Strength & Courage" was created for my youngest son who knows every inch of the river below our house, every beaver den and where all the best fishing holes can be found. As a child his cowboy hat always had an eagle feather in it that he found laying along the river banks. The river was his second home, and his quilt reflects his love of the outdoors.
"Cabin in the Woods" was created for my husband. It contains the douglas fir tree that is so prominent in our part of the state, as well as the elk, deer, beaver and salmon that swim up the river each year.

"Big Bear" was made for my oldest son, who has always had an admiration for bears. On my way home from town late one afternoon, I came around a corner just in time to see a black bear on the road, he stood up, looked at me and climbed the hill on the other side of the road. The border on this quilt is the bear paw block set on point, which seems to move in a clockwise direction, as if running around the quilt.

Take a look around you.......what do you see.........would it make a great starting point for your next quilt?

Use your inspiration to jump in and begin......sometimes the beginning is the hardest part of all.

Just get going and design something you are inspired by.........then sit back, quietly, patiently..........the quilt will tell you what it needs if you just take the time to listen.

CLICK HERE to view My Quilts

May Your Bobbin Always Be Full,

LuAnn