Monday, December 30, 2013

Lucky Duck Dreams shared an Instagram photo with you

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"The chaos of half my cutting table. I can't even show the pile on the floor or my other sewing table. I dream of a larger space with walls lined with large drawer cabinets and book shelves above. #creativechaos"
(taken at Lucky Duck Dreams studio)

Thanks,
The Instagram Team

Wednesday, December 25, 2013

Lucky Duck Dreams shared an Instagram video with you

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Lucky Duck Dreams just shared an Instagram video with you:


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"Christmas is here!"
(taken at Yarnell land)

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The Instagram Team

Tuesday, December 24, 2013

Lucky Duck Dreams shared an Instagram photo with you

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Lucky Duck Dreams just shared an Instagram photo with you:


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"Merry Christmas everyone! Love, Colleen "
(taken at Christmas Home, Lewisville, NC)

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The Instagram Team

Sunday, December 1, 2013

Celtic Solstice part one-complete!

So I have watched people sew Bonnie Hunter mysteries the last two years. I have wanted to follow along and do one so this year I am!  All blog posts can be found under a tab at Bonnie's blog Quiltville.  


Bonnie picked colors using paint chips.  I got the colors and then shopped my stash.  I chose low volume text prints for the neutral background.

These fabrics will make a very modern scrap quilt.

Part one came out Friday.  I was busy getting my Black Friday goodies.  JCP went back to Mickey snow globes this year and I got my $.99 poinsettias at Home Depot.


I also went to World Market and got a lovely Downton Abbey tea cup in a pretty box, as well as a sturdy DA shopping bag.  

Later after napping I cut out all the pieces, 92 orange triangles, 96 neutral, and 188 pairs of blue side triangles using the Tri-recs rulers.

I sewed them chain piece style on Saturday.


At one point I ran out of bobbin thread but didn't realize it until I had sewn about 21 pieces.

I think the fabrics look wonderful together!

Even though they are all sewn I still have to clip them apart and iron.
Quiltville
If you haven't joined the QAL its not too late.  Bonnie will post a new clue every Friday until the quilt is finished.  The clues stay up on the blog until June.  I'm also having fun chatting with quilters form all over the world on the fb page set up by on of the participants.  Ill be linking up this post to Bonnie's Monday linkup party.

keep dreaming...Colleen
A Great Thanksgiving!



Friday, November 29, 2013

Lucky Duck Dreams shared an Instagram photo with you

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"Up at 4am to go to jcp for my snow-globe. Then to Hime Repot for my $.99 poinsettias! #blackfridaycrazy"
(taken at The Home Depot)

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The Instagram Team

Thursday, November 28, 2013

Lucky Duck Dreams shared an Instagram photo with you

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"Thanksgiving 1984 younger cousins, Pete's tractor birthday cake. Pete, Kelly, Stephen, Lisa , & Uncle Mike. #tbt "
(taken at Jacobus, PA)

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The Instagram Team

Lucky Duck Dreams shared an Instagram photo with you

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Lucky Duck Dreams just shared an Instagram photo with you:


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"Grandma, Kelly and Rusty #tbt "
(taken at Yarnell land)

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The Instagram Team

Lucky Duck Dreams shared an Instagram photo with you

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"Kelly's first Thanksgiving at Grandma and Grandpa Myers. #tbt Thanksgiving style"
(taken at Jacobus, PA)

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The Instagram Team

Lucky Duck Dreams shared an Instagram photo with you

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"All my favs! The name tags are ones I made about 15 or so years ago. We save them and anytime someone new comes I make a new one. "
(taken at Yarnell land)

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The Instagram Team

Lucky Duck Dreams shared an Instagram photo with you

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"Happy Thanksgiving! Enjoy your friends and family and eat turkey! Gobble gobble!"
(taken at Lewisville, NC)

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The Instagram Team

Wednesday, November 27, 2013

Lucky Duck Dreams shared an Instagram video with you

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Lucky Duck Dreams just shared an Instagram video with you:


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"Yes those white dots on the table are snow!"
(taken at Secret Garden)

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The Instagram Team

Kevin the Quilter: Let the countdown begin..........

Kevin the Quilter: Let the countdown begin..........: Let the countdown begin! COUNTDOWN CLOCK WEBSITE "> Let's get a little excited in here! If you'r...

Friday, November 22, 2013

Quiltville's Quips & Snips!!: Quilts for Midwest!

Quiltville's Quips & Snips!!: Quilts for Midwest!: I've received emails over the past several days asking me if I knew of any organization that was collecting quilts for tornado relief -...

Friday, November 15, 2013

My first published pattern!

Ive finally done it.  I published one of the patterns I like to sew.  It is an old one for a simple yet very nice tree skirt.  I actually wrote it up last Christmas when I made myself a new one.  I have made many over the years.  Altering the pattern slightly as it evolved.  Ive made tiny ones for tiny trees,

 a medium sized one for my tree at school, 

and a regular sized for my 5-6 foot live tree.  

You can purchase my pattern at the link above on Craftsy.

Ive decided to publish my patterns under the name Lucky Duck Dreams.  My crafting business will remain Opus designs.  I just can't do away with it.

keep dreaming...Colleen
One of the original tree skirts-Mom and Dads!




Sunday, November 10, 2013

fabric choices

Choosing fabric for a project can really be hard. 
 Im linking up with Jess at Quilty Habit as part of her Sewing With Certainty series.  


I tend to buy fabric and decide what to use it for later.  I buy what I like.  This got me into trouble when I had an abundance of large scale multi-color prints.  I try to buy with more diversity now.  Medium and small scale prints, tone on tone, and two color too

Recently I started a BOM class doing Kaffe Fassett's Imari plate quilt from his book Quilts of Sweden.  Its a medallion quilt and I decided to go very scrappy and use my extensive Denyse Schmidt stash.  But how to begin?  The idea of a rainbow stuck in my head.


I started by sorting by print size and type.  As you can see I spread fabrics all over the floor sorting.  I leaned toward a rainbow effect the first week with the center block.

Looking at all the piles of sorted fabric I carefully chose 8 colors for the petals.  I paid attention to the numbers of colors in each print and the scale, trying to be somewhat consistent.


I went with the dark gray background to make the other colors really pop.  I chose the medium gray leaf print for the center.  Many others fussy cut centers but I wanted the petals to be more of the focal point  


I was very pleased with my center.  The next BOM was a pieced border.  My challenge was what fabrics to pick .  I needed a center, middle and background fabric.  It also had to mesh with the center.  I carefully picked two fabrics to go with each color I had chosen for my rainbow.  I also picked a coordinating lighter shade to use as the background.  25 different fabrics to acheive that rainbow border.  I also had to coordinate inner border.

I was very happy witht the little logcabins for the border.  And Look.  I think they came out just right.

And here is the carfully assembled border.  I cant wait to plan the next one.  I know it will be a challenge.  Im trying not to repeat fabrics.  Im saving the large scale florals for larger borders where I can fussy cut them.

I hope you find inspiration from this project.

keep  dreaming...Colleen




she gave paint chip numbers to match up your fabric too.

Sunday, November 3, 2013

Vote now! Blogger's Quilt Festival

Its time to vote in each category for the Bloggers Quilt festival.  

I have a quilt entered in the Group Bee category.  My Star Trek quilt is #19 if you would like to vote.  


Read all about the festival here.

BTW I was a featured blogger last week and you can see that post here.
keep dreaming...Colleen
Finished my BOM homework at a sewing retreat this weekend! 
 Kaffe Fassett's Imari Plate quilt in progress.

Tuesday, October 29, 2013

I want a Babylock Melody!

I know I already have a Babylock Sofia and it is a great embroidery and piecing machine.  However it is as a quilting machine it is very touchy and has small throat space.

 Ive heard great things about the Melody as a quilting machine.  Especially with the extension table!  I also love the decorative and utility stitches it has!  I would love to win this from Amy's Creative side in the Blogger's Quilt Festival so I can up my FMQ game!

keep dreaming...Colleen

Saturday, October 26, 2013

Blogger's Quilt Festival, Fall 2013

Its time again for the Bloggers Quilt Festival!

AmysCreativeSide

Ive decided to enter my Star Trek quilt in the favorite group/bee quilt category.


This year I finished one of my oldest UFOs.  Way back in 1994- yes that's 20 years ago!  I cant believe I am that old!  Anyway I learned quilting from one of the original online quilt guilds-Quiltnet.  It is an email listserv.  I did tons of block and round robin swaps.  One of my favorite was a Star Trek block swap-original and Next Generation themed.

Above Klingon letters appliqued and the Enterprise.
There were 20 people in our group.  One person however took all the blocks and never sent any.  Oh well it happens.  In its place I made a a dedication block to my dad on my BL Sofia embroidery machine.  I even bought the Star Trek font for realistic letters.  
Dad decided on the layout.
Setting the blocks was always an issue for me.  They were all so very different in size for 12.5" unfinished.  LOL!  Finally I decided on a wonky setting using spacey type fabric.  

BTW did I tell you my dad claimed these blocks back in 1994?  Yep!  He waited almost 20 years for the finished quilt.

My friend Gina is an awesome long arm quilter so she custom quilted it for me.  There was no other way to do it.  There were so many different fabrics appliqued, embroidered and pieced.   She did a wonderful job!

The back is made up of 4 different one yard star trek prints featuring the enterprise, Kirk and Spock, and old comic book covers.

My dad loves it!  


name:  Star Trek quilt
made by:  Quiltnet/Q-xchg Star Trek swap group & me
long arm quilted:  Gina Allen, ginabean quilts
blocks: made 1994
quilt finished: June 2013
size:  about 70 x 80

keep dreaming...Colleen
Kalli-cat helped me bind the Star Trek quilt.
She is still missing.  It has been three weeks.