Sunday, April 17, 2016
Beyond the Basics
A couple years back, I was the program director for the Hearts N Hands Quilt Guild in O'Fallon, IL. As program director, one is always looking for ways the guild members. I chose this sampler by Elizabeth Lake for our members. Two years later, I finally finished my quilt and it is on the frame ready to quilt. Now comes the next test. How to quilt it??
Wednesday, April 13, 2016
Merry Go Round
One of the guilds I belong to has a piecing group and as it was my turn to hand out, I chose this pattern I found in the American Patchwork & Quilting magazine from Feb 2012 called Merry Go Round by Kimberly Walus. The main section of the quilt is pieced and I will chose the outside border tomorrow, when my friend and sewing companions gather for our weekly meeting. They are wonderful to help me when I am stuck on which fabric is right for a certain quilt. As soon as I pick the border it will go into the waiting stack to be quilted. I think It will number 18.
It is always great to share our accomplishments and get feedback when it is needed.
It is always great to share our accomplishments and get feedback when it is needed.
Sunday, April 10, 2016
A Checkered Past
In October, friends and I made a road trip to quilt shops around Missouri. I found this pattern "A Checkered Past" by Sherri Hisey and thought it would be great to use up my large collection of scraps. After months of piecing, the quilt is pieced at last. I love it and will probably make it again.
Now it goes into the "to be quilted stack". This is a stack that must be tackled sooner than later.
Now it goes into the "to be quilted stack". This is a stack that must be tackled sooner than later.
Saturday, March 26, 2016
Twelve Years Later
In 2014, my daughter and family were moving to Alexandria MN to buy a dairy farm.
We all were so excited they were going to be able to have their own place. Of course, Mom had to visit and make sure all was OK. I loved they town which boasted of 4 quilt shops.
One such shop had a kit called "Colorful Quilts - Journey" Sampler. I bought the kit.
I have no idea why as the color combination was not my style.
At that time, I bought anything in the hopes I would learn to love it. I started the blocks but could never finish them. For years, I have pulled the project, considered giving it away, and then returned it to the drawer for future review.
Recently, the project came out again. I sew with cousins (one day a week) and took it as a show in tell. Finally, I had decided to put it on the free table at guild meeting. My cousin said she wanted it. So home it went and I have committed to make a block a day until it is finished.
There are 18 blocks all total. Some I truly do not like and have decided to replace these with sampler blocks from another pattern.
To date there are 10 blocks done...here they are.
We all were so excited they were going to be able to have their own place. Of course, Mom had to visit and make sure all was OK. I loved they town which boasted of 4 quilt shops.
One such shop had a kit called "Colorful Quilts - Journey" Sampler. I bought the kit.
I have no idea why as the color combination was not my style.
At that time, I bought anything in the hopes I would learn to love it. I started the blocks but could never finish them. For years, I have pulled the project, considered giving it away, and then returned it to the drawer for future review.
Recently, the project came out again. I sew with cousins (one day a week) and took it as a show in tell. Finally, I had decided to put it on the free table at guild meeting. My cousin said she wanted it. So home it went and I have committed to make a block a day until it is finished.
There are 18 blocks all total. Some I truly do not like and have decided to replace these with sampler blocks from another pattern.
To date there are 10 blocks done...here they are.
Saturday, November 14, 2015
Quilting
One of the perks to quilting for others is getting to see the use of color, fabrics, themes, and seeing many Grandma quilts.
This quilt had was in shades of brown and the customer asked for "barbed wire" quilting pattern.
This customer has many quilts from grandmothers in her family. When I received the quilt, it was already marked for quilting. I just went with the originators design. I love the results.
This quilt had was in shades of brown and the customer asked for "barbed wire" quilting pattern.
This customer has many quilts from grandmothers in her family. When I received the quilt, it was already marked for quilting. I just went with the originators design. I love the results.
Monday, November 2, 2015
Busy Days
The last couple of days have been busy and I love to be busy.
Of course there was Halloween. We gave up giving candy over 20 years ago as my daughter is a juvenile diabetic. I know, diabetes is a genetic issue, but we felt, if she couldn't have candy, we were not going to give it to another child. To utilize the time, I cut out 14 puzzle balls (from Jenny Beyer's - Puzzle Ball book) to hand out at a crazy quilt club. These balls are really fun and work great for crazy quilting. Also, if you are looking for gifts - these work great. Give them to teachers, gift exchanges, ornaments..you get the idea. They do not take a lot of time - in fact, I made one in 15 minutes. (My camera is on the blink but, the link below shows one of the balls.)
One word of advice, do not drink while making these balls; remember they are a puzzle.
Puzzle Balls _ Jenny Beyer
Sunday - I attended the initial meeting of a crazy quilt club. Our first meeting and we had 14 new members. This is exciting. There was a good mix of talent in the group, experienced, novice and newbies. Can't wait to watch us grow.
Today - a friend and I spent walking through the Missouri Botanical Garden in St. Louis. This is a must see if you are ever visiting St. Louis. They have a full range of gardens including: English, Bavarian (not very good, as it seems the alpine vegetation does not like the wet hot St. Louis summers.), Japanese, Rose, Camelia & so on.
Of course there was Halloween. We gave up giving candy over 20 years ago as my daughter is a juvenile diabetic. I know, diabetes is a genetic issue, but we felt, if she couldn't have candy, we were not going to give it to another child. To utilize the time, I cut out 14 puzzle balls (from Jenny Beyer's - Puzzle Ball book) to hand out at a crazy quilt club. These balls are really fun and work great for crazy quilting. Also, if you are looking for gifts - these work great. Give them to teachers, gift exchanges, ornaments..you get the idea. They do not take a lot of time - in fact, I made one in 15 minutes. (My camera is on the blink but, the link below shows one of the balls.)
One word of advice, do not drink while making these balls; remember they are a puzzle.
Puzzle Balls _ Jenny Beyer
Sunday - I attended the initial meeting of a crazy quilt club. Our first meeting and we had 14 new members. This is exciting. There was a good mix of talent in the group, experienced, novice and newbies. Can't wait to watch us grow.
Today - a friend and I spent walking through the Missouri Botanical Garden in St. Louis. This is a must see if you are ever visiting St. Louis. They have a full range of gardens including: English, Bavarian (not very good, as it seems the alpine vegetation does not like the wet hot St. Louis summers.), Japanese, Rose, Camelia & so on.
Thursday, October 29, 2015
Scrap Housekeeping
Scraps...Scraps...Scraps..everywhere I look there are scraps.
It is time to fix the problem. It is Thursday and my calendar said it is time to organize the scraps.
Recently, at a Bonnie Hunter lecture, the national quilter suggested cutting strips in 1 1/2", 2", 2 1/2" and 3" segments. Taking it one step further, the plan is to organize strips, triangles, rectangles, squares into blocks - 3.5", 4", 5", or 6". These blocks can then be sewn into 6", 9", or 12" blocks.
Also, it is time to make strip sets.
With fabric $10-12 per yard, it must be - no waste, no gain.
Besides that, it feels good to have a plan.
It is time to fix the problem. It is Thursday and my calendar said it is time to organize the scraps.
Recently, at a Bonnie Hunter lecture, the national quilter suggested cutting strips in 1 1/2", 2", 2 1/2" and 3" segments. Taking it one step further, the plan is to organize strips, triangles, rectangles, squares into blocks - 3.5", 4", 5", or 6". These blocks can then be sewn into 6", 9", or 12" blocks.
Also, it is time to make strip sets.
With fabric $10-12 per yard, it must be - no waste, no gain.
Besides that, it feels good to have a plan.
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