Quilting Sisters

I. am. in. love.

2012-01-24T19:41:00.001-06:00

LADIES - Where have you been????? I've been missing our quilt club and thinking of ya'll lately. So much so that I had to go buy a new machine to make myself feel better. Oh yeah... I'm in love. Bernina 440QE. The COOLEST thing is the stitch regulator for free motion quilting. It's going to be STIPPLE-MANIA at my house!!!

I don't exactly know how to use this fancy-schmancy new machine but I get free classes (can you call it free if the machine costs as much as one of my vehicles? It is an old vehicle - but still!)

So sisters..... Let's get this blog rolling again! I want to see what you have been working on. Here is your assignment: Post a recent project. Sew. Order pizza for the family. Sew some more. Post again. We don't have to live in the same state to have our sisterhood. Can't wait to hear from everyone!!

Amen.

I've made this quilt before... and love how it uses up my stash.
I had a vision board (work) party last week and gave this away.

Papillon Jardin

2011-09-02T13:00:00.010-05:00

I made this quilt for oldest son, Kip, and his new wife, Samantha, who were married in August. They picked the pattern and the black and white fabrics (from my stash!). I added two rows to the side and two rows to the bottom of the original pattern to make the quilt large enough for their queen-sized bed. It went together very quickly after the cutting out of the pieces was done. Cathy did the beautiful quilting. I was pleased with the results and they loved it.

The happy couple after exiting the temple -- gotta love those pink shoes!

YW Camp Quilt

2011-06-08T13:32:00.006-05:00

With the Young Women's camp about a month away, the Stake YW Camp Leader asked me if I would do a camp quilt. She gave me the names of the flowers each group of girls had chosen and asked me to incorporate these into the quilt. So, I put together a design, adding the theme, scripture, and value colors to pull it together and make it bigger -- it turned out about 50 x 69 inches. The center flower -- the artichoke -- was chosen by the priesthood and since there were no more virtue colors, I bordered it in black. I wasn't able to find the flower in fabric either, so I downloaded a color picture of it, then took it to the local fabric store where they printed it onto a piece of fabric for me. Cathy quilted it and added the virtues (in each virtues color) in the black border (hard to see in the picture). It was both fun and challenging. Hopefully, the young woman who wins it will like it too!

Yo-Yo pillow...

2011-05-27T14:19:00.000-05:00

When I saw this quilt I immediately started making yo-yo's. Then I realized how many actual yo-yo's it would take. 409 to be exact. That's a boatload of yo-yo's.

So I downsized.

oops... I forgot to rinse off my marketings :)

On my antique church pew.
so pretty!

a gift.

2011-04-04T07:45:00.000-05:00

My daughter is getting married in Utah and I live in Oklahoma and she lives in Idaho the wedding planning has been a little crazy.

The future mother-in-law has been wonderful to help with everything and I am so very grateful. Which means

I made her a quilt.

Of course.

Flip Flops for a sad friend

2011-01-30T16:08:00.002-06:00

I have a friend that LOVES flip flops.... When we moved to Oklahoma last summer and my older daughter met Becky, she said "I can see you guys being good friends" and so it was. She is the Relief Society President and I am one of her counselors, our kids hang out and we carpool, have Cheesecake together, and have much in common. I was looking forward to many happy years hanging out in Oklahoma with my friend.

After a series of miracles we have been given the opportunity to move to Utah in July for my husband to teach at UVU. Great to be close to family again, but not so great for new friends in Oklahoma.

So what did I do? I made her a quilt, of course. I guess now I can say that I make quilts for people I love AND people I make sad.

If I luv ya...

2011-01-20T12:31:00.001-06:00

I'll probably make a quilt for you.

Kristy has been my friend for nearly 20 years and recently flew allll the way from Utah to Oklahoma (on a NOT cheap flight) to visit. We traveled through Arkansas and stayed in Branson for a wonderful weekend. That definitely deserves a quilt.

Kristy is the cute one in front :)

LOVE the colors she picked.

...as for me and my house we will serve the Lord.

Porcelain Around the World

2011-01-10T13:55:00.005-06:00

I picked up this free pattern at Wal-Mart in 2007 and then purchased the fabric, cut it out some time in the next couple of years, and finally got around to stitching it in 2010. It is a very big quilt: 92 x 92. Rather than cut each 5" strip into 5" squares as the pattern suggests, I just sewed the strips together and then cut across the strips for the rows--much simpler than working with individual squares. Yes, another unfinished project that I crossed off my (mental) list last year.

Nicht Ganannt

2010-12-21T16:41:00.003-06:00

This was one of the unfinished projects that I completed this year. It was made using a free pattern I got at Wal-Mart. There was no name on the pattern; hence, the Professor named the quilt "Nicht Ganannt" -- the quilt with no name. I used off-white muslin for the backing. Cathy did a fabulous job quilting it. It's one of my favorites! I'm so glad I finally finished it and hope to finish many more from my big pile of work-in-progress quilts so I can enjoy them too.

Simply ... Pillow Shams

2010-12-04T13:44:00.008-06:00

These are the shams I made to go with Kali and Shelby's
wedding quilt.

A close-up of the tie ends.

We went to visit them for Thanksgiving and were able to take the rest of their wedding gifts (and the shams) to them.

Picnic Quilts...

2010-10-30T15:40:00.001-05:00

I have two friends flying in today to visit me. Only true friends would come all the way to Oklahoma so I figured they needed quilts! I have been collecting denim for quite a while now thinking I would may 7 or 8 for friends and family. Denim is kind of a pain to work with because it is soooo heavy. This might be my limit.

Meet Jack.

He reallllly likes my quilt. Thinks we are going on a picnic.

I'm also trying to use up my stash so I pieced the back as well. Why is it that no matter how much fabric I use it never seems like I have less fabric on my shelves? And I haven't been buying fabric in oh...so.... loooong.

Help!!! A Quilting Query

2010-10-02T17:44:00.004-05:00

Can somebody help me figure this out? The math involved is hurting my brain...

I need to make some blocks that are the finished size of a rectangle that is 9" x 8 1/4", and their size before sewing them into the quilt top is 9 1/2" x 8 3/4". Make sense so far???

I would like these blocks to be like windmill blocks made out of 4 triangle-squares, or 8 half square triangles. So what size do I make the four units or the triangles? I realize that these are not squares...but it seems like you should be able to make them anyway from rectangular pieces. I am just a little stumped on the measuring part.

Is there a math wiz out there to help me? I hope this makes sense.

Thanks!

What I've Been up To

2010-09-28T12:14:00.000-05:00

So I have taken a long hiatus from the cyber world.....

thought I would post a few of the projects I've done lately ~

...this is the quilt I did for my daughter Mackenzie's room...

...I fell in love with the fabric when I saw it (Arcadia from Sanae, I think)...

...but it turned out to be one of those projects where you love the fabric, but not the quilt...

...just didn't quite turn out how I had planned...

...a couple of the baby quilts I have done lately...

...this is a quilt my girls and I made for a church auction...

...it was a 'green quilt' using the environmental conservation fabric lines by Debbie Mumm...

...turned out cute and rather large; covered the top surface of my king size bed...

...last Christmas I made aprons for a few of my sister-in-laws...

...I used this pattern...

...super fast and easy and oh so cute...

...my daughter and her friend went to a week long church camp and wanted cute little bags to take with them...

...so of course we had to make some!...

...if you haven't tried making bags yet you should...

...so fun...

Watermelon Picnic

2010-09-04T12:26:00.004-05:00

This quilt was made especially for some new friends -- my daughter's in-laws -- in remembrance of the exciting summer of 2010. They invited us to stay with them when we went to Maryland for the wedding reception there. What awesome people to get to know better! We had a wonderful time! Black Mountain Quilts has great patterns and this is one of them -- very easy and fun to make. I added the little black/white stripe and the green border, which I thought really finished off the quilt -- and made it a little larger.

Simply ...

2010-09-02T16:15:00.010-05:00

"Simply Amy" from the July/August 2010 issue of McCall's Quilting magazine was the pattern chosen by my daughter for her wedding quilt -- Simply Kali! She specified that the colors used be two blues and white. So, this is the quilt I made. The actual pattern made a smaller quilt, but I added rows to the side and bottom and extra borders so that it turned out to be a large queen-sized quilt -- huge! I had never done a "modern" quilt before, so it was a challenge for me. My friend, Cathy, did the wonderful quilting.

The happy newlyweds exiting the temple after their marriage.

Texas

2010-09-01T17:45:00.005-05:00

We were all very sad to hear that our dear friend Bliss was moving away, so we wanted to make her a quilt to remember us by. This is what we came up with. We all donated fabric and took part in creating the quilt. There were days when we weren't sure it was going to be finished in time because of illness, a wedding, vacations, etc., but it all came together at last and we were able to give it to her on the day they loaded for the move. Bliss, we all miss you lots!

A quilt for Sister Bush

2010-07-09T08:28:00.000-05:00

My daughter, Kayla recently returned home from serving an 18 month church mission to Seattle, WA. One of her companions (Sister Bush) is getting married this weekend in LA and Kayla was asked to a bridesmaid. She decided to make a quilt using her wedding color as the contrast.....

It turned out beautiful!!!

American Spirit

2010-07-02T10:01:00.003-05:00

I made this quilt using red, white and blue fabric -- all with the same design. After finishing it, I thought that this was a good example of what not to do. However, everyone who sees it really likes it. Susie Edwards designed this quilt in 2002, so I don't know if the pattern is still available or not.

Tranquility

2010-06-28T13:52:00.004-05:00

A couple of months ago, I borrowed Bliss' idea of her Easy Peasy quilt and made this quilt as a wedding gift. I used Sandy Gervais' Tranquility jelly roll, a fat quarter for the thin border, and some yardage for the outer border. It went together quite fast and I was very pleased with the look.

Twenty-three dollars!!!!

2010-06-05T08:56:00.000-05:00

Judy told me about an estate sale with fabric....

lots of fabric with a few treasures thrown in.

**happy dance**

30 hand appliqued butterflies

(something I have NO plans to ever do)

antenna's are hand embroidered

I guess I shouldn't have photographed on my bed...

but there are LOTS of pieces of wonderful fabric here!!

What are these things called????

flour sack table toppers?

This is a map of the area in CA where my mom lives!!!

Can't you just see the finished project....

CUTE!!

My sisters quilt...

2010-05-28T16:16:00.000-05:00

Earlier this year a few of us decided to do a quilt together.

So fun.

So pretty.

So wonderful to have quilt sisters.

A little bit of Texas going to Korea

2010-05-24T17:53:00.000-05:00

We have some friends that are from Korea and she is going home for her sisters wedding. I wanted to send a gift to both of their parents.... something that represented Texas but was easy to pack. Table runners were the perfect answer!

The pictures don't show very well (I didn't think to do a close up in my not-so-good multi-tasking day) but the blue material has a cowboy rope pattern throughout and the red one is a funky cowboy fabric.

The backing is what really says Texas....

Angel quilt

2010-05-12T16:24:00.000-05:00

My good friend recently lost her daughter and I wanted to do something for their family. I had been thinking of this design for some time...

There are five children in the family. The blue and green represent their two boys, the cream row represents their daughter that passed away and the pink and purple rows are for their other two girls. The yellow binding represents the mom and dad and their strength in binding their family together. The quilting in the middle section is the cathedral window pattern and the border has angels all around.

A big thanks to all my friends that helped with fabric and putting the top together!

Pinwheels & Rectangles

2010-05-03T20:31:00.003-05:00

Another unfinished quilt finally finished! Pinwheels & Rectangles is from a pattern designed by Eleanor Burns. I finished the top last year, but just now got around to having it quilted by Cathy. The light green pinwheels don't show up very well in this picture, but this quilt is really very pretty.

Mommy and me... Finished!

2010-04-29T17:21:00.000-05:00

We finished the quilt project today and my mom and I started

last week. I LOVE it! But sadly, we have decided to send

it to a better home. I always miss my quilts when they leave.

I'm sure my brother and sister-in-law will take

very good care of it though :)

Mommy and me...

2010-04-23T20:18:00.002-05:00

My mom is visiting from California

and so (of course) I thought we should make a quilt.

Really, it's her fault for buying me a

quilt magazine at Barnes and Noble today.

And I wasn't even whining.

(not that I ever whined as a child)

The fabrics and pattern.

Grandma Zee

making her first "real" quilt.

sew, grandma, sew!

Stay tuned for the finished project!!

On a Whim

2010-04-17T20:13:00.004-05:00

Found in Heather Mulder Peterson's book, Favorite Quilts From Anka's Treasures, "On a Whim" is a very basic and easy pattern. When I found this pattern, I was looking for a pattern I could use with this fabric (Kaye's Kitchen) by Kaye England. The quilt in the book was made with several different fat quarters of different fabrics and looks so pretty. (My picture is awful and doesn't do the pattern nor the fabric justice.)

For a rainy day...

2010-04-05T19:16:00.002-05:00

First, I was going to make this quilt for my mother as she is from Ketchikan, AK which is one of the rainiest places on earth.

Then I was going to make it for my daughter who is returning home TOMORROW after serving an 18 month mission in Seattle, WA. Another very rainy place.

But then I made the quilt.
Sorry ladies... I guess I just don't love you enough.

Square Dance

2010-04-02T14:17:00.004-05:00

I had wanted to make a quilt with black and white and lime greens and had been collecting the greens for a bit (I already had all of the black and white fabrics in my stash). So, when I found the tutorial for this quilt here, I just had to make it. Then, I got the name "Square Dance" from here. Since then, I have found that there are lots of different quilts named "Square Dance." The professor calls it "Geometry," so I may have to change the name of this quilt to that. Does anyone know what the "real" name of this quilt pattern actually is?

DONE... well almost.

2010-03-19T13:09:00.004-05:00

two and a half years ago, I bought a civil war kit.
six months ago I got brave enough to start it.
one month ago I finished the top.
yesterday I picked it up from the quilter.
today it is on my bed
maybe tomorrow I will do the binding.
maybe.

here is a shot of just a few of the projects I have going...

the machine is in the shop,

so I think I'll cut out another project.

isn't that what we do??

A Memory Quilt for Kaye

2010-03-12T21:23:00.013-06:00

My world was turned upside down in February when my eldest sister was diagnosed with a terminal illness. I was able to go visit her for a week, and nurse her after her surgery. Not knowing what else could be a comfort for Kaye, I prepared all the makings of a special quilt from my family, and took them with me. I was able to finish it while there and present it to her before I left.

Kaye deserves to have a prize-winning quilt because she is a prize-winning sister. I am no prize-winning quilt maker, so this will have to do. I hope it gives her the comfort she needs.

Each member of my family made a block that said something special about Aunt Kaye. I added a few blocks that highlighted some special events from her life. The red and blue blocks are horse print fabrics because she always enjoyed horses.

Here is the result.

The blocks with hand-written messages are done in crayon. By placing a sheet of sandpaper underneath the muslin, you can color and write whatever you like without the fabric wrinkling up. "Set" the color by placing a piece of brown paper sack on top of the design, and press with a hot iron for 10-15 seconds. It will never wash out now...any mother who has tried to remove color from laundered crayons left in a child's pocket knows what I mean!

The back is anti-pill fleece, just like I made here. This one is machine stippled, and I am happy with the way it worked out, despite a lot of thread breakages this time (I was using a machine I wasn't accustomed to).

Flower Power

2010-03-01T12:47:00.004-06:00

"Flower Power" was one of the many patterns found in the book 9-Patch Pizzazz. This is a great pattern for large print floral fabric that just doesn't lend itself well to being cut into small pieces. I like this quilt because (especially with the fabric used) it has an oriental flair to it. Even though it is only about 40" x 56", it is still a great quilt to curl up with. I backed it with black fabric and Cathy quilted it using black thread. The quilting design doesn't show up much in the front, but the back shows the quilting beautifully. I should have taken a picture of that too!

A Garden of Hearts

2010-02-13T23:36:00.007-06:00

When I found this pattern (a few years ago) in the book Potting Shed Patchwork, I just knew I needed to make a quilt for Valentine's day -- something I could display during the month of February. I added the narrow black border (actually it's black with little red hearts) and used a narrower border than the pattern called for (because that's all the fabric I had for it), but I was still pleased at how it turned out. I had collected fabrics with hearts or "Valentine" fabrics and it was nice to finally use them. I then made this quilt (that I posted last February) using the same fabrics.

Jelly roll fun!

2010-02-06T13:43:00.003-06:00

I recently finished a king-size Civil War quilt that pretty much kicked me in the rear end.... so by the time I was done, I needed some brainless sewing to do. I had a jelly roll and decided to sew 32 of the strips together, using the leftover ones for binding. Add in a 6" border and DONE!

I call this quilt "Easy-Peasy"

30's Fabric Quilt

2010-02-03T16:09:00.008-06:00

Melissa finished the 30's quilt that she had started here. She gave it to her mother (lucky mother!).
Melissa quilted this on her sewing machine. She jumped right in at quilting her creations and has done an excellent job!
A close-up of the back.

Man Quilt

2010-02-03T16:02:00.001-06:00

Melissa made this quilt for her husband, Joe, for his birthday. She said, "It is random and it was really quick and fun to make."

Picnic Quilt

2010-02-03T15:46:00.003-06:00

Melissa made this quilt. She said, "I made this for my brother and sister-in-law for Christmas. It is a picnic quilt made out of upholstery fabric. I loved this one when it was finished and so did they. It only cost about $20 dollars too because the fabric was clearance and I got the batting 1/2 off!"

My new favorite way to make a quilt!

2010-01-28T09:14:00.022-06:00

I've wanted to try this for a long time and I finally took the plunge! I have successfully put fleece as the backing of a cotton quilt! Yes--it works!

I got this Star Wars panel at a garage sale a couple years ago, and it recently resurfaced from the inner-most chamber of my stash. It was calling to me to make a hurry-up blanket for my young Padawan son for his impending birthday.

Make sure your cottons are all prewashed and preshrunk. I added a colorful scrap border and a regular border. I continued the fire theme by freelancing some free-motion flames in the scrap border.

Using fleece on the back eliminates the need for batting, and it comes up to 60 inches wide, so I didn't even piece this back. Two yards of length was all I used. With a fleece back, you can get away with less quilting than with cottons too. I think the best results would be obtained with a high quality fleece. I used an anti-pill fleece.

I layed out the fleece without stretching it, and then layed out the top over it. I pin basted well, to reduce stretching that could occur during quilting. I think you could add a regular fabric binding, but for softness, I opted to do a fold-over binding. It worked really well.

I rotory cut the fleece edge 3/4 " larger than the quilt top. Fleece doesn't fray, so I think a straight edge would be fine, but I used the scolloped blade on my rotary cutter (it was a little challenging to use a wavy blade againt a straight ruler). Then, you just fold it over in place and sew it down. It would be essential to use a walking foot with fleece.

My fold-over binding corners are always less than stellar, but fleece is so forgiving, that you can easily push the corners into place. I sewed to within a couple of inches of the corner from both ways, snipped off the pointed corner, and then worked it into a suitable corner shape, and stitched it up. Easy!

Happy Times

2010-01-23T18:07:00.004-06:00

I had collected cherry fabrics for a long time and when I found this pattern and the border fabric, which was designed by Sharon Evans Yenter for In The Beginning fabrics, I just knew I had to do an all-cherry quilt. Since every fabric I used in this quilt has cherries in it, it is rather busy to look at. But, it is done! And Cathy did another fabulous job in quilting it for me.

A Quilt with a View

2009-12-26T21:31:00.010-06:00

I made two quilts from the pattern "A Quilt with a View," which was in the September 2005 issue of McCall's Quick Quilts magazine. In both quilts I used corduroy from yardage and clothing (pants, shorts, etc., which I obtained mostly from garage sales) and backed one with flannel and the other with homespun. I serged the corduroy squares with the black cotton strips and they went together really fast -- a perfect quilt for using this type of squares -- or so I thought. However, after having them quilted, I took them to a laundromat to use front-loading washing machines and dryers to launder them as they were too heavy to launder in my home machines. In a couple of places on each, I noticed that the corduroy is tearing away from the black strips. :-( I guess corduroy maybe wasn't the best choice afterall. I made these for my two oldest, college-aged sons for Christmas and was hoping for something that would withstand lots of wear. They did like them though, so I will repair them and they will use them.

Kip and his quilt.

Micah and his quilt.

Shea's quilt

2009-12-24T13:36:00.002-06:00

My 10 year old loves purple and blue.... I also embroidered her name on all the purple blocks.

Kathy Tree did the quilting. So perfect!

Red & Green

2009-12-21T13:32:00.005-06:00

This is my "red & green" quilt that I did many years ago. It was a free quilt-of-the-month (November) pattern from Wal-Mart -- I have no idea of the year. It was one of the first quilts that I actually sewing-machine quilted myself, but I think it needs much more quilting in it. Because of the colors, I like to pull this out for use in December.

Fok Art Angel

2009-12-15T11:57:00.006-06:00

I started this block-of-the-month quilt in a class at a local fabric shop several years ago. The sample quilt at the store was made with 1930's reproduction fabrics and I thought it was so beautiful. It is in this class that I learned how to do machine applique. I found out then I really didn't like doing machine applique at all. I didn't like how the angel blocks looked and felt frustrated, so I put the entire thing away. Well, as time passed, I learned that I really do like machine applique. In fact, it is one of my favorite things to do now. When I was looking through my stack(s) of unfinished projects, I happened upon this and realized how much I really did like it now. I remembered showing the blocks to my mother once and how much she liked them, so I decided to finish the quilt and give it to her for Christmas. I almost wanted to keep it for myself, but it is now on its way to my mother. I know she will enjoy it too.

Puppies Baby Quilt

2009-12-12T19:50:00.007-06:00

My mother embroidered the puppy blocks and asked me to make them into a quilt for her newest great grandchild (#4) due to arrive sometime in December. Since I didn't know whether it would be a boy or a girl, I went with the green dotted fabric (from my stash) for the front.
For the back I found this cute puppy fabric (in my stash also). My mother embroidered blocks and made them into baby quilts for each of her ten grandchildren. She continues to do embroidery, but has given up quilting and just asks me to do it instead.

Christmas Goodies

2009-11-30T22:27:00.005-06:00

It’s time to put away the fall and bring out the winter. Christmas Goodies, from the book Ladybug, Ladybug... by Black Mountain Quilts, was an enjoyable quilt to make for the holidays with its gingerbread cookies and peppermint candies – fun and festive. I made the quilt top a couple of years ago and finally had it quilted this year. Cathy did another excellent job in quilting it – notice the “Merry Christmas” on the gold strips. See Bliss' quilt here.

Saying goodbye to another friend...

2009-11-26T18:44:00.002-06:00

My friend, Melissa is moving (Take a look at her fabulous blog)

So sad for me. Can you guess what her going away present was?

A quilt.

Of course!

Note the kitten at the top.... my son thought it would add a nice touch to the photo.

Giveaway Win

2009-11-18T20:49:00.003-06:00

Yep! I actually won something! A big thanks to Shari at Mumsyblossom's World for sending this wonderful Australian magazine my way. When I opened my mailbox and saw the envelope from Shari, I could hardly wait to open it. If you haven't seen any of the Australian quilting magazines, you are missing out. Their projects are soooo nice. Now all I need to do is decide on which project to start first!

Pumpkin Patch

2009-11-07T17:26:00.005-06:00

Here is another fall quilt I started and finished this year. It went together really fast and then I had Cathy quilt it -- and she did a wonderful job in quilting it too. The pattern for "Pumpkin Patch" is found in the book Season to Season by Patchwork Moon. On the pattern it says "little details like quilted stars, leaves, and pumpkins make this harvest wall hanging 'fall-tastic'!" So true!

Pictures of the wedding quilt

2009-10-24T18:52:00.004-05:00

Remember this sneak peak? I finished the quilt quite a while ago and sent it up to get quilted by another friend of the bride. This is one quilt that I DID NOT like as I was making it... but by the time it was finished it had grown on me.

What was I thinking??!!

2009-10-22T16:35:00.003-05:00

I LOVE using my scraps and stash... so when I see a pattern that works with lots of colors, I'm ALL excited to get started. This pattern was in the February 2009 American Patchwork & Quilting. I actually cut it down about 1/3. But it was still crazy.

How crazy?

429 pieces of fabric.
429 pieces of fabric cut.
429 pieces of fabric sewed back together.

But I LOVE it. And now I'm sad that it is going to live at my MIL house. It's a good thing I love her more than my quilts. A very good thing.

Another UFO done!!

2009-10-19T17:50:00.004-05:00

I finally finished my Block-a-Day Nine Patch. I obviously didn't do a block a day (since I started it waaaayyyyy back in April).

But I love how it turned out!

Bernina club quilt

2009-10-12T22:32:00.002-05:00

This quilt was started 6 years ago, This summer I worked on

trying to finish up projects that had been put aside. I got 5 quilt

tops done and only 2 quilted so far, Hopefully more to come soon

French Roses

2009-10-12T22:22:00.003-05:00

This is a quilt I started about 3 years ago, I collected the

fabrics on our travles back east.

Pattern is French Roses designed and created by

Heather French

Another UFO done!!

2009-10-10T14:58:00.003-05:00

Last year, Jen (one of our quilt sisters) gave me a wonderful birthday present....

She and Grey had both done this blessings wall hanging and I kept saying how much I loved it, but just hadn't gotten around to starting it. Jen cut out and fused on ALL the pieces.... and guess what??? That's the part I DON'T LIKE. Now that's a perfect present for me :)

Here's a photo of the one Grey did - rather than quilting it, she put it over an old picture frame and hung it from an old board. Beautiful :)

New Quilting Project

2009-10-01T16:40:00.005-05:00

This is the beginning of Melissa's new quilting project using the beautiful 30's fabrics. It's going to be beautiful!

Pumpkin Party

2009-09-21T18:53:00.004-05:00

Fall is in the air! I enjoy fall with all it brings -- cooler weather, colorful leaves, pumpkins, etc. I've always liked oranges and earthy colors, so I was able to put them all together in this quilt. Pumpkin Party by Crazy Old Ladies was a fun fall quilt to make.

UFO #1 COMPLETE!

2009-09-18T15:54:00.004-05:00

I love quilts for the different seasons and started this one about 2 years ago. After I sewed all the circles together I realized that the half-circles were backwards... I quietly folded up the quilt and put it away. But with my new dedication to finishing projects, I pulled it out. It was the easiest of all the UFO's so I quickly got started.

Summer Time is going to be a gift for "someone". I know this "someone" reads my blog.... so there will be no names :) Ya'll just have to hope it is you :)

I LOVE the look of pebble quilting,

but just the border took EIGHT bobbins of thread.

and a WHOLE lot of time!

Blue and Cream

2009-09-16T14:56:00.002-05:00

I have a friend with a son getting married... I needed something quick and easy! He is in the airforce and their wedding colors are navy and cream.

I used bit of patriotic fabric for the back....

A Neat Quilt Story -- Part 1

2009-09-14T14:26:00.025-05:00

It will hopefully have a happy ending...but it will be up to me. How's that for putting a little pressure on myself?

Last Friday morning, the 11th, I headed to a garage sale that had advertised "quilt and cross stitch material." What a gold mine! I was sifting through all the available goods, wondering why someone would be getting rid of the great fabric, and why it wasn't very organized, when a nearby man mentioned that all this stuff belonged to a woman in her 30's who recently passed away from a sudden illness. She was an avid quilter, and her mother, who knew nothing about quilting, had to clean out her house, sell all her things they didn't need, and settle her affairs. Suddenly, this happy moment took on a little sadness.

I picked out all the stuff I was interested in (it was really hard to keep within my budget!), and took it to the woman to pay, asking her if I could pay for part of it now, and I would go to the bank to get more cash and return to pay for the rest. She had no problem with that. While going to the bank, I called my quilting friend who is also into making aprons to sell. On the spot, she postponed her canning of carrots until after a trip to the garage sale.

Some of the fabric was grouped into bags, which looked like partially finished projects. Other fabrics were in piles of flat folds. There were books and notions galore. This is what I got for $40.00.

3 rulers
1 small cutting mat
8 quilting books
a pile of folded fabrics and fat quarters
4 bags of partially finished projects
a small collection of neutrals

a bias tape maker
a value finder
Quilter's Speed Grids
Quilter's Template Kit

and a couple of music CD's

When I was paying for the loot, the woman pointed to the largest project bag of fabrics, mostly purples, with some things sewn together, and she said, "That quilt was going to be mine. My daughter was making it for me. I'd love to see it if you ever finish it." So now you can probably see where I am going with this. I have to finish the quilt and give it to this woman!

When I got home and dug into my new treasures, I discovered that there were some fabrics in the partailly finished projects that didn't seem to match up with anything else, and I remembered seeing fabrics in the piles that should have been put with the partially finished projects. I debated...should I run back to the garage sale? I called my quilting friend to explain the dilemma. She brought her purchases over to my house and we mixed and matched...she had some things that went with my projects, and I gave her some stuff she could use for aprons that I probably wouldn't need! It was a win/win. Together, we tried to make sense of the unfinished quilt projects.

I did find a piece of graph paper with a sketched out pattern in one of the books I bought. I goes right along with one of the bags of unfinished projects. It is made of "Grecian Square" blocks in red, blue, green, black, and cream.

The "purple bag" and one of the other bags seemed to have things sewn together in a similar pattern. I've seen quilts like it at shows, but have never know anyone who made one. The constuction was totally foreign to me; there were strip sets sewn into tubes. My friend suggested I take it to our quilt group which was meeting that evening. Another friend there was not familiar with the "tubes," but knew these kind of quilts were called "Bargello" quilts. We were all confused by the fact that some strips were narrow, and some wide. Without a pattern, I could not see how we could figure this out.

The first friend then recalled that one of the books at the garage sale was about Bargello quilts!

First thing Saturday morning, I was off to the garage sale again, and sure enough by some miracle, a book called "Colorwash Bargello Quilts" was still there! A pattern called "Enchanted Carpet" in the book was marked with a post-it note, and the narrow and wide strips and the tube constuction in that pattern matched those of the first of my two unfinished Bargello quilts! Also, I found an additional bag of numbered fabric strips that matched the fabrics of the first Bargello quilt.

The purple bag, the more important one, does not have nearly as much done as the first one does. And it also may not be complete on having all the needed fabrics. But there are also a lot of large triangles in the bag. So I figure I've got to practice the Bargello technique by getting the first one together, and hopefully come up with something to do with what there is in the purple bag.

Stay tuned for more as the story unfolds, and if you know anything about doing Bargello quilts, please contact me!

Baby Quilts

2009-09-14T12:01:00.016-05:00

I had all seven back in the nest for the summer...barely got a turn on the computer! I have finally sent them all back to college and school. The only projects I completed this summer were two baby quilts.

This one was made with all left-over scraps from my two daughters' quilts I did a few years back. There is no batting; just a flannel backing, which is what I actually prefer for babies. Soft, flexible enough to wrap them up in, and not stiff.

This one was made for an expectant couple on their way to grad school at BYU. I figured the little guy will have no choice but to become a loyal BYU fan! I was overly surprised to stumble upon flannel BYU fabric at Joann's here in Michigan...sandwiched right between fabrics for Michigan, Michigan State, Ohio State, Notre Dame, and Purdue. Who would have thought? Hubby was overjoyed with a pair of homemade BYU flannel pants for his birthday, and the little tyke got a baby quilt from the left-overs. This one is all flannel pieces for the top, cotton on the back, with batting.

How many do you have???

2009-09-12T17:57:00.003-05:00

I was going to buy some fabric this week for a new project, but told myself I had to organize my stash. (which definitely did NOT look like this post) About half way through I started feeling VERY ANXIOUS about the amount of my stash and all my UFO's (unfinished objects) and decided I needed to EARN my new fabric by finishing all the projects I have started.

I have five UFO's. Six if you count Nice People Nice Things - but since I am doing TWO of each block, this is on my 100 year quilt plan. Definitely not on this list!

How many do you have?

Let us know in the comments and I challenge everyone to finish up those old things!!

Come on - we can do it!!!!

Back in the saddle again!!

2009-09-07T20:55:00.006-05:00

YAY!!!

I am quilting again

I missed my fabric
I missed my quilt friends...

Remember this fabric? Well... after I got the wedding quilt all laid out on my floor, I HATED it. There was TOO much color and it made me nauseous just looking at it. I made some changes (sorry, you can't see the finished project until it's quilted) But then I had lots of cut out squares and triangles. What to do??

Make another quilt!!

This one is for my Uncle's 79th birthday.

And I decided to try pebble quilting.

Lots of thread.

Lots of time.

Not-so-perfect pebbles.

But I really liked how it turned out.

Heart & Home

2009-08-19T15:20:00.005-05:00

Heart & Home was another fun quilt to do as the blocks were simple to make and it didn't take long to finish. The instructions for this quilt are found in a book with the same name, Heart & Home "Quilt of the Month" by Suzanne McNeill. As in a previous quilt I did, Vintage Holiday, I used fabrics from the Oak Leaves and Reel fabric line, plus a few others. The instructions give yardage for both the use of jelly rolls or fabric yardage, so that was helpful as I used yardage. Cathy did the wonderful quilting on it.

Quilt Display

2009-07-27T17:22:00.022-05:00

Last week my daughter, McK, and I went to a local quilt display (sponsored by Hardtops and Bernina in Lubbock). There were many quilts on display, so I thought I would just share a few of them with you.

A bright Texas Tech quilt, pieced with embroidered blocks.

"Recycling Like Grandma"

Hundreds, maybe thousands, of little finished 1" squares!

"Lost Socks"

Several of my sisters have done this quilt.
I borrowed the pattern, but haven't started it yet!

A fall wall hanging or table runner.

Bernina Quilt Club Sampler from 2007.

They are doing this quilt this year also.
I am taking the class and especially enjoy doing the applique.

"Father's Ties"

Here's a close up of the ties used in the blocks.

"Eagle Scout"

I would have liked to have been able to see all of this quilt.

"Dessert Blooms"

I like the black and white stems.

"Checkerboard Flowers"

I have the pattern for this quilt but haven't yet made it.

"Americana"

This quilt was done in a class at Bernina.
I have yet to finish my quilt. :)

Another "Americana"

Machine embroidered on black and white.
I really like this quilt,
but don't have an embroidery machine. :(

A close up of a couple of blocks.
Doesn't the white on black and black on white just look stunning!

McK picked this quilt as her favorite.
It didn't have a name, but it was made using the "Taxi" pattern.

"Old Glory"

Probably my favorite
I need to find a pattern for that flag.

A bit long, but hope you enjoyed seeing the quilts. There were many more, but I didn't get pictures of the others.

2009-07-18T21:38:00.002-05:00

I did this quilt a couple years ago, it is an Alex Anderson pattern and fabric. This is one of my favorites. I did the embroidery squares while recovering from surgery.

Melissa's Denim Quilt

2009-07-17T19:12:00.003-05:00

Congrats to Melissa who stuck with it and finished her very FIRST quilt! She cut denim strips and then pieced five of the strips together, alternating lighter denim and darker denim. The "woven" effect looks great! She even quilted and bound it -- and denim is not easy to work with in my book. I'm looking forward to seeing her next quilt. You go girl!

Display Idea

2009-07-13T08:31:00.001-05:00

If you have several small quilts, Red Rooster Quilts has a great display idea. Check it out!

Quilt Show

2009-07-04T20:18:00.019-05:00

I (along with the professor and McK) went to a quilt show ("Sandhills Cutups Quilters 7th Annual Quilt Show" in Monahans) today and saw many beautiful quilts. Just thought I would share a few of them with you.

Patriot Rose

Hand appliqued and hand quilted -- just look at the detail!

Civil War Memories

Made with reproduction fabrics -- the colors were beautiful!

Red Square Quilt

There's McK - cute gal!

I think I would like to make this one!

Chicken Buffet

This was SOOO cute -- gotta love "chicken a la king"!

Fancy Work Fantasy

This was the professor's favorite.
It's machine embroidered -- guess you know what that means...
he'll just have to get me an embroidery machine!
Christmas isn't too far away! :-)

The Heaven's Declare the Glory of God

This was McK's favorite.

I think they said there were 60-some quilts on display. I wish I could show you all of them, but -- alas -- this will have to do.

Chicken Quilt

2009-06-23T18:35:00.014-05:00

This was a fun quilt to do! As you can see, I did my chickens/ roosters in black and white, but they can be done in any color(s). The patterns can be found at fatcatpatterns. Most already had names, but I named those that didn't have a name and then embroidered the names on each block. For the backing of the quilt, I found black fabric with little red dots and yellow chicken feet -- just perfect for this quilt. My friend, Cathy, did another outstanding job in quilting it -- can you see the little chick kickin' up it's foot in the little red blocks? The chicken wire in the border is great!

Sneak peak....

2009-06-16T06:54:00.004-05:00

My best friends daughter is getting married...

August 7.

I don't really have anything to do before then...

except that short drive to Alaska and back to Texas!!

So here's a sneak peak.

I'm off to cut. cut. cut.

Homespun Stars

2009-06-16T06:26:00.004-05:00

This is a great quilt.... I wish I had NO friends

with birthdays.

and could just keep it!

just kidding :)

It's easy!

6.5 inch squares

applique the stars

2.5 inch log cabin around square.

Sew together!

This is one Susan did -

It is SO beautiful!!

Jen did one here.

It looks great with any color combination!

Buttons and Ribbons

2009-06-11T06:31:00.004-05:00

I love quilts.... especially when they are on display!

Here's an adorable way to hang up a small quilt...

Grey (one of the most creative and talented people I know)

took a board and used ribbons and buttons to display this

small butterfly quilt from her grandmother.

Isn't it beautiful??!!

Notice the other quilt displayed on a ladder-back chair.

Vintage Holiday

2009-06-06T18:11:00.006-05:00

This modified log cabin block pattern is found in Heart & Home "Quilt of the Month". I used many fabrics from the Oak Leaves and Reel fabric line, plus a few others. The pattern is written so one can use a jelly roll or 2.5-inch strips. I used yardage, since that is what I had, and just cut strips as needed. It was a fun pattern to do and was given as a gift.

Back in the saddle again!

2009-06-03T22:13:00.008-05:00

I'm back! Yes, it's been a while since I have even checked in on the blog. Spring gets so hectic!

I was away for a week in the first part of May. I went to Salt Lake City to visit family, and while I was there I got to attend the Home Machine Quilting Show. I love going to quilt shows, but then sometimes I come away feeling overwhelmed, like I never could do a quilt as good as any of the ones I saw at the show. Anyone else feel like that?

Do you remember how I mentioned that I must do something about the ugly paint in my family room??? Well...while I was gone my husband (and oldest daughter) decided to do something about it (Happy Mother's Day to Me). They started into a huge project of repainting three rooms, and rearranging and reorganizing several others. Their intentions were good, but the project has carried on all this time, so my life has been in a bit of an uproar. The good news: the formal dining room has been converted to a quilting room (we rarely formally dine anyway)! The bad news: my quilt hanging rod has been removed for now (tall bookshelves are in the way). It may be a while before I find a new place for it.

I did come home with a commission to make a T-shirt quilt for my neice's graduation. So here it is.

The last block has some tropical birds because I needed to make one more block. She has a conure, so I thought she might like it. : )

I hadn't stippled anything for quite a long time; I have decided I am no "stippling warrior!" I am soooo out of practice. Choosing and piecing fabric is much more fun!

The beginning of a spiderweb...

2009-06-03T19:38:00.004-05:00

I started my Spider Web quilt!!

Each block has about 80 pieces of fabric.

one down... a gazillion to go....

The only problem with this quilt
(besides the VERY long time it will take to make)
is the MESS it makes...

This is after trimminng the finished quarter pieces

Texas Tech Quilt

2009-06-03T12:06:00.003-05:00

I made this Quilt for my son when he was attending Texas Tech.

Fun table runner

2009-06-03T11:53:00.004-05:00

A fun Spring table runner! Bliss had it in her entry and I had to have one also. Pattern can be found in the June 2007 American Patchwork and Quilting Magazine.

Susan's Chicken Quilt

2009-05-30T15:57:00.003-05:00

Here's my pic of Susan and her quilt. You should be able to click on the picture and see the quilting. Gotta get mine finished now!

Quick table runner

2009-05-29T22:03:00.002-05:00

I needed a wedding gift.

quick

(the wedding was May 9 - but I've been icky sicky)

Remember this project...

Well... I grabbed a few
put them on point with
white muslin and

tada! A quick and easy table runner.

Where is everyone????????

2009-05-29T12:38:00.002-05:00

I miss my sisters! Where are your projects? I just talked with Julie (in MI) and she is finishing up a t-shirt quilt for a graduation present... can't wait to see it posted!

What has everyone else been working on?

Jen- I would love to see your heart buggy barn on here. It is SO amazing to me that you did that without a pattern.

I know ya'll have tons of fabulous quilts hanging around. Let's showcase some of them!

Love ya!

Bliss

Saying goodby to Susan....

2009-05-28T09:24:00.003-05:00

So sad saying goodbye.
One of our quilt sisters is moving.

But don't worry...

we'll just have our next

quilt retreat in Colorado!

We all pitched in and made Susan the
"Chicken Quilt"
I can't believe I didn't get a close-up of the quilting.
Kathy Tree did this with her long arm machine
and it is BEAUTIFUL!

Chicken wire pattern on the black,
baby chicks on the red squares
and stippling on the yellow.

I almost cancelled the party...
so I could keep the quilt!

But I love Susan more than that.
But just barely.

Texas!

2009-05-11T20:59:00.002-05:00

I just finished this quilt today for a friend that

has spent the last few years in Texas for her

husband's medical school and residency.

My friend came up with the idea and her

husband made the Texas pattern for me.

On a stolen hospital sheet.

But I won't tell.

block-a-day quilt party

2009-04-29T18:55:00.004-05:00

I saw this fun idea over at Crazy Mom Quilts
and decided... hey - what's one more
PROJECT?

I LOVE using my scraps... so this a
perfect quilt for me!

Basically, all you do is make one 6" nine-patch
each day and by about mid-summer you'll have
enough for THIS:

Want to do it with me??
it'll be fun....

Graduation Quilt

2009-04-29T16:41:00.004-05:00

My good friend's daughter is graduating from

high school next month. So this is her gift.

(I'm still using up these scraps)

easy, breezy pattern:

(30) 4x5" squares
Frame squares with 2" white muslin
Sashing is 4.5" wide

quilt and bind.

baby stacked coin

2009-04-25T17:20:00.002-05:00

Another baby quilt DONE!

I used flannel and regular cotton scraps to make the stacked coin. White muslin sashing and blue gingham binding. Went together quickly!

She loves her pillow!

2009-04-24T14:18:00.004-05:00

Meet Tiffany and her new pillow.

About a year ago, I helped her older brother make a pillow with
his name, and Tiffany REALLY wanted her own pillow.
I was battling a major migraine this morning, so we kept it simple.
Pink on Pink. Of course.

This must be a magic pillow, since Tiffany fell asleep
about 30 minutes after we finished it.
Which was perfect - I was able to wallow quietly in my pain.

Tiffany loves to watch me sew, so after we both got up
(me feeling MUCH better)
we had fun finishing up a baby quilt. I'll post that later.

Thanks, Tiffany for helping!

Sticks, Buttons and String

2009-04-23T21:50:00.004-05:00

Here's a fun display idea.....

string....stick...buttons

Did You Know?

2009-04-20T13:12:00.004-05:00

I picked up this info at a local quilt shop.
Just thought I'd pass it along to y'all.

Did You Know?

From one fat quarter you can cut …

99 - 2" squares
50 - 2.5" squares
42 - 3" squares
30 - 3.5" squares
20 - 4" squares
16 - 4.5" squares
12 - 5" squares
9 - 6" squares
6 - 6.5" squares

Another baby quilt!

2009-04-09T19:32:00.004-05:00

Another one done!

I LOVE freshly washed, just stippled

QUILTS!

Do you think this is manly enough for a boy??

Denim Quilt

2009-04-08T10:20:00.002-05:00

This is the first quilt that Pam made for her son in 1996. It is made from denim obtained from old denim clothing (jeans, skirts, etc.). It has hidden pockets in some of the squares. A flat flannel sheet was used for the backing (with the fitted sheet on his bed).

Rabbits Prefer Chocolate

2009-04-05T21:28:00.003-05:00

Yes, I finished my Rabbits Prefer Chocolate quilt top before Easter, so it is up on my wall being enjoyed -- even though it still needs to be quilted and have the embellishments (button eyes, a couple of ribbon bows, etc.) sewn on. I started it last year before Easter, but got sidetracked by another project (my life story) and never finished it then. Also, I did not enjoy applique as much then as I do now, so it was more fun working on it this time around. The other quilt sisters used pastel colors for the block backgrounds, but I decided to use cream, ecru, off-white, etc. (whatever else you want to call that color). I hope everyone has a wonderful Easter.

You know it's a cute quilt when....

2009-04-04T17:09:00.004-05:00

All your quilt sisters

make the same quilt!

Rabbits Prefer Chocolate

we have all made it

(or almost made it)

Happy Easter!

Slice of Spring (Fresh Squeezed)

2009-03-30T10:30:00.004-05:00

I really like orange! Slice of Spring was a fun, easy quilt to make using a layer cake and additional fabrics for corner stones, sashing, borders, binding and backing (Fresh Squeezed by Sandy Gervais). It is so bright and cheery looking.

Quilt Made From Selvages

2009-03-25T17:59:00.002-05:00

I need help! I recently saw on someone's blog a cute quilt made with selvages (and maybe strips) -- sewed on a red background fabric. The center wasn't covered with pieces and it had a wonderful effect when the blocks were sewn together. Oh, it was SOOOO cute and I cannot find it again. :( Did you happen to see it? Can you help me?

Summertime fun for....

2009-03-20T18:02:00.005-05:00

I have finished another. (remember, I have 11 to do by June!) I've titled this quilt "Summer time for...." I can't say the name because I don't want anyone to give it away. But this friend is going to be graduating from college and HATES cold weather and LOVES hot weather (I LOVE cold weather and barely tolerate hot, but we're still friends)

This quilt is from the Happy Hour book by Atkinson Designs. Great pattern that uses 12 fatquarters.

Here's another version I did a year ago.... all the fat quarters were from the same line of fabric where "Summertime Fun" is scrappy.

Down to my last drop...

2009-03-17T21:18:00.002-05:00

In my four years of quilting I have NEVER paid

FULL PRICE

for this wonderful stuff.

Sullivan's Quilting Basting Spray

Nothing else will do.

I have 8 quilts to finish by June.

Anybody know where to buy it?

Cheap.

I don't mind buying a case.

Or two.

An idea for Julie....

2009-03-17T15:58:00.004-05:00

Here's a wall hanging that I always hear nice things about. And it's easy! Measures 18" x 48". Should be easy to duplicate... but let me know if you need more details!

Help me with ideas...

2009-03-17T08:31:00.003-05:00

I would like to make a small quilted item for a graduating dentist...perhaps a wall hanging? This gal has done a lot of dental work for me this year at the dental school, and she will be graduating and moving on to join a practice. Anyone have any ideas for something to make for her? Thanks!

Funny Chickens

2009-03-15T18:09:00.006-05:00

This is a gift for someone... who I hope isn't looking at this blog...

but I couldn't wait to share my latest finished project.

and now I like it so much... maybe I'll just give her a sweater :)

I found these designs at FatCat Patterns

Roll it up!

2009-03-09T20:22:00.006-05:00

I love quilted table runners and wall hangings

to change out with the seasons,

so here's a way to display all your

not-being-used small quilts.

roll 'em up and

put 'em in a basket!