Another Brite Backing

I posted a picture of the last backing I made for happy quilts and I thought that one was bright but nothing compared to this one. Do you think I would attach sunglasses to this quilt? This is for my second happy quilt that still needs the blocks sewn together.

Kathie

Happy Quilt Complete

Schools here in Maryland are closed today due to ice and snow so I am going to put off working on the longarm for awhile. I figure the longer my daughter sleeps the better for both of us. As much as she will love being off of school for the day I know in a couple of hours she will be bored. I love here dearly and she is a good kid but if you remember back to when you were 14 you know that high school is a constant drama. I have told her (lovingly of course) that I never know which kid will get off the bus. One day it is my little girl again, the next a young adult, the next day a drama queen and the day after that a @$*@)$)@i$)i$@*$).

I know that I was the same way with my parents, it is all a part of growing up and finding yourself and learning to deal with all types of kids in high school. I definitely have more appreciation for my own parents. Wish they were still around so I could tell them.

I am getting a fair amount accomplished this week even with unexpected weather. I completed the binding on this happy quilt the other night. I am so glad I decided to do a scrappy binding using up all the left over 2 ½ strips. Not only did I not have to do any further cutting but I love the look.



This picture is a close up of the quilting on this quilt. I used my version of “Dwirling” from Dawn's Pajama Quilter DVD and I like out it looks with using King Tut Joseph's Coat multi-colored thread.



I have my second set of happy blocks all labeled with the order to sew them in and stashed away for the next sew in I go to. Both the backing and binding are done and waiting for the top to be completed.

Kathie

Scrappy Squares

This is a recent quilt I quilted for Carol who is our guild “Scrap Queen”. This is made totally of squares and I love the scrappy look. I am already thinking a Christmas quilt like this would be great. Maybe with a poinsettia or holly in the middle.

Doing well with my goals for the week. Finished the binding on my Happy Quilt last night, completed the backing for the second Happy Quilt and have my customer quilt about half quilted.

Kathie

Weekend Quilting - Whats on the Frame

Whats on the frame?

I put this backing together the other day for the first of the Happy Quilts. Do you think it is brite enough... and to think when I first started quilting I bought mainly pastels!!



My project yesterday was to get the Happy Quilt quilted and I did get that finished. I then made what I think is miles of binding out of all the left over 2 1/2 strips and attached the binding to the quilt. I have enough binding left over for at least the second happy quilt with maybe more left over.

Last night I hand stitched down about half of the binding so I am not going to post another picture of the quilt until it is finished.

My goals for this coming week?

1. Finish the binding on the happy quilt

2. Get the backing for happy quilt #2 pieced

3. Load and quilt customer quilt

4. Enter January books into spreadsheet

Have a great day.

Kathie

Thoughts on the value of quilts

When I put my Christmas decorations away this year I took the red table cloth off the table, removed the leaf and was looking for a table topper to put on the smaller table. In going through a drawer in a dresser I found this table topper that I had made for my mother when I first started quilting.

The piecing is just ok and the quilting minimal but it makes me think of my mom every time I look at it and was glad that I kept it when we were clearing out her apartment.

It just shows that it doesn't have to be a heirloom wedding quilt or an intricate Baltimore Album quilt to have value to both the giver and the receiver. Mom loved this topper because I made it for her and now I love it because it makes me smile thinking of her.



Kathie

Charity Quilting 2009

This is the first charity quilted I have quilted this year. I try and do one per month at least for charity so this is #1.

This is a cute little quilt pieced by Toby from my guild. I was going to try something different and practice on this. I wanted to do flowers and ribbons something like what Dawn R. does in the Pajama Quilter DVD.



Anyway I practiced drawing for awhile and then figured I was ready to try it on a quilt (NOT). Unfortunately I picked a thread that matched the quilt top so well that most of the time I couldn't see where I was going. It turned out looking kind of like I scribbled all over it (back to practicing on the white board) with a flower here and there.



It is done though and with luck the recipient of this will know NOTHING about sewing.

Kathie

Christmas Quilt

My weekly goals are going pretty well.

#1 - I made a backing for a charity quilt (only needed to sew one seam), got the quilt on the frame and finished quilting it this morning.

#2 - Customer had a problem with her quilt so I didn't get it as expected but will load a different one today.

#3 - I have finished piecing the snowball and the 9-patch Christmas blocks. Here are a few laid out on the design wall. I put them all in a zip lock bag for now but will probably lay them out and start piecing them this weekend.



Kathie

Goals and Such

The last goals I set for myself were all accomplished so on to a new list as I do better when I write (or type) things done. Maybe it is that I hold myself accountable that way. It is already tuesday so I won't say I will get this all done by friday but hope in the next few days to at least:

1. Get a backing pieced and quilt loaded on the frame and quilted. I am getting to many tops (charity and craft show both) that need to be quilted and I have no backings ready.

2. Quilt customer lap quilt I will be getting today.

3. Finish Christmas blocks for Snowball/9 - patch quilt.

Do you consider yourself a neat and organized sewer or a disorganized one? I try to work on one project at a time to the next stage. Like blocks all finished and then put them neatly away and work on something else for awhile like put other blocks into a top. That keeps the clutter down a bit but somethings I have pieces and strips and what nots EVERYWHERE.



This is a picture making the first few 9 patch blocks. Doesn't look to bad does it? I should have really taken a pictures of the cutting table where the box of red and green strips were taking over everything.

Kathie

Another Finish

I finished the binding on another quilt last night. This one I made a few months ago using a pattern from Evelyn Sloppy's book Sew One and You're Done. Its a great book and love the patterns. Nice big pieces. I don't have anything else quilted at this point though I do have several tops done so will probably be awhile before my next completion.



Kathie

First Finish

This is my first finish of 2009. I have a lot of projects in process but this is the first one where even the binding is done. This is a quilt my step daughter requested that I make for her mother-in-law so it will be packaged up and mailed off to North Carolina soon.

Kathie

Happy Quilt

I sewed with some friends this weekend and spent the time putting these blocks together. They sure do make a happy quilt so the block was well named.



I also completed the second set of happy blocks over the weekend though I will probably wait awhile to put them into a top. They will eventually get quilted and one will go to charity and one to my stash of quilts for fall craft shows.

I went to JoAnns this weekend and did make some fabric purchases but I only purchased what I really needed. I picked up two different cream fabrics for backgrounds for upcoming quilts and a yard each of three bright fabrics. I am going to add these to some left over brights I have and hopefully make backings for both of the happy quilts out of squares.

My goals for the next few days are:

1. Get a baby quilt on the frame and quilted.

2. Quilt a customer wall hanging.

3. Start on a Christmas lap quilt (have an order for four lap quilts).

4. Review the Pajama Quilter video again and practice drawing flowers before attempting them on a quilt.

and for non-quilty goals to do better this week with de-junking around the house and also paint the downstairs bathroom.

Kathie

Goals Met

Well I have not been very good about blogging this week but I did meet or exceed all my self set goals. I quilted and delivered two customer quilts, pieced a backing for the interlocking stars quilt and also got that quilt quilted.

How do you do your backings? In an effort to only buy fabric when I need it and to also reduce my fabric stash I am piecing a lot of my backings per the Bonnie Hunter style from quiltville.com and piecing backings with 10 1/2 squares. This backing used left over fabric from the front, a few tan pieces I had in my stash and a purchase of a little over a yard of one additional fabric.



This uses fabric I already have and I think makes a more interesting backing. It does take longer to do but I enjoy what it adds to a quilt.

In addition to all my quilting this week I joined a day time quilt guild. It is nice that my schedule is pretty much my own now and that I was able to do this. I knew several of the ladies already from other guilds and look forward to getting to know the rest of them. The guild seems well organized, has a room with plenty of space to meet in and they even have lunch each month as an extra treat.

Kathie L.

Color Choices

When I first started quilting I found that most of the fabrics I purchased were all medium tones, small prints and basically boring. As the years have gone on my tastes have changed to more contrast, brighter colors, less floral etc. I guess that is why we end up with big stashes of fabrics. We buy and then out tastes change and we don't use those fabrics.

One of the things I love about doing longarm quilting for people is seeing the color/fabric combinations they come up with. Some I don't care for but most I really enjoy. Brown is one of my least favorite colors in clothing, decorating or quilting. I know brown and pink is a very popular color combination but never thought I would find myself drawn to a pink/brown quilt.

This picture is a customer pink/brown quilt I finished yesterday and I just love it. I don't know if my tastes are changing again, or if it is just the great combination of fabrics in this one.



Kathie

Weekly Goals

I find I do better when I try to plan my week out so my goals for this upcoming week are:

1. Quilt two customer quilts
2. Piece a backing for the interlocking stars quilt
3. Continue de-junking the house, I cleaned out my dresser yesterday and picked up a few things to toss from the computer room today.

A funny story on de-junking that anyone with teenagers would appreciate. My daughter is suppose to clean her room every weekend. What she ends up doing mainly is picking up clothes and maybe if I am lucky getting trash out of her room. She had a couple of friends spend the night New Years Eve so I helped her on cleaning her room a little bit better. Well under a pile of pillows and other things on her window seat I found a little make up bag that her half sister left here at the house when she visitied THE END OF OCTOBER. Shows how "good" she has cleaned her room the last two months.

I wonder what else we could find in there!!!

kathie

Happy Block Party

New Years Eve and New Years Day I was part of a virtual sewing party with members of the Heartstring group http://heartstringsquiltproject.com which is an online group dedicated to making charity quilts.

Happy Blocks Day 1


This time everyone was making Happy Blocks out of kids prints with bright framing squares. I started out only going to make a few blocks but it is addictive and now have enough blocks for a quilt. I need to quit making them, clean up the sewing room and get onto other things but I intend on making more of these blocks. The one quilt will go to charity and the other I will save for craft shows.

New Years Eve we had a power outage for awhile so didn't accomplish that much but I went to town on them New Years day and then more yesterday. I will probably keep the blocks on the design board until I need it then number them in the order I want to sew them together and put them aside for the next sew in I go to. It is much easier to take something ready to put together than bring tons of fabric etc. with me.

Happy Blocks Day 2



I hope you spent New Years having as much fun as I had putting these blocks together.

Kathie