Tuesday, September 29, 2009

Quilts for Kids


There is an organization called Quilts for Kids that is kind of like Project Linus where quilts are made and given to sick children. A friend at our local guild was telling us that the downy fabric softener website had a tab on it on Quilts for Kids.

If you request they even send out out a kit to make a quilt at no charge. You are asked to make, quilt and bind the quilt and return it. They also encourage you to make an additional quilt or two out of your own fabrics and send it on in.

Last wednesday I ordered one of the kits and it came in the mail last night.

I was excited when I opened it up. Not only are all the fabrics there including backing fabric but the strips and squares are precut, a simple pattern is included and also a Quilts for Kids label to be sewn on.

Check it out.

Kathie

Monday, September 28, 2009

Left Overs

What do you do when you have tons of left over binding strips from Christmas projects? My bin was overflowing so decided it was time to do something with all of them. I chose to make 9 patch blocks which I will then alternate with cream squares to make a nice scrappy Christmas lap quilt.


I worked on this a little bit over the weekend.

I was also trying to come up with an idea for making some ornaments for the hospice Christmas tree that our guild will be decorating. Finally made a bell ornament that I was satisfied. I will try and get a few of them made over the next few weeks.

I made some crazy quilt pieced fabric (also out of some of the left over binding strips) that will be enough to make 3 of the bells.

Kathie

Friday, September 25, 2009

Blue Ribbons

I went to the fair last night and discovered that I had won three blue ribbons. Now this county fair is pretty small and they have so many quilting categories I might have only been in competition with 1 or 2 other people who knows, but it was fun to win.

This first pictures is of the Christmas quilt I just finished the binding on the other night. Most of this quilt was made with left over binding strips from various projects.



In this second picture it is hard to see but my quilt is the one in the back right corner. It is a "Happy Block" childs lap quilt. The quilt in the front on the left my friend Jane made and I quilted it. Happy to see she won a ribbon also.



The last picture is of my daughters quilt. I finished it up a couple of weeks ago but I have not let her use it yet as I didn't want to risk something getting spilled on it before the fair or to enter it covered in cat hair. I know she will be glad when I pick up the quilt sunday evening as then she can use it in her room.



Kathie

Thursday, September 24, 2009

County Fair

This weekend is out county fair. It is small but I always enjoy seeing all the exhibits and of course some of that terrible for you fair food like funnel cakes!!!

I dropped 3 quilts at the fairgrounds yesterday for todays judging. Will be going to the fair tonight to see if i won any ribbons.

I have had a productive week. I quilted 3 customer quilts, a quilt for hospice and pieced the horse quilt top.

Kathie

Wednesday, September 23, 2009

Another New Quilt Top


I got this quilt cut out over the weekend and the modified rail fence units made up. I knew this week would be busy with customer quilts. I would do a pass or two across a quilt and then sit down to rest my back. Each time I did that I would pin or sew a few of the blocks together.

By last night I had all the rows done and spent time after dinner joining all of them into a quilt top. I love this little horse quilt and can't want to quilt it.

It will probably have to wait a couple of weeks as I have several other quilts that need to come first.

Kathie

Monday, September 21, 2009

Potato What???????


I recently finished Jake's race car quilt. It was using a pattern called a Couch Potato Quilt. I had pieces left over because I changed the size a bit. I was going to toss them in a drawer probably never to be seen again. I thought better of that and decided to see what I could make out of them before putting any left over fabrics away.

It made a small quilt, only 40 x 40 but could be a little boys play quilt or a nice wall hanging.

Since the large one was a couch potato quilt is this a Potato Chip Quilt or a Tater Tot Quilt?????

Kathie

Sunday, September 20, 2009

A Touch of Fall


When the cat decided this morning that I had been in bed long enough (5:30 a.m.) I got up and grabbed a cup of coffee and turned the news on. It was very chilly in the house and I sat under a quilt drinking my coffee, nice a cosy. It isn't officially fall yet but we had a touch of it in Maryland this morning.

The picture is a Christmas quilt I made several months ago out of mostly left over binding strips from various projects. I quilted it yesterday and hope to get the binding on today.

Tomorrow will be back to working on customer quilts. The next two are both full/queen sized so will take up a lot of my week.

Kathie

Friday, September 18, 2009

The Mill


I set up my space at the Mill this morning. It didn't take very long. I think the way I have things displayed will work. I did run out of "S" Hooks so I will have to run off to Lowes to get more of them before I hang anything else up but other than that I am set.

Now to finish up the two Halloween table runners so I can take them to the shop.

kathie

Wednesday, September 16, 2009

What I've Been Up to

Well I am starting on a new venture. In our town we have a small historic mill that has been leased and turned into a venue for local crafters. I decided to give it a try and my work has been approved to be for sale in the shop.

My husband made me a quilt ladder and came up with a couple of other display ideas. Friday I will concentrate on pulling quilts and runners I want to have in the shop and getting them tagged etc. and we hope to set up the space this weekend.

Several years ago I tried this idea in a different shop and never had enough sales to make it worth while but thought a different shop, in a different location might be worth a try.

Yesterday after finishing on a customer quilt I worked on these two halloween runners. Hope to get them quilted, bound and ready for the shop soon. I ordered this cone of orange thread a few months ago just because it was pretty and have not used it yet. I knew I must have ordered it for SOME reason.




kathie

Sunday, September 13, 2009

A New Top

In the last few days I have finished the bindings on a couple of runner, put more bindings on runners by machine, finished up a customer quilt and made this quilt top. I finished the top last night. I want to cut the binding today and then put it away on my "to be quilted shelf" until I get time to quilt it.







I had a sudden influx of customer quilts this week so will probably not be quilting any of my own projects until next weekend. I try and reserve weekends to work on my own things, craft show items and an occasional charity quilt.






Mandy went to a friends sweet 16 party last night, she looked so nice I just had to take pictures.








Kathie



Friday, September 11, 2009

September 11th

Where were you on September 11, 2001? What are your memories of that day?

I was in my office in Maryland about 80 miles south of the Pentagon when we started hearing the news of the plane hitting the tower in New York, the plane into the pentagon, the second tower and then the plane going into the ground. I still can remember the shock and disbelief.

All work stopped and people were glued to the internet and their radios.

I had two co-workers that were in route to New York on business and were in the air at the time. My fear was that something had happened to them. Luckily they landed at LaGuardia shortly after the first hit and were able to get a rental car and get out of the city before things came to a halt. I was later to learn that one of the ladies in my quilt guild lost her husband at the pentagon and another co-worker lost his brother-in-law on the plane that hit the pentagon.

Because of our close proximity to a Navy base and to a nuclear power plant and not knowing what might happen next the school kids were put on buses and sent home early that day. No one told them what was going on but from the looks on all the teachers faces they knew it was something bad. My daughter was only 7 at the time but has clear memories of that day.

There was no way I was sleeping that night. For the first time in my life I didn't feel safe in my own home. I spent most of the night on the sofa watching all the news coverage.

I think I was actually in a fog for a couple of weeks after the attack and from talking to others I know that a lot of people had the same reaction. I remember seeing letters dated September 12th and 13th a couple of weeks later that I had written for work and had no memory of writing them.

My thoughts today are with all the people that lost their lives that day, to all the kids that had a parent that never returned home, to all the families that were shattered. I think today I need to give my husband and daughter an extra hug and tell them how much they mean to me.

kathie

Thursday, September 10, 2009

Snowman blocks


Yesterday I quilted a couple table runners then put a customer quilt on the frame and have that mostly finished. In addition I put together a few of the snowman blocks to see what it would look like, I think I like it with the two different snowflake blues.


I also sat and finished the binding on my daughter's quilt last night and started to stitch down the binding on Jake's quilt. My pile of things to be bound was getting entirely to high. A chair in the guest room has become my staging area for items needing binding.


Since my craft shows are only a little over two months away now I am going to try and quilt up a couple runners, a baby quilt or something else between each customer quilt or two.


Kathie

Wednesday, September 9, 2009

Its Funny

When I do customer quilts I love to see the fabric combinations people use, the settings and various other ideas. The problem with it is that so often I see something I want to try (and don't have time for) or get off on a new project because something inspires me.

Yesterday I was quilting a penguin quilt with little winter scenes on it. This made me remember that I had purchased some pretty snowmen fabric last year to make a winter lap quilt. I knew it had to be SOMEWHERE. After about half an hour of looking for it I found the fabric and then found two snowflake "go with" fabrics in my stash. Needless to say instead of getting something finished last night I started cutting out a snowman quilt.

Kathie

Sunday, September 6, 2009

9 Patch Pizzazz


Finished my 9 Patch Pizzazz quilt top and really like the results. My husband says there isn't enough contrast and my daughter says it makes her dizzy to look at but I like it. What do you think?

This will be a Christmas present for my step-daughter Angie so I hope she likes it.

I saw a King Tut thread that is variegated green, gold and a dark red/maroon that I might order. Sounds like it would go great with this quilt but you never know until you unwind some of the thread and lay it across the quilt.

Hey a friend of mine Eileen just won an all expense paid trip in an essay contest through HQ16, check out her blog. http://www.luvstoquilt.blogspot.com

Kathie

Saturday, September 5, 2009

Neon Bugs


Finished putting the borders on this little neon bug quilt last night. The lime green fabric I got last spring when we took a mini vacation to the Norfolk/Virginia Beach area.

I finally got the binding machine stitch to my daughter's quilt this morning so will be working on getting that hand stitched down over the next week or so.

I also took the 9 patch pizzazz workshop on thursday and had a lot of fun doing that. Since there are no real rules it was fun and freeing to make up all the pieces and then play as you laid it all out. I am currently in the process of cutting borders out for it so will post a picture when the tops is done. My husband doesn't care for it, he says it doesn't have very much contrast which is true but I like it anyway.

Kathie

Thursday, September 3, 2009

No Pictures

I was going to take a picture of my bug quilt in process but it is so close to the top being done I thought I would wait. I have fabric for the outer border but need to go to the store and get a bright green or blue for the inner border. I am hoping to do that today and if so I will have the top done in a day or two.

My 9 patch class is this morning so I spent some time last night sewing together strip sets that will ultimately be 9 patch blocks. I put together several color combinations but guess I won't know if I need more of any combination until I start laying it out. It should be interesting, 17 women all trying to lay out quilts!!!

Even with being gone from home part of yesterday and part of today I have been accomplishing a lot.

A customer quilt was completed and delivered, I have quilted several craft show runners and make most of the bug quilt top, plus the pre-work for todays class.

Now tomorrow I will really need to focus on getting things done around here.

Kathie

Tuesday, September 1, 2009

Classes and Workshops


I belong to two quilting guilds (one day time and one evenings) and one quilting Bee. From time to time classes or workshops come up with all of these groups. I try and pick and choose which ones to do. Sometimes the subject matter is just not of interest, other times the cost is high or the class date is not convenient. So many classes you also have to buy all new fabrics and I have been trying to shop my stash as much as possible.

The main reason I don't take many classes though is that I don't want to end up having lots of UFOs hanging around.

This time of year is great to take a class or two though. With the holidays being here before you know it I am using class/workshop projects as Christmas presents. Jake's quilt came out of a recent workshop. I will also be taking a 9-patch pizzazz workshop on thursday and that will end up being a Christmas present for my step daughter.

I got the fabrics pre-cut for it the other day so should be about ready to go.

Kathie