Red Scrappy King Sized Quilt...

Tonight I worked some more on this big quilt for my bed...  I need it to be 100 x 120 (I think) and it's currently 100 x 67.

I chopped up more fabric into strips/squares and will hopefully be able to add another foot to the quilt soon...  But there will be more to go...

I hadn't realized how HUGE a king-sized quilt is.  I've only made one before and it's been a couple of years.  Here's a picture of the other king sized quilt I've made... It's a sampler with 30's reproductions on it...

I use it as a bedspread most of the year.  I'm going to make my red quilt without batting.  It'll be our summer quilt...  Cannot wait!  The back will be similar, but probably blue.

Working on Quilts of Valor

My mother-in-law and I have been gearing up for a morning of sewing in a couple of weeks.  About 10 people are coming over from our guild in Blue Valley to work on Quilts of Valor.  Here are some kits we've got in baggies to put together...

We coordinate a bunch of quilters/piecers to crank out Quilts of Valor.  We're up to a grand total of 83 either sent or in the process of being made over the past 1 1/2 years.  Very rewarding and exciting.

At our monthly guild meetings, I pass out a different block pattern each month.  Members bring in 12 1/2 inch blocks and we incorporate them into sampler quilts, such as the ones seen above.

Some members enjoy piecing tops together, others enjoy binding or making matching pillowcases.  I go out and raise a little funding here and there to cover yardage for backings and for shipping.  Friends donate fabric from their stashes.

Often, we get quilt tops or completed quilts that are donated and we facilitate getting them shipped to veterans or active duty military personnel.  

Here's one I just shipped to Florida to a WW II veteran who was injured in the Battle of the Bulge...

Elaine Elliot donated the blocks, Susan Van Kirk Byer pieced them together and Peggy Skaith quilted it for us.  Elaine Alexander did the binding and Betty Zwego paid for shipping.  Judy Masur got us in contact with the son of the recipient.  He requested a Quilt of Valor for his father.  It's truly a group effort.

A Boy and His Stick Horse

Wyatt's been riding Ralphie around the house.  I think I should probably get my father-in-law to help me shorten it just a few inches.  It's taller than Wyatt is...

Blue Valley Quilters' Guild

Deb Rowden was the guest speaker this morning at BVQG and she spoke about memory quilts.

I took a couple of pictures.  Sorry the quality isn't great, but let me tell you about the ones that struck my fancy...

This one reminded me of Gee's Bend quilts...  It was made for the widow of a man who had just passed away out of his dress shirts.  It was made in 4 parts (quadrants).  What a great way to create a family heirloom and to remember those who were special to us.

This next quilt was made of neckties.  I took a picture because I love the setting.  I'm more and more drawn to diamonds and triangles...  This strippy look is very appealing to me.

Preparing For Our Next Kansas City Modern Quilt Guild Meeting

I'm trying to decide which book to bring to the KCMQG meeting next week.  We've been asked to bring a favorite quilting book that we use a lot.  This is a great one that has lots of information (basic to advanced) on a wide variety of quiltmaking topics.  

Another book I use often is: 

It's great if you like to make sampler quilts.  I enjoy making samplers because it helps me to learn and practice new techniques.  This book (and others by the same author with similar titles) gives you patterns for blocks and directions to make them in a variety of sizes.  Patterns are pretty straightforward and the layout of the book makes it easy to quickly find what you are looking for.

A Pin Cushion Addict? And The Tip of the Day

I never thought much about it, but I have quite a few pin cushions...  Here are a few of them...

These first two belonged to my great grandmother.  I use the tomato looking one for needles.  It's got a little attachment (the strawberry looking thing) that sharpens needles.  Very handy.

These three were made by a good family friend, Mary Harrison.  She made all of them from discarded fabric (the bottom two were made from scraps she took from my sewing room trash can when she visited...). Was a great reminder that we should be resourceful and not wasteful.  She even saved up lint from her dryer to stuff these with.  I love them!

These are two of the ones I use most often.  The blue one is magnetic, so it's very handy.  I sometimes use it if I'm taking my sewing somewhere to work on it.  The one on the bottom is a nice and puffy one I bought at the Blue Valley Quilters' Guild's boutique during last year's quilt show.  It has my very favorite type of pins sticking out of it.  Love those flat heads.

I have two others that are not in my sewing room.  One is a triangular shaped chicken (and it has strangely flown the coop... not sure where it is!).  The other is an adorable little light blue crocheted cupcake.  Must get you guys a picture of these two...

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TIP OF THE DAY:

Last month, I learned from my friend Trisch that it's a great idea to store your safety pins in a box or tin that closes and that you should leave them open when they're in the box.  It's quicker to use these when pinning a quilt to baste it if the pins aren't shut.

She also puts each pin in place in the fabric without closing them.  When every safety pin is in place, she goes back and closes all of them.  This is because often when you're pinning a sandwiched quilt, it is a lot of trouble to have to go back and open each safety pin if you have to readjust your sandwich.

Gwen Marston's New Book: Jacks

I'm experimenting a little with some Linus quilts.  

This one is going to have lots of fun bright colors... Perhaps different combinations of blocks...

This block is crooked on purpose.  It's a 5 inch (4.5 inch finished) block called, "Jacks".

I think it is a fun one!

Blue Valley Quilters' Guild This Morning

I went to BVQG this morning.  Had a great time!  People brought in a few Quilts of Valor, so that's always fun.  Some are tops needing quilters... Some need backings...

A couple of friends donated fabric to the cause, too.  SO excited about that.  A bunch!

I've been playing quilt shop in my own kitchen, matching up things to make Linus Quilts, Downy Quilts and Quilts of Valor.

I need more time.

Pictures to come...

Stick Horses...

Wyatt's turning 3 in April.  We're having a little party for him and his buddies here at the house.  Very low-key this year.  Cowboy theme.  If all goes as planned, I'm going to make stick horses for him and all of his friends.  They can romp around the back yard with their stallions while we adults snap pictures and visit.

Here's my first attempt.  His name is "Ralphie" and Owen claimed him right away.

And here is Wyatt's horse.  His name is "Applejack".  He still needs a stick and some stuffing...

I will probably need to sew some nostrils onto Applejack, too...



2 horses (almost) down, 7 or 8 to go...

During Today's Naptime...

My choices are:

1.  Sweep and mop my floors. (not likely)
2.  Nap.  (sounding better)
3.  Clean more on my sewing room.  (I like the sound of this one because if it's clean, then I can give myself guilt-free permission to sew tonight!)

Will report back on the verdict...

Until then, here's a quick picture for you...

Yours truly many moons ago on Halloween.  Mom made my outfit and she did my "make up", too!

Progress.....

I cleaned for 3 hours in my sewing room today...

Halfway there...

Made some inspiration boards by stapling these (along with some batting) onto canvas.  Can pin things onto them that will inspire me to create...

Rearranged the daybed I keep in my sewing room.  Pushed it up against the railing and butted the ironing board up against it.  Makes the most of my space.

In my closet, I'm organizing my many UFOs...

Now for the messy part...

This stuff is headed downstairs.

This is a very nice old machine (Necchi) and cabinet that I got from my sister.  I think I'm going to move it to a different area so I will have more elbow room.  It will be set up for quilting full-time.  My other (newer machine- a singer) will be set up for full-time piecing near my cutting area.

This is the stack of things I still need to sort through and organize.  It's a table that I have my biggest cutting mat on and it's piled up with baskets/tubs full of misc. stuff... Buttons, thread, scraps, blocks, kleenex, ink pens, you name it.  

Notice my big design wall?  Love it.  Is new.

Here's another view of the mess...

This room is tricky.  Since it is the attic, the ceiling is slanted.  Makes for tricky arrangement.  I would love to have a wall of cabinets and shelves (might someday) but they'd have to be custom.  I even have room for a longarm quilting machine... but alas no funds...

A girl can dream... 

Linus Quilt

I put some 30's jelly roll strips together and am making a Linus quilt out of it.

I even started quilting it.  Myself.  On my machine.  I've rarely done that before and never anything more than stitching in the ditch.

I am fearless!  And Oh, so modern!

Check me out!

All Work And No Play...

I spent a couple hours upstairs today during nap time and then a couple more tonight after I got the kiddos to sleep...

Made some good progress on my attic closet...

My stash of scraps and fat quarters have been sorted by color and put into big baggies on a shelf...

I'm starting to put things into labeled shoeboxes (glue guns/glue sticks, staple gun, etc.)...

And I sorted through organizing bobbins, needles, thimbles, thread, pencils/pens, and sewing machine parts...


I even took the time to do a couple of projects that I've been meaning to get around to...

I was on a yo-yo kick for a while, there.  Made lots of them with my 30's stash.  They'd been hanging on my wall in a very haphazard fashion for a couple of years, reminding me every time I walked by that it was another unfinished project... So I stapled them onto a big canvas I had and *PRESTO*... Instant ART for my sewing room!

About 15 years ago, my great grandmother died.  Here's a picture of Grandma Nell...

At the time, I hadn't started quilting yet.  She was a quilter, though.  We have many heirloom quilts that she crafted over the years.  I went to Arkansas to help my grandmother and my father and aunt go through all of the things that she had accumulated over her lifetime.  This was a huge job because she was a bit of a hoarder...  Not so much in a messy fashion, but in an organized way.  She had lots and lots of things that were auctioned off.  I collected a few things to keep as mementos of her and thankfully, one thing I got was a big grocery sack of her quilting notions, templates and materials.  In this bag, I found some cut-out flowers.  I imagine she'd planned on appliqueing them at some point, but never got around to it...  I've been trying to think about what I could make with them to give to my aunt, sister and cousin to remember her by...  And I decided that they'd make cute lapel pins...  What do you think?

They are reversible.

Here is the one I'm keeping for me. :)  I love blue, you see...

I used antique buttons from my mother's button collection.  I'm thinking we'll use safety pins to put them on.  I'm pretty pleased with myself.

Tomorrow is Saturday, so maybe I can score some extra time to work upstairs...  Would love to get a couple of trash bags worth of stuff out of there...  Stay tuned!