It's Been Ages, Folks

Sorry I haven't blogged in so long.  I promise I've been sewing.  It's just a little cumbersome to blog from my phone & that's where all of my pictures are.

I once was great about posting to Flickr, which was easy to blog from.  Then Flickr changed their platform up and it's no fun anymore.

Everyone seemed to abandon Flickr & move to Instagram.  Some were (probably still are) twittering along the way, but aside from a group that got together on Tuesdays to chat about quilting, I really couldn't get into Twitter.

Instagram is great fun, though!  I wish they had a groups component similar to Flickr, but the community is really active there, so I forgive them for lacking groups.

Here is a small sampling of what I was up to in 2014...

Antique Blocks

Antique Blocks, originally uploaded by bluevalleyquilting.

Got these antique quilt squares from my friend, Shirley. She got them from a woman at her church. The woman said they were her mother's. Very old. Made of shirtings. Mostly hand sewn.

Who knows the name of this pattern?

Back of the 1/4 log cabins. I should've done a better job centering my quilt. Oh, well. Lesson learned.

Back of the 1/4 log cabins. I should've done a better job centering my quilt. Oh, well. Lesson learned., originally uploaded by bluevalleyquilting.

KC Scrappy Bee Monochromatic 1/4 Log Cabins

KC Scrappy Bee Monochromatic 1/4 Log Cabins, originally uploaded by bluevalleyquilting.

Binding my Bento

Untitled, originally uploaded by bluevalleyquilting.

Quilted! Now I need to bind it...

Quilted! Now I need to bind it..., originally uploaded by bluevalleyquilting.

Bento Blocks Quilt

, originally uploaded by bluevalleyquilting.

Closeup of Boxy Quilting

, originally uploaded by bluevalleyquilting.

Bento Block Swap Quilt.

For Sharon in the KC Scrappy Bee

For Sharon in the KC Scrappy Bee, originally uploaded by bluevalleyquilting.

Scrappy Trip Along Block for Sharon in the KC Scrappy Bee

Scrappy Trip Along Block for Sharon in the KC Scrappy Bee, originally uploaded by bluevalleyquilting.

For Heather in Bee Vintage

For Heather in Bee Vintage, originally uploaded by bluevalleyquilting.

For Heather in Bee Vintage

For Heather in Bee Vintage, originally uploaded by bluevalleyquilting.

for Tammie in Bee Vintage

for Tammie in Bee Vintage, originally uploaded by bluevalleyquilting.

I love making this block. May do a quilt for myself with this pattern. I have a million 2.5 inch squares...

for Alicia in the KC scrappy bee

for Alicia in the KC scrappy bee, originally uploaded by bluevalleyquilting.

KC Scrappy Bee 2013 Quilts of Valor Churn Dash Block

KC Scrappy Bee 2013 Quilts of Valor Churn Dash Block, originally uploaded by bluevalleyquilting.

Janie is putting this one together. Ray also assembled some of these from a bee block. Will have to search for a picture...

For Tammie in Bee Vintage

For Tammie in Bee Vintage, originally uploaded by bluevalleyquilting.

Crooked Cabin in the Cotton

Crooked Cabin in the Cotton, originally uploaded by bluevalleyquilting.

New Quilt of Valor project

Grandma Nell's Baptist Fan

Baptist Fan, originally uploaded by bluevalleyquilting.

My grandmother (Sallie) has several of her mother's quilts that were day-to-day quilts, which have been well-used. This is an example of one of those. They were hand quilted using the Baptist Fan quilting pattern, which has quickly become one of my favorites. I bought a template to trace the lines to quilt these into my projects, but I've only used it once on a small placemat.

Satin quilt made by my Great-Great Aunt Rosie

Satin quilt made by my Great-Great Aunt Rosie, originally uploaded by bluevalleyquilting.

This quilt was made for my aunt when she was a baby. So soft & hand quilted. Love the embroidery. It belongs to my cousin & she has a 3 year old daughter.

Extra Kiddo

We decided to bring my nephew home for 3 weeks. Love the reaction of my oldest son (in green)., originally uploaded by bluevalleyquilting.

I visited my dad & most of my family in Arkansas last week. The day I was leaving, my sister and her 5 kids were on their way to spend time in Arkansas too, so I stayed a few extra hours to see them. A spur of the moment decision led to me bringing an extra kid home with me. In the middle of this picture is my sweet nephew, Jayden. He is between Wyatt & Owen in age. He will be 6 in October. He's hardly any trouble at all. The boys are mostly getting along fabulously. He will be here for another 18 days... 25 days total. My sister & I really want the boys to be able to know their cousins & have great memories with family. What better way than to spend some time together in the summer?

For Pam in bee vintage

For Pam in bee vintage, originally uploaded by bluevalleyquilting.

For Pam in Bee Vintage

For Pam in Bee Vintage, originally uploaded by bluevalleyquilting.

For Monica (buttoncounter) in bee vintage

For Monica (buttoncounter) in bee vintage, originally uploaded by bluevalleyquilting.

For Emily

Untitled, originally uploaded by bluevalleyquilting.

This one is for Emily in Bee Vintage. The directions weren't great and this was my 4th attempt. It will be an awesome quilt, though.

Card Trick and Cry of the Loon

Retreating this weekend, originally uploaded by bluevalleyquilting.

I still need to square this top up, but it's an attempt to finish up some blocks that have been on a shelf for at least 7 years. This is the year of FINISHES. I'm working hard to at least finish tops that are in progress, even if I don't quite get them quilted.

Retreating this weekend

Retreating this weekend, originally uploaded by bluevalleyquilting.

Another quilt made by my online vintage sheet bee (Bee Vintage). The pattern is from the Film in the Fridge blog.

Shoo Fly!

Retreating this weekend, originally uploaded by bluevalleyquilting.

This Shoo Fly quilt has been in progress for a while. Blocks were made as a part of Bee Vintage, my online bee that sews with vintage sheets. It's big enough to cover the top of my king sized bed, but doesn't quite hang down on the sides. I may just use it as a summer quilt & use thin batting (or even flannel) and a vintage sheet backing. Would be nice to keep in the car for picnics.

Batiks & Black

Retreating this weekend, originally uploaded by bluevalleyquilting.

Anything in rainbow order is always a big hit. This is just a charm pack of Moda batiks paired with some black charms. Love the contrast & I love the way your eye is drawn across the quilt. May do something similar with my color wheel swap fabric.

Color Wheel Layer Cake Swap

, originally uploaded by bluevalleyquilting.

I'm hosting a swap. It's a fun and unique one. The blog "Distant Pickles" did this once & I made the quilt that I just blogged about with the squares I got. I enjoyed it so much that I decided to host another round myself.

These are the fabrics we've gathered. I am waiting for 4 more to arrive in the mail & then I can distribute the packages. Love the possibilities.

I signed up for 2 packs of squares. Can't wait to play around with arrangement.

Color wheel swap quilt

Color wheel swap quilt, originally uploaded by bluevalleyquilting.

Owen has the life of Riley.

Color wheel swap quilt

Color wheel swap quilt, originally uploaded by bluevalleyquilting.

What's under the quilt???

2 kids and their iPads, heading to school.

Retreating. Tumbler Party Too- Oranges and Aquas

Retreating. Tumbler Party Too- Oranges and Aquas, originally uploaded by bluevalleyquilting.

This one's from the 2nd round of that Tumbler Swap on Flickr. I added some to my batch of tumblers to get it to be this size. I think when I bind it, I'll leave the two sides wavy & use binding made on the bias. I've been wanting to make a scalloped edge quilt and this will be good practice before I dive off & try it.

Tumbler Party Too- Cool Colors

Tumbler Party Too- Cool Colors, originally uploaded by bluevalleyquilting.

I participated for a 3rd time in a swap on Flickr. We sent in fat quarters and received back tumblers that were cut by a machine. I need one of those machines for myself, I tell ya!

I was really hopeful that I would've gotten a bigger quilt out of this. I've since cut more tumblers by hand and added one row. Will need to be at least twice this size. I have no shortage of fabric, but cutting by hand isn't as accurate or as quick. :/