Monday, November 27, 2017

Design Wall Monday

I spent a little time at the machine right before Thanksgiving and it felt really good. On Friday, instead of heading out to the "belly of the beast," AKA - Black Friday Shopping, I decided that I would get a head start on another Quilt of Valor. (Since I give a bunch of quilts out on Veterans Day, my new "QOV Season" has begun and I need to start restocking my supply of quilts.)

I pulled some of my bigger red and blue scraps and found some really big cream/tan pieces left over from a 108" backing fabric. I did some quick math and decided that I could make it work, and this is what I came up with.


I made adjustments to the Darcey pattern by Villa Rosa Designs so it would fit the QOV size requirements. I am very happy with the results.


I might make another one of these, but mix up the color arrangement. I've got a nice variety of patriotic fabrics from which to choose, so I'll have plenty of options.

I'm happy to say that I don't have an abundance of quilting that I HAVE to do for Christmas, but there are a few things I want to do. I like the "want to do" so much better than "have to do." Little or no pressure is nice. 😊

What are you working on today?

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Tuesday, November 21, 2017

Baby Quilt Made Big - Updated!

Yesterday I showed my Woven quilt top, pieced according to the pattern. I really like this, but wondered how it would look as a large quilt. This measures about 35" x 42", which is a great baby quilt size. 


Oh my goodness! I just realized that I pieced this top wrong. The bottom half is upside down! This is what it's supposed to look like.


I guess I'll spend a little quality time with the seam ripper today. I'm glad I saw this before I quilted it. Yikes! That would have been awful.

Update:  Here's the corrected version of my quilt. I was going to wait until tonight to fix this, but it was bugging me and it was only one seam. Do you think I might be a bit OCD? 😳


Much better!  😌

Back to making this larger:

I decided to simply make four baby size quilts (the RIGHT way!) and piece them together. I was intrigued by the new design that would appear and knew that I would like it. Plus, the quilt would measure approximately 70" x 84" and I like that. 



I'm headed back to the sewing room and going to start ripping!

Monday, November 20, 2017

Design Wall Monday

After over a week of no sewing time, I finally got to spend some time quilting yesterday. Oh, that sure did feel good!

The first project is Woven by Cluck Cluck Sew. This is pretty small - about 35" x 42" so it was pretty quick to put together. The top is complete but I have to decide on my backing. I have a couple of options and will try to get this quilted and bound tonight. I really like this pattern and have cut out and started sewing another one. Only this time, I'm making four "panels" like this and putting them together to make a larger quilt. I didn't get pictures, but I will in a day or so. 


Update: Yikes!
I made a mistake on the baby quilt above.
I flipped the bottom half.   Check out the post HERE to see the correction and the larger version I made of this quilt.

Next, I started working on my version of Uptown Girl by Creative Sewlutions. I decided that I wanted to use all music-themed fabrics for the large blocks and since I only had six of them, that determined the size I'm making. The pattern offers seven different size options and I love that!


 I finally decided a layout for my blocks and figured that I'd better take a picture so I don't mix them up. :-)


I've got two more seams to sew and then I have to decide if I have enough fabric to add a border .




What are you working on today?

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Sunday, November 12, 2017

11 Special Quilts

I've recently been posting some Quilt of Valor quilts on which I've been working and now that they are presented, I can share more pictures, including individual quilt pictures.

In Friday's post, I briefly shared information about the Veterans Day program at Monroeville High School. (I thought about trying to get this post ready for posting yesterday, but since I was hosting an early 80th birthday party for my husband, I knew that it wasn't going to happen so I didn't stress out about it. I figured a Sunday post would work too. 😊

Here are the quilts ready for presentation.  


While the students were making their way to the assembly, a number of elementary kids were quite intrigued with the quilts and wanted to come up and see them. They had to wait, but I promised them that they would get a close up look after the presentation.


These quilts are a true labor of love for me. Whenever I'm working on one, I think of may Dad, Frank Schwab, a WWII Navy Veteran. Because he died before the QOV project started, Dad did not receive one of these quilts, but every one I make is made in his honor. (Back in 2011, I made 15 Honor Flight Quilts in honor of Mom and Day and you can see pictures of those HERE.) I think of Mom and Dad while I cut and piece all of these quilts together, and I am not ashamed to admit that there are often a few tears shed during the process. I miss them bother very much!

I also work on these to honor my many nieces and nephews who are veterans. I can't thank you enough for your sacrifices and dedication to preserving our freedom. Thank you Lisa, Scott, Sarah, Jeramy, Alex, Brad, Nick M., Paul, Christian, and Nick R.!    

This year's recipients included two spouses of staff members and local WWII and Korean War Veterans. To be able to honor the WWII veterans was especially meaningful to me. I know I shared this picture yesterday, but I'm doing so again because I've added names. Plus, I just really like this picture!


Seated in the front row, left to right:  Mary C. (WWII Army Nurse), Jim H. (Army, 1952-1954), Bill S. (Army, 1951-1953), Paul S. (Army, 1954-1956), Back row, left to right:  Emmanuel H. (Marines, 2005-2009), Nathan W. (Army Reserves 2001-2003, Active Duty 2004-2008), Richard A. (Ohio National Guard and Army, 1952-1954), Bob S. (Army, 1951-1953), Richard R. (1951-1954) Not pictures: Ervin M. (Navy, 1945-1946) and Mel M. (Army, 1944-1945)

I had a wonderful time talking to all these veterans over the past few weeks while gathering information about them and their service, so I could say something about them during the presentation. Every single on of these veterans initially told me that they didn't really deserve a quilt. They each gave a variety of reasons why such as: "I was just doing my job." "There are so many others who did more and they deserve a quilt, not me." "I didn't go overseas, so I don't really deserve one." 

I've heard all of this before and I've finally come up with what I think is a pretty good response. I tell them all that,  "Yes, you do deserve a quilt. You many not have left the country or fought in any major battles, but you would have done so, if you have been asked to. You left your home and family and made many sacrifices during your service time. You faced unimaginable freezing temperatures or excruciating heat in unfamiliar places. You were away from your family for many holidays, birthdays, and anniversaries. You did whatever you were asked to do, and you did it without hesitation or questions. For that, I say that yes, you DO deserve a Quilt of Valor." 

Fortunately, my little speech has worked so far and all of the veterans agree to receive a quilt. It also helps that I have a few young ladies helping with the project and presentations. I think it makes the veterans feel good to know that young people are respectful and thankful for their service; and it gives them hope for the future. This is another one of my favorite pictures from the presentation. In the back row on the right side, you can see my helpers.


Thank you Tana S. (Freshman, helping for the first year), Allie S. (Junior, helping for the second year), and Kaleigh S. (Freshman, helping for the first year). We have big plans to continue these presentations over the next few years and I know that these young ladies will do their part BIG TIME!

One of my friends commented to me that she was very happy to see that I've included young people in this ministry. I never really thought of it that way, but I think she's right. This really is a ministry and I'm thrilled that I can include young people. The girls and I are tossing around a plan to have a "sew day" in which other students can join us to help make quilts for next year. I've already been picking patterns that will be pretty easy construction for them and I'm rounding up adult helpers, fabrics, etc. I'm pretty darned psyched about this. 

As promised, I have individual pictures of the quilts. Because of crappy weather recently and the fact that I've been gone, I did not get good pictures at home so I took some at the school, before the program.

I had a mission to include at least one piece of the American Honor fabric line from Blank Quilting in each quilt and I am thrilled to say that I was successful. Yay!  I made each of these quilts from start to finish with the exception of one (Richard A.'s quilt). I was given a couple of blocks already made and the fabric to make more, so I finished making that quilt and was able to use the tonal blue fabric for the binding. I was a bit worried that I wouldn't be able to use any of the American Honor fabric, but it worked perfectly. Yay!!

And finally, here are the quilts.

Emmanuel H's quilt


Nathan W's quilt


Bill S's quilt


Bob S's quilt


Jim H's quilt


Mary C's quilt


Paul S's quilt


Richard A's quilt


Richard R's quilt


Ervin M's quilt


Mel M's quilt


Since we'll be honoring Vietnam War veterans next year and I think we'll have a pretty large number to make, I better get busy pulling fabrics and making pattern decisions. 

Thank you Veterans!
It's an honor to do this for you.

Saturday, November 11, 2017

Veterans Day

Thank you for your service Veterans!

I was honored to present nine veterans with Quilts of Honor yesterday and will present the final two later this weekend. This was a wonderful part of the school program and one that I always find amazing and emotional.

Ignore the first picture. That is not from this program.

Here's another Norwalk Reflector link that includes a few more pictures 

 Below are a few pictures, but there will be more to come soon, including individual pictures of all eleven quilts. 

The quilts are ready to be presented in front of the entire school district and a number of community members.



The recipients and their quilts. Quilts were presented to spouses of two staff members, one WWII Army nurse, and six Korean War Veterans. The two who will receive theirs later are WWII Veterans. 


 The recipients and the three young ladies who help me with these presentations. I love this pictures!


It is such an honor to do this.

Thank you Veterans.

Monday, November 6, 2017

Quilts of Valor Update

I've got all ten Quilts of Valor done and am working on the binding for the last few. Yay! I am very happy with how they've all turned out and look forward to the presentation Friday.

Here's a picture (I know, a pretty bad picture) of five of the quilts ready to go. They've been washed and are ready to be put in their pillowcases.


Two others are in the washer right now and another one is ready to go in this afternoon. I should the bindings on the final two later tonight and will get them washed tomorrow.

I'm happy these are done and look forward to starting my next batch. 

This week is a busy one again. I have to finish up these, have a few classes to teach, have the QOV presentation Friday, and Jack's early 80th birthday party Saturday. I don't mind the busy schedule though. It'll keep my out of the bars.  😁   lol

I'll post pictures of the quilts when they are complete. Maybe by them the raining weather will be over and I can get some pictures outside with the quilts open so you can see them.

What are you working on today?


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