Finally, the Pictures

I finally got a couple pictures of the two memory quilts that I finished this weekend.

Other than the borders, binding, and backing, this entire quilt is made from award ribbons that the young lady won while showing horses. As you can tell, the young lady won LOTS of ribbons!



This is actually a very large wall hanging (it will cover almost one entire wall of the young lady's bedroom) and I just couldn't get a good picture of the entire quilt but I think you get the idea. This was kind of a pain to make and the quilting was even more challenging. All of the ribbons are different shapes and sizes and some have lettering within 1/8th of an inch of the sides. Because there were so many ribbons and the young lady wanted them all included, we had to play with the layout quite a bit. In the end, the girl was pleased and I'm glad it's done.

This next quilt is the 4th memory quilt made using the clothing from a man that passed away last year. By the time I was asked to make this quilt, I didn't have very many large pieces left so I really had to think about what pattern to use. I was looking through my file of "must do quilts" when I saw a Heartstrings Quilt made by Mary and BOOM - it hit me that this was it!



I think this has become my new favorite pattern to use for memory quilts!

Stash Report - Week 29

I've been kind of busy the last couple of days and got two projects done that used up stash for borders, backing and binding. YEAH!!! I'm still waiting to get pictures (hopefully within the next hour or so) so I can post them.

For those of you who read my last post, as promised, I did not include my batting in my report today, although it was tempting!

Here's the weekly report:

Fabric Used This Week: 10.50 yards

Fabric Used to Date: 194.875 yards

Fabric Added This Week: 0.00 yards

Fabric Added to Date: 104.25 yards

Net Fabric Used for 2010: 90.625 yards

Check out the stash reports of other quilters at Judy L.'s Patchwork Times blog.

The Conversion is Complete

I think I have just made the real commitment/conversion to being a scrap quilter. Notice the "Tub o' Batting" that's been sitting around my sewing room.



I've been telling myself that I'll cut this up and use it for rag quilts. Well I have another tub full of rag quilt batting squares, plus a bag full and honestly I don't think that I need any more right now. Seriously, when was the last time I made a rag quilt? It's probably been a year! The pieces in the tub are pretty big, which is probably the reason I didn't cut them up as soon as they were produced. These pieces are just not big enough to be used in any of the quilts I've been working on lately.

Well, last night as I was layering a project that measures 60" x 70" I noticed the "Tub o' Batting" and decided to piece the batting instead of create yet another odd shaped piece. Now I know that many quilters have been piecing their batting scraps for a long time (bravo to all of you), but I've been blessed to have a fairly large sewing room and storing the scraps was not a problem. I don't know what made me do it, but I pulled out three pieces and started sewing them together.



While piecing this batting, something came over me. I realized that I've just been playing with being a scrap quilter and using up stash. I had to admit to myself that besides fabric, I also have a stash of batting that I can use. (Trust me, I won't count this in my stash reports, but I feel pretty darn good about using up this stuff.)



I just finished quilting and binding the project that used this pieced batting and I'll post a picture later when there's someone here to hold the quilt while I take a picture.

Weekend Visit with Ann's Family

I spent Sunday with my sister Ann and her family. Ann had a DOUBLE knee replacement June 24th and she is recuperating beautifully. She returned home only nine days after surgery and I wanted to offer some help so on Sunday I drove to her place near Akron and spent the day.

Claire (their almost 11 year old daughter) and I fixed dinner, put together a couple of meals for the freezer, did a few household chores, and baked a cake to celebrate Ann and Tony's anniversary and celebrate Scout's (the dog) birthday. Claire decorated the cake below incorporating LOTS of components that both of her parents love, including chocolate for her dad and strawberries for her mom.



Not only was it fun watching her decorate it, it tasted great!

Design Wall Monday

I've been working in the Heartstring memory quilt again and if I could just set aside a pretty good chunk of time I know I could get it done! I only have twelve more full blocks to sew as well as the bottom six in the picture. (I think I can. I think I can. I'm just like the little engine that could.)



I thought that this pattern was perfect for a memory quilt. I've made three other quilts from this person's clothing and when I was asked to make another one I wasn't sure what pattern I could use because the clothing was pretty well used up. This has worked out great and I'm really happy with how it's turning out. Again, I found the pattern for Heartstring Quilts on Mary's blog and when she posted a picture of this quilt in which strategic fabric placement resulted in a heart, I knew that was what I wanted to do! Thanks again Mary!

Check out what other quilters have on their design walls by going to Judy L.'s blog!

Stash Report - Weeks 25-28

This report includes weeks 25 through 28 so I don't feel so bad about the "fabric in" numbers, but I do wish there was more on the "fabric out" side - oh well....

I was introduced to English Paper Piecing recently and now I think I need to find a support group! I find it very relaxing and something I can do when I don't have binding to work on while I'm watching a ball game or TV in general. It's also portable so I have a little container packed and ready to take with me at a moment's notice. I LOVE my snapware containers! Have you tried them? I got mine when they were 50% off at JoAnn Fabrics.



Anyway, back to the report.... I showed the project to the owners of a local quilt shop while I was teaching a class and they liked it so I'm going to teach a class on the technique as soon as I make a sample. Of course that means I HAD to get fabric for that, as well as add to the reproduction fabric for my original project. Because I'm making a large bed quilt (probably an oversized queen) for myself and that will probably take me right up to my 80th birthday, I am making a smaller sample for the class. If you've never done English Paper Piecing, it's all hand-pieced. My husband reminded me of a hand quilting class we took in which someone brought in a Grandmother's Flower Garden quilt that she had worked on for over 10 years. She was a flight attendant and worked on the pieces while she had layovers. Anyway, Jack reminded me that I said something like, "That is beautiful but you will NEVER see me make a quilt that is entirely hand-pieced and hand-quilted." I guess I should never say never. Also, don't you hate it when men remember things like that. He can't remember that we had plans to go out to dinner, but he can remember something from 12 years ago!

Ok, really I will go back to the report now! I made another Patriotic Rail Fence (thanks Mary for the wonderful pattern) in honor of July 4th and I'm continuing to work on a couple of memory quilts even though they don't use much stash.

Here's the report:

Fabric Used These 4 Weeks: 10.00 yards

Fabric Used to Date: 184.375 yards

Fabric Added This Week: 12.00 yards

Fabric Added to Date: 104.25 yards

Net Fabric Used for 2010: 80.125 yards

Check out the stash reports of other quilters at Judy L'.s Patchwork Times blog!

Has it been a month yet?

I knew that I hadn't posted in a while, but I didn't realize that it has almost been a month. I have been busy (some sewing, some not) so I kind of have an excuse. Right after my last post, I attended our annual sisters' weekend (Thursday thru Sunday), followed by three days of extended family time. As usual, we had a great time and we were fortunate to have NO RAIN until right as we were leaving.

I'm not going to bore you with details, but the last couple of weeks have pretty much been a blur of activities but I did take some time to quilt so I will have an updated stash report tomorrow and something to show on the design wall for Monday. YEAH!

I just got home from Relay for Life. Of course it rained yesterday during the early hours of the event, but it did clear up by early evening so it wasn't all bad weather. As usual, the luminary ceremony was very touching. After the candles were lit, a bag pipe player led the procession around the field and I don't know why but bag pipes ALWAYS get to me. It was really something! I didn't spend the night, but I did return this morning to help start taking down the tent and cleaning up the site before our guild meeting, which starts at 10:00.

I'll try to add some pictures later, but I won't promise anything. I do want to sew today, but realistically I don't think that will happen until tonight. (I am trying to be realistic, but it sure is difficult! :-)