300th post and Thank You

		Sew Fest 2013 VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

What better way to have a 300th blog post than to say Thank You to our veterans and active duty troops.  And to remember those who have gone before that have provided us with our freedoms.  As far back as I can remember all the men in my family have served in the armed forces.  My country meant something to them, as it means something to me.

With this being Memorial Day I also decided to post some Patriotic theme quilt pictures.  All these quilts (and many more!) were made at Sew Fest last year by these lovely ladies:

A few of the ladies from QFC who attended Sew Fest 2013.  Sew Fest was held at Quilting on the Rim in Show Low, AZ.  A beautiful place set back in the trees in the White Mountains country of AZ.

I also want to thank the people who drop by and read my blog.  I hope you occasionally get a bit of inspiration.

I hope everyone has a nice Memorial Day and if you happen to know a veteran or active duty service person, please remember to tell them thank you.

Katie

Why?????

This is what I was asking myself this morning as I was reading some blogs.  Why do I keep a blog (I don’t post often)?  When I first started my blog it was a way of keeping a record of the quilts and miscellaneous that I created.  It was a way of connecting to others with the same interest as myself.  Now, why do I keep a blog??  I really don’t know – again, I don’t post often.  I do occasionally connect with someone with the same interest.  I doubt I post anything that is inspirational to others.  I don’t post tutorials (though I’ve actually written many for QFC).

Why do I read blogs?  That question was easy for me to answer.  I do enjoy seeing what others are doing.  Then I thought about how many often I read a blog and how often I comment.  I don’t comment very often!  So… with thinking that, I am wondering how many read my blog but don’t comment either…..  SO,  now my question is – do you feel you’re blogging for nothing if you don’t receive comments?????  Do you blog for yourself or for recognition from others?  Do you blog to keep friends and family up to date with what you’re doing?  Do you blog for financial gain?

And yes I did ask myself all those questions and my answer is- I blog for myself!  I hope that what I write, the pictures I post might be of some interest to someone.  I do hope that someone might find inspiration in a picture I’ve shown or something I’ve written.  I could care less about financial gain because I really dislike ads on blogs and therefore don’t want them on mine.  As for family & friends reading my blog – I truly don’t know if any of them do…. I keep in touch by email, phone calls, etc….

Oh, dear… should I leave a post pictureless???   No, I think not.

Cathy B. from QFC (Quilters for Comfort) sent me this Hexie medallion.  She had received it from another member who due to health issues is no longer able to quilt / sew.  What to do with this???  I decided to applique it to the white background.  Add a sawtooth border and start it out as a Round Robin among the QFC ladies.  5 other ladies will add to this and when completed it will be donated to a Veteran facility.  I am anxious to see what the other ladies add…

Katie

Maybe I should give up quilting…….

Not sure if it would be quilting or quilt making….  I was trying to think about the last time I actually chose ( or created my own ) quilt to make.   It’s been awhile.  I’ve been given all those quilts to finish for charity, I’m sent blocks to assemble for the QFC (Quilters for Comfort) selected charity, I’m sent quilt tops to quilt ( and finish ) for QFC…. But to actually do my own – start to finish – yep, it’s been awhile.  I think it’s time for me to change that – now to decide on who will get the quilt and I actually have someone in mind.  I have dear friends and she’s received ‘her’ quilt several years ago but I’ve never made one for him.  He has a Native American heritage and I’m thinking I will make one for him along that theme.  His birthday is in August and I’m thinking that would be perfect…

I have just finished quilting a very important quilt:

This quilt was made by Cathy B. from QFC.  We have a very active member who was in a very serious car accident and has a very long road of healing and rehab ahead of her.  We put a ‘shout out’ on the Yahoo group site for embroidered angels or hearts (applique was okay, too) and a quilt would be made for Sheryl B.  Isn’t this beautiful?  Cathy did an amazing job.  All the angels went on the front and the few hearts we received  I assembled into the back.  I also made the label with the dedication to Sheryl and the members who sent blocks as part of the backing:

This quilt was definitely a group effort and I couldn’t be prouder of the ladies from QFC.   I hope Sheryl will feel the love and the prayers for her when she receives this.

On the general nonsense scene – My dear granddaughter, Kari, is home for the summer and I’m hoping to spend some sewing and other quality time with her.  She was hoping to find summer employment, but so far nothing has opened up for her.  She did really well her first year in college and I’m so very proud of her.  She’s turning into an amazing woman.

My youngest granddaughter, Tiffani, who is now 4 years cute, told me the other day while we were shopping for Barbie doll clothes patterns that she is now old enough to sew and she would help me make her doll’s clothes.  I’m thinking eyelet fabric and weaving ribbon through the holes for now…

The dear friends I mentioned earlier in this post?  Well, they just bought a house in the little town here where I live and will be moving here by the end of June.  They currently live on small acreage which has become too much for them to maintain and decided it was time to downsize.  They wanted a small town and decided to move here.  They actually lived here 35 years ago when the mine was in production – which is how we met.  The house needs some minor work and my hubby and me will be there helping out.   Beyond excited to have them close again.  When they moved to Tucson (60 miles away) from Colorado I was excited and figured we’d get to spend a lot of time together.  Well, with her work schedule and mine (when I was working), we rarely saw one another.  I’ve seen her more in the last couple weeks than the entire 8 years they’ve been in Tucson! 

Anyway, looks like I’ll have a busy next couple months and I will try to remember to get on here and post…..

Hope everyone is safe from storms and wild fires. 

Until next time….

Katie

no quilting

Got some sewing done, but nothing quilt related.   I wanted to make a bag.  Sort of like a cosmetic bag shape – but bigger.  Spent a couple days figuring out a size I’d like, drafting the pattern and then sewing it together:

I really like  the fabrics I chose.  I used a fusible fleece on the outside fabric and a medium weight fusible interfacing on the lining.  I like the firmness of the bag with the exception of the top.  It tends to want to sag in.  I’m thinking if I make this again, I will figure out a way to insert small tubing in the curved seam lines.   And now that it’s done, I’m not sure how I’ll use it….

Then I came across this a while back when reading quilting blogs.  And while I was in a creative mood decided to give it a go:

I liked the little pockets across the belly.  To give it some stability I used the poly beads in the bottom.  I made a little pouch – sort of like a bean bag – to keep the beads from shifting.  The white yarn I added to be able to close the wings:

I didn’t get the wings positioned quite right, so they’re a little ‘funky’.  I’ve decided this is a little guy and will be my sewing buddy.  He makes me smile…..

Maybe this week, I’ll work on some quilting stuff…..

Katie

Left overs and orphans

Before I cut fabric to make a quilt, I always try the pattern first using scraps.  Therefore, I have orphans.  And then there is the figuring out if I’ve cut the right size.  Sometimes when  I’m working out a new technique that I’ve seen or a new block, I try to figure it out on my own and end up with odd size units.  Or, I will make too many of one unit and have the left overs.  So what to do with these?  Now I love scrappy quilts but most of the time these orphans and left overs are so different in colors, not to mention sizes and shapes, a quilt would simply look junky (in my opinion) if I put them all together. I decided to put a backing on the frame, use my scraps of batting and just lay these units and blocks down and quilt.  It gave me an opportunity to play with some quilting designs, too…

The ones down the left hand side I added some Insulbright batt to them and I’m using them as hot pads in the kitchen.  The blue/pink has embroidery on it and I thought it was too pretty to be used as a hot pad, so it went into my bath to add a touch of color.  The pink/green pieces I’m using as runners – as well as the small squares piece on the bottom.  The smaller unit pieces I’m using as coasters.  I have quite a few more leftovers and orphans but these are what fit on the piece of fabric I used for backing.  The larger pieces I did use a binding to finish the edges, on the coasters, I used a satin stitch around the edges.  A bit of a tip here:  I like to use a stabilizer when doing satin stitch around the edges.  I have the embroidery machine so I have used tear-away and water soluable stablizers.  I think the pieces simply feed through the machine better..

So, what do you do with your left overs and orphans???

Katie

If you like pictures…..

I know many times a picture is what draws me in to read a blog.  I love seeing what others are creating.  There is so much talent in the world and I am so bad about sharing pictures – shame on me. 

In my last post I told you about the quilts I received from Barb J.  Here’s a small sampling of those quilt that need to be completed:

		Samplings VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

I’m assuming that the Horse head center, the strip and the jelly roll quilt tops were done by Barb herself.  You can see from the others how rough the edges are.  Here is a before and after of one of the quilts I bordered and finished:

There was several different chicken print fabrics in this quilt and I just happen to have that chicken fabric in my stash so it worked out really well.  I did just a simple quilting on this and I like that it gave a bit of texture to the quilt.

On the QFC front, I’ve been receiving Preemie blankets from some of the ladies.  Here’s a sampling (with a couple close ups) of those:

		Preemie blankets VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

These little blankets measure 14” X 19”.  Just enough to cover those tiny babies and help keep them warm.  Whenever I make one of these, I think of what a parent might be going through with having a baby so very small fighting for it’s life.  I hope the little quilt/blanket gives that parent a bit of a smile and I say a quick little prayer for the health of the child who the quilt will cover….

And… Pillowcases – a few of these have been sent out, too:

These were made from the kits that Barb J. put together.  And these:

are from fabrics I had in my stash…

I hope you enjoyed the pictures.  Now let’s see if I can remember to take (and post) pictures more often…

Katie

Happy Day

It’s been a while since I blogged.  Lately it seems like I’ve been meeting myself coming as I’m going.  I did get some finishes:

I know, not the best pictures with the sunlight hitting them directly.  When I first hung them up, it was cloudy.  Naturally, by the time I started snapping pictures, here was the sun… These tops were made by June F. (QFC member). 

My niece has finally moved down here to Prescott (from WA) to help her mom, so there is not going to be as much running back and forth to help the sister-in-law now.  Niece is not in the best of health either, but her just being here seems to help. 

I spent last week in CA at Disneyland with my son and family.  Always a good time but I’m thinking I’ll be getting up close and personal with my orthopedic doctor soon.  I’ve had my left knee giving me fits for a couple years now whenever I do extended walking and this time at Disney was the worst.  Time to get it fixed (if it can be fixed) so I’m ready for next year!

Met up with a QFC member in Phoenix.  She was in from Las Vegas for the weekend and due to health issues has had to curtail some of her sewing.  She brought me almost 100 quilt tops to distribute among the QFC group for finishing.  Some are roughly done due to having been done through a community service project, but all are usable.  She also had fabric put together to make pillowcases, which is another QFC project.  I felt like I hit the jackpot for QFC !  A big THANK YOU goes out to Barb J.

I’m thinking (hoping) life will start slowing down a little bit here on the home front.  The temps are in the mid 80’s here in AZ and I’m thinking it’s almost time to set up a sewing machine on the back porch for some sewing outside.  I love to sew outside! 

Hope all is well and that spring is showing it’s face where you are.

Katie