KatyQuilts

DWMonday ~ Gee’s Bend…or Not…

Posted on September 5, 2016 by katyquilts

Several years ago, I found this quilt kit at a store called Tuesday Morning. You know I couldn’t leave it there! Even though, I was not going to make this quilt. It would only ever look like a poor copy of a Gee’s Bend quilt to me.

These are the fabrics that came in the kit. They are gorgeous!

I am not totally clear on where I am headed with this yet. But I cut some triangles before I left town.

And pieced a few geese to get started.

I think I am going to have a lot of fun playing with this!

Have a great day.

Linking up with Em’s Scrap Bag, Love Laugh Quilt, Cooking Up Quilts, Patchwork Times

Posted in Design Wall Monday, Uncategorized | 21 Comments

Slow Stitching Sunday & My Week in AZ

Posted on September 4, 2016 by katyquilts

I’m flying home today. I have had a wonderful trip, but it is always hard to say good bye. I am looking forward to some more slow stitching on my daisy blocks today. I now have 13 of 20 finished!

I got some machine sewing done while staying at Daughter #2’s house as well. Here is my little sewing set up in her bedroom.

I finished the blocks for my 16 patch quilt and got them all sewn together. This will need to have borders added to make it big enough for a Quilt of Valor.

I also got the blocks of this ancient UFO put together with sashing and cornerstones. I have the borders at home ready to be added.

I hand pieced these blocks ages ago. Right now, this measures about 36 inches square.

I visited my favorite fabric shop, SAS Fabrics in Phoenix. I came in under budget this time! I will show you what I purchased later this week.

A big highlight of my trip, was meeting up with a bloggy friend, Zenia!

Zenia blogs over at A Quilted Passion and I have followed her blog for some time. She lives only a mile or so away from Son #1. I’m so glad we were finally able to connect! She is every bit as lovely in person as I expected her to be from her blog and our e-mails. I also got to see her lovely sewing room. It is beautiful! This won’t be the last time we get together.

I also had the pleasure of meeting Kelly (@mommaneo on IG). Kelly is a newer quilter (so they say!), but she just finished the loveliest quilt top that makes me slightly sceptical on that point! She is clearly well on her way to great stuff!

And because they are so cute, here are some pics of my sweet grand dogs, Winnie and Bambi.

And finally, two of the cutest and sweetest little boys God ever made!

I appreciate all of your patience with my lack of response to comments. As you can see, I had lots of good things to claim my attention!

Linking up with Kathy’s Quilts

Posted in Uncategorized | 19 Comments

A Different Kind of Fiber Art ~ Shoes

Posted on September 3, 2016 by katyquilts

Fiber Art is a term that can cover a multitude of types from knitting, needlepoint, quilting, weaving etc….. I am calling this one fiber art because it is painting on canvas shoes…..and it is most definitely art!

I recently contacted a young friend of mine and asked her if she could paint some shoes with a Frozen theme. They were to be a gift.

My friend was up for the challenge and she did an amazing job!

I just had to share her handiwork with you.

Aren’t they gorgeous? I can’t believe they started out as plain white shoes!

The gift has been given and there is one very happy little Frozen fan in the world today!

Have a great day!

Posted in Uncategorized | 6 Comments

Finish It Up Friday ~ Quilts of Valor

Posted on September 2, 2016 by katyquilts

Since I am out of town, I saved up some of the Quilts of Valor that I have recently quilted for our Stitching Sisters QOV group to share with you today. I love them all!

This first one was made by Kathy. She took part in the recent Mystery Quilts 4 Military QAL.

This one was made by Terri. I have seen versions of this online and was so glad to see one in person! It’s a great pattern.

This top was made by Lori. Ohio Stars are always fun!

If you would like to learn more about the Quilts of Valor Foundation, click here.
Linking up with Confessions of a Fabric Addict, Crazy Mom Quilts, Sew Can She

Posted in Finishes, Quilt of Valor, Uncategorized | 8 Comments

Gwennie Inspired Medallion Quilt Along Round 4 Reveal!

Posted on September 1, 2016 by katyquilts

It’s that time again! I am so excited for this month’s reveal!

You may remember that I got to choose the theme for this round and I chose stars.

This is what my medallion looked like before adding my stars:

And here it is after!

It sure has grown a lot with the addition of that last round. It ended up looking a bit washed out in the pictures I took outside.

It is now about 50 inches square. I really enjoyed making these little improv stars, but that middle part is still looking a bit too empty. I should do something about that before it grows any more.

Speaking of growing, it is time to announce the theme for the final round. Wendy over at The Constant Quilter is choosing our theme for the fifth and final round. And you will never guess what she has chosen….

Go ahead…try! I laughed out loud when I found out!

Here is what Wendy had to say:

Being from Maine, my theme choice for the final border is “Something Fishy”

As with those who have gone before me (Lori, Cynthia, Cathy and Katy), you can interpret this as loosely as you like.

Hahahaha! This is so awesome! Head over to her blog for more details.

And it is also time to link up your progress. Even if you are not up to date, link up anyway! We all want to see what you are working on! Lori at Humble Quilts is kindly hosting the link up for us today. Head on over to share your progress and to see that of the other participants!

Have a great day!

Posted in Gwennie inspired Medallion QAL, Gwennie QAL, Uncategorized | 29 Comments

Throwback…..Wednesday?

Posted on August 31, 2016 by katyquilts

Tomorrow is a rather big bloggy day around here, it will be the reveal for the 4th round of the Gwenny Inspired QAL. So in light of that, I decided to post a Throwback Wednesday edition here today.

You all know that I do lots of quilting for Quilts of Valor. I also used to do lots of piecing for them! The following quilts are some of the very first QOVs that I made. I pieced the tops and did the quilting myself.

I pulled out and used up lots of red, white, and blue stash on these!

I made these when Daughter #2 was serving her first deployment back in 2012. Time is a funny thing. It seems like a long time ago and yet it feels like just yesterday!

Linking up with A Quarter Inch from The Edge (link up starts on Thursday).

Posted in Quilt of Valor, Throwback Thursday | 6 Comments

16 Patch Questions

Posted on August 30, 2016 by katyquilts

PSA: I just read my email from Missouri Star and this very same jelly roll is the Daily Deal for today! This is only good for August 30th, 2016.

I had a couple questions about my 16 patch blocks that I posted. I will try to answer them here. First, the blocks finish at 8 inches (8 1/2 inches unfinished). My jelly roll only had 40 strips, so I cut another couple strips from stash. I will set my blocks 6 by 7 so it will be 48 by 56 inches before borders. Quilts of Valor must be at least 55 by 65 inches, and I prefer to make them bigger than that.

When I made my blocks, I paired up a light strip and a dark strip and stitched them together.

Then I cut these strip sets in half and stitched the two halves together lengthwise. This gave me a strip set approximately 21 inches long with four strips, light dark, light dark. I sub cut this into 2 1/2 inch strips .

I got enough of these strips to make two blocks from each combination. I hope this makes sense. My blocks are all done and I have nothing left over here to give a better demonstration with. I promise it is easier than it sounds! If there is interest, I can make up a tutorial when I get home. I am happy to say that I did get my blocks sewn together last night.

I hope that answers all the questions! Thank you for taking the time to comment. I have been too busy with these handsome little guys to answer.

Have a great day!

Linking up with The Quilting Room with Mel

Posted in Uncategorized | 7 Comments

August/September Goals

Posted on August 30, 2016 by katyquilts

Time to look back at my goals for the last month and make some plans for this month!

1. I want to get that darn EPP mini done! I’m sick of it! Done!

2. I want to finish the Twist blocks and get that top done. Done! And the quilting is even done! Time to bind!

3. I want to finish the Mystery Quilt 4 Military that Alycia has hosted over on the Yahoo Group. Done!

And delivered! To my cousin, Dan, who served in the Marines during Vietnam.

4. Finish the next round of my Gwenny inspired Medallion quilt. It would be embarrassing to have chosen the theme and not have my part done! Done! But all I can give is a sneak peek. Come back on September 1st for the reveal!

5. I have a denim jacket that I purchased and I want to machine embroider it. The biggest thing keeping me from this project is fear. Plain and simple. That darn embroidery machine scares me still! Not done!

6. Quilt any QOVs that come in. Done! I got 7 quilted this month. I will share these over the next two Fridays.

What else did I get done this month?

I made Grant & Lee. Sounds impressive, but the 9 patches have been done for two years, so this was a fairly quick finish.

I quilted this lap quilt for a friend.

I made these two minis.

And this journal cover.

And on to September! Such a lovely month….I want to:

Finish the last round of the Gwennie Inspired medallion QAL.
I want to get working on this UFO:
I want to start piecing this quilt:
Finish my swap blocks.
Finish my 16 patch top.
Bind the Twist quilt.
Finish the applique on the vintage daisy blocks.

That’s probably enough, since I also have two trips!

Have a great day!

Linking up with Free Motion by the River

Posted in Finishes, Goals | 6 Comments

DWMonday ~ 16 patch Quilt of Valor

Posted on August 29, 2016 by katyquilts

Missouri Star Quilt Company e-mails are dangerous. They have daily deals that are tempting! But handy. I ordered this jelly roll recently and it arrived the day before I went to the QOV sew day.

I like these Robert Kauffman rolls, they don’t have the pinked edges! I needed something to work on at the sew day and this arrived just in time. As soon as it arrived, I knew it would make a perfect 16 patch quilt for a QOV. Honestly, I didn’t get much done that day, I was too busy talking, I guess! I did pair up my strips and got a few sewn.

This is one of the blocks.

I will alternate dark red and dark blue blocks like this.

I love 16 patch quilts. They are fun and easy. I brought these along to work on while dog sitting as well. I got the blocks done and have had lots of help laying them out!

Time to go walk some doggies and snuggle some babies.

Linking up with Em’s Scrap Bag, Love Laugh Quilt, Cooking Up Quilts, Patchwork Times

Posted in Design Wall Monday, Quilt of Valor, Uncategorized | 18 Comments

Slow Stitching Sunday ~ More Daisies

Posted on August 28, 2016 by katyquilts

Thank you all for the suggestions regarding needles and thread for this project. I ended up using pearl cotton in size 8 and a chenille needle (can’t remember the size).