KatyQuilts

Design Wall Monday

Posted on November 2, 2015 by katyquilts

I have the shirting quilt loaded on the frame,. Now to decide how to quilt it.

Once again, I’ve been playing with my Adobe Ideas app on my iPad.

These are 8 inch blocks. I really want to get the quilting on this finished today.

I received these in the mail over the weekend:

Julie at Intrepid Thread issued a challenge to make something, anything with these fabrics and post progress shots on Instagram. These are not my normal color choices and I thought this would be a fun little challenge. So I’m going to open that mini charm pack today and start thinking on this.

Linking up with Patchwork Times, Cooking Up Quilts

Posted in Uncategorized | 6 Comments

Slow Stitching Sunday

Posted on November 1, 2015 by katyquilts

I think I am finally starting to feel rested up from my trip home to see my family. I spent very little time at all sewing while I was gone. I only managed to get a few hexies basted.

That’s it. I added a couple to the center of my Brinton Hall quilt last night and hope to add another hexie medallion to it today.

It was a hard trip in some ways, but quite wonderful in others. My kids and I surprised my parents by having them all show up at their house over the weekend. All my siblings live in Wisconsin, but two of my kids and I live in Michigan and my other kids live in Arizona. It was quite a party! My mom is still in the rehab facility recovering from her knee replacement; happily, she was able to come home during the day on Saturday and Sunday. My dad is currently dealing with chemo. It was tiring for them to have so many of us around at the same time, but also an encouragement for them to see how much they are loved. Little E from Michigan and Little L from Arizona also came so this was one happy Nana! Here are just a few pics from the weekend. Daughters #1, #2, and #3.

#1 Son and yours truly.

Little L and Little

On the last night there, my dad and I made a pie together.

And here is a picture of my siblings and me.

I hope you all have a restful day and that you are able to get some stitching in.

Linking up with Kathy’s Quilts

Posted in Life | 19 Comments

October/November Goals

Posted on October 31, 2015 by katyquilts

I don’t want to freak anyone out but there are only 7 more Fridays before Christmas….yikes! I need to get planning! Especially since we have another grandbaby due before then!

But before I get ahead of myself, here is my list of goals for October:

Finish the Tree quilt for my sister. Done and delivered!
Finish the Downton Abbey quilt. Done!
Time to get going on the baby dinosaur quilt for our newest grandson due in just 9 weeks! Done! I will show the finished quilt next Friday.
Get my 6 Brinton Hall Medallions together. Not Done. In fact, I didn’t get anything done on this on my trip. So this is where it is at right now.

I also finished the Calendar quilt so I can mark that off my UFO list.

I made this table top quilt.

I made some mug rugs.

And a small quilt/hot pad for my sister.

And I finally got this top from my UFO list pieced.

Now to plan for November….

I want to finish the shirting quilt I started for Baby E.
I would like to get the pink and green top shown above quilted and finished.
Quilt any QOV tops that come in.
Make new Christmas stockings for Baby L and Baby E.
Get my Brinton Hall Medallion together!

I really should consider finishing (starting?) my Christmas shopping!

Posted in Finishes, Goals | 8 Comments

Embroidery Anyone?

Posted on October 31, 2015 by katyquilts

When I got home from work on Thursday, this was on my doorstep!

It seems that my hubby has been doing some online shopping while I was away! I have a Singer CE-200 embroidery machine that he bought me for Christmas a number of years ago. He was rather intrigued and asked me to show him how to use it before I left on my trip. While using it, he decided that I needed an upgrade. So here is a Singer XL-580.

And yes, there is a definite difference in both the software and the machine. Here is Mr. Wonderful trying out the new machine.

This machine comes with some digitizing software called Auto Punch. We found a Cookie Monster image online and digitized it using Auto Punch.

At one point, we removed the hoop and put it back in and I think that is why there is some misalignment. With a little bit of work, this could be a fun, useable design.

I have to work this morning. I can’t wait to come home and see what else he has learned. He is way ahead of me at this point! Maybe this machine was for him and not me? I’m good with that!

Have a great day!

Linking up with Quilt Shop Gal

Posted in Machine Embroidery, Uncategorized | 10 Comments

Finish It Up Friday – The Tree Quilt

Posted on October 30, 2015 by katyquilts

The second sister quilt is done! This quilt surely did not want to cooperate for pictures! It took three outings to get any photos at all to use. Even then, my only straight shot of the whole thing had to be done in the house. Here it is along with an avalanche of shots.

  I quilted the initials of my sister and her husband into the trunk along with the year of their marriage.   I quilted the names of their children into the branches.


All quilting was done freehand with Glide thread. I used 80/20 Pellon Legacy batting.

I was able to give this to her in person last weekend. I think she liked it!

Linking up with Crazy Mom Quilts, Richard and Tanya Quilts, Confessions of a Fabric Addict, A Quilted Passion

Posted in Finishes, Free Motion Quilting | 27 Comments

I’m back!

Posted on October 29, 2015 by katyquilts

I got in last night from visiting my family. I have a full work days head today so here are pictures of a quick little project that I finished just before I left. This is for my sister who has chickens.

I made this block ages ago and ran across it last week. So it didn’t take long at all to turn it into a large hot pad.

Here is a picture of my Little L visiting one of her chickens that is being held by my awesome nephew.

He was not quite sure what to make of it!

Have a great day!

Posted in Uncategorized | 7 Comments

Blogger’s Quilt Festival ~ Little Sister Quilt

Posted on October 23, 2015 by katyquilts

Here is my second entry into the Fall 2015 BQF. It is my Little Sister quilt and it is entered into the Small Quilt Category.

I used some leftover blocks from a larger quilt that I made for my older sister that can be seen here.

I had a lot of fun with the quilting on this one! It was my first time using curved crosshatch, but it won’t be the last. I also firmly believe that one can never have too many feathers on a quilt!

And here is a look at the back:

I hope you enjoyed seeing my Little Sister Quilt. Check out the other entries in the Fall 2015 Blogger’s Quilt Festival here.

Posted in BQF | 13 Comments

Blogger’s Quilt Festival! ~ Scrappy Lattice Quilt

Posted on October 23, 2015 by katyquilts

It is that time of year again! I love the Blogger’s Quilt Festival hosted by Amy over at Amy’s Creative Side. This is my entry into the Scrappy category…..my Scrappy Lattice quilt.

You may remember that I made this mostly from my stash of Denyse Schmidt scraps. I couldn’t bear to throw any of them away! I showed how I used my die cutter to create the scrappy rectangles for this quilt in this post . I also explain there how I drafted the pattern.

I had a lot of fun quilting all these feathers!

I used a solid on the back and I am glad I did! I really love how the quilting shows.

I hope you enjoyed seeing my Scrappy Lattice quilt! I loved every bit of making this. Hop over to the Blogger’s Quilt Festival to vote for your favorites!

Posted in BQF, Uncategorized | 8 Comments

Finish It Up Friday – The Calendar Quilt

Posted on October 23, 2015 by katyquilts

This UFO has been a long time in the finishing. I made these blocks as a block a day exercise back in May of 2010. I made up a few rules for myself. Each block would finish at 5 inches and I could only use solids. Each block should in some way represent that day. You can read more about this project here. Looking back now, I don’t even remember what some of these meant! Other memories are crystal clear. Like the day Daughter #1 returned from her study abroad trip to India, the day I received mail from Daughter #3 while serving in AmeriCorps, a camping trip, a day at the beach, an excursion to a favorite museum etc.

May 1st of that year fell on a Saturday. I placed my blocks in “weeks” that are vertical rather than horizontal. So the first block is the little blue ladder in the lower left hand corner.

I used a variegated green thread to quilt this in approximately parallel lines about 1/4 inch apart. I used two different colors of gray thread in the bobbin.

I quilted one of my favorite quotes from Ralph Waldo Emerson in the border: “The years teach much which the days never know.”

Here are a few detail shots.

The finished quilt measures 30″ x 40.” It is a very personal piece and will hang in my sewing room. It reminds me to count the days.

Linking up with Crazy Mom Quilts, Richard and Tanya Quilts, Confessions of a Fabric Addict

Posted in Art Quilts, Finishes, Uncategorized | 10 Comments

Throwback Thursday

Posted on October 22, 2015 by katyquilts

I don’t know if I have ever shared this quilt that I made back in 2000. It was definitely pre-blogging days. As you probably know by now, I love the look of applique, but it generally isn’t “my thing.” So this quilt might be a bit surprising to you! It is in fact, all done by machine. The stems are top stitched down and the flowers and leaves were basted over freezer paper and then blind stitched by machine with monofilament thread.

I machine quilted this on my Singer 201. I used a stencil to mark the feathers in the borders but I didn’t know how to turn the corners, so I added these corner blocks. They ended up being one of my favorite things about this quilt.
I quilted a half inch crosshatch over the center, again with monofilament thread. The proportions of this are a bit odd, but I love that about it too. It is quirky, definitely has a folk art feel, mostly due to my inability to master anything more complicated! These applique shapes are about as simple as you can get. I just cut a bunch of pieces out of freezer paper and plopped them down on the background.