Country Roads QAL and Hickory Stick in Hannibal, Missouri 

Posted on September 15, 2015 by katyquilts

Part 1 of the Country Roads QAL hosted by Humble Quilts was posted yesterday. In between errands and waiting for a package delivery, I managed to get that part done. 


One of my strip sets was too short and another too long. So one of my 4 patches ended up like this. 

 

Hubby and I spent a few hours in Hannibal, Missouri on the way home from visiting family.  It is a delightful little town and is quite proud to be the home of Mark Twain. On the far left side of this picture, is the Hickory Stick Quilt Shop. 

It is a lovely shop and much bigger than it appears from the outside. I hit the clearance section and came away with some bargains! 

  
I also found this fun shopping bag with newspaper “articles” about quilters. 

  Here is hubby painting the fence in front of Mark Twain’s home. 

The town has lots of antique shops. It was a fun place to stop and take a break. 

 

Linking up with Free Motion by the River

Posted in Fabric, Quilt Shops, Uncategorized | 10 Comments

Design Wall Monday

Posted on September 14, 2015 by katyquilts

Good Morning! I think I am finally recovered from traveling. I still have some laundry to do today. Hubby leaves tomorrow on another business trip. I don’t think I will do any redecorating this time!

One of my goals for this month was to design and cut out a quilt for my younger sister. I plan to use these fabrics. 

They came with this panel. 


The line is by Deb Strain for Moda and it is called Family Tree. I may put the tree on the back and I don’t plan to appliqué the birds on the branches as intended. Conveniently, this FQ bundle is about evenly split between lights and darks. I want a pattern that does not require borders and I would like to use up all of this bundle if possible. I’m considering a Jewel Box or Double 4 Patch pattern. But a tumbler would be good or maybe bricks…. If there is one thing that slows down my quilt making, it is making decisions!

Lori at Humble Quilts is starting another Quilt Along! I always enjoy these. She posted fabric requirements last week. I have mine ready to go. I think the first step will be posted today.

I only need one gold/cheddar but I haven’t yet decided which to go with. I pulled these from my tub of Civil War scraps. 


To give you an idea of scale, this tub is big enough to bathe a very cute baby in! 

 I finished my bow tie blocks for the swap hosted by Fun with Barb and will get them in the mail today. 

Linking up with Bits ‘n Bobs, Patchwork Times,  Love, Laugh, Quilt, and  Cooking Up Quilts

Posted in Design Wall Monday | 14 Comments

Slow Stitching Sunday ~ Quilts at the Marshall House

Posted on September 13, 2015 by katyquilts

I got quite a bit done on my Brinton Hall quilt while traveling. EPP sure takes a long time! I started working on the path and hope to get the first two medallions attached today. 

 

On our trip, we visited several quilt shops. The last one on our way home was Quilts at the Marshall House in Marshall, Michigan.  

I picked up another package of needles that had been recommended, a single FQ, and some cut paper pieces for more EPP! 

  

  

It will be a while before I get to these but I think EPP is a good trip project.

Linking up with Kathy’s Quilts for Slow Stitching Sunday

Posted in Brinton Hall, Civil War Repro Quilts, Hand piecing, Hexagons, Quilt Shops | 8 Comments

There’s No Place Like Home!

Posted on September 12, 2015 by katyquilts

We had a wonderful week but it is always good to come home! I left my lattice quilt on the frame so I would have something ready to go when I got back. I haven’t fully dealt with mail, laundry, and unpacking but I couldn’t wait to get a few stitches in.

I decided to do a freehand feather in the border but I was having a terrible time seeing where I was going! I ended up getting a desk lamp to sidelight the quilt and turning the room lights off. 

 


You can see here what happened with the machine lights on. 

I went with feathers and ribbon candy in the body of the quilt. 

  

It is slow going but I think it will be worth it. 

I’m off to spend time with Mr. Wonderful before he leaves on yet another business trip. Have a wonderful day!

 

Linking up with Pink Doxies

 

Posted in Free Motion Quilting, HQ Avante, Machine quilting | 11 Comments

Never Forget

Posted on September 11, 2015 by katyquilts

 
 if my people who belong to me will humbly pray, seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, forgive their sin, and heal their land. (‭2 Chronicles‬ ‭7‬:‭14‬ CEB)

Posted in Uncategorized | 9 Comments

Finish It Up Friday!

Posted on September 11, 2015 by katyquilts

Today I am going to show you the two baby quilts that I finished last week. I wanted to make a couple quick and bold quilts that would be suitable for boys.  Here is the flying geese quilt before washing. 


And after: 

  

 And a look at the back: 

 Here is the second quilt before washing. 

 And after: 

 I like the first one much better. Probably because the quilting is much tighter. I wanted them to be soft and my tendency is to overquilt. But I like it that way! 

I used Warm and White batting for both of these. It is a very flat batting. I think the quality is very good. I loved using this when I was still quilting on my domestic machine. However, now that I am long arming, I prefer something with a bit more loft. I am still looking for my favorite batting but I do prefer cotton poly blends. Hobbs 80/20 is good and I also like Pellon Legacy. But I am still looking ….

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

Posted in Baby Quilts, Finishes | 13 Comments

Throwback Thursday

Posted on September 10, 2015 by katyquilts

As I was rummaging through a closet looking for other things last week, I came across these two older quilts. This first one is about 8 years old or so. I think it will be perfect to hang in my office at work for fall. 

   

This was all improv pieced, no pattern available. It really make me think of pumpkin pie and cinnamon rolls! 

This next one was made with some of my earliest hand dyed fabrics. 

 It also shows some of my early free motion quilting on my trusty, old Singer 201. 

 This one appeared in this magazine. 

  

 Thanks for stopping by! 

Linking up with Krista Quilts for Throwback Thursday

Posted in Art Quilts, Throwback Thursday | 9 Comments

WIP Wednesday ~ Homestead Hearth

Posted on September 9, 2015 by katyquilts

We’ve been having a great time with family this week! I’ve even gotten some work on my Brinton Hall quilt while traveling. 


One of the hexie frames above still needs to be appliquéd to the background. I should get that done tomorrow. I have also started basting hexies for the path in between. 

We made a stop in Mexico, Missouri to visit Homestead Hearth, a shop I have ordered from several times. It was so worth the side trip!

   

One of the items I purchased was this package of needles. 


Oh, my goodness! What a difference a good needle can make! You all were so right! I will never use cheap needles again.

 I have ordered scrap bags from Homestead Hearth in the past and I purchased a few more when I was there. 

Each bag contains one pound of scraps. I purchased bags that had reproduction fabrics. They cost $9.00 each. I plan to use these for the scrappy hexies I will need for my Brinton Hall quilt.  

I also hit up their clearance room. I got a couple of these panels: 


A couple fat quarters: 

 

This Civil War panel: 

 

A bit of French General: 

And a couple bundles of yardage. Check out those prices!  


  I got 4 scrap packs and spent less than $60. We also made a detour to Missouri Star Quilt Company. I will share that loot another day!

Linking up with  Sew Fresh Quilts, Freshly Pieced

Posted in Quilt Shops, Uncategorized | 9 Comments

Quilts in the Wild

Posted on September 8, 2015 by katyquilts

Mr. Wonderful and I have hit a number of antique shops while traveling. Here are some of the quilts we spotted. None are coming home with me but it is fun to look! 

    
    
    
 
This next item was a bit of a surprise. I had to wonder about the maker! 

 
How about that skirt for your next formal party! It was all sewn from satins.  

 I wonder what we will find next!

Posted in Uncategorized | 7 Comments

DW Monday And Internet Envy

Posted on September 7, 2015 by katyquilts

I am not at home but I thought I would share what is on my design wall back home. I confess that I spent a few hours working exclusively on my Downton 4 patch instead of just working it as leaders/enders. I had some time before I left but didn’t want to start working on the quilt on the frame and I didn’t want to start a new project, so I sewed a few more blocks. Now I am up to 16 of 30. And I am liking it more with every block.

 

Have you ever started seeing something on Instagram or on blogs and started thinking you needed whatever it was you saw? A great FQ bundle perhaps or some new gadget. Well, I am not immune. For quite some time, I’ve noticed that many serious quilters love their Juki TL 2010Q machines. They are large straight stitch machines that stitch very fast. I started pricing them out and reading reviews here and there. I usually use one of my Featherweights for piecing. 


And I often use my vintage Bernina as well. But neither of them are all that fast. 

 I kept telling myself that I do not need another machine! Still I looked. It might not be any better than what I already have. This would be an expensive experiment in that case. 

The other day, I decided to pull out one of my vintage Singer 301s. I hadn’t used one for piecing in a long time.  

 

Guess what? This machine is fast and smooth! More so than I had remembered! 

I really don’t need another machine. I already have everything I could want and more. 

Problem solved. Envy gone. 

Linking up with Patchwork Times for DWMonday and Cooking Up Quilts for MCM

Posted in Uncategorized | 16 Comments