KatyQuilts

My Quilt Ladder

Posted on April 28, 2015 by katyquilts

I spent time arranging my oldest quilts on my ladder yesterday. Our foyer is two stories tall and has the stairway in it. I was able to tilt the ten foot ladder towards the first landing to place the quilts in the top rungs. It is difficult to get good pictures in this tight space but here goes.

I covered each rung with old cotton dish towels so the quilts would not be in direct contact with the wood. It took longer than I thought to arrange and fold to size each quilt but I am so pleased with how it turned out!

Linking up with Free Motion by the River.

Posted in Antiques, Vintage Quilts | 17 Comments

Design Wall Monday

Posted on April 27, 2015 by katyquilts

I had a lovely weekend with the family that lives here in town. And yesterday I got a bit of sewing done as well. Have you seen the One Hour Baskets everyone seems to be making? KelbySews has offered a free tutorial and you can find all the details here. It is a great pattern, very easy to follow. Here is my version.

This will be part of a gift. The pattern called for fusible fleece but I didn’t have any so I quilted the outer layer using Warm and White batting. So mine took a bit longer than an hour. I am trying to figure out how to modify this pattern to make bigger baskets. I used canvas for the exterior and the lining.
In other non-news, I have the same QOV on my design wall this week.

I’m hoping I can at least finish the hourglass blocks for this today. I am also trying to decide how to quilt this next QOV. Isn’t it lovely?

Saturday we went to a bunch of area garage sales. I found something I have wanted for a long time, a vintage ladder to hang quilts on for the princely sum of $5!

It is ten feet long and this looks like the only place it will fit without cutting it down! I am loathe to do that. I will cover the rungs with muslin to keep the quilts from direct contact with the wood. I love that it has the makers name stenciled on the side.

It is in a good place to keep the quilts out of direct sunlight.

I have an extra day of work this week and am planning a trip home to visit my parents next week. That means I have a lot to get done today so I best get to it. Hope your week starts out wonderfully!

Linking up with Patchwork Times.

Posted in Uncategorized | 8 Comments

Anther QOV

Posted on April 26, 2015 by katyquilts

Last night, I finished quilting another Quilt of Valor. This top was made by Terri of the Stitching Sisters QOV group.

I quilted this one with a panto called Amaze Me from Urban Elementz. The next one is loaded on the frame but have another project to finish before I quilt it.

Have a wonderful Sunday!

Posted in Finishes, Pantographs, Quilt of Valor | 1 Comment

Finish It Up Friday!

Posted on April 24, 2015 by katyquilts

I am so excited to share my finished City Sampler with you! As you may recall, Daughter #1 gave me Tula Pink’s City Sampler book for my birthday. I started making blocks on March 18th. I finished the hand sewing of the binding on April 21st. Here is the book:

And here is my finished quilt!

I ended up making only 48 blocks. I would like to hang this in my office at work so it couldn’t get too big. I really had fun with the quilting. I used 9 different colors of thread, all ️Glide from FIL-Tec. Here are some detail shots:

I used some rulers and templates but most of this is freehand.

Before I take it to work, I am going to enjoy it in my sewing room for a while.

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

Posted in Finishes, Free Motion Quilting, Fresh Modern Quilts, Modern Quilts, Solids | 30 Comments

Throwback Thursday

Posted on April 23, 2015 by katyquilts

Since I don’t have any new interesting pictures, I thought I would share a few older quilts for a TBT post. This first album quilt was made from blocks I received as part of a friendship swap on AOL way back in 1995. Were any of you active on the quilting forums way back then? A few weeks ago as I was cuddled up on the couch with it, I thought I would do a search to see if I could again locate any of the people I had swapped with online. I found one lady on Instagram! I hand quilted this quilt so you know its old!

This next quilt is still one of my very favorites. I pieced, appliqued, and quilted this by hand in the late 1990’s.

It has been hanging in this same spot since we moved into this house in 2000! And I still love it there so I have no plans to move it.

This sampler quilt was started with some leftover Dear Jane block patterns from the local guild’s raffle quilt one year. A lady that had been involved in organizing it offered them to me and I started making blocks. I soon started making some of my own design and others that were not in the original Dear Jane book. Have I mentioned that I sometimes have a hard time following directions? LOL! I won a ribbon in a local show with it one year. I still love it. The M & K block is for my husband and I. The other block with letters represents my kids.

I hope you are enjoying a lovely spring day. Winter has come back to Michigan and I woke up to snow AGAIN!

Posted in Civil War Repro Quilts, Hand piecing, Hand quilting, Uncategorized | 6 Comments

WIP Wednesday

Posted on April 22, 2015 by katyquilts

I have another Quilt of Valor in the frame today. This was made by a member of the Stitching Sisters QOV group.

I am using a panto from Urban Elementz called Lightening. Not sure I am in love with it. You really can’t tell if you will love a panto or not until you use it.

I finished this one yesterday, also by a SS member.

And here is a shot of the back. It is actually a solid black.

And since today is her birthday, I will share once again the reason I started making QOVs. My beautiful Daughter #3 on the day she graduated from basic training. I wish I could spend the day with her, but since I cannot, I will work on QOVs for her brother and sisters in arms.

Linking up with Freshly Pieced and So Fresh Quilts.

Posted in Finishes, Pantographs, Quilt of Valor | 3 Comments

Tuesday

Posted on April 21, 2015 by katyquilts

I never seem to get as much done as I would like on my Mondays off from the day job. I did finish quilting and the machine sewing of the binding on the city sampler. And hubby has clean clothes.

I should get the hand sewing done this week. I also got a QOV loaded on the frame.

This scrappy stars top was made by Joan. She is a master at using scraps. She takes bits that I would pass up and turns them into something stunning!

I want to have eyes that see like Joan does. Not just for fabric, but for people. To see potential where others just see problems. After all, this is how my Heavenly Father sees me. I have a job that allows me to meet people from all different walks of life every day. I confess that too often, I see problems rather than potential. My prayer this week is that God will help me to see people like Joan sees scraps.

Linking up with Free Motion by the River.

Posted in Uncategorized | 8 Comments

Design Wall Monday

Posted on April 20, 2015 by katyquilts

Good morning! This is what is on my design wall today.

It should have been a completed top by now, but I worked on my city sampler this weekend instead.

I am nearing the end of the quilting! Hope to share this with you on Friday as a finish.

I have a few appointments to attend to today, but I am hoping to finish the hourglass blocks, the city sampler quilting and binding, and get another Quilt of Valor loaded. There is also that looming laundry pile…..

Linking up with Patchwork Times for Design Wall Monday.

Posted in Uncategorized | 8 Comments

Thread Storage

Posted on April 18, 2015 by katyquilts

Good Morning! I hope it is as lovely where you are as it is here! Spring seems to have finally arrived! I mentioned earlier that I went down to Ikea with Daughter #1 last Monday. I didn’t come home empty handed :). I purchased a drawer organizer to use with some of my thread. This is all the miscellaneous thread that I have collected. As I cleaned this drawer out, I did throw out some questionable stuff that had crept in over the years.

These thread racks hold my embroidery machine thread as well as cotton thread for piecing and domestic machine quilting.

The storage in this cabinet is still a work in progress. I recently cleaned out one side cupboard to house my long arm quilting thread.

The bottom of the cabinet holds my cones of thread.

The top holds bobbins, mostly Magna Glide pre-wound bobbins from Fil-Tec.

I am hoping to place another thread order soon so I may have to rearrange again!

Happy Saturday!

Posted in Storage, Thread, Uncategorized | 4 Comments

Finish It Up Friday

Posted on April 17, 2015 by katyquilts

My finish for the week was the quilting on this QOV. The top was made by Sue from the Stitching Sisters a QOV group.

Here is the back.

The quilting doesn’t show at all! I used Glide thread and Pellon Legacy 80/20 batting. Sue used the pattern that I shared in this post. Here is my version.