KatyQuilts

I made this quilt about ten years ago as a wedding quilt for my nephew and his wife.

It was quilted on m vintage 1955 Singer 201.

I love that wide feather in the border. I bought that stencil in a little quilt shop in he south of France. I would like to try using it with my long arm some day as it makes a pretty impressive feather, it is about 10 inches wide.

Her is another oldie that I made as a baby quilt for someone in years past. I have no idea who any more.

I would like to remake this one and quilt it differently.

Still having a great time with my kids and Baby L. Daughter #2 brought the grand dog over last night. She loves Baby L!

Last week I ran across a box of photos I had taken years ago of quilts I had made and long since forgotten about. I thought I might share a few this week since I am not sewing much. This one I must have made back in the mid 90’s.

It was made for a family friend. I still really like this quilt. Maybe I should made another!

The pictures here are photos of photos so the quality is not great.

I sure am enjoying my time with Baby L! Such a sweet little guy!

I so appreciate all the lovely comments and visits. This week I will continue to post but probably won’t respond to comments as I would like. I hope you understand. Snuggles with this guy are my priority!

I was nominated by Shirley at SIMPLESEW to participate in the Around the World Blog Hop! It is a fun idea and a way to follow the rabbit trail to discover new blogs. Each person answers four questions about themselves as a way of letting others who visit get to know them.

1.      What am I working on?

Hmmm…let’s see. I am working on a hexie project:

And  a Quilt of Valor:

And some pumpkin seed blocks:

And some shirting bits:

2.      How does my work differ from others in its genre?

This is the hardest question because I am pretty eclectic in style. I love and make modern quilts like this:

And this:

And this:

But I also love traditional quilts like this:

And this:

I love to use reproduction fabrics and real vintage fabrics also:

I also enjoy making art quilts like this:

And this:

And I am passionate about making quilts for our veterans via the Quilts of Valor Foundation like these:

So I really don’t fit any one category! I like nearly everything!

3.      Why do I write/create what I do?

I create because this is something God created me to do. I believe by exercising my creativity, I am giving glory to the One who gave it to me in the first place. I love to bless others with the work of my hands. Quilting and sewing is very meditative for me. I can hear God best in my sewing room. I talk to Him there.

I write my blog as a way of keep track of my quilting journey. It is also very motivational. I love to teach as well and it gives me a platform to do a wee bit of that also. I truly enjoy “meeting” other quilters around the world in this way.

4.      How does my writing/creating process work?

I see ideas for quilts pretty much everywhere! I have some sketch books where I sometimes commit ideas to paper! I get my best ideas by just playing with my fabrics and thinking, what if? I like to have several projects going at once because when I get stuck on one thing, I can start working on something else. Usually the answers to my sewing dilemmas come while working one a different project. I like to have a hand project, a piecing project and a quilting project at all times. Usually I have more than one of these. I am not bothered by UFOs, some projects need some closet time before they are ready to come to fruition. I do keep lists though so I have a pretty good idea of what needs to get done.

As far as writing, I usually blog just before bed or first thing in the morning. It helps me to think about what I have accomplished and what I need to work on next.

So there are my answers and it is time to pass on the nomination to (drumroll please!):

Deb of Quilts N Things Done by Betty Boop! Hop over to Debs and she will answer questions about her creative process next Monday, September 8th!

Deb is active in quilting quilts for QOVF. I came to know Deb via several quilting boards. She has a wealth of knowledge about quilting and is so very helpful with the hundreds (thousands?) of questions I have had. Thanks Deb! I can’t wait to see your post!

And Kathy at Empty Nest but Full Heart. Kathy and I have been following each other’s blogs for some time. She hand quilts and recently finished the most beautiful chevron quilt for her daughter. I can’t believe how fast she quilted this huge quilt all by hand!

You can see Kathy’s Around the World blog post next Monday as well.
 

I’m getting a bit if slow stitching in this week. First, the pumpkin seeds:

And also a little knitting. I grabbed this yarn on my way out the door on Friday.

I haven’t done any knitting in ages. It was a perfect plane project.

I am a very slow knitter and didn’t get very far but this will be a sock.

I am very much enjoying Baby L and his momma and daddy!

Linking up with Kathy for Slow Stitching Sunday.

Yesterday was a travel day. I had one delay but I still made my connecting flight so it was all good. I really love to fly! I always try to get a window seat. Mr. Wonderful upgraded my ticket so I had window seats all the way.

I have no idea why those green fields are circular or even what state they were in, but I think they are beautiful.

Someone got all dressed up to meet me at the airport!

I think he was wondering who this crazy lady was jabbering away at him on the way home!

Baby L is such a sweetheart and a very good baby. It was such a joy to read to him and rock him to sleep last night.

Time to go snuggle with my boy!

My sewing plan for yesterday was to finish taking apart shirts and finish the Quilt of Valor top. I got the shirts done but then I couldn’t resist cutting just a few!

Then I had to sew just a few.

Then I thought about an English Paper Piecing project.

This would be fun for my trip, right?

Good grief, I must focus! So much to do before I go!

Linking up with Kelly for Needle and Thread Thursday.

Amy over at 13 Spools started a link up called 10 Quilty Little Secrets. This is all about airing our dirty laundry regarding the quilty rules we break or ways in which our quilting goes against the current norms. This seemed like a fun idea. I also remember when I started quilting being rather afraid to share at quilt guild meetings and such because I was quite fearful of the quilt police! I have been sewing long enough that I no longer care. If something works for me, I will do it.  So here goes:

1. I like to hand piece and then machine quilt the hand pieced top.

2. I sometimes have twisted seam allowances in my tops and never go back and fix them.

3. I can’t stand cutesy things. You won’t find Heather Ross in my stash.

4. If I mess up a pattern, I rarely rip stitches, I would rather change the pattern.

5. I have used serger thread for piecing. My Featherweight really likes it. I have quilts I made more than 20 years ago and have not fallen apart under heavy use  even though I pieced them with serger thread.

6. I always iron things into submission with my iron on the highest setting with tons of steam.

7. I join my binding strips with a straight cut, never a bias cut.

8. I buy most of my fabric online but I am not a fabric snob. I will use anything that will get the job done and do what I want it to do. This doesn’t mean I use poly/cotton blends or questionable quality  material. I have bought some good stuff at the thrift shop.

9. I sometimes use sheets for quilt backs.

10. I hate jelly rolls.

First quilt, pieced with serger thread 26 years ago, washed hundreds of times. Still hasn’t fallen apart.

Head over to 13 Spools to see ever9one else’s dirty laundry. You know you want to!

It is turning out to be a crazy busy week around here! So much to do before I head out of town. The QOV top is getting closer to being done. I just have two more long seams and borders to add.

I did actually purchase fabric for a border for this way back when. Now I am not sure I like it all that much.

The colors match the hand dyed fabrics I used in the blocks quite well.

But it doesn’t look very patriotic. I like my QOVs to be patriotic. If I can’t find anything else in my stash, this will be it. I can’t justify the time or money to go shopping for border fabric when I already have something. Especially since I don’t see myself using this fabric for anything else.

I have gotten a few more shirts taken apart. I can’t wait until they are all pressed and I can start cutting. I am thinking that might not happen until I get home.

I still haven’t finished the binding of my little blue and brown 9 patch. It may be my travel project.

Housecleaning, more laundry, and some packing are on the agenda today before work so I better get to it!

Linking up with Lee at Freshly a Pieced for WIP Wednesday and Lorna at Sew Fresh Quilts for Let’s Bee Sewcial.

I haven’t made a Quilt of Valor in a few months and decided it was time to start something new. While digging through fabric, I found some 9 patch and rail fence blocks for a QOVF that I had set aside at least two years ago. I had to make a few more blocks to get enough. Maybe that is what stopped me.

I would like to get this top together before I leave the end of this week. It would be nice to come home to a top ready to quilt.

Yesterday was mostly spent canning with Daughter #1. We made salsa, tomato sauce, and spaghetti sauce.

I wish I had gotten a picture of all our jars together. I think we had over 30 jars by the time we finished.

Little man enjoyed time with grandpa and was good as gold.

Today is my long day at work. I need to get the laundry done since yesterday was spent canning. I hope to get a few rows together on the QOV. So much to do before I go!

Linking up with Connie at Free Motion By the River for Linky Tuesday.