For lack of Vision….

Posted on March 31, 2015 by katyquilts

Remember these?  

I came across them last night while rummaging around in the sewing room. I started them a couple years ago. Got bored. Put them away. Got them out again when Aunt Marti from 52 Quilts announced her block a day for winter. I kept up well until an unexpected trip home in January. Once I knew I would not make the goal of one a day through the winter season, working on them lost the appeal. I have 51 completed blocks.  

I realized the reason I am not motivated to get back to work on these, is because I have no plan, no vision for what they will become. No final number of blocks, at which point, I can call this done. I need a goal, a finish line. With my City Sampler blocks, I am done at 100. I have 25 done and 75 to go. I don’t need to finish them tomorrow or next week, but I know that after making 75 more, I will be done.

Proverbs 29:18 says, My people perish for lack of vision. Okay, a stack of blocks is not the end of the world, no one is dying here! But this is so true with so many things. We know walking daily is good for us but I need a pedometer to count my steps so I can get to the magic 10,000 steps. Why am I like this? Lots to ponder here.

Back  to quilting. I decided that I would set these 8 x 8. There are plenty of design possibilities with this number of blocks. So I need 64 blocks total. A do-able number. I have 13 more to finish.IMG_2482

I can do this. The end is in sight. I may not get them done this week, but now I have a goal. Sadly, it won’t make much of a dent in this pile!IMG_2490

Linking up with Free Motion by the River for Linky Tuesday.

Posted in Civil War Repro Quilts, Goals, Uncategorized | 11 Comments

Design Wall Monday

Posted on March 30, 2015 by katyquilts

In between comfort quilts and QOVs, I have continued to work on my City Sampler blocks.  I am up to 25 now. 

I got two done just now while this little guy is napping. 

Here is one of the shelter quilts I worked on this weekend. 

  

My thread should arrive tomorrow and I hope to finish up the last QOV this week.  Then I am going to spend the next week working on my own projects.

Linking up with Patchwork Times for DWMonday.

Posted in Uncategorized | 7 Comments

Saturday Adventures

Posted on March 29, 2015 by katyquilts

Yesterdat, hubby took me to an estate sale and antique show. It was cool but sunny, and it felt good to get out and bum around a bit! At the estate sale, I found some vintage quilt pieces and a bit of vintage fabric. Love these little Hexie bits. 

 

I saw several doll quilts at the show. 

  

  

 This next one came home with me.  

 I also found another piece of enamelware for my collection. 

I hadn’t seen blue before.  

Now, I am off to church. Have a lovely Sunday!

Posted in Uncategorized | 2 Comments

Out of My Comfort Zone

Posted on March 28, 2015 by katyquilts

I picked up a few tops to quilt from our guild’s Comfort Quilts group yesterday. They make quilts for the women’s shelter. Quilting tops made by others really moves me out of my comfort zone! This top is lovely but not something I would have ever made myself. I used the Fern Gully panto on it and some high loft poly batting (which I still hate). 

     

The next one in the frame is again, a beautiful top, but not my personal style. I find it hard to figure out how to quilt these.  

   

I started by quilting a piano key border and a half feather in the inner border. And I am stuck again. This one came with a wool batt and it is the first time I have worked with it. 

I have one more QOV to finish but that is on the back burner until my thread gets here on Tuesday.

Have a wonderful weekend!

Posted in Uncategorized | 5 Comments

Finish It Up Friday

Posted on March 27, 2015 by katyquilts

I have had several QOV finishes this week and you have seen most of them. For my own record keeping, I will show them again here. But first is one youhaven’t  seen. This lovely anchor top was made by Joan from the Stitching Sisters group. 

I quilted this using a wave like pantograph called Ebb and Flow. 

  

Here are the others: 

          

I have one more to do, but I am currently debating thread choices on that one. Today will be picking up some tops for the local women’s shelter to quilt. I can’t wait to see what they have for me!

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

 

Posted in Finishes, Quilt of Valor, Uncategorized | 9 Comments

Bad News and Good News

Posted on March 26, 2015 by katyquilts

First, the bad news: 

My batting roll is empty!

But the good news is, a new one should arrive today!

Then I can get back to quilting my QOVs. Here is the last one I finished earlier this week. It was made by Terri from the Stitching Sisters group. 

    

 

As soon as the batting gets here, I will start on this lovely anchor top made by Joan. 

 And I leave you with one of my favorite quilting “tools.”  

 I can stand at the frame for hours in these ugly shoes! 

Have a wonderful day.

Linking up with My Quilt Infatuation for NTT.

Posted in Uncategorized | 5 Comments

WIP Wednesday

Posted on March 25, 2015 by katyquilts

This morning,  it was back to City Sampler blocks! 

 

I am up to 9 now; 91 to go! 

 

A few years back, I bought several 10 inch square sampler packs of solids from Connecting Threads. That is what I am using for these blocks.  

 

As I accumulate small scraps from cutting, I put them here so I can keep them handy for use in future blocks. 

 

I mark each block in the book as I finish with a note as to the colors I used. 

At this point, I am not concerning myself with how many of each color I make. I’m just having fun!

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

 

Posted in Uncategorized | 11 Comments

More QOVs

Posted on March 24, 2015 by katyquilts

i was off yesterday from the library job so I spent the day quilting. No surprise there, right? I was able to get two more QOVs quilted. I believe the pattern of this first one is called Striped and Spangled. 

    

It was made by Susan of the Stitching Sisters. One thing that I never thought much about before owning a long arm, is the direction in which the top is mounted. This top was mounted in the frame with the strips perpendicular to the rollers on the frame. I would have preferred to mount it with the strips parallel to the rollers. Then I could have completed the quilting on each strip before going on to the next rather than quilting the strips piecemeal.

So, why did I mount it as I did? Because the backing was pieced with a horizontal seam. The best thing to do in that case is to mount the backing with the seam parallel to the rollers. Otherwise, the extra fabric in the seam creates a big bump of fabric as it is rolled onto the backing bar and it is difficult to keep the backing pucker free. All this is to say, even the backing can influence the quilting design choices. Who would have thought?

If you are still with me, here is the second quilt I quilted yesterday. The piecing was magnificent! 

This one required several thread changes. I used Superior Monoply with black Glide in the bottom for the SID ruler work, the border feathers, and to quilt around the design in the medallion. I used Glide thread in white for the meander in the blocks.  I wanted to make sure the piecing took center stage and the quilting played a supporting role. Here are a couple shots of the back which is black, not gray as the pictures show. 

  

Have a happy Tuesday! Linking up with Free Motion by the River and I Have to Say….

Posted in Machine quilting, Quilt of Valor | 8 Comments

Design Wall Monday

Posted on March 23, 2015 by katyquilts

I am making slow but steady progress on my City Sampler blocks. 

 

I am really enjoying working with solids here!

QOV week is also in full swing here. I finished another yesterday. This top was made by Joan from the Stitching Sisters group. 

 

I quilted a freehand swirled feather design on this one. It was a nice break from pantographs. I thought it would be faster too. Nope! I can’t keep myself from close quilting!  

 

The backing is actually navy blue but this picture shows the quilting well so I will include it as well. 

 I used Premosoft thread from Fil-Tec.  The next top is loaded and I hope to get this one done today. 

I really like this pattern, simply sewn from strips with stars machine appliquéd. It was made by Susan, also from the SS group.

Time to get quilting! Linking up with Patchwork Times for DWMonday.

Posted in Uncategorized | 3 Comments

Another QOV

Posted on March 22, 2015 by katyquilts

I really need to come up with a better photography system in my sewing room. I have daylight fluorescents lights and, being in a basement, the ceiling is low. I have a convenient place to hang a quilt on my wire basket system but that means one of these lights is right at the top of the quilt causing some serious issues in getting a decent picture. 

All that is said to explain the bad pictures of a lovely quilt! This Quilt of Valor top was pieced by my friend, Terri, from the Stitching Sisters QOV group. 

I love quilting Terri’s tops. They are always beautifully pieced and pressed. Not a ripple or wave in those borders! I used Superior Threads Magnifico thread on this one and a panto called Loop the Loop.  

   

I have another QOV loaded. Now I just have to decide how I want to quilt it!

Happy Sunday!

I said to myself, “Relax and rest. GOD has showered you with blessings. Soul, you’ve been rescued from death; Eye, you’ve been rescued from tears; And you, Foot, were kept from stumbling.” (‭Psalm‬ ‭116‬:‭7-8‬ MSG)

Posted in Pantographs, Quilt of Valor | 2 Comments