KatyQuilts

A tiny finish…

Posted on October 10, 2013 by katyquilts

Last night after work, I finished my little September quilt for SQT.

I used perled cotton and a big stitch in the border. This is a pretty shameless copy of Marian’s little quilt. See hers here. I used a scrap of fabric from IKEA on the back. Though large in scale, it seemed appropriate.

Now it hangs in the sewing room. I can see that I rushed a bit on the tiny binding and it shows. Not my best work.

I also received a lovely squishy package in the mail yesterday. It was this beautiful wool yarn from Aunt Marti of 52 Quilts fame. It is to be used to make a hat for a sailor. You can read more about Hats for Sailors here.

Isn’t it lovely? She is so generous! She has made over 20 hats for sailors just this year! I cast on and got two rounds of my hat done last night.

Feels good to finally have something on my needles! And for the first time in a long time, I am linking up with Judy at Patchwork Times for “What’s on my needles?”. Click here to see what others are knitting.
This afternoon my little friend is coming over to sew again. We are going to start her tote bag. We shall see how far she gets.
I am linking up with Kelley for Needle and Thread Thursday.

Have a happy Thursday!

Posted in Doll Quilts, Knitting, Small Quilt Talk Group | 7 Comments

Better late than never…

Posted on October 9, 2013 by katyquilts

Here is my Work in Progress for Wednesday. I am part of the Small Quilt Talk group on Yahoo. We make one small quilt per month designed by the group founder, Kathy Tracy. Check out her blog here. Anyway, I never got the September quilt done even though I loved it. Here it is.

Isn’t it cute? I knew I wouldn’t have time to get it done but then I saw what Marian did with just one block. Check it out here, I will wait.

Adorable, right? And doable! I decided to paper piece mine.

Notice anything wrong here?

Um, yeah. Forgot you have to reverse when paper piecing. Oh well! Mine will face right!

I am working today but I might be able to get the borders on before I go…

I am linking up with Lee at Freshly Pieced for WIP Wednesday.

Posted in Doll Quilts, Small Quilt Talk Group | 1 Comment

Quilts of Valor

Posted on October 8, 2013 by katyquilts

If you have read my blog for any length if time, you know that I am a big supporter of our troops and that One way I like to show my support is by making quilts for Quilts of Valor. I try to complete one each month. Here is my inspiration:

This is my daughter, fresh out if tech school. She now has one deployment under her belt and more stripes on her shoulder but I still love this picture!

Anyway, here is my latest QOV finish.

Can you see the eagle quilted in the center? I had this wonderful panto from Meadowlyon Designs:

I wanted to use it but if I centered one eagle, I would get half eagles at the edges. Not cool. It just didn’t feel right though I loved it. Finally I decided to only quilt one eagle in the center surrounded by a fairly tight meander to make it stand out. Let me tell you, all that meandering was boring! I also quilted a feather in the border. It was worth it. I am pleased with the final result. The eagle isn’t immediately obvious and the meander gives a nice texture. I used a solid on the back called Parchment.
If you are a careful reader of my blog, you will know that this is my September quilt. I got behind! So time to come up with one for October. I participated in a QOV block swap last spring and these are the blocks I received then.

I am thinking of putting them together with a navy sashing. I would love to get this top pieced before DH comes home on Friday. I did spent a chunk of the day yesterday cleaning carpets and mowing lawn so I have done something besides sew while he is gone!

I am linking up with Connie at Free Motion by the River and Fesh-Squeezed Fabric’s Show and Tell Tuesday and Sew Much Ado.

Posted in Finishes, Free Motion Quilting, HQ Avante, Quilt of Valor | 12 Comments

Design Wall Monday

Posted on October 7, 2013 by katyquilts

Saturday night I cut pieces for my October challenge quilt for Small Quilt Talk. I decided to piece just few bits of the blocks.

Next thing you know I had blocks pieced! I used scraps again. Decided to pick out sashing.

Hmmmm…..might as well choose border fabric.

Sunday morning I got up and quilted and bound it before church. I took pictures before and after washing. Here is before:

And after:

This is currently residing on my coffee table. It is perfect for the season!
It has rained here all weekend. If it dries up enough, I need to mow the lawn today. But first I hope to get the binding on the QOV I finished quilting last night. Here are a few sneak peaks:

I am linking up with Judy at Patchwork Times for DWM. Go visit to see what others are up to.

I am also linking up with Stich by Stich for Anything Goes.

Lots of fun stuff to see there!

Posted in Civil War Repro Quilts, Design Wall Monday, Doll Quilts, Quilt of Valor | 6 Comments

Faithful

Posted on October 5, 2013 by katyquilts

Once again, Lori at Humble Quilts is hosting a QAL! She does a wonderful job with these and I really enjoy taking part. I have done two others with her this year, Abundance and Humility. This one is called Faithful. For this QAL, she said to start with any 6″ block. Then narrow borders were added followed by HSTs. Here is mine so far:

As you can see, my accuracy was a bit off with this one! That’s okay. This is a project for me! I also arranged my triangles differently. So far, mine looks completely different than hers. That is part of the fun! I found the small triangles left over from something else and was glad to be able to use them here. My version of recycling.

I love the name “Faithful.” It reminds me of a favorite verse:

Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed,
for his compassions never fail.
They are new every morning;
great is your faithfulness.

~ Lamentations 3:22-23

I missed the challenge for the Small Quilt Talk group for September completely. This month we are doing small Maple Leaf quilts. I wanted to start mine before the month got away from me again. Tonight I cut pieces.

I am only making four blocks and they will finish at 4.5″.

My big project for the day was getting this Quilt of Valor top finished and loaded into the frame.

It is late and dark so I could only take a photo of part of it. Now I need to decide how to quilt it.

I am thinking about another panto. Maybe this one:

Or maybe this one:

I really like this for a QOV and have yet to use it but I am not sure with this top. Seems too big.

I am also thinking about a custom job here. It would be a great quilt to practice continuous curves. While I ponder this dilemma, I will go back to working on my little quilts.

Since DH is gone and it has rained all weekend, I am getting lots of sewing done!

Posted in Civil War Repro Quilts, Doll Quilts, Quilt of Valor | 2 Comments

A finish!

Posted on October 5, 2013 by katyquilts

Well it took way longer than it should have but I finally got the quilt for my nephew and his wIfe quilted and bound.

I didn’t go with either panto that I showed yesterday. Instead I purchased a digital download called Feather Meander by Jessica Schick from Digitech. Here it is:

Honestly it took forever for me to size, print, and tape all the bits together. And even after washing it doesn’t really show. Given that, I should have saved my money and used one I already had. I do like this panto, just didn’t work any better here than what I already owned.

I also worked some more on my Quilt of Valor blocks.

I hope to put these together tomorrow.

DH made it safely to Korea. Counting days until he is home!

Posted in HQ Avante, Pantographs, Quilt of Valor, Traditional Quilts | 3 Comments

Frame Friday

Posted on October 4, 2013 by katyquilts

Finally got this loaded on the frame:

Now I need to decide how to quilt it. Any ideas? I am considering one if the following pantos:

I would custom quilt it if I could come up with a good idea.

My sewing class with my friends daughter went well! She was quite pleased with her project. Next week we will start the tote bag.

My hubby left on an unexpected trip to Korea for business. I guess I will spend my weekend sewing, especially since it looks as though the rain is here to stay!

Posted in Traditional Quilts | 1 Comment

Back to School!

Posted on October 3, 2013 by katyquilts

Today, a friend of mine is bringing her 11 year old over to sew with me. I have no idea if her skill level but our goal is to make a tote bag with accessories.

Today I just want to assess her skills so I have in mind to do a simple pocket tissue cover like this.

This was made for me by a friend from work. I will use it as a basic pattern. To make ours a bit more fun, I trimmed up a bunch of bright scraps on my studio cutter into 1 1/2″ strips.

Aren’t they pretty? I am going to have her foundation piece on either fabric or paper to get a feel for using the machine and to practice a consistent seam allowance.

Last night was another time of teaching. Daughter #1 came over to learn how to can.

We did 20 jars of apple butter!

Now I am off to work. Have a great day!

Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Work in Progress Wednesday

Posted on October 2, 2013 by katyquilts

I have lots of things in progress this week! First if all, the finished top for my nephew and his wife.

I need to decide on the backing and them get it in the frame.
I also made more 9-patches for a Quilt if Valor this morning.

I have decided on a plan for these. I will show you when I get more pieces cut.

My hubby made these glorious apple donuts last night!

But here is the very best work in progress:

My grandson! He is due February 14. I am in love with him already!

I am linking up with Esther for WIP here. If you have never seen her blog, you will love it! She does the most lovely work. I am also linking up with Lee at Freshly Pieced.

Posted in Accuquilt Studio Cutter, Baby Quilts, Quilt of Valor | 8 Comments

Fresh Sewing Day

Posted on October 1, 2013 by katyquilts

Good morning! It is looking like it will be another lovely day here in Michigan. Other than a little much needed rain last Sunday morning, we have had the most gorgeous weather for the last week here.

It is Fresh Sewing Day over at Lily’s Quilts where she invites each of us quilty bloggers to share what we have done over the last month. It is not only a great way to share, it is a great way to discover great blogs to add to my reading list! Here is a recap of my finishes for September.

First of all, I quilted several quilts for Quilts Beyond Borders:

I also put these antique blocks together into a small top and started hand quilting this.

I made 64 of these cross blocks for a quilt for a friend.

I made 30 9-patches for a future Quilt of Valor.

I finally finished the binding for the QOV for August. Oops!

I made 13 of the following blocks for a quilt for a thank you gift. I actually have them finished and sewn together and today will add a border before work. I hope to get the back ready and get it in the frame yet this week.

This seems a good time to set some October goals.

1. Finish the above album quilt and ship it off.

2. Complete two QOVs since I didn’t get one done for September.

3. Finish the small indigo and shirting quilt that I am handquilting.

4. Complete a sewing project with a young girl that I will be teaching to sew. She is 11 and will be coming to my house once a week in October to make a tote bag and some accessories.

5. Embroider at least three presentation cases for QOVs.

6. Make the challenge quilt for Small Quilt Talk Yahoo group.

Hmmmm…..I better get to work! Don’t forget to check out the links for Fresh Sewing Day at Lily’s Quilts.

And since I am sharing my accomplishments for the month, I am also linking up with Sarah at Confessions of a Fabric Addict for:

Posted in Goals, Uncategorized | 7 Comments