KatyQuilts

Sunday Stitches

Posted on October 27, 2013 by katyquilts

Just a little bit of stitching to show you today. First, a start on my next QOV.

And starting to think about some baby projects.

I found this pattern online and the quote I found on Pinterest. I still need to add the snap or Velcro closure. Bibs are the perfect thing for machine embroidery! I also found a pattern for flannel burp cloths. I hope to try that out later today.

Church for us doesn’t start until 11 AM so that gives me a few minutes in the morning to stitch a bit.

I love this tree on my backyard!

I probably better do something about this today too:

Yikes!

Have a great day everyone!

Posted in Machine Embroidery, Quilt of Valor | 2 Comments

BQF #2 Art Quilt

Posted on October 26, 2013 by katyquilts

Here’s my second entry for the Blogger’s Quilt Festival sponsored by Amy, this time in the art quilt category.

It is so hard to photograph a black quilt! I made this a few years ago. I initially pieced the blocks to look like chairs. When I finished the quilt and asked my son what to call it, he turned the whole thing upside down and said, “Call it, What Four?” Done!

This was machine quilted on my home machine. I matched the thread color in each block to the background.

I hope you enjoyed seeing one of my art quilts. You can see more at the Art Quilt Category at the Blogger’s Quilt Festival here.

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Posted in Art Quilts | 6 Comments

Blogger’s Quilt Festival!

Posted on October 25, 2013 by katyquilts

It is that time of year! Amy is again hosting the Blogger’s Quilt Festival for those of us at home while the rest of the quilting world travels to Houston for Quilt Market.

I have had a terrible time deciding what to enter!

This entry will be for the Baby Quilt Category. I made this quilt last year with dress shirts from my husband and my son. It will be a baby quilt for my first grand baby, a boy, to be born in February of next year. I love the idea that my grandson will be wrapped in fabric worn by his daddy and grandpa. I will eventually make a baby quilt for each of my children for their children out of the rest of these fabrics.

It isn’t my finest workmanship, or greatest design, but this one has LOTS of love, hopes, and dreams for this little baby’s life.

It was quilted in randomly placed lines from top to bottom and I quilted this on my home sewing machine before I got my long arm.

You can see the other entrants in the Baby Quilt Category here. And you can find the main posting for the BQF here.

Posted in Uncategorized | 12 Comments

Friday Finish!

Posted on October 25, 2013 by katyquilts

It’s done! Well, except for washing, label, and presentation case….but those are details.

And this is how my little experiments turned out.

Clearly, I need work with pebbling but overall, I am happy with these little bits. They may end up as zippered bags or perhaps foundations to build on.

Linking up with Sarah for:

And Crazy Mom Quilts for Finish it up Friday.

Posted in Art Quilts, HQ Avante, Quilt of Valor | 1 Comment

Frame Friday

Posted on October 25, 2013 by katyquilts

I hoped to show you the finished QOV I was working on yesterday. The quilting is finished. However, I had a bit of extra backing and batting at the end and I decided to take some time today to play with some less traditional bits.

The two orange pieces are hand dyed by me. The ladder was pieced by me and I dyed the fabrics as well. I haven’t quilted many “art” quilts on my Avante yet so this should be fun. I also hope to get the QOV off and bound yet today.
In other news, Daughter #2 received her doggie gifts from me.

She looks so cute in her U of M bandana!

Happy Friday!

Posted in HQ Avante | Leave a comment

Wow! Quilts of Valor!

Posted on October 24, 2013 by katyquilts

The piece on QOVs that aired on NBC the other night has resulted in an explosion of requests for quilts! Our state coordinator is putting out a call and probably every other state coordinator is as well.

You can find out how to help here.

I decided to quilt this top with a panto called Starstruck from Meadowlyon Designs. I am about halfway and hope to finish quilting today. It is a combination of feathers and stars and it is offset. That means it looks more random than a sometimes does. It has a long repeat. Tomorrow it will get bound.

I also got a few more of these pieced yesterday for another QOV.

I work this morning and we have Life Group tonight so we shall see how much actually gets done! I am linking up with Kelly for Needle and Thread Thursday.

I am also linking up with Gemma at Pretty Bobbins. She has a great post today about threads for quilting. Also Cindy at It’s a Colorful Life for Really Random Thursdays.

Posted in HQ Avante, Pantographs, Quilt of Valor | 6 Comments

Work in Progress Wednesday

Posted on October 23, 2013 by katyquilts

Not much time today but this is what is in progress in my sewing room.

Finally got this loaded. Hope to get it quilted yet this week. Good thing too, since NBC aired a story on QOV, requests have been pouring in!
I am also thinking ahead to two more QOVs using these panels.

I will use one panel in the center of each and these quilts will go to two brothers that served in Iraq.
Wonderful hubby bought me a huge new monitor for my sewing room! I can get EQ and my embroidery software up at the same time.

I haven’t used my Embroidery machine in a while so I am stitching some samples to get back in the groove.

I’ll be linking up with Lee at Freshly Pieced for WIP Wednesday.

Posted in Machine Embroidery, Quilt of Valor | 2 Comments

Productivity

Posted on October 22, 2013 by katyquilts

I am making good headway on my list of goals for the week. I finished the presentation cases for the QOVs and got them both shipped off.

I also got my hat for a sailor mailed out.

I chose the red star border for my current QOV and finished the top.

I hope to get this loaded on the frame before work.
I spent some time cleaning up scraps. I cut all my red, white, and blue bits into useable pieces with my die cutter and discarded the trimmings.

I did end up with a box of strings that I kept. I like string quilts, just not sure I want to make one!
I even pulled out this hexie project and added one row.

Then I noticed this:

Ugh! Oh well. It is staying. Apparently I need to do some more cutting for variety.
I cleaned and oiled my Featherweight before calling it a day.

I have gotten a lot done sewing wise lately and there is a reason for it. I’ve had a bad case of itchy hives for over a week now. Shots and meds have not helped. It has prevented me from getting much sleep and sewing has been a great distraction from the itchies. I do not recommend this course of action for boosting productivity! LOL!

Here’s to making the best of a bad situation! Have a great day!

Posted in Accuquilt Studio Cutter, Hexagons, Life, Quilt of Valor, Scraps | 3 Comments

Coffee Cup Quilt

Posted on October 21, 2013 by katyquilts

Kathy Tracey shared a photo of a coffee cup quilt that hangs in her husbands office building. She visited a quilt guild in Michigan and was able to speak with some of those that helped make it years before! It is a great story and you can see a picture and read about it in her blog, A Sentimental Quilter.

It reminded me of my own coffee cup quilt. I appliqued my blocks VERY early on in my quilting journey. I found the pattern in this book published in 1983:

I really had no idea what I was doing. I completed only 9 blocks and set them in a box. They were not well done enough to finish but I put too much work in to just throw them away! Fast forward about ten years and we were living in France. I pulled the blocks out, despairing that none were centered or ever would be. So I decided to make them intentionally wonky and set them into a top.

I was pretty new to machine quilting then and figured I had nothing to lose practicing on this top.

It is fun to look at this now! I have learned a lot since making this but I do love it now. In the border I quilted the words to a little song my kids made up for me. It says:

Coffee, coffee
Oh I love my coffee
Can’t go to sleep
Because I drank all the coffee!

They used to sing this to me to the tune of a Veggie Tales song. Such great memories! I think it is time to hang this one up again.

Do you have any coffee quilts?

Posted in Uncategorized | 12 Comments

Design Wall Monday

Posted on October 21, 2013 by katyquilts

I had quite a productive day in the sewing room yesterday. It felt good. First, I got the center of my QOV pieced and auditioned borders.

Before church, I finished my hat for a USNavy sailor.

This is the yarn I used:

It was very generously given to me by Aunt Marti of 52 Quilts fame. If you have never visited her blog, you are in for a treat! My hat is packaged and ready to mail off today.

I also got my little “Faithful” quilt from the Humble Quilts QAL finished.

As you can see from the photo of the back, it is very simply quilted. Nothing fancy to compete with the piecing.

I labeled the two QOVs that I need to ship this week while watching a movie with my hubby. As soon as I get the presentation cases made, they will be ready to go.

And just for fun, our church has been having silly dress up days. Today was Dress up Like a Rock Star day. Here is a pic of hubby and me.

He makes a great ZZ Topp, no?
LOL!