A Christmas Quilt

Christmas quilts come in many colors.  This quilt was creates using a lot of red and green strips.  While my plan was to keep it for myself, I donated the quilt and it is now in the home of my good friend, Jackie.  

Roe's Quilt

Roe is the granddaughter of my step sister.  Her mother is married to one of my "step nephews" and she lived in Asia where the climate did not require warm quilts.  

However, when her dad's job took him to Alaska, I thought it time the Roe took a quilt with her on her journey. 

Long Arm Quilting

Not everyone has my enthusiasm for quilting.  I own several traditional sewing machines and use them regularly.  

There is the Janome who is about 20 years old.  She is getting cranky in her old age. The light bulb mechanism no longer works and needs replacement and I suspect the plastic belt has loosened up a bit because thick seams are a problem to sew over.  But my Janome is a like a good friend and is a workhorse. 

Next up is Bernie, the Bernina.  By all accounts, Bernina makes a quality and expensive machine.  Bernie came from a church friend whose mother-in-law owned and cherished.  Bernie has a number of attachments and I plan to take it with me on a future 1st Saturday open sew day at one of my favorite quilt shops to learn how to use the walking foot attachment on her. 

A newer member of the family is my Babylock.  Baby is used only for embroidery work.  She has a 4 x 4 frame meaning she can only do smaller designs.  I bought her to make great labels.  I bought Baby on a small shop Saturday sale day from a local shop.  

Pfaff is another quality machine and I have 2 of them.  One is my Hobby Grand Quilter that was my first voyage into the long arm quilting world.  I have had this machine for about 15 years and I'm ready to find her a new home.  She works great and has a frame but I don't need 3 long arm machines.  

The other Pfaff in my life is a smaller traditional machine that I bought gently used from Nebraska Quilt Company.  She is full of confidence and is much like the Janome.  My granddaughter really likes this machine more than the others to sew on. 

There are more machines in my life but the biggest one is the Avanti, made by Handi Quilter.  It consumes my entire dining room and that is where the magic happens when I turn a quilt top into a quilt!  

Toastmasters and Quilts

Back in 2014, I was a on the Board of Directors for Toastmasters International (toastmasters.org).  It was customary for the outgoing members of the board to roast the outgoing International President.  

John Lau was that person.  We had a lot of fun with a skit roasting John and then presented him with a quilt that represented things that had occurred during his tenure on the executive board. 

Each block represented something or someone that he had served with.  There was even a golf cart block and a duck. 

Why?  Because while golfing with the CEO, there was an accident where a duck got hit with a golf ball.  To add insult to injury, the battery went dead on the cart and apparently John had to push it it back to the club house. 

After our presentation, John roasted the fellow members until he got to me, the quilt maker.  I suspect the quilt caught him off guard. 

This photo is a great testament to the fellowship of the organization.  

Patriotic Panel Quilt

I fell in love with this panel and the pattern that was make for it. It has a homey, warm, patriotic feel about it.  The fact is, I liked it so much, I bought 2 panels.  I believe the designer was Sandi Gervis for Moda.  I completed and gave a friend the original quilt and have a second quilt in my UFo pile aka unfinished objects.  It is very close to completion, and I plan to have it done before the end of the year.  

Wonky Squares and Leaves

Several years ago, I took a couple of classes at a local quilt shop with friends.  These quilts are the result of those classes.  The pattern and colorways are far from my usual selections.  I believe both quilts ended up in Florida with grandkids. 

Peacock Panel - twin size

Being a Toastmaster, I have been able to travel to many places and here many great speeches.  But when traveling with my friend, Sheila, we always visit the local quilt shops.  Why? I reason is simple; each has its own personality and what I find in one shop is often so much different than another shop.  I found this kit in Colorado, I believe.  There was a small room with sale items, and I cannot pass up a bargain.  It turned out the panel was not what I expected but much prettier.  I love it. 

Cosmic Cow

One of my very favorite shops is called the Cosmic Cow in Lincoln, Nebraska.  This fabric line sold out pretty quickly and I think it was called Fire and Ice.  It is bright and colorful. This quilt remains with me.  

Jason's Quilt

My nephew Jason loves blue.  On a visit we worked on this quilt together.  I love the shades of blue.  Blue and white make for a great combination.  The blocks are very basic, 9 patch and half square triangles.  

Mike Peterson's Quilt

Several years ago, my long time friend brought me a quilt that he had purchased at an auction.  The original quilt was tattered.  I took it apart to repair and realized the blocks were stretched out of shape.  The black fabric had turned to threads so I recreated the quilt.  Mike was impressed.  Each block has 49 pieces and there were 25 blocks. 

Fast forward and Mike passed of cancer.  I helped his sister clear out some things but in the end, the quilt could not be found. 

Things about this quilt that I like are the colors and patterns of the fabric.  It looked old and that was Mike's style.  

Panel Quilts

Preprinted panels can make a quick gift when you are in a hurry.  The center of this quilt is one piece printed in a cowboy scene.  I gave it to a friend as a gift.  I think it is just fun! 

Block of the Month

This quilt top was made several years ago.  It is quite large and there are houses and trees to add except I have a full size bed. The blocks not added are houses and trees. 

As it sets, I think it is big enough to gift to one of my grandkids that have queen size beds. 

Whoa Horses

This fabric is just fun.  A few more sew days and it will be a terrific 3 yard lap size quilt. 

I suspect the maker won't be able to part with it once completed. 

The pattern is from one of the many 3 yard quilts by Donna Robertson. 

Newbie Quilter

This newbie quilter loves Halloween and what could be more fun than a quilt made from Halloween fabric.  A few more borders and the top will be complete. 

She is sewing on a vintage Singer 301.  This is a wonderful machine that was given to me by a church friend. After a spa treatment at the local repair / quilt shop, that machine just hums. 

Next up, she is cutting up 3.5" squares for a future fun quilt in pale blues and purples. 

I can't wait to see it.  

What's Next? UFOs

What's next? I have a large number of UFO quilts.  What are UFOs?  They are unfinished objects.  The quilts that I started, I have loved and when I got distracted, I never finished. They are scattered in various totes and bags and baskets in my sewing rooms.   

While I did not participate, I watched Karen Brown's "Just Get it Done" You Tube videos on decluttering your sewing space.  It gave me an idea.  Why do I have these quilts in various places where I forget that I have them and many do not need much work to finish up? 

I am reorganizing my space and putting all UFO quilts on the shelves next to my primary sewing machine.  At least I will be reminded that I need to finish projects before I start another one.  I have some real beauties waiting to be gifted or loved.  

This quilt is from a block of the month conducted by Scott Alan Flanagan, 4th and Main Quilts, who works at Nebraska Quilt Company.