Sew Awesome

 Dear Readers,

I recently made a challenge quilt.  The challenge, sponsored by Mountain Quiltfest in Pigeon Forge, was to create a quilt that represents Celebration.  It was also the 30th anniversary for the show, so as a guild we looked up what color represented the 30th anniversary and it was green.  We also found out that pearls are the gift for that anniversary.  So the guild picked a medium green and a dark green fabrics that you would have to use a recognizable amount.   They also said it had to by 20 inches by 20 inches.  PTQ said your quilt should represent celebration.  We needed at least 5 people to participate.  We ended up with more than that but I don't remember how many.  I will add photos of the others later.  But here is mine:

I decided to Celebrate a win at the quilt show by making lots of mini quilts, using the two greens and had one getting the blue ribbon!  Will found a blue ribbon charm at Michaels web site and told me it was available in the Columbus Michaels.  I made the little quilts, put hanging sleeves on each of them and hung them on zip ties that I had cut to be the right length for each quilt.  I drilled small holes in the end of each zip tie so I could sew them down to the background quilt.  I cut the ladies out of scrap fabric and fused them down.  

I named it Sew Awesome.  

Some of the other ladies celebrated engagements, fireworks, balloons, anniversaries.  I will update when I get photos of the others.

Terry

Hidden Things

 Hi Readers,

I had a finish last week, but have not had a chance to update my blog.  I had taken a quick trip to North and South Carolina.  I stopped in North Carolina, and visited with my brother and his wife.  I had made a quilt for them last year, but decided they should have two, so they wouldn't have to share...so I gave them this quilt I made in 2022.  And in looking for a photo, I just realized I missed writing a post about this quilt.  I will take care of that tonight.

This post is about my latest finish.  I called it Hidden Things.  It is, wait for it, another eye spy quilt.  I haven't done one in a while, but Sue is having another grandson and I thought we would make an eye spy quilt.  So we picked animal prints as they had a theme of the great outdoors.  That is not what Sue was calling it, but it amounts to the same thing.  I found a really cool quilting pattern to put on it.  

The Front

This quilt was a group effort, Sue's mom Betty picked the hexies out of my hexi box, Sue was the ironer and I sewed.  

Close up of quilting

The back 

We had a good visit and got the top done, a sheet, got the back ready and Sue and Diane each embroidered some thing for Oliver James Harmon!!  I look forward to meeting you!

Sew on,

Terry

Summer Breeze

 Dear Readers,

Back in 2022, I did a sew a-long with Pat Sloan called Sweet Dreams.  I decided to do it entirely from my stash.  Of course that did not make a dent, but I also wanted to use an piece of fabric I had bought in Okinawa in the nineties to be the inspiration for the colors that were to go into the quilt.  Pat Sloan was releasing a block a week over the spring of the year and amazingly I kept up!  

I used a swirly pattern that went edge to edge for the quilting.

I used the same backgrought in all the blocks and used up all the green and pink fabric in this quilt.  It was fun.  The back also came from my stash.  

The back

Have fun.

Sew on,

Terry

The Gift - Updated!

 Dear Readers,

I finished a Christmas quilt this week.  I know, I know I am a couple of weeks late, but it is the first finish of 2024 and that is somewhat appropriate.  Will helped come up with the name and scripture, and while I suggested we look in Luke or Isaiah for a verse, he came up with this verse in James and I really like it.  Will found James 1:17 - Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.

The pattern is by Sew Kind of Wonderful, called Starry Night, and requires that you buy their ruler.    I did a block of the month from Stitchin' Heaven.  While I enjoyed the process, I wish I had just bought the book and the ruler.  I like picking my own fabrics a lot!  The block of the month program does keep you on track to finish timely, and if I hadn't let indecision and life in general get ahead of me, I would have finished before Christmas.  

I custom quilted this and changed colors a lot, so I have included close ups of each of the elements of the quilt.  

Stitchin' Heaven sends a backing fabric to use, but it was a tone on tone red and I wanted something different.  So I put that away to use on another quilt.  Finally I found this neat print of Bethlehem and put it on the back, but I made a cutting error so I had to figure out how to make it work, so I put a star in the middle.  Thank you Stitchin' Heaven for a fun quilt.

And finally the label.

PS

I entered the quilt in the Pieces and Strings Quilt Show and it won 1st place in the modern quilt category and a judges choice ribbon.  I was so excited I decided to enter it into the Plano Quilt Show in August.  Here is a copy of the award and the judges comments.  I will sew the ribbons on the back after the Plano show.  Hopefully, I will have another update!!

                                             

Sew on readers,

Terry

Comfort and Joy

 Dear Readers,

When my adult children got home from visiting their father's people for Thanksgiving they said their Uncle Dwight, who was battling cancer, was always cold.  Well, even though we are not legally bound, those are my people, and none of my people should be cold since I can make them a quilt.  

So I went to my stash and started looking at what I have that I could quickly turn into a recliner sized  quilt.  I found a flannel layer cake in manly colors that I bought,  years ago, then did not really have a plan for it at the time... so I got online and found the company does not make layer cakes of flannel anymore, but I found someone on Etsy that had some of the same fabric brand.  I had decided that I would make a circle magic quilt like I did for Sue when she was battling cancer.  But I didn't have enough squares in the layer cake to make it big enough to be a man-sized recliner quilt. So I bought the only color that had enough yardage to give me enough circles to make the size I needed from that Etsy store.  BTW Missouri Star has bought the rights to the template, so if decide to make one, check their website. 

So once the fabric arrived I cut it and all of the neutral sides using the circle template.   Once the edges of the circles are folded over it makes a square, and since Dwight was cold a lot, I cut scrap batting into squares to go in the center of each circle.  

I then went to making circles, and turning them inside out.  

Once I got the circles made, I sketched out a pattern for the brown yardage circles and the layer cake circles.  Then I put them out on the bed to see if I liked the color arrangement.  I played with the color arrangement a bit and when I found one I was satisfied with, I moved to the next step.

Next it was time to sew the circles into rows.

Finally I got all the rows together.  The cool thing about this quilt is it looks totally different on both sides.  

For the "white" side I used quilting cottons that I cut no more than two out of each of the neutrals.  I wanted it to give it some movement.  

Got it all done and mailed, but before it could arrive, Dwight went home to meet his Heavenly Father.  I hope either Kathy or one of his kids enjoy it.  

I am posting a link to his obituary.  You can click here if you want to read it.  I will miss Dwight, I considered him a kindred spirit.  Kathy, his wife, is also an amazing woman.  Please keep her in your prayers.  It is not an easy transition to make after 45 years of marriage.   Hug your loved ones a little tighter tonight and every chance you get.  

Sew on, 

Terry

Explorers - Updated!

 Hey Readers,

I went to the MQA Fall Gathering in Biloxi, and MQA hosted a shop hop in conjunction with the Gathering.  At one of the shops I found a National Park panel that had the emblem in the center and 63 of the national park posters on it.  I have always loved those posters so I picked one up and some fabric for a border.  

So all I did was put a border on the panel.  The back took just about as long, figuring it out and piecing it.  I used a bit of national park fabric I had left from Sue and Bill's quilt for the center stripe.  

The binding was also left over from Sue and Bill's quilt.  I was sewing it on and did NOT have enough, and that fabric was about 3 years old.  I was only about 30 inches short.   So I knew it was too old to go to quilt shops to find it, so I went to ETSY and found it there.  What a relief.  It came in the mail yesterday so I was able to put it on this morning.  

Here is the label.  Big thanks to Will, my son, for always being willing to get on the phone with me and discuss different names and verses.  

Sew on,

UPDATE: Sue and Bill sent me cute videos. Made me tear up...

Terry

The Kitchen Sink

 Dear Readers,

I recently completed a quilt, just before the MQA Fall gathering in Biloxi, MS.  I did not have time to blog about it at that time, so I wanted to tell you about it now.  If I have made you a quilt there is probably some of your fabric in this quilt.  Also every SEC school is represented including Texas and Oklahoma.  

Around the first of this year, I saw a video series on you tube by Terry Rowland.  She was telling her steps to make a color wash quilt.  

Video 1:  https://youtu.be/2UQE5SlOLqg?si=_l8GE0COHLWgPnaF

Video 2:  https://youtu.be/ozxEs1B_Ih0?si=TYoRcEZs0plFCWDV

Video 3:  https://youtu.be/4R9hAE7zXss?si=-kwfyLD-w2_bq04g

So I mentioned this to a few of my Quilty friends to see if anyone was interested in doing it too, it helps to have a friend to hold you accountable!  Well I was on my own.  None seemed interested.  While I was the librarian I was working on Winston Ways so I decided to use my scraps to start making some of the blocks and see how it goes.  So I made about a few dozen or so blocks while there, but I really liked the improve process and the instant satisfaction of getting a block done so fast.  So about once a week I would dig in my scraps and kit up a stack of blocks.  Then I used two cookie sheets to put my blocks by color.  

I worked on it in between other projects and at both of the retreats I went to this year.  

My color wash blocks over on the right, next to Rita or Patti's blocks at Quiltville Inn

On the design board at February Hill Quilting Retreat House in Jonesborough, TN

While I was at one of the retreats, my friend Lauren saw this back and thought it would be perfect, so I had her pick it up for me.... I was sewing while a bunch had gone shopping. 

I used a lot more neutrals than Terry Rowland did, I may do another that is more saturated with color.  

While we were in Biloxi, Lauren helped me stage my quilts for a different view.

This is a super satisfying quilt to make...

Sew on,

Terry