A Wacky Row Quilt

Okay, sew most of you know that I belong to a group called the "Wacky 6-Pac Quilters". Yep, we ALWAYS have something going on. Back a few (like maybe 8 mos.) ago, we decided to do a Row Quilt. Each Wacky would decide their theme, the size of the row, and then prepare their first row. Molly, Rhonda, and Annie have their first rows done!!! That leaves Kathleen and me without a row done.

My theme is SPRING! I started way back when and then my fence was as big as my house!!! This weekend, I decided to completely start over. I'm stickin' with the theme of Spring but doing it a bit differently. I have made these three blocks. Now keep in mind they will be sewn together to make my row and there may be more blocks added to get it to the size row I would like to have.

Here ya go........I still have to stitch around them. At first I was going to do it by machine, but now I've decided to do hand-embroidery (LOVE me some hand-embroidery) and embellish with buttons, etc. Enjoy the preview and there will be more updates to come.......

Tree Time -- Block #8

I spent the month of July getting my last two blocks in Tree Time done and I am determined to NOT fall behind again! SEW.....without further adoooooo......here is block #8 for August..........

I am sew lovin' this BOM that Molly has so graciously shared with all of us. It is really fun and the finished product will be awesome. Go over to Molly's Place and check it out. You can still download the patterns. Git-R-Done Girls! Lots of fun and a great way to learn to work with wool and hand-embroidery.

Tree Time!

It's Tree Time show 'n tell again. I am participating in Molly's "Tree Time" BOM. I got a bit behind and had to get two blocks made during July.

The above is block #6 and below is block #7. I can't wait to start working on block #8.

The blocks are so cute, primitive and simple. A BOM that would be perfect for anyone who wants to learn to work with wool and hand embroidery. I am using the same background for all my blocks and the applique pieces are all done in wool. I'm excited to see this quilt put together. If you have not been over to Molly's Place, you need to hurry over and check out this BOM!

Friday...Funday...Results

Friday....Funday.....resulted in my completing Molly's quilt. This is the free BOM offered by Bunny Hill Quilts during 2009. Molly's quilt has lots of detail in it. It was fun to work on. It was my goal to get the sashing and borders finished. Now I'm here to tell you that I am NOT a professional quilter. I do have a longarm but use if for personal use. Molly asked me if I wanted to quilt hers so I thought I'd give it a 'whirl'. I was a Nervous Nelly! LOL

I stitched feathers in both the sashing and the borders. I mean I should say "butt feathers" cause they look like big ole butts! I'm really obsessed with feathers and trying to master them. Molly sure was a "trusting soul" to let me 'play' on her quilt. Only a dear friend would do that!!!Here is a pic of the quilt pinned on my design wall. I love how she used ric-rac in every single block.

The October block is my favorite! Look at the three different pieces of ric-rac intertwined together. Too caa-utteee!!!

The pic below is of the feathers (aka butt feathers) in the sashing.

And here is a picture of the border -- more butts! LOL

I hope you enjoyed this little tour of the Bunny Hill quilt.

Funday Friday!

Funday Friday...I am so excited that I am now off work on Fridays! This means Friday will be a fun day. What are you working on today? I am working on my friend Molly's Bunny Hill basket quilt that she made. This was a free BOM during 2009 that we both made. Molly has entrusted me to quilt it for her. All of the blocks have been stabilized and quilted. Now on to the borders!Stay tuned......

Wackies on the Move!

The Wacky 6-Pac Quilters were on the move......We loaded up last weekend and went to Tyler, TX to an embroidery retreat at the Nimble Thimble Quilt Shop. We spent Friday and Saturday nights.

Yep, all five us loaded up in the suburban with all our stuff! It wasn't easy either!

Annie waves among all the bags!

We had a lot of fun. There were many beautiful projects shown at show 'n tell.
This lady was embroidering an assortment of different baskets.

This was a really neat quilt with embroidered horses and pieced blocks. There was even embroidery in the borders.

This was a beautiful and colorful piece. The background was quilted first and then all of the embroidery added.

After embroiderying for a while, we took a break for lunch....And of course we had to act silly! Annie and I were sporting our new "drink glasses"!

Oh, and did I mention? It was soooo hot and those drinks were soooooo good! Rhonda and Molly are enjoying them.

Okay, back at the quilt shop!

Kathleen is so happy to be here!

Annie, Molly, and Rhonda hard at work making those laptops talk to those embroidery machines and producing beautiful work.

Annie is installing the Janome DigitizerPro on the laptop. Oh dear.....something is not right!

The fun is over. We make it back home and now it's time to unpack! Be careful!

And as always, it was a wonderful, wacky time with my quilting sistas!!!!

Cupcakes, Cherries, and M.E. -- OH MY!

I recently participated in Shawnee's Flirty Apron Swap "Cupcakes, Cherries, and M.E. -- OH MY! We exchanged aprons with the theme of cupcakes, cherries and Mary Englebreit. Looky what I received from Madelyn. She really outdid herself!

The above is a pic of the wonderful bag that was in the package!

Look at all the goodies above: reversible apron, hot pad, oven mitt, emery boards, napkins note pads and cookbook. OH MY!

The above pics show pictures of both sides of the apron! Love it!!!!

Happy Birthday My Dear Friend

Today, I am remembering my dear quilting friend, Jerri, on her birthday. Jerri went home to the Lord this past March after a long and hard battle with cancer.

Cancer may have taken our Jerri, but it NEVER took her spirit. She was laughing and popping jokes till the end. She was truly my hero and an inspiration. Jerri was dealt a hand of cards and she played them with grace and dignity.

Jerri was so funny. One of her famous sayings was "Not It" when we would suggest doing something -- especially some type of swap. We still use that saying in her honor. She had some more 'sayings' but I best not share them on the blog -- LOL -- besides they are those "ya just had to be there" type things.

Jerri, Kathleen and I took a bus trip to the Paducah Quilt show back in 2003. Oh My! what memories. We had so much fun together. Below is a pic of the "Brat Pac" as we were called. On the bus, Jerri got cold and put on a long sleeved denim shirt BACKWARDS. She was going to take a little nap. She looked at me and said "Now, looky here! If we have a wreck, don't let them try to twist my head around just because I've got this shirt on backwards!"

Left to Right -- Kathleen, Jerri, and Kathy

Jerri, I know you are the 'coolest' quilt teacher in Heaven. Those folks have so much to learn from you. You taught me so much about life, about grace, about dignity, about perserverance. Girlfriend, I miss you SO MUCH. I think of you every single day and I'll never forget you. I thank God for the opportunity to have had you as a friend. Now, have you heard the one about........

Our quilting group was called the Wacky Pac Quilters. There was this group of ladies called the Wacky Women and we were the Brat Pac...and one day....The Wacky Pac was born! Here is a picture of our last retreat as the Wacky Pac Quilters at the Fryer Deer Camp. Jerri's health was failing and unable to stay the entire time. I am so thankful we were able to snap this pic before her hubby picked her up.

L-R: Back row: Molly, Annie, Charlotte Kathleen, Rhonda

Front Row: Jerri, Kathy L and Kathy E

HAPPY, HAPPY BIRTHDAY DEAR JERRI!

I LOVE YOU AND MISS YOU!! I'LL SEE YOU AGAIN ONE DAY.

Longarm Training Academy

I had the opportunity to attend the Longarm Training Academy in Houston, Texas. It was awesome. Carrie and Tom Dugan with Texas Quilt Machines hosted the academy. They did a great job and had a great line-up of teachers from all over the country! I met lots of neat quilters and learned a whole lot. The down side is I lost all my pictures of classes, teachers and beautiful quilts! I am just sick over it! I was able to do some "line dancing" with Diana Phillips! Line dancing is a machine quilting technique based on repeating a single design line that follows a continuous path across a block or quilt top using the piecework as a guide. The class was called "Fun with Shapes -- The Leaf Version". This was a lecture class with lots of pencil quilting. What an entertaining and good teacher. Diana is from Michigan.

I attended two classes taught by Jodi Robinson of Pennsylvania. What a delightful and talented lady! She taught us "Less-Stress Feathers" (a hands-on class) which taught formal style feathers without the stress of backtracking. The second class was "Quilt to Fill" a lecture class with pencil quilting teaching freehand quilting. I truly enjoyed Jodi's classes.

I attend a 2-hour class called "Threadology" presented by Bob Purcell, owner of Superior Threads. Now talk about fun! Bob is funny as well as very knowledgeable about threads! He even tied us all up together!!! No really, he did -- with threads!!! Bob dispelled the myth about "polyester thread" cutting into your cotton fabrics. We learned about all types of thread, thread construction methods, needles, tension, thread delivery, thread breakage problems and much more! There is lots of info on his website so go take a look. I even received a diploma!!!

DeLoa Jones from Michigan taught the class "Got Stencils? Use Them!" I have lots of stencils but hardly ever use them. I now look at stencils in a whole new light thanks to DeLoa. DeLoa gave a very interesting presentation and then we had 'hands on' using parts of different stencils to create our own quilting pattern. What a fun class!
I took three different classes from Lisa Coker. Lisa is a good ole Texas gal from Commerce, Texas. The first class with Lisa was "One Start, One Stop Borders". Lisa did demonstrations on the longarm machine of different borders using traditional curling feathers. The second class was "Now You're In Business". Lisa shared the basics of business and how to handle those PITA customers, the importance of ALWAYS using a work order, pricing, advertising, etc. The third class with Lisa was "Elegant Formal Feathers" where she taught us the basic stitching pattern and shape and how to give these feathers motion and make them come alive.

It was a great training academy and well worth the $$$$ spent. My 'feather knowledge' has really grown and I think those feathers in my brain may be fighting each other -- LOL! As an extra bonus, I was able to stay at my childhood friend's home and do lots of visiting in the evenings. Thank goodness she only live a 15 drive from the training.

Just remember this:

I hope you enjoyed my overview of my recent training. I'm just sorry I don't have the pictures of all those beautiful quilts!!!!

SEW, It's Been a While.....

......yes, it has! I've not posted on this here blog in a while. Here's a quick update!

I entered some items in our local county home economics show and won 5 1st place ribbons, one best of class and first in the Go Texan Quilting category -- so my quilt will advance to the Houston Livestock Show & Rodeo competition. Pics to come......

This past weekend, I attend the Longarm Quilting Training Academy in Houston. It was AWESOME. I took LOTS of classes, met lots of neat quilters, learned lots of stuff, saw and touched lots of beautiful quilts and took LOTS of pictures. Now thats a LOT of stuff in one sentence. BUT, I have LOST ALL THOSE LOTS OF PICTURES! I'm not happy. When I turn on my camera it says "reformat card?" and it says the same thing when I put the memory card in the computer! If I reformat, I lose everything, but I still can't access those pics? Anyone out there have any remedies???

Stay tuned to my blog as I will be sharing more info soon.......TIME, that's what I need is TIME! LOL! Here's hoping you all have a blessed week......

.......MORE TO COME.

SUPERWOMAN..........

I AM NOT........................I have finally resolved myself to this fact. I cannot do everything! Thank goodness I have a wonderful retired husband who cleans house and does laundry while I'm at work.

I have so many things I want to get done....so many quilts, BOMs, embroidery, etc.....so little time! LOL! I know, I know, I'm preaching to the choir. I think all quilters feel this way. I haven't posted on my blog in over a month, I'm trying to learn EQ6/7, a new digitizer program, I love to read, I love to decorate my house, and just everything else.

The last weekend of this month, I'm going to a Longarm Quilting Academy in Houston and am so excited about what I'm going to learn. Stay tuned....I really will try to post more often.

A Mother's Day Funny

My oldest son just called me on his way home from work to wish me a Happy Mother's Day. Heath is a Houston Fireman so he works 24-hour shifts. He said yesterday his wife sent him a text message around Noon that she had just got out of bed! Jennifer is a 3rd grade teacher and also manages three kiddos who seem to be involved in EVERYTHING. I don't know how she does it!

When I asked how she managed to get to sleep till Noon with those three kiddos, he laughed and said that she told the two oldest (ages 9 & 11) she wanted to sleep late and for them to be quiet. They were to fix cereal for themselves and their little brother and stay in the house and watch TV. I told him I knew they could do it, but what about that wild little 5 year old.

My son laughed and said, well, she didn't have any quality sleep, because the 5-year old kept coming in the bedroom saying "I'm hungry". Finally, the mom told him if he came in 'one more time', she was going to bust his little butt. Now, you gotta know this kid -- he is some kind of funny -- you never know what he will say! He stuck out his bottom lip and said "but Mommy, I just want you to get up and cook me some pork chops!" LOL! Sounds just like him. Mom may not have got a lot of sleep, but she did get to just lounge and relax in the bed!

Here is that little 'pork chop hungry little boy'. Don't let that little "posed" smile fool you but how can you resist that little "Eddie Haskell" looking face!

He is a clone to his Daddy, Grandpa, and Great-Grandpa!!!! It's really kinda scary because he acts just like them too!!! LOL! A pure Joy in my life.

Happy Mother's Day!

The Lord Blessed me with two wonderful sons who have grown up to be wonderful young men. I am so proud of them.

Here is a picture of my oldest son, Heath, and one of my favorite pictures. Heath is a Houston Fireman and a Farrier. He is married to a wonderful woman and blessed me with three beautiful grandchildren.

The following is a picture of my youngest son, Josh. This is also one of my favorite pictures. Josh is a graduate of Texas A&M and works for the U.S. State Department. He is married to a wonderful woman and is currently living overseas.

Great Mail Day!

I have been having a tough week. It is the first week of the month and I have my month-end reports due. On top of that, we have been having vehicle issues (I work at Senior Services/Transportation), and then tomorrow is our county-wide Annual Senior Citizens' Appreciation Luncheon where we will be honoring 300+ senior citizens. WOW! I've really been busy, busy, working some overtime trying to get every thing done.

I came home today to a GREAT mail day!!! First, I received my apron from the Flirty Apron Swap. The theme of our swap was "Polka Dots". It came from Heather and she sent me the cutest apron (below) and the Farm Chicks Cookbook. The picture does NOT do the apron justice. It is Twirl Girl apron and is just precious. I will be sitting down tonight reading this cookbook. I've been wanting this one, but had not bought it yet. Thank you HEATHER! May is not only the month to celebrate all the Mothers of the World, it is also my birthday month! My son and daughter-in-law, Josh & Patience, sent me some Polish Pottery serving pieces. It is beautiful. J & P live in Germany and J picked it up while on a trip to Poland. I received hand-painted plates a couple of years ago for Christmas from J & P. I absolutely LOVE what they sent me for Mother's Day and my Birthday! wooo hooo!

A Feathered Frenzy

I have always wanted to make a Feathered Star quilt. When I would see the quilts and look at the patterns, I was just always so intimidated and overwhelmed -- all those points!!!!!

My quiltin' Sista, Molly, is the Feathered Star Pro in our group. She has made several and is even a 'pattern tester' for Masha McCloskey. Below is a picture of Molly's FS quilt. The picture does not do it justice. It is absolutely beautiful!!!

SEW, after some asking and begging, etc., Molly consented to teach us the Feathered Star. Us means our Wacky Sistas. So we set a date to go to the Fryer Deer Camp and the five of us would make the feathered star.

Molly was nervous about teaching us -- and rightfully so!!! We can be mean and outspoken, and sometimes just plain ditzy. But boy did we surprise her. We were all very studious and paid attention, did our pre-class work and we were even nice to the teacher!!! LOL

SEW, on with the class, here is our teacher "Molly, Molly, Molly".

Molly convinced us that if we look at the block as a 9-patch and tackle each little section and treat it as a quilt, we would not be so intimidated. She was right!!!!

Now I don't remember what she was telling us in the picture below, but I'm sure it was very important. She was either telling us "get your hands around just one section at a time" or else, "I'm going to choke you if you make any smart comments to me". Not sure which -- LOL!

The one thing that really helped me was to use the diagram of the block, letter the pieces and then put a snippet of fabric on each area to help keep me straight.

Then the cutting of the pieces began:

It is important to put your pieces in baggies that are numbered so you don't get them all mixed up.




Here is my work station. Having the flannel board also helped to lay out my block.






We did it! We completed our blocks! We all used the same pattern, but different fabrics. Look how different they all look.





And here is the group with our feathered star quilts.

L-R -- Annale, Kathleen, Rhonda, Me, and kneeling is the teacher, Molly.

And, finally, my finished top. I ran out of the original background fabric I was using, but I think the fabric I found to put the block on point works. Now to get this baby quilted!