"Frosty" Weather has Returned...

 Do you ever notice that fall weather here in central Nebraska is extremely unpredictable?  One day it is a lovely, frosty, 40 degrees and the next, it is a balmy 70 degrees.  I am not ashamed to say that I prefer the 40 degree weather!  For one thing, it makes me think of Christmas, which is far and away my favorite holiday.  For another, I get the urge to bake yummy things and make tasty soups!  Finally, I love to cuddle up on the couch in a cozy sweater with a favorite quilt, a stack of magazines, and a steamy, hot cup of coffee.  Is there anything more wonderful?
  Well, there is one thing...the return of all out, no distractions, "quilting season."  No more gardening, no more yard work.  No hot, sweaty weather that makes us want to stay away from our warm, toasty quilts:)  To celebrate the return of "frosty" weather, I decided to make a very easy, very fun little SOB (slap on borders) out of this cute, cute, cute Frosty the Snowman panel that I purchased while Hubby and I traveled this summer.  To make him nice and fluffy, I used two layers of hand-quilt poly batting (it also made him hang just a bit wonky, but Oh, well!)  He is now happily hanging in my otherwise all decorated for fall entryway.  Every time I look at him, I smile and have visions of snowflakes dancing in my head...bring on the white stuff, I am ready :)

Mountains of Quilts

  Lately, I have been noticing that the quilts are starting to pile up...my grandson called this to my attention last week when he and his sister were staying for a few days.  I had a bunch of quilts, most of which I have finished in the past year or two, piled up in a chair because I had been making sure they all had labels.
  My friend Margaret and I started a running joke a few years ago that we were making all these quilts for our "trunk show."  At the time, I had no intentions of doing any trunk shows.  Well, evidently I can predict the future because I have been asked to do two trunk shows in February of this next year! I am both excited and nervous to do an official trunk show.  Now, don't get me wrong...I am not afraid to talk!  Anyone that knows me, knows that :)  I have taught lots of classes and have shared in quilt guild lots of times.  However a "trunk show" would indicate that I have a "trunk" full of quilts.
  Hence, the mountain.  I have been much more prolific in the past year.  Knowing that I have a deadline and lots of ladies waiting to see my work, has really inspired me to get crackin' on projects that have been sitting around in a state of progress for quite awhile.  I have also continued to take classes and finish projects from those classes.
  My husband recently said, "What are you going to do with all of these quilts?"  and I said, "I will continue making them until I can't make them anymore!  After I am gone, the kids can take whatever they want, and you can donate the rest to charity."  I just love making them.  I do give them away for baby gifts, graduations, etc. but for the most part, for now, I will continue to compile my "mountain" and my grandkids will continue to climb when they come to visit their "Grammy."

Just a sneak peak at my next project...in progress!

Stack it and Whack it!

  About 5 years ago, I started my first stack and whack quilt.  I decided to do a four patch stack.  I was scared to do a six patch because of the triangle shapes and the bias edges.  I chose a beautiful oriental print from Blank and took a class at the Quilters Cottage in Kearney, NE to learn the technique.  It was so much fun!
  In order to do the four patch stack, you need 4 repeats of your fabric. The size of your repeat determines the ultimate size of your quilt.  My fabric had a small repeat of around 12 inches, so I ended up with fairly small blocks.  I think they finished somewhere around 5 inches.  I added a little black frame and sashing to extend the size to a nice lap quilt.  Each block had four options as I turned the pieces round and round to decide on the look that I liked the best.  Again...FUN!  I sewed all my blocks together pretty quickly because that was the fun part.  Slowly, I added my frames, sashes, and borders.  Once the top was done, it sat in the closet unfinished for a couple of years.  This year, I am on a mission to finish, quilt, and bind a bunch of my quilts before I give a couple of talks/trunk shows next February.  This stack and whack was on my "to finish" list.  I am binding it by hand so that I can take it to the state fair next year.  It will probably take me that long to get the binding done!!!
  On my recent trip to Paducah, I purchased fabric to do a six patch stack--it is crazy fabric with all kinds of brightly colored lizards and tree frogs!  I can't wait to start sewing those awesome blocks together.  It's not on my "to finish" list before February but it will definitely be on my list for 2015!

My First Block Exchange Inspired by Liz Porter

Neapolitan by Liz Porter 

   On July 14th, I saw an episode of Fons and Porter's Love of Quilting that inspired me to try something I had never tried before...a block exchange. Yikes!  Liz Porter's directions from the website made it much simpler than if I would have had to figure out all the details by myself.  I absolutely loved the pink and brown quilts from the program that were made from the 100 little
4 1/2 inch churn dash blocks.  Liz had a group of 10 people who each made 10 sets of 10 blocks.  I decided to shoot for that number.
  To start, I issued an invitation to over 200 people in one simple post on a facebook group that includes quilters from all over, but mostly from Nebraska and Iowa.  From that invitation, I got an "I'm in" from 8 ladies.  I then asked a couple of my good friends from my guild, and got two more.  That made a happy little group of 11 ladies.  I decided that 100 was still a good number of blocks, so we will each make 11 sets of 9 plus one extra little block for ourselves.
  The final question was...what is a reasonable amount of time for people to make 100 little churn dash blocks?  We decided on 4 months, which makes it 25 per month.  So, our blocks are due on December 1.  So far, I have made 43 of my blocks.  They are soooo cute!  I am trying very hard to make sure that my blocks are consistent in size and have 1/4 inch allowance for the points on the corners.  They aren't perfect, but so far (thanks mostly to Triangles on a Roll!) they are all 5 inches, and, with a little encouragement, should be pretty easy to work with on the points.  At this point, I am still excited about the project and am trying to finish all of my block by the end of October, as I know from past experience that my longarm business really picks up in October and November for people who need Christmas gifts finished.  Hopefully, no later than this time next year, I will have a finished quilt to show you all.  I plan to set mine just like Liz Porter did hers because I absolutely love it!
  If you think this sounds like fun, just go to fonsandporter.com and search for the 2400 series and the show called Neapolitan.  All the information is there for you.  Find some willing friends, and create your own fun little exchange!
 

On the Road, Again...

 Ahhh, the open road.  What is better than taking a trip, and stopping at every quilt shop you find along the way?  I will tell you...a trip to the National Quilt Museum (stopping at every quilt shop along the way)!  I must tell you all that my husband is a wonderful man.  He is quite long-suffering when it comes to my quilting habit:) Last week he drove me 1600 miles to see the National Quilt Museum in Paducah, Kentucky.  As we drove there and back, he also stopped at 7 (yes, I said 7!) quilt shops without complaining or even rolling his eyes!  After 28 years of marriage, I am more than sure that he is a keeper!
  They don't allow photos in the galleries at the quilt museum, so if you want to catch a glimpse of the wonders that I saw, you will have to click on the link and check out their website.  Suffice it to say that it was impressive and insane and inspiring all at once:)  You MUST go there!!!
  I do, however have pics from the many quilt shops that I visited along the way, and thought I would share some of them with you all. (ya'll to you southerners out there! As a side note, just a few days down south and I was saying ya'll--it is quite contagious!)  First stop...Missouri Star Quilt Co. in Hamilton Missouri where I went to four different building on main street, each housing a theme.  One had all reproductions and Kansas Troubles.  One had all seasonal fabrics.  One was for novelties, brights, and batiks.  One was for solids, blenders, and polka dots.  I was told that when they are through renovating the downtown of this little 1500 people village, they will have TEN buildings!  It was one of the craziest, and coolest things I have ever seen!  I can't wait to go back!

Hamilton, MO was the original home of JC Penneys--now converted to Missouri Star Quilt Co.

This building contained all the solids, blenders, and polka dots and had awesome, modern quilts samples hanging everywhere!

Next stop, Hickory Stick Quilts in Hannibal, MO (hometown of Mark Twain).  This shop filled three downtown buildings.  It was a great shop with lots of samples and handwork.  There was so much to see, I could have spent hours in there!  Great shop!

Along our route, I was collecting rows for my Row by Row Experience quilt.  I HAD to pick up a row featuring the St. Louis Arch in O'Fallon, MO at Suzy Q's Quilting.  The owner was a lovely woman who visited with me and openly shared some ideas that go over well in her shop.  It was to nice of her to be that open with business information when I told her my mom owned a shop and that I was a fellow longarm quilter.  I loved her!  If you are in the St. Louis area, you must stop in there!   I didn't get a picture at Suzy's but the above row by row is from Jackman's Fabrics in Fairview Heights, IL.  It was one of the Quilt Sampler's Top 10 Shops this past spring.  What a huge place!  Their row was cute, and it was the only shop in Illinois on our way to Paducah that had a row, so I had to stop there!

Quilt in a Day shop in Paducah---good prices.  They have batiks for $8.00 per yard.

Inside the Quilt in a Day shop...sadly, no Eleanor Burns :(

Hancock's of Paducah (not the same as the Hancock's Fabrics chain stores!) is a legit quilt shop with TONS of fabric.  I think the only shop I have ever been too with more fabric was the one billed as "the biggest in the country" in Portland, OR last fall.  This picture shows one part of the wideback section...a longarmers's dream!  There were literally rows and rows of fabrics, some for as little as $5.99 per yard.  I bought a Timeless Treasure fabric for a stack and whack for $5.99 that I can't wait to get whacking!!!

On our way home, we did stop at a shop called Prairie Point Quilt and Fabric Shop in Shawnee, KS to pick up another row by row.  By then, I was pretty much out of money, but I got my row of Kansas sunflowers and picked up some cute farmy kid print to complete a baby quilt that I need to make this fall.  All in all, it was a trip to remember, and I didn't even mention the non-quilty things we did!  For the sake of my poor husband, I do plan several non-quilt related activities for his benefit.  He always has a good time on our trips, and there is no other chauffeur I would rather have!