A Memory Quilt, Scrapbook-Style

Back in August of 2002 I set out to make my mother a special surprise for her 70th birthday, which was in June of the following year. I sent out letters to everyone in my Mom's address book asking for photos that I could borrow, short-term, the idea being that I would copy their pictures onto fabric transfer sheets and assemble them into a memory quilt for her; one that told the story of her life. It was to be a surprise. The response was phenomenal! 

Armed with these two items: a copy of Ami Simms' Creating Scrapbook Quilts, and a generous supply of Photos-to-Fabric sheets, I assembled collage style photo sheets and made numerous trips to Office Depot for the transfer process on their huge, stand-alone, copy machines. At that time, this product was the go-to for photo transferring. The results speak for themselves.

In these detail shots: my Mom, at age 5, at a Christmas party with friends in the late '90's, and Mom and me in 1954. Somewhere I have photos of her on her birthday, opening this big surprise (they're eluding me at present) but, needless to say, she was completely surprised and treasured this quilt for the last twenty-one and a half years. I brought it home; it will have a special place with me here now. The processes may have changed in the last two+ decades. Those transfer sheets are no longer available, I now find a similar product on line and print them at home on my own printer. The technique book, an excellent resource, is no longer being printed but you can purchase one here today. Also, all things considered, I would likely quilt this differently if I were making it again today. But, I'm not; and it's all good!

Their engagement photo, 1951; 

my Mom and Dad were married over 72 years. 

💗

Life is Good!

Pi Day

An oldie, but a goodie; always appropriate on 3.14!

Life is Good! 

Mask Making 2.0

More mask making; for friends and family, from my favorite pattern, but with a new twist.

 The Valami mask, in children's sizes, their Mom just so happens to be an Auburn Tiger. 

The Valami face mask (linked above) has now added the ear-loop option as well as children's sizing. I am continuing to make mine with batiks, (believe it or not, I'm getting down to the bottom of my batik stash) as the tighter weave provides added filtration, and lining mine with a soft, cotton knit. These masks also feature a pocket that will accommodate an extra filter, if desired, and copper nose wires, sewn in, for the perfect custom fit. The first masks that I made had over-the-head, tie-behind-the-neck, fastening with soft, T-shirt ties. For these most recent batches I've turned entirely to the easy-on, easy-off, adjustable (with a pony bead) ear loops; also made with soft, non-chafing, T-shirt ties. Thanks, Valami, for continuing to tweak and improve on an already superior pattern! You can download the free pattern here.  It's looking more and more like North Carolina is going to go under a state mandate for mask-wearing in public; the capital city here has already fallen under that mandatory law beginning today. That being said, face masks are going to be around for a the forseeable future; you might as well be wearing one that fits well and properly, for everyone's protection. I have plans to go through my overflowing scrap basket (scraps too small to re-shelve) tomorrow and see how many more masks I can make toward this effort.

And sew it goes...

Life is Good!

This and That

I'm keeping busy, there's always too much to do and not enough time to get it all accomplished. I don't know how I ever got anything done at all when I was allowed to leave the house! As fast as I finish one project I find three others to work on! I began setting these stitcheries together with low volume 25-patches.

These squares measure 5" finished; with the one inch framing border all around this becomes a 12 inch block. Right now I have a few ideas in my head as far as where these will go eventually, but I will set them aside for now and let the ideas simmer.

I found this new (to me) product that's too good not to share my rave review: if you've ever been confronted with an errant thread that gets caught between your quilt layers and shadows through the top, here's the solution! No matter how well you trim before loading and layering your quilt, threads happen. This is a super-fine tool with a micro hook on the end that slips easily through the weave of cotton fabric, grabs that thread and retrieves it without leaving a trace! Once again, Clover notions to the rescue, they make the best products! I'm really excited about this one. 

We got the sweetest homemade card in the mail from our oldest two grandchildren in the Capital City, they each wrote personal notes inside. They're (along with all the schoolchildren in our state) about to experience the longest summer vacation ever as the governor announced on Friday that schools won't open again this academic year. I feel so sorry for all the children, I can't even imagine. 

Life goes on: Mama Carolina Wren coaxed the babies out of their deep, secluded nest-- they're on their own. She's been so busy flitting in and out with bugs and other treats to feed them, we'll miss watching the activity through the window at our breakfast table. But, now, the brick column can be removed; Mr. G. had that on his "to do" list but was detoured, temporarily, by the babies. 

Adapting during our stay-at-home in an upside down🙃 world: Quiltkeemosabe gave me this wonderful panel; I'm going to load it up and quilt it, as is, to use as a table runner. Isn't it wonderful? It measures 43" X 19". Since it's where we are, and there's no place like it, it's the perfect time. I have found another mask pattern to try out. I have always been a huge Ami Simms fan; so, when this one hit the Internet, naturally I downloaded the pattern and am giving this style a try. This will be the third style that I've stitched up. I lost track a long time ago how many I've made, it's ongoing.

😷

Speaking of Quiltkeemosabe- her husband is coming home from his five week hospital/rehab stay (non-COVID!) tomorrow, at long last. Thanks one and all who continued to hold him in prayer for health and healing. Please continue to pray for him and his family as he acclimates to being back home again and gains his strength back. 

😷

Please indulge me in a soapbox moment: I am deeply saddened and highly aggravated to witness the public shaming, name-calling and finger-pointing that I see on social media aimed at those who may not be complying with the current "rules" for virus prevention or spread as the accuser deems appropriate. Let's all keep in mind here that everyone is doing the very best that they can based on the information that they have. If you see someone without a mask, and you're uncomfortable, avoid them. If you see someone who's not observing social distancing, then be careful to keep your own distance. If a business opens back up and you don't feel safe entering, then, by all means, don't. Wash your hands, keep yourself and your loved ones as safe as you can; but, please, please, be kind. We can't possibly know everyone's story or current circumstance. We're all tired of being isolated, worn out from concern and eager to put this behind us-- but, we're all in this together and a little kindness goes a long, long way.

"More than that, we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope and hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us." - Romans 5:3-5

Life is Good!

Home Shopping Club

Inspired by Bonnie Hunter at a recent Guild meeting, I have pulled out the scrap bins and "shopped" at home. I don't know why I hadn't been shopping at home all along! Years ago, inspired and fired-up by the very same  quiltmaker, I took all of my scraps leftover from other projects and dutifully cut them up into squares and bricks in usable sizes, employing Bonnie's 'Scrap User's System'. I labeled my bins accordingly and put them under my cutting table, it's where they live. Occasionally I would get them out, the granddaughters like to create using the bins of pre-cut small squares for doll-sized quilts; but other than that, they languished-- out of sight, out of mind. I had forgotten the most basic premise of this system, the reason I spent all of those days weeks months cutting up the scraps in the first place, this is designed to be the Scrap USER'S System, not the Scrap SAVER's System!  During Bonnie's inspirational program and spectacular show-and-tell of her myriad of finished quilts she kept reminding those of us in the audience to shop our own stashes. Yes, she said, go and buy new too, mix it in; but remember: for every yard of already owned fabric that you use you are earning yourself a pass to purchase that much more. Hmmm, I wondered, how much do I have already stashed that needs to be used up. How can I earn myself a pass to buy more without guilt attached? I set out to shop at home and see what was right under my nose. The first bin that needed my attention was that of the 2.5" X 4.5" bricks; the bin was crammed full of so many that the lid didn't fit anymore! (see, Scrap SAVING was getting me nowhere!) I removed the contents and while straightening and sorting these pre-cut rectangles I grouped them into contrasting pairs by fours. I chain-pieced them together.

There were lots and lots of pairs (times four)!

Then, I cut the paired bricks diagonally from corner to corner.

I shuffled the pieces to make two Twin Sister blocks, one positive and one negative. These were then sewn together as shown and trimmed into one 5.5" block, unfinished. I did this over and over.

The results are above, a start to a charity quilt; more rows will be added to make it a nice, usable size. Next month our little mission church is beginning a quilt ministry to create donation quilts (and blankets and afghans) for disaster relief. This is but a small seed that will grow toward that effort. I am feeling quite pleased to have spent such a small amount of time, in reality, making something from what I already had. But this newly-inspired me didn't stop there, oh NO!

Gregory needs a big boy quilt on his bed to replace his tattered and thread bare Picture Play Quilt. (Nothing thrills me more than to have a quilt worn-out from love! 💗) He said that he would like one that is tan, green and blue. I designed a few layouts in EQ8 and he selected his favorite (above). My original plan was to shop for fabric when I'm at Mid-Atlantic Quilt Festival later this week. But then I remembered that I have my own home shopping club! Back to the bins: for squares and rectangles that meet the criteria. How much more fun will this one be? A tan, green and blue quilt made from pieces that Nana has saved (and now is USING!). I am giddy with excitement. I don't feel one bit bad about shopping outside the home for a consistent sashing and/or border fabric; not at all. What do you have in your own home that you can "shop" for? You might just be surprised!

Oh, and in case you think that this new-found excitement and inspiration may wear off; not a chance. I bought Bonnie's newest book at the meeting, I'm good for months years!

Life is Good!

The Year of the Dog

In honor of Chinese New Year, and this being the zodiac year of the dog, I have brought this quilt out to celebrate; an oldie but a goodie. This was constructed from an Ami Simms pattern (Dog Yeared Calendar) back in 2003 and completed (quilted and bound) in 2010. It never loses its appeal to me, even after all this time. Probably because I had so much fun with every little element of making this one!

Obviously, in this house, the year of the dog is a per-PET-ual one!

Life is Good! 

One Word Wednesday

~ Done! ~
Life is Good!

String Quilting

The quilting's done; this close up of the front (and back... lighter blue) is the most color-accurate  of the pictures that I took on this cloudy day. I'll spend the afternoon today working on a hanging sleeve and binding for this one. I put a hanging sleeve on every quilt that I make, no matter where the quilt will be used. I apply the sleeve (from extra backing fabric) before the binding, incorporating it into the finishing process, that way I never have to think about adding one again... it's already there! This one is destined for the back of the rocking chair in our guest bedroom. This quilt is the result of a workshop on String Quilting that I took from Ami Simms three years ago at Mid-Atlantic Quilt Festival in Hampton, VA.; I'm extremely happy with the final outcome!

Life is Good!

Coming Up For Air

"Coming Up For Air" ~ 60" X 78"

I've been on a roll lately, the queue of "to be quilteds" isn't quite as long as it used to be; I've been using up a lot of fabric (backings), quilting thread and batting too; it's all good. I'm loading this String quilt  top today, it's the product of an Ami Simms class that I took at Mid Atlantic Quilt Festival back in February of 2012. I was hunting for enough backing fabric (5 yards) for this one when I received a message from a friend last week that she had found an odd bolt of Marcia Derse fabric (no longer available) by Troy that's about as old this quilt top. She remembered that I had been looking for this fabric some time ago and set the bolt back for me, she assured me that there was enough fabric remaining to back this String quilt. I stopped my my LQS and purchased 5 yards yesterday! Score!! Or so I thought.
When I got home and introduced the front to the back it was apparent that this fabric just wouldn't work... it's too mushroomy-gray compared to the honey-toned creams on the front.; this wasn't turning out to be the match made in heaven that I had hoped.  Now I was faced with another decision; piece a back from matching scraps left over from the class or dive a little deeper in my stash closet... I chose to take the plunge!

When I came up for air this is what I had clutched in my hand... and, yes, there's enough; it's a fabric ("Painted Desert" line from Hoffman International) that I loved so much back in the mid 1990's I bought all that I could at that time; a long-ago purchase that's paying off today. It's the absolute perfect backing for this quilt... and, a name has been assigned to this quilt now too, in honor of today's diving adventure:  "Coming Up For Air"; that moniker describes not only the sky quality of the quilt's backing fabric but also my recent full-on run at finishing up quilting projects. So, what to do with a now prewashed and pressed 5 yard length of Marcia Derse fabric? Not to worry, it will likely come in handy twenty years or so from now... after all, I'm on a roll!

Life is Good!

Ami's Amazing Puzzle Ball

I was contacted a while back and asked if I would be willing to test out a brand-new pattern for Ami Simms. I agreed, quickly; as many of you know I love everything that Ami comes up with and her patterns are, hands-down, my most used! There were a number of affirmative responses to Ami's query, from all over the country, and a test-panel was composed. We each received a package including everything we needed to make a "puzzle ball" and an early-draft test pattern. The sewing began! E-mails flew back and forth, there was a constant flurry of activity among the panel! There were corrections, additions, deletions and, ultimately, there were puzzle balls! Lots of them!!  Ami is smart. She thinks and rethinks, she pushes and delves into each stitcher's brain. Her patterns don't go public until she is satisfied that each step is defined, explicit and well-illustrated... tried and true! You know how it feels when you purchase a pattern that is vague and short on directions, one that leaves you hanging; it's not any fun at all, you feel frustrated and cheated. I guarantee that won't be the case with this pattern; the Amazing Puzzle Ball was fun to make, each step is made abundantly clear, and it goes together very well.

Here's my completed "test" version. Isn't it amazing? It's every bit as much fun to hold as it was to make!

This is the amazing ball taken apart... that's the "puzzle" part! Isn't this genius? Fun for everyone!

You can watch Ami disassemble and reassemble one here; it's easy peasy!

You can pre-order the pattern here.

Roll with me on this; you know someone who would love one. 

But, I'm betting, you won't can't stop at just one!

Make one for a friend, a cat, a child you love; 

make one (in each size) to keep for yourself,

you can't let them have all the fun!

Life is Good!