Boiling It Down...

"Light Of Day"

... to bullet points. I've been absent for awhile but only because the summer that stretched out ever-so-lazily before us a few weeks ago kicked into full gear and has left me chasing each day just to keep up!  I'll report a few highlights  from the last few weeks and will, hopefully, be back on track here as well as visiting around blogworld again too!

* You might remember the Centennial Quilts project for my DIL's Daddy's church. The quilts were completed and dedicated a week ago Sunday; one is hanging permanently in the sanctuary and the second one was auctioned off for a HUGE sum following a Homecoming picnic luncheon on the church grounds. I was thrilled for the church and buoyed by the happy realization that the quilt held such value!

* My embroidery machine has kicked into overtime stitching up personalized T-shirts, pillowcases and bibs for little ones. Here's just a small sampling.

* Mason joyfully celebrated his fifth birthday at his neighborhood pool, it was a VERY happy day! Our daughter did a wonderful job decorating for the party with adorable, personalized, buckets filled with pool-appropriate favors for the guests. The food was delicious and a good time was had by all!

* Last Wednesday we were invited to breakfast (at their mountain campsite) by our son and his wife. It was raining when we arrived but our spirits weren't the least bit dampened. Following breakfast we caravaned on down the road to visit Tweetsie Railroad. Gregory loved it; although, I believe, the Tweetsie train was a wee bit bigger (and louder) than he expected! We brought the little ones home with us for the remainder of the week, giving Mommy and Daddy some peaceful time together in the home-sweet-tent.

* The kitchen backsplash tiling project has been completed! Now, onto choosing less obtrusive outlet covers!

* And so it goes; busy days filled with everything good, some sewing related items thrown in for self-preservation!  Those seemingly endless summer days have definitely been numbered after all. The R.A.W. (Row A Week) "Light Of Day" quilt top is growing by leaps and bounds. It is being made purposely to cover our King-sized bed and will measure 115" square at completion; that's big,considering the blocks themselves finish at six inches! I will persevere on this one, begun back in 1997. Now that I have an Accuquilt cutter there are no excuses! Speaking of numering things, I can hardly believe I ever began this project cutting the HST's the old-fashioned way; after all there are 1800 pieces in just the blocks, that's NOT counting the sashing strips! 

*  This is how I begin each morning; stiching pinwheels and mentally planning a schedule for the day ahead as I sew.  This quilt top is growing... this photo shows what half of the quilt top looks like... that's a LOTTA pieces! 

Soon there will be much more to share too, 

Sundance is up to a great big surprise, it's all good!

Life is Good!

The Baton Is Passed

Like a quilt relay race, the baton has been passed to the next team, my run is done! Here I was on Saturday, handing off my part by demonstrating the proper way to bury a knot. The hand quilters at Bailey's Chapel UMC took to their leg of the race like well conditioned athletes, they were eager to begin; and off they went, all the while with their eyes fixed on the finish line.

The team basting quilt #2 for hand quilting.

To read more about this centennial quilt project
 click here.

Everyone was ready to take a turn, even their Pastor.
I'm cheering them on now from the sidelines, 
smiling every stitch of the way. Go team, go!
Life is Good!

When I Started Out...

... making quilts there was no other way to quilt than by hand.  After a few years of quilting in a hoop Mr. Goodneedle lovingly crafted me a floor frame which became a permanent piece of furniture in our home through the mid 1990's. Suffice it to say, this trusty scroll style frame hasn't seen much use in the last few decades. This week the borders went on the Centennial Quilts and I went ahead and prepared the first one for hand quilting (by them, this was their choice!) by thread basting the layers together, I fell immediately into that old, familiar, rhythm of the running stitch; I'd all but forgotten how peaceful this process was. Once the basting was complete I worried that I might not even remember how to properly load the quilt sandwich onto the  frame for hand quilting; so, decided to give my memory a quick workout. I was relieved to discover that my worries were unfounded, loading the quilt was like riding a bike; some experiences are ingrained. I'm not old, I've simply lived long enough to accumulate a vast cache of skills; they come in handy every so often. Today these quilts will be passed on to, and remain in, the capable hands of the church's members!  I can collect my frame when they're finished; there's no rush, it was only standing idle in the closet, but at least I'm happy knowing that if, and when, that time comes I can load 'er up...

just like when I started out!

Who's that peeking out from under the quilt?

Life is Good!

A Centennial Quilt, Times TWO!

Bailey's Chapel Centennial Quilt 66" X 78"

I've been helping out with a special project for a local church over the last several months. They wanted a unique way to celebrate their centennial anniversary and settled on a quilt; well, actually, TWO identical quilts! One will hang in their sanctuary and one will be raffled off to support the church. You may recall seeing a photo on this blog of the growing pile of "signature" blocks as I embroidered them, there are 58 of them (per quilt!)! The church members sold these blocks as opportunities to have one's name immortalized on the quilt. They opted for machine embroidery in a consistent font/size so that it would look harmonious and the names would be visible from a distance. I worked from printed forms to ensure that the names/spellings/ dedications were exactly right.

There was a celebratory moment over the weekend when focus shifted from these signature blocks to the machine appliquéed banner sections! There are sections for five photo transfers; the church in every season in each of the four corners plus one larger, 12" square panel, in the center of the quilt a group snapshot of the membership gathered in front of the church at the Centennial Gathering last summer.

I've assisted by serving as the designer (thank you, EQ, you make me look smart!) and facilitator for this project. It won't be long now before workshops are scheduled and I can hand over the units to the church members for assembly. This has been a wonderful collaborative effort and I'm proud to have had a hand in seeing them achieve a dream, I am also very grateful to them for their patience with yours truly!

Life is Good!