December's Sewn Together



Well, I'm embarrassed but I can hardly remember December's meeting. These pictures help a little - Sarah made this stunning iron caddy. I remember that because she let me pick the thread color for the quilting. I felt like I was 10 again and Mom was asking for my opinion and then kindly explaining why that might not work. Except Sarah just accepted my opinion with gaity. She's like that. Always making you feel like a million bucks.

 

 This picture of Jane cracks me up because she is always pulled together so perfectly. She was sewing these scraps into strips and it looks likes she's made a coat of many colors! She in kind-0f the church darling so that makes sense. All of those scraps were from quilts she's made over the last 20 years. How meaningful now to have enough to give one to each child. She's going to sash them in each kids favorite color.

 

 

 Then Sarah produced these from under her table and allowed us to each pick our favorite. She had extra thermo-batting and bundled them with these adorable fabrics and then challenged us to make our own design of potholder. Oh wait, maybe that was just me. Did the others get patterns? Could have.


I picked the one in the lower right, then traded it for the
upper left, then went back to the first one. Ugh! It's hard
to chose when they're free!

 Marcia got this 30's repro sampler top completed. She whips up quilts like nobody's business but then has to beg her husband Rod to long-arm them. They're the cutest couple in the world and we kid them a lot about their marriage. I can't wait to see this one quilted - wonder what he'll decide to do!

 

And finally here's a happy shot of Pam. You never know what Pam will come with. She has many things going at once and they move along quicker than most, unless of-course it's tax season. Then we miss her dearly. She makes quilts that have instructions to make 1352 flying geese and she'll actually do it. I'd be out after 8. Also, noteworthy here is the scissor lanyard that Sarah made for all of us. There's a joke about keeping those pokey scissor tips away from critical body parts. You can figure it out.

 

 I believe this last shot is a sampling of Sarah's BOM club, or I should say one of her BOMs! Her and Pam have about three going from The Quilt Cove. This one is Women of the Bible.

Happy New Year!

Wow, I'm sort of late to the New Year party but since I haven't written since December it still holds true. By now you're all accustomed to writing 2016 and have Christmas décor put away, right? I'm still finishing the latter, but to be fair, I'm ahead of previous years! I have to have the tree on the street for pick up tomorrow and new to this year - it has to be cut in half! If I was handy with a saw I'd cut it from tip to stump to make two perfect halves, but I don't think that's what they have in mind. Call me 'Amelia Bedelia'!

But we're here for project updates and that's what I've got in store for you. Four very fun things I whipped up in the past weeks that actually got finished and used! Whoa.

The story for the first one is that I at the cutting counter at The Cove to get a selection of fat quarters for my sisters Christmas present. Sarah had gifted me a set of FQ lollipops and I was all gun hoe to duplicate them.

These are the ones I made for Julie. Sarah gave me a set
from a wonderful line called Mon Ami.

Then in one quick instant I heard myself say 'go ahead and give me a half yard, I'm keeping the other FQ.' What???? this right after I had famously vowed to not buy fabric for myself? Well, I rationalized it by stating it's purpose and critical need to the skeptical daughter, 'this is needed for the foyer table'. Now the project was established and I got to spend the next few hours designing a new runner. Hehe.

Modern Barjella? or simply Staggered Strips.

That wave design is supposed to represent the snow we
weren't getting. But then we got snow, so hurray!

 I love doing after Christmas sewing. All the hubbub and rush of the holiday is over and usually I have some free days at home to myself. I offered to sew something for Laina's mentor and after several suggestions, we decided on a bible tote. I'd been dying to cut into my Alison Glass hand dyed batiks and it was really fun to see the colors meld together. I topstitched a few words here and there (love, joy, peace) and also used my specialty stitches - the Greek Key and a cute chain flower.

Love Alison Glass Fabrics!

Piecing the design. It's much harder to make random look
random than you think.

This inside is lined with linen and some utility twill gives it an edgy feel.

Another tote that was gifted was to my adorable niece, Alex. She's a crafty gal and book lover and this tote seemed like just the right thing. I bought some stiff interfacing for totes and learned some key lessons in adding zippers to such a stiff product.

Most of the fabrics are from a line called Let's Play -a cute
line comprised of game motifs.

The pink handles are a Wordfind print.

Inside there are two pockets and another zipper pocket.
It was surprising how much this tote could hold!

I was never more happy than when my friend Diane announced that her daughter was having a baby BOY! I'd been eyeing up the cute boy quilts on Pinterest so I lost no time ordering a green and blue FQ bundle from Bloomerie Fabrics. One of the fabrics was from the line Which Way and that inspired the overall design. Luckily we had Quilt Club that weekend so I got to sew steady on it and reap the benefits of having a room full of experienced quilters. I finished this in one week flat, doing a few hours every night. Now when I look at all my unfinished projects I know that finishing them is possible (as long as there's a deadline!).

Planning with the help of a few photographs. What did
quilters do without iPhones?

The evolution.



I quilted it with a tight meander. I wanted a crumply look.

Staged in my guest room. Scrappy binding, green Minky
Dot on the back. I call it Every Which Way.
Congratulations, Angi and Nathaniel!

Sewn Together Catch-up!

Today, December 12th, we had another fabulous time together sewing, talking, laughing, and indoctrinating new friends. I'm anxious to report on this wonderful day except I can't because somehow I'm now three months behind! So I'm cheating and throwing together a quick summary of both October and November so that I can properly record December's in a timely fashion. Then you know what this means, right? I get to start the new year off with a clean slate - I'll probably even resolve to always stay on track and never ever let six months just slip away! And we all know what happens with resolutions...

So I give you October in picture form (mainly because I can't remember details anymore!)

WHOA!! Check it out! The retreat was in October - not September as I thought. I'm only one month behind. Who's a super hero now? Don't answer that.

I give you November! (Drum roll)

New friend, Jenn McDermid (sadly they moved to ND today!)

New friend, Barb Warner. Making caring hearts for Moms
and babies in PICU.

The other Jen McDermid, making Vera Bradley ID cases! We'll miss Jen,
and Jen's Mom Jenn.

I spent some time training up these young sewers - Lexi Chum, her sister,
and friend Vantasia.

Next up our seasoned sewers showing off all kinds of handiwork.

Marcia is into wool felt applique and it's amazing!

Pam showed off her binding skills by finishing all three of these beauties.



Sarah's Mom, Linda, was not present in person but sent in
this stunner. Just whipped that up one afternoon. No
biggie. OMG!

Sarah reminisced about this family heirloom made from
recycled clothing, mostly polyester.

And here she is displaying the Joanna block from one of her
many Block of the Month clubs. This one is Women of the
Bible. When it's done, both her and Pam will have KING
SIZED QUILTS. That's right Pam, KSZ. Clear a wall!

And while we were doing what normal sewers do, my sister Julie was creating
this masterpiece! Her Magnum Opus. Over 200 pieces? Could that be right?
Whatever, it's insane.

We missed our fearless leader, Tori, but she and her hubby stopped by on their way out of town. Aren't they cute!?

And here's just a few goodies from that month for the non-sewers.

Sue wasn't with us that month for sewing, but I got her to help with the Trunk
or Treat event. On the left is Kim Sullivan, Chuck Wagon extraordinaire.



And then this happened. With wine. From a box. Diane and her daughter, Sadie.

Until next time!

The Man, The Myth, The Legend.



*This post contains no news about quilting or even sewing in general, but when ones father turns 85 years old a blog posting is in order.

 

The man is Orland Niemeier. The myth is just that - a myth. In his own words 'what myth?', we celebrate years of hard work, adversity, ingenuity, and physical fitness. The legend is just beginning.

 

On October 21st, 1930, in the dry, dusty, prairieland of North Dakota a young babe was born in the back corner room of a two-story squared farmhouse. And in that same farmhouse, albeit remodeled several times over, that same babe sat in the opposite corner room in his favorite recliner listening to his offspring describe what would become known as The Farm Olympics. Many surprising guests were on hand - a sister from Florida, escorted by her son, four-fifths of dad's children, and several grandchildren and one grand daughter-in-law.

 

The Challenge was comprised of many of Dad's routine activities, some of which men half his age don't partake in. The list is shown here with legal counsel, Julie, giving her approval. Note that two of the events had to be removed from the roster as they were too risky for ordinary folk (Ditch Burning and Rodent Blasting). And so our version of Are You as Fit as an 85 Year Old was birthed.

 

1. Grain Bin Vertical Scramble

2. Boulder Grapple

3. Nailed It

4. Mower Circumnavigation

5. Farmer Calisthenics

6. Bicycle Sprint to Mailbox

Sis Julie flew in from Virginia Beach, Virginia.

 Below are action shots that I snatched from Gary's Picasa account. The poor quality in no way reflects on his photography skills.

Dad bringing the mail in!

Dad at the top of the bin

Edie and Mom doing jumping jacks

Laina mows

Stella tagging Troy

Troy getting a hernia

Back: Rodney, Annette, ClaraMae, Troy, Kim, Maren, Lee, Orland, Carol, Gary
Front row: Laina, Stella, Ava, Julie, Edie

Every great challenge demands a T-shirt and Dad's was designed by Francis Raval, a friend from my work. Francis' other works can be viewed on Instagram under his name.

 

We have four years to prep for Mom's 85th on 7/4/2019, which I already have plans for. Can you guess the theme?

September, er, October Retreat!



 Long ago in a far away land, ten ladies came together from across the Minnesota plains for one purpose; to escape our husbands, our homes, our routines, our troubles for what would become an epic 36 hours of both mayhem and might. To be cliché, our destination was nested away in the rural landscape of rolling hills and flowing streams, which were dotted with picturesque farms complete with BARN QUILTS (OMGosh!). This place is the real deal and is named Hutchinson or better known as just plain ol' Hutch to the locals. Right on main street is a quaint shop called Quilt Haven on Main. Previously owned by a cranky old witch, a new princess has taken up residence with her handsome prince. Gone are the days of dingy frumpy prints and dusty cival war quilts. Fresh paint, fresh finds, and fresh atmosphere are served up with such honest to goodness friendliness that you want to move right in. QHoM is comprised of two floors, both as satisfying as the next. The lower level holds the goods and the samples (which let's be honest - we want them all!) The upper level is the studio shaped in a large U around a majestic staircase. Modern sewing centers frame the perimeter of the U with quilting inspiration hanging everywhere. The front windows cast a warm light on those lucky enough to snag tables there. The back room has been converted into a mini kitchen/cafeteria for employees and sewers to fuel up and share their love of quilting. We were blessed to visit with the owner, flushed from her bike trek over (who doesn't want to bike to work!?) and then her husband who farms some and manages the finances some. The duo have a long history of hosting sewing parties at their other establishment and hubby has been known to dress in his tux to play butler.

It's no surprise then to find our Tori looking as relaxed and happy as a daisy in the field. The poor gal had a lot on her mind and just quietly sewed while the bright colors of her fabric uplifted her.
Marcia was in heaven! So much so she came back the following Thursday to sew. The trip clocked in at 1 hour 15 minutes, with Rod's instructions to stay away from 494.

 

 Sue had just purchased another baby quilt kit, this one inspired by her son's trip to Africa. Safari animals await that grandchild - now we just need the grandchild!

    

Joining us were Sarah's Mother, the lively Linda, who we know and love! And new to us were a set of twins, Karie and Kathy and their best friend, Carrie. One twin is married to Sarah's brother. These ladies do a lot of sewing together, not to mention all kinds of other life activities - travel, holidays - you name it, they're connected at the hip. And they're no novices when it comes to quilting!

 



Carrie was working on these tiny blocks shown with a scissor for perspective. I can't imagine making those, yet I'm oddly compelled to try. I even bought a tiny pattern (gasp!) for tiny Christmas blocks.

         

Lovely Sarah claimed to be sewing a prom dress as her selection was all glittery and flowy. It turned out to be a display drape for Tori's store.

 

I added another block to the PLUS RUNNER - not the Ecclesiatical Runner or Altar Cloth as my sister calls it. And that lovely delight below is chicken something something pizza from a neighboring restaurant. I have neither the dish or the name! Ugh. I'm not a research journalist! Aha! I am a research journalist. I looked it up. It's Zellas and it's fabulous. The item I ate was a Smoked Chicken Flatbread. So there.

 And last but never least, Pam showed off her latest quilt - a spectacular batik number and then she whipped up a patchwork sewing machine cover! Go Pam!

All too fast our retreat came to a close. Naturally, I had to leave out all the racy details that occurred eating out on Friday (Sarah's parking...Sarah leaving Marcia behind...etc) or at the hotel lobby. But feel free to ask any of us in person what really happened! ;)