Let's Go To a Quilt Show!

The quilt guild over in Circleville, OH, The Good Time Quilters, hosts quite possibly the best quilt show in Ohio. I am not exaggerating. They have been a guild for a whole lotta' years, and have a very active membership. While I am not interested in joining a guild, a few of the gals I sew with regularly are members, so I hear a lot about the group's activities.

The pandemic and lingering shut-downs hampered attendance at functions like quilt shows, but this year's show is one I am glad I didn't miss. I took a little afternoon trip to take in all the loveliness - it did not disappoint!

I took lots of pictures of quilts entered into the show. Rather than talk-talk-talk about all of them, I will let the photos do the work. Enjoy the quilt show!

I mentioned that some friends were in this guild, so we will start with three quilts by Sheryll of the Frankfort Girls. She garnered a couple of ribbons!

Now some random quilts that struck my fancy. Some I liked the colors or the pattern or the simplicity or the uniqueness. No particular order; just pretty quilts.

Each year, one member of the guild is recognized as the feature quilter and a display of that quilter's creations from over the years are highlighted. This is one by this year's feature quilter with ribbons from the year she entered it.

And finally, since the quilts are judged, there is a display of all the top quilts in several categories. Here are the big winners for this year.

You know you enjoyed seeing a few of the quilts displayed at this show. Maybe next year you should plan to go and see them in person! If you love quilts, you are sure to love the show put on by The Good Time Quilters.

Happy Quilting, Friends!

Red and White Double Irish Chain

Finally, I have finished something in the quilting room. What with traveling and a plethora of summer activities, sewing and quilting have had to play second fiddle around here. This classic quilt will be one to be proud of, I do believe.

There's absolutely no prettier combination than red and white for a quilt, would you agree? This is my opinion - until I see a blue and white quilt, or a pink and white quilt, or a purple and white quilt.

Hmmm. Maybe what I like is simply two-color quilts. Do a Pinterest search of 'two-color quilts' and see if you agree.

 Do you want to see more? I took plenty of pictures, heh-heh. Evening light coming in the window casts some long shadows, but it's still pretty.

At present, I do not have borders on this quilt. I am considering adding them, though. I have plenty of both fabrics, so why not? I will chose an easy border, so just a bit of additional time will get the job done.

Here are a couple of shots of my progress. I pinned rows onto my design wall as I went; it is so very motivating to see it come together.

I made a few of the setting blocks over at Terry's house on Tuesday.  It was fun sewing with her in her sewing room.

So what to do next? After doing borders on this, I need to quilt about 3 quilts (or more!), and I am absolutely chomping at the bit to start something new!!

My laptop is fixed, at last! DH picked it up for me today. Maybe I can get back on some sort of regular posting schedule. 

Happy Quilting, Friends!

Anna Maria Island

Did you know I was away last week? That is the reason for such limiting posting. I prepped two posts before I left and scheduled them. 

While I was gone, my laptop went in for a check-up. I'd been experiencing some problems with it, and of course a part needed to be ordered, and I am still waiting to get it back. In the meantime, I am using DH's laptop. 

A photo dump of beach pictures seems in order, but I won't overdo it.

Our flight out of Columbus Rickenbacker Airport was early Sunday morning, just as a thunderstorm was rolling in. Darned if we didn't have to sit for over an hour on the plane as lightning delayed a timely take-off.

Our destination was a condo on Anna Maria Island, Florida. Such a beautiful place, but exceedingly HOT in July! We really cooked! Thank goodness for those gulf breezes.

At the far end of the condo's gathering room, a wall-sized picture window looked out into Tampa Bay. The shot above (only half of the window!) is an early morning view; at night, we could see the beautifully lit Tampa Bay Bridge, knowns as The Sunshine Skyway Bridge. 

 Most of our days consisted of loading this wagon with beach chairs, a cooler, and an umbrella, and then hauling it all to the beach. The white, silky-smooth sand reflected the sun so brightly, and the water aided in that reflecting - it was almost blindingly bright. Some days, we had occasional clouds; some were cloudless. On the last day, towards evening, we had a rather large thunderstorm, which helped cool temps quite a bit.

When we weren't at the water, we were planning where to go for dinner each evening. We tried a different local establishment every night and didn't have a single disappointment. All meals were tasty, unique, and recommendation worthy. 

Our fanciest dining experience was to the Sandbar Restaurant. Our table was open-air with a canopy covering. All of us had delicious entrees. These gals are neighbors (of sorts; it's farm country here) and we get together regularly to play cards. Sally (standing), Rhonda, me, Mindy, and Dorothy.

While I was away, my niece Abby delivered an early surprise - Boone Allen Baker was born Wednesday, July 20. Mom and baby are doing fine; DH and I went to visit in person yesterday. Such a tiny human! He weighed 7lbs, 13.5oz at birth.

It was a fun week, and now I am ready to get back to sewing! I have a quilt loaded on the long arm machine, and a red and white DIC (double Irish chain) as my current WIP (work in progress). 

I'm glad to be home.

Happy Quilting, Friends!

Jayne

Let's Be Realistic

Realistically speaking, it becomes more and more likely as 2022 rolls along that I will fall short on meeting all my goals for this year. Oh well. This does not aggravate or disappoint me in the least. Those goals I set each January are best guesses at what I will be eager to make in the coming year. Let's delve in to the list to assess the situation.

Items done to either the flimsy or quilted stage: 1 (quilted), 2 (quilted), 4 (flimsy), 5 (flimsy), 6 (flimsy), 8 (flimsy), and 11 (flimsy).

Temecula Baskets - Item 6 on the list.

 

I have just started working on #3 - red Double Irish Chain. Excited to be doing this one!

Item 7, Lake Effect, continues as a work in progress. I need to get myself in gear on this project. There is no reason I can't have this further along.

Now we come to the goals that are looking doubtful in being completed. I have not made a single stitch on any of the UFOs mentioned in item 10. One day about a month ago, I pulled out a couple of those tubs and pattern notebooks. It was more than I could handle; I put them right back away. One of these might be tackled before year's end; I sure would like to think I could make a bit of progress somehow.

The only progress I have made on items 9 and 12 might be slightly more impressive; I have combined the two. I will make Lil' Orphan Scrappy using my William Morris fabric. Clever, eh? I am holding onto some hope that I will get going on this in the next few months. It seems doable, and I have a strong desire to make it.

Item 13 - this one won't be done. Period. It was an idea that Sharon and I entertained for awhile, but we are both just far too busy to commit to it.

In regards to the 14th item - quilt 2 quilts per month on the long arm - I am off the mark, here, and ought to direct my focus to this more than I do. I still fear failure on this machine, even with several successes under my belt. Those darned eyelashes have really caused a setback. I must persevere.

The 15th and final item on the goals list, I am happy to report, I am making magnificent strides accomplishing. I just start new stuff all the time. More starts! More and more and more! I love this part of the process. Beginning new projects is just so much fun. I try to keep my verve, and more often than not, I do finish what I start (except for QALs, i.e., item 10). I can count quite a few new flimsies and a couple of quilted finishes that fall into this 15th goal.

One of the TBA quilts - Stepping Stones

Cottage Green - TBA quilt - it's quilted, too!

One of the many TBA quilts that crop up are baby quilts. I have 2 baby boy quilts ready to be quilted, and 2 more needing to be made. 

Another TBA area that I must keep in mind: those projects that just show up. I willingly take on additional things, and I love helping out friends in a pinch. I quilted a couple baby quilts for a friend. I willingly took on the task of finishing a handful of quilts for another. 

And, more impactful than either of those - I am always finding more quilts that I want to make! And more fabric that I want to sew! Geesh.

One upcoming TBA quilt will be made with these fabrics.

Earlier I said that I would assess the goals situation, and after going through the list, I have come to the conclusion that I created this year's goals more as a guide to stay on track, as opposed to definite accomplishments I wanted to achieve. Add in a month-long vacation in Florida in January, and a 2-week vacation out west in June. We are living it up in our retirement! 

Internet pic - inspo of a quilt I want to make.

It's the 3rd week of July. August through December - what will I be able to accomplish in 5 months? I have big ideas! I sure hope I can achieve quite a few more goals. 

Happy Quilting, Friends!

Oldest UFO Series

UFOs bother some quilters immensely, while others collect them like they are no big deal at all. I myself would fall into the latter category, and have no qualms at all stacking up UFOs all over the place. 

In 2016, we Frankfort Girls agreed to do a year-long UFO challenge in which we attempted to finish one UFO per month. I failed miserably.

Not everyone failed, but enough of us did that we tried again in 2017. That year, I had great success in eliminating 12 UFO - one per month. It was supremely satisfying to have accomplished the feat. Click this link to see my 2017 completions.

Fast-forward to the present. For a few months, I have been thinking about doing a series on oldest UFOs. Since I quilt with quite a few ladies who are long-time quilters like myself, I thought it would be fun to poll my friends to see if they would be willing to share their oldest UFOs, also. Over the course of the next few months, I will bring you a diverse range of UFOs from my quilting girlfriends. I currently have two or three queued up, so let's start this little series.

My oldest UFO dates from 1990, and I can be very specific about this because in the book with this pattern, I found a note on which I dated my beginning. In 1992, I did further work on this project, according to the note, and since then, I have done nothing.

These applique pieces have been stored in this zip-bag for nearly 30 years, awaiting the day I become brave enough to finish the quilt. Every now and then I come across this buried treasure in the quilting room, and longingly think that it needs to be finished. Yes, after 32 years, I still like this quilt and have every intention of seeing it completed someday.

The entire saga of this quilt is outlined fully in this blog post from 2012. 

For those of you not interested in the saga, here is a picture of the quilt. Isn't it lovely? It will look so pretty on the white iron bed in our guest room. I need to make this a priority. This year? Next year? We shall see. 

How about you? Do you dare share with us your oldest UFO? Whether you ever intend to finish it or not, it's an interesting trip down memory lane to see where you once were as a quilter, and how you've progressed over the years.

Share with us, if you like! I would love to see what variety we have stored in the depths of our closets, bins, and  drawers. If you do any sort of social media, link up with me and I will share your oldest UFO here with ours.

Who knows? It might just spark a notion to finish an aging UFO!

Happy Quilting, Friends!