Finishing Off Quilt Camp

Today, I find myself with a list of catching up items to take care of. First, I will finish off the photos from quilt camp. I will use some of my photos as well as some that camper Linda sent.

Kay was busy (when isn't she busy??) one day late in the week sewing a binding onto this quilt. I wish I had pictures of all that Kay accomplished last week, but I do not. Anyway, Kay, in her infinite kindness, has been assisting an elderly friend with her quilting. I have thought that this would be a cool thing to cover here on the blog, and I might just get around to it. The short version for now is that this friend, Dorothy, doesn't like to put on bindings, so Kay does it for her, and then Dorothy sews them down. This is a string quilt that will be given to either a friend or a family member. (All of Dorothy's quilts have been given away - mostly to grandchildren and great-grandchildren.) In the picture above, Kay is pointing out that some of these fabrics are scraps from previous ones Dorothy has made.

Are you keeping track of the number of quilts Kay has made or worked on for the week? She has had this blue and white project for about 5+ years, and I remember when she bought some of those batiks. It is called Summer Breeze - it definitely looks like its name. The finished quilt will have long setting rows of white; the resulting top will then have these windows of blue with the white surrounding them. It looks fantastic.

Let's tally up Kay's production for quilt camp: 1) borders on gray and yellow quilt; 2) Hot Tamale kit; 3) Tower Bridge kit; 4) binding on Dorothy's string quilt; 5) Summer Breeze. All this, and she still helped Rhonda with her t-shirt quilt, and went out to pick up lunch every day (time-consuming). She is amazingly productive, you know?

Moving on, I have been showing you progress throughout the last week on Linda's quilt. Here is it with most of its borders attached. She plans to use the green as the binding. I think Linda is very pleased with the results of her week at quilt camp, and rightly so!

Maria, the gal with the man's suit repurposed into framed art (see Monday's wrap-up), came on Wednesday or Thursday and worked on this bird quilt. I was not present when Maria made this, so I do not know if there is any significance to the fabric or to birds. I suppose if there is, someone will let me know. Wouldn't you love to make a fast quilt out of some of your fabrics that are just too precious to cut into tiny pieces?? This is the sort of quilt that would work perfectly.

Sherrie worked all week piecing these blocks out of Indigo Crossing fabrics. I think this quilt ended up being much more labor-intense than she expected it to be; as of Friday, she was still not sewing rows together. Instead, she was making corner and side blocks. You can be sure, though, that this will be perfect when it is finished, as Sherrie is always one of the most meticulous quilters in the room. In case I haven't mentioned it, the quilt is to be a gift to her niece who recently got married.

Anita spent the latter half of the week repairing this tied quilt. The backing was threadbare and worse, so she put a fleece layer over it and retied the blocks. She called it a reclaimed quilt, and I thought that she had a rather unique way of handling the repair.

Are you thinking that this looks like a really pretty bag?? I would have on first glance. But I knew before I saw it that it was something entirely different. When it is unfastened and unfolded, look at what you get:

It is an ironing mat that folds into an iron carry-case! The shop - Old Town Fabric Shop, that is - sells the pattern. Kelly, owner and hostess extraordinaire, shared this little gem with us. For quilters who do a lot of sewing on the road, this would be a very handy addition to the traveling cargo.

For my own quilting from quilt camp, I did not get to make any additional HSTs on Friday afternoon. Instead, I had to finish the binding on the bridal quilt we Frienzies made for Kaitlyn, whose shower was Sunday afternoon. I did get it done, but it took me all day Friday, and even a little bit on Friday evening. I handed it off on Saturday when a few of us met to go to the NQA show in Columbus.

And with that segue, I will share the NQA show pics in an upcoming post, as well as the latest from the Frankfort girls' recent meeting at JoAnn's. Additionally, I want to revisit my goals for the year, since we are halfway through the calendar year. I think I just might need to ramp up my productivity a bit.

It appears I have plenty to cover, so come on back to check on me!

Happy Quilting, Friends!

Half-Square Triangles Everywhere!

My focus for Quilt Camp sewing was to use up some Kaffe Fassett scraps. I have so many leftover pieces - particularly squares of various sizes - 3-inch; 5.5-inch; 6-inch mostly. As camp got closer and closer, I decided to make HSTs out of them. At some point during the sewing, I would decide how to use them.

Here is what I'd accomplished by the end of the day Wednesday.

I started with the 3-inch squares and made all the blocks with the 4 little HSTs. Originally I had them all laid out side by side. Two things occurred to me: one - I would need a boatload of them in order to make an entire quilt, and two - it was so busy! My eye would just not rest anywhere!

That is when I began to entertain the notion of separating them with a larger, single HST. I like how this has given a bit of order to it, and is not so overwhelming.

I will be back to camp tomorrow afternoon. I have lots of KF scraps left, and plan to add more to this quilt.

I will get pics of everyone's progress and continue to share here. I am pleased to report that one of the quilters - Linda - has taken pics in my absence, and has emailed them to me. I am able to fill in some gaps with her photos, so I do still have lots of stuff to share!

And, speaking of Linda, I don't know what kind of brain cramp I was having when I put together the last post. I completely left Linda out of the wrap-up! Sorry, Linda!! I don't know where my brain was!

See the progress in just one day? I took the top picture at around 9:30 am, and the bottom picture at around 3pm. Linda is another quilter who is going to have a finished quilt top by the end of camp.

Ok. Now all wrap-up through Wednesday is complete. I will use some of Linda's pictures to show you what went on Thursday in my next post. Stay tuned, Peeps! ;)

Happy Quilting, Friends!

Quilt Camp - Wednesday Wrap Up

It is definitely impressive what can be accomplished when quilters devote extended time to their projects. I am only a part-time attendee at camp this year, and I am thrilled with my progress. Those who are attending every day, all day are making amazing things - yes, multiple things!

Let's start with Kay. She began the week by putting borders on the yellow and gray baby quilt, and then prepping the backing for it. When that was finished, she pulled out a kit and proceeded to finish it!

 

 

 

Granted, it was an easy pattern, but she did have to cut; that takes time, you know! Anyway, Kay has now moved on to the second kit.

 

 

I am sure it is finished as I type this post (24 hours later).

 

Pam is another excellent example of getting things done. She came on Tuesday with the intention of scrapbooking. However, she found herself inspired by all the quilting, so after expressing her desire to make an "I Spy" quilt for her grand-niece, she got started on Wednesday morning.

 

Cutting a big pile of novelty fabrics into 5" squares.

Pam works really fast and here she is quilting it!

This is a darling quilt that the 3-year-old niece will absolutely love.

Here are the rest of the quilters and their projects as of Wednesday.

 

This is Anita's project. It was a kit.
I didn't have the pattern to share with you on the previous post.

Look at the progress! Isn't it a fun quilt!

I wanted you to see the crayon border print.

And also the colorful sashing fabric.

Georgia has made fantastic progress on her Stack and Whack UFO.
She had to pack everything up at the end of the day Wednesday because she is heading off to Florida.



At last year's camp, Georgia was making these stars - primarily pink, her favorite color! - and I asked
if she'd share her progress with me. These certainly give me big ideas for yet another Kaffe quilt!
 

This is the pattern that Kelly, our lovely hostess, was working on.

The book is a Thimbleberries. This is one I don't have, believe it or not!

The quilt is a king size; Kelly intends to use it in her house. Does this not look fantastic??

Pat has made spectacular progress on her blue and yellow quilt.

This is a picture of the quilt in the pattern book. It is called Blueberry Blue.

The pattern is in this Thimbleberries book.

 

Sherrie was close to laying out her blocks as we ended our day on Wednesday.
I cannot wait to see this come together!

Her quilt pattern is called Fire Drill.

The book Sherrie is using is called Modern Patchwork by Elizabeth Hartman.

Rhonda came with the intent of making a t-shirt quilt for her son;
I think this is going to be a finished top by week's end!

At the end of the day, one of the shop's customers, Pamela Sperling, came in with her newly quilted quilt. This was quilted by Cindy Henderson, Kelly's mom and shop co-owner. It is called Family Tree by Edyta Sitar. It was made from a kit purchased at Old Town Fabric Shop. Isn't it spectacular? The appliques are all of batik fabrics, and the background is from the Laundry Basket line.

Well, friends, I was a bit late with today's wrap-up; I apologize for that, but I do sometimes have to share my computer. I will share what I am working on in tomorrow's post.

 

Happy Quilting, Friends!

 

 

 

Quilt Camp Wrap-Up -- Monday

The 2013 Quilt Camp is off and running in a very hospitable and comfortable location. The Old Town Quilt Shop is hosting us, and as expected, the accommodations are wonderful. Spaciousness is probably the most notable feature. My goodness! We could double our numbers, I do believe!!

Since so much is going on, I think I will just post the pics and offer an explanation in the captions. No need for extra narration, right??



Anita is making this fun crayon quilt. I think it will be wall-hanging size,
but don't quote me on that! I will follow up.

Before I even arrived, Georgia had finished this block for the
Mill Girls quilt along that she is in. I love this quilt.

So after finishing her Mill Girls block, Georgia pulled out this UFO of a Stack and Whack project.
The floral is a Kaffe Fassett fabric. Looks spectacular!

Kay only needed to apply the borders of this very cool gray and yellow quilt.
It is a baby quilt for Frienzie Lyn's newest grandbaby, due soon!

The back of the baby quilt will be quite a treat for the eyes!

Kelly, shop owner, was binding this patriotic quilt. All the fabrics are batiks!

Linda had this pattern out of a magazine, and began it Monday.
She is altering the instructions a bit, but looks to be
well on her way to a great-looking quilt!

Here are a couple of blocks for Linda's quilt.

Not all the activity is quilting. Maria came with a project she'd been procrastinating over. The gray fabric is the suit of a recently deceased loved one. She had embroidery applied and is framing them for the children.

Here is a close up of the embroidered sentiment.

Pat is starting a blue and yellow quilt. The pattern is from a Thimbleberries book,
but you'll have give me a couple of days to get the exact name and title for you.



Sherrie is making a quilt for a recently married niece. This blue and beige/tan quilt will be a modern design. I will have to get the specifics before the week is out.

My own work on half-square triangles went very well. I had a stack of scraps of 3.5-inch squares. So I sewed across the diagonal and ended up with a lot of very pretty HSTs - I need a whole lot more, so stay tuned for pictures later this week.

My plan for this week is to attend quilt camp on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. DH and I have a date tomorrow in Columbus, and I still have that book to read for book club, which is Thursday evening. We have decided to meet at a restaurant in Chillicothe, instead of here at my house. So reading is what I must make time for! Yikes!

Happy Quilting, Friends!