Quilting With Friends

It has been ages since I last shared the quilts my quilting friends have made. Let's take care of that right now!

First, the most egregious oversight of all is the quilt that Sharon made for Reagan. Oh my goodness, this is such a darling quilt!

Back in August, when a group of us sewed at retreat, Sharon was very sneaky when she purchased a kit. I had no idea what she intended as I was obliviously wrapped up in my own little quilting world. Very soon, though, I found out that she had bought and stitched an entire quilt for Reagan!

It is the perfect size for a baby quilt, and the colors are so cheerful. Sharon and I both have become overly fond of the beauty and simplicity of 9-patch quilts, and this is one is perfectly executed.

Baby Reagan will grow into this quilt, to be sure! I hope I see it being used - and loved! - a lot as she grows up.

The Frankfort Girls were here at my house last week, and two of the ladies had quilts for show and tell.

Becky, our resident applique queen, just got this beauty back from the quilter. Isn't it spectacular? She said it was her very first experience with applique. I am just in awe of such intricate work. Certainly another masterpiece from her talented hands.

Helen had two quilts to share. This first one was a kit given to her by Terry just a few weeks ago. Once again, here's proof that the simple 9-patch block can result in a gorgeous quilt! The border fabric is by Betsy Chutchian, and the chevron border adds impact, but those 9-patches on point sure do capture my fancy!

The other quilt that Helen shared was a UFO that (I think!) her sister had handed off to her. She was unsure about how to finish it herself, as directions were either unavailable or unclear. Anyway, she took what she could use and "created" a finish that she felt she would be able to use.

These quilting friends continue to inspire me to keep up my own efforts in the sewing room. I have been way off my game this year, and when I see these beautiful creations, I find myself 'itching' to get back to it.

Happy Quilting, Friends!

Jayne

Many Random Projects

It has been ages since I have shared projects from the girls I quilt with regularly. This all stems back to the blogging slump I was in, I guess. From my recent little stretch of blogging output, I think my slump might be over (hope so!), and I need to clear this unfinished business.

I will do this in roll-call order, since time order is completely irrelevant at this point. By first names, we shall begin with Becky, and the last time I sewed with her she was binding her Generals' Wives quilt! What a gorgeous quilt this is! (Do a search of the web; you'll see!) She has a comfy visitor there beside her - Chuck the cat curled up for a nap.

Below, is Jan's "Eye Spy" quilt made for her little grandson Geoff. He will get lots of mental stimulation from this! As a retired primary school teacher, Jan loves all the primary colors and the matching and counting activities inherent in this kind of quilt.

Above, Jan is demonstrating how she personalizes items with her embroidery machine. We were at her house recently and in just a 2-minute demo, she whipped out this towel for me. It was fun to watch.

Other projects from Jan in recent months involve EPP - she is prolific with creating these beautiful blocks.

One final project from Jan is another for her grandson of crayons in primary colors. This will be so much fun!

Laura recently spent a day with us at Terry's and devoted the entire time to cutting out projects. I think she worked on 3 or 4 - maybe even 5. She is prolific, so this must be part of her time-saving methods, tested and true over time, I'm sure. Laura prefers little quilts with tiny pieces - and they always look amazing.

Next is Sharon who loves to hand-stitch smaller projects - the wall hanging and table runner variety, mostly. These are hand-stitched. Yes. See what I mean about tiny?!

Sheryll has many wool applique projects in her past, and she continues to crank them out with amazing speed. Her home is filled with lovely creations similar to this.

Finally, Terry produces gorgeous creations as fast as ever. On top of piecing and quilting her own stuff, she has a small long-arm business on the side, making her productivity all the more impressive. Below, she has binding to finish on this pretty fall table runner.

More recently, she was making a gazillion stars for an impressive quilt. I don't have an exact count, but there could easily be 80-100 of these stars in that particular quilt - lots of stitching! Lots of fun!

Finally, I will show a quilt that Terry entered into the Ross County Quilt Guild's quilt show which was held in August or September. It's been awhile. I never get tired of gazing at this beautiful quilt made from a Kim Diehl pattern.

Well, this has certainly been a hodge-podge of quilts. I hope you haven't been too distracted by my scattery methods. Now that this old business has been dealt with, I can work on trying to stay a bit better caught up.

Have a great Friday!
Happy Quilting, Friends!

A Simple Red and White Quilt

This quilt is proof that a quilt doesn't have to be intricate to be beautiful. The simplicity of this gives it a beauty in its own right.

 Sharon was over yesterday for our weekly sew-together, and she machine-quilted this. It belongs to her neighbor, and has some sentimental value. Sharon is finishing it for her, and is nearly there. She prepped the binding (below); will attach and stitch down soon. Sharon wants to return it in time to be used for Christmas decorating.

Wouldn't you love to have that to add to your holiday decor?

Happy Quilting, Friends!

Quilting With Friends - Part 3

A quilter can't help but be inspired to get busy on projects when she quilts with the likes of quilters that I am blessed to know. Recently, several of us sewed at Terry's and I'd like to show you a few of the beauties the girls were working on.

These delightful creations were all from 2 ladies - Laura and Jan, both friends from the quilt guild that a few of the Frankfort girls belong to.

Aren't you inspired to get busy?

Happy Quilting, Friends!

The Best

The  best sewing/quilting is that which is done with friends. I am so fortunate to have a wide circle of friends who enjoy sewing together. This week, for example, 4 opportunities to sew with others appear on my calendar.

Monday had me with the Frienzies at Sherrie's house for sewing. We made lots of stars for a quilt that is sort of hush-hush. I don't think the recipient(s) is a reader here, so a tiny hint like this won't spoil any future plans for a surprise. Needless to say, though, you won't be seeing any pictures of it for awhile. *grin*

Tuesday, yesterday, took me to Grove City and Mary's Barn. Six quilters met and 4 of us worked on the project she was offering: a Peek-A-Boo Bag. We had such a variety of fabrics for this cute little bag. (I will share the projects of the other two girls in another post.)

Mary, our hostess and teacher extraordinaire, had the black
and white bag finished; she made the red one along with us.



Colleen, a new acquaintance, made this bag. I love the colors!

Monica made this bag. Love the colors on it, too!
It looks good in both traditional and modern prints.

Terry's bag featured polka dots, and it, too, looks great!
 



My bag was a bit of a bugger to finish.
Instead of using interfacing, I used a thin batting.
It wasn't such a good substitution.

I started a second bag while at Mary's and finished it here at home today.
I am much happier with the results.

Tomorrow I am off to Peebles for a fun day with my cousin Marilyn and her quilting friends in the Loose Threads Quilt Club. You will remember the posts from last month when my mother, grandmother and I went down for their show. You can refresh your memory here and here, if you like. In both of those posts, I referred to their group as a guild, when in fact, they prefer the term club. The term guild connotes a more structured group, and they prefer the looser confines that a club affords.

But I digress...the reason I am going to this club meeting is another first for me - I am invited to bring my quilts and do a "trunk show." Well, why not? Having never done that before, I figured I might as well, and I am looking forward to it. I have several quilts given to me by Grandma that she made and used. I have several that I made and Grandma quilted, and I have several that I've done all by myself. And then, of course, I have a growing number of flimsies or quilt tops, too. So I think I will find enough to entertain us. I will spend time this afternoon pulling quilts out of cupboards and deciding which ones to take. I will share pics of that in a future post.

Then on Friday, the Frankfort girls will be meeting for our regularly scheduled 9-noon get together, this time at Terry's. I blew up the last one as I went to Amish Country instead, and it was my turn to hostess. I think I am forgiven, however, as some of the others had potential conflicts, too.

So, there you have it! A busy week of QwF - Quilting with Friends! I am so blessed to have these wonderful ladies in my life. I know for sure that I wouldn't get nearly as much sewing and quilting done if I didn't have them to encourage and challenge me. They are, indeed, THE BEST!!

Happy Quilting, Friends!

QwF* at Terry's

* Quilting with Friends

Last week was a good week for this quilter, as I had three different opportunities to quilt with friends. Monday had Sharon P. here at my house. Tuesday took me to Mary's barn. I now want to show you some of the stuff we worked on at Terry's house on Thursday.

At the barn on Tuesday, Terry was attempting to sort blocks for a WIP (work in progress). She found it was a little more than she could handle without spreading out all over, so it came home with her for work on Thursday.

And what do you think?? Looks pretty awesome, doesn't it? I love the mix of 4-patches and 9-patches. Very cool. Here is the pattern, in case you want to make one, too.

Can you read it? It's from Country Threads and is called Quest For Freedom.

Sheryll was with us for just a short time before she had to leave for an appointment, so I do not have any pics of the project she was working on. Now that I think of it, I don't think I have any pics from Sharon O.'s project, either. I am slipping! See below; I attempt an explanation for the spotty coverage of projects. *hanging head*

We did have a nice visit from a friend who stopped to drop off 2 quilts for quilting. Laura, a fellow guild member with Terry and Sheryll, and whom I've met on a few occasions, had a couple of beauties.

This 9-patch and redwork quilt was done by Laura's mother. Isn't it great? Here is a shot of what will be used as the backing.

Toile! Love, love, love it! Farm animals in the embroidered redwork, and farm scenes in the toile. Perfection.

This is Laura's, and I just don't think my picture does it justice. The backing is there in the bottom corner, which is evident. The prints used in this contain a bit of yellow which isn't showing up. Anyway, take my word for it - it's wonderful, and Terry will do a masterful job of quilting it.

I am rerunning this quilt because Laura mentioned that she wanted to see it. I showed it in this post, if you want to go back. The pattern is called Best of All, but I do not have the company who published it.

This blue and cheddar quilt came out for a look-see, but I must have been engrossed in my own project, so alas, I have no details to offer.

I find that I do that a lot, friendly readers. I have enough awareness of a situation to take a picture, but then I fail to get the pertinent information for the quilt or the WIP, and then I am left with having to guess at what I am sharing. (Perhaps there is a good reason I did not try to become a journalist.)

Anyway, there's what I have for you. It feels slightly "undone," but it's all I've got!

I have a new start. I will share bits about it in tomorrow's post.

Happy Quilting, Friends!