Friends and Giving

The Frankfort Girls met at Sharon O's house yesterday, and the rest of us had a little - or big! - surprise in store for her!

The brief back story: We all decided to do an Ohio Star block exchange earlier this year, and for a number of reasons, Sharon begged out of the exchange. We had no problem with that, at all. After all, we are a very laid back sort of group, and putting undue pressure on someone to participate in one of our projects just doesn't happen! 

But, hold on just a minute!

We wanted to include her anyway, so the remaining 6 of us made what would have been "her" blocks, did a lot of secret sewing, and we gifted her finished Ohio Star quilt to her. We had the big reveal yesterday. Here's a progression of pictures showing her genuine surprise.

Needless to say, she was totally unaware of what we'd been up to, and was entirely surprised by the gift. 

After we gifted the quilt, we proceeded with our block exchange, and now all of us have 42 blocks for making our own Ohio Star quilt.

Look at how great Sharon's quilt looks. I think just about all of us plan to put our blocks together exactly this same way. I am, for sure. 

Our group shares such a love of quilting, and even more love for each other. We are supportive, giving, steady, and true. Quilting groups are simply the best way I know of to be motivated, to be challenged to try new techniques, and to learn and grow as a quilter.

Happy Quilting, Friends!

Coaching, Round 2

I suppose you've heard the adage "give a man bread, you feed him for a day; teach him to plant, and you feed him for a lifetime?" Well, that principle applies to my learning lately, as I had a second opportunity to visit my friend Terry for further long-arm coaching.

Many of you know that I have been in possession of a long-arm machine for nearly 2 years, yet I have not quilted a single quilt on it. This sad fact has many extenuating explanations, yet truthfully, most of them stem from my own poor excuses and, as one shop-owner/quilter told me, being "chicken."

You can click back here to read about my being gifted the machine from another sweet friend, Sharon O.

Is it becoming apparent that I am surrounded by sweet friends?? I am so blessed by them.

In mid-August, I asked Terry if she would quilt two quilts for me, as I had immediate needs for both, and didn't see myself getting to the point that I could successfully do them on my machine. Instead of offering to quilt them, she offered to teach me how to quilt them. Inspired!! I think she sensed that I was, truly, "chicken" or at least intimidated.

The first quilt was done a week ago, and I haven't fully revealed it yet as it's a wedding gift for my nephew. I wrote about it here.

This week, I quilted a t-shirt quilt that is being raffled to help fund a scholarship sponsored by my DH's fraternity alumni. I shared my shirt-gathering adventures here. Obviously, I don't have to keep this one a secret.

In doing two quilts in two weeks, I have gained such confidence. It definitely has motivated me to do what is necessary to get mine up and running. I have big plans for doing just that, which I will share as it all gets going.

So back to the quilting, I did 'freehand loopy meanders' over the entirety of this quilt. It seemed like a good idea at the beginning to make the quilting dense, but as I neared the end, I was wishing I'd been looser with the stitching, as I ached through the neck and shoulders; I just wanted to be done! It is far from perfect, but for a t-shirt quilt, it is certainly acceptable, and I hope whoever wins this raffle will use it at tailgate parties, picnics, and ballgames at the 'Shoe.

A few blocks were noteworthy. This one had a 3-dimensional rosette attached, so I made sure to stitch around it.

Another shirt was done in pink rather than scarlet; I am assuming it was in conjunction with breast cancer awareness.

I have so appreciated the opportunity Terry afforded me to do this practice quilting on her machine. As I said, it has truly given me the kick in the rear (which I needed!) to begin using my own!

Happy Quilting, Friends!

A Major Announcement

Few times in one's life does one owe so much to one person, but I am the grateful recipient of the most amazing gift ever. My quilting friend Sharon O. GIFTED her long-unused Tin Lizzie Eighteen to me!

Most of us already know that quilters are among the most generous folks ever, and Sharon's kindness is truly one of the most generous acts of kindness I have ever been privileged to receive!

To say that I am over-the-moon excited about this would be putting it mildly. This news has been brewing in the background of things you've read here for several weeks, and today I have finally taken ownership - DH and I moved it from Sharon's basement to our basement, with the help of Sharon's DH Fred.

This is the machine - and in the background, you can see Sharon and Fred. Sharon bought this Tin Lizzie just after she retired in 2001. Every time she was ready to make some progress at using it and becoming familiar with it, she had a major health situation or surgery to contend with. At this point in time, she says she is just plain out of the mood to try to figure it out.

The pictures above, are from Sharon's - I took many so that I could be certain to put it back together properly. Now, below, you will see our basement. When she made this incredibly generous offer, our mostly-finished basement looked quite junky.

Since the kids have all left home and no one goes down here with friends to watch movies and hang out, the space had become a catch-all for stuff we needed to deal with, but , you know the old phrase - out of sight, out of mind! I suppose most people do this to some degree or another. I fear we are masters at it, unfortunately!

We - and I have to give great credit to Kevin, my dear husband, for he has been my best encourager through all of this - dedicated a couple of weeks to some serious weeding out - keeping, donating and trashing as much as we could, and as of last night, here is where Tin Lizzie will live.

We did pretty good, didn't we? Now don't go thinking that all that stuff has been dealt with. Just off to the right side of this picture is a pool table laden with stacks of things that still must be sorted and stored.

This morning, DH and I went over to Sharon's, dismantled the Tin Lizzie, and brought her to her new home. Below, she is waiting like a puzzle to be put back together. I plan to get right on that this evening.

And when that base is built and leveled, this sewing unit will join it and I will begin experimenting with long-arm quilting!

Isn't this exciting??

Now, however, I am off to Claudia's to help her with a t-shirt quilt, and later tonight, our Mennonite neighbors are coming to sing Christmas carols! What a busy day!

Happy Quilting, Friends!

Summer Sewing With Friends

The sewing day with Sharon and Kay was a huge success! I doubt it is humanly possible for three women to have more fun playing with gorgeous fabric than we had yesterday.

We began the day with a simple goal in mind - make our own version of the Kaffe Fassett quilt called Floral Columns. The three resulting quilts all look so incredibly different, yet each one is absolutely spectacular.

Sharon's is predominantly soft blue and teal with splashes of color throughout. Two or three of these columns are fabrics donated by Kay or me.

Kay's is dark blue - not surprising since she loves blue quilts and has made many over the years. Kay has a couple of donated columns from Sharon.

Mine does not follow a color scheme - I preferred to use a little bit of everything. I had my columns cut out ahead of time and went with 10 columns, while Sharon has seven and Kay has eight.

I have to give DH kudos for helping me string up a clothesline so that I could photograph my quilt out in the backyard woods. Wouldn't it be pretty to have all three quilts hanging on the line?

While sewing on Tuesdays with Sharon is a regular feature of my week, I am really glad to have included Kay in the day's activites. She is the one who started all of our interest in KF fabrics. Each of us have amassed huge stashes of KF, and from the looks of what we worked on yesterday, we all have different favorites. The one constant, though, is the incredible intensity of color. We just cannot get enough of it.

Happy Quilting, Friends!

Two Sharons

I quilt regularly with two friends named Sharon. I've referenced them here on the blog many times - Sharon O. and Sharon P.

Sharon P. has been a friend since the early 1980s when we were both brand new English teachers at CHS. Quite a strong friendship can grow over that many years, and how grateful I am for it! We know each other so well that we read each others' minds and finish each others' sentences. It is downright freaky at times.

Sharon O. is one of the Frankfort girls, and I just met her in 2009. We both are sentimental types, and we like our "things." We both have a fondness for the old - old dishes, antique furniture, old houses and barns, and so on. She, too, was a teacher and also a counselor, but at the elementary level and in a Columbus-area school district.

Anyway, I have a project from each Sharon to share, and I thought I'd just combine them into one post.

On that Friday a week ago, Sharon O. shared with us Frankfort girls her applique project. It will end up with two more windows, and become a square wall hanging with 3-D features. It looks absolutely spectacular, and the 30s prints just really sing against the white-on-white background. You saw her beginning this project; click here to have a look back.

And Sharon P. has been busy finishing a quilt that, too, has been shared here before. Remember her purchase of Downton Abbey fabric?? Well, her quilt top is completed! And it looks fantastic!

Gorgeous, don't you agree? Such simplicity in design makes the wonderful fabric do all the work and get all the attention. Perfection. Click here for a review of when Sharon began this quilt.

Kudos to my friends named Sharon!! Your work is inspiring!

Happy Quilting, Friends!