RCTQ Annual Quilting Weeks 2010

Wow, Pat! You've been busy!

Well, I've been going thru and separating all my scraps. The long 1-2" wide pieces I am keeping out to do a string quilt. I've cut the papers for the foundations and am currently re-separating the "strips" of scraps (say that 5 times fast!) into piles of light, dark and medium. Then will get them adjusted to fit better on the foundation, some of the strips are over 5 feet long!...phew! I have enough fabric scraps to do possibly 2 tops. One for me and one for charity. (possibly the local unwed mother's house). If I have enough left, I may do some baby quilts for the little ones at the UMH. other than that, I have been perusing quilting books and some magazines for inspiration. Working full time gets in the way alot with quilting time.... amy in CNY

Sigh. After all my high hopes, all I could manage was a bit of thinking/ planning, and putting together some 'panel + backing' sets for quilting for a newish children's charity based in two adjacent counties. The cover is still on my machine ... ... . In message , Pat in Virginia writes

You have been productive! Well done!

I put together a scrappy lap/child size using the Rosebud block (Rosebud I in the Malone 1001 Blocks book). Only partly quilted -I'm giving a talk on quilting about 3 weeks from now and wanted to have a WIP to show them.

Made some other blocks from the Scrap Basket. I sew every day, sometimes more, sometimes less, so I d>Hello.

The most fun I had this week was a class on resist fabric painting. We did glue resist and sticker resist. I'm definitely a traditional-style quilter and don't consider myself very artistic, so this class was a bit out of my comfort zone, but I enjoyed it. Now it will be fun to try to incorporate a bit of what I learned into my more traditional work.

Julia > Hello.

In the past week I've pieced 5 tops, working on 2 and have pieces cut for yet another. I hope to start simple quilting next week. All will go to Quilts For Kids.

Not even realizing that it was 'quilting weeks' I've actually been fairly productive lately. Working on hand quilting a queen size quilt; finished the last of the blocks (unless I decide it needs more) of a twin size for one of my nieces; and for the last 2 weeks have been 'quilting' with the third graders at another niece's school. That project was to have been completed by all the students this past Friday. Alas there are a few that still have some things to complete. And Aunt Kim has homework! The students were given a choice to do pillows or quilts from their 15 x 15 in. 9 patch top. Most opted for pillows. I have one pillow to repair as that student's stitching was a bit off and 2 tops to sew batting and backs to. One more student in class still has one more row to sew together and then her backing, stuffing and slip stitching. I thought I was done on Friday but it looks like one more day. And then, one of the other mothers offered me a kit for the Downy 'Quilts for Kids' charity. Yikes! Am I nuts adding yet another project into the mix???

Kim in NJ

BUT .... eventually those little sets will comfort small children and their parents. Good on you. PAT

Ah, thanks PAT. The charity is for children who have been bereaved: a parent, sibling or close friend. The quilts are to go on each child's bed when they come together for weekends - so that they are with a whole group of people who *understand*, rather than at school, for instance, where nobody really does, although they try to be kind - they often don't know what to say. So, we're all hoping these bright little 'take-homes' will give another little bit of light in their little lives. . In message , Pat in Virginia writes

Whew, I feel like a sluggard after reading about all the progress you gals have made. I've been working on a quilt top from an old Fons and Porter magazine that will have four big applique hearts in the middle of each big 24" inch block. There are four blocks with sashing and some borders that make up the top. The pattern calls for six big blocks but I cut it down to a more manageable size. Oh man, it's almost beyond my expertise as each block is filled with triangles that I haven't done before. I haven't done applique either but, I'll give it a try. I finished the top and did the sandwich today and will quilt it this coming week. When that is done I'll add the applique hearts. I think it was Polly that said, "there are no quilt police," and that is a comforting thought to me as I pick and choose just what order to put this thing together.

On a side note, I was getting housebound in this endless winter and my husband took pity on me and took me to a Janome dealer an hour away from us. I spent an hour getting a tutorial on the 6600...what a dream machine. I want one! It will take me a year to save up for it or better but, I'm going to have one sooner or later! Donna

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I am definitely not as prolific as some :-). I was at a bit of an impasse after completing my DS' quilt. It took me several days just to consider on what I was going to work next. I have a lot of projects that I have planned, but I was a bit like a child in a candy store -- so many goodies :-). Also, I enjoy the planning process to much that I probably spend more time on it than a lot of folks do :-).

Last Nov I had signed up to take a class, "Salvaged Selvages", at a LQS. Unfortunately I had to back out at, quite literally, the last minute. I had done my "homework" and prepared a gallon plastic bag full of selvages. This was going to be a QAYG (Quilt As You Go) project, so I had also precut my batting and backing squares. Well, it was easy enough to learn how to sew the selvages from internet websites, for example:

I don't know which method of QAYG was to be used, other thanthat it requires the use of fusible web. I wanted to use her method,because I don't want to have to do hand sewing and I liked the hand ofher completed quilts. I called the instructor on Thursday and she isgoing to send me the instructions via snail mail, so I'll be able tocomplete the quilt :-). In the meantime, I started sewing the blocks. I still have a number of them to sew (I hope to finish them today). I do have the rest of them prepped (selvage strips cut to proper lengths and laid across blocks). I had cut most of my strips wider than those shown on the above webpage, because I was concerned about the quantity of selvages that I had garnered from my stash. As it turned out, I only have a very small handful of selvages left over, so I cut it rather close :-).

As it turned out, this is a rather mindless and speedy project that has been pleasant to work on after all of the detailed work on my DS's quilt. Still, I must confess that I keep dreaming up ways to had more complex blocks to the quilt to make it a little bigger :-).

Bev in TX

Thanks for the reminder Pat! It has been a while since I felt like doing any quilty things. BUT yesterday I opened up a little kit that I had purchased at a show last summer. I prepared the fabric and did all the necessary cutting. Today is piecing day! Just a table topper but I need to start somewhere :-)

What a nice surprise! I hope you had a wonderful birthday. Belated best wishes from Ray and me :-)

Rita

Well, I have been busy and spent the last 3 and a half days working with TreadleArt at the yearly Sewing/Quilting/Craft Show which is put on by the Rusty Barn group. Got to walk the show before opening and on trips to and from the restroom and "lounge" but not a lot of shopping. Did help the economy by purchasing a few things: several books and a pattern from TreadleArt, a fairly complex applique pattern of a moose (longish story, but DH wants a blue moose hanging.) and a new booklet/template set from Shar Jorgenson of Quilting From the Heartland (Cleopatra's Fan). Wrking backwards from that......... Wed. morning I chaired my first meeting of the quilt group. Tues. I had a meeting of the Small and Miniature Quilt club that I "teach" at one of the LQSs . We talked about reducing quilt designs to make a mini.... and are starting this quarter with Irish Chain quilts. On Thurs. the 21 I taught 2 classes, Bag Lady (Little Charmer, or any of the variations of that pattern from Penny of Quilts Illustrated) and the Japanese Yen quilt (featured on the cover of "Loose Change".) Wed., the 20th, quilt group meeting. And this week was the "applique" week. I had collected several Santa patterns to make "someday" for my Mother (she collected Santas) I decided to use the patterns to make each of my siblings and adult nieces and nephews wallhangings. So I got 2 traced for backbasting and got started on one of them. After that I "host" a weekly thing at the other shop where I teach. It is a free "Mid Week Coffee Break" which is more social thing, with a bit of demo, chance to ask questions and do show and tell. (Sometime it may actually get active, but it gets me out of the house and moving. ) We are starting an "Open Studio" time after/in connection with the Coffee Break on the 1st and 3rd Wednesdays. So I kept working on my tracing then. Monday the 18th I taught the other Bag Lady Club, which was a "finish up/UFO bags and such" class for this month. In between all this I did some work on the machine. Need to finish a couple of class samples and do some paperwork and figuring out what I am going to try to teach this next quarter. Did get one Bag Lady Sample done, and in the shop.

So I am keeping busy with all sorts of things. This is fun. Pati, in Phx

On Jan 29, 5:16=A0pm, "Pat in Virginia" wrote:

Rita: I am SO glad that you are getting back into quilting again. Thanks for the wishes from you and Ray. Pat

On Jan 31, 5:55=A0am, Bev in TX wrote: ... portion snipped ...

A long time ago, I purchased a copy of "Machine Embroidery Makes the Quilt" by Patty Albin. That book comes with a CD with various Baltimore Album style machine embroidery designs, of which I had never used. Six (6) of those are RW (red work) machine embroidery designs for baskets, wreaths etc. I have decided to do sew those out on six (6) plain blocks, which will make the quilt 6x7-blocks instead of

6x6.

NAYY Bev in TX