New Blog!

I have created a new blog for an online quilt-along! Be sure to check it out and tell all your quilting friends - there is even a give-away contest! If the "blog" link does not work, go to KyleAnnsQuiltBookClub.blogspot.com.

Great Day!

Had SO (maybe that should be SEW) much fun today! Three of my quilting "buds" came over for a sew-in. Loretta, Peggy, and my beautiful granddaughter, Jenn, brought their machines and a project or two to my house and we sat and sewed all day.

My goal for the day was to make a cover for my major expensive (50 cents!) pocket calendar. Used my quilting software to print off a foundation pieced pattern for the Ohio Star block - but I wanted it to be three inches square. I thought foundation (paper) piecing would be easier than cutting those tiny pieces and sewing them together. I am very pleased with the result!

Thanks, guys, for a great day!

MY chair

Sorry, Mom. It's MY chair! Guess you'll have to sit on the floor!

Love my featherweight!

Today's been a relatively quiet, yet productive, day. Had my last insurance-paid therapy this morning.  :( I will miss the therapy, but I will miss my new friends more. We all had so much fun (why should physical therapy be miserable?).

Cut fabric for the July fabric swap at Goodtime Quilters in Circleville. Cut the July mystery quilt for Always In Stitches. Then I brought out the little Singer Featherweight I just bought from a friend. It's SO cute! Nothing fancy. Only does straight stitch. But it's small and lightweight, making it easy to tote to sewing events. Got it all cleaned up (it really needed it!) and started working on a quilt.

Then prepared Homemade Gourmet Skillet Lasagna for dinner. Didn't have everything it called for so made lots of substitutions. It's tasty. Tom and I are sitting and eating it now. [Deep, contented sigh] Can you feel the relaxation and satisfaction?

Prize Winning Student!

CONGRATULATIONS to Kay Melvin, who took a first place ribbon at the Pickaway County Fair on her bag from the Felted Tote class at Always in Stitches! (Along with several other ribbons on items she made!!) Good job, Kay!

Quilting Can Be Therapy Too!

As you read in my previous post, I had a wonderful "quilting weekend." Granted, most of the sewing was done on the machine, but I had a lot of "fine motor skill" practice on the quilt pictured on the previous post.

On Monday, some friends came to my house to sew and we had a lot of fun! I did not use my machine yesterday. I did hand-sewing. I had to finish the binding on another jelly roll quilt. This quilt was done in scarlet and gray fabric, with a little white and black thrown in for good measure. I made it for the brother of one of my therapists, John. Joe, who is currently in the hospital with Stage IV cancer, is also an OSU fan. John, on the other hand, is a Michigan fan. So I had double the fun making it!

Sewing the binding on did  require fine motor skills with my left (sore) hand. With the quilt being approximately 68x50, I got lots of therapeutic practice (with plenty of breaks).

As you can see in one of these pictures, I also quilted in a cancer ribbon in one corner. The others are of John receiving, and proudly displaying, Joe's folded quilt.

Thank you, Heirloom Quilters of West Jeff

A friend invited me to join a weekend quilt retreat in Piketon, Ohio. Her mother is a member of Heirloom Quilters of West Jefferson, Ohio, and the guild had opened up their retreat to other quilters. There were a couple members from the Mt. Sterling guild there, and my daughter-in-law, Mary, went with me. These women are lovely people and they were each-and-every-one making beautiful quilts. Mary and I were made to feel very welcome and we had a wonderful time.

Before my surgery in March I had started a Fun and Done quilt named Easy Diamonds. This pattern is, indeed, an easy and fun quilt  to make. Basically, you quilt-as-you-go, sash-as-you-go, and self-bind. When you are done, well, you are done! Having said that, I didn't get it finished before surgery. I took it to the retreat with me this weekend and it is DONE!  YAY!

None of these pictures show the colors at all well. I used 3 shades of gray and 3 shades of red. The sashing/binding/backing is a dark charcoal.

Thank you, ladies, for a wonderful weekend and for new friendships.