String Quilts

I love string quilts! I like the randomness and the ability to use all size of pieces of fabrics. My friend Cheryl - she is getting into string quilts. She is not quite into uneven strips.... but she will get there.. I'll keep giving her grief, but probably not as much as she gives me about my inability to bind quilts!
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This first string quilt is from Cheryl in Eaton. She is a wonderful person and I sure appreciate her!

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This next quilt is from my Heartstrings group. I am not sure who made the blocks, but I think Sue in MN pieced the blocks into a top, and Sheree provided the backing, and I did the quilting. My middle son just fell in love with this top when I opened the package so he said we had to quilt it RIGHT away. I will not argue with him, someday I will be asking to live in his house, and he may remember this moment (grin)
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And yes - the ladder was up because the Fire Alarm started going off - every 25 seconds. How do I know this? I counted from 1am to 5am... I was not happy. Turns out the alarm in my 8yo's room had a dead battery, but EVERY alarm in the house had to beep. Again - Not Happy! And then I am even more mad at myself - thinking, well why didn't I just get up and make use of the time?

From New Jersey and the Virgin Islands

I have two new sisters that I have adopted, and after today I am adopting their mother as well. So let me introduce you to my new family. Sandi and Karen are the Sisters, Agnes is the mother. Sandi and Karen get together a couple of times a year to quilt and sew and I am going to assume do a little bit of goofing off. Since they are now related to me, I might have passed that part on to them. Sandi lives in NJ and Karen in The V.I. - she needs me to visit right? Probably in the dead of winter here!
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So I get a package from them and it has this absolutely beautiful finished Quilt of Valor, a couple of adorable patterns - all lap sized - and fabrics to play with.
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I am also adopting their mother. She sent me TWO boxes of Quilt tops and backings - I am going to have no excuse to goof around anymore!! I must tie myself to the quilting machine.... it will be tough I tell you, maybe I shall get more chocolate!

Now - from this picture can you guess what happened at 1 am at our house? The guy at the top is little bit, and wrangler man is holding the ladder.

Sewing Day One

We have started sewing in the 5th grade - and we have had great success! No one has sewn a finger... not that I worry about that, but surprisingly the kids do!

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No one has steamed up the ironing room... although they think it would be fun to try.

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And they are all having fun so far!


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We are also making some really cool log cabin blocks , But I forgot to take pictures of those. So I will get to it!

~ We are learning to sew a straight seam, and what a seam ripper is for. Many have never seen a seam ripper, so they still think it is fun to rip out crooked stitches.
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Hope you all had a great weekend. Mine went a little too fast!

A Team Effort

This Beautiful Quilt of Valor came from Illinois. The fabrics were donated by Jan in MI. The top was pieced by Alberta in IL, and it was quilted by Diane in IL. I LOVE team efforts!!

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Ladies - Thank you so much!!

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Yesterday was Quilt A Fair ( I think it is today too) and I was able to head down to it. My friend Rosalie and I were hospitality for 2 hours, which entailed pushing a drink cart around to the vendors. Normally - I think this would be work, but this time I called it shopping. I found all sorts of great things I had to have!! At 2 vendors - they put my "stuff" under the desk so I could come back and get it after my shift was over. I even got myself adopted into one family... now if they will only remember me at Christmas time ( giggle)

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One was an adorable quilt pattern. Now I just need to make it, but for the time being I sure am enjoying looking at the pattern and pretending the finished quilt it mine.

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Here is a cool video to check out too - about a busy gal in California making Quilts of Valor.

http://www.ireport.com/docs/DOC-330104

Thank you's

From WWII Veterans:
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*On behalf of my Father in Law, I would like to thank you for the beautiful Quilt of Valor that was given to him onhis return from the Honor Flight. Mac - at 100 years old was the 1st centarian to make this trip. Thanks so much for this beautiful Quilt. It means a lot to him, and he will not let it out of his sight.*
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I want to Thank all of those involved in the making of the fine quilt that you gave me. It was a gesture not expected. I was amazed at the quilts, and want to Thank all responsible for this effort.*

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*What a surprise! As we entered the hotel there were about 60 people in the lobby. They were cheering and clapping for every one of the WWII vets that had been on the Honor Flight. We were met by a greeter who told us to go into the room to recieve a gift for our service. As we went into the room , we were met by an elementary school student who thanked us for our service in the war. They presented us with a pillowcase that held the most beautiful quilt.

I want to Thank you for taking the time to make this gift for us. I am sure that it was a gift of love with all of your blessings and God's grace and love for us all. God Bless you all. I feel that he looked after me and brought me back safely from this conflict. A.H

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I am writing to Thank you for the beautiful Quilt of Valor. I was quite surprised and pleased to recieve it. I am so eager to show it to my children and grandchildren, however it is ALL mine! I appreciate your thoughtfulness and talent. L.C.

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This must be the best mail day in the world - as I recieved some letters from the soldiers at Ft Carson as well. Are you ready for those too?

Dear Quilters,

I am writing to thank you all who participated in that beautiful quilt that I recieved upon my return to the states. The label says Made by April West. Would you please send her my Thanks as well? I love it - thanks again. DW

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Dear Quilters,

As it is getting colder I am more and more grateful for my quilt. I thank you for getting it to me when I needed it. Who knew that a quilt could feel like a hug? I am hoping to be discharged soon, and will keep it with me always. Sincerely AK

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So there you have it folks! These are important! Many people have emailed me and said well I only have time for one quilt. And I am here to say that one quilt is one more soldier covered. Many of the quilts that came in for our Ft Carson project did not have labels on them, which was fine. But I made labels and put the name of the maker, quilter, any info I had. But I did not feel comfortable putting your addresses on them without permission. There is an email on each label - so I hope that soldiers will continue to get in touch with us. But if not - these quilts are gifts, and with Gifts they are freely given.

~* Another question I have recieved... the Fort Carson project was completely seperate from the WWII quilts. The quilts that came for Ft Carson are at Ft Carson. I am again collecting them for Ft Carson - I have 95 at the moment for them. The quilts that we did for the Honor Flight were specifically for them. I asked at QOVF headquarters if it was good - and it was good. (grin). Hope that clears that up.

Now off to build an island with my son for a school project. If I can make a quilt, I can build an island right??

Quilts of Valor Quilted

I got some great quilting time in ... and finished up these Three Quilts of Valor. My Mom and I were shopping in Cheyenne and they had a Block of the month pattern that she really liked. So she bought it and put it into this quilt top.

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You'll have to excuse the sun. We tried to block it but weren't tall enough to get it!
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The Next Quilt was made by the 4, 5 and 6 year old Wed, Night Kids Club. They colored and colored and wrote letters to go with it. Turned out Very very cute!.

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This last quilt was made by Mary in my Guild. It is a Buggy Barn Pattern. She taught it as a class as well - they turn out so great! I had fun quilting it too - kind of played with the stars.

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You know, as I was driving around today I had all these great blog posts running thru my head.. all these great things to say.. and observations - and now that it is evening, and I am tucking 2 kids into bed, I can't think of a thing I was thinking at that time. So I guess that you will just have to know that sometimes I really do think, it just doesn't come out on paper....
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And I know that I had some questions from folks to answer - but now I can't remember the questions ( or the answers for that matter!).

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So I hope you all have a great evening, wonderful day, and a good memory!!

Somedays

It is just plain fun to be alive!!

My Dad ( left) and Wrangler Man ( right), our friend ( getting a massage at the time) and myself went to the Bronco vs Browns game.

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Shannon Sharpe parachuted into the stadium and was inducted into the Ring of Fire. It was cool!

And the National Guard opened up the American Flag. Broncos won, it didn't rain till we were on the way home. Not to bad for a sunday huh?

And the Winners Are:

Just so you know - I did not dissappear. I had plans - lots of good plans.... with kids!

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And Now - the "stuff" you have all been waiting for!!

The Designer of our Mystery Quilt of Valor Sew Along - is the gracious Bonnie Hunter, of Quiltville.com

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I contacted her about doing this and she was so nice - she gave me permission almost immediately. And in the land of email I expect things to take a little longer than that. But this quilt is her Chunky Churndash Quilt pattern. I have wanted to make one for about a year in Patriotic Colors. And having you all sew it with me was the push I needed to just suck it up and do it!! Its not like I didn't have any Red White or Blues around!!.

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The Book that the drawing was for is her book "Scraps and Shirttails" It really is a great book! And it is signed by Ms Hunter herself!! So the winner of that book is Denise... so Denise in Colorado send me your snail mail addy and the book will be on its way to you!!

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Next - the $25 gift Certificate from Equilter.com. The winner of it was Heather at Spiritblog.net . Heather I'll send you an email and we will get the certificate on its way to you. No making beach coverups ... just kidding!!

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Hope you all had a good Friday - and will have an even better weekend!!

WWII Vets

Saturday Night the Honor Flight arrived back. Honor Flight is trying to take the WWII veterans back to the WWII Memorial in Washington DC. This was their third flight. We were honored to be able to present Quilts of Valor to the Veterans.

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All I can really say is "WOW - What a treat!"

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First, the Flight had left Friday Morning. The Vets had a full schedule including meeting Bob Dole at the Memorial.

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Second - this was AWESOME!!! We took the quilts to the hotel that they were arriving at and set the up in the ballroom. The people who were waiting for their vets came over and were so impressed that Quilts Of Valor existed, and that their vets would be a quilt recipient. ( I get goose bumps writing this). So I told them about QOV and to make sure their vet did NOT leave without his/her quilt. And Oh Man - did they make sure!!
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We were told at the last minute that the Vets were tired, could we do quilts quickly. I said whatever works - well you know the power of a quilt right? So many stayed around and talked, and checked each others quilts out, and finally at midnight (2 1/2 hours later) we cleared everyone out. But the smiles, the tears, the excited exclamations that these were for them was impressive. I was hugged by a million people I think. My boys handed out the quilts to the vets and I got the hugs - how awesome is that?~

One of the women came in and she saw a patriotic quilt. I got ready to hand her a female quilt and she says " Oh I really want the RWB one - I was born on the 4th of July!" Far be it from me to argue ( grin) . She was SO tickled with her quilt, she maneuvered her walker over to a table and chair. Took her quilt out and made everyone she could come and look at it.
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We had another vet. His daughter told him that she would get him settled and go get his quilt for him. He wanted to be wheeled up to get a Quilt and be with his buddies. He wanted to be a part of it all. It was cool! And he was so neat. He sat and told us stories. He was a Marine - Semper Fie - wonderful to talk to. My boys will forever be touched.

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This generation - they are a wonderful group of people. They were so happy over their trip. So tickled to be honored, and so overwhelmed that a quilt was made for them to Thank them for their service to our country. When Quilts of Valor go out, I never expect to hear from the recipients - as these are gifts, and with gifts they are given freely.

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May I share with you a few Thank yous that have already arrived?

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Dear Friends:

I have been overwhelmed be the kindness and generosity shown to us Vets of WWII. I am thrilled to have the beautiful quilt that was made for me. Thank you one and all. We Veterans were only doing what was right for this great country of ours. It was my pleasure to serve our country. Your program Quilts of Valor - is a huge undertaking, and from this Veteran, I send my grateful Thanks. R.W.

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To all that made these quilts for us. I was Proud to recieve it, and it is a very beautiful quilt. I was happy to have fought for our great country. Thank you again. C.D.

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Dear Ones:
My husband, Bruce, received one of your beautful quilts last night when he returned from his trip to Washington, DC on the Honor Flight.

As he was telling me about the young kids who stayed up until 11:30 PM just to give each and everyone one of his fellow companion veterans, he got choked up and had to stop speaking.

I know what a special gift this is to him, and he will charish it always. Thank you for making my husband feel so special and for honoring him and his fellow veterans. What a wonderful thing it is that you do. We appreciate the time, the work, the effort and the love that you stitch in to every quilt you make. May God bless you and keep you all.
Sincerely,
Mrs. F

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Need I say more?

The Back of the Quilt

My weekend turned out to be an amazing weekend - despite the fact I woke up Saturday Morning with a sore throat and a runny nose. I blame the corn harvest. I finally got the allerigies under control about 4pm. After I had a nap too. Allergy pills put me to sleep! But I want to share my weekend with you. I am just waiting for some pictures and my heart to stop singing so loud!

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I really like the backs of quilts! I didn't realize how much until I saw all the photos I have of the backs! Hmm.

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This is the back of a customers quilt I just finished. It was a King Size quilt! And she wanted it custom quilted for her Mother in Law. I hope I have a daughter in law as nice someday. ( Boys? In the far someday please - not now.)

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And just in case you wanted to see the front - here you go.

Hope you all had a good weekend - and enjoyed laying out your quilt of valor mystery quilt.

Quilt of Valor Sew Along - The Layout

So - are you ready? Did I keep you waiting long enough? Do you recognize the quilt yet?
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The Layout!!

You should have 121 blocks total. You probably didn't know you made that many blocks did you? I sure didn't. I mean, I did, but I didn't really "get it". But I love it!
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Remember way back this summer - when I was trying to do quilts on point? Well this one jumped out at me, because it is NOT on point, but gives that look. I really thought I wanted to try it. So - thanks for joining me! It helps to know that others are waiting on you to get things done. Maybe I should try cleaning the house that way? Nah - not as much fun!
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Your layout will be 11 x 11 and you alternate a Triangle Block with a nine patch block.


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Note that you rotate the triangle blocks to surround the 9 patch block, therefore alternating your dark and lights. Pictures tell the story better than words.



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With this layout your final quilt will be 66 x 66. This is a great size for a Quilt of Valor. Without borders. And my boys really liked this look.
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I don't like sewing in rows. I took 9 blocks at a time and sewed large 9 patches out of them. Then was able to put them together in sections. Some sections were only 6 blocks. It was easier for me to do this, less bulk to carry around from the floor to the machine.

**And Now Another Option**




But then, my youngest started playing with the blocks. He said - Mom I bet we could get 2 quilts out of all those blocks. Far be it from me to argue with him. Some day he will be bigger than me, then what will I do?



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So he and I split them up and came up with 2 different quilts. The first one the layout is 8 x 10 which should be 48 x 60. So I told him that is not quite the size we need. He is picking out fabrics he thinks will make a great border. We thought about a small light 2 inch border, then a 5 inch darker border. The jury is still out.


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The smaller quilt is 5 x 8 so 30 x 48. So this one will need a lot of borders. My goal is to get the quilts to a minimum of 54 x 64. He doesn't have a plan to get this one to size yet. One thing at a time mom. ( I see a boo boo in the little quilt layout - bottom row, 2nd from the left)





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I am not going to tell you which layout or layouts we did. I want to surprise you. But I wanted to give you both options - as I was impressed that Little Bit was even paying attention.


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**************THE GIVEAWAY****************

I promised you a great giveaway. There are Two!
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The first one is easy!!
Leave a comment before Thursday September 17th at 9pm and the kids will pick a number on Friday to announce the winner. If you are set to no reply on your blogs BE SURE TO CHECK BACK as I have no way to contact you!!
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The Prize: a $25 gift certificate at http://www.equilter.com Luana was one of the very first contributors of fabric to our Quilt of Valor project 5 years ago. Plus she has everything in her shop. You can't lose!


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The second one:
Well - this takes a little more thought (on my part).

I want you to guess who the pattern designer of this quilt it. BUT I don't want you to post it in the comments cuz then everyone can read your guess and well - its like cheating on a math test!! SO:

The Prize: A quilting book. An AWESOME quilting book by the very author of this quilt pattern. So you see the reason for the secrecy.
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How to win it:
SEND AN EMAIL TO: ALYCIAQUILTS@GMAIL.COM
WITH: The pattern name or the pattern designer in it. And an email to be able to contact you should you be the lucky winner.
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We will take all the correct answers and draw a name out to choose the winner. Again send the email before Thursday September 17th at 9pm and a name will be drawn Friday.
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Any questions?
Have a fun day working!!

~I would love it if you want to send me a picture of your quilt. I would love to post them on my blog or link back to your blogs to see what you came up with.

My Lucky Day

Yesterday turned out to be a great day. I had not expected it to be bad, so should not be surprised... but it was better than I thought it would be.

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First I was invited to a luncheon from a Foundation in town. The lunch was to recognize all the ways the Foundation has contributed to the community over the past year. But it was also to recognize a great volunteer. Col. (ret) Cass. He has worked tirelessly organizing Honor Flight in Northern Colorado. He will be heading his third FULL flight of WWII veterans from Colorado to Washington to see the WWII monument. But better yet, his wife.. she's a quilter - and my friend!!

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Then the foundation decided to do a special deal - and I ended up being the recipient of $100 to go towards Quilts of Valor at the School. Very lucky day indeed!

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But it didn't end there. In the evening I met with a bunch of Quilters from my guild - and we ate and bound quilts... get this .. are you ready... 11 Quilts were bound E.Le.ven. Shew!! That was cool. I used to call my group the Greeley Gals - but we had a male join us - so now I think we shall be the Binding Buddies! He got 2 done . So we need him!!! Plus he brought Fritos.

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Now I am recovering from all that excitement.

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Yesterday I tried to show you this sunset - cuz we all thought it was cool - but I couldn't get it to upload - so I will share it with you today.

Have a good day!!

911 Day of Service

9/11/09 is being declared a National Day of Service. They even have a cool website. I wish at times that I was that compelling in my words - but alas - thank goodness for others. So check out this website - http://911dayofservice.org Then come back. Don't worry I'll still be here.

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9/11 made a big impact on a lot of people, and in many different ways. I love how this man ( at 911dayofservice) is turning a personal loss into a nations gain. I think it is a great way to get people to realize the greatness of this country, and the freedoms that we as a nation have.
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9/11 sent my dad to Ground Zero. It sent my Dad in directions that he had not expected. He met people and touched lives, and had his life touched in ways that no one could ever expect. And it had a far reaching effect. One of those effects was the beginning of my quilting career.
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For some of us quilting is a reflection of our desire to help, to comfort, and to let others know that they are cared for. For some receiving a Quilt is one way to have a tangible feeling of love, to know that they are not alone. To know that even though they signed up for a job, getting hurt was not a job requirement.
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It is for all of these reasons that I would like to promote Quilts of Valor as a plan for spending a day in service.
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Would you consider starting a new Quilt for a Soldier, finishing a Quilt in progress, Quilting a Quilt of Valor, or finishing the binding? On Friday I will be posting the layout of the QOV Mystery Sew Along. But don't let that stop you from doing what you would like - just know that it is an option.
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Now - what do you do when you finish your top or finish your quilt?
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That is the cool thing about Quilts of Valor - there are many different outlets. If you have a top and you are not a machine quilter ( either on your home machine or a long arm) you can request a Machine Quilter at the QOVF.org website and they will hook you up.
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If you have finished a quilt - and its ready to be shipped to a soldier - again you can head over to QOVF.org and request a destination. You may be surprised at the need of these quilts.
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Or ( I always have to plug Colorado) if you are interested in your quilt going to a soldier in Colorado you can email me (alyciaquilts @ gmail.com) and I will give you my address. Quilts coming this way go to Fort Carson - to the Wounded Warriors unit.
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Do you have plans for the Day of Service?

The 2009 2010 5th grade class

I would like to introduce to you - the new 5th grade class of Quilt of Valor Makers! This last friday we started cutting a new batch of Quilts of Valor. This is a big class - there were about 23 to 24 kids in each group cutting and they did an awesome job.
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Not only did they work well together, they also stuck to the task of measuring, making lines and cutting their fabrics.
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There was also a football game looming - based on the number of jerseys present!!
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This is my 5th year doing this project - and I finally have a 5th grader again - Whoo hoo - someone to eat lunch with in the cafeteria!! ( he is in the Red and Blue striped shirt)
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Can you see the QOV hanging in the background? We try to put a new one up every couple of days. The kids get a chance to study it, check out the quilt pattern, the quilting designs and the label!! We LOVE to know where these quilts come from.




Hope you all had a great Labor Day weekend. I am almost caught up on my Sew Along Quilt. This is a good sign!! And - you will be loving how it turns out - I know it!!

Confessions

Yesterday I was supposed to post another step on our Mystery Quilt Sew along. And I had really really really planned to. But now I must make a confession.
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Are you ready? Are you sitting down?
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I didn't do it!!
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It's really not my fault though ( evil wicked laugh) I blame my children! And because they don't read my blog - they will have no clue about the havoc that they are wreaking on all of your lives!!
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And then Thursday I had to recount all of my FQ's to make sure I had enough for each and every student to start cutting, and then I had to lay them all out - because, I mean really, if you are going to play in fabric you might as well enjoy it and see it all. And when I surveyed my front room - it sort of looked like a flag factory had moved in. Patriotic fabric EVERYWHERE.
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But there was no room to lay out the mystery pieces to show you the next steps. And pair that with the fact that I am a failure, a flub, a dork if you will.... I still have 10 blocks left to make!! Wait - you ask - shouldn't you be steps ahead of us... almost finished, leading us with great skill and expertise? Well I was, and then again - the kids... again - it is ALL there fault!!
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Boy Am I getting really good at blaming other people or what? This is really a life skill I could have used earlier in life had I thought of it!
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So - knowing what this weekend has in store for us ( can you say Hay?) and knowing how much you all want to enjoy your labor day and just hang out, eating hamburgers, and corn on the cob. Oh and maybe even a chocolate cake... yum. How about we plan on the next step being posted next Friday - along with another really, really, really, cool give away - that you will so totally want, that you will love me for leading you astray and leaving your sewing tables a mess.
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Enjoy!!

and the winner is

Elaine at http://elaineadairpieces.blogspot.com/

Congratulations Elaine!! Now you can start up that QOV ( tomorrow right? LOL)
Email me with your address and I will get these 12 FQ's in the mail to you.

Thanks for playing everyone!!

When does it become a UFO?

Yesterday I spent a lot of time cutting Fat Quarters, Ironing FQ's and preparing for the 5th grade Quilt of Valor project. Of course, as I was doing this I had a little bit of time to think.
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And then I read JudyL's post
http://www.patchworktimes.com/2009/09/01/a-pep-talk/
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And then Bari started doing this in her Quilt Room:
http://crossroadsquilts.wordpress.com/2009/09/01/september-1st-and-what-i-am-working-on/
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It got me to thinking - do I have clear goals? Did I have a plan for the year for my personal quilting? Hmm.... went back and looked at my new years post. Not really. My big goal was to not buy fabrics that didn't have a purpose. So other than the 2 quilt kits - I did pretty good so far.
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Which leads to my question. I bought those 2 quilt kits with the goal of making them. And so far I have just looked at them. But I have them right next to my sewing table. They are "next" in line. But sometimes other quilts crowd the line. And I am really trying to be a One Quilt at a time woman. Although....
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So - when do those 2 quilt kits become UFO's .. and what is the time limit on getting them done? And how do you keep up with all the want to makes, versus already making, versus the need to finish?
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I guess I will get back to ironing. All the philosophy hurts my head (grin)

A Kids Creation

My Mom and Dad taught the Wednesday Night Kids church and for their art project they colored blocks. Two of the ladies then sewed them into this top - and now I quilted it. The kids did a great job.

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Each kid signed their block and included thier age on it. I thought that was really neat, that way the soldiers can know that even the littlest ones care about them.

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Hope you all are having a good one. Did you know that this weekend is Labor Day Weekend? Any exciting plans? Wrangler man says we are pulling weeds.... I wonder if a Quilt Shop could call to me again?? I could leave at precisely the time he decides to make me work ;-)

Quilted by Donna

Donna in Longmont volunteers for Quilts of Valor as a Long arm quilter. She graciously volunteered to quilt 2 QOV's for me. And I am so tickled!!

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This first one was made by the Miracles group in Denver. My friend Jess is the quilting teacher for this bunch of ladies - and they do an AWESOME job. The girls are really excited to make these quilts too.

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The next quilt was made by Lyn in my quilt guild. She made this twist beauty and of course it is now on my list of "have to makes" . I am really intrigued by it. I put a close up of the quilting - she did this really cool pattern that has flags and stars in it.
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Thanks Donna, Jess and Lyn - you all make an awesome team!!

There are a lot of fires burning - I think 3 here in Colorado, and numerous ones in California. The smoke is making the sun really really red this morning and it is hazy. Kind of a wierd effect. I tried taking pictures - but the camera can't "see" the smoke. Anyways - if any of you are in those areas - Stay Safe!!!