Finished a Quilt

I finished this quilt last weekend - and even got the binding on so I thought I would post a picture.

This was a mystery quilt and some of the ladies in my guild did it with me - somewhere in my camera are pictures of theres so I will dig in to find them too. The little guy on the left is my youngest son, and the just a tad older guy on the right is my Husband. They make great quilt holders.

And Yes this is a Quilt of Valor. I will get the other ladies quilts finished and we will send them in a groups to the hospital of Catherines choice. If you want to learn more about Quilts of Valor you can at http://www.qovf.org

Today it is very windy outside and many highways have been closed - so I have stayed in a sewed. I am almost finished with another top so will get it finished today I hope.

I was tagged by Carol to write 5 wierd things about me - but I don't think I am wierd - so asked my boys and hubby - heres what they came up with:

1. I have a bite mark on my back from where my brother bit me when we were about 4 and 6 - it made a deep scar and grew with me.

2. I don't particulary like being touched by a lot of people - it seems it is the "in thing" now to hug all the time and I usually find a way to hide.

3. I am still scared of the dark - and avoid it at all costs. I have 2 flashlights in my truck just in case. And I always do chores before it gets dark.

4. I have amazing hearing - I can hear the boys when they least expect it. Sometimes I can hear the wind you make as you are walking - freaky.

5. I am allergic to pain - and its even written down and highlighted on my dentists chart. Although I did manage to make it thru childbirth 3 times with no drugs - but never again! LOL

okay - that ought to tell you more about me than you ever wanted to know!!

EQ6 practice Quilt

I have been messing around with my EQ6 and think I made a neat pattern.

And I even figured out how to save it , and get it on my blog - I think I might be starting to be computer savvy. Okay I won't go that far!

I have a bunch of 4 patches that the kids made as they were practicing there sewing. And of course being the stashbuster that I am - I saved them. So I think I am going to make a quilt similar to this with them - when I have finished the strippy quilt I am working on now. Won't the kids be surprised to see that there practice stuff can make a quilt too?

Cheese and Crackers Pattern

This is my own Quilt of Valor - made from Atkinson designs Cheese and Crackers. I just love her patterns - they are so Fat Quarter friendly. Although this one is almost all scraps - but that was so easy to convert too.

I liked that it went together pretty quickly, and it probably helped that I kept it out on my sewing table and didn't put it in a tote to keep it organized. As once a quilt goes into a tote - its way to easy for me to put it on a shelf, and then cover it with a few things, and then before you know I have forgotten about it and started something new.

One of my goals for 2007 is to finish what I start this year, and finish what I started last year ;-) A lofty goal I know for me (lol) But I am gonna try it!

More 5th grade Quilt of Valor

Here are some more of the kids laying the quilts out. I just love the way they designed them. We discussed that there was no wrong or right, we just wanted them to be pleasing to the eye. I told them a little about seeing how your eyes move across the quilts - do they get hung up someplace, is there a specific area that draws more attention? It was fun listening to them ask each other those same questions over and over.

There are 72 kids in the class - and they all participated! After we layed them out we pinned the tops together so we wouldn't forget the placements. The next friday was the sew day!

Quilts of Valor sewing day

Well I finally downloaded my pictures! So now I can share again ;-) Last Friday I spent most of the day ( until the power went out) with the 5th grade class sewing there blocks together into quilt tops. It was really fun.

We also had help from some high school guys. They are doing there FCCLA project on making Quilts of Valor. I am so appreciative that they were willing to help. And the CFS teacher brought over her machines and spent quite a bit of time helping. It was great.

The top picture is the 2 high school guys that helped. I guess I should go back in time - the week before we sewed we spent an hour or so laying out the quilt tops just perfectly. It took a lot of effort for the groups to work together. Some kids had definite ideas of what they would like to try. There was one little skirmish - it was amusing to watch , but they worked it out well.

I have lots more pictures so will try to do some more posts so you can see how happy these kids were. So far we have worked on 8 quilts! And maybe some of you can see your fabrics. I so appreciate all of you who donated fabric to this project.

Field Trip to Texas Roadhouse

My second grader got to go to the Texas Roadhouse and cook bread. ( He is the one on the far right in the grey sweatshirt)

They got an awesome tour of the kitchens and we got to go into the freezer. Considering I am not warm unless it is 75deg I held the door :-).

My son wants to be a chef when he grows up ( among other things) so he had a blast and loved baking the bread. He is now my helper in the kitchen - and what a cook he is. Although he does have a thing for pizza - how much can you eat in a week?

On another note - the 5th graders worked on putting there quilt tops together last Friday until the power went out - so I will have some pictures of those this weekend - nothing like giving yourself a deadline right?

And of course it is Valentines day and my DH got me flowers - and Brownies - he knows my weakness! Chocolate - but the boys think I will share. They have another thing coming to them!

Catching Up

Well I don't have any pictures downloaded at the moment - but last Friday The 5th grade kids layed out there finished blocks into 7 different quilt tops. They really worked hard at the layouts - to get the most pleasing design. I have those all pinned together and ready to sew, so this Friday we will be doing some sewing.

I have been machine quilting like crazy - its a blast. My favorite part of the quilting I think is seeing all the neat quilts that people make. Although - then I want to make one too! I just finished quilting a really neat Stack n Whack. The focus fabric was a navy blue floral and she set it with Gold as the background. Beautiful. I will ask if I can post a picture here when she picks it up.

It is a very foggy day outside. It moved in so quickly, but it is hiding the precious sun that I need to melt my snowdrifts!!

Stack n Whack is Quilted

Well I did it - I finished my Stack n Whack top annnnnnnd even finished quilting it. I know I won't get the binding on for a little bit. This part always slows me down! But here it is - I made it out of animal prints - and quilted it with Quilters Dream Puff batting - it is so soft and comfy and warm!!



I took this as a class at the Quilt Shop in Windsor - and the group I took it with made a reunion date. I am so glad we did that - it put pressure on to finish it before the next year (or two or three for those who know me)

Today was a basketball day - we played in Johnstown, and battled just a little bit of snow, but man am I snow shy. The second that snow started coming down I drove the vehicles to the highway and parked there - no more snowed in junk for this girl! I will hike the 1/2 mile to guarantee we are not stuck!!!

Alycia

Lasagna Quilt is Finished

Finally my Lasagna Quilt is finished. I very enthusiasticly cut strips for one twin size lasagna quilt, but when i started sewing I realized that I had cut enough for 3 quilts. 1 set went to a lady who makes comfort quilts, she sewed them up. The first finished quilt went to Houston for victims of Hurricane Katrina, and then there was this one. I oh so kindly put it in a bucket, stacked it on a shelf - and promptly forgot about it!

When I was moving my sewing room around I unearthed it, quilted it, and then put it in a bin for binding...fast forward to January - it became my goal to get it bound and Finally I am Finished with it.

This pattern is from "Atkinson Designs Spring Cleaning book" - Its a really easy quilt, a great stashbuster too. I quilted it with tons of hearts all over it.

We have been plowed out now, but this morning as I tried to get the one car that had been stuck out, it argued! It slid everywhere, so I very promptly parked it and decided it would hang out until the spring thaw! I am very wholeheartedly looking forward to a thaw - at some point in the near future LOL.

Happy Quilting

Alycia

Snow Snow Snow and More Snow

Well We needed moisture, the pastures needed moisture, but I really didn't expect we would ever get this much snow. When the temps are in the 30's its a blast, but with the wind and biting cold, last week we were a "Leeeetle" crabby. Saturday evening we came home to 2 more inches of snow, and Sunday it dropped another 6 inches on us. Now we already have drifts of 4-6 feet eveywhere. Driving down our road feels like a tunnel. From a formerly warm land person this is amazing to me.

My Car had been snowed in, and 2 weekends ago DH managed to dig it out, so the hole that it left we used as a walkway. Well Saturday the walkway was no more, the wind blew it shut. We have been trying to keep it shoveled - but it has gone from 7 feet wide to 2 feet wide....Where my DH is standing used to be where my car was stuck.

Warmer weather is predicted this week - but can all this snow melt in 40 deg weather? And how long will it take - days, weeks? My oldest son predicts a month..... hmmm

Hope everyone stays warm! School was cancelled today as many of the roads are blown shut, so we are busy playing, sewing and playing some more ;-)

Alycia