Winners

Marilyn is the winner of the target card  Whooo Hoo

And

Judy is the winner of the Starbucks card

Enjoy ladies!!!

And Sew well!!

Veterans Day Rail Fence Step Two

The next step is to make strip sets of all of your strips. Each strip set needs to contain (2) 1 1/2 inch strips, and (3) 2 1/2 inch strips. I went ahead and layed each set out, just to make sure I had them all. In the scrappy version, I wanted to make sure I didn't get stuck with all 5 strips being the same color.

Then I layed them over my stack of *keep warm* quilts, because I could, and because it is my house and I am staking my place in it *giggle*

The next step was to sit down and sew - Sew the sets together using 1/4 inch seams. Each strip set should measure 8 1/2 inches wide. If they don't - check your seam allowances, your ironing, or eat more chocolate. Chocolate is the cure all.

Iron the sets. I ironed them to all one side.

Prize for today.... a $10 Starbucks Card

Why? Because they have Peppermint Hot Chocolate there - and the Chocolate will make you want to sew all day.... right????  Or maybe you might like it for the coffee - go figure....

How to get the gift card:

Leave a comment on the blog ( and DON"T FORGET to leave a way to contact you)

tell me how you are doing on sewing this? How far have you gotten - or have you even started yet? Or you can tell me your favorite chocolate..... cuz you know I am all about the chocolate right?

I will choose a winner Wednesday morning and email you ... so again - LEAVE A WAY to CONTACT you  (grin)

  

Quilts from Pat

There is a wonderful wonderful lady down south of me that is a quilter - and she is amazing! I wish I knew how she gets everything done....  I do hear a lot of referenced to Bull Riding from her. So I am assuming that she watches bullriding and quilts. But ..... if she is really riding the bulls and quilting - well - my hat is off to her LOL.

One of my sons wanted to be a bullrider one time. So we took him to a little ranch rodeo and he rode a sheep. In our neck of the woods they call it mutton bustin' - but in reality it was a dirt eating experience for him. And I never heard him ask to ride bulls again.... oh But Wait - I was talking about quilts....

These two Beautiful  Quilts of Valor came from Pat - and oh man - they are wonderful!!

Thank you SO much Pat for you dedication to Quilts of Valor! And I hope you enjoyed Houston!!

Veterans Rail Fence Yardage and Cutting Instructions

First off - you have to know that I get a little TOO excited when starting a new quilt and I envision all sorts of ways to cut it, and save fabrics.... but I have restrained myself and am only going to give you TWO of the ways. If you come up with more - please (please) don't send them to me - I may start it just to see, and then I will have 4 thousand 3 hundred and 72 quilts in progress... and my family may leave me!

Version one: 5 Yard Version

Choose 1 yard of 5 different fabrics. I assume they are at very minimum 42 1/2 inches wide. All cuts will be made Width of Fabric ( wof)

From Fabrics 1,2, 3, and 4
    Cut (6) 1 1/2 inch WOF Strips from each
    Cut (10) 2 1/2 inch wof Strips from each

From Fabric 5
     Cut (8) 1 1/2 inch wof strips
     Cut (8) 2 1/2 inch wof strips

This will give you a total of (32) 1 1/2 in strips and
                                              (48) 2 1/2 in strips

I chose 5 fabrics that blended well - and randomly chose which fabric was to be 1,2,3,4 and 5
*******************************************************************************************************

Version 2 Scrappy Veterans Rail

For this one I used my AccuQuilt Go cutter. I think I am getting better at using it to its potential....

First I cut (23) 8 in pieces of 43 inch wide fabrics in Reds Creams and Blues.

Then I took (7) of the 8 inch pieces and cut them on the 1 1/2 inch strip die cutter. I cut 35 strips this way - and only need 32. I stuck the other 3 in my string bins.

The other (16) pieces were cut with the 2 1/2 inch die which yielded 48 strips.

********************************************************************************

So - questions? Clear as Mud?

Prize Number One:
Leave a comment on the blog:
Tell me either you Have cut the strips, are planning to cut the strips and your proposed color scheme. And leave a way to contact you. I will draw a winner tonite at 10 pm and email you.

The Prize?
A $10 Target Gift card - mailed out Monday Morning so you can go buy some chocolate to eat while sewing ( okay - you don;t have to get chocolate - its your card.... but if it were me - that is what I would buy)

Preparation for Veterans Rail Fence Quilt a Long

I hope you all are ready for the next few posts! And I hope I have all the instructions right!! So far mine has turned out correctly ;-)

If any of you are participating in the Veterans Rail Fence Quilt a Long I would love to be able to post your name, and your blog if you have one. 

So if you are - email me your blog addy or leave it in the comments here and I will make a page with them on it. If you are going to do the quilt a long - but a different quilt - email me still... I want to watch you progress too!!

And if you don't have a blog - if you want to take some pictures a long the way I would be honored to post them.  I honestly believe that there can NEVER be enough ohhing and Ahhing.... are you with me???

And there will be prizes....

Barb, Dianne, and Nancy

Barb saw my instructions for the flag blocks
http://alyciaquilts.blogspot.com/2010/09/quilters-accountability-92210.html
 and decided that she would make some for us to put into a quilt top  - per

fect!! And in the middle of the blocks - something magical fell out - a bag of M&M's.... Thanks Barb!!

Dianne is in Denver and she is an awesome quilter!! She made this Quilt of Valor. It was quilted by Patsy M of Green River WY. Patsy did a beautiful job!

 This quilt of Valor is also made by Dianne - don't you just love her work!! And it was quilted by Sharon H of Arvada CO.  I saw Sharons name on the label and was surprised - she had just contacted me to come speak at their guild. I am the speaker in May. (wish me luck)

Thanks Dianne - you are awesome!!! !


The last quilt for today comes from Nancy in New York. This pattern is called Dizzy and it was a mystery quilt done on the QOVquiltmystery yahoo group.

Nancy - it is awesome - Thank you!!

I was asked the other day by the spouse of a Wounded Warrior recieveing his quilt - How we can stand to give away such beautiful works or art? First, I had to love the way she thinks!! Second, I recruited her to learn to make these, and Third - I explained how much we quilters wanted to support our troops and say thank you, and this is the best way we know how.

Any other comments I should add to that?

From Agnes

Since I have adopted Agnes' daughters ( Sandi and Karen) I think that means that she belongs to me too. ( smile)  At least thats the way I see things... right?

Agnes is in NJ, and she is one busy busy quilter. She recently sent me TWO ( yes 2) boxes of quilt tops and backs. These are three of them that have been quilted - I did one, and my dear sweet Pat in Peyton did two. Hers are the ones that are bound - because she does NOT go into anaphylatic shock at the thought of binding...


Aren't these lovely quilts?

I am starting to feel organized again. When I leave it throws my whole schedule off - ok, not that I really have a schedule, but I like to pretend that I do, so I am feeling better.

We even got groceries today. It seems that more and more we are Sam's club shoppers - who knew that 3 boys could devour so much food... and so quickly at that!  My whole point of the shopping thing was... it is obviously getting closer to Christmas - as the Christmas Candy is out, and, well, I like the chocolate part of it. Its the - Oh my gosh - December is just around the corner part I didn't quite care for.

Do you think everyone will settle for Chocolate for Christmas this year?  I would be just fine with that.... and then no fighting the crowds..................

Quilters Accountability 11-3

These were my goals for last week ( or maybe 2 weeks ago, since I had a week dissappear)


Finish instructions for Veterans Rail Fence DONE
Put labels on Two Quilts of Valor DONE
Send Shari her box ( its almost ready Shari)  DONE ( she has even recieved it already!!!)
 
The Veterans Rail Quilt Along is written and ready to post.... I hope you all will be joining in. Wrangler Man has enjoyed watching this one go together. The boys did the lay out - so its a family project!  The fabric requirements will be posted on the 7th......
 
This week I have been working a bit in my quilting room. I have a tendency to pile things in places and I know what they are, but then time goes by and I forget what they are... so I spent some time remembering again. Its kind of fun. I bought some purples a long time ago, got them out, put them away, got them out again - then piled them. So now I am trying to think of why I bought them - or what I bought them for - or did I just like them?
 
Goals for this week:
1. Get all prepped and ready for our QOV Sew Day on the 14th.
2. Finish my Fall Foliage Quilt
3. Cut gift quilt for a freind for Christmas.
4. Quilt one Quilt of Valor
 
Hope you all had a productive and fun week. I enjoyed mine!  To see what everyone else is up to go to
http://crossroadsquilts.wordpress.com/
 
 

More Quilt Presentations

Today I have been *finally* opening some of the boxes that came last week with Quilts of Valor in them. And oh Man - are they lovely!!!  But before I show you all those that have come in, I have a few pictures of some that have gone out.

It is interesting to see what the recipient's choose, and it is interesting that some love their pictures takes and others don't.

This young gentleman (above) had his mom and girlfriend with him. They were all so excited about the quilt. And they could not believe that people would go to this trouble for them.

This next gentleman's 13 year old son was with him, and just loved the symmetry of this Quilt.

This Vet was the funniest. I told him that this quilt was a hug for him, and he dared us to walk up on the street and give him one. Did I mention that he was about 6'5" 280 pounds of ALL muscle???

Have a great evening.

Fabric Acquistions

When you travel you know that is is impossible not to stop at Quilt Shops right? We went to Grand Junction to compete in the State Championships for marching band. The first day it rained, it poured, and they delayed the competiton for 2 hours. This was a benefit to me, as I found a gluten free pancake house. The other 2 boys and I had breakfast there, and my cousin met me. As we were walking out I saw the LIGHT... oh wait - I mean the Sign - for The Quilters Corner.

But alas, I had to get to the competition - so I patiently waited until 4pm - the darted over there. It was instant love......

I found MAXINE.... I Love Maxine - I totally *get* Maxine, and now I have Maxine fabrics!! The web site is

http://www.quilterscornergj.com

In between our two trips - I had to take two of my kids to Windsor for a test. While they took there test - I noticed that the fabric shop was only 50 ft from where I had parked. The buildings were caddy corner to each other - it was fate.... it had to be.....

So I headed into the store.... and I found beauties that no eye could behold.....

 The website for the Quilters Stash is
http://www.quilterstash.com/

I also found this quilt pattern. I have used the BQ before and found it very easy to make - so I may try this one soon, or later, or I may just stare at it for a while and dream.

For those of you who were worried that I was working too hard going from one end of this state to the other end of another state..... no worries. There were shops inbetween!!