Slacking.... and mess-ups

When beginning this blog, I considered that there would be times I would be busy.  Four kids, a dog and a husband's schedule do get in the way at times, I am afraid.  However, I feel the need to continue the chronicle of projects of the past.  Next up: Mistakes and what to do with 'em.

 So this quilt, I gave to a friend.  The triangles that have no purpose in the corners of the inner square are covering stretching and non-matching seams caused by the minkee.  What do you do in these situations? Me?  I cover 'em up!

 Snagged and puckered binding.  It happens.  Need I say more?


Then you have this guy.  To wash or not to wash before sewing.  Well, this one was a bleeder, thus deemed a "donate to Goodwill" blanket...

 Eeuw.

Fresh Modern Quilts

Fresh Modern Quilts, a group on Flickr.

A lovely place for inspiration!

What goes in to this thing called "quilting"....

Inspired by this post and this post, too, I am going to describe my motivation.  I like to quilt just to do it, it has turned into my therapy.  I am inspired by the recipient of the project not so much by a certain movement within the quilting world.  I love taking patterns designers have spent long, arduous hours planning and tweaking it with just a hint of a change- just to see if I can.  When I am making a quilt I spend a lot of time thinking about the person for whom will receive it and perhaps should be thinking a bit more about my seams and technique.  I just get lost... I get consumed with sewing the bits of fabric I've cut up, mulling over the chosen color scheme, bantering throughout the whole process of the making the quilt on whether or not it will be liked.  With some of the quilts I've made, they've become loved and threadbare before my eyes, others have been shelved and tucked away.

I haven't sold a quilt, I'm just not so sure that's for me.  Perhaps one day if I really become more polished in my efforts and finally learn to long arm, then I might.  But for now I just like piecing and figuring out how to take whole pieces of cloth and turning them into bits and pieces that come together in a wrappable, cozy swaddle.  I adore that fabric designers have blessed me with precuts that contain a smattering of all of the available prints and coordinating solids for their line.  I am challenged when it comes to being able to grab bolts of fabric and know they just work well together.  I just really don't have a fabulous eye for color.  I wish I did and it's an area I hope to work on along the way. I'm not brand loyal, but quality loyal.  I like the way quilter's cotton feels rather than a bit more economical fabrics.  I would rather make fewer quilts with better fabric than more quilts with lesser quality fabric.  Unfortunately at this time in my life I have a couple limitations: I have four kids 11, 7, 5, 2 and my husband is the only one working.  That translates as little time and little money to designate to my hobby.

However, as I can squeeze it in, I try to quilt as often as I can.  At times it is much to the dismay of my family as I will willingly ignore my household obligations just to finish a bit more on a project.  I am not a Holly Homemaker, that's for certain!  I'll quickly exchange sewing for dishes and laundry at any opportunity!  I learn so much from the blogs I follow and the various flickr groups I take part in, but I wouldn't classify myself as a certain "type" of quilter.  I do love the current fabrics and vibrant prints.  I just have to say again, I love, love precuts!  I really enjoy the blogs that expose how they approach their projects and what the quilter is trying to accomplish with each project.  I suppose that's the historian in me coming out:  I love the backstory.  Behind every quilt, there is an individual that spent a significant amount of time on the work.  I like hearing the why and how of it all.  Perhaps that's why I haven't allowed for anyone to purchase a quilt from me, it feels impersonal right now.  It's a compliment to be asked but I like knowing where my quilt is going.  As far as other quilters selling their work, I need them to keep doing so!  I need the sponsored blogs to tell me about new items out there for purchase!  I don't mind so much the sponsorships and giveaways (I seldom enter, anyway!) as long as when I read the review it feels genuine to me.

So that's it, I'm still growing in my quilting experience and so far it has been wonderful!

Don't get me wrong, I really need the folks

Grandma's Family

This quilt I made for my Grandma.  Her hands are in the middle, surrounding her hands are all of her descendants with their husbands or wives and their children.  My Grandma had five girls and 13 grandchildren; at the time of her death she had 14 great-grandchildren.  The littlest ones' hands didn't make it on the quilt and there have been additions since she died in the summer of 2009.  When we buried her, this quilt was inside covering her with all our hands...

 I sent this to be quilted at a local shop, The Quilted Moose, in Sault Ste. Marie, MI.  The quilter did such an admirable job, she outlined each hand then went on to stipple.  I did the binding.

Grandma's hands are in the middle...
My family (without Henry) is the upper right corner!

Grandma's Family, a photo by mommaof4yoopers on Flickr.

Along came another...

 In 2003 I discovered we would be having another little one the following spring.  My husband wanted to be surprised on the gender but I found out at the 20 week ultrasound.  I was able to keep it under wraps until fairly far into my pregnancy when I slipped and made a comment about how we wouldn't need to worry about boy things....  I tried covering like crazy, saying I was speaking in hypotheticals but I guess Dr. Army is too smart for me!

While I was pregnant we went home to Michigan for my Grandparent's 50th Wedding Anniversary, which is the day after Christmas.  My Grandma Donna and I worked on these two quilts, one for each gender, so Dr. Army wouldn't find out the gender of our baby.  If he were only slightly more observant he would have noticed that the fabrics on the feminine quilt were much nicer than those on the masculine quilt.  What can I say?  He's a guy not into fabric!

I will say, when Donna (my 7yo) was born she looked quite cute on the quilt and it was so special to have something that her great-grandmother and I worked on together since she has Grandma Donna's name.

Like I've said before, I'm a kiss-up.  Shameless, I know.  When Donna was 9 months old, she and her brother were very cute one day and my husband and I decided another wouldn't be so bad.  Besides, everyone needs a tie breaker, right?  9 months later we had Gordon.  Yup, you guessed it I named Gordon after my Grandpa.  But folks at home didn't call him Gordon, they called him Bud; so we refer to Gordon as Gordie-Bud at times....

I guess I was lucky I made that extra quilt.  I certainly wouldn't have had time with all the craziness I had going on to make another quilt for another baby!

A break from memory lane...

My Bee blocks and some models...

Presently, I'm having such a great time working on blocks for flickr group Quilting Bees.  I completed these sets of bee blocks for my fellow bees and will be sending them out to the UK and Canada.  It's a great way to work with fabrics I wouldn't normally choose and try patterns I wouldn't usually pick!  So fun!

Kissing up...

Yup, I'm a kiss up.

While Erik and I lived in Maryland, we first rented a townhouse from a couple who had a few rental properties.  A year or so into renting with them (of which we did for four years) they had a baby boy, S.  As a gift for the baby, I made this Noah's Arc number which also was my first attempt at separate binding.  Up to that point I'd done backing that wrapped around to bind.

I think I was a bit of kiss up, don't you?

Gotcha day...

Gotcha day...

We lived in Maryland from 2000-2007, where my husband attended Medical School and completed Residency at Walter Reed Army Medical Center.  During that time I had the privilege of knowing some exceptional people.  In our first townhouse we lived in a little tucked away cul du sac alongside two great couples that were in early parenthood like we were.  

One couple, the P's, were awaiting the arrival of their sweetie from Korea.  J arrived when he was only three months old and his parents were absolutely delighted!  He was a cutie, that's for certain.  W and I made a banner welcoming them home and I also made a little quilt for J to fit his Disney themed nursery.  Since, the P's have added another little boy and I'd say they are some very handsome young guys now!

I love adoption... I can't imagine a better equation, really.  A loving parent giving another loving parent the ability to do just that.  

Baby love...

Ian's quilt

Soon after my success at purchasing all the necessary equipment to get started in my quilting adventure, then the completion of the flag quilt, I made a go of a baby size quilt.  My cousin was having her second baby and I used that nice little excuse to make this simple little guy...

This quilt I tried to be slightly asymmetrical with adding sashing on the sides before the final strip of blocks.   I was more than happy to let this go as I found that I did not like my little experiment.  I have to say unfortunately this began my affliction with overanalyzing my work and nitpicking each detail.  Perhaps this is why I've not kept any quilts for myself. However, with this gift I discovered how fun it was to make cozy blankets for little squirming additions to my family and friend's homes.

Stars and Stripes...

This quilt was my first venture unaccompanied.  I'd bought a refurbished Kenmore machine at the local Sears for $99 and a book with some simple patterns and decided to give it a go.  At first I thought I'd be able to do it all by hand but bit by bit I learned that there were easier methods than scissor cutting, hand stitching the pieces together and "guesstimating" the measurements using a tape measure.

After purchasing a rotary cutter, mat and ruler this quilt easily came together for me.  The thought was, since my husband was in the Army, for each blue starless portion of each flag, I would applique or embroider his various unit patches throughout his career.  Shortly after completing this quilt (around 2002?) I tucked it away.  It has since been a wall decoration or on a shelf.  I have those patches still and eventually would like to attach them.  This is the only quilt, other than those for my kids, that I've kept.

Where it all began...

This is it.  My first quilt.  My grandmother had to help me with it, since the experience I had with sewing beforehand consisted of two Home Ec classes.  We cut the squares with scissors, pieced one at a time with the sewing machine and hand tied it... of those steps, the only thing I still do in my quilting is the piecing.

I made this quilt for my first son, W.  He was a surprise you see and I wanted to make something for him to get me more in the spirit rather than stuck in shock.  The colors were intensely bright and were of fairly good quality fabric but have since become threadbare and faded.  It is 12 years old after all!

So that's where I'll start this blog.  Where it all began...