Friday, July 29, 2011

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!

Wednesday, July 27, 2011

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.  

Tuesday, July 26, 2011

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.

Monday, July 25, 2011

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.

Sunday, July 24, 2011

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...