Sunday Farming Quilter

Baby Quilt Features Big Prints Mixed with a Liberated Style

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sun, 01 Nov 2015 20:14:00 +0000

A baby quilt completed in 2015 makes use of big prints.

In my life the year 2015 has been the year of the baby quilt. In the past 11 months I have completed six baby quilts. I have stood by my mantra, "Every child deserves their own quilt," but it has meant a busy year. In the quilt pictured, I wanted to feature fabric from the line Peak Hour for Riley Blake by Kellie Wulfshon. This fabric called to me because of the size of the printed cars and trucks. It would have been much easier to back the whole piece of fabric and quilt, but I wanted to add my own touch. I love many of the fun prints that are out on the market and like incorporating them into my designs. For this quilt I added a row of my wonky flying geese, a row of curvy sticks, some pinwheels, hour glasses and finished it off with zig zags for the top and bottom rows.

The year 2015 has been a busy year for other reasons as well. My oldest son got married and it was a fun time. The monumental event also caused me to step back and take a good look at things around me. Since my family was hosting a brunch after the wedding it was time to spruce up the patio. The picnic table deserved a new coat of paint for the event.

The cars baby quilt is displayed on my backyard picnic table that recently went from a color called Beach Blue to Garden Green. On the table sits my truck garden, an old toy truck that has been repurposed as a planter for Hen and Chicken plants. Since my new daughter-in-law has an agriculture degree specializing in community gardens, I thought the toy truck planter should be in the picture.

Details of my wonky flying geese row.

Secret messages are often written in my quilting.

The next time you see a great print, baby or otherwise, think of a different way to present the print in your next quilt. Or if you see a vintage toy truck repurpose it as a planter. The possibilities are endless.

Everyone Loves Winning a Prize

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 07 Sep 2015 18:02:00 +0000

Amber Eubank was the winner of Lady Bird, a quilt from my Quilt Like a Hipster exhibit.

Everyone loves a drawing and winning a prize. That is why I gave away one of my quilts from the Quilt Like A Hipster exhibit that ended August 1 at the Danville Community Arts Center. Amber Eubank of Salvisa, Ky entered the contest by posting a photo from my exhibit on Instagram and using the hashtag #quiltlikeahipster. Thanks Amber for coming to my show and entering the contest. And thanks to everyone else that came to my exhibit. I was shocked to learn there were 402 people that came to the opening reception on June 6. Thank you, thank you, thank you. I am honored. I met so many nice people during the exhibit and really enjoyed teaching my methods of quilting during three different classes at the arts center. Now I'm off to tackle my quilting "to do" list. I owe some family members wedding quilts and baby quilts. I'm sure they are feeling like the barefoot cobbler's children. I'll keep you posted.

Student Art from my Workshop is an Inspiration

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sun, 21 Jun 2015 15:07:00 +0000

A student version of Wonky Stars. Thanks Carrie!

I love to teach because I learn so much from my students. I was fortunate to teach two classes last week at the Danville Community Arts Center. My quilts are hanging in exhibit on the walls at the center so it was fun to pull out tables, ironing boards, sewing machines and cutting mats in the midst of the quilts and teach classes. I taught two classes. One was Wonky Trees and the other was Wonky Stars. I had great students and I learned as much from them as they did from me. It is always fun to see what color combinations people are drawn to and what other elements they include that never crossed my mind. We has a great day in the bright, spacious hall. I wanted to share with you some of the student work from the workshops.
I still have one more workshop scheduled at the Community Arts Center. It is from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., Saturday, July 18. I will be teaching the design elements for my quilt called "Birmingham Blast." This quilt, made as a baby quilt for my niece, is quite dramatic but actually fairly simple to make.

Students added their own touches to Wonky Trees.

These trees have beading as an embellishment.

Here is a photo of Birmingham Blast under construction.

Quilt Like A Hipster. Fun Quilts by Joni Morgan exhibit set for June, July 2015

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 14 May 2015 02:53:00 +0000

"Door Into Summer" will be on exhibit along with 33 other quilts.

For the past six weeks I have been busy preparing what I call, "My Body of Work." I am so honored to be the featured artist for the months of June and July at the Community Arts Center in my hometown of Danville, Kentucky. I am delighted to share my style of quilting for all those interested and for those that happen to come in just to see what is hanging at the Arts Center. At last count there will be 34 of my quilts on display.

The Community Arts Center is a beautiful building with high ceilings, tall windows and marble floors that once served as the U.S. Post Office and later office to a U.S. Sixth Circuit Court Judge. My exhibit will be in the grand hall of this fabulous building that sits prominently on the corner of Main and Fourth Streets, next to the Boyle County Courthouse. Not every small town is as lucky as Danville to have such grand buildings and to house an arts center for all to enjoy.

There will be a reception for my exhibit from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m., Thursday, June 4. The reception is also part of the bi-monthly Gallery Hop. The Gallery Hop features local artists within a three block area. Local businesses open their stores and offices for the evening so the artists can display their work. This is another great tradition in our active small town. And if that is not enough, June 5-7 is the Great American Brass Band Festival with fun activities all weekend, including a Brass Band parade on Saturday morning, June 6. There will be brass bands from all over the country coming to town and playing all weekend in this free outdoor concert on the grounds of Centre College. So bring your lawn chairs for this event and stop by and see my quilt exhibit on the way.

Oh and I need to make mention about the exhibit title. The Arts Center called and said the exhibit needed a title. I gave it some thought and came up with, "Quilt Like a Hipster, Fun Quilts by Joni Morgan." I'm really not of full fledged hipster, but I do enjoy hipster activities such as riding my bike to work, gardening, canning and quilting. My sons often tease me about being a hipster. I thought the hipster title was appropriate for my unique quilting style and the exhibit.

Snowbound Quilters are Never Bored

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 11 Mar 2015 14:41:00 +0000

The view of my latest quilt project from a vintage Kodak Duaflex camera.

With the recent snows in February and March I was able to work on projects that had moved to the top of my "to do" list. Continuing my mantra, "Every baby deserves their own quilt," I completed two projects that have upcoming deadlines. The projects included starting and finishing two baby quilts because the babies are due at the end of March. I was able to shop my stash and use some of the fabric I already had to complete these projects. I will post those completed projects later because I like the quilts to be a surprise for the new parents.

I also completed a quilt top with liberated stars and log cabin blocks. That quilt is pictured through the viewfinder of the Kodak Duaflex camera. It was my son Sam who came up with the idea of taking photos of the viewfinder of the antique camera by using an iphone. We had a lot of fun taking various photos this way so I wanted to share. The quilt top is now being quilted and I will share when that top is completed.

Although we are in the third month of the year, I have made a vow to use more of my stash for 2015. One of my quilting friends created a challenge. When making a quilt at least 70 percent of the fabrics should come from your stash. I thought that was great idea because it gives you the opportunity to still shop for new fabrics. Just pair a bit of the newly purchased fabrics with what is in your stash. This is a great challenge and a great opportunity to do a bit of destashing. With the 70 percent rule I hope to post photos of some great quilts created in 2015 with this challenge in mind.

Happy Quilting!

Deadlines set the tone, keep us moving in a positive direction

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 05 Jan 2015 02:53:00 +0000

The front of the Ed Emberley inspired baby quilt.

If it wasn't for deadlines I might not ever get anything finished. So with the deadline of babies being born I completed two baby quilts in December. Welcome to the world little ones. And along with baby quilts comes an opportunity to give a new quilting technique or fabric a try. For my first new arrival I made a quilt with none other than Ed Emberley fabric. When explaining this fabric to others I was surprised that not everyone has heard of this fantastic artist that taught my own children to draw with his "how to draw" series of books for children.
Along with this fun quilt for the new little girl, I gave her older brothers, ages 5 and 7, the books along with drawing supplies. I hope everyone enjoys their Ed Emberley experience.

The back of the quilt includes a panel with large drawings I could not cut.

There was a great panel, sort of, that went with the line of Ed Emberley fabrics. The panel shows with dotted lines how to cut around the large drawing and how they can be used. It was such a great panel that I left it whole and added it to the back of the baby quilt. I even left the selvage showing on purpose because it too added a special element to the quilt.

On to my next deadline. I have a name to add to the next baby quilt and need to get it delivered. Then I may make a list of things I want to accomplish for 2015. I'm not much of a list maker but there are things I really want to finish.................. Are you a list maker?

Teaching "Liberated Basics"

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 01 Dec 2014 03:41:00 +0000

Detail of "Fireworks over Millennium Park."

"Fireworks over Millennium Park" is the quilt I will be using to teach "Liberated Basics."

In 2015 I will be teaching a series of classes I am calling "Liberated Basics." In this series of three classes I hope to address some of the elements of Liberated quilting. Liberated quilting is very improvisational quilting and a pattern is not needed. The only thing needed is thread, fabric and imagination. I will teach the techniques by using my quilt, " Fireworks over Millennium Park" as an example for this class. This quilt was a semi-finalist in the 2013 American Quilters Society Show in Grand Rapids, Michigan. I will address how I created each of the elements of this quilt and will help the students in the class create their own one-of -a kind liberated quilts. Quilters Square, a quilt shop in Lexington, Ky has graciously allowed me to use their shop to teach this series of classes. The shop will be providing the students with a fat quarter pack of fabrics that "reads as solids." I picked these fabrics because I think the end results will be fantastic. Some of the fabrics in the fat quarter bundle include the line from Moda called Grunge. My goal is to inspire others to give liberated quilting a try. I will provide the students with my list of favorite inspirational quilt books. My favorite being books by Gwen Marston, the mother of Liberated quilting. I have been quilting using elements of this method for about five years and love the results.

Oh yes.... The classes are on Saturday from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. January 10, February 14 and March 21. There is a price break if signing up for all three classes. You can sign up by calling Quilters Square.Call quilter's Square at 859 278-5010 to sign up.

Machine Quilting Tricks

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Fri, 14 Nov 2014 17:06:00 +0000

I was most fortunate to get an opportunity to spend time at a recent retreat hosted by world famous quilting sisters Pat Holly and Sue Nickles. These two Michigan girls know how to home sewing machine quilt. It was five days packed with information, instruction and inspiration.

I am not new to machine quilting. I received "sticker shock" back in 2005 and it was the cost of having quilts completed by a long arm quilter that sent me to my home sewing machine. Thus I began to quilt my quilts on my sewing machine. I have many quilts that I quilted and I must say much of the knowledge I have received about this endeavor has come from talking to quilting friends, reading books and much trial and error. There are things like needle size, thread size and different types of batting that matter.

There are many books written about machine quilting by many different quilt artists. But the ultimate learning experience for me was sitting down with the pros at my own sewing machine and learning what they have to teach.

I have been sewing on a Bernina 440 with a BSR stitch regulator since this machine first introduced into the market. The Holly girls are Bernina embassadors and are familiar with this invention. I call it the $1,000.00 foot . The Holly girls refer to the foot as "quilting with training wheels." It is quite the electronic attachment that helps control stitch length while free motion quilting. During the retreat I learned to quilt without the BSR. Basically it means to slow down and be more intentional about where the stitches are going.

I learned to mark a quilt and draw feather designs. Personally, I have never been big on marking a quilt. My free motion sometimes calls for register marks to keep the size of the quilting even, but for the most part I just jump in and quilt. I'm glad I now have these skills to add to my quilting arsenal. And I am going to use some of the feather designs on a top that I have waiting to be quilted.

I will also be returning to the Holly Girls Retreat in 2015. What wonderful teachers and I want to add more to my quilt skills arsenal.

This is the detail work on my 18"x18" sampler from The First Holly Girls Retreat.

Chattanooga Welcomes AQS Quilt Show

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 16 Sep 2014 01:24:00 +0000

The riverfront of the Tennessee River in Chattanooga.

September 10-13, 2014 the City of Chattanooga, Tennessee hosted the American Quilters Society Quilt show in their downtown Convention Center. I had the pleasure of attending the event and I must say the City of Chattanooga and the town's quilters embraced the event. After a day of viewing quilts and exhibits at the Convention Center I took the time to visit the Tennessee Riverfront. It was fun being a tourist. I went to the outdoor art, a great restaurant, the IMAX Theatre as well as the Aquarium. What I wasn't expecting to see were more quilts. The Modern Quilt Guild Chattanooga had quilts hung in the IMAX theater as well as the Aquarium.

The Modern Quilt Guild had this quilt hanging from the rafters at the IMAX Theatre.

The Chattanooga Modern Quilt Guild must have been very busy in anticipation of the AQS Show. There were quilts of fish throughout the Aquarium. But the most amazing collaborative was a series of small quilts approximately 9"x12" each, all side-by-side that represented the Tennessee River. What a fun project that must have been for the guild.

Small quilts from 26 different quilters make their interpretation of the Tennessee River.

Quilts were a fun surprise to find in the Aquarium and the Imax Theatre. I was impressed with Chattanooga and how they embraced the AQS Quilt Show and I will definitely return next year. Maybe I can talk some friends into coming along.

My quilt "Flight Patterns" was an entry in the show and the centerfold in the AQS quilt catalog.

I did have one of my quilts in the show. My quilt, "Flight Patterns" was a semifinalist. The quilt was not a ribbon winner but I was pretty excited to have it pictured in the centerfold of the catalog. This was my first time to be in the centerfold.

I am currently finishing up on a quilt that measures 59"x62". Yea! About the time I am finished with a quilting project I am also ready to move on to another project. I have several small projects waiting. I have four nieces pregnant and must honor my mantra, "Every child deserves their own quilt." I will post as they are completed. Happy Stitching.

Following the Kentucky State Fair Quilt Judge

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Fri, 22 Aug 2014 02:59:00 +0000

Volunteers gather around as judges critique "Best of Show" quilt.

Last week I had the opportunity to volunteer during the quilt contest judging for the Kentucky State Fair. I spent the day doing various tasks including writing judges comments, folding quilts, attaching ribbons and spreading quilts out for the judge to view. But more importantly I spent the day learning. My guess is there were nearly 500 quilts entered and each quilt was given proper attention for the contest.

I appreciated the certified judge taking time to point out to the volunteers great work along with common mistakes in quilting. The judge realized the volunteers came to help, but also came to learn. With each quilt she started with praising what was good about the quilt then added suggestions for improvement. Hopefully each contestant can learn from the judges comments.

I want to share some of the things the judge I assisted found important in creating an award-winning quilt.

*Binding - Each quilt she commented on the binding. Some of her binding tips: Be sure your thread matches the binding. Make sure the binding is full. Sew strips of binding together on the diagonal so not to create lumps in the binding. She is also a fan of binding cut on the bias because she says it will wear better. An accomplished quilter as well as a judge, she shared a trick in keeping the binding full. The trick she uses in keeping binding full is to cut extra batting in one quarter inch strips and insert it as the binding is sewn down. Be sure the corners are properly mitered and the miters are sewn closed.

*Piecing: Make sure points are not cut off. When a pattern has sashing she suggested adding cornerstones to the sashing even if it is the same color. The reason is because it will help keep the sashing straight. Quilts with crooked sashing or borders were "dismissed." I loved they used the word "dismissed" rather than "rejected." It's so much kinder.

*Quilting: She inspected the quilting carefully for stitch length, thread color choice and workmanship. If the stops and starts and the quilting were obvious that was noted. Many of the quilts were noted as "Needs more quilting."

*Color and design: Each quilt was judged for color and design and she often commented if the colors had value.

*Applique or embroidery: When the quilts were appliqued or embroidered the stitches were inspected for tension.

*Piecing the back. Quilts that were pieced with two equal pieces on the back were noted. She suggested when piecing the back to always piece the seams vertically and never down the middle of the back. The reason is the middle is where the quilt will be folded and this will add stress the the seam. She suggested piecing the back somewhere other than the middle. The reason to piece the backing vertically is because if the quilt is ever hung the vertical seam will not stress the quilt as much as a horizontal seam. (I must admit I am guilty of piecing the back horizontally because this method saves fabric.)

*Folding. While this was not a category that counted she did give the volunteers this tip: Her suggestion in folding a quilt was to fold from top to bottom twice and then fold from the middle. The reason is when the quilt is hung the weight of the quilt will pull out the horizontal folds in the quilt.

I know this is a lot but if you have entered a quilt in a show the minute details matters. Make sure your great works get the ribbon it deserves. Watch for the detail. I challenge you to enter a quilt in a show and Good Luck!!!

Sneak peek of the quilt currently on the design wall.

I am working on a really fun quilt and will give you a sneak peek. I will post more when it is closer to being finished.

Jiffy Baby Quilt for the Little One

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 28 Jul 2014 14:36:00 +0000

My Jiffy Baby Quilt goes together quickly.

Another baby arrives and this time I put together a quick quilt I call my "Jiffy Baby Quilt." Just by looking at the photo you can get an idea of how this is a simple quilt. This is very liberated and can be made from pulling fabrics from your stash and scrap bags. When I cut the colorful strips of various widths I cut the white background pieces at the same time and stored them together until I was ready to sew. Just make sure your rotary cutting blade is sharp because it will be going through 3 or four thicknesses of fabric.

I love the name "Jiffy" in this quilt for several reasons. One is it reminds me of my youth and learning clothing construction with "Simplicity Jiffy" patterns. The patterns always had only one to four main pattern pieces and were perfect for beginners or for constructing a new outfit quickly." Jiffy" also reminds me of the cornmeal mix. This is a great product for the beginning cook or the cook in a hurry. I love that the iconic box label has remained the same for years. Here's to the word "Jiffy."

Back to the quilt. I started this quilt by picking out a backing fabric first. Sometimes I do that because it helps me to narrow down what colors will be on the front of the quilt. I chose the cute owl fabric because..... it is cute.

The cute owl fabric is the back of the Jiffy Baby Quilt.

The owl fabric has great colors so it was easy to find coordinating fabrics from my stash for the front. The other reason I like this style of quilt is because I can have fun with the quilting. I use my home sewing machine to quilt. Baby quilts fit nicely under the throat of my machine and this quilt measures 36"x38" so there is no need to piece the back.

I quilted each strip of this quilt using a different quilt pattern. It is a great place to try out new designs. The other thing I like to do is include the baby's name and birth date in the quilting. This is a personal touch that I hope makes it special for the family.

This is a close up of the quilted name , weight and date of birth.

A close-up of some of the playful quilting stitches.

Please try making your own version of "Jiffy Baby Quilt." I would love to see what you come with, you can email me at this link.

As you know I am working on my Hipster profile. (Owls are hipster and so is Instagram.) I would like to invite you to follow me on Instagram @sundayfarmingquilter or go to this link. I will be tagging some of my blog photos to share with others.

Quilt Design Shows up in Footwear

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 21 Jul 2014 02:28:00 +0000

Flight Patterns in the design on hand-painted footwear.

My new daughter-in-law, Stephanie Morgan, recently honored me and my quilt design. The quilt pattern used in my award winning quilt "Flight Patterns" was painted on a pair of canvas shoes by her friend Alyssa Kulik. Ms. Kulik gave the shoes to Stephanie as a gift for being a bridesmaid in her wedding. It was so fun for me to see my quilt pattern gracing footwear. Hmmmm...... could be a new direction for quilters!

If was fun to see my design repeated on Stephanie's shoes.

This is Flight Patterns hanging at the AQS show in Lancaster. The design was inspiration for Stephanie's hand painted shoes.

I have been busy quilting but I just haven't completed any projects lately. Currently I have four quilt projects going simultaneously. Sometimes I like to work in this fashion. That way when I get stuck with a design on one quilt I just move over to a different project until I am enlightened with an idea on how to move on. Hopefully I will have a completed project to share in the near future.

"Fireworks over Millennium Park" hanging at the Community Arts Center in Danville, Kentucky.

I also wanted to share a photo of me and my quilt "Fireworks over Millennium Park." This quilt was part of a quilt exhibit hosted by our local Community Arts Center in Danville, Kentucky. This small town arts center does a great job of promoting all types of art and has different exhibits each months. There is also a lecture series that happens each month and summer art camps for kids. Lessons in all types of music, dance, painting, drawing are sponsored by the center as well as being the venue for the occasional wedding reception. We are lucky to have such a great arts center is our town. I was so happy to have a quilt in the home town quilt exhibit.

Baby Quilt x 2 when Twins Arrive

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sun, 15 Jun 2014 18:33:00 +0000

My mantra, "every baby deserves their own quilt," puts me into quilting action when I hear that there is going to be a new arrival. Such was the case when I learned that my son's former college room mate and his wife were expecting a baby. I try to have a few baby quilts waiting in the wings just in case I get behind and need a quilt. But this new family is very special to me and I wanted to make the quilt special. I also like to experiment with new designs in baby quilts because, let's face it, they are about one-fourth the size of a bed quilt. I chose to use my pink scraps and make a pineapple quilt with a green fabric as the background. It is a pattern that I had used before and wanted to use again because I was in the mood for scrappy. The pieces in this quilt are all cut from 1.5 inch strips. Even though it is a baby quilt there a lot of seams and the project is fairly slow.

Pineapple baby quilt from my pink scraps.

I completed the pineapple baby quilt project in plenty of time before the new arrival. That is until I received word that there would be more than one baby! Twins Kate and Paige have arrived and they are identical, however their quilts are not. I have trouble doing the same quilt more than once so the second quilt is from I pattern that I had been wanting to try. It is a wonky zig zag design. I did keep it in the same color scheme of pink and green. And as always, I quilted the baby's name, date of birth and weight in the quilting. Welcome to the world girls. It is always so wonderful to hear about and celebrate new life.

The wonky zig zag baby quilt.

I include the name and birth date in the quilting.

Searching for the Model

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 13 May 2014 16:50:00 +0000

I really like making my nieces cotton dresses for their birthdays. Last Christmas one of the little girls walked in with her 18" doll she had just received from Santa and it gave me a great idea. Each birthday dress should be accompanied by a doll dress for their favorite doll. Having raised a house hold full of boys, dolls are not known in my arena. But I really needed a "model" for these doll dresses.

So off to the Flea Mall I went in search of a doll. I trolled up and down the rows of booths full of all kinds of items from tube socks to antiques to books and corn hole boards. I finally came across of booth full of dolls. My lucky day. In search of just the right doll I was stopping complete strangers to get their opinions of the right doll. One young girl and her mother had no idea which one was the right doll. But I did come across an older woman that confirmed the doll I picked was the proper size. Besides all the dolls in the booth that day were 50 percent off. This cute little red headed doll was obviously only on display since she still had the tag on her wrist and came with a stand. Nine dollars later I had her in my studio and was dressing her in a matching dress for the birthday girl. She now lives in my studio waiting for her next modeling assignment.

This is a link to the American Quilters Society utube video. I was interviewed for my quilt, Flight Patterns, that placed second in the Modern Quilt division.

http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=YRV7AgO4EGY

My new doll is modeling a dress for the next birthday girl.

Time to flip the calendar page

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 01 May 2014 23:18:00 +0000

I flipped the calendar to May and the page features a bicycle!

It's already May. Hard to believe. The good news is I love May and planting a garden and riding my bike in good weather. So here I am. Flipping the calendar to a new month and there's a bicycle on the calendar. This could be the month I start a bicycle-themed quilt. After all I did get a new commuter bike that I think is pretty nifty. Sometimes quilters need a bit of motivation to get started or finish what they have started. So that is what May is about to me. I'll be sewing this evening. Finishing projects, even if it means sewing a binding or sewing a label. All sewing counts.

In the past few months I have been working on a block of the month type quilt and while I haven't finished that quilt, the blocks are complete. I will show that later when the quilt is complete I recently spent the day sewing with a niece and we had a great time. We made a dress for her daughter. The niece had a pattern in mind and she picked through my stash for the perfect fabric. I must say she has great taste. Working together we finished the dress and it has already been worn. She has one lucky little girl.

The front of the dress for my 2-year-old great niece.

The back of the same dress.

I want to promote this new book by my favorite quilt author, Gwen Marston.

I want to let you know that one of my favorite authors, Gwen Marston, has a new book that is hot off the press. Minimal Quiltmaking is a great read. I just love Gwen's writing style. The photos of the quilts are fabulous and I find the book very inspirational. And I am so proud that my friend, Pat Isaman has two of her quilts featured in this book.

Happy May everyone. Enjoy the Kentucky Derby. Joni

Last Minute Trip to Lancaster Pennsylvania AQS Show

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Fri, 21 Mar 2014 03:53:00 +0000

The obligatory photo of me with my second place Modern Quilt.

What a great surprise I had this month. It was the phone call every quilter would love to get, and a first for me. I entered my Modern Quilt "Flight Patterns" in the American Quilters Society Lancaster, Pennsylvania show and it won second place. So I did what any enthusiastic quilter would do, I jumped in the car for a road trip. Many thanks to my friend Penny for going along with me for this last minute trip and a really fun weekend.

I had a great time being interviewed by Michele Duffy, editor of the American Quilter magazine. It was a video interview and we talked about my second place winner "Flight Patterns." It is one of my quilts in what I call my "gray series" of quilts. We also talked about "Autumn in Boyle County," my quilt that is being displayed with an exhibit of Modern Quilts in each of the AQS shows this year. I was really excited to have two quilts on display at the show. I hope to see the interviews on the AQS website when they are edited.

There was so much to see at the quilt show that we missed the whole second floor of exhibits and vendors. But we did take in all that was to be seen on the first and third floors of the convention center and that included all of the quilts in the AQS contest. Needless to say, they were all amazing and inspiring. There are so many talented quilters out there. I love some of the new directions quilting has taken in the last five years. I especially love the use of solid colors and the quality and design of machine quilting. What will be next?

This was taken during my interview with Michele Duffy.

Since the trip was a 10 hour car ride we took advantage of the location in Amish Country and spent a day in the small town of Lititz, Pa. We toured the chocolate factory and the pretzel factory as well as poked around in all the cute little shops in town. This town really did smell like chocolate.

And for the first day of spring....

The first signs..,

Of spring.

My husband insisted I leave my responsibilities to take a hike this evening of the first day of spring. Kentucky has had a long cold winter and we usually have a lot of yellow Wood Poppies blooming by now. There weren't any Wood Poppies but I did find a few brave wildflowers.

Avoiding Needle and Thread Withdraw

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 24 Feb 2014 00:05:00 +0000

Softies made on a recent trip.

I recently spent several weeks away from my stash and sewing machine. I had the opportunity to spend time in a much warmer climate in the middle of winter. It was an opportunity that was certainly good fortune. But I was concerned about what I would do in what my friend Cora calls "found moments." Being a quilter I did not want to have needle and thread withdraw. I actually packed my Singer Featherweight and some fabric then changed my mind and unpacked the Featherweight and fabric. For anyone that doesn't know a Featherweight is a small mid-century sewing machine that comes in a small black case and weighs 11 pounds. It is perfect for travel or taking to sewing classes. It is famous for its perfect stitches. I have several, but that's another story.

I looked around my sewing room/studio/boys bedroom and spied Jodie Rackley's book, Happy Stitch. I purchased this book several months ago. Jodie was one of the first people to "follow" me when I joined Flickr several years ago. She was posting and selling really cute felt ornaments and dolls that were embroidered and hand sewn. Her line, Lova Revolutionary, is also her Flickr name. My friend Kim also found her and gave everyone in our quilting group one of her bird ornaments a few Christmases ago. Jodie blogs at lovarevolutionary.blogspot.com

Needless to say, I was drawn to her work and now was my turn to give some of her patterns a try. The day before I left for my trip I went to the print shop and had the patterns in the back of the book for the Softie toys enlarged to 400%, as suggested. I packed felt, needles, thread, scissors and pins and was on my way and ready for a bit of hand sewing.

As you can tell the Fox was my favorite and after running out of orange and tan I started making them in other colors that I had with me. The blue fox is a favorite. There is a bit of fabric on the belly of the Softies and I chose Robert Kaufman's Fox and the Houndstooth fabric by Andie Hanna. It was perfect and I had the fabric from a recent shopping spree.

This was a fun road trip project. I used felt for the eyes instead of buttons since these will be gifts for one-year-old nieces and nephews.

The Foxes were my favorite and I didn't stop at one color.

Owls

Nesting Dolls

JodieRackley's Book, Happy Stitch.

Flight Patterns, my latest Modern Quilt, will be in the AQS Lancaster, PA show

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Fri, 31 Jan 2014 02:55:00 +0000

Flight Patterns will be in the AQS Lancaster, PA Show.

Flight Patterns, my latest Modern Quilt, has been accepted in the American Quilters Society show set for March 12-15, 2014 in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. The quilt will be in one of the newest AQS divisions, Modern Quilts. It is a semi-finalist with 173 other quilts spanning five categories.

I want to give a shout out to my son, Sam, who came up with the name, Flight Patterns, for this quilt. Sam is part of my computer support team for this blog because I have a better understanding of quilting than computer technology. So Sam and Daniel, my oldest, are often wrangled into helping with photography and other blog glitches that I will experience. Thanks guys.

While helping me enter the AQS contest Sam called me a "Hipster" because my quilt has fabric with birds on it. Sam said Hipsters put birds on everything and that birds are very popular right now. Since then I have had to research exactly what being a "Hipster" entails. I have discovered that it is more than putting birds on things. It is what was once called "cutting edge, counter culture or off-beat." Okay Sam, I'll take that as a compliment.

The truth be told I started designing this quilt with the Japanese fabric bird print in the middle because, yes, I do love birds and I was attracted to the aqua color. From there the pattern evolved one round at a time. I stopped and re-evaluated before adding each round. I have added some close-ups of the quilting because this is the first time I have ventured into using a bit of metallic threads.

Metallic threads were used in the flying geese.

I also used a variegated thread on the gray background that gave the quilt a dimensional look. The metallic threads were used in the flying geese designs as well as highlighting the birds in the Japanese fabric.

Close-up of the quilting.

I used my home sewing machine for all the piecing and quilting. The quilt measures 63"x63", a size that makes it easier to get the quilt under the throat of my machine.

The 16-patch has a quilted flower design.

For each quilt I make I always try a new technique and Flight Patterns is no exception. I find that each quilt I make is a learning process.

In January I have had time to get some UFO's completed as well as complete some gifts for nieces and nephews. I have several baby quilt tops that are in the "to be quilted" pile. After that I hope to create some more fun quilts with original designs.

In February want to feature quilts I purchased at the three generations quilt auction in November. As soon as I get a good photo shoot day and some helpers to hold the quilts I will make that post.

A New Year. Time to drag out the UFO's

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 07 Jan 2014 05:17:00 +0000

My pile of UFO's awaiting completion... or not.

Since it is a new year I felt compelled to drag out my UFO's. In case you don't know, UFO stands for Unfinished Objects in the quilting world. These Unfinished Objects are also called WIPS in other parts of the country and Canada, which stands for Works in Progress. Whatever you want to call them, you don't have to be quilting long to collect these great fabrics and patterns that are intended to be finished ........ sometime.

After looking over my UFO's last week I gave myself permission not to finish them. What has happened along the way is my style and taste changed and to work on these projects would no longer be exciting to me. So I am moving on. I am going to cabbage the fabric and it will become part of my ever grown stash of fabric. That way the fabric may find its way into a project down the road, just not the original purchase project.

My New Year did begin with finishing a few UFO's that needed completing. I took the advice of Radio Personality Dave Ramsey. Dave advises people on financial matters and suggests listing debt smallest to largest and then attack the debt in that order. So I listed my projects smallest amount of work needed to largest amount of work needed and my attack has begun.

First I sewed labels on two quilts then finished blocks for an on-line block swap. That worked out well. Three projects complete in less that two hours. Then I moved on to finishing a baby quilt top. Next week I hope to finish some birthday gift projects and do some quilting. I'm already feeling better about my projects for the new year. Happy quilting to all in 2014. And don't forget to give yourself permission to rethink your list of UFO's.

It's time to search out all quilting UFO's.

My Modern Quilt, Flying Kite Tails, will be taking a road trip

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sun, 15 Dec 2013 15:36:00 +0000

Flying Kite Tails is a semifinalist in the AQS Phoenix Quilt Show.

I received word last week from American Quilters Society that my quilt, Flying Kite Tails, has been accepted in the AQS quilt contest in Phoenix, Arizona. The AQS Quilt Week and Contest is set for February 5-8, 2014 at the Phoenix Convention Center. Needless to say, I am delighted and humbled by this honor. The quilt will compete in the Modern Quilt division.

Flying Kite Tails is an original work that began because I love sewing wonky flying geese, I love bright color, and I love working in a Medallion Quilt pattern. The design for this quilt started in the center with the colorful rows of varied triangles. I never know exactly where the designs in my quilts are going when I work in this manner. I find this a great method because it allows me to just start sewing without having to do a lot of planning or design forethought.

This quilt was my project when I arrived at Gwen Marston's Beaver Island Quilt Retreat in October 2013. I have attended several of Gwen's retreats and love bouncing ideas off the other quilters in attendance. Special thanks to Kathy of Michigan who suggested the red dot in this quilt. And special thanks to Gwen for filling my head with the phrase, "Don't Commit Too Soon."

And there's more. Flying Kite Tails will be joining its sister quilt, Autumn in Boyle County, that will be on exhibit at the Phoenix show. Autumn in Boyle County was a contestant in the AQS show in Des Moines, Iowa in October 2013. It was picked to travel with the AQS Modern Quilt Challenge exhibit that will attend all seven of the AQS shows in 2014. My quilts will have more travel miles than me in 2014.

Autumn in Boyle County is part of the AQS Modern Quilt Challenge exhibit.

Birthday Dresses for Little Nieces

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 11 Dec 2013 01:28:00 +0000

Front view of the birthday dress.

Back view of the dress. It has two covered buttons.

Being the Mother of boys it's not very often I get to make girl clothes. But now I have little nieces that are helping fill that need. Recently I pulled out my clothing construction skills to make this cute little dress. It is one that my soon-to-be 2 year old niece can wear all year because the fabric has the number "2" all over the print. These prints by Jone Hallmark for Free Spirit caught my eye and I had to have one in each age. The line is called ABC's and 123.

In my stash I have fabric for ages 2,3,5,6,7 and 8. (The store was out of age 4.) So it is no surprise what fabric I will be using for each birthday to come. The dress pattern I used is Macy Giggles. I purchased the pattern at my local quilt shop and the pattern includes instructions for sizes 2 through 14. The pattern is an Izzy and Ivy Design. The instructions are easy to follow but I think the sizing runs a little big.

My stash of birthday prints.

Quilt Auction from Three Generations is Bitter-Sweet

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 27 Nov 2013 19:26:00 +0000

Over 300 quilts from the same family were auctioned last Saturday.

Last Saturday there was a quilt auction in our community. However this was not an ordinary quilt auction. Upon the death of a dear quilter in our town the quilts of three generations of quilters in her family were auctioned. When I walked into the gymnasium were the quilts were displayed I was overwhelmed with a feeling of awe. It was as if I should genuflect knowing that it took three lifetimes to create these wonderful works. The quilts, from daughter, mother and grandmother were all hung for viewing. They were a delight to see and represented a walk through the history of Kentucky Quilting.

I only had intentions of buying one quilt when I walked in that morning but I just couldn't resist. Eight hours later I walked out with quilts that represented different eras of quilting. I just wrote the check and didn't look back.

The earliest quilt I purchased is a quilt thought to be from the 1840s. It has a hand carded cotton batting and the intermittent cotton seeds can be seen from the backing. The quilt came from Wayne County, Kentucky and was handed down from the grandmother's family. A 1000 Pyramids Quilt with a wide variation of fabrics caught my eye. The fabric in this quilt, made in the 1930s, spans at least four decades. I also included in my newly formed collection a two color quilt, two cross-stitch quilts from the 50s or 60s made from kits, and two applique quilts from the 50s or 60s made from kits.

Not many of the 300 plus quilts auctioned that day had labels or were signed. So I urge all quilters to always include a label on your quilt with at least quilter's name, date and location. One of the quilts I purchased was signed. The mother took what looks like a Sharpie Marker and wrote her name in a corner of the quilt on the back. This signed quilt is a Sampler Quilt. It included leftover blocks of some of the other quilts that were auctioned that day.

My other purchases include a 1930s String Quilt, a Double Irish Chain from the 1960s and a Tulip Variation Applique Quilt from the 1950s. My favorite quilt is a Basket Quilt from the 1930s with applique and embroidery with wide green sashing. It looks to be an early version of "quilt as you go."

Did I mention that all of these quilts were hand quilted? Amazing stitches. Plus the daughter took great care of these quilts refolding each quilt several times a year. I learned the quilts were stored out of the light so for the most part the colors are bright.

Sadly the hard work that went into each quilt was not recognized and I purchased all of these quilts for much less than their true value. Now it is my duty to give them a good, loving home and continue to show these quilts the respect that they deserve. I have already contacted a person that will give me tips on cleaning and storing antique quilts. But my first task is to create labels for each quilt so their history does not get lost. I will try to post some of the photos of these amazing quilts for all to see and enjoy.

It was truly a bitter sweet day.

This wonderful basket quilt from the 1930s has applique and embroidery.

This two color quilt, Robbing Peter to Pay Paul, still has the quilting pencil lines.

The Thousand Pyramids quilt from the 1930s is scrappy, with the fabric spanning several decades.

Quilty Fun Scrap Buster

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Fri, 22 Nov 2013 02:37:00 +0000

Quilting fabric often has a secret life. Like the three big bags of scraps that have been growing under my bed for the past seven years. I though it was time to bust out the scraps and make something. Luck would have it that my friend Kim who blogs at annessky.net/kimsblog told me about the "Quilty Fun" book by Lori Holt and a great Quilt-Along.

So I am quilting along in hopes of reducing my scrap pile to something a bit more manageable. The Quilt Along is in its third week and I am all caught up. Photos of completed blocks can be posted on the Flickr Quilty Fun Sew Along site. And get this.... There's a drawing each week with prizes for the folks that post photos of their completed blocks . Now who doesn't love a chance to win a prize?

So here's hoping that I win a prize before it is all over. If you think you might like this quilt-along check out the blog on fatquartershop.com. You'll need Lori Holt's book too and can get it super fast from Fat Quarter Shop. Mine came in two days.

These are my completed blocks and the Quilty Fun book by Lori Holt.

Early arrival moves baby quilt to the front of the pile

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 14 Nov 2013 21:20:00 +0000

This quilt finished 46" x 56".

I thought I had eight more weeks to get this baby quilt finished but the baby had different plans. After a friend delivered her baby early I decided Saturday would be spent finishing the quilt top for her new son. The top was completed earlier this year in anticipation of a new arrival. I always like to keep a baby quilt or two in progress because I believe every baby needs their own quilt. So after I learned it was a boy the quilt top featuring fabric with fun bugs, birds and creatures would have a home. This was a great quilt to try out some new quilting stitches as well. I gave each strip in the quilt a different quilting pattern.

I quilt using my home sewing machine and find baby quilts the right size for gathering all the fabric and batting in the throat of the machine. I also featured some of the cute fabric in this quilt by fussy cutting the images. After doing so I realized that these images need to stand out. So I used a few of the 200 and more programed decorative stitches that came with my machine. Different stitches were used to highlight each fussy cut image. When was the last time you used those great stitches? Other than the blanket stitch my machine stitches are certainly underutilized.

I have also posted some closer images of my quilting and stitches. My challenge to you this week is to think about using the great decorative stitches that your machine has to offer.

Fussy cut bugs in a jar with decorative stitches.

More fussy cut images with decorative stitches.

I was able to try some new quilting patterns.

Fun boy fabric featuring caterpillars and ants.