The ride of choice for quilty super heroes

My boys have dubbed my new ride the batting mobile. I can hold two 96-inch rolls of batting, two kids, a husband, and a partridge in a pear tree.

Saving the world, one quilt at a time!

Holiday fun!

And what do quilters do at holiday parties? Gamble with fat quarters, of course.

 

Sadly, I did not win. But we had a lot of fun!

Register for $25 gift cards -- 12 times!

Be sure to visit Quilted Memories on facebook here. They are giving away a $25 gift card for each of the Twelve Days of Christmas. Be sure to "LIKE" each day. They also have some fabulous promotions each day, so check back often!

Happy Quilting!

The quilt shown above, Twelve Months of Santa, was pieced by Diana Schoenhals. It was originally a Block-of-the-Month from Rustic Yearnings in Independence, Missouri.

A glimpse of home

Several weeks ago I ended up with a free Saturday afternoon and somehow convinced the men in my life that we should spend it at the Kansas City Quilting and Sewing Expo. We won't mention that I bartered with promises of a visit to the video game store for the two short ones and a stop at Abuelo's (Mexican yumminess) for sour cream chicken enchiladas for the big one. A win, win, win! 

We made our way through the vendors and began looking at the quilts on display. One of the main exhibits was a tribute to old Route 66. It was a 40-50 foot quilt (actually multiple quilts) depicting a map of the route stretching from California to Chicago and the sites along the way. Quilters from around the country then submitted individual miniature quilts to travel with the display. The only requirement being that it represent actual attractions along the route.

I moved along the display to the Texas Panhandle where I began to see some familiar sites. This just happens to be where I grew up. 

Then I saw one submission that was very close to home AND family.

My Dad's Aunt Ruth and Uncle Delbert left their own mark on Route 66. They were an integral part of bringing the Devil's Rope and Route 66 Museum in McLean, Texas to life. Along with Route 66 memorabilia, it houses one of the largest barbed wire collections. Historians state that, "Barbed wire gave us control of the land, and windmills made the land habitable." Barbed wire was chosen as one of the most significant patents to come out of the Industrial Revolution. 

   
If you are ever passing through the Texas Panhandle along old Route 66, this is definitely an interesting stop! And ask if Uncle Delbert is around. He is one of the those true Texas characters everyone should meet.

It really was a neat exhibit and had some amazing miniature quilts.

And of course, here are some of my favorite quilts from the show:

This quilt was made up tiny scraps of all colors of fabric that were raw-edge appliqued. It really was an amazing piece.

And the winner is... CHOCOLATE!

A few weeks ago, I had the opportunity to work at the Twilight Stitchers' Quilt Show in Blue Springs, Missouri. I even had time to make a few laps and check out all of the quilt yumminess. Here are a few of my favorites:

Called "A Walk in the Jungle" -- loved the giraffe in the blue pumps!

After I got home, I got a call saying I had won a door prize! Thank you, Twilight Stitchers, for this amazing basket of goodies!

Inside I found two ruler racks (one large and one small), a cute little square ruler, a table runner pattern, a box of chocolates (the good kind), and CHOCOLATE fabric! Who knew?! There was two yards of the cutest chocolate fabric with two coordinating fat quarters. I'm not sure what I'm going to do with the fabric yet, but it will be something yummy!
 

After I had carefully removed the three pieces containing caramel and nuts from the box of chocolates (I had to protect my assets), I told my boys I had won some chocolate! 

I handed them the chocolate fabric and told them they could have as much as they wanted! (I'm generous that way.)

They didn't quite see the humor in it that I did. So eventually I got the box out. They were pretty excited about this development. Nick was sure these were meant to be shared by the whole family!

Now keep in mind, these two are not usually willing participants when it comes to quilt shows or fabric shopping expeditions. So when I announced that the chocolates were only for quilt lovers, they seemed very disappointed and downright put out at the injustices of the quilt world.

But Mom has a heart and an answer for everything. Anyone who could proclaim their love of quilts would be rewarded with chocolate! And let me tell you, there was a lot of quilt lovin' for the next few hours. My chocolate loving husband even arrived home from work proclaiming his love of quilts before he even made it through the door!

What could be better than quilt love and chocolate?!

Lisa Sipes trunk show

 

Last week, the Missour Kansas Machine Quilters Guild (MKMQG) hosted quilter Lisa Sipes who had a trunk show and shared much quilty goodness. The fuchsia hair, piercing and tattaoos may have been an eye opener for some of our more seasoned quilters, but she was very entertaining and brought some stunning quilting to share. The quilt below won a blue ribbon at MQS 2011 in the embroidery category and features some incredible micro-quilting. This was also the first quilt Lisa entered in a show (and had been quilting for only two years at that point!) WOW! The purple photo below this one is the back side of this quilt. The gold is the quilting.

 

I love the ruler work on these. Those three little lines are only an eighth inch apart. I would have loved to have seen first hand how the heck she did this.

 

I had seen many of these quilts online, but they were just incredible in person. Thanks, Lisa, for sharing your amazing work!

Christmas in July

This past weekend, Quilted Memories -- the shop I'm newly affiliated with -- held a Christmas in July event. There were lots of specials and treats, and the shop was decorated with holiday quilts done by customers. Even though the temperatures were well into the 100s outside, all the Christmas eye candy put me in the mood to get going on those holiday projects. There are only five months!

Shoppers got to vote on their favorite quilts, and this lovely by Rita Hale won the Viewer's Choice award.

Rita is also a member of my machine quilters guild. I told her I would be glad to give it a good home, but she wasn't having any of it! I have seen quilts like this done in red and also chocolate brown, but the navy was really pretty. Nice job Rita!

I guess if Rita won't share, I'll just have to make my own! Pardon me while I go find the end of my future projects list...

Dreams of lavender taffeta

You know how when you do something repetitively for a long time how it sometimes follows you to sleep? Well, last night my dreams were full of lavender taffeta. That in itself should nudge it over into the slightly disturbing category.

At work yesterday, I spent a good portion of my day piecing a customer quilt. It is made entirely out of cut up bridesmaid and flower girl dresses from I don't know how many weddings. Taffeta and silk and satin and crepe and every other slicker-than-snot fabric you can think of is included. And as an added bonus, some of them are stretchy! And the crowning jewel, the whole top is made of half square triangles! I have never been a big fan of half square triangles, but when you add snot and stretch, you are just asking for trouble.

The jury is still out on this one.

As an added bonus, I did not have any granny panties to include in my quilt like my co-worker Mary had to add into hers. Memory quilts are wonderful things, but that is one memory I may have left in the drawer!

Origin of "tiny quilt pieces" gene revealed

When I was in Texas last week, my Aunt Dee pulled this quilt out to show me. She knows I have an affinity for small pieces in quilts, and this postage stamp quilt was no exception. It was pieced by my Great-Great-Grandmother Clara Ann Herrin. She passed away in 1938, so it was made sometime prior to that during her lifetime.

Aunt Delores with my Great-Great-Grandmother's quilt

It was mainly stripes and plaids and a few small-scale prints. I love how the red is still so vibrant after more than 100 years. What a treasure! We agreed this is probably where my "tiny quilt pieces" gene originated.

my Great-Great-Grandparents, Alonzo and Clara Herrin

on the bottom row from the right, my Great-Grandmother Otal and her mother Clara

Thanks Aunt Dee for sharing!