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?!

Quilting is a dangerous sport

Last weekend while cutting a bunch of these

I also cut one of these.

When I've heard about rotary cutter injuries in the past, I wondered why anyone would have their fingers over on that side of the ruler anyway. All you have to do is pay attention to what you are doing and take your time... Oops!

So now I know the trade-off for that speed and multitasking: a slightly smaller finger. It still hurts, and I tend to bump it on everything I pass. On the positive side, I didn't bleed on the fabric!

To all you quilters with full fingers in tact, slow down and be careful -- it happens to the best of us!

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!

Adding a flange

A few weeks ago when the temperatures in Kansas City reached 109 degrees, there really was nothing more to do than lock yourself inside, crank up the air conditioner, and dig out the Christmas fabric. After all, snowflake fabric somehow gives you hope that the summer inferno will soon come to an end.

A while back I picked up a "Christmas Spirit" jelly roll and the coordinating panels by Moda, and I finally had time to start making the table runners I had planned. I'll share them with you when I have them complete (hopefully before the snow flies). I really fell in love with this fabric line!

When I attended MQS (Machine Quilters Showcase) back in May, I had the opportunity to spend an afternoon helping in the juding room. I got to hear the judges' comments and critiques about every aspect of the quilt entries. One thing they liked over and over was special edge finishes like piping and flanges.

I had never added a flange to a project before, so I thought these table runners would be a nice, easy, and small place to start. It turned out to be quite simple. Here is what I did:

I wanted the exposed flange to be 1/8 inch so I cut a strip of fabric 3/4 inch wide by the length desired. The flange is made from a folded strip, so I doubled 1/8 + 1/4 (the width of exposed flange + seam allowance). Then iron this in half, right side facing out.

Next, pin it to the edge of the fabric or block you want the flange to edge. Baste it on with an 1/8 inch seam allowance (so the seam won't show when you attach the next piece of fabric).

Continue around the block adding the flange pieces to each edge. Now you assemble the block as usual, stitching pieces right side together and using a 1/4 inch seam allowance. The flange is now caught in the seam.

This was a quick way to add a little extra zing to the finished block. Now I have to get busy and get the rest of the runners done. I'm afraid the holidays will be here before I'm ready!