PIECEMAKERS GUILD QUILTS

Each year our city has a Fall Festival at the City Park. Our town has several city parks but this one is the largest. In fact, it is the largest city park east of the Mississippi River. I assume it still holds that status.

There is a large area of food vendors. A large area of Heritage Crafts. Three or four stage areas of shows from music, puppet shows, Indian dance, square dancing, clogging, etc. An area for children to do crafts. A juried craft area-these crafters also sell their items, a market place craft area, petting zoo, and so forth.

Various guilds also set up displays of works from their members. One such booth is the Piecemakers Quilt Guild. I am not a member but a huge fan of their work. They also do Quilts of Valor and each year have squares made where you can write a message and sign it if you desire which will go into one of these quilts. It's always the first thing I head for when I arrive and again when I leave. I should have taken a picture of some of them they had there but didn't realize I hadn't until I got home and downloaded my pictures.

Here are some of the quilts the members had displayed there to show some of their work which were not among the Quilts of Valor.

Click or is it double click on the picture to see a larger version to see the details.

Loved this patriotic one.


I have a thing for bee hives. I collect honey containers which look like beehives. This quilt has bees flying about and they are flying away with a quilt.
This picture does not do justice to the dragonflies. Their wings were so realistic.
Love the pumpkin in the middle.
This quilt was amazing appeared 3-D.
I've been wanting to do an under the water ocean or bay quilt. This one is beautiful.
These snowmen were so cute! It was warm and these help cool me down.
I've been wanting to do this pattern. This one was so pretty the colors are perfect for both Fall and Christmas.

This is the border of the quilt in the picture below.I just love these colors
And finally but not last this pumpkin...each piece was a different fabric.

To those of you who made these beauties I apologize that I don't have your names to give you credit and to those whose quilts were displayed there if not shown here I apologize as I took pictures of all but some did not turn or or someone stepped into the way.

SCRAP THERAPY---STARTING ANOTHER QUILT

Monday night I went to Scrap Therapy at Nancy's Calico Patch and we started a new quilt. It appeared to be all of the same group from the "Charming Buds" Quilt we did the last time. This time we are doing "Bloomin' Steps" We arrived with our boxes of squares in two different sizes. I took these ---
and these

We also took strips cut from our background fabrics. We sewed the small squares to the narrow strips,

Pressed them open and got this--

which we cut apart and sewed two of these units into small blocks.

The larger of the squares we had prepared we cut and got these---

Which we sewed to background pieces and got small blocks like these--

The left over part of the squares we are saving to use in the borders at the next meeting. Here's some of mine--

We took two of each type of the small blocks and we got these larger blocks.

Our homework is to make the required amount of these blocks and have them sewn together for the center part of the quilt for the next meeting in two weeks. When we well move on to do the piping and the first border.

Scrappy Crumb Quilts

Ok, Laurie from Buttons 'n' Lace and Chip's Place emailed me I hadn't posted in a while....so here goes... I've read about Crumb Quilts on various blogs and sites. I decided that is just up my alley. I have TONS of SCRAPS that I just can't bear to toss in the trash so this is perfect idea for me. I read several methods and just more or less took some ideas from them and came up with what works for me.

I have taken a Scrap Therapy Cutting Workshop where we cut three different size squares. And previous I was cutting my scraps using Bonnie Hunter's method. So I had lots of odd pieces and shapes of fabric crumbs. These Crumbs (the smallest I use is one-inch square) I picked one randomly from basket and sewed it to a strip, grab another and sew it. Whack apart with either scissors or rotary cutter to even up the edges...this wasn't perfect didn't use a ruler just eyeballed it. Sometimes I sewed those to a strip, or to each other and on and on.

Today I decided I needed a break been wrapping gifts for Christmas...been cleaning out the pantry (though you'd never know it) and some kitchen cabinets around the stove area. Really need to hit under the cook-top again and declutter it. At least for a few days it's clean and organized. I'm sure with Thanksgiving cooking won't stay that way long!!! SO-OO I sewed I took some of those odd sized squares for lack of better description and added some here and there to make them basically 10 inch squares. Well, only got two 10 inch squares and a bunch of smaller squares.

These are really random...sometimes the fabrics clash, sometimes the same fabric next to each other. Doesn't really matter. Seams are not straight. This is not rocket science. And QUILT POLICE are NOT ALLOWED!!! The pieces are crooked. One piece of fabric may be narrower or wider at one end or side than the other....

I'll try to get some pics and and them to this posting within a couple days.

I am trying to decide if to just sew these blocks together or to cut into even square blocks with square ruler and use sashing. The idea is for me to make three doll quilts for the three youngest granddaughters...2-1/2, 1-1/2, and 2 months...Figure I might as well do one for the baby while making them for her big sisters dollies.

Quilter's Horoscope

Be sure to check your quilter's horoscope here by Pauline Rogers. I heard about it on ...ansewon's blog. I love her blog by the way always feel like I've have had a glass of tea and slice of pie with a friend when I visit her blog.

Anyway my horoscope said:
Taurus - April 21 to May 20 Taurus is the quilter who always finishes a project, as they are persistent and determined. When attending workshops or using a pattern they will follow every instruction to the letter. They can be greedy when it comes to their stash, as they know the value of material. They save every bit of scrap. However, they are warmhearted and loving to such a degree that they have given away nearly every quilt they have ever made. They are gifted artists, excelling at sewing, patchwork and quilting. The stitching in their quilts is of such high quality that their quilts will endure for eons.

Well..........Always finishes a project.......don't tell Pauline but I have a quilt Dresden Plate folded on quilt rack I made at least eight to ten years ago and the binding still isn't done........Three years ago at Mid-Atlantic bought a kit for a quilted wall hanging for grand-baby's room.......still not done....I have cut out freezer paper patterns for some of the applique....the gaudy tacky Grandmother's Flower garden I pieced from scraps......

the hexagons are too large for my taste.....it's huge....has yet to be quilted. Oh mercy, there is a double wedding ring I haven't finished piecing from a LONG time ago...I would estimate 1996....and there's an orange peel that isn't that old only eight years old that I haven't touched in seven years....maybe eight years. Bugs in Jar from what five years ago....not finished by a long shot.

Follow instructions to the "T" you say.......well yes you might be right...but I do vary or mix some different patterns and ideas together.......like the apron I did for a Halloween in July apron swap...I used three different patterns from three different websites to make it. Inspired by a child's apron. Enlarged it to adult size using another pattern, but I changed some of the measurements and some single layer of fabrics I doubled to hide seams. And I used a third quilt block for the bib part. Don't you know the swap partner never did send me the apron she made for me or she never made one to send to me....supposed to have been mailed out the first day of August or within a couple days and here it is October the 4th and nothing!! How is that for a professing Christian? I emailed her that it never arrived if she insured it she should file a claim. And nary word. She even posted on this blog she had received it, liked it and the other stuff I had included in the package. I consider myself to be a Christian too and I believe in the Golden Rule--do unto others as you would have them do unto you....She did say she was late getting it done...machine issues, but going that week to her mom's to work on it...I at least thought she'd send an email she was still working on it or whatever the situation is with the deal....guess I should forgive her and not hold a grudge that would be the Christian thing to do. Boy oh Boy do I get off subject and RAMBLE ON AN ON!!

YES I AM GREEDY...you hit the nail on the head there Pauline...I save every scrap over one inch wide. I was cutting up some scraps the other day and a few pieces were from when I was in high school in the 60's...brought back memories of dresses, shorts and skirts I made...some from 74 when I went to Hawaii with college roommate and her mom on alumni trip after we graduate...that spring.

Give most of them away??? Well, I think I've kept most of them---still greedy.........but first grandson has Noah's Ark I did....couldn't find a crib pattern for Noah's Ark that I liked. But I found one for a pillow I liked a lot so DH enlarged a pillow pattern and I turned it into a crib quilt. Then first granddaughter has teddy bear crib quilt I made for her. Youngest grandson has a motorcycle quilt that he designed....he saw two pieces of fabric and he told me he wanted me to make him a quilt using them and how he wanted the blocks to be. And then a quilt...throw in various prints in pink and brown that daughter wanted I did finish that and gave it to her. I bought the fabric and patern at the Mid-Atlantic after the wall hanging.

Well now, that was therapeutic...I have to make quilts for four more granddaughters. And I keep thinking of all those UFO's I need to finish.