Another Quilt Started

 Well, here's the next quilt and it belongs to Sue.

It is beautifully needle turned applique and a joy to quilt.

Hope to get it finished in a couple of days.

Then I'll be on to the one I basted yesterday.

It is only 111" by 103".

So I'm the busy quilter these days.

Will get to work on the Oklahoma Dugout for my  brother again tomorrow and hope to get it ready to at least sew on the borders.

Happy Quilting!

A Little more Progress

I made a little bit more progress on my brothers quilt last night getting the two shorter pieced borders completed:

I've got almost all the pieces made for the top and bottom, just have to connect them, square them up and put them back on the design wall to determine how big to made the inner border.

I should be able to get that accomplished on Tues at 

Sew'n Go.

At any rate, I'm lovin' this quilt and I'm sure, my brother will!!

Happy quilting!

Finished the Feathers

Here it is all finished!

Click to make it bigger to see the quilting in the borders.

It was kind of like drawing with invisible ink to use cream colored thread in the borders. 

Here is a close up of the border

And another close up.

I'm glad to get this one done because, I have quite a few on my shelves to get done.

In addition to my brother's 60th birthday quilt.

The birthday is Tuesday!  YIKES!

The quilt is totally NOT done, but I will be working on it tomorrow at SEAM  (Sewing Eating and A Movie)

Night at Quilters Corner.

My goal is to get the pieced border ready to put on.

Also on my quilting plate is a quilt for my younger niece, Bethany who is newly engaged as of last weekend.

This comes as no surprise since I met her young man, Paul the end of July via Skype when she took him home to meet Dad, (my bro).

I've been trying to come up with a much quicker quilt to make  than the one I'm making for my brother.  This one started out with 1 1/2" strips.  Since this quilt has taken me so long, I have given my quilting buddies strict  instructions to strike me smartly with a large object if I ever start a quilt with 

1 1/2" strips again! 

Happy Quilting!

I'm feeling really fancy dancy!!

I'm feeling all fancy dancy today!

Check out this clean oven!! 

Cleaning the oven is not something I can accomplish with all the fumes, the bending, the scrubing, the ...

well, you get the idea.

My muscles wear out with repetative motion because of the Myastheia Gravis so cleaning is not my forte.

But today, I had a lady come and clean.

This is going to be something that happens regularly now.

My mister used to do most of this, but he's been declining some and we've decided to get some help.

Started with the oven--

no more setting off the smoke detector

when I turn it on!! lol

Happy quilting!

Two emergency baby quilts

I've been taken away from the big feather quilt by a couple of "emergency " baby quilts.

You know the kind when the shower sneaks up and its 3 days away and they bring you the top and say,

"Pleeease?"

I always say come back tomorrow and I'll have it done.

Here's the first:

And the second:

Here's close ups of the back and inner border:

I also spent the weekend getting my IVIG infusion for Myasthenia Gravis.

And then Mon and Tues having the Headache from 

H E double toothpicks.

This morning I had to make up for lost time with errands to grocery store etc before it got to hot to function outside , so, tomorrow, it's back to the feather quilt.

Only 3 big ole borders to go.

Happy quilting!

New Quilter

They're makin' quilters young now:

This  is the Grandson of one of my quilting buddies.

She's Taking care of him while her daughter is at her National Guard 3 week summer camp,  so all she can do is visit our Sew'n Go's for lunch.

Isam will be 2 in October.

When I went to my machine after lunch, he came right over and wanted up on my lap, picked up a small square of fabric and held it up toward to the presser foot.

I pushed it under the front and stepped on the gas.   

He laughed and we did it over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and........

There was no thread in the needle, so we just punched holes in the fabric over and over.

I don't think Gramma was very happy with me.

Happy quilting!

Finish and Start

Finished the Dresden Plate and Jan is very pleased with the result!

While I was at the quilt shop delivering the Dresden, 

I explained my plight of not being able to baste any more quilts right now.

I baste in empty apartments and right now all the empty ones are being worked on and not suitable for basting.

So, when Trish heard this she said, "I have one in the car that is basted!" 

So I started it yesterday:

Click on it so you can see the quilting better.

Hopefully I will have access to basting space soon 'cause besides actually raining here the last few days, it has been raining quilts too.

Whoohoo for the rain,

Double whoohoo for the quilts!

Happy quilting!

The Story of the Lonely Dresden Plate Quilt

Once upon a time there was a Dresden Plate Quilt Top. It was very beautiful and went to the longarm quilter to be quilted, but soon the LQ moved out of her

business and went home.

The Beautiful Dresden Plate Quilt Top, (BDPQT) went too, still waiting to be quilted.

Promises were made to the quilt's mother, but the BDPQT stayed unquilted and lonely.

Finally,  3 1/2 years later, the BDPQT went home but Mother was unhappy because this is what BDPQT looked like quilted!!

Just stitched in the ditch and no quilting in the border.

Good thing Mother did not have to pay for this!

This morning I started quilting on the lonely Dresden Plate quilt and I do believe, Mother will live happily ever after!

Happy quilting!

Sooner baby quilt

Anita from my guild called this week with a 

baby quilt emergency.

She has to have this quilt finished by Saturday and it seems that following the lines she's marked on her quilt turned out to be harder than she thought.

"No Problem", I said.  "Won't take long at all."

Famous last words.

Its turns out she used fusible pellon to stabilize the T shirts and I had trouble with the thread breaking.

I tried several different needles and finally decided I needed a topstitch needle and a different thread.

I had completed the "OU" on the left and 2 wheels and a couple of boards of the Sooner Schooner.

I was using a varigated red (Star - Bowl of Cherries) and thought if I changed to White Signature, (which is a little finer and less prone to breakage I'd be better off.

The problem was the heaviness of fusible interfacing causing too much drag as the thread went through the layers.

The switch worked perfectly except, I needed to slow down the speed by about half.

Still I completed all the quilting fairly quickly minus the "OU" and Sooner Schooner which were still stitched in the other thread.

Gee, it only took about 4 hour to take out that bit of stitching!!  Had to us a magnifying glass and even bought a stronger pair of reading glasses to see those little monsters to get them out.

Happy unquilting!

Google yourself

 I was googleing my name today just to see if there was anything out there and and because I was kind of not wanting to do what I was supposed to be doing and found something.

A while back I was interviewed by 

Oklahoma Magazine 

and here is the article:

(The picture is not me)

Sew Savvy

A traditional craft is seeing a surprising surge in popularity.

TARA MALONE

It is said that true classics never go out of style, and the art of quilting seems to be no exception.

This age-old craft is becoming popular again among women (and men) of all ages and experience levels. And today’s quilting circles are far from the stereotypical image of grandmas stitching and gossiping. If you need proof, just visit your local quilting group – you almost definitely have at least one nearby.

“I think that quilting has stepped out of the traditional box as a utilitarian bed covering, and is now being recognized as a textile art form with museum-quality status,” says Vesta VanTrease, president of the Green Country Quilters Guild Inc.

The group boasts more than 200 members in the Tulsa area, and even has separate monthly meetings for day-quilters and night-owls.

Mary Ann Tate, past president of the Mid-Del Stitchin’ Sisters Quilt Guild, a Midwest City circle with approximately 100 members, attributes some of the renewed popularity to the changing times.

“New technology has made quilting easier,” she says. “With the internet, there is more opportunity for stay-at-home moms to have jobs at home connected to quilting.” 
“For some people, quilting is a family tradition handed down from grandmothers,” says VanTrease. “For many people, it is something that they invest their time in as their family grows up or as they retire from the world of work. It is something that they always wanted to try, so they find the local quilt shops and take classes. For many, it is a transition from making clothing to a new creative form of working with their hands. There are myriad reasons for people being interested in this new age of quilting.”

Whatever the reason for the recent quilting renaissance, one thing is certain: It’s not just your grandmother’s craft anymore.

The quilting circles of today go far beyond socializing while sewing. Many, including both the Green Country Quilters and the Mid-Del Stitchin’ Sisters, have numerous charity projects on hand at any given time. It’s not uncommon for individual guilds to donate thousands of quilts to programs ranging from Habitat for Humanity and family organizations at Tinker Air Force Base, to hospitals and special education classes. In addition, most circles have their own quilt shows, host guest speakers, offer educational programs and more; the hands of today’s quilters are far from idle.

While all kinds of people – young, old, men, women, novices, experts – seem to be joining quilting circles in droves, they each have one thing in common: a deeply personal love of the craft.

“Quilting is never boring,” Tate says. “It always is soothing to the soul. It soothes me while making the quilt and it soothes receivers when they wrap up in it. The quilt provides warmth and love, and can bring about a tender smile or a downright belly laugh. It survives through time and generations. You don’t know where it will end up.”

This article appears in the July 2011 issue of Oklahoma Magazine

Did you like what you read here? Subscribe to Oklahoma Magazine »

So Google yourself,

your never know what you might find!

Happy Quilting!

Shop Hop Quilt

Here is Norma's 

Road to Oklahoma Shop Hop quilt 

from a couple of years ago.

She did a great job putting together the blocks!

With the heat being soooo intense

(It's already 100 degrees at 9:45 am)

I couldn't take the pic outside.

Sew I just got a bit of the quilt.  

I'll try to get a better pic later when she's done binding

and we can hold it up.

Here's the back which you should be able to see up close if you click on the pic.

This is what I did on all the court house step blocks:

Happy quilting!

Wantobe a Quilter Campaign Starts TODAY!!!

OMG!  I just returned from reading the post at 

stashmanicure.blogspot.com

It's here and it's incredible.

I'm talking about the Wantobe Quilters Campaign.

Go on over to the

stash

leave a comment to enter for today's drawing if you are a Wantobe quilter.

Be a follower here,

send me an email

(matate10@yahoo.com)

with name, address, phone, and email so I can register you with Madame Samm

then be a follower at the Stash

and leave a comment (mentioning my Name, so I can win a prize too,)

 on Mon, Wed, Fri for the next 12 weeks 

and win!!!

Today's prize is cutting mat, ruler and rotary cutter.

Tues and Thurs is for established quilters and the same rules apply about registering with a blogger with a wantobe button.

So those of you who already follow my blog are halfway there to being ready to win.

Happy winning and quilting.