Sew "n Go

Went to Sew N  Go yesterday with ladies from my guild<

(Mid-Del Stitchin' Sisters Quilt Guild),

and I got 2 more quilts basted and then I actually got to work on piecing a quilt!

I'm making a quilt for my brothers birthday in August and I need to get busy!

Here are some of the blocks:

Oklahoma Dugout

The pattern is Oklahoma Dugout and I'm using Daiwabo fabrics.

I have a long way to go but hopefully I'll get there by August.

I showed the fabrics to my brother when he visited a while back and his reaction was:

"You're making me a chocolate quilt!!"

happy quilting!

Mystery quilt and purple potatoes

About a year ago, some friends from Sew'n Go decided to do the Mystery Quilt from Quilter's Newsletter that just finished in the Oct/Nov 2010 issue.

I just finished quilting one of them:

This is not mine.

Mine is in a neat little package of folded up fabric.

It DOES have all the 60 degree triangle blocks completed,

but that is all. 

(I don't feel bad about it, I quilt A LOT, don't have much time for piecing anything for myself.

Two of the others that participated have finished their tops and plan to show them at the December meeting of the Mid-Del Stitchin' Sisters Quilt Guild.

(I will once again show my neat little package of fabric.)

Here's the back:

Last night I made carrots and purple potatoes to go with sliced ham.  I'd never had purple potatoes before and they were very tasty.  Tasted like potatoes, but better.  Aren't they cute?  And very purple!

Happy quilting!

Last night's Guild meeting

Last night was the monthly meeting of the Mid-Del Stitchin' Sisters Quilt Guild.  Our program was presented by Judy Howard the Owner of Buckboard Quilts, and is the award-winning author of 'Heavenly Patchwork—Quilt Stories Stitched with Love', 'Heavenly Patchwork II—Quilt Stories to Warm Your Heart', 'Centennial Stitches—Oklahoma History in Quilts', and 'Thanking Our Troops—God Bless America Touring Quilts' 

Her presentation was fascinating as usual showing  many beautiful antique quilts with wonderful histories.  As she ended her program, she talked about "the Home of the Brave" project that provides quilts to the families of fallen soldiers.  Here is the link to the national page http://www.homeofthebravequilts.com/ .  If you are interested in helping make the quilts, our guild will be participating. Starting next month, you can bring your finished blocks to our meeting (The 2nd Tues of each month at the Douglas Boulevard United Methodist Church, Just South of the intersection of Reno and Douglas Boulevard, in Midwest City, OK.) They ask that you use Civil war type fabric, the muted blues and browns and reds and off whites or muslin.  The quilts are based on the Civil War bed roll.  the OK coordinator will be at the Winter Quilt show in Okc accepting blocks and quilt tops and showing completed tops and quilts and talking about the project.  Here is the pattern for the quilt.  Oklahoma is about 70 quilts behind!   http://www.homeofthebravequilts.com/resources/QuiltInstructions.pdf.

Happy quilting 

100th post!

This ought to be a momentous occasion but I don't have a brass band or even a special picture or anything.  I do have something to say, however that has been bugging me for a while and I'm going to say it here.  You know, us quilters are a tough bunch.  We make beautiful quilts and give them away.  I guess you would have to say that we are givers.  I sew with a bunch of women on a weekly basis that hardly have a quilt in there possession because they have all been given away to family and friends and strangers.  We even meet 2 days a month specifically to sew for 'strangers  in need' to give them quilts.

Yes we are givers. If there is a need, we give.  Somebody sick?  Send a card, or take over a covered dish, or visit them in the hospital, or finish the binding on their quilt for the show.  Car broke down?  Give them a ride...  You get the idea.  But, just try to give a quilter a complement on her beautiful quilt and see what happens.  She will throw it back at you in a New Your minute.  (I say "She" because my experience is 100% with women quilters and I don't know if this particular phenomenon translates to men.)  Women quilters can not recieve a complement.  In fact Women in general cannot receive a complement.  Tell a women she looks nice,  she has on a pretty dress,  that was a great casserolle, the list is endless.  You know how it feels to get a complement,  Uncomfortable.  we really don't know how to receive.  but receiving is all a part of the giving process!  You can't have one without the other! When you give something, there has to be someone on the other end receiving what the giver is giving or the process does not work.  You can't have one without the other. 

I guess you might wonder why I am coming at this particular subject at this particular time.  Well, I am part of the committee planning the Holiday party for my Quilt Guild and when the discussion came up about the gift exchange there were some things said that were not very nice about gifts that were received in past years.  "...I gave a wonderful bla bla bla and all I got was a lousy yada yada yada."  And other comments on the same line.  I thought that this attitude is just wrong.  Then I put this attitude together with the unable to receive the complement thing and thought maybe it all goes back to just not being able to receive in general.

When I first became ill with Myasthenia Gravis in 1996, I was just almost helpless.  I required someone to drive me, push me in a wheelchair, someone to feed me at times, bathe me at times, things that were incredibly hard to accept, but let me tell you I learned to lovingly say thank-you and resist the innate response of saying "no thanks, I don't need any help".  I needed help.  And more important, my loved ones needed give me help.

So when someone gives you a complement on your quilting say thank-you.

Happy quilting

Finally did start one

I started another elephant quilt exactly like the one I did a couple of weeks ago this morning.  On Tuesday I went to the Mid-Del Stitchin' Sisters Quilt Guilds Charity Sew 'n Go and quilted 3 quilts so yesterday i was a slug and did nothing.  Our Charity sew  took place at our our new digs at Quilters Corner in Midwest City.  It was WONDERFUL!!!!!   Thanks Mary!!   We have been meeting for our Charity Sew'n Go's for the past 5 years in a small classroom at the Midwest City Hobby Lobby.  They were were most gracious to let us move in 2 large storage cabinets to keep our fabric and supplies in and we made many, many beautiful quilts in that space.  Thanks go out to such wonderful hospitality provided by Hobby Lobby.  The room, however,was small and could only accommodate a few sewers comfortably.  The new digs at Quilters corner is large, with 2 cutting stations, 3 ironing stations, plenty of electrical outlets, no trouble with claustrophobia here ladies so come on out to our Charity Sew 'n Go days.  The more people the more fun.  We even have 4 big design walls!!!   Hip hip hooray!  Okay, so I'm a little excited.

Happy quilting