July 27 - Finale!

Pam & Stan.

Michael, Michelle, & Glenna (showing her rotary cutter case).

Karri & Hannah

Diane & Linda

Pam & CJ (caught eating!)

Maria (proprietor of Red Fortune) stopped by to chat.

Could that be Glenna talking with her hands?

CJ  looks pleased to have a photo w/o food!

Cathy Graney was very gracious to allow us to invade her home/quilt shop!  This is the awesome machine she uses to quilt.

She actually demonstrated how the machine works by sewing a few stitches.

Michael & Karri browsed, while Hannah checked out the batting and lovely quilts Cathy has made to demonstrate various quilting patterns.

The "Millennium" long-arm quilting machine!

Again, the machine, with some finished quilts as background.  Cathy has many quilts she has made available for customers to view, as they make their pattern and thread selections.

Cathy taught us a little about how her long-arm machine works.

We met at Red Fortune in Bonner Springs for a delightful lunch, and then we drove to Cathy Graney's (Next-Door Quilting) for a demonstration of long-arm quilting.  Michael & I were happy to leave quilt tops with Cathy to be quilted, and Cathy very kindly allowed us to look around and ask questions!  I think we were all happy to understand a little better the process involved in having our quilts completed.
We missed having Betty with us, who is already back at work :(.  Also, Cindy couldn't join us today because of some (important) business with her husband.  We agreed that this has been an excellent adventure -- time will tell if we are able to continue once school starts!

Becca's Robot Quilt

This quilt started with a piece of fabric I found at Hobby Lobby in Lawrence back in January or so.  I was very excited about it, because I could immediately envision a quilt custom-made for my daughter-in-law, who creates robots from "recycled" objects -- canisters, teapots, Tupperware containers, etc.  Since it had some orange in the design (her current favorite color), I also picked up some solid orange fabric to go with it.

As time marched on, and I got acquainted with fabric.com and its MANY choices, I added pieces that I thought would work:  various hand tools in white/gray on a black background, circles that remind me of gears in black on a white background, a darker orange with swirls and the lighter orange dot, etc.  The quilt began to take shape in my mind, and I even began to sketch out what it might look like, trying to figure out measurements, etc.  I even found some wide orange fabric to use for the backing!

Finally, in early July, I began to get serious about making this quilt.  I had decided to cut apart the robot design and frame each piece in a white-on-black windowpane print.  When I did that, I discovered that the dimensions would make the quilt wider than it would be long, so I added some length to that center section before sewing the orange swirl border on, using the black-on-white gear print.  (This is a nod to Becca's steampunk jewelry, which she also makes and sells.)
The next section consisted of two rows of two-inch squares in a series of four fabrics, including the plain orange, in an alternating pattern, all the way around the quilt.  I made this by sewing strip sets of 2 1/2 inches, using four different fabrics, and then cutting them into 2 1/2 inch sections and sewing them together.

While I was in McPherson for the Sisters' Quilting Retreat, I was very excited when I found a companion fabric to the original robot piece I started with:  the same robot figures scattered on a black background!  This became the next row of border, followed by the tools on black, cut lengthwise from the fabric so the tools would NOT be cut up.  (Thanks, Linda, for that suggestion.)  I was afraid I wouldn't have enough length to go all the way around the quilt, so I decided to break up the length with squares of the gear fabric on each corner and in the middle of each side.

Now, as soon as I receive additional "scattered robots" from McPherson's WalMart, I will add one more border, and the quilt will be ready for quilting!  It is larger than I first imagined it would be, but I'm very happy with it.  I'm confident Becca will like it, and it's big enough for her to share with Tony and/or any of their sons she wants to snuggle with!  This has truly been a "design-as-you-go" quilt, and I'm quite pleased with the result.
NOTE:  The pictures aren't placed exactly the way I wanted them to be, but hopefully you can figure out what they are!

July 20, 2011

I'm posting some pictures I took yesterday, and Michael, I apologize because apparently I didn't take even ONE picture of you or the work you were doing!  Hopefully, you will rectify my omission on YOUR blog by posting some of your own work there.
Before I forget it, Linda called this a.m. to ask about her cutting mat and ruler, which she apparently didn't get home with!  The mat is relatively small (maybe 12" X 18"), and the ruler is also a smaller one (3-4" wide and 24" long).  If you accidentally carried those home with you, let me know so we can figure out how to get them to her.
It will be sad to see our "summer adventure" come to an end, at least the weekly part of it.  We will celebrate our accomplishments by getting together next Weds., July 27, at Red Fortune in Bonner Springs.  We'll plan to meet there at 1 p.m. for a delicious lunch, and then those who choose to will visit Cathy Graney at Next-Door Quilting in Bonner Springs.  I've left a message for her to make sure that will work for her -- if not, we may have to get together AGAIN to go there!

Karri put together blocks from the batik fabric left from her previous quilt, and she was arranging them in 5 rows of 4 blocks.  She will put them together with strips of black (a little wider strips than she used in the first one), and this is what she was working on today.

This is the arrangement of blocks that Karri came up with.  Doesn't it look beautiful?  Wait until you see it up close, with the black sashing!

CJ is the most adventurous, I think, in the sense that she is trying all kinds of new approaches and techniques.  This week she is practicing "free-form quilting"!  She found a previously constructed "sandwich," just waiting for her to practice on, and she is making good use of it!  And Hannah (Karri's daughter) has become a faithful participant -- I think she was sorting some different project materials this time.

Linda was continuing work on the diagonal blocks started at our "Sisters' Quilting Retreat" on Monday & Tuesday.  By the way, this is the mat and ruler she is missing!  We sisters worked on something called "Scrappy Friendship Quilt," where we each brought 100 dark 6" squares and 100 light 6" squares.  We put them all out on tables and then chose 100 dark and 100 light squares, paired them, and sewed them together.  After cutting them apart, pressing them, and squaring them to 5 1/2" squares, each one of us will put together a quilt in whatever design we come up with!  Sounds easy, but it really takes time!  And I don't think any of us has started putting the design together yet!

Pam is working steadily on sewing her strip sets together.  It's easy to see that the combination of fabrics will be lovely.

This is my sister Carolyn, who is visiting Linda for a few days after our Sisters' Retreat.  She was having a bit of trouble with flying parts of her machine, until she figured out the reason for pieces taking flight!  She was also working on her squares from our time together.

Cindy is working on putting together the pieces of her baby quilt.  She brought in a few more "cast-offs" from her inheritance, which were quickly snatched up by eager quilters!  I'm anxious to see how her quilt top looks when she gets finished!

We  missed Glenna, Betty, and Michelle this week, and hopefully they will be able to join us next Weds.  Glenna wasn't feeling well, and Betty has already gone back to work!  Morgan Johnson (Dan Duncan's student teacher last spring) has been following the blogs, and she may join us to hear about/see what we've been doing.  Be sure to bring your work, even if it isn't to the point of being ready to go to the quilter!

Late-breaking news

I apologize to all of you who are following my blog, that I haven't posted anything in awhile.  I did pick up my quilt (Janelle's graduation gift), and I had the binding on it before last week's meeting.
I also took my blocks that I am making for the two "Block of the Month" sets I'm working on.  You can see pictures of some of them on Michael's blog: quillsandquilting.blogspot.com .  Michael asked me to post the link for the site where I got the patterns for those blocks/quilts, so I'm doing that:  www.floridacabinfever.com.  The two years I'm using are 2009 (the Amish blocks) and 2011 (the black and white and pink).
While we worked and visited, we discussed going out to eat together for our final meeting on July 27, so here's the plan:  We will meet at Red Fortune in Bonner Springs at 1:00 p.m. on July 27, and those who want to will go to "Next-Door Quilting" afterwards to talk to Cathy Graney, see how quilting takes place, and leave quilt tops with her to quilt, if desired.  I will check with her to make sure she will be available.  (NOTE:  The time will be 1 p.m., rather than the usual 2 p.m.)
When I see you tomorrow, I will have just returned from my family reunion and "Sisters' Quilting Retreat.  I look forward to seeing you then!

Exciting news!

The center of Janelle's quilt, a "36-patch."

A view of the corner:  2 mitered corner squares.

About half of the quilt top.

Linda's quilt top.

The pieced backing Linda made for her quilt.

Linda and I took quilts to Cathy Graney (Next-Door Quilting) on Thursday to have them quilted, and she called me this morning (Sat.) to tell me they are both ready for pick-up!  I think we will go get them on Monday, so we should be able to "show & tell" on Weds.!  I'm posting/re-posting the pictures:  you'll be able to see them in person on Weds.  Maybe I'll even have the binding sewn on Janelle's graduation quilt!

July 6, 2011

We had another great afternoon at West Wyandotte Library.  Karri regaled us with samples of her hand-quilting, which were lovely.  By the end of our time together, she had completed the piecing of her batik strip quilt.  What are you calling that, Karri?
Michael showed us the strip sets he cut and sewed together this morning, for his "Fruit Salad" quilt.
CJ showed us a piano bench cover she is making, and she began the process of quilting it herself.
Glenna was able to complete two of her strip sets, and she has determined that she will probably need to purchase a new "Singer Simple" sewing machine, on the advice of Martha Stewart via Michael.
Cindy cut her strip sets into the pieces needed, and then she began putting together the various elements of her quilt.  She also brought in two boxes of fabric that she "inherited," encouraging us to take whatever fabric we wanted and/or thought we might be able to use.  Michael took several pieces of gingham -- I'm sure he has something in mind, but we'll have to wait to see what that might be!  Others took some, and I took quite a bit, which I will share with my sisters at our annual Quilt Retreat July 17-19.  We may use it to make "donation quilts," which we've been talking about doing soon.
Betty came by to cheer us on and to see what progress each of us  has made.  All in all, it was a very successful day!
Oh, by the way, Karri's daughter Hannah shared some no-bake cookies she made, which were enjoyed greatly.  Thanks, Hannah, for your contributions.
Enjoy the pictures, all!