Just Kisses Quilt

I finished my just kisses quilt today. I got the pattern for free from the Robert Kaufman website. I had a bundle of Atlas fabric from Windham Fabrics and the small prints felt like a perfect fit for the pattern.

I made the quilt top during my senior center sew days. I decided a while back that it would be easier to attend the weekly open sew days if I always had a project ready. So I only worked on this quilt at the senior center. It took me most of the summer to complete since I spent only a few hours a week on the project.

I made the back using the same background fabric as the top and used up some of the extra blocks I cut to add some interest to the backing. Once I had the top and back done I had fun choosing a pantograph to quilt it. I used a pantograph called Soho. It has a bit of a modern flair with round swirls to complement the x's.

The Table Runner Saga

Over the course of the summer I made a bunch of table runners. They sat and sat in my sewing room because I didn't have enough green to make the binding for one of the runners and I didn't have enough of the floral print for the binding for another and then there was a third one I didn't bind and I  can't explain why. Anyway the sat. And sat.

So finally I was determined to get them done. Last week I scraped enough floral fabric together to finish one of them - and yes, there are more seams in the binding than I like. I took the other one with me to the fabric store and was determined to buy 9 inches of something that matched - and lo and behold there was a nice green grunge with a speck of blues that worked perfectly. So that one was completed. And the one that just sat got done too.

Phew!

So now I have 23 new table runners that I want to photograph is a creative way so I can call this project completed. I have this great idea to hang them all on my clothes line and get on a ladder and photograph them from above so the volume and the colors create a dramatic scene. And it starts to rain.

And it rains again.

So today the weather looks good - well good enough, I think. So I head out to the clothes line. The clouds start to roll in and I'm worried that the weatherman is wrong about today's forecast. I keep on hanging the table runners on the lines. It takes forever because it's pretty windy. I am determined to photograph the runners during the times when the wind settles down. So I wait.

And I wait some more.

It turns out it's not going to stop so there's not going to be any ladder climbing in this photo shoot. The wind gusts will knock me over. So this is the best it is going to get.

I am officially calling this project completed.

Butterfly Quilts for Kids Quilt

My daughter made this appliqued quilt a while ago. She tried to quilt it on her home machine. But as a hand-quilter she got frustrated with the process and quit before she got too far into the process. Once I got my longarm she wanted to give it a try. So we ripped out the few machine stitches he sewed and put it on the longarm. Using variegated thread, it was free-motioned and finished in less than an hour!

Sweet Sundays Quilt Group Charity Quilt

This is a king size quilt for our church's fall craft fair. It will be raffled off as part of the day's festivities this November.

The quilt top was donated by a member of the church. Judy, the leader of our Sweet Sundays quilt group prepped the quilt top with some heavy-duty ironing to get all the seams lying flat and she made the backing too.

Judy is a great quilter herself and she does so much to keep our group going. I don't think she gets the credit she deserves.

I purchased a variegated blue thread for the longarm to quilt it. I used my favorite Carnival #2 pantograph for the quilting.

This is the largest quilt I've done on my machine so far. It's so big our ladies had trouble holding it up for this photo!

Madison Quilt Expo

My friend, Sue and I have been attending the Madison quilt expo together for more than a few years now. It's such a nice tradition and I really look forward to every time we go. This year it felt a lot different to attend. For the first time, I would not need to look at the longarmers. And this year I could shop for more than fabrics, I needed longarm threads and pantographs. How fun!

We did our usual trip through the Nancy's Notions booth first, then shopped the rest of the show. I bought a bunch of jelly rolls there, and more at other booths. I also picked up some layer cakes at the Missouri Star booth.

We really enjoyed the memorial quilt display with Nancy Zieman's quilts. It sure is hard to be there without seeing her walking around the show. She was quite beautiful in person.

I didn't take many photos of the quilts on display at the exhibit. I just wasn't into it even though there were so many beautiful ones there. This one really was incredible.

In and Out Quilt

I finished binding this quilt today and I am happy with the color combination and the final result.The whimsical prints are fun and interesting. I think the swirls in the quilting are a nice contrast to the simple square blocks.

It's a pretty large quilt and will make a nice gift for a teen.

Easy Addition Quilt

I sewed the binding on my easy addition quilt today.

That completes quilt #4 that I saved up and quilted on my longarm machine.

Both the backing and the binding are made from fabrics that are not in the quilt top. 

I thought that made the quilt more interesting since there is a lot of white space on the quilt top.

This quilt pattern is from the Quilts N' More magazine - Spring 2016 issue.

My 2 Vacations

I am a lucky girl. I went on two vacations this month. The first was a girlfriend trip. There were 5 of us in a gorgeous high-rise condo in Marco Island, Florida. The view included the Gulf of Mexico on one side and the waterways of Marco Island on the other. What's not to love? I was there from August 10th through the 14th. It was a wonderful time and a nice reminder of how much fun it is to be a girl.

Once I returned my husband and I immediately started packing for our motorcycle trip called the Legacy Run. It raises money for a college scholarship fund for children whose parent was killed in action post 9/11. Many veterans and civilians participate in this great event. The motorcycle ride started in Hutchinson, Kansas. Besides Hutchinson, the overnight stops were in Independence, Missouri. Spencer, Iowa, Austin, Minnesota, Onalaska, Wisconsin, then ending in Minneapolis. We needed and day and a half to get to Hutchinson so our first night was spent in Cameron, Missouri. Yes, I was 15 minutes away from Hamilton, Missouri and the Missouri Star Quilt Co but there was nothing I could do about it because we were with a large group and on a tight schedule. It was torture knowing I was that close. We had a group of 8 motorcycles with us on our route to  Hutchinson. The Legacy Run had 240 motorcycles with 45 passengers in all. It was quite an event. Besides the overnight stops we had rest stops in many cities where the entire town came out to greet us. It was amazing. We were gone from August 17th through August 24th. That was a long time to be gone and I was happy to get home even though I loved every minute of the trip.

Topeka, Kansas

Cameron, Missouri

Hutchinson, Kansas

Rochester, Minnesota

Onalaska, Wisconsin

Galesville, Wisconsin

I've been home a few days now and I am still exhausted. What a fun and exciting month I had!