Monday, January 12, 2015

Starting the year off right..........

Welcome to 2015 Everyone!

As a kid, I never dreamed I would see the year 2015, but, here it is!
There aren't any spaceships travelling along highways as I had imagined, and I am fine with that!
My house is nothing like "The Jetsons" I watched when I was younger, and I am fine with that too!
I am very glad my little girls, Sophia and Gracie Lu, are not mechanical like Astro!

I have already cheated on my diet......which isn't surprising......

I was always told that whatever you do on the first day of the new year is the way you would be spending the rest of your year.  Well, if that is true, then I will be making beautiful works of art in the form of quilts!


I should be able to find something to make in these great books and patterns I received for Christmas!
I LOVE looking at quilting books, magazines, and patterns!
It is so inspiring to read them......especially on the plane!

Santa also brought me this refill of Mary Ellen's Best Press!
How many of you are fans of this product?  I LOVE IT!
I was skeptical at first as I was a spray starch kind of guy.
My friend Kathy told me to try it, and I use it ALL of the time now!
I know there is a recipe out there to make your own homemade version?
If any of you have made it, please share your thoughts?

Here is my first joint finish of 2015!
This was pieced by me, and quilted by my friend Linda for our friend Jackie.
Jackie loves snowmen and picked this pattern out several years ago while shopping with Linda.
Jackie's father passed away this past summer, so Lind and I decided it was time to make it for her.

Linking with Freemotion by the River's Linky Tuesday.
Also linking with My Quilt Infatuation Link Up.

It is actually a flannel and wool pattern.
However, I don't work with wool, and I added my own little spin here and there.
It was fun trying to find the right color backgrounds for the snowmen, and their noses.

Linda applied the rosy cheeks for the snowmen with blush!!!!
I asked her if she had ever done a quilted snowman's makeup before.......she said NO!

HILARIOUS!

We also decided to make the center snowman's eyes crossed from the embarrassment of not having 
a nose!  The pattern called for band aids!
All in all........I think this quilt turned out pretty neat, and Jackie was thrilled with it!



I was able to assemble this 36" square quilt top for an upcoming Honor Flight recipient.
My friend Dar told me one of her guilds was participating, and I wanted to help out too.
I am going to try to quilt this myself if I can.

This project is nearing completion.........
HMMMMMMMMMMM?????
I think you all are gonna love this one!
SOOOOOO EASY!

And what on earth am I going to do with all of these greens?????
HMMMMMMMMMMMM???????
There is a major work on the horizon!



I hope your 2015 is everything you hoped for and more!
Thanks for all of the encouragement!
Kevin the Quilter





18 comments:

  1. Love those Christmas books! The only think I love more than fabric and quilts is books! LOL! Love the snowman quilt too...I generally don't do applique, but that is ADORABLE!

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  2. Looks like you have a fabulous collection of books with way more than a year's inspiration to be had! Enjoy!

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  3. I'm always laughing with you when I read your posts. Snowmen are my favorite thing about winter. Can't wait to see what you design with the pink, black & white fabrics. Thank you for your continuous encouragement.

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  4. Interesting to know about Honor Flights! My dad served in WWII but has never been to any of the memorials except the Arizona in Pearl Harbor. I'm not sure he would be up to a trip any more...at 93.5 he has slowed down and is finally actively trying to retire. Love the snowman quilt!!!

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  5. 2015 has ushered in Kevin, Man of Mystery!!! What are you going to do with those lovelty greens? Hmm? Yes, inquiring minds want to know :) I LOVED the Jetsons! And the Flintstones :) They don't make good cartoons like that anymore. I sure do hope you get to spend many wonderful, fun-filled days creating beautiful quilts in 2015 my friend!!! I have no doubt you will often be found supporting your friends (Dar) and our soldiers. That poor snowman - it's not nice to deny him his nose! Just sayin' :*)

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  6. How cute is that snowman quilt! Your big Dresden QOV is very striking. Hope the quilting goes well! I love quilting books for inspiration too. I need to get better at making some of the quilts I love in the books and make in my mind!

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  7. Great pile of books - the 9-patch one really catches my eye. Cute snowmen!! And your in progress piles of fabrics are super.

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  8. You are really off to a great start for 2015. Your snowman quilt is adorable and you did a great job on the Honor Flight top. Can't wait to see how you quilt it. I may have to have you quilt my top! :) Thanks much for making one for our group.

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  9. I'm sure that darling snowman quilt will be a joy to your friend.

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  10. You got a really good start on the quilting this year. Love the snowmen! It's such a fun quilt.

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  11. Hey, I thought when you said you would be doing all year what you did on New Year's Day, that you meant eating Hoppin' John. You would be mighty tired of that dish come next New Year's Eve! Anyway, the snowman quilt is charming, but I wonder if the blush cheeks will withstand the laundry?

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  12. Frostbite is so cute Kevin! I hope it lifts your friend Jackie's spirits.
    I'm a huge fan of using starch, but have never tried Best Press.

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  13. LOL! That snowman quilt is very funny. I love Best Press!!! Absolutely fantastic stuff. I can't use it, though, because of the scent, and nobody local carries the scent-free. It's super expensive, too, whenever I've seen it. Yes, I have tried the vodka-based "Hooch Spray" substitute. I infused mine with lemon, which makes a terrific scent improvement. It works quite well, very nice with quilting needs, though it's not as strong as heavy starch. When you do a whole lot of pressing with it at once, you do start realizing it has an alcohol base as you sense the evaporation cloud that can make you just a wee bit heady for a moment (but I *am* talking a LOT of pressing at once). It does not leave the slightest scent of vodka on the fabric. My husband uses it on his Air Force shirts when I've got it mixed up, and actually likes it better than spray starch because there's no flakes popping up on him when he's rushed. Of course, Best Press doesn't flake on you, either. . . [hmmm. . . and I just changed my email configurations to try to get around the notification bounce-back issues of all the DMARC stuff - so hopefully this comment actually gets to you!! will you let me know? - thanks!]

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  14. Oh, and if he gets sweaty in his uniform shirts, he says it doesn't release a vodka smell then, either.

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  15. Love all your books - I have the one on the top left.... somewhere!

    Great Snowmen!! Happy New Year!

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  16. You can get a year's worth of quilts out of Spice of Life alone! Happy New Year, Kevin!

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  17. My favorite Best Press is the Lavender scent. I just got a gallon of it, but, it's going quickly.

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