August continues.........

 Howdy all you quilting enthusiasts out there!

This summer has flown by, but, August continues.
I am quite surprised by this.
I did a lot of my flying in the beginning of this month so I could have a large chunk of time off to get
some things done around the Quilt Cave, and they are actually getting done!

Here are a few photos of the quilty things that have taken place around here.

It seems like all of my blogging friends are going through scraps these days!

Just scroll through the blogs I read to find out!
Myself included, of course, this is one of my favorite things to do besides sew them together!

If quilting were an Olympic sport, I definitely would get a gold medal in scrap organization!

LOL

Some readers and friends have asked what I will save from a bag of scraps that is 

given to me?  Well, I will save down to 1.5" squares.  Anything smaller is

allocated my crumb bins, or to dog beds  Pictured above are irregular strips from scrap pulls 

that I am going to use my AccuQuilt Studio die cutter on.

As you can see in this photo, this strip is alllllllmmmmmmmooooooooost 1.5" wide.

It's a little wonky on one side.

My AccuQuilt Studio can breeze through scraps like this and I can 

get a lot of nice accurately cut strips.

These are all 2.5" strips of patriotic scraps from various scrap bags I have pulled.

Together, they will become a beautiful quilt for a veteran!

They will go into quilts like Bonnie's Scrappy Trips pattern.

My friend Bev came over to have a sew day with me and use these strips I pulled.

She is in the process of making several of these for veterans.

And you all know how much I love looking through older magazines.

Here is a very easy pattern that can use these strips.

I love being able to use up every last inch of fabric that I can!

Our Scrap Club at O'Sewpersonal in O'Fallon, Missouri continues to grow.

I am so very proud of this group of quilters.

Many of them are scrap enthusiasts, but, some are not.

Some are new quilters, some are quilters that use all yardage to make quilts.

We have all been growing and learning from each other.

We have enough students now to have 2 different classes, and I couldn't be happier about it.

Call the shop if you are interested in joining us!

Students have been sharing what they are creating along the way.

Here, Chris shares the story about her grandmother's lovely antique quilt on the left.

Chris now has the confidence to take a quilt like this, and interpret it in her own modern way.

You can see her progress on the design wall.

Did I mention how proud I am of these quilters?????

And here is proof of my ladies labors.........literally!

I get a few more eggs each day from the chickens.

This is so exciting to be able to enjoy fresh eggs again.

The little egg on the bottom right is the first egg from my

little bantam hen, Henny Penny.

I wish you were all here to try these delicious "cackleberries!"

That's what my dad calls them.......think about it......LOLOLOLOL

In closing, I want to continue to urge you all to go through your scraps and use them.

Don't let them languish away in a bin, closet, or drawer.  You could be making not only a beautiful quilt for someone, but, you could be making a difference in the recipient, not to mention yourself!

Enjoy these last days of Summer!

Thanks for all of the encouragement!
Kevin the Quilter

QOV and Family Time.........

THIS! NEVER! GETS! OLD!

This past week I was able to share about Quilts of Valor, and make some

presentations to 4 Veterans in Mexico, Missouri with the Prairie Pine Quilt Guild.

Many times when I am asked to present QOVs, I bring quilts from the BLOCK DRIVE

quilts.  But, this time was a little different.  When I was contacted by this guild's program chair, Lou,

she was so excited about the idea of presenting, she and 2 other quilters made 3 of the quilts

that were presented!  I hope I am able to encourage other quilters to take the time

to make a quilt for Quilts of Valor.

 Of course, Huffman's Hotties made a special appearance at the trunk show!

The guild generously donated unwanted fabrics to me.

This was a huge haul, and full of some great fabrics to be used in QOVs!

Thanks to one of the member's daughter, Winona, for helping me load it all into 

my vehicle!

I would like to thank Lou and the Prairie Pine Quilt Guild for the invitation!

I had a wonderful time with you all!

I have a question for you all......

Which of the following blocks do you prefer?

Block A

or 

Block B

Both were made of scraps.....using the Circle of Squares

block tutorial by Toefeather's blog.

You all KNOW Block B screams my name!

But, I want to show quilters, you can make an entire

quilt from your scraps/stash and it doesn't have to be scrappy per se.

 I can't wait to get these finished and show both versions side by side!

Which block screams your name and why???

Sophia loves her daddy and her daddy loves her!

My little baby girl Sophia Annabella turned 10 years old on Aug 2nd!

Thanks to my friend Bev for this great photo!

And, if you have read my blog for any amount of time, you know the beginning

of August is family time for us around here!

We celebrate my dad's birthday, and my sister takes her kiddos

back to school shopping.

Here are a few photos of our family time!

Enjoying the fire pit on the outdoor patio.

I have been waiting to share this area of the Quilt Cave with my family.

As you can see, my mom on the far left and my sister are cracking up

about something while my dad methodically roasts some hot dogs.

(Disclaimer from my mother,....she was freezing and was wearing

a pair of borrowed socks and my sister's tennis shoes.) LOLOL

Smores anyone????

My dear old dad blowing out the candles on his cupcakes 

in celebration of his 76th birthday.

I am so blessed to have this good ole boy as my dad.

There was some sew time with my niece and nephew!

They wanted to make some pillow cases!

I am so happy to be able to share this passion of quilting and sewing

with them!

They did a great job picking out their fabrics and

sewing the cases together.

Hannah decided to use a scrap as a bow! LOL

For Dad's birthday dinner we went to Lotawata Creek Southern Grill

in Fairview Heights, IL.

I had never been there, and was really impressed!

GIGANTIC portions of food for a very reasonable price!

Here is dad with his country fried steak sandwich!

Not to be outdone by Lil' Bub's Plain Jane Burger.

We will definitely be going back to this place!

And to top things off, we all went as a family to an Antique Mall!

This is the FIRST time we have ever done this together,

and I hope it won't be the last time!

We all had a blast!

Here's hoping you get to enjoy some family time!

Thanks for all of the encouragement!

Thanks for being a friend!

Kevin the Quilter