Tuesday, January 30, 2018

At last, a reference from Kevin.......

Wanted:  Secretary with excellent computer skills in pdf's and blogging
Needed:  IMMEDIATELY
Pay:  Ummm.......well...........do fresh eggs count?

Yeah......you all KNOW I need a secretary!  I just can't pull it all together as of late! 
I do apologize for being MIA on the blogging front!

I have been reading blogs as best I can while I try to fly, work on the home front, and quilt!
My apologies for not commenting!

OK, so here are some updates in a nutshell......


My face when Scrap Club is back up and running!
Our first meeting for Scrap Club hosted by Kevin the Quilter
was held on Jan 25th.
I can't believe 3 months have passed so quickly!

Although I won't be providing all of the info I present 
at all of the Scrap Club meetings, 
those of you who are interested
can play along!
We are playing with a fun older quilt block this time:

"Improved Nine Patch"
or 
"Glorified Nine Patch."

We voted on this block design at the close of last year's
"Sapphire Stars" mystery quilt.
And, I have seen a lot of interest forming via the
intertube, I mean, interweb, I mean internet....

Barbara Brackman
did a wonderful post about the 
"Improved Nine Patch Quilt"
on her Cloud of Quilt Patterns page.

And, on her Material Culture page, she
did a post of a circular quilt
which is similar in regard to the arc placement.

And, of course,
Eleanor Burns of 
fame
simplified this "challenging to piece"
block on her Youtube channel.
I encourage you to watch this very helpful video if 
you would like to play along?
I will be sharing how I made a template for my arcs
without using a specialty ruler in a future post.
It is easier than you may think!

And, lo and behold........
while browsing one of my favorite antique malls.....
I literally stumbled across this wonderful
"Improved Nine Patch" quilt!
($24 for a "cutter quilt" according to the seller with 20% off!)
This quilt in my opinion is 
definitely from the 1930s when this pattern first originated.
This was a wonderful sample to help inspire us at our
first Scrap Club meeting.

Insert cute puppy pic......
I LOVE it when Antique Malls are pet friendly!
LILLY MAE!

Moving along.........

Scrap Quilters were bustling about our new meeting locale
for Scrap Club hosted by Kevin the Quilter:
in O'Fallon, Missouri.
You have to check this place out!
It is so cool!
If you are close to O'Fallon, Missouri and would like to 
join us at Scrap Club, feel free!

Mike, and his lovely wife own our new venue.
What a wonderful way to show our appreciation
to them for giving us a place to meet
than to award Mike with a Quilt of Valor on
behalf of Quilts of Valor, Eastern Missouri
for his military service to our country.

This handsome guy is at least 16.5 years old this month!
I adopted Valentino at the end of January in 2004.
At that time, they estimated him to be at least 2.5 years old.
What a joy he has been........such a good, GOOD boy!
He definitely likes to inspect my work while I am sewing.
(More like CUDDLE time!)

AHA!!!!
Another reason my sewing gets delayed!
How on earth could you say no to a grin like this?
Sophia can hardly stand for her belly to be tickled!
LOL
This is her face as I was doing it!

I was FINALLY able to get some good quality
sewing time in with my Quilt of Valor, Eastern Missouri friends!
This quilt top was made in a few hours by four of us.
We think this pattern may be called
"Road to St. Louis?"
16 patches and snow ball blocks (two sides only)
created a wonderful future Quilt of Valor.
This was my friend Ree that hosted and 
conceptualized the pattern for us.
Thanks Ree, Dar, and Linda for the fun sewing day!

I have also been having some
in her annual block swap!
This year's churn dash block swap filled up
in record time according to her!
I am participating in the Civil War Repro swap.
Her swaps are so successful because
 she is such a delight....and so much...... FUN!

Yum!
My ladies continue to provide me with delicious eggs!

And, a change of decor.........
Isn't this chicken quilt fun?
This was gifted to me by my quilting friend Bev.
The quilting is great on it with chicken wire and
feathers!

Thanks to ALL of you whom have recently contacted me with your concerns if I am OK or not?!?!!  It means so much to me knowing there are people out there that care about me and my well being!  Quilters truly are the best people around in my opinion!  Retirement can't come soon enough!

Thanks for all of the encouragement!
Keep on Quilting!
Kevin the Quilter












Saturday, January 6, 2018

2018.........WHAT????

It seems I am always falling behind........

especially when it comes to blogging.......

Did I have a nice Christmas.........of course!

Have I continued to work on Bonnie's mystery quilt.........yes........a little......

Have I been consumed with work and other commitments.........yes........

I know it has been a while since I blogged when good friends like Kathy of
Kathy's Quilts sends a nice email to see if I am OK.  Thanks Kathy!

Yes, yes, yes................all is well........busy, but, well!

As Christmas approached, I had several obligations, not to mention last minute shopping for gifts.
Quilting took somewhat of a backseat......which is rare for me!

The cold weather has had me checking on my chickens and ducks, unfreezing waters and making sure they have the warmth and feed they need.  Please understand, I am not complaining about the colder temps.  In fact, I am one of the few that love them.  Having extreme high and low temperatures here in Missouri help me to appreciate the other seasons even more! 

So, here is my photo review of Christmas and what has been going on around here as of late.

These little girls were ready for Santa to visit!

My amazing parents!
I am so very thankful for them!

How on earth did my niece and nephew grow up so quickly?

I love my family!

Mr. Italy prepared the Christmas Eve feast of seafood.
DELICIOUS!

And Dad read the Christmas story to us.

These little girls got some early gifts from
Hannah and Curtis.

Do you know how hard it is to get a good shot
of these little girls opening their stockings? LOL
This was Lilly's first Christmas!
There were several breakdowns not having
Gracie Lu here with us, but, Lilly helped us get through them.

At 40+ years of age, I still look forward 
to opening my stocking Christmas morn!

We had a wonderful Christmas Day meal......as usual....



Then it was time to open some presents!


My sister asked me for some soup bowls....
so, I was happy to get her these.....
LOLOLOLOLOLOL
Don't worry, she got her "real" soup bowls from Mom and Dad.

The joke was on my friend Mike from my Mom this year.....
the funny thing is, he actually likes these PJs and wears them now!
LOLOLOL

But, not one to be outdone, Mike gave
this bejeweled fishing hat to my Mom.
LOLOLOLOL
If you know my mother, you know she NEVER 
wears a hat on her beautifully coiffed hair! LOL

Mom and Dad opening the gift I made for them.

Sister was helping them hold it up so they can see it.
Remember, this is 
"Carolina Chain"
by Bonnie Hunter
in her
"Addicted to Scraps"
book.

Mom and Dad love it!
It looks great on their bed.
What a joy it is to make something
that is appreciated like this.
And, thanks Bonnie for the constant inspirations!

And, my Sister surprised me with this
absolutely beautiful Barn Quilt!
My sister claims NOT to be artistic.....but,
you couldn't prove that by me!
An interesting tid bit, Sis didn't even know that
this was a "Sister's Choice" quilt block.
How appropriate that she chose it for me
for my Barn Quilt!
I can't wait to hang it!
I! LOVE! IT!

And after all of the festivities, this little one was worn
completely out!

Christmas 2017 came and went......
and so did I........
I always fly on New Years Eve for the double time pay
I receive.  It is one of the few holidays that I will work.

The rapid fire clues from Bonnie Hunter's
mystery quilt blew right past me!
I was flying during those last clues,
and I haven't caught up yet.

Here is where I am thus far.......
I hope to get the blocks made in the next couple of days.
Then I get to go back and remake Clue #3.

Hopefully these 12" Kai scissors I received for
Christmas will help me slash
through my scraps in 2018!
I LOVE the heft and........ "shear" manliness
 of these monster scissors!
Talk about doing some damage!  WOW!

My ladies have been laying throughout this cold snap.
I am not one that believes in forcing hens to lay in cold weather,
but, I also don't believe in letting them freeze to death either.
When temps get below 20*F, the chickens require
additional warmth.  Egg laying is a side effect.
What a blessing to have fresh eggs every morning for breakfast!

And thanks to my friend Lori of
I had a nice little "Bunny Chat!"
We were texting each other and I had
the bright idea of giving each other a studio tour
of our sewing space.
One thing led to another, and before long,
we were "Bunny Chatting!"
HILARIOUS!
Thanks for the fun talk Lori!

I hope your Christmas was as wonderful
as mine was?  I truly hope you all know
how much I appreciate your friendship!
Here's to a prosperous and productive 2018
in life and in quilting!



Thanks for all of the encouragement!
Keep on Quilting!
Kevin the Quilter