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"

HERE

on her Cloud of Quilt Patterns page.

And, on her Material Culture page, she

did a post of a circular quilt

HERE

which is similar in regard to the arc placement.

And, of course,

Eleanor Burns of 

Quilt in a Day

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:

18 North Central

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

Fun with Barb

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

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

On Ringo Lake

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

Humble Quilts

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

On Ringo Lake Parts 3 & 4

Whew!

Ummmm.......that's all I can say!

What a flurry of activities have taken place here at the Quilt Cave as of late!
I wish there were a snow flurry or two to go along with the activities!
I want snow for Christmas......sorry, but, I do! That's the only time I want it though? LOL

So let me catch you all up to speed......

My name is Kevin the Quilter,

and On Ringo Lake Part 3

threw me for a loop!

I cut 120 of the coral units incorrectly.

I take complete ownership of this mistake.......

.....this HAPPY little mistake!

#newproject

#catchingup

On Ringo Lake Part 4

was a breeze and saw a lot of 

odds and ends of aqua and grey used up!

Linking up with 

Mystery Monday Link-Up Part 4

There was some trimming up of Part 2 on my commute

to work.

YES!  You CAN bring small scissors on the plane with you!

I am not doing anything here that the general travelling public

can't do.

Click HERE to see what can and can't be brought on the plane.

TA DAH!!!!!

The Cave Quilters completed "Snake Charming!"

As you can tell in this photo we are overjoyed!

It has been such a pleasure working with these

quilters on a project I wouldn't have tackled on my own!

Each quilter has brought their own special flair 

to our gatherings and to this project.

We even twirled seams courtesy of Cherie!

"Snake Charming"

This is a STRIKING Quilt of Valor!

Thanks

Cherie of Quilted Jonquil

Dar of Dar's Patchwork Garden

and

Jan of The Colorful Fabriholic

I look forward to our next joint venture!

The Troy, Missouri quilt group I belong to

gathered at the Quilt Cave for our

Christmas party.

Here we are playing a game.

We also did a gift exchange of our favorite notion

that costs $5 or less.

This was so much fun and a lot was learned!

I received a plethora of storage bags and pipe cleaners!

My contribution was a small brass stiletto that I can't piece without.

My blogging friend P of 

The Way I Sew It

shared these goodies with me in the mail.

Thanks so much P!

I am thinking of you and your family!

While browsing an antique mall I came across this album.

Look closely, the cover is a patchwork quilt!

Interested P? LOLOL

And I received another surprise in the mail!

This is from my blogging friend Susan of

Farm Quilter.

Thanks so much Susan! You are such a good 

daughter to be helping your dad right now in his time

of need!

I took my mom and dad Christmas shopping....

I witnessed the following conversation.....

Mom:  You DON'T buy PASTRIES there!!!!!!

Dad: ????????

Priceless moments with the parents!

Lilly Mae got to meet Santa for the very first time.

I can completely hear her saying:

"I have been a really good girl, Santa.......

just don't ask anyone else....."

LILLY MAE!!!!

And, I recently was in negotiations with these representatives

from Feed the Hungry......

The girls DON'T get table food, but, that doesn't

keep them from wanting to smell everything I eat!

LOL

I know we are all very busy with Christmas and the holidays.

I want you all to know how much I consider each of you

a gift to me.

Thanks for being a friend!

Enjoy the season!

Until next time,

Thanks for all of the encouragement!

Keep on Quilting!

Kevin the Quilter