Wednesday, March 27, 2019

Whew!!!!!!!!!!

Can anyone relate the following image to their day to day activities?
whirl·wind
/ˈ(h)wərlˌwind/
noun
  1. a column of air moving rapidly around and around in a cylindrical or funnel shape.
    synonyms:tornado, hurricane, typhoon, cyclone, tropical storm, tropical cyclone, vortex; More

    •
      used in similes and metaphors to describe a very energetic or tumultuous person or process.

      "a whirlwind of activity"
      synonyms:rapid, lightning, overnight, instant, headlong, impulsive, breakneck, whistle-stop, fast-track, accelerated, meteoric, sudden, swift, fast, quick, speedy;

WHEW!!!!!
Yep......that's pretty much my life anymore.
In particular, the second definition.
Not that I am complaining.......just keeping it real here folks!

Here is my life in photos for the month of March!


Lecturing and teaching is always a joy!
Here I am sharing my latest and first professionally
produced pattern, "Goodnight, Darlene!" with the
Quincy Quilt Guild.
"Goodnight, Darlene!" was beautifully custom quilted
by the quilt's namesake Darlene of

By the way......check out
my friend Jan of 
version of
"Goodnight, Darlene!"
Jan, again, thanks for your encouragement,
support, and enthusiasm over this pattern!



Margaret was my contact for this guild.
Thanks so much for the invite!

This guild was a hoot!
Such nice, talented quilters in this bunch!

I love seeing sisters, I mean a mother and daughter sewing 
together!  Keeping it in the family!
These gals were super sweet!

My friend Julie stopped in to see my trunk show!
Thanks for the nice visit Julie!

Vermont Street United Methodist Church
was the perfect host for this guild's event!

A delicious potluck of salads and desserts were
provided by the quilters.

And after lunch, the stars came out.....



Thanks to the Quincy, IL Quilt Guild for 
such a nice visit!
I thoroughly enjoyed my time with you all!

I was also able to visit with the
Calico Needlers Quilt Guild in
St. Peters, MO.
I had ssuch a delightful visit, sharing fun
stories about my quilts with this guild!
Thanks Linda for the invite!

Thanks to all of you who commented on
my log cabin and recommended a name for it.
"Paw Paw's Closet"
This quilt finally has a name!

Speaking of Paw Paw.....

Lilly Mae was curious as to what her Paw Paw was playing here...
Is that, "You Ain't Nothin' But A Hound Dog?" you're playing?
But, I am a Boston Terrier Paw Paw!!!!!

I am pleased to share with you all that I finally completed
the "Foothills Quilt Along" organized by 
 I started this over a year ago!

Quirky.......YES!
I tried my best to follow the "mistakes"
and intricacies of the inspiration quilt
using what fabrics I had on hand.

I feel as though I did the best job I could in recreating
this work of art and I'm beyond pleased with it.
On the left are images of the original....
and my interpretation is on the right.
Off to be hand quilted now!

 It was time to harvest these beautiful
Royal Palm turkeys.
I did end up keeping 1 male and 3 females
for breeding stock.

I traveled to Versailles, Missouri to have the birds
processed where there is a
huge Amish and Mennonite community.
The Mennonite Family that owns and runs
Shady Maple Farm could not have been nicer.
They did a wonderful job processing the turkeys for me.
I am happy to report this breed of bird is nothing like a
broad breasted turkey you get at the grocery store, but, 
is surprisingly succulent and delicious!

Next up on the growing calendar........Cornish Cross Broilers.
Please understand, I understand not everyone is able to grow 
their own food.  And, many of you are 
probably not even interested.  But, for those of you who are, 
I share this because it is something I have ALWAYS wanted to do.
Now that I have the Quilt Cave, I am able to, and will continue to
provide myself and my family
 with food that I know was granted a healthy and good life.

I was able to fit a sew day in with one of my most favorite
quilters!  
Meet Tea of TEAQUILTS.
Truth be told....we are so much alike when it comes
to scrap quilting.
Check out her Youtube channel HERE
where she is always showing interesting quilty things.
Also, be looking in the future
 for a studio tour of the
Quilt Cave she recently shot!
I am so excited to be able to share this with you all
through her!

My version of Bonnie Hunter's 
2017 Quiltville Mystery "On Ringo Lake"
was recently given to my friend Mike and his family.

Mike has been a buddy of mine.....well....
since forever......and he and his family
love quilts.

Especially this girl!
Mike sent me this photo of his youngest daughter
with the quilt!
I am told she has taken this one for herself!
It's really nice knowing a quilt is being used
and appreciated, isn't it?!

I hope to meet YOU at one of these
UPCOMING EVENTS!
March 30, 2019
Friends in Stitches Quilt Guild
Waterloo, IL
Rescheduled
String Star Workshop

April 2, 2019
Dixie Lee Quilters
7 PM Lecture/Trunk Show
Madison County Senior Center
107 Spruce Street
Fredericktown, MO 63645
(THIS IS MY HOMETOWN!)

May 16, 2019
7PM Lecture/Trunk Show
Zion Lutheran Church
11007 Book Road
Naperville, IL  60564

May 17, 2019
9AM-4PM
Crazy Crumb Stars Workshop
Zion Lutheran Church
11007 Book Road
Naperville, IL  60564

May 18, 2019
Wego Quiltin' Quilt Guild
9AM-4PM
String Star Workshop
Oswego Presbyterian Church
1976 IL 25
Oswego, IL  60543





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







Posted by at 21 comments:

Monday, March 4, 2019

Here we SNOW again...........

For the first time in a while,
we have had a definite WINTER
around these parts!


 Here we SNOW again!

I am not complaining in the least.
If you know me well, you know:
#1 I don't complain about things I can't control, like weather.
#2 I LOVE cooler weather over warmer, more humid weather.
#3 Snowy, wintry weather is QUILT weather!

Hop on your sled and join me for a trek through my February!

How on earth did my Lil Sugar Doll 
turn 21 years old?????
Happy birthday to my beautiful niece!

While visiting home for my niece's birthday celebration,
she and Lil' Bubs went antiquing with me!
I about fell over in the floor when my nephew
asked me if he could make a quilt
like the one he had found in one of the booths!
He had found this old rail fence quilt!
He has a very exact vision and wants to do 
the work himself!
Stay tuned!

Delays, reroutes, extended duty days......
OK, maybe I don't care so much for the weather
when it comes to these things?
Work is ALWAYS better when you are flying with
a great crew especially under such conditions.
Oh....and coffee helps too!

Hold on folks.....there's more!
This photo was taken by my little
buddy that comes with his mom to 
Scrap Club hosted by Kevin the Quilter.
This pic is not bad for a little guy!

Regrettably, due to health reasons,
was unable to join us for our February meeting.
You can read about her
unfortunate ailment
We all were bummed, including her.....
and I hope you are feeling much better now!

I am so fortunate to have met MANY
wonderful quilters via this blog.
One of which is my friend
Heather of
She was gracious enough to step in last minute
and provided Scrap Club with a WONDERFUL
trunk show of her beautiful, scrappy quilts.
Thank you Heather!
Thank you SOOOOOOOO much!

How many quilts will fit into the back of a SUV?

Apparently, 46!
Quilt after beautiful quilt 
was shared by Heather.

In between Trunk shows, some of us quilters
had a late lunch.
Thanks to Nancy and Tere in the back who drove 
all the way from Centralia, IL to enjoy
Heather's presentation and fellowship with us.
Dar......what on earth are you doing 
while I took this pic?
LOLOLOL

"Tree Inspired"
is the project for this session
of Scrap Club hosted by Kevin the Quilter.
Here is part of my project thus far.
I love 2 color quilts!
You can literally use every hue of each color when you
limit it down to 2 contrasting colors.

We are also organizing our scraps and stashes
this session of Scrap Club.
Here are some of the quilters taking advantage
of the freebie table.
One quilter's trash, is another
quilter's treasure!

My friend, Sue,  and I went on a 
trek to 
We had so much fun chatting it up on the drive.
We also came back with a few treasures of our own!


Anyone remember this project from about 2 years ago???
My friend Cherie of Quilted Jonquil
shared several recycled shirts with me!

They finally turned into this!
I! LOVE! IT!
But, I need a good name for it?
Any suggestions?
What do you see when you look at it?

It's a super easy sew....and who doesn't love
a log cabin?
Thanks to my friend Linda A. for sharing her
larger red shirtings and homespuns for 
me to create those setting triangles!

What is your favorite thing about 
a Log Cabin quilt?

This whole blogging, speaking, and teaching
gig is really fun.  Especially when I see
other quilters enjoying the processes in which
I work.

Looky here at this!
This is Jan of
version of my
"Goodnight, Darlene!" pattern.
(Patterns will be available soon!)
Jan, your version is truly wonderful!
Thanks so much for your enthusiasm of
this project and pattern!
I appreciate you!

And, remember my
I had with the St. Louis Star Quilt Guild?
Several of those quilters have sent in the
following beauties!




SUPERB JOB QUILTERS!
I am so proud of all of you!
These versions and colors are just fabulous!
I apologize for not listing names, but, I don't want to 
confuse anyone, and I also apologize if you sent in 
a photo, and it wasn't listed here.

Here's your chicken pic!
Nope....not for that much money.





I hope to meet YOU at one of these....
UPCOMING EVENTS!


March 16, 2019
Quincy Quilt Guild
Lecture/Trunk Show
and 
String Star Workshop
Vermont Street United Methodist Church
818 Vermont Street
Quincy, IL  62301

March 20, 2019
Calico Needlers
Lecture/Trunk Show
Spencer Road Branch Library
427 Spencer Road
St. Peters, MO  63376

March 30, 2019
Friends in Stitches Quilt Guild
Waterloo, IL
Rescheduled
String Star Workshop

April 2, 2019
Dixie Lee Quilters
7 PM Lecture/Trunk Show
Fredericktown Senior Center
107 Spruce Street
Fredericktown, MO 63645
(THIS IS MY HOMETOWN!)



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







Posted by at 28 comments:
Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)