Vintage Kansas City Star Block of the Month

I joined the Vintage Kansas City Star Block of the Month program a little late.  I had some catching up to do.  They are on block five and I just finished block three, but I think I will be completely caught up by the time block six arrives.  The fabric line is Cattails & Clover by Kansas Troubles Quilters. It's very pretty fabric.  I'm getting my kits from the Fat Quarter Shop online and I must say the fabric they provide is very generous.  I think if I purchased more background fabric, I'd have enough to make a second set of blocks.  

Block One - Nosegays

Block Two - Fair and Square

Block Three - Necktie

Jackson's Mill Quilting Retreat 2012 --- March 9th-12th

Another year at the Mill has come and gone.  I had a fantastic time as usual.

First let me say that I did a horrible job taking pictures.  It was pretty much an after thought on my part.  I need to try to do better.  Secondly, we encountered several very "interesting" people this year and I'll just leave it at that.  For now .... 

My adventure started Thursday evening when I met my friends Debbie & Susan Smith at our hotel in Weston.  It was nice to be able to just relax and have dinner that evening.

Friday morning we had plenty of time to head the Mill to registrar and meet up with our friends Teresa & Kristen and then go to The Stitching House in Buckhanon. There I saw my "next" .... or one of my many "next" ... projects.  It's Moda's 30s Playtime.  I bought a few fat quarters to start it over the past few weekends.  It will be one of my ongoing projects.  That afternoon we took a mini-class. This was the first time I've taken a one and I rather enjoyed it.  Debbie, Teresa, Kristen and I all took a class called "Sweet Mint" taught by Ann Kessel.  It was fun.  Susan opted to venture out to a yarn store nearby to buy knitting supplies.  She's not a quilter but more of a handwork kind of gal.  This class was my first attempt at curved seams and I learned that I needed yet another new foot for my Featherweight to sew the seams correctly.  I got it together though and it didn't turn out half bad:

Before dinner we went to the Quilter's Mall.  The vendors were very sparse this year evidenced by the fact that I only came out with a kitty cat candle mat kit and a table runner kit. I did comment on my evaluation that they needed to do better especially if they want to do a "Vendor Hop" next year.  They will need not only more vendors but a better quality as well.

Friday night we started our main class, 45 & Life to Go which was also taught by Ann.  I love Ann!  She was a great instructor.  I would not hesitate to take a class from her again. That quilt is my cutting nemesis.  Most of my dark fabrics came up short and I ended up having to order more of each.  It was kind of frustrating so I was a little discouraged out of the gate.  I sewed centers most of the evening in between bouts of being amazed by some of the people around me.  That evening back at the hotel, Debbie showed me how to hand piece and since then I've been experimenting .... but I'll save that for another post!

Saturday was a full day of sewing.  Debbie showed me a block:

Kristen and Theresa were also busy sewing:

This was the maiden voyage for my featherweight and she did great!!

And after a few hours sewing Sunday morning,  I finally finished two of a gazillion blocks!

This quilt is getting put on hold for a bit now while the featherweight is being repainted.

I've got a lot to get caught up on here on the blog .... one post at a time.

National Quilting Day

It would be wrong of me not to post on my quilting blog on National Quilting Day so I've thrown together a little something here to shock and awe.

Last weekend was the Jackson's Mill Quilt retreat.  I had a fantastic time and I promise a post dedicated solely to that sometime this weekend.  Real life intervened when I got home and between work, physical therapy and doctors visits ... and my secret project ... I've hardly slowed down 10 minutes.

Today I plan to visit my local quilt shop, Quilts by Phyllis, and pick up a few 30's fat quarters to work with.

So on to my "secret project" ... I have to say I'm so proud of myself for not spilling the beans on this one.  This has been in the works for several weeks and I've not uttered much of a peep about it which is completely unlike me because this project has to do with something else I'm passionate about ... tattoos. 

So in honor of National Quilting day I'm proud to unveil the first of three sittings for my new tattoo .....

Two things near and dear to my heart ... Simba (at the top) and my Singer

Yes, I'm crazy .... yes, it's huge .... and YES, I LOVE IT!!

Happy National Quilting Day, Folks!!

Cuttin' Fool

I'm cutting fast and furious!!  I'm about half way through my quilt for this weekend!

Wish me luck!!

International Quilt Show - Cincinnati

I finally got my confirmation today for the classes I registered for at the International Quilt Show in Cincinnati next month!  I'll be taking two classes taught by Cindy Blackberg on hand piecing.  I'm very excited.  I'm hoping I like it and can do it fairly well.  It would be nice to be able to have small projects to take with me places to work on.

Carpenter's Star class today was good.  I learned that I've never put borders on a quilt properly and that putting them on properly takes more time.  Needless to say I didn't finish today.  I've got one more border to put on then I'm done.  And since I didn't finish that quilt, I didn't get the Spiced Apple quilt done today either.  So much for that plan.  They will get done after Jackson's Mill now. 

Tomorrow .... I cut.

It's Been a While

Real life has intruded in upon my "Quilting Life" and I haven't had much to post about for quite some time.  I've been cutting fabric.  I'm in the process of cutting out two "45 & Life to Go" quilts for the Jackson's Mill Quilt retreat next weekend.  I've got to cut mine and my friend Debbie's.  So I've still got a little bit of work cut out for me, but I anticipate having in done some time Sunday.

Today I sewed my strips together for the "45" quilt:

I'm using my Featherweight and I love it!!  After I got them all sewed up, it was time to cut them apart again:

So now they are all in baggies and ready to go for next week!

Tomorrow I have Part 2 of my Carpenter's Star class.  I should finish that quilt tomorrow and hopefully the Spiced Apple quilt too!

Back to Work

Yesterday I had to return back to "reality", but when I got home, these were waiting for me:

These are vintage Kansas City Star patterns.  They have been kept very well all these years.  Unfortunately, the directions for the patterns are cut off most of them, but the entire templates are there for all 5 of them.

I guess I will photo copy them for use and then put these originals in a protective sleeve.  It's neat seeing the stuff that was in the paper on the backs of these!