Some of my first quilts

This is the 2nd quilt I ever made, it's a bargello. I gave it to my mother-in-law, she loves it and was my inspiration to start quilting.

This is the next quilt I made, it's a double Irish, I made it for my Grandma, she liked it so much, I think it was one thing that made her want to quilt as well. She is now my quilting buddy.

The next is also a double irish, I made it for my younger brother. I made it in 16 hours, I had a timeline to get it done and quilted for my parents to take to him in California.

This one is called Stars-n-Stripes, I made this one but didn't have any plans with it. I ended up trading it with a relative for a handmade saddle planter. It was well worth it.

Sorry

My Blog is having major difficulties...it will not let me make comments. So I am reading everyone's comments, but apologize I can't respond to them.
Charity

Past Quilts that have a story....

I have made alot of quilts over the years, but here are a few with some stories...

I made this block for my Round Robin in quilt guild, Piece by Peace last year...I love the pattern, but not the colors. Needless to say it's still a single block all of its own. This block is called stained glass by Jinny Beyer I wish I would have ordered the fabric line she had for this specific block, plus I had to cut the block down probably by 75% to make an 18 inch block for the center of my round robin.

Here is the block I ended up using for the Round Robin...Everyone that participated in the round robin used the batiks and made stars, I have to make more blocks to finish the quilt. When I get it done I will have to share it with everyone. I love the blocks that were made and the colors.

My Grandma made a quilt for each of her grandaughters, when she finished one she had enough left over material to make another quilt, I helped her make the first one at our annual 'quilt retreat'. It's put together like the 'Trip around the world' and when I had the four sections of strips laying on the floor, I picked up one set and I somehow flipped it around so when I was done sewing it, it was sewn together just like the one oposite to it. So I had to unpick, if you knew me well, that's one thing I hate doing. So I sat there and unpicked like 19 rows and mummbled under my breath the whole time.  Grandma laughed and said "I am glad I am not the only one that does things like that". Because I helped her she gave me the left over fabric and I got this quilt...I still need to quilt it, but I love the colors Grandma picked out, they went together well. I loved the border fabric she used and when I got mine done I needed to do the outside of it so I went to the fabric store and no matter what I tried to put with it for the borders (pink and green) I just couldn't get the fabrics out of my mind that Grandma used...in the end I picked the same as hers, but I put the small strip of colors and extra pink border in mine.

I made this quilt for my husbands cousin that needed a kidney transplant, her cousin provided the kidney and they had a fundraiser to help with medical expenses for both of them. They asked me if I could donate a quilt for them to raffle, I was just finishing this quilt and it was hard to let it go, but it was for a great cause! She had the transplant and is doing very well. (right)

Okay that's my sharing for today, of course I have alot more and perhaps I will share some blocks I am working on for my BOM I have to do in our guild this upcoming year. Happy sewing everyone and thanks for checking out my blog and for all the wonderful comments!

Quilting with Grandma

I now quilt with my Grandma, I made her a quilt and she liked it so much she started quilting alot. She did some before I made the quilt, but now she is addicted like I am. Twice a year I go and spend time with her and we piece quilts and visit, creating memories to last a lifetime. Here is a picture of us and our twinner quilts. I made the quilt and Grandma liked it so much she made one too, and her's is even more special than mine because I quilted hers! I cherish the time we get to spend together and make lasting memories in our minds and with our quilts.

Why Quilting?

Growing up I always loved the quilts I would see, all the colors and shapes pieced together to make a beautiful work of art. They looked so hard and complex, I just knew I would never have one as beautiful. One year, around Thanksgiving in 2002 I got a wild hair and decided I would make my Mother a quilt for Christmas, I figured it couldn't be too hard. Right...I picked a block I liked and bought material and started cutting and sewing. Nothing came out right, not one seam was aligned correctly and what did they mean by a 1/4 inch seam allowance? Well luckily for me our LDS Stake had a 'quilting day' and I decided I would go and get some help. Well that first quilt is still sitting in a bag all cut up, maybe one day I will pull it out and finish it now I know what I am doing. I was taught about strip piecing and how easy it was. I picked out another pattern and I was able to get it made in only a few weeks (this was a lap size quilt) and then quilted in time to give my Mother for Christmas. SInce then I have made approximately 35 quilts over the last several years, maybe more that I can't think of right now. But I love quilting, it, I am constangtly working on something, always cutting or sewing and there are threads everywhere. When I finish a quilt there is just an 'awe' overwhelming feeling of satisfaction.