Quilts of Valor

Let's hear it for those who champion our heroes--which also makes them heroes!  Recently, I was honored to work along side some of these wonderful people at a sewing day for Quilts of Valor.  This organization has their mission:  to cover all combat service members and veterans touched by war with comforting and healing Quilts of Valor.

There are some ways anyone can participate in this organization: 

• piece a quilt top at least 55"x 65"
•  quilt a top
•  donate monies towards postage and supplies
• volunteer administrative assistance for the Foundation
• join a local sewing day



There were also stacks of donated fabric on hand in case our kit ran short of necessary supplies.  What to choose?  What to sew?  So many interesting choices......and with each quilt, a pillow case to match is presented.

My friend Judy and I arrived at Tomorrow's Heirlooms Quilt Shop to begin our sewing adventure.  Our leaders from Columbine Quilt Guild had kits available for us to begin our task for the day.



I chose this patriotic quilt--pattern and pre-cut strips were in the kit and we're off and stitching!

Judy chose this rail fence kit and whoa!  rail fence blocks had already been assembled!!

During the morning I took a break to see what others were working on--nice to have fabrics ready for sewing

And the facility!  great lighting!  great set-up for cutting and pressing!  great tables for machines!

Here we have the makings of an interesting quilt with 18" star block

Our sewer is on her way to completion of this interesting string center with star points

another sewer brought her featherweight Singer to show it still had some life in its stitches

Zoe Ann & Vicky, our leaders, were working on the great flannel board on this Coin quilt top==hint, if sewing this one, make sure to sew four together and then sew the strips, otherwise, you'll have wavy strips--voice of experience talking (so says Zoe Ann)

so many interesting patterns to sew together

And we are back to mine--sew four of five fabrics together; five of six fabrics together--get that!  Then cut into 8" blocks and 9.5" blocks; then cut diagonals and you have all these triangles, which are then sewn together

We are getting there--should have total 20 blocks 11.5"x 11.5"

All but borders and Judy completed her top--isn't this smashing look with such a simple pattern--it's the fabrics that make it so yummy looking!

Another good thing about being in a quilt shop is the lovely surroundings--quilts on the wall with interesting stitching

And yes, the visitors who drop in to see what you are doing............here we have a visitor who brought her prize winning quilt to show off.

Nice! and Nice!  I can see why it won Blue Ribbon at the competition

This quilter knows how to do some raw edge applique! 

This was definitely a good day and gave me a warm feeling of serving in some regard to bring comfort to our military personnel--okay, off to finish up those blocks and assemble.........

This foundation is not about politics. It's about people.

New Legacies: Contemporary Art Quilts

Exhibit now on display through August 31st at Lincoln Center, Fort Collins, Colorado is New Legacies: Contemporary Art Quilts. This juried show features various techniques to offer a range of expression to the artists' legacy. These small wall hangings use varied fabric designs with hand painting, dyeing, hand or machine embellishing, stitching, etc. This is an exciting exhibit--one not to be missed.

Jo Fitsell "Withdrawal"

Close-up

While browsing through the exhibit, I met this artist, who also has another piece in Golden exhibit at Foothills Center.  This is Margaret Abramshe with her piece "Sacred Clock of Now"

She uses photo transfers on cloth to express your thoughts

Julia Pfaff presents "Contrast XIII"

Great quilting lines

This is a prize winner "Sand Dollar Spectrum"

Betty Busby created this lovely hanging

Patricia Kennedy-Zafred has two pieces juried into this show. 

"Interwoven"

This is a haunting piece!  But well executed by Patti Morris

"Rohingya Children"

Martha C Hall, "Bits and Bytes"

Interesting piece

Sandra Palmer Ciolino

"Martello #3 Sympatico"

These are just a few of the highlights of this exhibit.  all of the works are excellent in their execution and design work--go visit!  And the facility is super nice! 

PATTERN PLAY

Have you ever thought about a design and wish you could transfer it to larger scale--maybe on wallpaper or fabric?  After seeing the summer exhibit SPUN at the Denver Art Museum (DAM) recently, my brain began to perk with ideas.  In the Jacqueline Groag area, you view her original works on paper that were transferred to textiles!  Amazing designs!

Jacqueline was born in Czechoslovakia in 1903. She studied textile design with Josef Hofmann in Vienna in the 1920's. She designed textiles in Vienna in the 30's and received a gold medal at the Paris World fair in 1937. She designed textiles for the leading fashion houses in Paris, including Chanel , Jeanne Lanvin et Paul Poiret. In 1939 she immigrated with her husband Jacques Groag, an architect, to the United Kingdom.





What exciting contemporary fabrics these are! 

Fabric printing goes back years and years--there is batik printing using wax and stamps.  But, today we want faster and easier ways to take our designs to fabric. 

There are various ways we can transfer our own drawings to fabric in our own home--inkjet printing is one way and that involves a printer and some computer work. 

Here is an idea!  Try this!  Spoonflower definitely has the right idea!  Upload your design and you too can have that special fabric, wrapping paper, wallpaper, etc. with your unique design--what a novel idea!!
Off to the drawing board.....................................................

Wrap Yourself in This!

Another one bites the dust--Off the needles! Hurrah!! Let's all shout from the rooftops! Knitting finished!!

This was begun many weeks ago--a clue a week--another one of those mysteries that I'm so fond of.  This one came from yahoo group--summer shawl mystery.  Yes, I got stuck on shawls for awhile--I just love working those patterns and seeing those charts........

At one point, I thought this would never end, then another clue would come out and I would rush to begin knitting again.  I was behind two weeks once but caught up quickly as the stitches knitted and purled off my needles.  Then at the end of clue 5, I waited for another clue and it didn't arrive--what's the problem??  Answer--me!  I didn't read through the top portion of the clue--after row #1000+ (or so it seemed at times), bind off!   Well, duh!  We are blocking.....................

You can tell from the color change, something happen here--I ran out of the red yarn and had to bring in the stash to finish off the shawl------------

Actually, I rather like it this way! 

In between those days, I wasn't knitting on the shawl, I had these plain socks to knit--I could knit these in the dark if need be; just mindless knitting to keep the fingers and hands active.

Okay, we were in a dread--no shawl to knit--wait, there is that one in the bag that was begun earlier in the spring and brought to Colorado home and left aside thinking there wasn't enough yarn to finish

I picked that up and began knitting--oh, could there just be enough yarn to finish this, it's a good possibility!  Tally ho, knitting is good.................

 Finished!!  Yes!  And it looks great!  blocking and then ready to wear!

This was such a lovely knitting pattern--easy to follow and lovely leaves in the body--"Leaf Evolution" on Ravelry. 

Geese!! I See Geese!

Yes, I'm seeing geese--not only the real bird type geese (which will be flying south soon) but the ones you sew for a quilt. How do I get myself into these situations?? I love mysteries and this was another mystery quilt so I can excuse myself this time--I just didn't know what the clues would hold. I'm a member of a yahoo group--Quilt Mysteries--and a new mystery usually comes out every summer. Clue one--Fabric requirements Clue two--cutting instructions--cut so many 2.5" strips from each of the three fabrics from requirement selections; now, cut those into 2.5"x2.5" squares and 2.5"x 4" --you will need ONLY 224 of one color and 224 of another color!! Okay, we can do that--cutting is quick and easy...........................

My three color choices are light gray, red with gold stars and gold--thinking this will be a great QOV Quilt of Valor

Next clue didn't sound daunting--sew that square to one corner of the rectangle--okay, here I sew and sew and sew and sew--all 448 of them!  Next clue--sew another square to the other side of the rectangle---oh, yes, I see--Flying Geese..........................

Stacks and stacks of flying geese.....................

I would count, then sew, in the evening trim, then press...........next day, do more--I think I'm ready for the next clue and don't let me read there are more flying geese!!!!!!!!!!

Loom Music

Well, it's about time!!  I finally decided to do something with that 8H Macomber loom that is sitting all alone and looking lonely.  You know these decisions take some time to fully develop.

The idea had been 'perking' in my brain for awhile--why not take all those single handspun silk yarns that have been stockpiling up in the closet and make a useful item?  Yes, pretty to look at but would really be nice if I could wear them for everyone to admire.

Okay, gather them up (and by far this is not all of those silk singles), ply them together--and who cares what goes with what?  It all comes out perfectly fine in the end (we hope!)  Most of these silk singles have been spindle spun too.

Here we have the singles on the bobbins--now, you know it took some time to do that plying, don't you??

wind them on the warping board, two together, for a length of four yards.

I know it looks like a big bundle of tangled yarns--but, fear not...........

Thread through the reed--chosing 10 dent reed with two per dent..........

Through the reed now--still looking like a 'mess'............

Pull through the heddles

Ahhhh, all threaded and not a tangled mess at all--see, there is a method to my warping!

A few header weft threads to make sure all is correct--only one small problem where an extra thread was twisted in the reed--solution easy peazy!  Now, I'm thinking maybe this should be threaded to 24 epi--hmmmmmmm................................

Warped and ready to throw that shuttle-- need to decide what weft to use from the many singles still on hand to be plied..................stay tuned.

HSTS Blues!!

I've got the Blues--real true Blues! The HSTs Blues!   And you are thinking--what the heck is HSTS??  Half square triangles--yes, that is what I've got----

Just when you think all is going according to plan and you have counted the right number of blocks--BAM!  you find out that you have miscounted and you are short 4 blocks!  Well, you might think that four blocks isn't too bad, but when you are working with 80 blocks and you end up with only 76--that can only mean you will need more HSTS for those blocks; each block requires 7 HSTS and when you have been sewing HSTS for so long-----you just want it to end!!

Four blocks to the right that need HSTS period! and 20+ blocks to the left that still need HSTS along the bottom

First we need to print off the right size HSTS from Quilting and Whatnot website

The page is printed 8.5" x 11" but I cut them into thirds to have some interest in the HSTS--easy to sew on small stitch.  Then cut apart, tear off paper and you have the correct size HSTS you need for the project

Okay, this just isn't enough and you want a good variety too!

completed 50+ blocks--just 30 more to go!  And yes, we have the borders already for the final top to be assembled--only if we could finish up with those HSTS Blues!