Is This the Cutest Gift or What??

My darling niece, Michelle, knows that I gift wrap every item that I sell in my eBay store, The Quilting Garden, and so look at what she made for me!!!  And she made it from scratch!!!

And then she custom painted it Lime Green because she knows that is my most favorite color these days!!  What a lucky, Aunt, eh??

A Call Out to the Hexie Makers of the World!! :-)

I have been talking for weeks about making some hexies but now that I am ready to start, I am not sure how to figure out a 1" hexie.  Do I measure along the side to get the 1" or do I measure across the hexegon to get the 1"?  

I would appreciate some help from those of you that make your hexies using paper templates!!

P.S. If these are your hexies, would you let me know so I can give you credit??

Thank you all for any assistance you can send my way!!

How We Draw This Pattern Is How Each Kool Kaleidoscope Becomes Our Own!!

This is the next step on the Kool Kaleidoscope Quilt after making a pair of Strata.  This is the phase where we decide how to draw the lines that are going to be the pattern pieces for each round of the Kaleidoscope.

 You can click on the top picture to see more detail.

This is the most ingenious quilt I think I will ever make!!

Stay tuned!!!

Will I Ever Get This done???

This a process and progress report on the sweater I am making for my great-niece, Lauren.  Typically, I do not knit up the front and back at the same time, but I thought I would do it on this sweater because of the pattern.  Well, dang, this thing is taking me forever!!!

Now I know it is on size 4 needles but still . . . .   At this rate I will get it done by Lauren's birthday next March 1!!  I have not made a sweater in many, many years (although I have been knitting for 58 years) but I do not remember it taking so long to make!!

Well, I am just about to the arm pits so I will get to start decreasing stitches and that will help make it go faster!!!  For some reason at this point I am just not enjoying the PROCESS, I want to get this done!!

Breathe Kris - enjoy the process!!!  Breathe, Kris - enjoy the process!!  :-)

Longest Seam on the Whole Planet!!!

This is a quilt top I promised last fall to make for a charity that I wanted to help:

Me be bad!!  I am just now getting around to sewing the first seam on this Strippity-Do-Dah quilt top.  That first seam is 840 inches or 70 feet long!!!  This first seam always seems to intimidate me even though I have already made 4 other Strippity-Do-Dah quilts.  Now that this first seam is done, I can get this quilt top finished and off to a good cause this week!!!

Am I the only one in the quilting world that keeps starting new projects because there are sooooooo many cool quilts out there to make???  If I have one quilt started I have 30 started.  Luckily I do complete one once in awhile but not until I have started 10 others!!  I just want to try everything.  And I am not so sure I want to be cured of this malady - its just way to much fun starting another new quilt!!

Oh, well, onward and upward.  I suppose as long as I finish a few here and there - ya know, the really important ones, then life is good and a lot of fun!!  Hee! Hee! 

Enjoy!!

Kaleidoscope Quilt Process Report

As I was picking my fabrics for my Ricky Tims Kool Kaleidoscope quilt I wanted it to be fun and bright.  And the fabrics I chose turned out to be fun and bright.  But as I was deciding what widths I should cut each one, I had to keep going back to the book where there are lots of Kaleidoscopes created by others to see what fabrics I should put together and how wide each one should be.

I am only putting together the first pair of strata upon the recommendation of Em over at Quilt Crossing who is several steps ahead of me on her Kaleidoscope!!  Go check her's out - it is gorgeous!!  She suggested I make the first pair of Strata, cut them out and get them up on the design board before I go on to the nest round.  She said that way I would have a better feel for what fabrics I wanted to use in the suceeding round.

While my Dad and I have been watching the golf tournament this afternoon, I have been pinning each row of the strata together and then coming back here to my sewing room to sew them together and press.  I know that many quilters do not pin their fabric before sewing and I have tried it with and without pins, but I find I like it better with pins as my sewing seems to be more more accurate since I don't have to worry about keeping the seam edges together.  I just might do a poll on pinning versus not pinning before sewing a seam.

As each row went together and the Strata got wider and wider, I started thinking about a real kaleidoscope and the little crystals inside that make up the pattern.  I noticed that each of my pieces of fabric resembled the crystals in the real kaleidoscope and thought how fun!!

Here are a couple kaleidoscope pictures I found that give the feel of the crystals inside the tube.

Now, here are my first round Strata ready for the next step:

Don't you think the fabrics look like they are all different sizes and shapes like the little crystals inside a kaleidoscope?

When I showed my Dad the Strata, he said "Wow, thats bright, like Joseph's Coat", so we decided a perfect name for this quilt will be "Joseph's Coat."

The next step is to create the pattern for the Pattern templates!!  Stay tuned for how Joseph's Coat comes together!!!  And thanks Em for your support and your wonderful suggestions!!!

Bloggers Day of Silence!!

Join us!!

Happy St. Patrick's Day One & All!

This darling little guy was made for me and my Dad by my 10 year-old great niece!!  Her Mom said Lauren figured this little guy out all by herself!!!  Is hethe cutest thing or what!!!

So, Happy St. Patrick's Day from Lauren and me!!

Hexies, Hexies, Everywhere!!! Are You Making A Quilt Using Hexies???

Well, it seems like I am seeing on a lot of blogs these days lots and lots of hexies!!!    Is this a new trend or have hexies been around forever??

Susan over at Blackberry Creek Home Arts says she has been "hexed" and that she has become addircted to the little hexagon!!!  Very cute.  Jane over at Want It, Need It, Quilt It is making hexie flowers for a Craft Forum Swap

Christine down in Australia at Time Out Stitching just received a darling hexie flower in a hexegon swap she belongs to.  I'd love to find out about that swap!!

And look at this darling use of hexies over at La Vida Compartida

Shelley at Ac-quilt-sition is making bookworm bookmarks from her hexies

But I think my very favorite hexies are these fussy cut hexies that I saw and now cannot remember whose blog I saw them on.  As soon as I find the blogger these darling hexies belong to, I will post the blog.  Are these your cute hexies?

I was told the other day that Grandmother's Flower Garden is the most highly made quilt of all quilts

Is anyone out there working on a quilt that uses these cute little hexies - whether it is Grandmother's Flower Garden or any other quilt or project??  I'd love to hear from you!!

New Siggies From Around the World!!

These are my newest Siggies that I have received over the past few weeks:

This Siggie comes from Pia Lindegaard who lives in Denmark.  Pia has been collecting Siggies since February, 2006.  Pia lives in the countryside with her hubby and her grey cat, Sune.  Her sons have moved away from home.  Pia is a retired Craft Teacher and loves all the time she has to quilt.

This darling Siggie came from Rossana Gandusio who lives in Italy!!  She has just started quilting last October and she already loves it!!  Rossana is married with three children and two cute cats.  They live in the north east of Italy, near the sea.

During the week she volunteers at the Italian Association for International Adoption as she loves kids.

I LOVE this Siggie!!  It is from Anne Kamper, who lives in Germany.  Anne is married with a 15 year-old son and a funny dog.  She has not been quilting very long but is now working on a New York Beauty quilt and a Tesselation quilt.

Anne works as a gardener in her hometown of Korschenbroich and lives on a former farm.  I'd love to see her gardens!!  She has chickens and geese and 2 goats - Schlikohr and Paula.  The goat on her Siggie looks just like Paula and can you see the little seed bead that is Paula's eye!!

This very cute Siggie is from Femija who also lives in Germany.    Femija has been exchanging Siggies since early in 2008 and wants to make a quilt as soon as she has enough.  Femija is just a kid - 36 years-old.  She is married with 2 kids and 2 dogs.  Femija also has a big garden with lots of chickens - how fun!! Femija loves to ride her horse through the Forest with her Golden Retriever by her side.   Femija works as a nurse in a psychiatric hospital part-time and works with the elderly the rest of the month.

Wow, this Siggie also comes from Germany and was made by Annette.  Annette lives in a small town, Bad Homberg, just outside of Frankfurt.  Annette is married with 2 daughters.  One of her daughters lives in Seattle so Annette has been to the United States several times and loves visiting and hiking in the National Parks here!!

Annette also enjoys dancing and gardening as well as quilting.  Annette just started collecting Siggies about 5 months ago.  Annette loves the night sky in Germany with all the stars in the evening and so she put this very sweet star on her Siggie.

This last Siggie is from Rozetta who Adel, Iowa, a small town just west of Des Moines.  She has been married for 48 years and lives on some acreage near Adel.  Rozetta has one son who lives in Kansa with his little family.  Rozetta is retired and so gets to work part-time at their local quilt shop - et she doesn't bring much of her paycheck home!!  LOL!!

She made a quilt way back in 1965 but only got serious about quilting about 16 years ago.

I love all these Siggies - thank you ladies and I hope you enjoy my Siggie as well!!

Open! Open! Open!!

I was right there at the doors waiting to go in an pick out my solids and mottled solids.  Here is what I found:

Hopefully these solids will mute the brightness of the colors I chose.  I think I am going to use the black more than the other colors.

The next step is to now create the "Strata".  The Strata are striped fabrics that will measure approximately 10" x 42".  So, if you look at the picture above, Ricky would call that a Strata.  I am going to need 5 different matching pairs of Strata - 10 Strata total.  This is how each and every Kool Kaleidoscope is completely different from every other one on the planet!!

I Chose My Fabrics for My Kool Kaleidoscope Quilt

I went through my stash this afternoon and had so much fun picking and choosing from all of my bright and fun fabrics!!  Here is what I chose:

You can click on the picture to get a larger view of the fabrics.

In the "Selecting Fabrics" section of the book, Ricky suggests that most of the fabrics be from a selection that I find captivating and enticing!!  He also suggests that solids and mottled solids should be included to help establish strong angles in the kaleidoscope design.  So, tomorrow I am forced to run to my favorite LQS and find a few solids or mottled solids to enhance the fun fabrics I have already chosen!!

Look What Came in the Mail Yesterday!! Hoo! Hoo!

And now I get to start on it!!  Interesting though, this quilt is nothing like I thought it would be!!!  But boy is it ever going to be super fun!!  I read the entire book last night.  Something I do not usually do but I am learning that with these intricate quilts, its a REALLY good idea!!

Ok, I am off to the stash to look for 15-20 fabrics!!  The neat thing about this quilt is that every Kool Kaleidoscope quilt on the planet with be COMPLETELY different, even if the same fabrics are used!!

Stay tuned for a progress report!! 

Sharing the Blog of an Amazing Woman

I have been following Debra's blog QuiltGypsy Mermaid for several weeks now and I have been so impressed with the work she is doing that I just had to share it with all of you.  Debra makes gorgeous one-of-a-kind full-size quilts for soldiers that have been wounded in one of the many wars that have been going on for years now.  She also makes quilts for the Moms of soldiers that have been killed in combat.

As you will read, Debra's son just came back from his second tour in Iraq and she still keeps sending care packages to the troops.

This is a woman who has won my heart with her love of her country and her commitment to our soildiers in battle.

Here are just a couple of her quilts:

 and she makes these incredible creations out of the goodness of her heart!!

Please jump over to her blog and see the love that is there!!  Bring a tissue as you read the thank you letters from the parents, soldiers and commanders.  And be sure to keep scrolling down past all the letters as the quilts are worth the scroll!!

Debra - thank you for your love and your patriotism!!

May Heavenly Father bless you and yours for all the love and hope you share!!

Progress? Not Quite what I was Thinking!!

Do you remember the sweater for my great-niece that was to be done by her birthday, March 1st?

Well, when I checked with my niece, Michelle we realized that Lauren had grown about 5 inches in the past year and a half so the sweater was way too short.  So, I had to take out the back down to the pink and then I thought I had to add more to the pink so I added a couple of inches and then it was too long.  So, I had to rip those two inches out.

And THEN, both my Dad and I got the stomach bug from Michelle's cute family and we have both been pretty punk since Thursday.  I am feeling much better as of last night and so now I can start the forward progress on this sweater.  Needless to say, it is going to be a belated birthday present!!

Oh, well, live and learn - one step forward two steps back sometimes!!  I am enjoying the process though!!

New Project!! Yeah right, Like I Need to Start a New Quilt!!

I was perusing Quilt Blogs.Com this afternoon and saw that the blogger (sorry I can't find her name) over at Quilt Fever was working on a "snag" on Round 3 of her Kaleidoscope Quilt by Ricky Tims.  Well, I was intrigued and followed down and saw that she had been over to see Patty at Pieced Goods a few few weeks ago and saw that she was going to make this quilt in monochromatic colors so she could enter it into a contest.


I fell in love with the pattern, the colors and the concept so I ordered the book!!  Hoo! Hoo!

Now I have to wait for it to be delivered.  I even paid the extra $1.50 in postage to get it sooner!!  Oh, my, I must be excited!!

I also saw a button on the sidebar at Pieced Goods called "I Took the Process Pledge" - which button is now on my sidebar.  The concept originated at rossie blog wherein she made a process pledge.  She says: 

"the goal of the process pledge is to create a new sensibility in quilting 

blogs where we don’t just show finishes or occasionally confess about our 

moments of indecision, but chat openly and often about our works in progress, 

our inspirations, and our moments of decision. I know that many of us are already 

posting about our thinking on quilts and the processes involved from start to finish, 

let's do more!  And let's post about quilts as we work on them.  I want to see more 

half-done quilts, not just the finished thing with a journal entry about the process."

Well, a few weeks ago I asked for comment son how I could improve my blog and several answered that it would be nice to see more of the process of my quilts as opposed to just the finished quilt and so I thought - wow!! - this pledge was perfect for me!!  So I made the pledge!!  Lets see if I can keep my word!!  :-))

Is Anyone Out There Working on Quilts For New Zealand??

Hi!  I am looking to see if there is anyone out there that is coordinating efforts to provide quilts and other needed items for the survivors of the earthquake in New Zealand!!  If you are or know of anyone that is, would you leave a comment to let me know the link where I need to go to and get some information??

Thanks!!!  Kris