Wordless Wednesday

4-J Trail Ride on the Big Piney River

Gone trail riding at the 4-J Trail Ride on the Big Piney River in Missouri. See you in a week!

Quilting at Jeannine's

The Busy Fingers hand quilting group gathers once a week at a member's home to work on whatever quilts they may have on their frames. This week we met at Jeannine's home, out in the country on a beautiful lake. Jeannine, a retired nurse, is a talented hand quilter, expert at hand appliquing, a wonderful cook, good friend... well you just can't say enough about quilting friends, can you?

Whenever I travel down Elizabeth-Scales Mound Round, I always try to catch a glimpse of a white steeple in the distance.That is Jeannine's church, that was moved to the new site about one year ago. On the way to her home this week, I paused to take a close-up shot of her beautiful church. Jeannine quilts at her church each Wednesday, between all the things she does for her family, friends and community.
When you arrive at Jeannine's log home, and are welcomed inside, you are greeted with a wall hanging our quilt guild did last year. It is House on Willow Hill.

It was one of those projects that you probably wouldn't attempt on your own, but when you are challenged to keep up month by month by your quilt guild friends, you happily join in. It was featured in McCall's Quilting Magazine as a 5 part series quilt, premiering in the April 2006 issue. HOWH is an intermediate level quilt featuring many varied techiques which makes it an interesting quilt to work on and a learning experience! It was chosen for the cover of the Catskill Mountain Region Arts and Culture Guide, June 2006, after winning first place at the Catskill Mountain Festival Quilt Show in 2005.

As you step in Jeannine's home, you are drawn to look up to the beautiful wood beams and the display of her Cat's Meow homes and buildings of Galena.This week, before we began quilting at Jeannine's frame, we admired the beautiful tops that our quilt guild had created for the Quilts of Valor Project that donates quilts for the wounded soldiers. Our little guild of less than 30 members recently gathered to create 8 quilt tops for the soldiers.
Then we took a quick walk outside to enjoy her beautiful gardens and a walk to the lake.

After a trip to see Apple Canyon Lake on this beautiful July day, it was back up the trail to Jeannine's home to begin our day of hand quilting.

Quilts of Valor

This is the most wonderful project. Quilters all over the country are gathering to create quilts for wounded soldiers. Each state seems to have a way to organize. Quilt guilds are creating blocks and then meet together to join the blocks into quilt tops, and Long arm quilters are volunteering their time to machine quilt the tops. The Friendship Quilt Guild created the blocks and then gathered on two different days to combine the blocks into 8 quilt tops for the soldiers. It was a joyous day that we will all remember.

Our Quilted Home

I began quilting during the bicentennial year of 1976. After I completed my first class - making a sampler quilt - at one of the few quilt shops in our area, I decided to take another class from the same teacher. She had us bring a photo of our home, and helped us scale it up and use it to cut templates for a wall hanging.

It was one more of those times in my life when I was really into something that was way over my talents, but became one of those things that made me proud and spurred me on to try other adventurous things in quilting.

The choice of fabrics was quite small in those days, but I did finish the applique and then began to hand quilt through all those many layers upon layers of fabric! It was one of those projects that you put away for months and years, yet are compelled to finish.

At one point in the process, my husband said, "It needs something to bring it to life. Put Heidi in the front yard."

That led me to find a dingy old terry cloth towel to cut into the shape of a West Highland Terrier. Not being an artist, I can recall searching through books at our local library to find a dog shape that would work.

I'm not sure why I decided to frame it, but I don't think I realized there was such a thing as wall hangings in those days. It was my first experience at finding out how expensive it is to have something custom framed, but I am so happy that I did.

We lived in that home over 25 years, and I am reminded of many fond memories each time I look at that landscape applique today.

Round Robin

Our quilt guild is doing a Round Robin. Members who are interested in participating provide the center block, a collection of fabrics they would like to be used, and place it in a brown paper bag. The bags are exchanged with participating members every other month, and they must comply with the assignment. That gives you two months to figure out what you want to do to add on to the Round Robin.


The first months assignment was to add some kind of border using triangles. The second month, which you see here, was to add applique.

The third month involved rectangles or squares, and the final month is a border of our choosing.

I can't wait until September when our Round Robin projects are returned and we get to see what others have done to them! The center block that I turned in was a cross-stitched block of Lincoln's home in Springfield, Illinois. I found it at the garage sale room at our quilt guild's show a few years ago, and didn't quite know what to do with it --- until the Round Robin opportunity came up.

Notebook Covers

Here are two different sizes of quilted notebook covers that I made myself, and some that are ready to make for gifts. The pattern came from an issue of Fons & Porter's magazine, Love of Quilting. I'll try to find the exact issue and note it here for you.

I had some pre-quilted fabric on hand that I used, or you can take two pieces of fabric that you like, make a "quilt sandwich" with batting and quilt your own on the machine before you cut out the pieces.

Here's a link for some more notebook ideas: http://missmelissak.blogspot.com/2008/08/organizing-chaos-of-lists.html