Meeting Bonnie on Monday

Yesterday I got to meet Bonnie Hunter! Oh my good gravy that was exciting! I have been a huge fan for years. I remember when my friend/Long Arm Quilter told me about her website quiltville.com Oh my goodness the flood gates of possiblities was open! I was an instant fan. I read about all of her travels & presentations to quilt guilds all over the globe & was inspired. 

Back to yesterday. A friend of a friend was the one who was originally going but because of work conflicts she would be unable to. Huge bummer for her but what an awesome opportunity for me! I found out about a week in advance that I would be able to go. It was going to be an all day workshop on her pattern " Smith Mountain Morning". I had wanted to make this quilt for a while but  I just hadn't quite gotten there yet. Now it was crunch time & I needed to make some choices on what fabrics I was going to use. I didnt feel the scrappy vibe on this one. I figured that since I was in the midst of a huge Civil War scrappy quilt that I could dig into the batik yardage for the SMM quilt. Black was going to be my background (shocker right?) & the other two colors were going to be a purple batik ( Kinda went crazy & bought a huge amount of this when a quilt store was going out of business) & a pretty multicolored batik. Here are my blocks from yesterday

My goal was to get enough blocks done so that I could get a glimpse of what the quilt would look like.

Once I saw these blocks done my excitment level rose. My table mate Maggie & I were on a round table so when I got blocks done I put them on the empty table behind me

This is what I was able to get accomplished in yesterdays class. I LOVE IT!!  Now the problem is what project do I work on now? I'm not generally in this spot, two projects going at once. Most likely I'll finish the Civil War quilt & then reward myself with this beauty! Plus I need to sketch it out because you know me it needs to be BIG, & so I know how many more blocks I'll need to make.

I was able to get my picture with Bonnie,

To say that I was/am happy is an understatement. It was an incredible experience & I'm so glad that my friend got me in touch with her friend so that I could go. Thank you to the Stitch by Stitch guild in Marshall MO. All of the the ladies were so very friendly & welcoming. It was a wonderful day & not one that I will forget any time soon.

Check out what other quilters are up to at patchworktimes.com

Have a great evening.

More later on,

Vicky

Enough done to get a glimpse

I'm the type of quilter that likes to get all of one step done of a block/quilt before I move on to the next.

That way I know that I've got all of my pieces done & that I don't loose any. Well my curiosity has gotten the best of me, because I have the patience of a knat, & so I had to make some blocks. 

Oh my goodness I LOVE IT!!! It's going to be beautiful & definetly unique. I've not made anything like this before. I'm not sure yet what I'll do on the borders but it'll come to me. I've got a little bit before I have to make those choices.

This is a current pattern from American Patchwork & Quilting magazine. I loved the pattern all except that they chopped off half of the blocks. I understand that is how the antique quilt was made but I'm not going to do that! I've worked hard for these & it would kill me to cut them in half.

So my solution is this

Please excuse my chicken scratches but sometimes you just need to jot it down. That way I would know that I had enough blocks/pieces made & my lay out will work. 

It's ok to modify a pattern to make it the way you want your quilt. It would not be ok for me to claim this as my own, which I'm not. The designers who create new patterns or who've designed patterns from antique/vintage quilts have done the hard work for you. They have figured the math to make sure that everything works. It's then up to you the quiltmaker to make your quilt uniquely yours.

(Though you still need to give credit to the original designer).

 It's also important to know that there is more than one way to skin a cat ( gotta give credit to my FIL, that was his line). There is more than one way to make all of the units that we as quilters use. Find the best that works for you with the sizes that you use. On the same hand don't be afraid to try a new technique. You might find something new that you like.

Ok time to get off the soap box. I guess I just want to encourage you to make your quilts  UNIQUELY YOURS!

I hope that y'all are having a good evening. It was a gorgeous day & I enjoyed it.

More later on,

Vicky

Monday was just to busy

Yesterday was full. I was able to get some sewing done! Yeah! That was the first time since Friday that I was able to sew. I almost got all of the third layer on the current quilt done.

I ran out of my muslin triangles, there are just a few more & then this layer will be done. This has been a skill building quilt for me. Learning how to work with 60 degree angles is not something that I've worked with often. They're not bad though, just different. I'll post more pics once I get the last layer on. I'm getting anxious to see what these blocks will look like.

Farm News!

This year has been a hard one for the cows & their feet. Foot rot ( a cows version of athletes foot) has been more of an issue than usual. With all of the rain that we've had it's made foot rot a common term this summer. With a simple shot & some time down at the barn with some TLC they bounce back & are just fine. 

The problem is that you've got to get them down here from the pasture & that can be easier said than done. Before the kiddo & I headed off to get them the pens down at the barn had to arranged so that we could get the cows were we needed them so that we could sort the one off that had the sore foot.

We were off! The kiddo & I found the herd in the pasture &  I would walk with the bucket & he would come behind the herd to make sure that we got everyone down.

Usually it's my husbands job to walk with the bucket. I think that you've got to have nerves of steel. All of our cows know what a bucket means, grain! So off we go. As I'm walking I'm hearing hooves & cows getting much closer & soon they part around me & take off for the lane down to the house. They know they're getting some feed. Well  while I'm walking blissfully towards the house kiddo is having issues & half the herd breaks & runs the opposite way. To make a long story short I get the first part of the herd going down the lane, kiddo takes them the rest of the way & I"m head back for the last bunch. The hoodlum calves (calves that are about 6 months old, (they have the same mindset as 14-15 year old human males) were in this bunch. Thankfully we got them down & I noticed that my heels were starting to hurt. Hmmm.

The cow with the sore foot (aka: Trouble Maker) was in the first pen along with a few of the hoodlum calves & a brand new baby. We needed to sort the calves off & put her in another pen so we could play ring around the rosie with cows & pens & get everyone where they needed to be. Trouble maker just wasn't having any part of it. I was maning the sorting gate & here she comes, she wants out! I'm closing the gate & she's trying to get her head through & my left knee comes in contact with her head & she backs off, thankfully. I think, man that's going to be sore & tell kiddo that we're going to have to go about this in a different way. Well we manage to get her in the right pen & now we have to figue out who this new baby belongs to. Usually the momma will come right to it when it balls (moo's). No one was stepping up to the job. Husband gets home from work about now, thank the Lord & we (He thinks that the new baby belongs to Trouble Maker. Easy fix put baby with momm, give momma some feed & baby goes to get some milk. Everyone is happy.

On to the next cow. In her younger years she was a handful when she didn't have a baby & when she did you needed to giver her a wide berth. She was in the foot recovery ward & had her baby. I could tell that she did't feel that good because she allowed me to pick up her baby & carry it to another pen. We stayed & watched her & her baby to see if it would eat & it wasn't having much luck. So husband gets the pen ready & well she doesn't like him but he did get her in. Come to find out she didn't have much milk to give to her calf. So we made a bottle & this is what we were doing last night. We all took our turn feeding the cutie!

Me & Blanco (good friend Liz just named him). He's a sweetie!

Husband taking his turn

& kiddo taking his.

Finally getting home after 10pm & taking my boots off, my feet hurt. Yuppers big 50 cent piece size blisters on each heal. Time to get new boots. So between sore feet & a sore knee there will be no yoga this am. I'll have to go & check on Blanco & the others in the sore foot pen here soon & I'll be wearing flip flops!

On one last thing before I go. A few days ago I got a fun text from a quilty friend of mine. She had a friend who was going to Bonnie Hunters  workshop in Marshall MO but would be unable to go & would I like to take her spot? Ummm, YES! I so excited! More on that to come.

I do hope that y'all are doing well. Thanks for being patient while I was being long winded with the story of my night last night. Have a great day! Check out what other quilters are up to at patchworktimes.com

Vicky

Finding something that was lost uncovered things I'd forgotten I had

I was on the hunt this week for a set of keys that I had missplaced. I was wishing that it had been something bigger that way it would have been easier to find. I was tearing apart my sewing room, moving stacks & totes of fabric to no avail I could not find those keys. What I did find was that I now had a messy sewing room & as I turned around my rumpus hit a stack of quilts that went tumbling to the floor. That was the last straw. I was fed up with my stacks of fabric & quilts, it was time to do something about it. In coming to that realization I accepted the fact that I was running out of room & I wasn't entirely sure on how to deal with it.

First things first my sewing room is very small, 10'x10'. I have a large cutting table against one wall & on the other is sturdy shelves. There is fabric under the cutting table, in front of the closet door & the shelves. I have also started a stash of leftover batting. Whenever I get a quilt back from my longarmer I just put those pieces under the table. Well I think I need to bite the bullet & take the time to sew them together. That way it would use them up & same me some money.

Second: I have thought of selling some of my quilts. The problem that I have is that I have not been able to find anyone who is willing to pay for what they are worth. The majority of the time people (non quilters) want  a handmade quilt for a Wal-Mart price. That is just not possible. I have listed some quilts on a Facebook page but was told (by fellow quilters) that I was asking to little & that I was not asking an appropriate price. I agreed but also knew that I was not going to sell them at the price that I was asking & I didn't. 

Third: Books & Patterns. I think that I have enough different patterns, books & magazines to last me my entire lifetime. I like making other designers patterns as well as my own. What do I do with them? I had the crazy idea to get a hand scanner & scan all of the patterns & put them on a thumb drive. It would definetly save on space. I've not completly thrown that idea out the window but I am technology challenged & I'm just not sure yet.

I'm not sure what the answer will be on how to solve this issue. In the whole scheme of things this really isn't that big of an issue. I do know that I am going to be working on it & I will share whatever ideas that pop into my head. I will also let you know which ones work & which ones don't. I hope this hasn't been to much of a downer. I'm fired up & will find a solution.

I hope that y'all are having a great day. It's beautiful here.

More later on,

Vicky 

p.s. I did find the keys, they were in my car. Good place for them right? I'm just happy I found them.