KathyQuilter

Cathy's Quilts

2011-08-21T09:56:00.000-07:00

A friend of my mom's in Phoenix asked me to make some quilts for her and her kids from her husbands shirts. He had passed away a couple of years ago and she decided she didn't want to get rid of his shirts and a quilt was a good way to preserve his shirts in memory. She said he had mostly plaid shirts and there were several blue solid shirts. I designed several quilts for her to chose from and this was her choice. She wanted a Cal King, pillow shams and 5 throws. Her husband was a big guy so I had plenty of fabric.

Cutting up the shirts was pretty time consuming but when everything was cut up, there was lots of fabric! This is only a small section of the cut up shirts.

Here are the pieces for all of the quilts.... labeled and ready to sew together.

Here is a block... multiply that times 230. That sounds like alot, but it really went pretty fast.

Here is the layout for the Cal King quilt. Everything in the quilt is made from shirts except the white fabric.

Here is the quilt top on our spare bed which is a queen so the quilt hung almost to the floor.

This is one of the throws all finished. I guess I didn't get a good picture of the Cal King quilt finished. As you can see the blue in this quilt is darker than the other quilts. There were several colors of blue shirts to use for the alternate blocks.

Needless to say, she loved her quilts and her kids were so happy with the quilts and the memories of their dad.

Triple Irish Chain

2010-05-05T13:09:00.000-07:00

A couple years ago I started this little quilt using a packet of batiks I got from a Road to California trip. I made the top (minus borders) and decided I didn't like the background fabric so I just put it 'out of sight, out of mind'. I ran across it the other day and decided to just go ahead and finish it. So I added the border and quilted it. Now I like it, but I still think I'll give it to one of the Community Service projects my guild is doing. I did a loopy free motion quilt pattern on it so I had fun doing it as a practice piece. That's something I need desperately... practice on my Handiquilter.

Finally finished

2010-05-05T13:02:00.000-07:00

I finally finished my flower quilts for the office. It was a trial and even though I love them now, it took me a long time to LIKE them while I was working on them. I don't use fusible web very often but I thought it might be a good choice for these so I could topstitch the pieces down. Well, my sewing machine doesn't like fusible any better than I do and it let me know all about it... with skipped stitches and knots on the back of the quilt. Ugh... frustration! But... I finally tried a topstitch needle and silicone on the thread and it did well enough that I could finish the project. They are hanging in the office now and everyone loves them. I've even had several people ask if they could buy them... People just don't realize how much work goes into a project like that so I don't think I could even sell them for the time and effort it took to make them. Anyway, I'll keep them... they look good.

Little Wrong Stars

2010-03-28T12:56:00.000-07:00

Last weekend I went to a sew day for my In Stitches group. On Saturday it was National Quilting Day so everyone was there! I think we had all 14 of our members sewing, chatting, laughing and eating! What fun! One of the ladies taught a class on a fast method for making a 5 pointed star block. We all brought fabric to make these stars but I don't think any of us really understood the whole process. Anyway, there were very few successful blocks. I made two sets of blocks.. one right and one wrong. They're still cute, just WRONG. So, today I put them all together to make a small quilt for some little girl that I don't know. It came out very cute.. See if you can find the WRONG blocks....

Hint: Here are the RIGHT blocks.

Kiwanis Auction Quilt

2010-03-03T13:11:00.000-08:00

I was asked again this year to make a quilt for the Kiwanis Auction. The other day I was digging through a box of UFOs and came across some blocks that my mini group made several years ago and decided to put them together, more to just get something finished than for any other reason. So, I decided to give that quilt for the Kiwanis Auction. I finished the quilt on Monday and washed it to ravel out the raw edges in the circles and it will be off to the Kiwanis folks tomorrow.

This year they will be taking bids online from March 29th to April 2nd and April 5th to April 9th between 7:00pm and 10:00pm. The website is: www.prescottkiwanisauction.net.

Crocheted Socks

2010-03-03T12:57:00.000-08:00

I was inspired to crochet myself some socks after I found some sock yarn that had elastic woven into it. I liked the idea of having socks that would fit snugly but still be able to go off and on easily. So.. I found a pattern and started. It only took a couple of evenings to make the first sock ... ok.. that's not true. It took several attempts at making the first sock and got ripped out about 3 times before finally making a sock that fit right... THEN it only took a few evenings to make the first sock. Then.. it took several weeks to get inspired to make the second sock. I really like how they came out and they were fun to make, but I don't think I'll make any more soon. I want to move on to other things... I found a really cute pattern for a felted handbag. I'll make socks again someday.. now that I know I can do it! Here's a picture:

How cute are those!

Winter Mini Quilt Exchange

2010-02-17T15:55:00.000-08:00

I signed up for another mini quilt exchange through Quilting Gallery. This one is a winter quilt exchange. I just finished it today even though it's way ahead of schedule. Sometimes I actually do finish things early! Anyway, I'm really liking it and thinking that I might need to make one for myself, too. It is for a lady in Australia and I hope she likes it. I will send it off as soon as I make a label for it.

Flower Garden Quilts

2010-02-10T17:16:00.000-08:00

I have been working on some quilts to hang at my office. I wanted them to look like pictures and to be framed rather than bound. So... the first one I made from a pattern by BeeCreativeStudio.com. I've had the pattern for years and I don't think it is available at their website anymore.
The second one I designed and just finished the top today. The pieces are fused and I will quilt them free motion with some nice thread. I'm pretty happy so far, although it took awhile to get the second one how I liked it.

Landon and Tracy's Quilt

2010-01-28T21:51:00.000-08:00

This is my son, Landon, and his new wife, Tracy's wedding gift. They have a wonderful place to hang it over the stairway in their new home.

Christmas Gifts

2010-01-06T22:43:00.000-08:00

I was so busy before Christmas making quilts for gifts! I made 3 snuggly quilts for the girls that work in my office. They LOVED them.. but I never even got a picture of them... I also made a quilt for my daughter (but it isn't quilted yet). I had made one for my son last year just like it and my daughter fell in love with it so I made another for her. It is a One Block Wonder quilt and it's a Cali King! Needless to say it took awhile, but it really is quite awesome. Here is a picture of it:

I also had big aspirations of crocheting felted slippers for the grandkids and anyone else I thought might like them. These are the only ones that I actually finished, and they fit little Savannah so well she wanted to wear them all the time... so I did end up washing them Christmas day after a trek outside in the mud.

I did make one more slipper, though. I was going to make a pair for my son, Landon and one for his wife, Tracy. They live in Washington and it has been VERY cold there so far this winter. I bought some gray and red yarn and was going to make one pair gray with red trim and the other red with gray trim. I got one gray slipper done and couldn't wait to see what it would look like felted so I went ahead and put it into the washer. It came out really nice and fit Tracy perfectly. I went ahead and crocheted the other one but didn't have time to wash it right away. Tracy wanted it to be finished, too, so she threw it in the washer to try and felt it. Well, we learned a good lesson in felting. Don't wash the slippers seperately if you expect them to come out the same size. So... I'm in the process of making another pair of slippers for Tracy. I'm not sure what I'll do with the other pair. Hmm... I wonder if I could find someone with one foot ALOT smaller than the other one.

Baby Booties

2009-12-17T23:19:00.000-08:00

I have been busily sewing Christmas presents but I can't put any pictures up yet because I want these presents to be a surprise! So... pictures will come after Christmas. But, one of the girls that works for me, Heather, just had her baby today. She was born at home and I was invited to attend the birth. What a precious, exciting time.

I found a pattern for these adorable booties and had to try my hand at felting, never having done it before. I crocheted them with wool yarn and then just put them into a little cloth bag and threw them into the washing machine with hot water and a little soap (and a pair of jeans to help with the agitation) and voila! Aren't they adorable? I hope they fit!

Fall Mini Quilt Exchange

2009-11-22T11:48:00.000-08:00

I finished my fall mini quilt exchange quilt. It turned out very cute. I'm sending it off tomorrow to my swap partner. I hope she likes it!

I started this quilt at Bear Cabin thinking I would just make a one block quilt. But after finishing the first block, I loved it so much that I made 3 more blocks.

I toyed with the idea of making them into one big quilt and then make one more for my mini quilt partner. But, when I got home, I realized that I needed to make a couple other small quilts for other friends and ended up making 4 small quilts and quilted each one different. I love ALL of them!

Bear Cabin 2009

2009-11-14T12:14:00.001-08:00

Well, Bear Cabin was so much fun, again. Carol is the best host and makes everyone feel welcome and cared for. We did alot of sewing, alot of laughing and alot of eating! Julie and I got there Thursday afternoon. We both have to work half day so we weren't able to leave as early as everyone else. After saying hello to everyone, we set up and started sewing. Here are a few pictures of the activities around the room.

It's a wonderful place for sewing. The light is wonderful and the atmosphere is friendly and warm. The weather was beautiful.. just a little chilly but sunny and perfect. We took Maggie for a couple of walks out in the forest to stretch after sitting for too long and Carol fed us 3 wonderful meals a day (Carol is a great cook!). Who could ask for more?!?Maggie, Bear Cabin mascot

I will put pictures up soon of my projects at Bear Cabin this year!

Finished Double Wedding Ring

2009-11-02T16:12:00.000-08:00

Tada! A finished quilt... It's hard to see in this picture, but I quilted it with random 6" circles. It's not one of my all time favorite quilts, but I like it... Now, on to something different!

This Thursday I'm off to a quilt retreat! It's one of the things I look forward to all year. It's a beautiful house with a room built on just for quilting and overlooks a pine-filled valley. The owner prepares wonderful food and pretty much waits on everyone hand and foot. Three and a half days of nothing but sewing, laughing and good friends. Can't wait!

Double Wedding Ring WIP

2009-11-01T19:52:00.000-08:00

I'm in the process of making a double wedding ring quilt. I've never made one before but I've had the Shar Jorgenson templates for years. I finally dug them out and decided to just do it. But I didn't want to use traditional colors. I sat down with the Electric Quilt program and started picking colors. I decided I wanted it to be orange and torquoise, but it needed another color.. so I picked... PURPLE! So.. I designed this quilt.

Ok... I like that. So, I cut out the pieces and started sewing them together. This is what I came up with.

Ugh... nasty. The mellons are too small to put orange there and I didn't want to have to remake all the mellons in a different color.... So, I thought... what if I make the whole background orange. So, I cut again.. and came up with this.

Ok.. maybe a little better so I sewed it together... after I took out the lighter orange blocks and mixed them all up a little better and took off the last row so it's only 5 rings high. Now what to do with the border? I knew I didn't want to do binding around curves so I machine appliqued the whole quilt onto a border. My EQ design looked like this. Not terrible... So, I sewed it together. It's on the quilting machine now and almost done. I'll post a picture of it soon! (I wish I'd done a torquoise border instead of black.. it looks a little Halloweenish)

My Quilts

2009-10-31T13:36:00.000-07:00

My Flickr page has 117 of my quilts. You can see them here. They are quilts I've made over the last 10 years or so. Looking back at all the pictures of the quilts I've made, I realize that I have made very few quilts for 'no reason'. Each one has a story and a reason it was created... be it a gift, for a gallery, a project challenge or a personal challenge. So I actually own very few of my own quilts. Oh, don't worry. I still have PLENTY of quilts in my house! What quilter doesn't?!?

Another giveaway!

2009-10-28T23:36:00.001-07:00

I have one more thing for today. Another blog giveaway... I'm gonna win one yet! This one is for a nice set of fat quarters of pumpkiny fabrics. It's the Pumpkin Patch Primative Quilt Shoppe. Sign up and good luck!

Mini Quilt Exchanges

2009-10-28T13:33:00.000-07:00

Another blog site that I've been following is called Quilting Gallery. The lady that runs this blog organizes quilt exchanges. So if you sign up for the exchange, she pairs you with another quilter somewhere in the world and you make a small quilt for her and another quilter that signed up makes a quilt for you. I've been doing this for a couple of exchanges and have been very pleased with the quilts I've received and my partners have liked the quilts I've made. The first exchange was a Springtime Quilt Exchange. This quilt went to a lady in Netherlands named Corry.

I received a quilt from a lady in Bangkok, Thailand. Here is the cute quilt I got from her:

The next exchange was called Good Ol' Summertime. I sent this quilt to a lady in Canada named Michelle.

I received this little quilt from a lady in Wisconsin. How cute is that!

Now I've joined another exchange called Fall Inspired Quilt Swap. I already have a design in mind but it doesn't have to be done until the middle of January, so I have time to perfect it... :-) How fun!

Quilting Bloggers

2009-10-28T13:22:00.000-07:00

I've been following several quilting bloggers for awhile now and enjoying the posts to see what other quilters are doing and how creative and talented quilters can be! Today, while snooping at blogs, I found a really beautiful quilt technique that I'm going to try as soon as I get a chance (which means after I finish the umpteen other projects I have going on at this moment). The lady that creates these wonderful quilts is Geta and she lives in Romania. Here is a picture of one of her quilts.

Gorgeous! You can see her blog here. Once a month, this generous lady offers a giveaway of one of her quilts! You can sign up for her giveaway here. You can go ahead and sign up, but I hope I'M the winner!

Greetings!

2009-10-28T12:26:00.000-07:00

I have been quilting for about 20 years. Wow.. that sounds like a long time when I see it in writing. When I started quilting it was difficult to find nice fabrics like we have now in quilt stores, so my first quilts were sad.. to say the least. My first quilt was a sampler (of course) and it was pink and blue (of course). It has never been quilted (because it was ugly and the pieces were cut with scissors so not very precise and the fabric was polyester!) So, even though it was a quilt not to be terribly proud of, it did inspire me to want to make more. Now, these 20 years later, I am still inspired to want to make more different, beautiful and creative quilts. I hope to share my love of quilting and my quilting processes in this blog. Enjoy!