One of the best Happy/Sad movies you'll ever watch

Dear Zachary is one of the best happy/sad movies you'll ever watch.

It's a documentary that is fabulous.

THE YANKS ARE COMING TO THE WORLD CUP 2010

PUT ON FULL SCREEN AND HIGH VOLUNE TO WATCH.

This will get you excited about soccer/football for the USA. It's time!!

So is everyone getting ready to cook?

Me, yes. I've already made my family's favorite at the holiday season, Turtles. It is just like the candy-you know chocolate, caramel and nuts. You ladies from my quilt group can find it in our cookbook made by Sheelah and Abby.

Then the rest of the menu includes herbed turkey and dressing; mashed potatoes and gravy; sweet potatoes; rolls; vegetable casserole; corn salad; coca cola cake-curtesy of Mary, also in our group's cookbook.

It's way too much food for 4 people, but, I guess we have to live off leftovers for a few days, so it's okay.

We will, however, feel pregnant for, hmmmm, maybe the next 3 days. Yep, way too much food...smile.

So is a quilt a quilt if it's not on the bed?o

I think art quilt artists and traditional quilters can argue this until the cows come home. To me it's a quilt if it has the 3 layers, whatever those layers may be.

I once took a class from a woman that kept her quilts in a locked safe. The teacher was Judy Cloninger and her quilt Shiraz was picked as one of the top 100 quilts ever made. I guess I couldn't blame her. The intricacy of the design and meticulous way it was put together would possibly make me want to let no one get their grubby paws on it-cause you know there are some quilters that can not restrain themselves.

This is my cat quilt that won a blue ribbon in the Kentucky State Fair and was accepted in Paducah. I like to rotate my quilts so they don't get permanent creases in them from being folded.

Part IX-2 newer quilts that are cut out and need sewingget

Did you see this fabric? It's the Wizard of Oz, of course, and I couldn't resist. I had big plans for a baby quilt, but, you know, life gets in the way and I'll get around to it. I am so blessed!

This is another project that I've cut out. My mom already did this one too. I don't have a picture of it, but, when I do I'll let you know...smile.

Part VIII-UFO's that are pretty darn close to finishing

The story of my UFO's continues. Hmmm, now should I count them, I don't know. My theory is, they never go bad on the shelf and I'll get around to completing them. Some are closer to being finished than others. I've got 3 quilt tops ready to be quilted, so I don't count those, except for the fan quilt from my father, which, in the time I've been writing these posts, I have completed! Yeah me!

So, here is a kingsize pink and brown quilt. I've made postings about it on the blog, you can click on the label for it to see the process. Whenever I need to use up a color of fabric, I'll add a white on white to make a scrap quilt out of the colors I've chosen.

This is the Flight of Swallows quilt that I've posted as well on the blog. I just need to applique the birds and baskets on the borders, then quilt it.

Part VII-Holiday themed UFO's

I'm almost there, to the end of my UFO listing. This list, in it's various parts, does include some really oldies but goodies, in different stages of completion. But, what makes it really, really long, is the fact that I've included projects before I started them. In other words, I've already pulled the fabrics and boxed them up.

In this post, there are none of those. I've included 2 quilt UFO's, first is the Old Glory Quilt pattern. I felt like my kingsize bed needed a patriotic quilt, so some time ago, while in Kentucky, I started this quilt.

Our YMCA has a quilt group that I joined for a short while and this is one of the two quilts for the bed for Christmas, that I've yet to complete. One of the problems I'm going to have, is I pulled fabric from the Holiday Heritage quilt to finish the other quilt. Ah well, there's always another quilt shop to visit to finish any of my projects.

Yes, I think it's time for me to attend multiple retreats-3 days at least, where I can bring my machine and focus, focus, focus. I think I'll try to do just that this spring.

Part VI-UFO with my Grandmother

My grandmother and I made many quilts together. Mainly, towards the later golden years for her. She didn't like cutting, and being from the greatest generation, she only liking making scrap quilts. So I would cut 4 inch squares for her. In her senior living apartment, she would sewing the 4 inch scraps into full size bed quilts faster than I could quilt them. Needless to say, everyone of the great grandchildren got a quilt with the super bright squares. There were so many quilts that I was able to make 2 extras for my daughter's girlfriends when they graduated from college.

This is a fussy cut shoo fly quilt block pattern. It needs to be made larger, maybe into a lap quilt. I've, once again, used the green, I guess I'm famous for using in my quilt group. It might seem bright now, but in a hundred years it will mellow into something amazing-I wish I could be here to see it!

Part IV-Baby Quilts

Baby quilts are a really good place to start to develop your skill. If you are new quilter, I'd highly recommend doing a sampler quilt, taught at a quilt shop. This will give you some ground on which to begin playing with design. I'm not selling anything, if you click on the sample quilt above, you'll see just a sample of a simple quilt you might choose to do.

This box contains panels for baby quilts. The creativity, as far as a quilter goes, is in the border. After your sampler quilt, you make a baby quilt and play with the borders. I bought this for my niece. When I finish it, I'll show you the panel, it's flannel.

Part III-Life in Kentucky an unfinished horse quilt

I guess no respectable Kentuckian that is a quilter, should live in Kentucky unless they've made a horse quilt. Especially here in/near Louisville, it's certainly a must. Here is my Kentucky Spirit quilt kit, from one of my favorite quilt shops in town, Forget Me Knot Quilt Shoppe. It was a block of the month and I still had too much going on to finish a BLOCK A MONTH! Ah well, life gets in the way of our quilting sometimes. Sorry for the blur on the pattern picture, I'm afraid I'm a little lazy today to get the camera out and take another shot. Maybe I'll edit this WHEN I FINISH THE QUILT...smile.

Part II-Life in Kentucky, Round Robins- UFO list at long last my longest post, over time...smile

BEGINNING 2 QUILT GROUPS WHEN I MOVED HERE:

So we moved to Crestwood, Kentucky in 1996. After floundering around looking for a new quilt group, the time looked ready to start another one. So, meeting at the County Home Extension office in Oldham County, myself and a handful of other ladies began a new quilt group, Log Cabin Quilters. This is now a very large quilt group, but, at the time, I felt like I needed to start another one at our church, Northeast Christian Church. So, in June of 2000, I went to our, then Women's Ministry Leader, Laura and said Laura, we need a quilt group and she said okay Julie you're it! This was the beginning of Northeast Quilting Friends quilt group. So, long story short, we now have 20 members on our roster, but, weekly anywhere from 10 to 15 come regularly. If all 20 came every week, it would be impossible to meet where we do.

Anyway, in the beginning we did some round robins and these are the results of those round robins. The first one dates back to 2004. The members that wanted to participate, started out with a block for the beginning of the passed around inspiration. I've always liked to embroider and this was my homage to Aunt Martha, you know the inexpensive iron on transfers that have been around for 70 years or more.

This is a Sunday design. I enlarged it and made it an applique pattern. I've included the original iron on to embroider when I put it together. I'm so glad to have this blog. I'm famous for hiding things from myself, and I haven't been able to locate this box that contains these blocks for quite some time and now I have pictures and proof of where it is!! Yes, it's in this closet, on this shelf...somewhere...smile.

After that UFO, on my shelf, we have the Lemons to Lemonade Round Robin, in which, you guessed it, ugly fabric exchange for RR inspiration. I had some hideous bird feed material and the ladies came up with these lovely blocks.

My last RR UFO is an embroidered heart block exchange. I can't wait to finish this one as it has some very uplifing messages from my quilt group.

It's fall here in the valleys of Kentucky...smile

Nope, not really any valleys here in Kentucky, maybe a few little ones or one great big one, as the area we live in is known as the Ohio Valley. The grey days of the Ohio Valley are upon us. Here is a little fellow that seems to be tired or maybe a little down. The view from our backyard really is quite lovely, but, it's a real pain to mow. I think it's worth it.

I'm working on the Quiet Village quilt today. I've got to get the border done, as we are going to be shown how to make the last border for the quilt. Betty and Mary ROCK! In our little quilt group that meets at the church, we have some very gifted quilters that generously share their knowledge.

Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta and visiting Chelsea

Our youngest, Chelsea, is completing her masters degree in geology at the University of New Mexico. This year we visited her while the Balloon Fiesta is going on. It's a week long celebration featuring hot air balloons. We got up VERY early, 5:30am,you have to be there very early for the Dawn Patrol. If you go, you must get there to see the Dawn Patrol. It's so cool to see hot air balloons flying in the dark. It's very dangerous to fly in the dark, but, I was told the 550 plus balloons need to be able to know the direction of flights, etc for safety reasons. The people in charge of the safety and tell the balloonists when it is safe to ascend are called zebras. Then, once the sun begins to rise the other balloons begin to unfold and inflate anticipating the Mass Ascension.

You old time hipsters out there will recognize this balloon. They even had a quilted balloon. This is the raffle quilt made by the local quilt guild, all proceeds going to different charities.

I think there is probably nothing more exciting for fabric enthusiasts, than to walk out amongst a sew of brightly colored fabric rising around you like being in the middle of a bright colored bubble bath.

First I'll update my progress on the OBWE

This quilt block is addictive. If you want to find your excitement for quilting again, you need to go back to what got you interested in quilting in the first place. For me it was a love the unusual in the fabric/design world. This quilt block is such a project. You are working with triangles and the design elements are pretty much set, but, the fun comes, for me, in the layout and addition of the tumbling blocks.

For the quilting design, I used the spider web. It's a natural. A lot of you machine quilters out there, know that the quilt will tell you how it needs to be quilted. Lay it out and look at it and you will begin to see the quilting it needs-cause you know, it's not a quilt until it's quilted. The quilt told me it needed spider webs. The "spokes" are a natural with the seams in the ditch and you add two webs to connect. The quilting around the tumbling blocks outlines the colors only-no spider web quilting.

This is an easy free motion quilting design. This is me with the camera on my machine, my goodness it must have been early in the morning. Ah well, any time is a good time to finish a quilt.