Happy Lincoln's Birthday Everyone!

Can you imagine how difficult it must have been for him?  The civil war?  Separation of states?

We will be having a log cabin block design as our Christmas July quilt Show and Tell.  At our Christmas party in December we have a block or fabric exchange, then we let the members do something with it and exchange it in July.

Denim shirt redo

I've removed and shortened sleeves added an interesting interfacing and cut the lower edge, maybe a little too short.  But, in the fabric world, there is almost nothing you can't fix.  So I'll have to get back to you after I've finished the whip stitching around my batik interfacing.  I'll cut the button holes and add some fray check around the button holes on the batik side.  Batik fabric is tightly woven and is suited for that kind of treatment.

Alterations are a fun thing to do.  Probably if you want to make money sewing, alterations might be a good way to do that.  Everyone falls in love with a dress or whatever and they want it to fit perfectly.

This shirt is very forgiving.  Denim is pretty forgiving and can be eased in easily.  I just love that phrase, "easing in".  It's a metaphor for life, I suppose...smile.

Altering a shirt you get to use the sleeve table on your machine.

I also made a little progress on the owl quilt.

Altering a Denim Shirt for Our Northeast Quilting Friends Quilt Guild

My quilt life seems to always have revolved around friends.  I have been sewing since I was 8 years old and embroidering before that.  Having moved to Houston, Texas, in1985, I met a young mom, like me named Meagan.  Like the proverbial horse led to the trough, she brought me to her house for our kids to play and to see her quilts.  She was from Wisconsin, originally and maybe it's the cold days and craving warmth that makes a lot of prolific quilters there, but, she was a quilter at a young age.  She told me stories of being under the quilt to be quilted tightly stretched across a frame and many women sitting around it.  The little kids were underneath, and when the needle came through, they pulled it down and pushed it back up through the layers for an awaiting family member to pull up and push back down.  I wonder what the stitches looked like.

Anyway, the point is, most times it really does take someone to "introduce" someone to quilting.  Whether it's mother to daughter, friend to friend, I've found that situation to be pretty common.

Moving to Louisville, Kentucky in 1996, I tried out a couple of guilds and decided they weren't for me.  Meagan and I had started a guild in Houston, called the Killer Bee, it's still going strong.  So in June of 2000, I went to our Women's Ministry leader at our church and asked if we could have a quilt guild there.  She said yes, and the Northeast Quilting Friends began.  It was called Quilting Friends at first, but, turned out 3 guilds liked that same name, so we changed it.

This year we are making a new shirt.  You know most people design T-shirts and let someone else make it, but, we like a challenge so...

This is our old shirt that I jazzed up with a bit of batik trim.  The pocket became the name tag.  On the back is a detachable mini quilt for our guild name and logo.

Now we are going to be making a new shirt.  I found this denim work shirt at the Dollar General.  First I removed the pocket to design a new name tag. Next I cut off the bottom edge because it was way too long.  Then I removed the sleeves and will probably cut them to 3/4 length as I like that length.

Once I get the basic shirt the way I like it, I'll work out the design for the back mini quilt which can be buttoned on.  

Revenge is Sweet! Liverpool 1-Chelsea 0

Sayeth the Liverpudlians!!!




Yes, the dreaded move by the sainted Spaniard turned out to be a dud for the 50 million plus for the sale.


The King has conquered and the Reds are on their way to be on top once again.


I'm a bit sad for my favorite player in the world, or was my favorite, the ultimate insult was to be the first player removed from the game.  Ouch!!

Now, I think after this game my new favorite is LUCAS!!  What a dynamic player on the pitch.  Gerrard spent his time looking a bit swollen in the face, to me and doing his usual huffing and puffing and not affecting much.  


But, they grow the footballers well in Brazil, where LUCAS is from.  Not all that big in stature, but, it's his timing and tenacity that means so much more.  


Besides LUCAS from Brazil, it was MEIRLES from Portugal, who scored the only goal.  


Good old Dirk Kuyt was everywhere fighting and fussing and causing problems for Chelsea.  


I spent 90 plus minutes yelling and screaming and jumping up and down.  I'm worn out, but, it was sooooo worth it!!!


Great Games (they have won the last several-with clean sheets on all for Reine, another sainted Spaniard) Guys!


The King Kenny is on the throne and back in his place to bring the trophies home.