a few quilts

Over the past two weeks I've finished up a few quilts that now need to go to the quilter.

Whew.

I only started this Buggy Barn Friendship Quilt 6 or 7 years ago!

I did decide its my claim to fame though.

My friend Jen and I wanted to make a friendship quilt together and we found this pattern and wanted to have one more gal in on the project.

There was a new quilt guild member that we decided we would ask to do it with us.

Her name is Natalia.

THE Natalia of Piece N Quilt who is now a published quilting author, national award winner, pattern designer, quilting magazine contributor, and on and on and on.  She is incredible.

And so now I think I'm awesome because she made some of these blocks with my friend Jen and I when she was just starting this wonderful time and money sucking hobby! 

 

She has built an amazing business and career with her quilting talents and I'm still trying to find enough time to piece together quilt tops!

But its good, its what I can handle.

So, thanks Jen and Natalia!  Its finally finished!

 

Last winter at one of our guild meetings my friend and neighbor Debbie gave a fun fun lesson on log cabin quilts.  I have always loved the pattern of log cabin quilts, and I've always wanted to make one, so Debbie gave me the inspiration to finally get busy.

I pieced all the blocks together last winter and I couldn't decide which layout I wanted to go with, so I put them all away.

I got them out last week and sewed them up in the Streak of Lightning arrangement and I really like it.  I love traditional quilts in boring deep, dark colors, so this is perfect for me!

These pictures were from quilt guild last week with crazy lighting, and the picture below is crazy lighting in my bedroom.  The real colors are something in between.

 



I made it plenty big!

Now I need to get a backing ready, and then I'll have another quilt to bind in no time.

I love fall sewing weather!

 

 

 

 



A bit of an update:

 

I checked out a much desired book at the library on Monday.

It is my carrot for finishing up a few quilting projects.

When I finish three certain quilts (the tops), I get to start my book. 

It sits on my bookcase and taunts me and helps me get busy!

 

I have wanted to read this book for about 4 months now, but reading in the summer is too crazy for me so, I took one quilt top and back to the quilter two days ago.

 I finished this one two days ago.

It is a family friendship block quilt for my mom.

Some of her sister in laws, some of her nieces, some great nieces, and her daughters made her purple and green blocks for this quilt.  I am putting it together for her.

It will go to the quilter next week after I find some backing fabric that is GROOVY like my mom!



And today I am putting the LAST border on this baby!

When it is sewn on and ironed, I get to READ!

YIPPEE!

 

As for the rest of the household:

 

Kelsey is busy rocking 7th grade and her 5 honors courses and homework.

She is also busy watching crafting videos on YouTube!

 

Kendal started gymnastics this week and is LOVING it.  It is good for her to love something and enjoy it so much!  She stays busy with her 3rd grade math homework as well.

Emmitt thinks he is in heaven in Kindergarten.

With his new peers, he has learned ALL about Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and that is his newest CRAZE!

And Kenna, sweet Kenna.

She sings. A lot.

She has also been sporting some cute little DORA undies as well and doing really great at it!

Her latest line that I hear 48 times a day is

"Mom, watch this" then does the silliest things.

I love it.

 

And what about Matt you ask?

No picture of that fella.  He is too busy taking care of everyone's dogs, cats, cows, horses, and getting the hay hauled.

Wait, he did come to the park the other night for a bit and practiced batting with Emmitt.

He is a busy man and we are grateful for him.

 

the summer quilting homefront

On the quilting homefront:
I have a hard time sewing in the summer.  There is just so much going on with the kids, the yard, and the wonderful weather.  So I make myself sign up for my local quilt guild's round robin exchange, just to get some stitching time in.

 

I added this border for the month of June to this round robin quilt of Deonn's.  The rules for the round robin exchange stated that the second border had to be applique.  I am awful with applique, but that's what I came up with.

 

I did get this one sent off to my mom.  When I was there for the 4th of July weekend, it was hanging up in the cabin and looking so spiffy!

 

For July's round robin exchange, I added this red and black checkerboard to the cute little farm scene that Sue started.  I am not good at being creative and I couldn't figure out how to extend the scene, so I just framed it.  The rules for the third border stated that you had to add cornerstone blocks in the corners and it couldn't be over 6 inches wide.  I can't wait to see how my round robin turned out.  I get mine back next month.

During the 4th of July Torrey Apple Days Celebration, I went to their fun little quilt show.  These two were my favorites.  I love traditional scrappy stuff.  Love it.

And last but not least, last month I finished this one.

It was a block of the month quilt we did at church more than five years ago.

I put the last two borders on and I gave it to my friend, DiAnn.

She is going to hand quilt it at the DUP (Daughters of the Utah Pioneers) Museum here in town this winter.  Then I will bind it for her.

It turned out lovely if I do say so!

 

So, that is my summer quilting thus far.  Kinda lame, but my garden is looking a bit better!

will my mom ever get a gift I make for her on time?

Back in March I was at the local quilt shop in Midway and I saw this family tree panel and some coordinating fabrics.

I loved it and bought it, not sure what I would do with it.

I got it home and tried to make it work for me, but since my progeny is only 4 children, it didn't really work.

So I decided my mom needed it for Mother's Day.

I had oodles of time to complete it.

 

I put it away for a month or so, then got it all out and got busy.

I made little birds depicting me, my siblings, and our families.

I added a few simple borders, appliqued the birds on and put it away again.

For another month.

Then I sewed Emmitt civil war clothing during the month of April and figured that I could quilt my mom's little quilt the week before Mother's Day and get it completed.

Well, I got out the machine the other day and started machine quilting it.

I got about 2/3 through it and broke a needle and the darning foot.

I thought I had a spare darning foot, but it was broken as well.

I was stuck.

So I put it away and called my mom and told her what a procrastinating daughter she gave birth to, and apologized.  She was too kind and understanding.  Way too nice.

I did the same thing to her for Christmas!

But today, I had the chance to stop into the sewing machine shop and get a new darning foot.

Tomorrow, a week beyond Mother's Day, I will finish quilting my mom's quilt, get it bound, and send it off in the mail on Monday.
Its going to be really great.

I will learn one day.

And one day, my mom will get a gift in time for the occasion it was meant for!
Her birthday is coming up in a few weeks.  I think I will purchase something for her, not make it!



round robin time

Its Round Robin time again at my local quilt guild.  Love this time of year!
I get to add an applique border to this arrangement.  The rules say the second border must have some applique and should be no larger than 4.5 inches wide.  The owner of this center block is going to tea dye the entire top when it is completed which will be really fun to see. 
So, any ideas for the applique border I need to add?

This is the block I had last month for the first border.  I added the red and white checkerboard border to this one.  The rules for the first border were that it had to be a pieced border, and also no larger than 3.5 inches wide.

Round Robins are so fun.  They are one of my favorite things about our quilt guild.  It is always so fun to see how the quilt tops turn out and especially the creativity of my quilting friends.

It is sort of a toss up of my favorite Round Robin quilt to date, but this is for sure up there, and so is this one.  Although, I have loved every single one, although they all aren't linked here. 

my civil war signature quilt

Anyone who knows me or reads about me, knows that I have a hard time finishing my quilting projects.  I really do.  I have a great idea, I LOVE to cut fabric, I love to sew it up, but usually I am just a border short of complete, and then I lose interest.  Well, I never lost interest with this quilt, it really just took me awhile to get the top completed. 

So, this one is FINISHED, excepting a few more signatures from my friends.  Not just any friends, my civil war reenacting friends.

I found the interior print of Grant and Lee at a wonderful quilt shop called Elaine's Quilt Block in Salt Lake City in the clearance fabric bin in the basement.  I bought two of the panels.  Two?  Why did I only buy two?  Who knows!  I held onto it for awhile and then decided to make a signature medallion style quilt with it in the center. 

So a few years ago I got busy making 5 inch square in a square signature blocks.  I took them along with me to various meetings and events that our civil war group was involved in, and had my friends sign them.  I am still missing a good handful of my Utah civil war friends, but I will catch up with them soon.

Well, a few days ago I put the final border on this baby and I am saying it is finished.  Its around 50 inches by 65 inches.  All the blocks are not signed yet.  I still have those Utah friends I have known for years that need to sign it, and then I made some wonderful Idaho friends last year.  Some of them have signed it, but not as many as I would like.  I am headed to Idaho for an event in two months and I can't wait to get a few more from those great folks.

I am a pretty sentimental person, and I love meeting people and making friends.  I think this quilt right here is going to be one of my favorite quilts I have ever made.  Just for the sake of all the memories that flow through my mind when I read the names of my friends that enjoy the mid 1860s with me.  Such wonderful times like singing songs around a fire, laughing over me falling down during the Virginia Reel, lacing up corsets and giggling over split drawers, eating cornbread and watching the guys roll cartridges, laughing in my tent with a lantern, cheesecake, and a mandolin, watching my kids jump rope and play with their cloth dolls and wooden swords, getting my hair done up into a bun just as the public arrive, and just spending great times with my favorite friends. Yep, a favorite quilt for sure.

Signature or memory quilts were very popular during the mid 1800s.  With many people headed west, going to war, or getting married and moving away, signature quilt blocks were made by loved ones and sent with those leaving as a sweet memento of friendship and kinship.  Unlike today with the ease of traveling, many times those farewells were final.  It was a wonderful way to remember those close to you and those you loved while you were away.  The reasons still apply today.  I want to remember these friends I have made, to have a little piece of them, and something to trigger beautiful memories.

Now, to get it off to the quilter.  Oh, and I gave that other Grant and Lee panel to a sweet lady last year who fell in love with it at an Elizabeth Stewart Clark sewing conference we were attending.  Her name was Luann.  Hopefully I see her again too.

sewing ADD

 

Last Thursday was quilt guild.  So Thursday morning I dug through my sewing UFO (UnFinished Objects) armoire in search of a 12 to 15 inch block I could use for the Round Robin exchange.  I didn't think I had time to make a block, so I was searching for an old block from something else I could use.  I found these blocks, the pattern, and some fabric scraps in my search.

In about 2007 or 2008 my friend Jen and I did a friendship block exchange and asked Natalia, a new gal to the quilt guild, to join us.  Natalia is now super famous, has a few published quilting books, is a paid presenter, and just totally rocks the quilting world.  Anyway, we all made blocks, exchanged them, and here they are, on my bed.

 

So I decided to start sewing, just to put a few of the blocks together.  You know, just to see how it would look.  A few hours later, I had it sewn together.  Funny, I think I totally have a sewing/quilting form of ADD.  I was looking for one simple block but ended up sewing a small quilt top together.  Figures.  Well, now I am going to slap a few borders on this sweet thing and complete a project! 

This here is the block I found in the search that I decided to use for the center block of my Round Robin this year.  Ladies from the guild will add borders to it throughout the next few months, then I will share how it turned out.  Now, to the sewing room. 

mini Stars and Bars quilts

For our Inaugural Dinner last month, I made these two Stars and Bars mini quilts to be signed as a token of our appreciation for our outgoing commanding officers.

 

I think they turned out pretty well.  As far as quilted fabric goes, and considering they aren't even a useful size, the guys seemed to like them.  I think mostly because they are both Rebels at heart.



Kris and Caleb did a great job leading our Fort Douglas Museum Living History Detachment.  We had a pretty great 2013 year.

Everyone that was at the dinner in January signed the mini quilts.  There were many members of our crew that were missing, but hopefully they can catch up and sign them some time.

We enjoyed a delicious potluck dinner and of course the crazy company.  We elected new officers for 2014 and we look forward to another great year playing in the 1860s. 

Oh, and I even got to share a birthday cake with General Robert E Lee, what an honor! 

My mom's herd

On Thanksgiving Day of 2012, I traced around all the feet and hands of my mom and dad's nine living grandchildren.  I had big plans for my mom's Christmas present.  I ordered fabric and was so excited to start the project, then the fabric got back ordered, and then never came.  So my sweet mom ended up getting a case of paper towels for Christmas.  No kidding.

So then I decided this project needed to get completed for Christmas of 2013.  I worked hard on it in November and December.  I left all the prints from 2012, because I knew if I had to get new ones, it would never happen. 

The quilt top was finished for Christmas but was at the quilter's for Christmas Day.  My mom got a few pictures of her new quilt wrapped up for Christmas this year.  Lame, I know.

But my dear, sweet mom is kind and patient thankfully.  I got the quilt back from the quilter last week and planned to get it bound for her since she came to visit over the weekend.  That didn't happen.  So, guess what is at the TOP of my list for next week?  Yep, my mom's Christmas present from 2012! 

But I do think it turned out great.  The quilting on it is gorgeous thanks to Natalia at Piecenquilt.com.  The red super soft minky on the back will be fun and cozy for my mom.  It is sort of big for a throw quilt, but not really big enough to go on a bed.  I am not sure what I was thinking, I was just sewing. 

 

And by the way, I am not sure if they are elk or deer or moose, but they are my mom's herd of grandchildren. 

Jorgen Smith

Today at DUP (Daughters of the Utah Pioneers) I get to give a little history on one of my ancestors.

I am going to talk about this fellow, Jorgen Christiansen Smith.  He is my great great great grandfather.



He had a very interesting life, I think it was pretty rough as well.

He was born in Prussia in 1823 on a country farm as the son of a tenant farmer for a rich German landlord named Smidt (Smith.)  He went to school and was drafted into the Danish Army.  He had to fight in a war between Denmark and Prussia, as a member in the Danish Army, which means he fought against his brothers and cousins. 

My heart goes out to him, considering my fascination with the American Civil War where brother and cousins fought each other.  One of his brothers was killed, and he always felt badly about it and hoped it wasn't his bullet.

 

 Growing up as a poor serf boy, when he heard the Mormon missionaries talk about America and the building of Zion there with all of the wonderful freedoms and liberties he couldn't imagine, he and his first wife were baptized and headed to the United States.

This picture is of him and his third wife, my great great great grandmother, Mette Marie Villadsen Smith.  She had a great story as well. She was born in Denmark as a set of triplets in 1841.

Her parents could not care for her, so she was raised by a wealthy family in the area and was never allowed to see or speak of her real parents, family, and home.  She was baptized and left at the age of 17 for the United States, so that tells my dramatic mind that her life wasn't so great living on a large Danish manor.

 

 

This photo was taken at a Blackhawk War reunion.  Jorgen and Mette are the two in the center.

 

 Mette was Jorgen's third plural wife and eighteen years younger than he was.  There are some very colorful stories of living in a polygamist marriage that have been recorded in Jorgen's life, and my heart goes out to her and the other wives as well.  Their story was not a happy story.  Living in poverty, moving multiple times, losing many children, sharing a house and husband, and all the other hardships they had to endure makes me grateful for the simple, easy life I lead.

There is one quote that I love that makes me giggle by Jorgen:

"I am sure lucky and fortunate to have tree Danish vimmens for vives, but one would have been enough."

 

I hope my little report on Jorgen goes well today, and that he might be pleased with the information available to present.  It is a bit unfair that one entire lifetime of 85 years is condensed into a few pages of words.  There is so much more that we will never know.

 

 

I also need to bind these two little quilts today.  Confederate Stars and Bars.  I love how they turned out.  They are for the Fort Douglas Military Museum's Living History Detachment Inaugural Dinner this weekend.  That's a mouthful.  They are gifts for the two outgoing commanding officers of our civil war group.  They led us through a great 2013 reenacting year. 

 

Oh, and I told Matt I would make him a cherry pie.  I need to go get busy.