Tuesday, March 11, 2014

Andrew's Quilt and so much more!


 

I finally got to give my son Andrew his 40th birthday quilt. the bottom picture is the back and i had it on our bed. when he saw it he said, mom! nice! i said no, no, that's the back and had him help me turn it over (that quilt is BIG!). He was stunned and i could tell he REALLY loved it. there is nothing like the feeling of totally making a loved one happy. the middle picture is when the mister and i were trying to sandwich it. nora jean, of course, was checking it out but her sitting on it makes you realize how big it is. the one i am making the backing for right now is just as big.
this is the quilt I'm entering in the common threads quilt show this year. i am a long distance member of the Wichita Kansas prairie quilt guild. my sister belongs and we attend the meetings together whenever i am visiting her. i don't have a guild to belong to up here and don't know enough people to form a mini group. i miss it and am happy to belong to this very active and awesome group. the pattern for this quilt is called the Mexican star and it was so much fun to make! i bought the pattern quite a few years ago at a quilt show and then never made it. the directions were well written and it was something i hadn't tried before. it is 3 dimensional and when you are all done piecing it together you sew down the corners to give it a cathedral window look. in my 2014 goal to use what i have, i pulled this material from my stash. i love it! I'm going to have it judged. I'm curious to see if i win anything. speaking of judging and judges........there are so many people who are afraid to have their quilts judged (my sister being one of them). I've never understood that. I've gotten some really excellent and helpful criticisms over the years. one year i got a zero from the judge on my quilting! the back of the wall hanging was a mess. i not only wasn't very good at machine quilting yet but it was a new machine and wasn't calibrated correctly. that being said, it was a really cool quilt and i got 11 people's choice votes for my quilt! so what did i learn about this incident? 1. a good judge would never give anyone a zero for anything. everyone needs a few points for effort! 2. a quilt doesn't have to be perfect for people to like it. other than that incident though, my judges comments have been either glowing or a nice but very helpful criticism. so if you are putting your quilt(s) in a show this year try having it judged. its fun!
we have an aunt celebrating her 90th birthday next week and is in a nursing home. i made her two pillowcases. they always seem to go over big with the younger and older generations. i made them very different so that she could have a change of pace when she puts a clean one on her bed. if you make them for a gift don't forget to put their name inside it so it doesn't get lost in the laundry and end up on someone else bed. trust me, from experience, it doesn't go over well! there is a great tutorial for this quick and easy pillowcase on the Missouri star quilt company website.
well i finally used the dress form i made for my granddaughter. it worked well and the skirt i made her came out really cute. we'll see how well it fits her when we visit her next week. she and my grandson have been growing like weeds recently. we may have to make her another dress form for next year!
i'll close with a picture of my grands. i can't believe how mature they're getting. they are such wonderful young people! today i love our grandchildren, who have been such a blessing in our lives. i love my children and my really great daughter in law. they are all such caring human beings. the mister and i are very proud of them. and finally, today my heart and prayers go out to our beloved nora jean. she was back at the vets today. they still haven't found out exactly what's wrong with her. she seems to recover and then starts going downhill again. it just breaks my heart to see her so quiet and still. i hope they'll find out soon! have a great day and i will too. nancyb

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