Thursday, August 31, 2017

"31"

Have you ever noticed 
that occasionally the same number just keeps reoccurring
in your daily life?

This past week it seems my
persistent number has been ...

If I think of the number 31,
I think of this.

Do you remember the first time
you went to a Baskin Robbins and
had 31 different choices of ice cream?

Well, this week the number 31
has mysteriously appeared in every one 
of my current quilt projects.

Kind of weird, huh.

It started with discovering I have 31
more stars to stitch.
That will take me to 120 and to my goal.

#17 on my "17 in 2017" list

****
Then I counted and found out I
needed to make 31 more sets of 
flying geese for the borders of the
Halo Medallion which I'm also currently working on.

You can tell I'm using the Flying Geese X4 method.

****
Then the ultimate coincidence,
31 more sets of broken dishes
 from my Leaders 
and Enders project that I've been working
on forever.
Did I say forever!?!

  #13 on the "17 in 2017" list

And could it also be strange that today
is August 31?

Well, what's wonderful is that
there was over 31 followers  who
commented in my giveaway.

Thank you to everyone who took the time
to leave a comment.

Now for the fun part.
 Drum Roll, Please


Thank you, Elvis!

Prize #1
Jeanna- Slammin' the Screen Door
Prize #2
Chantal- Ramblings of a Quilter
Prize #3
Connie- Craft Home Cottage

Prize #4
Jeanne- Luv 2 Stitch

Prize #5
Barb- Fun with Barb

Congratulations 

I hope we all have 31 fabulous
things happen this week.


Until Next Time-
Kyle



Wednesday, August 23, 2017

Blog Anniversary and a Giveaway

Another blog anniversary
has rolled around.
 It was in August, 2009
 Me, 1954

that I sat down at the computer and began 
sharing stories, quilty things, and 
other thoughts that fluttered through my mind.

Looking back,
blogging has been a way for me to 
document my journey and I've been
so happy that so many of you,
who I refer to as my blogging friends, have
 
taken the time to ride along with me.

It's been a lovely way for 
me to connect with other quilters
of like mind and, more so,
quilters who have challenged me to look beyond
my own comfort zone. 
Now it's time
 to thank everyone with 
with 5 different opportunities to win!

a yummy charm pack                                   a new mini cutting mat

or
star pins for keeping track of blocks or rows, etc....

or
how about a little snap bag with goodies


 or maybe this

another cute bag with FQ's.

In order to win
 leave a comment 
and be sure to become a "follower".
****
Are you a charm pack
collector or do you actually use them?

Running Man will draw 
the names of 5 lucky winners at the end of the day,
August 30th. 
(If you are a nonreply commentor,
please be sure to  leave an email:0)

Life is short.
Enjoy each and every day!

Until Next Time-
Kyle





Monday, August 14, 2017

Remaining Neutral

Using colors from nature
 can be a way to help remain neutral
when choosing a color palette.

But when there's a rainbow of colors
surrounding us, it can be a challenge.

Last January I began working on the
BOM found on The Quilt Show
designed by the late Sue Garman.


I looked to the colors of the southwest,
the desert tones.

Starting with the center medallion

and adding each new border
month to month.

The most challenging
has been what I've called

 "geese flying in circles"

It was paper pieced and seemed
to take forever.
Wait, it did take forever!

On a recent trip to Santa Fe
I took my quilt top and
found a lovely adobe room
in which to photograph it.

It's not finished yet.
But the colors are definitely what I was striving for.

Last week I worked on the next border, pinwheels.

All those half square triangles were
trimmed and perfectly sized and
the borders  went together lickety split,
or as fast as you can sew a pinwheel border,
which isn't really very fast.

Two floater borders had to be figured out,
 sewn on and
then finally,
 those spinning pinwheels.
This is where I am today.

Next up,
more flying geese.
Not Running Man's favorite visiting yard bird!#@!

 I'll remain neutral
and continue on.

Until Next Time-
Kyle




Monday, August 7, 2017

The County Fair

Another week has flown by.


I've been helping my daughter reorganize
her 2nd grade classroom,
getting ready for my Florida daughter's visit,
and even had a bit of time for some sewing.

More hst's to trim.

****

The interesting part of my week was
being a quilt judge for the local county fair.


The day started early with
stacks of quilts waiting to be unfolded,
and having them shout, "look at me!"

"I want one of these."

Better yet,
"I want one of these!"


The fair guidelines try to make this a 
positive experience for everyone who enters.
All the quilts are accepted and hung.

The judges accentuate the positive and
provide feedback in areas where technical skills
 might need some improvements.

Even then, it's still a competition.
There are commonalities that can be critiqued,
are the blocks square,
are the borders straight,
are applique edges smooth,
is there even distribution of quilting,


  and don't forget about that binding.

It was a long day,
and I hope that the quilts that I looked at
and critiqued felt that it was done fairly.

It's a heavy responsibility as a judge to look at someone's
work and then making comments,
 and
it takes courage and confidence for the quiltmaker
to enter a quilt show, locally or not. 

 Hopefully, we all had 
a positive experience.


Until Next Time-
Kyle