Neck Tie Quilt

I am finally creating at a good pace and it feels good.  Good enough to write a blog post about it.
A few years ago, my cousin presented me with a tote full of neckties (thank you CeCe) and through the years I have added to that collection by going to the thrift store and buying more, and by taking any and every tie that was donated to my collection. I ended up with a barrel of ties.  My darling husband was so kind to take three days and make ready all my ties by cutting them open and taking all the filling out.  Thank you Bobby.
I decided that I would make a quilt out of the ties first, then what is left will go into a jacket.  I did not realize all the beautiful ties I had collected, my husband even traded a couple of his ties for the ones he found in my barrel.  There are silk, satin,cotton,wool, and also some polyester.
I have started on the quilt first, I decided to use the foundation piecing method since I have all different kinds of fabric and textures. It is hard to use some of the ties because they are so beautiful, I keep putting different ones back for the coat.  So now I am closing my eyes and whatever tie I pull out, I have to use.  That makes it a lot easier.  I am going to put the quilt together row by row as I go along.  I am not going to worry about what colors or textures should go next to what, it is an art quilt that when it is done, won't win any contests(?) but will be beautiful in it's right.  I will continue to post about this quilt and when it is done you will see.  My husband said "if you don't do anything with these ties after I have done all this work, I will not do anything like this again" So that is another instinctive reason for me to get this quilt done.

As you can see, there are many nice ties going into this quilt.

Here is a picture of my first block. 

Here is a sneak preview of the cuddle quilt I just finished for the quilt guild that I belong to. Go over and take a look at that blog also.

A Good Start In January

It is a shame to invite folks to your blog (through Entrecard,Facebook,or Twitter) and not have been there that much myself. I vow to post more. The thing is, I just don't have a lot to say. But I want to thank all that have visited and left a comment. It helps.

I was reading someone's blog the other day and she was talking about that very thing and I realized that I am guilty of that same thing. It is like inviting someone to your house and not being home.

Today I thought I would post the latest quilt I have been working on. To start,the members of our quilt guild are required to make at least 4 cuddle quilts a year (these we donate to the Le Bonhuer) So anyway this is my first one for the year.
This was such a simple and fun quilt to make. I got the pattern from the Quiltville blog. If you ever want to learn how to do a certain block you can find it there with very easy instructions. Anyway once I made the first block, I could not stop until the quilt was finished. It is a small quilt only 48"X 48".
This is what one square looks like. I made 16 squares.

My quilting sister Mildred Puckett came over and showed me how to tie the quilt. Boy that saved a lot of time for me and I like the way it looks. I tied it with pink cotton crochet thread.

Now I know you will love this chenile pillow also. It will be listed for sale in my Etsy shop very soon. I will tell you that it is nice and big and fluffy. It is one of those pillows that you will want to hug when your (significant other) is not around.

I am trying to figure out what to do with this bag I made, I had some of the chenille leftover from the pillow so I decided to make this bag. This is as far as I got and now I don't know how I will do the handles. The ends are finished so I don't know what I am going to do with it so I am going to put it aside and do something else. Any suggestions?


This is one of the blocks for the quilt I am making for my granddaughter, it is a wonderful quilt that will look like a four story house when (whenever) I get done with it. But you can enjoy some of it now.



If you recognize what rooms these are, let me know then I will know that I am on the right track. Ha Ha.
Until next time, happy blogging!

Round Robin

A round robin is a great way for a group of quilters to challenge each other creatively. In its simplest form a round robin is an ongoing exchange of quilt projects where each person takes a turn adding to the project. You will not be able to see your block again until the all the blocks are finished. Oh what a surprise that is going to be. Beyond that, it can become quite elaborate depending on the rules agreed upon by the group. That being said, our quilt guild just finished a round robin and I was so impressed with the beautiful quilt tops that came out of it. There are some very creative folks in our guild. I am very excited about being in the next round robin that is coming up soon. We are starting with a 12 to 16 inch block. At our next meeting we will each share our block, then they go into a bag and we will not see them again until the round robin is done.
Here are some of the photos from the last round robin

Q.U.I.L.T Guild

What a great month we had for September. First, our Sept meeting was a blast because some of the quilters worked on these beautiful little cellphone purses that we planned to sell at the "Arts on the Square" festival that was held in the town square of Paris,TN.


Every meeting we have "Show and Tell" and the is the part where we show some of the projects that we have been working on. This part of the meeting is great because it is the way we inspire each other to finish projects,to start a new project or just to tell each other that we are doing a great job. I love it when my quilting sisters offer suggestions or tell me what a great job I did on an item. I love "show and tell". Here are a few of the items that was brought for show and tell.







As you can see we have been busy, making quilts. I feel terrible because I did not take notes of who each quilt belongs too. I will do better next time. But as you can see, we have some very talented sisters in our guild. That is why I put my name on the nomination list for next years president. I feel I will learn quite a bit and will also be very busy, but still encouraged to do my art.
I really enjoyed this past Saturday, our guild set up a display at the art festival that I spoke of earlier. It was a beautiful day, and even though it looked like it was going to rain, it never did. We stayed ready at all times to collect our quilts and get them undercover before they got soaked. But thanks be to God, the rain did not come until 30 minutes before the festival was over.
We had a drawing for our charity quilt that was made this year. I was thrilled when I won the quilt. I will cherish it. I did not get a chance to work on this one, but I look forward to next year when I will get a chance to work on the next one. I was told that I will have to work double time one the next one. LOL
So sit back and enjoy our display.





And this is the quilt that I won.




Thank you Doris Van Dyke for modeling one of my jackets.




And of course I set up some of my own art





The end of the year at our guild is a high time. So stay tuned to my blog to see the exciting happenings at the Paris, TN Q.U.I.L.T Guild.

The Yo Yo Ladies of Paducah, Kentucky

At our last Quilt Guild meeting we had as our guests, the Yo Yo Ladies of Paducah, Ky. This is a group of quilting ladies that make yo yo's and quilted items that they sell for different charities. What a great time we had, they shared some of their quilts with us and with each quilt there was a wonderful and interesting story. They have also been featured every year in a Japanese quilt magazine. One of the members showed her beautiful spider quilt, I fell in love with it and decided to give it a try. Here is the one that I made.

Well I thought I had taken a picture of the on she made but I couldn't find it. I did take some pictures of some of the quilts that they brought. Although I can't remember any of the stories that was told about the quilts. They brought so many beautiful quilts and we felt very blessed to have been able to see them. I was inspired to get to my studio and get to quilting.



This last quilt is a yo yo quilt. They said that it has 1700 exceptional yo yos, they said that they was not perfect yo yos because only God is perfect.


If you click on the photo, you will get a better idea of what a yo yo is.