Finished - John Deere Quilt

You might remember my first post about a big stack of lovingly embroidered John Deere tractor blocks.  To be honest, I was really nervous working on this project.  My sister-in-law had put so many hours into making these blocks for her grandson (followed up by surgery on her hand...really!), I was so afraid of screwing this up.

 I wanted to add a little more substance to the blocks so I decided to line each block with white cotton.   Some on-line shopping yielded a selection of John Deere themed fabrics to frame each tractor and add a border.

After consulting with my SIL, we decided to go all the way with the theme and I used a John Deere fleece for the backing.

Deciding how to quilt the embroidered blocks took some time.  Ultimately, I decided just to outline each tractor and stitch in the ditch in all the borders.  The tractors stand out and the blocks are so puffy and soft!

I had some fabric and fleece remaining so I made a pillow to match.



The quilt is twin size, heavy and very, very soft!  These were shipped off to Michigan last week, before the Christmas rush.

My sister-in-law was thrilled!  Phew!  What a relief!  I look forward to seeing her grandson wrapped up in this big, soft quilt.

Linking up with Amanda Jean's finish it up Friday linky party!

Kathy

Really I Have Been Sewing

It is the time of the year when you have to take my word that I am sewing.  Sharing of the projects will be a little delayed.

Thanks for your patience!
Kathy

Fabric Shopping Fun

It has been a long time since I have had a post dedicated to new fabric purchases.  My goal this year was to only purchase fabric with a specific project in mind.  Honestly, I have been 99% compliant...until recently.  And now, my dear blog friends, I am sharing with you the results of my latest shopping adventures.  Because I know YOU will understand.

It all started with a weekend in Burlington, VT.  Between attending my niece's ice hockey games we had a wonderful time visiting this fun city.  Including stopping at Nido, a charming little shop with a nice selection of current fabrics.

Next I purchased some fabric actually for a project, so this doesn't count as an infraction.  I brought my fabric consultant (my mother in law) with me to Marden's and with her advice acquired the perfect pieces for a very special project.  Really, local New Englanders, it is absolutely worth the drive to one of the Marden locations for fabric that averages $4.00 per yard.

And then we found some yellows for another special project:

And not that I need any more dog fabric, but it is hard to find fabric with Bernese Mountain Dogs on it.  

On the drive back home, while still admiring my first purchases of the day, we drove through the village of Cornish, Maine and had to stop at the new quilt shop Bolt (great name).  A fun stroll through this shop yielded these "just because" purchases.  Really, I feel so guilty leaving a shop without buying something...just being polite.

In retrospect, that's not too bad.  I could have done A LOT more damage.  

Happy Monday!
Kathy

Quilting Injured

I am sporting this lovely accessory day and night.

Is this a quilting injury?  Years of working on a computer, pushing a pencil, chopping vegetables and, yes, a lot of handwork might be catching up to me.  But it is only slowing me down a little bit.

Today I finished this:

My son and  his girlfriend live with two adorable cats, Jack and Meg.  One of them apparently likes to sit on top of my son's keyboard.  Jack has a lovely view of the neighborhood from this perch.  Probably not the best idea for the keyboard.

I appreciate that it may be difficult to see the shape of this but I will ask him to photograph the cover in use and share a better picture with you.

The lining seemed perfect for their neighborhood in Chicago.

This will be in the mail soon to Chicago!  I hope Jack and Meg like this new cover!

Linking up with crazy mom Amanda Jean's finish it up Friday linky party.
Kathy

PS  I recommend taking a quick hop over to Linda from Koka Quilts Around the World Blog Hop post.  She has a beautiful post with some great projects.

KayakQuilting Around the World Blog Hop

My goodness there's a lot of wonderful things happening in the sewing on-line world these days.   To complement all the beautiful pictures being shared by those lucky enough to attend Quilt Market, the semi-annual Bloggers Quilt Festival hosted by the very wonderful Amy's Creative Side is going on and in the voting stage. I highly recommend a few minutes browsing through the amazing work submitted by hundreds of quilters.  November is the time for the annual Handmade Holidays hosted by Sew Mama Sew, a wonderful place for gift inspiration (and daily prizes).  And then there is the  Around the World Blog Hop posts where bloggers have shared a little of how they think and create.

Well, it seems the Around the World Blog Hop has found KayakQuilting!  I was tagged to participate by the very sweet Tina at Modgeometry (don't you love that name?).   First I found this gorgeous quilt she made for her husband and then I met her at a Boston Modern Quilt Guild meeting, where she shared the quilt.  Lucky me!  Actually, Tina was one of the many people who chatted with me at one of my first BMQG meetings and made me feel welcome.  I had some serious trepidation about joining this group of super talented people (e.g. Tina) but reading her Around the World Blog Hop post confirms that I am not alone in these first doubts about joining a guild.  So, in summary, if you are thinking about joining a quilt guild but think you might be the only new person at the meeting, fear not!  You probably will not be and even if so, everyone went through a "first" and you will be most welcome by the quilting community!

But I digress.  Back to the assignment!

What am I working on?
In the beginning of the quilting adventure (about three years ago), I was a single project person.  This created a lot of pressure to finish a project before continuing to the next, even if I wasn't "feeling it."  Now, I happily bounce between a number of projects at various stages of completion.  Some are in the incubation stage, some have components in process and a few are in the quilting queue.  These projects are getting the most attention these days:

I sleep just fine knowing there will be something to work on no matter the mood.

How does my work differ from others in the genre?
I love this question as I think everyone's work is unique to their life experience, environment and motivation.  In my case, I am so thrilled to have discovered this craft at this stage in my life.  I strive to not take this gift for granted and reflect that by incorporating something unique in my work.

Why do I create what I do?
This is an easy question.  I create to learn, to gift, to relax and to have fun.  I can't think of anything I have made that doesn't fit into one of these categories.  I am pretty fearless when it comes to trying new techniques, patterns and materials.  It doesn't always come out perfectly but I assure myself that the next attempt will be much better!  The quilts below were gifts to celebrate the start of a new business, a marriage, a one year old birthday and a charity event.

I really think this post summarizes the best why I create.

How does my process work?
Of all the questions on the Blog Hop I have enjoyed reading answers to this one.  Perhaps it is because my own approach is so random.  Sometimes it is the fabric, like the Kate Spain used in this Penny Patch quilt:

 Sometimes it is the pattern that seems right for a project:

And other times my process involves just staring at fabric, magazines, various social media looking for the inspirational bulb to light up.

Now it is my turn to nominate another blogger to keep this blog hop moving.  And move it will from Massachusetts all the way to the other side of the globe to Auckland, New Zealand and the very sweet Linda at Koka Quilts!

Thanks again Tina for giving me this opportunity to participate in the Around the World Blog Hop!
Kathy