Quilting Around the World - Or Where in the World Is the Quilt Rambler!

If I could have music playing on this post it would be good ole Johnny Cash singing:

I've been everywhere, man.
I've been everywhere, man.
Crossed the desert's bare, man.
I've breathed the mountain air, man.
Of travel I've had my share, man.
I've been everywhere.

I haven't quite achieved "everywhere" yet, but I'm working on it! And trying to keep it quilt related (grin)

If you've been keeping up with this Quilt Rambler you know that 2011 began in a whirlwind! New Year's Day was spent in Midland doing a set up for our new A1 Quilting Machine owner and straight back to H.town to join my husband's family at the ER where Pappaw was being admitted to the hospital with double pneumonia... I'm happy to report that after many weeks of illness that he is daily improving (thank you so much for your prayers!).

And if that wasn't enough to spin my globe my youngest son made his life commitment to the prettiest young bride on Jan 26th.

We couldn't be happier! Here's a family photo to prove it! My hubby, myself, my mom, the handsome groom, the beautiful bride, the proud big brother and his lovely lady. Yep, one happy day!

Oh, and to keep this quilt related - instead of a guest book at the reception the guests signed 5 inch fabric squares with their well wishes - this will later become an heirloom quilt for the happy couple as photos from their special day and their honeymoon will be added...

So, what's a busy gal to do after all this excitement? Take a tropical vacation of course!

As the honeymooners went on a 7 day cruise out of Galveston to the Bahamas and Key West, momma and dad took a 5 day cruise out of Galveston to Progreso and Cozumel looking for some relaxing time away from all the craziness. Bring on the sun!

Cruises are a lot about the food - my weakness, BREAD! Don't you think somehow this could be worked into a quilt design? Hum? I don't know....

I posted a lot of cruise photos on facebook and one friend commented that they weren't too surprised that I brought my own quilt...Yep, I truly am a quilter through and through!

I mean, how many gals can sniff out a fabric store in a foreign country!

Or bring their quilt magazines to read by the pool....(what else was I going to do on the deck? you certainly wouldn't have caught me in a swimsuit!!)

Cruises are a wonderful time to relax, regroup, and refresh. I'm so thankful that we were able to make this excursion. And the weather couldn't have been nicer - especially when we returned to find that the Houston/Galveston area had experienced extreme cold including ice on the roads! Yep, give me a tropical vacation any day.

Patiently awaiting my return is a beautiful batik basket quilt. This beauty has been on the frame for quite a while. In all fairness, it's HUGE! 98 x 112, a good sized king being quilted with a double layer of wool batting, creating a faux trapunto look, especially in the vase of the baskets..

Stay tuned for more photos as the quilt should be finished this next week.

Today was the quarterly gathering of the Bayshore Longarm Quilters here in my studio. We welcomed several new quilters - it's always fun to applaud their first quilts. I just love show and tell! It's also been a good time for me to get back to my roots so to speak...

Do you ever get somewhat overwhelmed with so many things going on that you find you've forgotten some of the simple things that bring you joy....I know on my cruise I took a jillion photos of sunsets and the beautiful flowers....nature brings joy. So does being around fellow quilters, sharing knowledge, ideas, inspiration. I've been reflecting this afternoon on the blessings I've afforded due to quilting - the people I've met, the things I've learned, yes, the places I've been that I wouldn't have gone if it weren't quilt related. Things that I sometimes take for granted.

I've also been contemplating where I want to go in the future....instead of floundering around direction-less, what is it that I want to do with my quilting? Sigh. Those thoughts are still swimming around in my busy little brain, but I do know that I have way too much fabric and way too much fun to retire my needle and thread (grin)!

Thoughts of doing more teaching: piecing classes using the Square in a Square technique as well as developing patterns that make use of my Go Cutter and Go Baby Cutter; and longarm classes to help beginners get off to a good start not only with the knowledge of using their machines but design ideas to help them not freeze up when handed a pieced top with all those spaces that need to be filled (grin)...and lots of thoughts of continuing to do customer quilts, further develop the t-shirt quilt business and definitely finding time to use up my own stash, finish up some UFO's and then go shopping for more! Sounds like a plan don't ya'think?

Oh, and I really really really want to be more grateful for every day that the Lord has given me. I want to try not to measure my day by what I achieved or marked DONE on my To Do List, but to measure the day with simple joys and appreciation for what I have instead of wishing for things I don't have. I want to be as kind to my family as I try to be to strangers. I want to focus more on what my friends are saying and doing instead of what I want to share with them that I'm saying or doing. I want more time in my hammock (grin) Okay, that might not be a lofty goal, but this gal is sooo ready for warm weather!

Simple joys. A walk on the beach (or memories of such), a day in the park with a friend, the feel of fabric, the hum of my machine, the sunshine on my puppy as she sleeps on the back of the couch in front of the window, nights with a full moon, and ice cream (grin) for the record, Ben & Jerry's Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough is my all time favorite.

And to you my dear friends, I wish you beautiful sunsets! May they be a reminder to you daily that God is an awesome creator. Next time you see one will you think of your Quilt Rambler friend? I'll be enjoying it too and reminding myself that it's the simple joys of life that matter most - and we don't have to go around the world to find them!

This is the First Day of the Rest of Your Life

Time marches on. Every day is a new adventure. Some days I feel like mountain climbing, other days I want to climb back into bed!

When I started this blog several years ago it was with the commitment that I'd ramble once a week....last year it was more like once a month (sigh). I'm repenting.

Typically between Christmas and New Year's I take time to quilt my own quilt. This year was a tad different....our Christmas came late, celebrating with our sons and their lovely ladies on 12/30 due to conflicting work schedules...the following morning we headed to west Texas and on New Year's set up a new quilter with her A1 Quilting Machine.

Our return trip was to include a stop over at a cousin's in San Antonio for a little relaxing time. That was cut short as we drove straight from San Antonio back to Houston, without going home but straight to the ER. My husband's father was being admitted for double pneumonia, fluid on both lungs, and a blood clot in one lung.

Prior to our belated Christmas celebration I had loaded a personal quilt, thinking it would just take a day or two to complete....that quilt became my therapy during the 8 day hospital stay....in the evenings I'd try to quilt for 20 or 30 minutes just to unwind. Needless to say, the quilt was on the frame much longer than my previous "between the holidays" intentions. But quite honestly, it would have been difficult to try to focus on a customer quilt, so I continued to quilt it a little at a time. I took a lot of close ups as this was the first time I tried out this new border design

Personal Projects 2011

Here's a link if the slide show doesn't work.

Sometimes boo-boos make for creative flow. I had originally planned on curly Amish feathers in the outer border, quilted in the circle spines and then discovered I had the wrong ratio - no way would I rip out seams...so I decided to use the circles for my feather puffs - if I messed up, oh well, it's only fabric and it's my quilt!

Finally things appeared to be normal again, my father in law came home to recover, my personal quit was finished and I quickly loaded up a customer quilt to try to redeem the time....but who am I fooling?!?!?

My youngest son is getting married! They have been engaged since the fall and are having what I call a "planned elopement" - they are going to the justice of the peace (by themselves) and having a wedding reception afterwards to celebrate with friends and family. Did I mention that this is happening next week?!?!?! Somewhere between now and then I will find time to alter her wedding dress. What a privilege to be included in this special time of their lives!

Yep, now you know my excuse for being AWOL from my ramblings. As soon as I catch my breath and get caught up on customer quilts I'll return to my chatty little self, at least that's the plan!

I'm excited as I look forward to a new year - lots of beautiful customer quilts already lined up, some personal quilts that I hope to squeeze in, especially before the next show (will have an A1 booth at the Dallas Celebration in March), along with sprinkling in some fun classes this year (my favorite tote bag, piecing a quilt using the AccuQuilt Go Cutter, design ideas on the longarm)....oh, and I am soooo looking forward to warmer days so I can enjoy my hammock again!

But right now, it's time to reflect and be thankful for all that God has given me - a wonderful family, a future daughter-in-law, supportive friends, and just the joy of living. Today IS the first day of the rest of my life, and I will rejoice in every breath!

Taking time to enjoy the journey!

karen

Just in time for Christmas

The phone rang just a few short days before Christmas. I wasn't where I could answer it so it went to voice mail. Upon checking my messages I discovered that someone had been referred to me, as a professional quilter - their inquiry? the possibility of a "memory quilt" for a daughter who was to be laid to rest the following day.

As I listened, my heart broke for this family and their sorrow in losing a precious daughter, especially at the holidays - as I too have lost family members during this season and know first hand the emotions.

That was Christmas 2009. I returned the call to find out more details. Their beautiful adult daughter had just passed and they had been told that I could take articles of clothing and make a quilt. Yes, I could do that. Would it be possible to have a snowman on the quilt? Jennifer loved Christmas and especially snowmen.... there was a special black velvet dress that would be perfect for the top hat....

We agreed to meet after the holidays to develop a design for their memory quilt. Prior to our meeting I sketched out a rough draft in Electric Quilt 6 (above) to see if this would meet with their approval.

Mid January 2009 I met R. & C., lovely people who obviously had a deep love and a deep sense of loss for their daughter Jennifer. As we got to know each other a bit they shared about their daughter, a woman full of grace and beauty with lots of love to share to those around her, both family & friends as well as strangers. We talked about some of the quilts on my webshots/website and how collectively we could come up with a pattern that would best honor their love for Jennifer.

I'm not exactly sure how we came to the conclusion that what they really wanted was a wholecloth with a snowman, but that's where we landed.

A wholecloth quilt is just what it sounds like..a whole piece of fabric, no piecing, nothing appliquéd, where the design is done simply in thread. Traditional wholecloths are white fabric with white thread, and have also been called white work. Artist license in modern quilting has embraced non-traditional wholecloths where the fabric can be any color, the thread any color, and may even include fabric paint or embellishments. Ours would be traditional. I remember my thoughts at the time what an honor to be a part of something that is going to be a true heirloom.

My quilting schedule was pretty booked for the spring, and I knew that the quilting would take a lengthy time to complete. I wasn't sure of a time frame... R. & C. were most gracious in not wanting to rush things and allowing me time to develop and implement the design.

Knowing that the design's focus would be a snowman I began researching images on the internet for snowmen, snowflakes, and cardinals - the family mentioned that cardinals were very symbolic and sentimental in their memories so three cardinals were to be a part of the plan. Several sketches later I emailed the design below as a starting point for developing the look they wanted to achieve.

It was then that I felt the quilt should be called Essence of Jennifer. We made an appointment to get together to tweak the design. I felt like a school teacher with my red pen (grin) as we tried to make some notes and ideas of how he really should look...

Weeks later we all agreed on this design.

By now the spring had turned to fall. So many interruptions to this mission .... delays included the fabric being on back order for weeks, as well as my other obligations - other customer quilts, traveling to set up quilting machines, etc.

The day finally came when the fabric arrived and I could begin the marking. Our snowman was enlarged to become the center medallion of a queen size quilt. Using blue marking pens, that are water soluble, I began the lengthy process of transferring my "idea on paper" to my "design on fabric".

In keeping with traditional wholecloth design elements I wanted to include radiating lines to help draw the eye towards the center where the focus would be on the snowman and the three cardinals representing family memories. During the design process we all three agreed that we liked the traditional feather cable design...I had just the perfect stencil for that!

Marking was tedious work, it literally took all day...and a little more...OOPS! All the careful measuring and math didn't compute... coming down the side and turning the corner - GASP! the design elements didn't match up. Time to pull out the "eraser" - a special pen designed to remove the blue markings.

That was slow going, so I got out a spray bottle full of water - after all, it is water soluble marking pens right? And I had a lot of territory to undo...

Of course, the negative to all this water is having to wait for the area to dry before remarking. One might think you could speed up the process by blow drying with a hair dryer or perhaps putting in the dryer...however, heat would set the blue marking pen permanently. Not desired!

Finally the border, radiating lines, and the outline of the snowman was complete - all that was left was a little detail work. Back to the computer for snowflake images to trace.

You might notice the pen at the base of the snowman and that big blank area - that's another small oops (grin) This time instead of using the "store bought" eraser or a squirt bottle (whose over spray erases more than you want sometimes) I used a water marker from a kids toy called AquaDoodle. I prefer this as it's not only efficient (time wise and no over spray) but it's economical - simply refill with water as needed.

The day finally came when it was time to load the snowman on the frame....

You may wonder where the blue lines are... well, once I quilted the area I would spray with the spray bottle to temporary remove the lines so I could "see" my work. It was a temporary fix as the blue lines would sometimes reappear. Not to be alarmed, this is normal until the quilt is fully immersed in water and not just sprinkled.

Life has its interruptions and so does the ebb and flow of quilting. The snowman had to be unzipped from the frame for a short period of time, but only after it was stabilized - meaning I had outline quilted all the border (before the details were added as seen in the photo above) and once the snowman was outlined as well as all the radiating lines quilted....couldn't risk any fabric shifting that could cause potential problems later on.

This short "time off" gave me an opportunity to hang up the quilt to better see the design and the progress instead of just the exposed area on the quilt frame. It was beginning to look a lot like Christmas!

The final element was adding all the tiny detail and background fill. I wasn't really sure how to implement this, what sort of design did I want to do? Hum...this has been my year for "feather puffs", a design I developed earlier in the year and used on several customer quilts (including one that won a ribbon and one that was published in a book)...seems like that just might work, it would certainly add some movement and perhaps convey the illusion of snowflakes around the snowman...

You can see how tiny the feather puffs are...that's the top of a flower head pin above and the hopping foot on my longarm below is a quarter inch from the needle to the outside edge...gives you some perspective.

Here's a view of the snowman being surrounded by the background fill.

Once all the quilting was complete it was time for the true test to see what it looked like without all the blue lines. Into the washing machine it went. Only a rinse cycle with NO detergent.

Hallelujah, all the blue lines disappeared in the wash. But to make sure I had to air dry the quilt instead of putting it in the dryer, again, heat sets in the blue lines...the proof that all would be well would come the next day after it was dry.

Sigh of relief! All dry, very wrinkled and not looking like I envisioned, but knowing it wouldn't look "finished" until it was. Now it was time to draw the scallop edge...

Then add the bias binding, then trim the excess away...then hand sew the binding down on the back...

Then back in the wash again. I did this for two reasons, I wanted the binding to "pucker up" just like the rest of the quilt and I also wanted the fabric to loosen up a tad. This time I used a mild detergent and indeed dried it in the dryer on low heat.

He came out happy!

Here's Essence of Jennifer in her full glory

Designed & Quilted by Karen E Overton

Unfortunately I'm not a professional photographer, and the lighting isn't always the best, but I hope you will enjoy looking at the close ups. I believe if you click on the photo that it will enlarge..

I couldn't resist...wanted to see how she looked on a bed...

and of course Pixxie couldn't resist the opportunity to be in a photo!

I'm not 100% sure, but I do believe that R. & C. picked up their heirloom a year to the date of calling me....

As I worked on this quilt, or thought about this quilt, throughout the year my thoughts and prayers were with this family - that they would be comforted in their loss and that somehow the works of my hands would give them joy in the mist of their sorrow.

Christmas is truly in the heart.

Merry Christmas to all!