Welcome 2019!

To say that 2018 was a good year for me would be an understatement!

As you can see it has been awhile since I posted here in blogland. A lot of life has happened since I last posted. Not all of life is good, as I’m sure everyone can attest. There have been ups and there have been downs. But God is faithful and I am glad that I can agree with the writer of Psalm 73:28, “But as for me, it is good for me to draw near to God; I have made the Lord God my refuge and placed my trust in Him, that I may tell of all Your works.”  So back to the opening statement of this post.

2018 brought a wonderful change to my home. My quilting studio was upstairs in my home, making it less than easily accessible during a normal day. I would try to get all my daily chores done before climbing the stairs, only to finally get there and someone ring the doorbell, or call asking for something that was downstairs. I am 58 years old and in 2017 I injured my knee so there are days when climbing the stairs is just not all that easy.

We had a single car garage attached to our home that we used mostly for storage. The entrance to our laundry room was also located in the garage. The garage floor was a step down from the house floor. So envision a trip to the laundry room (the floor of which was level with the house floor) - step down, walk to entrance, step up, do laundry, step down, walk to house entrance, step up. Not a good thing.

So in 2018 we made a decision to renovate. We closed in the garage, raised the floor level with the house, and made it my quilt studio! Oh happy day! Not only was my studio now easily accessible but trips to the laundry room are no longer a workout. And I purchased a used low end small “longarm”. By small I mean the distance between the needle and the back of the machine is 14”, where most are 18” or more. These changes have been a game changer in my world!

So not to make this blog a boring journal of words I would like to begin today posting pictures of quilts that I have made over the last year. There will be a little story of each quilt, because every quilt has a story, even if it isn’t a earth shattering one. And along the way I’ll write a little of my story. I may not have a huge blog following but somehow this little record of my quilts may be a record of me, my likes, and my quilt making journey.

The quilts will not be shared in any particular order, just that they were finished in 2018. One note - the pictures were taken on my phone and not in stunning settings. The first one was taken at a quilt retreat where I had just finished sewing the binding on.

This quilt was started in 2016. The main fabric was purchased a "few" years ago with no real idea of what it was going to be used for.  5 yards of it! Then around 2009/10 I purchased a book with the basis of this quilt in it.  The setting blocks in the original quilt were embroidered, and the border with the diamonds was different. I made it my own because I liked the basic layout. I had lots of fun making it and I finished it in October of 2018. It had a place of honor on our bed during the Christmas holiday. I am very pleased with this quilt.

I had no idea it would be so long that I would be able to pull it over the pillows! Happy Discovery!

This sweet little quilt was not supposed to turn out this way. I planned to make the four patches all line up in the same direction.  However while adding the white squares between them I didn't pay attention until I had about half of them sewn on that some were going the other way.  Well at first I thought I would have to unsew the pieces. Then I realized that I could arrange them this way and they were totally fun that way.  I was really just playing with fabric at this point with really no goal in mind.  About that time a baby shower invitation came for a young woman at my church who was having a boy.  So I put blue fabric on the back and voila a baby quilt! Such happy colors for the little guy. And I may do another quilt with this setting because it was so fun.

So back to the drawing board to make a quilt with four patches all lined up in the same direction and alternating with scrappy background fabrics instead of one fabric. Love it! Easy quilt, uses up lots of different pieces. And wouldn't you know it, another baby has arrived and needs a quilt! Yay! This one is a baby girl. To add even more fun to the quilt I put a colorful back on it.

Lots of fun!

Now you might notice that these two quilts are "scrappy". Here is where a story of my journey as a quilter comes in.  In a my very first blog post, August 2012,  I shared my first quilt, a scrappy square quilt that my grandmother helped me make.  I made a quilt with precut squares that were sold in a kit, and I made a quilt with preprinted pillow panels. Then I began "serious" quilt making by making my first ever quilt cut with a rotary cutter and a template. A fall leaf quilt with lovely fall colors.  Up to this point the quilt colors had all been determined by someone else. Not my own choosing.  Then I made my first ever strip pieced quilt where I chose my own fabrics. I used a blue and white check fabric with a muslin background.  This fabric said a lot about the quilts I was drawn to. One color and a background. I favor calm serene quilts. Not a lot of chaos or color.  My mother on the other hand was in love with what is commonly called "scrap quilts".  Quilts with lots of color and a large variety of fabrics.  I personally did not find these appealing.  Well my friends let me tell you that has changed! In the more than 20 years that I have been quilting I have truly learned to appreciate and embrace the use of lots of fabrics in one quilt. My mother isn't here to see this change in me, but I think she'd be pleased.  In the days ahead you will see many more quilts of this style. 

I hope you enjoyed todays blog post and look forward to reading more about my adventures in quilting.  I have lots more quilts to share that I was blessed to do in 2018, so check back later!