And what did I make to keep?

So during the past year, in addition to all the charity projects I made and donated to others, I was able to finish many of the unfinished projects I brought to Alabama with me, as well as begin and begin to completion some new projects.

I crocheted a hat for Alex in his favorite colors, black, red and white. He likes to wear a winter hat to keep his head warm.

I made and finished five quilts for the grandkids this year. Three were a beautiful 4-Patch Posie design for Gabriella, Sophia and Isabella Dailey. Each had a different backing and binding. One was a quilt called Formal Garden in teal and purple for Angelina Dailey (age 3-1/2). The fifth was a Quick Trip Around the World quilt in sparkly winter blues for Kieran Dailey.

I made a brocade quilt from home dec fabrics given to me by a friend. It is made of gold brocade and cranberry sashing. It graces the back of our couch now.

I finished a quilt made from fat quarters and coordinating hand-dyed fabrics (dyed by my mother). I had started the quilt before I left Oregon.

I finished a Lonestar design table centerpiece that had been abandoned into an orphan block box, which went to a Moody Quilters guild member.

I knitted a hat for myself from nubby yarn in blues.

I made two knitted head wraps, one in hand-painted wool yarn for myself, and one in black and grey cotton for Terry (when he's working in the yard). My mother developed the pattern.

I made two wall hangings: One when I took my mother's workshop on landscapes (seaside trees in Hawaii) and one called Silhouettes for Tabitha Hanner, Terry's daughter.

I finished a wall hanging that had been in my sister's unfinished quilt top pile for several years. I finished it and sent it back to her for Christmas.

I made a miniature quilt called Storm at Sea out of turquoise and white fabrics.

I made two pressing and cutting stations, one mini and one larger.

I made two iron totes, one of them a mini size for my travel iron.

I made a pair of shower slippers out of some yardage I had put together with asian fabrics in a crazy quilt design.

I made a cosmetics organizer out of the fabric my mother designed.

I finished the quilt I call 16-patch Radiance (which warrants a blog post of its own).

Charity Report -2012

Charity Projects for 2012

I really put on an effort to keep track of the charity projects I completed and donated this year. The Moody Crochet group works with Odyssey Hospice of Moody and Alegiant Hospice of Birmingham. During this past year, I donated quilts to the Moody Crazy Quilters, Pell City Friendship Quilters, Heart of Dixie Quilters (Trussville) and the Loving Hands Mission of the Moody Methodist Church.

Hats:

It takes me about 2 hours to make a crocheted hat, if I use a particular pattern (called the Madison Hat). Nearly each week, I meet with my crochet friends at the public library. I can finish a hat at the meeting, if I concentrate. I also make hats and other items while we're traveling.

During the past year, I made and donated 27 adult hats, 1 preemie hat, and 2 baby hats. I also made 1 pair of crocheted baby booties of my own pattern.

Scarves:

I made seven scarves to match some of the hats mentioned above. Some of them were this pretty flower design.

Coasters/Mug rugs:

I make small rectangular mug rugs, with fringe on two ends, to go at the bedside of hospice/nursing home patients out of cotton yarn. During 2012, I made 15 of these.

Prayer Squares:

I made small (3”x3” or 4”x4”) quilted squares to go to a church that gives them to people undergoing cancer treatments or other issues. I made 40 of them.

Lap robes:

I made one crocheted lap robe, and seven quilted lap robes (approximately 36” x 36”). Two were made out of thrift-store fabrics and fringe from another thrift store.

Quilts:

    I put together one Quilt of Valor that was quilted by a professional quilter, and then I finished the quilt for donation to the Pell City Veterans Home that just opened in November 2012.

    I made three adult quilts for donation, one of which was given as a Prayer/Comfort Quilt to a member of the Friendship Quilters of Pell City. The other two went to the Loving Hands mission of the Moody Methodist Church.

  

   Four baby quilts were donated to the Trussville Quilters (their baby quilts go to the St. Vincent’s NICU).

Knoxville Quilt Show July 2011

Trip Report – Knoxville Quilt Show

June 15-17, 2011

Knoxville, TN

The AQS summer show has been in Knoxville for the past three years, but this year was the last there, as the summer show is being moved to Grand Rapids, MI for 2012-2014. The quilt show is sponsored by the American Quilters Society (AQS). It’s one of four shows AQS sponsors, with Paducah, KY being the major show in April. The others are held in Lancaster, PA, and Des Moines, IA.

My friend, Rachel Bates (from the Moody Crazy Quilters and the Pell City Friendship Quilters), and I left Birmingham around 8:30 on June 15, heading up I-59 North to Knoxville. The plan was to spend the night at the Knoxville Holiday Inn next to the convention center and then meet up with my mother, sister and my sister’s friend, P.J.

Last year, I had made the same meet-up in Knoxville, but Rachel was a new addition this year. My mother had hand-died t-shirts for each of us last year, but this year, P.J. wore hers earlier in the week, and couldn’t wear hers to the show. Mom had made a new t-shirt for Rachel, so at least there were four of us who were dressed alike. We find it’s easier to locate each other when wearing matching shirts. Last year, we stenciled “I’m the MOM” on my mother’s, “I’m the LITTLE SISTER” on my sister’s, and “I’m the BIG SISTER” on mine. P.J.’s said, “I’m the FRIEND”. I didn’t get a chance to make a stencil for Rachel’s t-shirt. No matter -- hers looked like the others, and that was what counted.

Rachel Bates, Marjorie Post and Becky Ray

My mother had acquired 4 passes to the show from the Northwest Quilters (in Portland, OR), since NW Quilters had a quilt entered in the show. She had sent a pair of tickets to me, but somehow they got lost in the mail and ended up being returned to her (after the show, I might add). So, we were going to have to pay for entry after all. Rachel and I arrived in Knoxville around 4pm (with the time change), and we didn’t feel it was worth spending money for entry on Thursday. We did go over to the convention center to purchase tickets for the next day, and picked up a couple of free magazines and bought a program for the show. We carried those back to our room and spent the evening browsing the reading material.

On Friday, my mother, sister and PJ were riding a bus from a quilt store in Johnson City, TN (my mother flew in from Portland to stay with my sister). They left Johnson City around 8 a.m. I got a call from my sister about 9:30 and she said “We’re still about 45 minutes away.” Then she called right back and said, “We’re here; guess I got confused about where we really were.” They loved riding the bus to the show, as they didn’t have to stress about driving or parking.

The show features quilt competitions and displays of challenges from various quilt guilds, as well as classes and lectures. The AQS shows have “purchase” prizes, so if you win a prize, the quilt is acquired by AQS and put into the American Quilt Museum in Paducah.

We were pleased to see the NW Quilters entry: Oregon Trail before I-84 (I-84 runs through Portland). There was also a set of challenge hangings from the Rogue River Valley Quilters in Southern Oregon. This challenge (called A River Runs through It) specified that each wall hanging must feature a portion of a river, and the quilters were given a specific fabric to use for the water. Beyond that, how they designed their piece was then up to them. When finished, the hangings were hung side by side, with the appearance of a continuous river, but each person’s design was totally different, so it made quite an interesting composition.

A River Runs through it -- Rogue River Valley Quilters

We spent quite a lot of time admiring a quilt called “The Quilt Show”– which was composed itself of several miniature quilts, even with award ribbons! The attention to detail was amazing. If you look closely, you can see that some patrons are holding quilt program booklets.

The Quilt Show

My sister had entered her quilt “Light at the End of the Tunnel”, made of batiks, into the show. Although it didn’t win a prize, anyone we mentioned it to knew right away which quilt we meant.

Becky Ray of Johnson City, TN, with her quilt

One of my favorite quilts was the International Sunbonnet Sue, which is inspired by a new AQS book. Each of the 49 Sues is dressed in her country's traditional costume and holds a symbolic souvenir that obscures her face. For example, the Chinese Sunbonnet Sue is holding up a lantern, the Swiss Sue is holding a cuckoo clock, the Mexican Sue is holding a cactus, and so on. Here are some more examples:

We were also quite amused by a quilt featuring interpretations of the Sunbonnet Sue by famous artists. It was fun identifying the various artists’ styles.

Here is American Gothic.

Whistler

The Scream, by Edvard Munch.

I also enjoyed a set of challenge quilts interpreting Elvis song titles.

There was a huge rainstorm in the late afternoon after the Tennessee bus left, taking Mom, Becky and PJ back to Johnson City, and it continued most of the night. Fortunately, the hotel dinner was delicious and it was nice to sit in the restaurant looking out the window at the driving rain, realizing we only had to take the elevator up to our room, rather than run through the storm.

We went back to the quilt show on Saturday, since Mom and Becky left their entry badges for us, and we were able to visit a few booths we missed or revisit ones that particularly intrigued us. Rachel likes to do handwork, so she was interested in the English paper piecing templates and bought several sets. I was intrigued by a set of Japanese inks and brushes for hand dying fabrics.

Here are some more quilts that I liked.

Where to begin?

This is the record of my attempts to organize myself, and to get ready for a new marriage and a move out of state to Alabama!