Kaleidoscope progress

Working on more than two quilts at once is fun, but taxing! Here are the latest photos of the kaleidoscope quilts being constructed by our small church group. Isn't it amazing the way one pattern can have so much variety! (Note the old flannel sheets used to pin the pieces to and keep them from getting mixed up.)

The third and fourth one are mine. One of them is pin-basted and ready to quilt. I decided to leave it round and use it on a table. The other one is getting a 1" inner boarder, then another wider border. Not there yet.

Wonky House

Last Grad Club at our LQS, we were challenged to make a wonky house, not a difficult project. This is mine, created in eight days. I called it "Lives on Prairies... Vacations in Serengeti" and the label says, "Challenged at Grad Club (Earthly Goods) and bored with normal, this little wall hanging evolved -- as did the title. From what is seen, viewers can make up their own story!

A small project like this (17.25" x 25.5") offers lots of opportunities to try new quilt stitches or just need practice with old ones.

I know, I should be posting the kaleidoscopes. Both are ready to sandwich and quilt. I also have another special quilt ready to quilt. Sometimes a person just needs to do something wonky!

Because of Valour

Quilts of Valor began in the United States. Most of you know that these quilts go to wounded soldiers. Not long ago, a woman from our city's quilt guild brought Quilts of Valour to Canada. She has quite a story of how this started.

This picture shows my second donation to QoV. It was made out of those Arrowhead blocks where two squares are sewn right sides together around most of the outside edges, etc., then cut in such a way that most of the piecing happens without cutting the pieces. They look more complicated than they are.

I used almost all the purple and a lot of my green stash for this one. It is about 48" x 66" (I have to spell valor in the British way, but don't have to measure it in metrics!) 

In Canada, much effort is also made to see that all war veterans and casualties from RCMP, police, etc. get a quilt. Reports come back that these quilts are highly valued by the recipients. Our city just had a ground-breaking ceremony for House of Valour, a special care facility for those who suffer from being in a war.

On another note, I've also sewn together one of my kaleidoscopes and am planning a couple of borders. The other one will be sewn together today. Pictures later.  

P.S. I love quilters. One asks me a question, and the next one answers it... before I even read the comments! I do have an excuse for not giving more info about this block. I found it in a magazine, made one to try it, then gave the magazine away. Thank you to Cheri for asking and Michele for answering.

Kaleidoscope progress

These are all using the same pattern, but wow -- look at the differences! They are in various stages of completion. The two red/orange/yellow/green ones are mine, with only two shapes in place. However, I've nearly finished one of them today, but haven't had time to get a photo. The others are from our small group at church. There are eight of us making these. Some are making two. Lots of fun! More to come...

 

Easter

Finally, my house is starting to look normal (whatever normal is) instead of like a warehouse. The new floor is in and most things are back where they belong - or out of the house and gone to a better home! Purging unused stuff is my new favorite pastime.

Also, my big desk is in a new spot and that room is now called a "study" - with books on shelves in the closet and along one wall. 

My sewing studio looks vaguely like a basketball court (smaller, of course) with everything around the edges, but what it lacks in pretty, it makes up for in functional. There is a quilt top in place on my HQ 16, quilting motif selected. Soon, it will be finished. Feels good.

Now, if you could quilt the fabric in this picture, what would you put on it?

Happy Easter!
 

Space changes >>> happy me!

Finally - my desk/writing space is in a different room from sewing/quilting and I am so excited. My attention-deficit, easily distracted mind was yanked by one thing when I was doing the other. Now I'm better able to focus — well, with a few glitches... like no photos today - until I find my camera!

But the bigger-than-I-need desk is in place in its own room (formerly a spare), and all computer, phone, fax, Internet, etc. are plugged in and working. Our son and his fiance lent us some muscle yesterday. We took the desk apart in chunks so we could get it through doors and down the hall. Most of the time I was finding tools for them, or keeping my eyes shut. They stayed for supper and were such a blessing! 

Now I just have to move a bookshelf, put my books in it, and then put away all the stuff we haven't given away that was originally in this room where the desk etc. are now... and get the studio looking more like a studio and less like an abandoned quilt store... but it is coming and I'm so excited. 

In all of this, I've two Kool Kaleidoscopes started on a design wall, my friend's top ready to quilt on another, a Quilt of Valor draped over my HQ 16 rails, and finished a small competition quilt for our city-wide guild. After the entry goes in, I can post a photo of that. Yippee! 

K-4

Eight people showed up to make Kaleidoscopes. Some were picking colors. Some were sewing their strata. A few got to the design wall stage. Mine got started but I've changed my mind about the way I want to line up the first piece of the puzzle. Here are photos of a couple others. More later...

The first one has 12 mirror-image pieces from one strata set. The second has 12 + 12 mirror-images pieces cut from two different strata sets. The delight in making this quilt (Ricky Tims creation) is in the surprises!