May The Fourth be with you...

 

It would appear joining two UFO groups is paying off this year...
it also helps that I'm semi-retired now, so I have more FREE time.

March Finishes:   APQ, Quilts needing labels.

 River's Edge  March's Letter was"A"

You're Invited 

Surprise, surprise...it turned out pretty cute.  I won't lie, what looked like an easy, slam-dunk design turned out to be a bit challenging.  Jack and I spent a fair amount of quality time together.  I still see things I'd change if I had the "want to", but.... now it's off to the  LAQ*.

 

River's Edge: quarterly project 

While I have been working on the Memory Bears as my quarterly project....the quarterly project due this quarter was the stack of Row-by-Row kits and patterns accumulated over the years.  The goal, weed the stack and finish two. 

Remember when Row-by-Row was all the rage?  My Quilting Auntie and I would shop hop and pick up patterns and kits like we were really going to sew these up!  😂

Row-by-Row from 2017.  Picked up from Sew EZ Two** in Spokane, WA.

 

 

Adding to my studio Small-Quilt Wall(s).  I hung it above my design wall so I could see it every time I entered the room.

 

 

 

 "Adventure A-Waits"

Picked up from Mel's Sewing and Fabric in Southern Calif. in 2017.

I've gone through the weeding process with these patterns and kits a few times now and it's down to three kits to make up.... the first entry on the UFO list for 2026. 

 

Machine Review Corner:  Baby Doll

For an inexpensive machine, she was OK.  Not as smooth as a more expensive machine...but OK.  It would be a good travel machine or a good "first" machine.

 

That wraps up a busy month....so satisfying!

 

 

* LAQ = Long Arm Quilter
** Sadly this shop is permanently closed.
And that's a pity, it was a great shop. Aunt Nyla and I spent a lot of time (and money) in this shop.

Spring Break!!

Off to California on a well-deserved holiday to see The Babes and all the California peeps. 
AND, not going empty-handed, either. 
All my hard work last month will bring happy faces this month.

 

 

In Case you missed it....the UFO Challenge number for April is 4. 
My #4 is an easy one....go through all the Row-by-Row kits I purchased over the years and decide what to keep and what to pass along.

In Memoriam

We all know Memorial Day is about our troops who have given all they have to keep our Freedoms Free.

While I currently have (and have had in the past) relatives serving in the military
(my son included), The Lord has spared me the heart break of losing any of them to a war. 
I cannot even imagine.  My heart goes out to all the moms, dads, sisters, brothers, cousins and people who love "Our Fallen Heroes."

Of course, Memorial Day weekend is ALSO the unofficial start of summer (the airlines know this....have you checked those fares lately?)  And, a nice three-day weekend to do.....whatever....

I spent the weekend mostly at home; a little cleaning....some gardening... some sitting-on-the-patio -sipping-an-adult-beverage-enjoying-the-fireflies.... and, of course, some quilting.  

The creation of a Memorial Wall Quilt to the Quilting Auntie, Nyla is well under way.

Using all the Row-by-Row license plates we collected over the years, and the idea I saw on Pinterest, this is what I have so far.

Designing Women

 

If you are not old enough to remember Designing Women, a weekly TV show from the early 1980's or if you ARE old enough but never watched the show....there are some episodes out there on the net. Funny, funny, funny.  If you need a good laugh....and they're clean.

The previous post about Remembering fired me up to take inventory of all the Row-by-Row row kits, patterns and license plates in my UFO stack.  The good news, not as many as I thought.  I don't feel so bad.  It was kind of fun going through all the patterns and license plates and Remembering all the shops. (A moment of silence for the 10 shops (out of 25) that are permanently closed.)

Next step....decide what to do with the kits and the plates. I found a nice design on Pinterest that uses the plates.

The Quilting Auntie and I zooming off on another quilt adventure.

So, now fire up EQ8* to make a quick design to determine how big to make the center and how much sashing fabric I'll need.  (Center 25" x 25".  Finished quilt 45" x 45"...unless I make changes along the way, as we Designing Women tend to do.) 
So far, still no trip to any Quilt Shop.

Finally, start arranging the pieces on the design wall....except both my design walls are already spoken for. 

As long as it is on the design wall I can pretend I'm actually making progress.

Long Time Gone
by Jen Kingwell
MUST get back to this.

Summer Soiree
Pat Sloan's Summer Sew Along 2021

Another design wall goes up in the hall outside the studio.

 

I'm liking it already.

Now there are three projects on three design walls....It's time for this Designing Woman to commence sewing!

 

*Electric Quilt 8

Set My Heart to Remembering....

Isn't it funny how our brains work?  If you think of a word like "coffee" your brain might come back with "beans" or "plantation" or "Juan Valdez."  (I think there might even be a game like this... ???)

This morning on FB someone asked about nice quilt shops in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho.  YES!  My favorite!  The Bear Paw. 
The Quilting Auntie and I would go there every time I went to Spokane to see her.  Very nice shop.  

I went out to the internet to grab the web address for the person inquiring....

What?  Permanently Closed!   Sad face.... It was the nicest shop!

2019 - Off to the Quilt Shop
Our last excursion shortly before her passing.

 

 

 

 

That set my heart to remembering ... all my trips to Spokane...
all the sewing sessions with the Quilting Auntie...
all the traveling to quilt shows...
even at the end of her days, we were talking quilting.

 

 

 

 

 

 AND, when I blew up the internet picture ... I remembered Row-By-Row!

Be honest....how many Row-by-Row kits, instructions and license plates do you have tucked away somewhere?  

Ok, I'll go first....

At least a few...and I even gave some away before I moved.

 

Pre-Pandemic when I'd travel for work...I'd be scouting out the quilt shops and bringing home Row-by-Row kits, patterns, etc.

They become UFOs and I think NOW is a good time to do something with them.  Since my move to Quilt City, USA, I've had so much on my plate that I have not done a thing in the Studio.*  I just can't get started.   All my UFOs and projects seem so stale.

I found a good starting place!  And it requires no trip to the quilt shop!

 

*I've been dealing with a medical issue that I hope is now behind me.

Row, Row, Row Your .... Boat?

The internet is a WONDERFUL tool, no?  You can find and order just about anything on the internet from Aurifil thread to Zippers and everything in between.  If Amazon doesn't have it, it will be out there...somewhere.
(FYI, Amazon sells Aurifil thread and zippers.)

With all the internet shopping going on, there is understandably less traffic in the shops.

How to get quilters and sewists back into the shops..... hummm ... By jove, I've got it! 

Make a game of it.... have a contest .... win prizes!

Row-By-Row Experience.  

What IS it?  Row by Row was started 8 years ago.  The purpose is to get people off their computers and back out to the quilt shops and fabric stores.

Every year there is a theme.  Individual quilt shops pay a fee to participate and they design a row according to the theme. Beginning in June and running until sometime in September, when you visit a participating shop you'll see a display of that shop's row and you can pick up a free pattern.  Often the shop will make up kits  for purchase with all the fabric and embellishments you'll need for their row.

You then rush home and sew up all your collected rows just as fast as ever you can (neglecting hubby, house work and and all other distractions.) When your R X R quilt is completely finished....quilting, binding and labeling ... be the first to take your finished quilt to any participating  shop and win lots of prizes.  That's it.  It's fun and exciting.

This years R X R is in full swing and the theme is Taste the Experience.  It is not too late to get started.

Here is one winner from Washington State.

                              The creativity of people still amazes me.

Find participating shops in your area, click HERE.

Check out the Inspiration page for more fun, quilty stuff and pictures of other winning quilts.

The last couple of years a R X R Junior has been added to encourage our younger quilters.  And don't stop there.... check out the supplemental patterns for young quilters.... I'm tempted to try some of these, myself.

For the curious folk who would like to see rows and blocks from past years, I found this website, Seams to Be Sew.  Grab a cup of Kicking Horse (or a nice red, depending on the time of day) and take a tour.  There is a lot of stuff on this site.....

If you can stand just one more link, Row by Row Studio on Facebook.  What fun!

There's No Place Like Home

It has been a fun, fun two weeks:  first in Kentucky with my dad and family (see the previous post) and then off to Washington to spend 5 days with my quilting buddy auntie, Nyla. And, man-o-man did we pack a lot of quilting fun into those 5 days!!!

First on the agenda; pick up a friend and shop hop to pick up Row-By-Row patterns and kits.

Bear Paw in Cour 'd Alene Idaho

Hatties in Spokane Washington

Quilting Bee in Spokane Washington

Sew EZ Too in Spokane... this one is now my favorite.

As you can see, we stimulated the quilt economy in the Spokane area just a wee bit.

I caught the bug and even though I SWORE I would not get any patterns or kits to make a Row-By-Row they were just so darn cute I could not help myself.  If you have not considered participating in this fun quilt along, you still have time. You cannot order the patterns or the kits via phone or on line.  The whole purpose of Row-By-Row is to visit the shops. Click HERE to get started.

Of course we celebrated the birthday of our Nation (and Auntie's B-day as well) with family and friends.

Another vacation project; I cleaned out a couple of my auntie's stash drawers and organized the fabric by color.  In the process I found enough scraps to make two kitty beds for Cat Adoption Team.

Lastly, no vacation would be complete without actually sitting down at a sewing machine and/or handling some quilts!!!

I finished this BOM started a couple of years ago (it needed borders.)  I took it to my auntie's quilter in Spokane,
Heartbeat Quilting, and I should have it back in about a month.  I will keep this one.

And, look what auntie made me for my birthday (a couple year ago)!!!

 It took her a couple years to get the binding on.....oy, vey....

I'm her favorite! Ahhhhh

It was a fun vacation...I'm pooped.... I need a vacation from my vacation!

Mixing Pleasure with Pleasure

I've been on vacation in the Paducah, Kentucky (Quilt City) area for the past week visiting family.

I have been lucky enough in the past to go visit my mom (thus staying out of the dog house) and attend the
Paducah Quilt Show at the same time!

Paducah Quilt Show, 2015
Left to Right:  My mom, My sister, My Aunt (My Quilting buddy) and me.

All that changed late last year when my mother passed into Glory quite suddenly.  So, this trip has been a bit emotional as it is my first trip "home" since my mom's passing.  However, it has also been a wonderful, sweet time visiting with my dad and other family.  AND I have even managed to sneak in a few fabric store visits.

I  decided to visit a few stores participating in the Row-By-Row Experience for 2017.  Do you know about this quilt-along?  Visit this web site CLICK HERE. This years theme is "On The Go."

I went to Hancocks in Paducah, of course:

A WONDERFUL place to browse away the afternoon.  I was a bit disappointed in their block, however. It just doesn't look like they put much effort into the design.

Must Stitch Emporium: This adorable store is located in downtown Paducah, an area known as "Quilter's Alley."
Small, but very nice store with a nice selection of fabrics.

A cute, fresh, simple block, also.

Quilt in a Day: OK, now we're talking.  Very cute block.

Fun fact:  Eleanor Burns shares a birthday with my quilting-buddy, Auntie!

Murray Sewing Center: This one is my favorite, so far.

The Row-By-Row worked on me... while I was visiting Kentucky, I visited (and stimulated the economy of) a number of fabric stores in the area.

Now I'm off to the Pacific Northwest to finish up my vacation and visit with my quilting-buddy Auntie.
Stay tuned for more quilting fun.

On The Road

I simply LOVE to talk to people about quilting. It is a good ice breaker that often leads to deeper conversations and sometimes even Facebook Friends.

Recently I discovered a couple of ladies right in my home church (Calvary Baptist Church) who quilt.  We had a small get together for a "show and tell".  It was very fun to get to know these ladies and see their past projects as well as what is under their needle today.







Another thing I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE is visiting fabric stores.  And, one of the perks of traveling for work is visiting fabric stores in various cities that I would normally not have an opportunity to visit.

A few weeks ago I was in Honolulu Hawaii and was able to visit three fabric/quilt stores, all very different.

Fabric Mart

 This fabric store was probably the store with largest inventory and prices were very reasonable.

Very eclectic and quite interesting, this store  had a very large inventory of Hawaiian fabrics.


Kuni Island Fabrics is a very sweet (but small), locally owned, store with a good variety of fabrics, notions and items on display.

While I was browsing, several ladies came in to sign up for classes... the owner seemed to know the ladies very well, asking personal questions about family, etc.  THAT is VERY nice.  While the ladies in my local fabric stores may know me by sight, we certainly have not taken any time to get to know each other on a personal level.

 Kuni Island Fabrics is participating in the Row-By-Row Experience

Here is a completed Row-By-Row quilt. 
If you have not yet discovered Row-By-Row...
check out the website Here.

Kaimuki Dry Goods

This was probably my favorite store. There was a nice variety of fabrics from Hawaiian fabrics to specialty fabrics.  The staff was quite friendly asking about the projects I had planned for the fabric I was buying and the store was bright and open.

They are also participating in the Row-By-Row (see above picture.)



That's all.  If you are planning a trip to the Islands (or any other location) check out the local fabric stores.
Before you go, check out this website for a list of fabric stores at your destination. Quilter's Travel Companion
(One last word, the above-mentioned site is a paid service.  Not every fabric store or quilt store will be listed.  Search Google as well.)