Ava's Quilt & Other Events

It is finally finished!  Ava will get her big girl quilt very soon!

It has butterflies!

It has hearts to show how much she is loved

Please be sure to click on the picture above to see all the fine details.

I also sewed on cancer caps for a dear friend that is going through chemo.

I also lost my job at the bakery this week because of a terrible fire.  Thankfully no one was seriously hurt.  I'm feeling a little heartbroken right now because my bakery family is in a whole world of hurt, but there are wonderful people out there that are trying to help :)

Happy Quilting!

Kay Lynne

In Special Memory and Honor

 Many years ago I made these quilt blocks for a class I was teaching.  It became a UFO in my closet until a Sandi at Sew in Peace  told me about Alycia and the Quilts of Valor organization.  What caught my attention was Alycia's heart for the wounded soldiers and the need of 60 quilts per month.

It bothered me that the need was so high--are these people forgotten? 

This brought up memories of my cousin, Steve, who died in the Vietnam War.  I was only a child, but I remember how this loss affected my Aunt and Uncle.    

 Some soldiers like my cousin lose their life, but many others come home with wounded bodies and minds.  I pondered about Sandi's excitement and pulled this UFO out of my closet and thought that this quilt needs to be with one of our wounded and not hiding in my closet!

Alycia will soon receive a shipment of quilt tops for her to quilt with her long arm to help show our wounded soldiers that we really care :)

Happy Quilting!

Kay Lynne

Feathers in the FMQ Challenge with Diane Gaudynski

Here is my practice piece for the FMQ Challenge.  Thank you Diane for taking your time for the wonderful  tutorial for the  FMQ Challenge.  Diane's quilting was first introduced to me in 2006 at the International Quilt Show through a lady in the vendor's area selling a book called "Quilt Savvy Gaudynski's Machine Quilting Guidebook".  Domestic machine quilting was not new to me and I had even taught machine quilting classes, but Diane's book started making me think outside the box of meandering.  Her book also made me feel better about taking my Bernina darning foot to the bench grinder several years before out of frustration--my husband though that I was crazy at the time until he understood what I was doing.   Being able to see what you're quilting is a good thing.  Diane's wonderful book also introduced me to flowing feathers that reminded me of my Grandmother and her quilting friends that were always hand quilting a beautiful quilt in the school basement during my grade-school years.

I've been quilting feathers for several years now and I really enjoy sitting down and only drawing a curve on my quilt and filling in the rest free hand.  Yes--you can do it!  I started with a sketch pad and practiced drawing and practiced and practiced and more practice.  The next step I did was potholders.  I learned that potholders make wonderful gifts and they don't have to be perfect.  The ugly feathered potholders went in my kitchen drawer to be used for everyday.  Eventually I worked with bigger projects with feathers.

 My feathers are a little different than Diane's.  I backtrack my plumes, because I thought that my stitching wasn't good enough.  Now I think that it looks good either way.  I usually backtrack my stems and Diane has me thinking that quilting in a vein really isn't that bad.

Your feathers and my feathers will never look exactly like Diane's because we're all unique people and that is just fine!  I'm thankful for all the quilters out there that are willing to share their feather posts.

Happy Quilting and Happy Feathering!

Kay Lynne

More Florida Adventures

Last week I told you of some great quilt shops in Florida.  Well there's more!

This was my first visit to the Fabric Warehouse of Lakeland.  I was amazed by all the fabric and the friendliness of all the employees of the store.  The store owner was really nice to let me take pictures of her fabric.

They also had a very large classroom with a quilting class in session.  I was given permission to take pictures of the class, but I didn't want to disturb the class or the teacher.  This store was really impressive and I would come back to visit again.  The 4H sticker on the front door also caught my eye.  It's great when people encourage the next generation to sew through being a 4H sponsor.   Thank you to all the ladies at Fabric Warehouse for a nice visit!

 Another favorite quilt shop in Lakeland is Patchwork Pig.  They have a large, large selection of fabric in a beautiful building.  I love the hardwood floors, displays, and beautiful ceilings.  If you own a Bernina, you will recognize the hum of Bernina sewing machines sewing up some beautiful quilts in the back classroom.

 Now last and certainly not least, Rainbows End quilt shop of Dunedin.  It's well worth the trip to see all the fabric and lots of notions and you can shop online at their website.

 

Some of you may ask which one is my favorite--well all of them!  They are all small business people with all wonderful personalities that are trying to make a living in economic hard times.  I'm happy to give them all my business as well as my quilt shops in my home state.  Thank you ladies (and a few gentlemen) for making our quilt shop hop a success!  

We didn't spend all our time in fabric shops.  We also went to the flea market and just enjoyed each others company. 

 Thanks Mom and Dad for having me--I had a great time!

Flying home the clouds looked like quilt batting--or am I just quilt crazy!

Happy Quilting!

Kay Lynne