Becky's quilt obsession

I have learned that not much happens late in the year until Christmas is over. This is what it looked like after the actual top of the train layout was gone. Friends in the train operators group were so helpful in getting everything removed. By the end of their work the only wall that remained intact was the one with all Don's pictures and the railroad lanterns. And the ceiling. My son-in-law, Jason decided he would tear down the ceiling. He tried to talk me into keeping it, but I really wanted it gone. Underneath it, we found almost another foot of walls, so I will have nearly 9 foot ceilings down here. It will not resemble a basement when it is finished. The picture is a little dark, but it shows the ceiling removed and the first 2 rows of can lights. There are plenty of circuits down there (see all the fascia lighting in above picture), so J is fixing it so I can have some of the lights connected, but some on different switches. (There are 8 of them right now). The closets and l...

My son asked if I was going to blog about building the Quilt Studio, so I thought I might try. I'm not sure I remember Blogger  - for instance how to change my profile - but here goes. These are pictures of Don's layout - the Stockton & Copperopolis Railroad. Don died nearly 4 years ago; his layout has only operated a few times since then and not at all for nearly 2 years. Layouts demand steady upkeep or they don't run well, if at all. Don had a will especially for his layout. We did follow his wishes as much as possible. I will be eternally greatful to all the railroad guys who came and took it down. The room now looks like this: Towards the family room The other side of the room with the windows. Now the process of turning this into the quilting room is starting. I met with one young man who is interested in the work, but he can't start until April. My son may be able to help with this - he knows different trades that may be looking for inside work for the winter....

Most of my quilting time this year has been spent on making Memory Quilts from my dear Brother-in-law's shirts and pants - mainly jeans. He died last year - January 17, 2018. My dear BIL Dave Dave and Sherry The "clan" providing comic relief at the request of the photographer (my daughter, Dave's niece)  After the four (grown) children, (10) grand- and (3 + 1 on the way) great grandchildren had taken all of the things (shirts, ties, etc.) they wanted, I finally (in April) said I would take the shirts and work with those. Later I also took his jeans and some of his slacks. Later Sherry found additional flannel and heavier shirts and jean jackets which I used for the pillows. I spent a lot of time "de-boning" his shirts, and cut a LOT of 6 1/2" and 4 1/2" circles from the jeans and pants. I cut mainly the darker shirts into 6-1/2" x 8-1/2" patches. At first I tried cutting the shirt pockets into the patches, but it was ...

My DH has watched me struggle to "cut" things with my Accuquilt Go - it seems really hard to crank. I try to cut with it when DGDs are here, but they are "onto" my scheme. For Christmas DH bought me an Accuquilt Go Big - the electric model. Using it is wonderful. My Sister-in-law is expecting a new great grandson. We collaborated on a quilt, my version of "Baby's Picture Frame" an old pattern from Trudie Hughes. (A variation of a Courthouse steps log cabin.) It uses a lot of 1-1/2" strips. It took me about 10 minutes to cut the strips (most of that time spent in pressing the fabrics). I was able to use the Go strip cutter again to cut the strip sets. I used Minkee on the back for the cuddle factor. I do, however HATE working with its slickness, especially when applying binding. It is finished, and in the hands of my niece - the soon to be new grandmother. Happy Quilting, Becky in KCMO

Charity quilts: I spent a lot of time in July, August and Sept making charity quilts. We always need more twin size quilts - guild members always donate lots of smaller quilts. I sent 4 tops to Houston after the flooding before I took pictures. Here are pictures of the other quilts I made for a teen-age crisis home: The color scheme of these quilts was picked from this large grape fabric. Greens and purples. I cut 4" strips from fat quarters and half yards and kept adding fabrics, mainly lights to make all the blocks. Made from all the leftover strips and pieces. This one was started by 4-H students using charm squares left over from last quilt show boutique and many homespuns I cut up trying to whittle down my stack of those. Can you tell we have a cold air return that sucks on the corner of all the quilts for show and tell?? I do like the St. Louis 16 patch - just Google it to find the directions. If you want to be able to match seams easily, follow ...

I stopped blogging awhile back - too much other stuff to do. I was Ways and Means Chair for my Guild for 2 years, then helped finish up stuff, taught 4H, sewed with the GrandGirls, etc. The youngest Granddaughter is working on the one on the left - Mrs. Chillingsworth. We together made the one on the right several years ago. She only sewed a bit on it. The new one she is doing all the sewing - Gma just cuts and pins. She hopes to make Mrs. the same size and Mr. She's started on the next border of squares that will follow another black border on this medallion quilt. I've been working on this and that. A very young man shared his cold with me and I'm of an age where that sidelines me for a while. My friend JoAnne did the main piecing on a bargello heart for us to donate to Friends United for their 30th Anniversary dinner and auction. I finished the border, quilted and applied binding. JoAnne shared the leftover bargello strips with me so I made two pillows (so far) to g...