Wandering Quilter in Kansas City

On the way to Mom and Dad's from the airport we stopped by Asiatica. We'd read about it on Barbara Brackman's blog. Mom and I were both overwhelmed by the rolls of vintage kimono fabric stored in their work rooms.  Asiatica designers make lovely new garments for high end consumers. Sorry I was too shy to ask if I could take photos. Watch the video on their website.  Really, it it worth your time.

Once we got to the house, I threw my new(ish) quilt over the bed.

Great Grandmother "Mom" Irvin pieced it and I just finished quilting it. I felt it important for Mother to see it in person. 

Mom saw lots of friends: Jan Patek (her design partner), Barb Adams and Alma Allen, Sandy Gervais, Rita Briner of Quilter's Station, Terry Thompson, the Buggy Barn girls Pam Soliday and Janet Nesbitt and Edie McGinnis. The market was HUGE, and we got properly worn out traipsing all over it.

One woman we were very happy to meet is Delores Storm. She designs under Lackadaises, and we love her use of vintage found treasures and wool. Check out her redwork designs too.

Back at the house I mentioned to Mom I'd like to make a string pieced star quilt like one I'd seen, so she brought out this:

I don't remember seeing it before.

She is looking for the pattern.

It is so soft with age.

And it has wonderful geranium leaf fabric on the back. (sigh)

I may want to make another rag quilt too, so she brings this out:

Dang. The back as lovely as the front:

Shoot. Big squares and little ones.

So I just keep plugging away at my quilts:

I finished the binding on Eron's (my paramedic son who is engaged to the lovely Meredith) quilt.

It came out very nice I think.

He wants it for his firehouse bunk, and he requested black, white and red (he said it is a fireman thing). I learned the stack method for the stars at a class with Peggy Barkle, so finishing it for Eron was a no-brainer. 

I am trying to get a good photo of an open Morning Glory (Mom just corrected me; this is a Moon Flower, and it blooms at night, so good luck getting a photo of it) in Mom and Dad's yard. 

This curled up one will have to do for now.

By the way, it is seven months after Mom's knee replacement surgery and Dad is still bringing her breakfast in bed. Every day!

(I got nothing else.)

End of the Christmas stay-cation

Snow fell on Stars in Georgia (making fun of license plates which say "stars fell on Alabama").

I am probably the only quilter alive over the age of 50 who had not made a "rag" quilt.

Not any more!  I just finished one.

Here is the back story:  Mother was cleaning stuff out and came across a big box of flannel squares she'd cut to make a rag quilt, but then she lost interest (who knows how long ago), so she set the box aside for me.  I brought it home last summer and also set it aside.

Yesterday I got it out and started sorting.  Some squares were in pairs with batting between, so I began stitching those first.

The directions were for 9 inch blocks with smaller 4-patch groups alternating.  Well, that wasn't going to work, since I had 8 inch squares to start with.  Maybe she'd been working from a different pattern?

She had the soft sides of the flannel layered together, so I reversed that to put the soft side out. Marked a big old X to stitch on (note the sandpaper under the fabric helps it stay put to mark on).

I kept it simple and went with the 8 inch blocks with 5 1/2 inch batting between and 1 inch joining seams.

You make a LOT of squares.  My rag quilt is 9 blocks across by 11 down.  I think that is a nice 1 person throw size, so that is 99 x 2 squares!

These are the rows laid out. I resorted to marking the rows with a Sharpie so I wouldn't get them out of order.

This is the BACK side once they are all stitched together and stitched 1 inch in all the way around.

I still have to do all the clipping and then take it to a laundromat to wash.  I have listened to quilters talk about the shedding this quilt will do, so I know not to clip seams indoors or to wash (initially) in my own washer.

Here are the unclipped seams.  The instructions said to stitch them open.  I don't really know why.

Neither does Kitten.

Nor this silly guy (son #2)

Nor does son #1

We missed you #3.  Hope to see #3 soon.

MIL update: She was out of the hospital and back at her sister's house yesterday afternoon. Evidently these "things" happen, and they had happened to her before. She'll see a doctor in town sometime this week.