Story of My Row by Row Quilt - guest blogger

Greetings. My cousin, Beth, wrote this story about making her Row by Row quilt, and I asked if I could use her story. She said yes. For those who don't know: Row by Row quilts were in quilt shops all across the USA and Canada. Each store had its own row pattern. If you asked for the pattern, you could get it free. The year's theme was water. In each store, the first person who turned in a completed quilt using eight or more rows won 25 fat quarters. Here is Beth's story, and a picture of her beautiful quilt:


My Row-by-Row, by Beth H.

The story includes some drama, because I had to get it done and submitted before I left for the UK. The contest window was closing quite soon after I would have returned.

You know the ending [she wins], but I did not…

Imagine me trying to manage the time frame. I am cranking row after row, achieving about one row a day at my cabin in northern Minnesota. Labor Day comes, and the row I have saved until last comes up.

I saved the Tahoe row for last for several reasons. [The row was from a quilt shop in Nevada, near Lake Tahoe]. I did not have a kit, and it was appliqué not pieced.

It is time to start (remember - I am at my cabin). I did have the muslin base I planned to use. Oops! I am out of fusible web.
My daughter could pick some up on her way north from the Twin Cities…
My son could pick some up before he leaves his place in Grand Forks…
My nephew could pick some up before he leaves from his teaching job in another northern town…

Nope, the nephew had a soccer game to coach until shops would be closed.
My son was working and stressed and unwilling.
My daughter was leaving too late to catch the quilt shop before it closed.

My nephew mentions that his parents are in our local biggish town getting groceries. There is a quilt shop there, so I call. I get my BIL, and he is quite willing to enter and purchase things in a quilt shop. I give him careful instructions, and he gets the right amount of the right stuff!

I move along carefully, cutting and applying and measuring and appliquéing. I did not finish at the cabin, so it came home where I kept working on it. Then I needed purple for the mountains. I go downstairs and check the stash. What?! No purple batik?! What?! No purple anything?! All I had was purple dragonfly with sparkles fabric.

Of course, this was evening, and I had to suspend all progress until stores opened the next day. I was the first customer in my closest shop the next morning. I also resolved to beef up my purple (lack of) stash. Mission accomplished

Now assemble the rows and make it look good. Did that. That took a day and a half.

Take it in to be quilted. I knew I had to allow them some time to get ‘er done. I hurried to complete with three and a half weeks to go before leaving the country. Turned it in. Told the story and the hope to get it finished before the end of September. “Will October 1 be okay?” she asked. I said, “No.” She put RUSH on it.

I went home and hoped and started packing for Europe.

People had been asking me if I was excited about the trip. Really, the answer was no. I am worried about this Row by Row quilt. Too hard to explain, so I would usually say, “Yes I am excited about my trip.”

For the first two weeks I did not worry. Oh, I called every store to see if anyone had already turned in a quilt. All but two stores said, “Heck, yes! We had our first quilt tuned in less than a week after the contest started.” (Stupid overachievers!) One store was not open when I called, and one store said “Not that I know of…”

After two weeks I started to agitate about this process again. As time went on, I told myself, "well at least I will have a lovely (big) creative blue quilt all to myself."

Hmmmm.

I will love my quilt.

I don’t really need a prize or reward.

My husband and I are planning one last trip to the cabin before the UK adventure.

Time is getting short.

Oh well, as I said, I will have a quilt to love and to love me back.

I kid you not! One hour before we were leaving for the cabin, the quilting shop called to tell me the quilt was complete! On our way out of town, we detoured to get the quilt. Got it. It was a custom job - more than I had asked for or hoped for. The quilting is great.

Drove to the cabin. On our way, I called the one quilt shop again and they confirmed that my quilt would be their first for the contest prize. Got to the cabin and did the binding. It would not earn ribbon in a show, but it was bound.

The next morning, left the cabin with a complete quilt at 6:00 AM. The shop is 2 1/2 hours away. It is even further north - not a trivial drive from my place in the Twin Cities.

Got there.

Got my picture taken with the quilt. Reported every row’s quilt shop to post on Facebook.

Got my prize - 25 fat quarters. They let me pick my own. That took some time, let me tell you!

Plus a bonus prize, because that shop’s row was in my quilt.

Turned around and drove back to the cabin.

Whew.

Collapsed.

Went back to town and less than 48 hours later, left for Scotland.


The quilt:

Friday Books: Girl on the Train

Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins was an interesting book, another one that is a genre I don't usually read (mystery). It was engaging and hard to put down. A young woman rides a train into London and back home every day. She enjoys looking at the houses along the route and imagines lives for the people she sees. She is particularly interested in one house at which she gets more time to stare, thanks to a train stop being right there. The story starts to unfold, and the reader begins to understand why that particular house is so fascinating to the woman on the train. Stories begin to twist in and around each other, and you will keep reading to see what will happen next.

I liked it at first; I can imagine looking at houses from a train and dreaming of what the people's lives might be like. That's a fun mental game. By the end of the book I thought it was all rather exaggerated. I enjoyed reading it; it definitely kept my attention and was oddly interesting. I can't give it more than 3.5 stars out of five, due to the conglomeration of odd characters. Not many of them were likeable, though the story was an interesting one.

Would it have been too hard to entitle this book Woman on the Train?

Kaffe Fassett

Internationally known knitter, quilter, and fabric artist Kaffe Fassett spoke in Minnesota today, and I was there. A group of friends went together, and we had a grand time. Let me tell you, the town of Zumbrota, Minnesota knows how to throw a party!

The quilt shop in town, All in Stitches, was open for the quilters who came to hear Fassett speak. We got a door prize and our names put in several other drawings, too. In addition, several other stores, not normally open on Sundays, opened up for us and also donated some wonderful prizes to be awarded after the lecture. That little town has some beautiful shops! Little artsy shops in which one could browse and shop for long hours.. and more than one of those. You should see the shoe shop in town! I have never seen such unique, attractive shoes in all my life. Prepare for sticker shock, but also prepare for a FUN tour of some very nifty shoes and boots.

We ate lunch at the VFW -- "Tankers." I had a good burger, and we watched part of the Vikings-Rams game on the TVs there. After lunch it was off to the Kaffe lecture. He was very entertaining and interesting. None of the pictures I took there turned out, but I did get one of Kaffe signing books after the lecture:

Back at the quilt shop, there was a small quilt show of quilts made from Kaffe Fassett fabrics. They were beautiful!

I have been stockpiling Kaffe fabrics for a while; I hope to get to them and make a glorious quilt some time in 2016.

Nearly Perfect!

Please pardon me, but I need to brag. I know you'll understand that my amazement is too much to not brag about.

I was working on some blocks; when I finished my first one, I noticed how perfectly the orange pieces had lined up at the point where they make a vertical line. (I know, some quilters are always so exacting that they are always perfect. I'm not! So this was exciting for me.) Take a look at that nice, nearly perfect vertical line!

Then I made a second block, and when I got it all done, I noticed another perfect accident... see how the print on the white background almost perfectly matches to complete the rounded pattern between the two pieces?? I wasn't even watching that when I constructed it! I was watching to try to reproduce the perfect vertical line again (which I did), and this other (near)perfection was a complete surprise. Fun!

I just had to share.

Friday Books: Burnt Paper Sky

Burnt Paper Sky by Gilly Macmillan -- This was a good book! It was hard to put down. It's about a mother whose 8-year-old son goes missing, and the story of her debilitating grief, the law enforcement search, and all the ups and downs they experience during this traumatic event. I don't usually read mysteries, but this was a mystery that I really enjoyed reading. It was well written, and the characters seemed like full, real humans. They were flawed in various ways, as people really are, and they learned things about themselves and others. The investigation had its ups and downs, too, as real investigations do, I'm sure. I couldn't decide if I should give it 4 or 5 stars. It's definitely up there among the best books I've read in a while. So I give it 4.5 stars. Apparently it will come out here in the USA in December, under a different title. The copy I read was a British publication.

By the way, I can't figure out why it has this title, Burnt Paper Sky, but that's going to change when it comes to the USA anyway. (I can't recall the new title. It's something that sounds very boring.)

Classes, Quilts, and Kangaroos

This fall a few friends and I have taken a couple of classes from a local fiber artist. She teaches in her studio at her home. It is really fun to learn new techniques with a small group of friends in a comfortable setting.

First class was Brayer painting. My sample looks different from the others because I'm holding up a different style... I have some samples that look like theirs, and vice versa.

Next class was silk screening. Here are the samples I came home with. It's always a learning process, and some turn out great while others are mistakes from which we learn. From left to right, these are shapes I cut out of freezer paper and then screen printed, shredded paper set down on fabric and then screened (the black one below is a second run, but it was too weak and on black.. it barely shows), a couple different pre-made screens, fabric color crayons that morph and run in different ways when set with a "fixer", and the last one in bottom row is color discharge which again, I think I didn't quite use enough as it doesn't show up well.

I spent all day today working on a quilt which incorporates a couple of my class samples. I am having so much FUN making this quilt! I can't wait to show it to you, but it's for a guild challenge, so I'm going to wait until after I show it to my guild in December.

Here's a charity quilt I finished this week (machine quilted by Nancy). This is not one of the pile for which I solicited guesses on my finishing date, so don't get too excited, those of you who "voted."

Here's a baby quilt I made for a friend. Luckily, I worked on it ahead of time; the sweet little baby girl decided to arrive four weeks early. She was born on November 3, and I finished her quilt today, November 5. Her name is Ruby. Here is her adorable self:

and here is her quilt:

I managed to sneak in a few giraffes. Did you notice?

Are you wondering why I mentioned kangaroos in my post title? Well, I remembered I had this sweet little picture which I found shortly after we returned from our trip to Australia last May. This is at a kangaroo rescue that helps raise abandoned roo babies. Isn't this one the sweetest you ever saw, getting its love from a teddy bear? This is not a photo I took, by the way, nor did I visit the rescue location. I simply found this picture upon my return, when nostalgically looking up more facts and fun about Australia. I think this rescue operation tries to return the roos to the wild. Let's hope this one grows up to be a happy and free adult.

Now, back to my Happy Place (sewing room). Have a great weekend, everyone!

Halloween Party

I helped out at the Fall Festival we had at church last Friday night. It was a Halloween Party for the kids, with different games, a magic show, and the usual competitions and snacks. I hate this picture of me, but I'm going to grin and bear it so you can see my costume.

I was an absent-minded sewist who can't find her pin cushion.

Here are some of the real stars of the show:

Friday Books: Samuel Lake

The Homecoming of Samuel Lake by Jenny Wingfield -- I had heard this was a good book, so I was looking forward to reading it. I knew one of the characters is a Methodist minister - which my dad was, too - so I thought I might be able to relate to the story. Unfortunately, I was disappointed. Nothing "Methodist" about it resonated with me at all. The characters are one-dimensional, especially the "bad guy." He was a stereotypically bad, violent man with zero redeeming qualities. The good guys were also poorly developed and too shallow. It's a story about a family having their annual reunion, and one branch of the family ends up moving back to the home circle. There were a few things that kept me reading; I was curious about some of the characters, but overall I was disappointed and would not recommend that you spend time on this one. I give it two stars out of five.

Happy Halloween!

End of Boutique - Success!

I am happy to report that my quilt sold. My friend, B, bought it to put on her mother's bed in the nursing home. It isn't a bed-size quilt, but it will be an extra layer for warmth, and it can also be a lap quilt for her mom. I am honored that she wanted to buy it for her mother.

The bigger of the two pillows I made also sold. Someone kept looking at it, coming back, debating with herself, leaving, coming back. Finally she bought it. Yay! The boutique took in a little over $500. I think that's on the high-average end of our usual take. I'm not sure. As usual, I'm tired but happy after a successful boutique.

More Than I Remembered

We have a church boutique once a year; this year's will be on Wednesday of this week (tomorrow). It takes place during a big turkey dinner. The boutique is a small, add-on affair that provides a bit of fun in addition to the dinner. It's not a big event that requires a huge inventory, but I never seem to finish all my ideas, mostly because I wait until the last minute to make them. However, when I took an inventory of what I've made, I have more than I remembered! I'm happy. I'll be even happier if the things sell.

Fabric-covered journals; I only made three. Wish I'd had time to make more. On the other hand, who knows if they will sell?

two pillows; the embroidery work was done by the mother from a family our church "adopted" last year for Christmas. She gave us several embroidered pieces as thank-yous. I still have more. If I start now, maybe I can get all of them made into something useable for next year.

a small table or dresser topper

Here is a knitted hat and scarf set that I made with yarn I was able to buy at a super-bargain price (that always makes me happy):

Bookmarks:

I even will attempt to sell a quilt! Selling a quilt at the boutique is doubtful, because most people are looking for small, inexpensive items. But one never knows. (To my surprise, I did sell a quilt at the boutique a couple years ago!) This is a good toddler/young kid size quilt. This photo was taken before it was quilted. If it doesn't sell, I have plenty of other possible destinations for this quilt.

I have a few other odds and ends which I won't photograph (home-made note cards and knitted dish cloths). Hopefully these will make a good addition to the inventory and will help make it a successful boutique again this year.

P.S. Here's a photo of that quilt, completed. I forgot I had photographed it.

Friday Books: Paris Architect

The Paris Architect by Charles Belfoure was a good read. If you want an exciting page-turner, this is it. The story has enough tension going on that you will want to keep reading to see what happens. It's the story of an architect who finds himself, reluctantly, designing hiding places for Jews in Paris apartments during the German occupation in WWII.

The characterization is strong; the reader will see human kindness in enemies and will also see how people's characters are tested during war - to turn in a neighbor to save oneself or to do what's right and put yourself and family at risk. They are tough questions.

A well done, well-told story written by an authentic architect who made his first foray into fiction with this book. As quoted on the back cover, it is "a fascinating picture of Paris during the Occupation, with all its contradictions -- the opulence and the fear."

My Long-Term Projects

Several years ago I vowed to focus on UFOs and get those done and out of my sewing piles. I have done quite well on that endeavor, but am still plugging away. Here is one that has been in the works for years. My sister and I both made blocks, and I finally got it put together. It will soon be in the hands of a machine quilter and will be done. Hooray!

the fancy name of this one, so far, is "small twin"

Recently I have also made a few blocks. These are string blocks for Jan M. in Australia.

And these are my October Lotto blocks for Sunshine. Tammy will use them to make a quilt for a child.

I have another UFO that has been calling to me. I need to get it done! It is my Tea Towel Challenge for which I have a button in my sidebar. It was a 2014 project, but I still don't have it done. I hope to get it done soon -- before 2016 rolls around.

If any of my readers remember making me a word block for my 60th birthday quilt.. well, that is also still in the works. Never fear. It shall be made. I am now 63, but it is still going to be my 60th birthday quilt, when I finally get it done. I wonder when that will be!? I'm hoping to get it done in 2016 - before I turn 64.

Just Some Chit Chat

I haven't just rambled, chit-chat style for a while. Now's the time.

Husband recently fixed my sewing table so it will now fit my sewing machine that I got a year ago. It's nice to have the machine sit down into the table like it's supposed to. It's handy to have a hubby who is handy.

We've been having a gorgeous fall here! Many long days of sunshine, comfortable temperatures, and blazing orange, yellow, and red trees!! I love it. I'm trying to soak it all in and memorize the colors so when gray, dreary November comes, I can be happy in my memories.

Last Saturday I went to a quilt show which was quite good - put on by Ladies of the Lake Quilters.

I have several more photos, but they're kind of hard to find on my computer at the moment, so I'm giving up.

Here's a baby quilt I made.. a couple at church is having a baby but asked that our gifts to them go instead to a shelter where there are three pregnant women. So someone in need is getting this quilt. It was fun doing an anonymous baby shower, knowing the gifts are really needed where they are going.

Here's a quilt I'm making. I can't decide if I'm finished or not. The recipient asked for a longer than normal quilt (this one is) that is "heavy" kind of like a weighted blanket. I have that figured out, I think. What I don't know is if I have made it wide enough. I am hesitating taking it to the quilter until I figure out if I'm done or if I need to add some width to it. I'm eager to get it done! I just need to make a decision. Sometimes I can be indecisive!

I just realized this photo was taken when I was in mid-construction phase. It's not even the whole quilt top!

Well, this has been a disjointed chit-chat, but that's all I have in me right now. I'm tired and it's past my bedtime. Nighty-night!

Friday Books: This One Took Two Months!

It took me two months to read this week's book. Don't ask me why; I can't tell you. Part of it was the big reading slump I was in. The other part is that I would put it down and then interrupt it with other books.

Well, I finally finished The Short and Tragic Life of Robert Peace: A Brilliant Young Man Who Left Newark for the Ivy League by Jeff Hobbs. A man grows up in Newark, in a very poor and tumultuous part of the city. His single mother is a very hard worker and has high hopes for her super intelligent son. His father is in prison. As the title tells you, he does well in school and attends Yale University, but ultimately does not survive. It is a big leap to Yale from his crime-ridden neighborhood. This book is an interesting look into the life of poverty and the difficulties of breaking away from poverty's grip. Even with his supreme intelligence and many breaks he is given, the community of his birth and all its ramifications keep him from fully realizing his potential. Very interesting and sad book.

Don't take my two-month stint reading this book as a negative mark for the book. I give it 4 stars out of 5. It's quite good, and is worth reading.

photo of my friend's father reading; he recently passed away and is sorely missed

So Many UFOs! -- and a little prize

I decided to gather up all my quilts that need finishing and to prepare backing fabrics for them. Omigosh, I have so many! And quilting takes me a long time, as it's a hard task for me. So who knows how long it will take for all of these quilts to be completed. I have a pile of eight, so far. This photo shows only seven. I have about four or five that are out on my table, waiting for me to piece together a backing fabric. This means my total to-be-done pile is going to be about a dozen. Eeek!

Want to make a guess? Place any bets? Put a guess in the comments, telling me a date by which you think I will finish these seven that are in the photo, and I will send a charm pack to whoever comes closest. This is Downton Abbey, Lady Sybil fabric by Andover Fabrics - 42 five-inch squares. (Sorry, USA shipping only.) This is nice fabric! Might as well add some fun and mystery to my "chore!" You have until Monday, October 19 at midnight Central time to put in your guess.

P.S. - Lest you think I really am rather organized; the list and photo of UFOs I have discussed here are only the ones I have on hand that I hope to give away in the fairly near future. I have several other UFOs that I'm not counting - things I want to make for fun, for me to keep, to give to family members, etc etc. My UFO pile really is endless.

Some Quilts for Kids

I had five quilts to bind, which always takes a bit of time. It's not my favorite part of quilt-making. I'm glad to say they are all done and the quilts can now be on their way to warm up some children.

Beth P. sent me a huge pile of pre-cut scraps, and I made this... and several more which will appear in time. This one is going to Quilts Beyond Borders.

This baby one I made as a distraction to myself when some other chore wasn't fun any more. I'll probably donate it to Bundles of Love through my local guild.

This is another baby size quilt. It was a sample I bought at a quilt shop and then had someone else quilt it. The only thing I did on this quilt was the binding. I am sending it to a friend who will make sure it gets donated to the Fond du Lac Reservation's Annual Baby Shower.

This one is also going to Fond du Lac Reservation. It was made from my guild's community service blocks and donated fabric.

This one is made from my scraps. It will go to Quilts Beyond Borders.

And that completes my most recent quilt finishes. Now on to all those other projects waiting in line... stay tuned.