Memory quilts....

I love doing memory quilts.  This is something that is both difficult, but such a joy for the family members still here.  I take T-shirts, or clothing and cut the up and put them into quilts.  I use colors that the family member liked and and it to the quilt top...making a pieced top. 

This quilt top was made by a customer and I just added the quilting motif.
 

Quilting is finished and it is back to the customer to finish the binding.

 



This customer collected "crown royal" bags and made them into a quilt for her son...

 

Close up of the quilting on the quilt...

 

Old completed

Good Morning followers,
This last year has been a whirl wind....I can't tell you all the blessings that have been going on, so I will just leave it with that.  I now have 3 grand daughters and the 4th grand child is due in March, a boy.  Met my niece in Texas, spent time with my sister and family.  Went to Sheridan, WY to see another sister... a lot of life changes!!
Here are just a few things I have learned in the past several months:
God will give you what your heart desires if you are following Him. 
He will bless you in ways you can never imagine.
New avenues are always open if you are willing to leap in faith.


Been working on finished old found, unfinished projects.  These quilt tops have been brought to me to finish for family gifts.... here are a couple. 

I added a border to this garden, so that it would be easy to bind and finish for a customer.  I had to HAND stitch the border to it, so it looked as if it had been done years ago, when grandma first made the quilt.

finished with the binding

I used a muslin to finish the back...I wanted to keep it as accurate as possible, so I went with a muslin.

finished project.

This top was hand stitched years ago...I went with a white thread to match the backing,



Quilted.....before going back to customer.

The best advice I could give anyone is to try to keep it as close a possible to the original.  The top quilt...I added the green border, well that fabric is 30's reproduction, so I added it to the top by hand so it looked as if it was done when grandma first did the quilt... You don't want to take away from the quilt top, just add texture and movement. 

Try to pick a quilting motif that is simple and not overbearing. 
These family treasures are a joy to complete.
 

Next generation....

The last 2 weeks has been just amazing...I have gotten to meet young, new quilters and they are so cute.  I had a lady bring in 3 of her grandchildren and they each brought their freshly pieced tops to be quilted.  Such joys!!!!

Matt's (age 9)...likes rodeo, horses and so I quilted rodeo themed pattern with hats, boots, saddles and bucking horses. 

Rachel's (11 years old)....She likes stars, blue and was really quiet....She wanted rope and stars quilted on her's. 

Emm ( 17 years old)...She is a girly, girl and likes pink.  Her quilt was colorful and so the quilting matched her personality. 
These kids are entering in the local fair this year, so I can't wait to see how their quilts hang and what an accomplishment for such a wonderful group of kids.  Go GRANDMA...keeping grandkids involved with the tradition....
I really want to be able to pass this tradition on to my grandchildren, so this is a goal when they are a bit older.  I hope to be able to pass on a wonderful tradition!!!

Decision, Decisions, Decisions

I got this quilt top in from a lady who made a "crown royal bag" quilt....This was her first quilt and really had a great idea.  It was made for her son as a wedding gift and I was lucky enough to be asked to quilt it.

Picture of the whole quilt after it was taken off the machine.

Close-up of a corner area

Close-up of just a clock and the sashing...
The only stipulation she had was that I could not quilt over the words and she wanted to see the thread.   I chose a variegated thread with the golds with a touch of purples in it.  I really liked how it turned out.
I don't know how many of you ever wonder if you have made the right decision.  When it comes down to "did I really want to do that?" or "should I have done that?"....I am a huge "what if" person.  I am finding that this should not be questions I am asking myself if I am a believer.  Now, why on earth do I ask myself these questions....why is it that we can not be happy with the decisions we make and know it is a good one????
I sometimes ask myself this even on simple things such as choosing fabrics to put together, quilting motifs on a quilt....I have found that lately I am so full of questions about why and what if...I think it is mid life!!! 
The only answer I have come up with is that I am taking what God has given me and asking Him a whole lot of questions that He is probably wanting me to trust...so the best advice I can give is to sit back, fasten the seat belt and enjoy His blessings.

A few pieces of eye candy

I had no idea how quickly time passes....I saw that I had not posted in a month...what happen to the time.  As most of you know I was a stay at home gal, quilting and working here...from quilts to horses, calves and errand girl.  Well, I took on a job near here doing computer work, just a little something to do to get me away from the place and a little extra income that will have some benefits(hopefully).  So with all that I am really behind in posting.  The quilting room is busy, busy, busy and I find that posting is low on the list.  I think that I will be cuting back on the outside job hours and will be quilting A LOT more.   Just a few of the 12 quilts that I have done in the last 2 months.  These are all customer quilts!!!

I really enjoy all the tops that come in...as well as the customers that have trusted me to put a finishing touch on their masterpiece.  I have a terrific job working for all of you!!!
Next a run on baby quilts....I believe there has been A LOT of babies born....I have been quilting baby quilts like crazy.

Nebraska Shop Hop

Well....now that I have been trying to download for over a month....we are going to see how an new browser helps.  I have been having trouble with Firefox in many areas, so back to the ole' standby Explorer...I haven't been able to return emails, dowload pictures onto the blog, so on and on.
I have been very busy with LOTS of projects....the machine has been over flowing with absolutely beautiful quilts.  I feel so blessed to be able to quilt for others and add to the beauty they send my way. 
This quilt was done for the Shop Hop for the Platte Valley Vac and Sew 2013 hop....There are 12 blocks, 1 for each of the shops involved in western Nebraska.  Each block was quilted in a unique way as to give each different block its very own look....

Finished and ready for binding...They did a fantastic job and it looks really cozy.  This quilt is all about NEBRASKA!!!
Thanks ladies for the privelage to quilt it for you and to respesent your shop hop!!!

Frustration!!!

Is anyone else having trouble downloading pictures???  I haven't been able to download pictures for nearly a month.  Does anyone know what I need to do???  Thinking about going to google+, but don't want to loose my followers, but they won't transfer any of you over and I don't know all of your addresses.  REALLY FRUSTRATED!!