Friendship Block swap Row by Row

10.5 months ago, friendship blockswap yahoo group started a row by row. Season's was the theme. I picked Spring. In memory/honor of my dad and his honeybees.

There was 7 of us, one gal dropped out d/t life issues, so the hostess stepped in to fill her shows.

The rows are each different: 1st row being the quilter's theme row, squares/rectangles, curved piecing (hardly anyone's favorite technique), applique, hearts, triangles, quilters choice. One row came from Australia, my journal was sent to France and Australia. The France gal was living in the USA when she joined us.

They all did a wonderful job and their work is gorgeous up close! Thank you!

Picture one and two were some tops almost finished, needed just the borders. Pictures 3 is were were did our sewing, picture 4,up hill from sewing is where we slept-I'm standing at my car and picture 4 is the main building and it is were we ate. Walker either up hill or down hill to go anywhere. And since we sat to sew, the walking was good for us.

First Retreat

I went to my first quilt retreat this weekend! It was held by Patchwork Plus in Dayton VA at Massanetta Springs Conference Center on Rt 687 in Harrisonburg. It was wonderful, marathon of sewing by everyone. I swear moving vans were coming in. Such a variety of sewing and embroidery machines! And the projects the quilters brought to work on. BEing a newbie, I only brought 1.5 projects, thinking I'll be lucky if I finish the first one. That was finished the first night there! LOL, it is a row by row that I did with Justquilting yahoo group. None of the quilters at the retreat had seen an internet quilt and everyone liked it, plus the finished Americana internet quilt I had done with another group. I'll post a photo of that in the next set of pictures. I only could do 5 at a time.

The gal who I'm standing next to, her name is Shirley, I met her at the scratching post yahoo group and she invited me! Very nice person, I hope to see her next year! But she must bring a photo of her bunny Butterscotch.

One photo is the room were at, I think there was 42 quilters and we had our own table, sweet!

One photo is gals laying their work out on the floor to make sure they had it layed out right, etc, we were all admiring each other's work.

I know next year, if I run out of my projects, the gals I sat next to will keep my machine and hands busy!

A Friend's quilt

I helped tie a quilt that a friend made for her hubby. We had a lot of fun and shedded some blood with those dang needles!

American Freedom Train

Following WW2 and in 1977, the USA sent a train across the USA with items and documents of Freedom-a very brief thumbnail sketch of it.

One of the former guards, John Rowe and his wife in 2004 had asked me to make them wallhanging of it's emblem for their reunion, or was it 2003. Anyway, John later asked me to make one for them. Not for free either one, but I gave the quilts to them. The first one because I was tickled to have a small part of that history, and the second to them as a gift.

The one for John and MaryJane Rowe is now hanging in the Freedom Train exhibit at Mott's Military Museum in Groveport OH (Columbus).

Needless to say, I'm so psyched about it. Something I made is on display at a museum!

Scrappy quilts

I have two more quilts to send to my quilter Glen in Oklahoma. The Bear Trails in blue and white. The was made with the help of my Justquilting friends, they sent me blues so I could make it scrappy. Those are 12 inch blocks. I can't recall the border size, maybe 6".

The other one, the scrappy one, those are 4patch-9patch blocks I won in the Block of the Month we do each month at Justquilting. I really like how it turned out.

I discovered that I like control scrappy. LOL, there are several great patterns on http://www.quiltville.com/ Bonnie Hunters site.

The Passage to Manhood-The Kappa Alpha Brotherhood at VA TECH

As some of you know, my son Adam attends VA TECH, but he is also a member of the Kappa Alpha Order. They are not called a fraternity. Anyway, I've been wanting to make him a quilt to combine the two and I finally came up with a design that I am very happy with. It measures 83 inches by 83 inches. The center is the KA cross, I used VT fabric, orange and crimson in the 32 blocks. A thin border of the same old gold in the cross, the VT fabric and it will be bound off in black.

It will cover a queen size mattress boys! And hopefully snuggle you in my love and prayers.

His Big Brother was and absolute God send for me, Patrick. So, I made him one also. I have to send them off to Glen to be quilted yet. Adam was disappointed that I would not be quilting it.

I sure hope Adam and Patrick like it! Made with a lot of love.