Search Results for: hanna graduation

Our granddaughter Hanna just graduated from High School. She’s planning to go to the University of Washington, Seattle. Their colors are purple and gold, and their mascot is the Huskies. So grandma decided Hanna needed a new quilt!

Rather than purchase licensed material online, I decided to enlarge the school’s logo and repliqué it as a block for the center of the quilt.

One of the challenges with doing this is finding a way to enlarge a photo in order to make a pattern. Going to a copy shop involves driving and cash, and I’ve found what I think is a better way ~ if you have Microsoft Excel on your computer, and a printer. I did a post about this years ago, and I think it’s time for a refresher. You don’t need to memorize these steps, you can simply search for “the Big Picture” on my blog whenever you need them ~ that’s what I do 😁.

Open Microsoft Excel, and open a Blank Workbook.

In the “File” menu at the top of the screen select “Page Set Up”, and then “Margins”. Set the footer and header to “0”, and set the margins to .5 on all four sides. Select “OK”.

In the “View” menu at the top of the screen select “Zoom”, and change the magnification to 25%. Then select “OK”.

In the “Insert” menu at the top select “Picture”, select “Place Over Cells”, select “From File” and then find the drawing or photo you want to enlarge from your computer. Click on it and then select “Insert”.

Your photo/drawing will now be in the upper left corner of the Excel document. Click on it to select it, and then place your cursor on the bottom right corner of the square and drag the image to the desired size.

Each rectangle in the Excel program represents an 8 1/2″ x 11″ sheet of paper and when you press “print” ~ it does…. and all the sheets that print can be taped together to make your enlarged image.

Once the logo was printed and taped together, I grabbed a ruler and traced the lines through to the back so my pattern would be reversed for repliqué. Then it was pinned to the wrong side of my background fabric.

I was pleased with the way it turned out. Repliqué is such a handy tool to have in my “toolbox”.

Next I needed to choose a pieced pattern for the rest of the quilt. I really liked the charity quilt Ruth made (shared in a previous post). So I found the Missouri Star video on how to make it with a jelly roll, and started stitching blocks.

I didn’t use a jelly roll, and since my fabric palette only contained 4 fabrics, the blocks were not as “interesting” as Ruth’s. Then, when I laid them out as above, I realized I had placed the white fabric in such a way that the quilt would be covered with “X” blocks. Ugh.

So I did a bit of rearranging and discovered I could make “M” blocks 🤪.

And upside down “M” blocks make “W” blocks!!!

This was going to work! With the logo block in the midst of the “W”s and a few borders added, it was ready to quilt ~ and take to Washington to be a part of Hanna’s graduation celebration!

We had a lovely time with Hanna, Will and all the family. It was such a blessing to celebrate her graduation with her.

And…

She loved her quilt!

The most recent small challenge in our ThreadBenders group was another fun one. Each participant was handed a magazine from the library where we meet, and asked to create a piece of fiber art inspired by page 20. I’ve done this type of challenge before and loved the creativity that resulted (to see those quilts click here). We could be inspired by anything on the page: a photo, a color scheme, a word, a ???

The magazine I was handed was MKE Lifestyle. It has a lovely photo of the Milwaukee Art Museum on the cover:

And this is page 20:

I must admit, I wasn’t very excited. I haven’t been a parent of young kids for quite a while. So I set it aside for a few months and then ~ as summer came to an end ~ the idea struck! It was a wonderful summer and was chock full of fun with family, and especially grandchildren. We flew to Washington for Hanna’s graduation in June. Then Hanna and Will came here for a visit in July. These were wonderful days with our grand “kiddos” ~ playing in water, riding around in golf carts at a wildlife zoo, boating at the cottage, celebrating my parents 90th and 93rd birthdays, and still others just enjoying time together.

Perhaps a bucket needed to be tipped over on my quilt with all the memories flowing out! So I gathered my favorite photographs, printed them on fabric, and trimmed them up.

Then I took a photo of a bucket in the grass,

 and laid it all out.

This was going to work! All I needed to do was a bit of repliqué to make the bucket, and the rest would be easy. I always tell the students in my Repliqué classes that it’s a great technique to have in your toolbox for instances such as this. I traced the lines of the bucket to the back of the paper, pinned it in place on my background fabric, and began to Repliqué.

Next the photographs were stitched in place, and it was time to layer, quilt, and bind.

I think memory quilts are some of the most fun ones to make!

Would you like to see what the rest of the ThreadBenders came up with? Click here ~ and ENJOY!

As 2024 comes to a close (and boy did it go fast!!!), I spent some time thinking about all the wonderful quilting fun I’ve been blessed to enjoy this year. I started with a delightful trip to Florida to visit my friend Linda,

and make houses with her guild (I’m very excited to be going back for another class and lecture this January 😊).

During the year I spent time helping kids sew.

and I went on some great adventures, like Paducah:

and the Birmingham Festival of Quilts, with a tour of England and Wales:

We were blessed to be at the graduation of our oldest grandchild, and watch Hanna unwrap her quilt.

I participated in some very interesting challenges ~ like the cigar box I turned into a clock.

I also enjoyed a Murder Mystery Quilt adventure. Here’s the year’s worth of blocks which I tossed on the floor as I anxiously waited for the instructions on how to put them all together. I couldn’t imagine what it would look like.

The final instructions came over a week ago, and my quilt top is now complete, but I’m going to save that photo for a future post because I think you’ll find the story for the layout quite interesting!

I have two more finished projects to share. This is the embroidery piece I worked on while Hanna and I were in Hawaii together last December. I found the frame in a thrift shop and finished it up this month in time to gift it to Hanna for Christmas.

And for my final quilt of the year ~ I of course have a story 😁:

Last Summer a friend from church approached me with a request. Her mom fought a very difficult battle with cancer over a year ago. Chelley and her mom were very close. She explained that her mom had made quilts for all of her grandchildren but the youngest. While she was going through chemo she began making blocks for Isabelle’s quilt, but she wasn’t able to finish the quilt. I think you can guess the rest ~ I agreed to make that quilt.

The next time I saw Chelley at church she had a bag with 6 appliquéd blocks, some purple fabric, and batting. I knew they were Sunbonnet Sue, but I hadn’t seen this variation before. It seemed quite unique. I’ve never actually made a “Sue” quilt, but I do own an antique one (a portion of it is featured at the top of this post).

At my next retreat I put the blocks on the design wall and asked for ideas from friends on what to do with them.

Can you see what I mean when I call the blocks unique? The skirts were very large and wide; many of the fabrics blended in with the background; and everyone agreed each image looked more like a woman’s dress with a full bodice than a Sunbonnet Sue. I remember seeing similar patterns in which a portion of a dresden plate block made the skirt for Sue. So I did an internet search, and didn’t find any blocks that looked like the ones above. These were the closest:

So what to do? I wanted to keep it simple, so I decided to hand embroider some details and outlining. I think it improved things.

After they were all embroidered and sashed in the purple, it was time to do some quilting.

In the meantime Chelley moved to North Carolina. I recently shipped it to her, and I hope to have photos of Isabelle and her quilt to share some time soon.

Sew, that sums up a wonderful year of stitching fun. I am so very blessed, and I’m anxiously looking forward to what 2025 will bring. God’s blessings on each one of you!

While we were in Vancouver, Washington for Hanna’s graduation I had an unexpected quilt adventure. Hanna’s Aunt DeeDee was kind enough to host the graduation party ~ and it was lovely. Towards the end I was talking with DeeDee and her husband Bert about the quilt I made for Hanna (click here to read that post), and they mentioned they had a number of quilts made by Bert’s grandmother. Bert then directed me to a lap quilt hanging in the hall. It was made from flannels and looked like it had been loved and washed – a lot! I began my “speech” about the importance of making a label for the back of the quilt (Mike always laughs because he know when this is coming), so future generations would know the quilts history. As I did this I checked the back for any type of signature. Wow ~ was I shocked to discover my label on it!!! That’s when I remembered making a quilt for Hanna’s grandma Bobbi, DeeDee’s mom, when she was going through chemo many years ago.

What a joy to know Bobbi had used and loved it so much! The conversation that followed was delightful, and once DeeDee knew the story she gave the quilt to Hanna.

Isn’t it a blessing to know that a work of our hands has been appreciated by the recipient? I’m so pleased that this quilt means something to Hanna, and that she will continue to love it as her grandma Bobbi did.

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And one more thing…

The AQS quilt show in Grand Rapids is only a month away – and the ThreadBenders Progressions quilts will be there!