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In last week’s post I told the story of a quilt (it’s really a comforter because it’s tied, not quilted) that has kept Mike and me warm for 42 years. I was overwhelmed with the wonderful comments and suggestions to that post. I washed it, hung it outside (Spring is finally here!) and took a few minutes to simply look at it.

As puckery and worn as it is, it has too many wonderful memories to end it’s usefulness now. But how to repair it? Since almost all of the worn blocks were on the edge – why not cover them with a border “quilt-as-you-go” style? Please bear in mind my original comforter was layered with a sheet and a sheet blanket, stitched around and turned; then it was tied with yarn every 16″ – so it never laid flat, even before the wool shrunk. That added a minor layer of difficulty to this process, but I persevered.

I pulled out a pretty fabric from the “multi-yard” area of my stash, and cut a strip of fabric the length of each side of the comforter by the width of the outer row of blocks + 1 ½”. I laid a border strip, right sides together, with it’s appropriate side of the quilt, covering the outer row seam by 1/8″ and stitching with a ½” seam allowance.

As I continued stitching I found a block that shows why something had to be done  🙂 !

Once the seam was done I folded the border strip over the row of worn blocks, turned everything over to the back, and folded the border back on itself to create a “self-binding”.

I stitched it in place from the front with a decorative stitch.

I repeated this for the other side, then I added the top and bottom strips, this time leaving 1 ½” extra on both ends to finish the corners.

While working on the borders I did find 2 squares in the interior that were threadbare. To fix them I went through my box of 6″ squares, chose 2, trimmed them down to the right size, pressed under 1/4″ hem, and topstitched them in place with a mending stitch on my machine.

My old friend is still quite wonky, and there were some unavoidable puckers on the back (which I will not share pictures of), but it’s back on the bed and ready for another 42 years!

Thanks for all of the encouragement!

Linda and I are driving home from another wonderful trip to Quilt Week in Paducah! As I mentioned last week – we had a snowy start, but it was all up hill from there. The sun shone almost the entire week and the tulips were blooming (although the dogwoods were only just beginning to bloom).

As I do every year, I’m going to share a few pictures of some of my favorite parts of the trip, and I need to begin with the sign that “we’d arrived” – the Flying Goose Bridge!

We got to the 1857 B&B in the heart of Paducah, unpacked and then put up a display of my Mariner’s Compass quilts in the front window of Tribeca restaurant, just downstairs from our living quarters.

What a blessing to be able to show my quilts during Quilt Week. We helped to hang the show on Tuesday and I couldn’t wait to see my friend Lori Schloesser’s quilt.

I’ve featured my friend Evelyn in quite a few of my posts and this year she was part of a new group slice quilt that was awarded a third place (Evelyn – tell me again – which of the 5 strips was yours 🙂 )?

There were so many incredible quilts and it was a privilege to see them all.

This year AQS hosted a special exhibit that I feel was one of the most interesting I’ve ever seen. It was called “Art in Denim” by Ian Berry. The pieces were not quilts, but they were fiber art. He uses only denim, scissors and glue to created portraits and landscapes that truly amaze.

My picture doesn’t do this piece justice. To really experience Ian’s work you need to visit his website at http://www.ianberry.org/. Linda and I had the chance to meet and talk with this endearing young man. His work is incredible and yet he is funny, soft spoken and very approachable.

We set up our kitchen studio and did some sewing, but our special playtime this year was with alcohol inks.

I’d taken a class at Sew Much More in Waukesha this winter. It was so much fun I bought the supplies and have been sharing them with my quilting friends. I’ll be doing a post on this in the near future, but I wanted to show you our Paducah creations – plates and trays!

We had to do our traditional bubble tea stop at Etcetera (actually we had to do that twice).

As we left this morning, I couldn’t resist just one more picture – the compass quilts are back in my suitcase and the rain is gently falling.

It was such fun to catch up with friends, find some new treasures at the vendors, eat fun food and escape the snow and “reality” for a week. Thanks, Linda, for a great time!

 

I did a series of posts earlier this year on using Elmer’s School Glue™ to baste things together while quilting. I’ve discovered one more use that’s been a real help when stitching labels onto my quilts.

It’s really quite simple:

Create your label in any way you like. I usually design them on the computer and print them onto colorfast printer fabric.

Press under a 1/4″ hem all the way around.

Scribble a line of glue all over the wrong side of the label.

Place it on the back of the quilt and iron in place to dry the glue.

Now stitch it down without worrying about the label shifting, or the thread tangling around any pin heads! In the picture above I haven’t stitched it yet, and you will notice corners of the pressed hems peeking out along the edges. This is not a problem because I’m able to use my needle to tuck these corners under the label as I appliqué it in place.

I backed this quilt with a fabric I got in Alaska a few years ago. It was the perfect back.

I’m currently putting this label on my Winter Window quilt because I didn’t add a label when I finished it back in 2015. It hangs in our “master bath window towel rack” (to read my post about this quilt click here).

At the end of that post I stated that I already had an idea for my “Spring” quilt. The picture I used for this new quilt was the view from my kitchen window.

Working on a Spring quilt helped me to endure portions of this very cold winter, and this week I decided it was time to replace the winter quilt in my window (and finally add a label – two winters after it was completed).

Now if we could just warm up past 36 degrees!!!

Happy New Year!

On Thursday this week Maria invited Ida and me over for a day of quilting in her recently cleaned studio.

When we arrived we found her living room to be a feast for the eyes. She had her lovely Christmas quilts hanging on the wall.

and many other beautiful quilts folded over ladders.

Along with clocks! So many clocks! And they were all at different times!

So, we had to ask. Her answer got me to thinking about time – a thought very pertinent, since we’ve just started a new year. Time can crawl, or it can fly (like all of 2016). It is also of the essence, and this related to Maria’s reply.

She said that time is very, very precious. It’s the most valuable thing we have. Food, things, people, and just about everything else can be replaced, but when time is gone – it’s gone. She loves to go thrift store shopping and look for old or interesting clocks. This was the point when we noticed none of the clocks were at the current time. When asked she replied her clocks represented important dates in her life: her dad’s birthday, March 12, was 3:12 on one of the clocks. Her birthday, October 9, is 10:09. Each clock meant something. Wow! I had never noticed that a 12 hour clock could represent the dates for a 12 month year.

Then she showed us the one set for three o’clock to represent the time of Christ’s death for her sins. She said she has the alarm on her phone set for that time each day, so she will pause and remember His sacrifice. I think I may be in need of a few more clocks  🙂 .

We each got quite a bit of quilting done, plus a lot of good conversation, and a nice lunch out. Maria showed us the quilt she’s been working on for almost a year, Jinny Beyer’s Moonglow. She has one more border for the top to be finished.

Gorgeous! Thanks Maria, for a delightful, and insightful, day.

My wish for the new year is that you will have time to do what you love, and to spend with those you love. And that you will use it wisely. God bless you in 2017!

Joy to the World!

I love Christmas! It is such a joyful time of year. And when it snows, everything is so beautiful! We’ve had 5 major snow falls so far and I feel like I’m living in a winter wonderland.

I enjoy the preparations for Christmas. One of my favorite pre-Christmas activities is to “ring and sing” for the Salvation Army. My friend Sharon and I have done this for over 15 years, and this year Margaret joined us.

One of my family’s Christmas traditions is to bake Christmas cookies together. My mom and I haven’t missed a year since I was able to help. This year Betsy, Sommer and Trey joined in the fun.

My dad was in charge of helping the kids “unwrap the Hershey kisses”.

Christmas Eve and Christmas day we were blessed to celebrate with all the family who live nearby. I couldn’t resist having our family Christmas picture taken in front of my round robin Christmas quilt this year. Merry Christmas from the Kirsch house!

Many gifts were exchanged, but the most amazing gift of Christmas is that God became man, lived, died and rose again, out of love for each of us. Oh come let us adore Him – Christ the Lord!

I love Autumn. So having a Fall birthday is always a joy, but this year it was especially delightful. While the children were enjoying their leaf pile:

I was enjoying my block pile:

Are you ready for the grand total?

60 blocks exactly!!!

I can’t believe it. How amazing! I had to recount the pile twice, just to be sure.

In honor of my 60th birthday, Wendy invited friends to send me 4-patch blocks during the month of October (click here to read that post), in hopes of getting 60. And I did! What wonderful fun!

Thank you to everyone who made this gift so special. I have enjoyed every moment reading and re-reading the blocks and cards while thinking about the dear friends who sent them to me. Some contained short messages, others quoted famous people (there were two from Einstein!), and many included Scripture verses. Each block is special to me. Here is a sample of just a few:

The block from Wendy, who came up with this delightful idea. We have shared so many adventures together and words can’t express what a blessing she is in my life.

My mom taught me to sew and, even though she is not a quilter and she had a broken hand at the time, she made a block and wrote on it (I love the X O X O X O white fabric, and I love you mom!).

At Patched Lives quilt guild Geraldine came up and handed me this block:

She wished me a happy birthday and then explained that her hands shake too much to write well, but when I look at her unsigned block I should think of my dear friend Geraldine who is 89 years old. You’d never know it to talk to her!

A surprise block came from my friend Nina. We haven’t seen each other in quite a while, so imagine my glee in receiving this message along with a block: “Dear Chris, Happy 60th birthday! I read your blog every week. As we travel quite a bit, I can actually report that it has been read in some wild places – New Zealand, Tasmania, the Ukraine, Israel – to name a few. It has given me great pleasure and a cozy sense of home.”

The last block I’d like to share was the last one I received. It was #60 and came all the way from Arizona. Evelyn and I have had many wonderful quilting adventures together.

I’m not able to find the words to capture how truly humbled and blessed I feel by the generosity of all you dear, dear people. Thank you so much! I can’t wait to start playing with a layout for my favorite quilt (I’ve already decided this will be my favorite quilt 😀 )!

If you’d like to see the list of the Scripture verses included on my blocks click on birthday-block-bible-verses!

Last weekend Mike and I decided to run away. We stayed at the Inn on Hillwind, a lovely Bed & Breakfast near Plymouth, WI.

It was charming, relaxing, and the breakfasts – superb! I enjoyed walking through the gardens each morning, as did this friendly kitty.

Plymouth has a wonderful Main Street for wandering. One of the shops we stopped into was called Fibbermcgee’s.

As we entered we were greeted by another kitty. This one was made of wool!

At each turn another fascinating, original wool creation greeted us. From critters to flowers, they were each unique and wonderful:

In the last room the previously pictured chicken clucked my name. I looked at the tag and discovered all of these wonderful hooked wool pieces were made by someone I knew!!! Joanne Zahorik traveled with Wendy and I to Ireland in 2010! She told us upfront she was not a quilter, but she traveled with a friend who was. She was a delightful addition to our trip, and even gave me a wool pumpkin pin (it was an Autumn tour of Ireland). What a small world! I contacted Joanne and she was happy to have me share her work, and spoke very highly of Sue, the owner of Fibbermcgee’s.

My new chicken friend (complete with hog scraper “feet”) is enjoying keeping company with the rest of my collection:

Thanks Joanne!

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Today is a very special day in my life. Today I’ve been married to my best friend for 40 years.

Mike and I had a bicentennial wedding. No red, white and blue, but rainbow pastel bridesmaids, complete with matching parasols.

Our parents have been great examples of how to have a good marriage.

In the 1980’s Mike and I were enjoying our beautiful kids,

good jobs, and a lovely home in the woods; and then… at around the time of the above picture, I was introduced to QUILTING!

My dear husband has been supportive of this addiction ever since, even when he admitted he didn’t understand why I cut fabric apart and sew it back together again.

In 1994 I quit dental hygiene and began to focus on teaching quilting as my vocation, and I ended up finding a delightful niche in the quilt world.

Oodles of classes, four books and many Sew We Go adventures later, a new passion came into my life – grandchildren who live nearby! I love kids and I knew I wanted to take care of them while mommy and daddy were at work. When I brought up the idea to my dear husband he said “but what about your quilting?”. I said it was a fun ride, but I was ready to quit to be with the grandkids. His response was “keep quilting, we’ll make it work”. And he has!

When I teach (or spend a week in Paducah), this dear man watches those little ones full time. He’s amazing!

As with all marriages, we’ve had our ups and downs, but I’m so grateful to be on this life journey with Mike. So I’d like to dedicate this week’s post to a very special husband! Thanks for 40 wonderful years!