Barn Swap - Tammy

This was a swap class I took at annual meeting in 2000.  I loved it so much that I actually made and completed a quilt for Tammy's wedding.  My blocks are still sitting (shown above).  I just want a small quilt or wallhanging out of them now but haven't decided how to finish them yet.

Here is the quilt I made for Tammy.  I hand quilted and completed it in November of 2000.  The dates surprised me because I completed the class in Sept 2000.  That means I had to have completed this quilt from start to finish (hand quilting included) in about a month.   I remember actually still doing the hand binding on the way to the church.

I made all of the center barn blocks for the swap and came home with all different barn blocks made by my classmates. The barn blocks were all made a couple of months prior to annual meeting in September. I made the chicken and log cabin blocks after annual meeting.

You win the Levi war, Brenda.

Many years ago when Jim was still in college and we were first married, he and his sister Brenda had many Levi wars.  Basically, they would hide pieces of denim in each others rooms, suitcases, purses, pockets, etc... whenever they would see each other.  They each lived in different cities quite some distance apart, so this game went on for a couple of years.  Finally, Jim decided that I needed to make a Levi quilt for her so he could win the final battle, and he did.  If you look on the butt, you'll notice the words "You Win" stitched in yarn.

I had so much fun with this quilt.  I was very new to quilting and didn't realize that denim would be challenging to piece detailed blocks with because it is too stiff for a bunch of seams.  Sometimes our lack of knowledge pushes us to try crazy things.  Anyway, Jim helped me design this quilt by selecting blocks he approved of including a barn, tractor, bear, coyote, deer, cow, and farm house.  He then insisted that I sew the butt of the jeans into the middle.  I think I tied it with a crow's foot stitch in crochet cotton or yarn.

We had several of our own old jeans put into this quilt, but I shopped at D.I. to get the colors of denim I wanted for the various blocks.

Oh the memories.  You know, quilting is an expensive hobby but the hours and hours of pleasure I get from the fabric is so inexpensive compared to going out all the time.

Deb's Winter Wonderland

I had Deb's name this year for our Priceless Christmas quilt swap. I hand embroidered this "Winter Wonderland" quilt. I can't wait to start one for me now. This is what I spent much of my summer doing but I couldn't show it.

Squished Pineapple - two of them

This quilt was made for Cody and Becky's wedding. The pattern is not mine, but the way I pieced it was my own invention. It is done with strip piecing -- not paper piecing -- and the use of one template in the center following by a series of cuts done with a square ruler.

I made another one for Andy and Kelly's wedding. Theirs was burgandy and green.

I would so love to make it again; however, it takes 9 yards of just the background fabric -- around 18 yards total. It would cost $170 just to make the top at today's prices.

Cracker Jacks - Faye Torgerson

The bottom photo is called Cracker Jacks and was designed by Kaye Evans. I gave it to Faye Torgerson for my Christmas wallhanging exchange. I loved Kaye's class so much that I took it twice, first at Ruby's Inn and later at my last Annual Meeting.

Jesus and Mary - Lorna

My trapunto plan really didn't work out with this project, so I outlined the picture in decorative thread. I gave it to Lorna for Christmas.

3-D Kaleidoscope - Linda Johnson

This top was made in March or April of 2005 at a retreat in Park City. Theresa, Deb, and I went together and I designed and sewed this while we were there along with my Kaleidoscope (Bali Passion Mystery) quilt made from Batiks. The pattern itself was not my design, but the folded insert idea was. I peeled back the insert pieces and stitched them down as I quilted it.

I quilted it that year and gave it to Linda Johnson for our Christmas wallhanging swap.