Category: quilting

Barn Star Sampler · quilting · Tornadoes · WIPS

Sunday Funday Sewing and oh, a Tornado !

Wild Rose Quilter2 Comments

The first project I worked on today was the machine sewn binding on the quilt I’m making for my great-nephew. Then I pulled out a WIP I started last February. I joined Shelley Cavanna’s Barn Star Sampler quilt along, and should have been assembling my quilt top this month, but I fell behind in December. Today, I cut out all the pieces for my next block. Just as I finished cutting the pieces, we had an unexpected thunderstorm that brought hail, and a tornado that caused some damage on the south side of town. Not fun considering my town was hit by a bad tornado last June, killing three people, injuring many more and leaving many homeless. Businesses were also lost. Anyway, we are fine. And, now it’s supposed to snow tomorrow!

Is anyone else reading doing the Barn Star Sampler?

After everything calmed down, I finished the hand stitched binding on my friend’s commissioned quilt.

Memorial quilt and nephew’s quilt

Thankful not to have lost anyone or our home today in this tornado. Counting my blessing as I go to sleep.

Barns · Hackberry Spring Ranch · quilting · Quilts in the Wild

Memorial Quilt in the Wild

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I am hand finishing the binding on one of the quilts I’m currently working on, so it went along on the trip to the ranch Thursday so I could stitch during the drive. It’s a commission for a dear friend, pieced from her late father’s shirts, and a neutral fabric I purchased for the sashing. They are huge baseball fans, and we found a digital baseball pattern for the quilting. Even though the binding isn’t completely stitched, I went ahead and got some pictures of it while we were there, as it will be shipped off to her this next week. I don’t take on many commissions, as I have a huge bucket list of my own that I want to make, but there are some that I just cannot turn down. I love that I’m able to make something for my friend that will bring her comfort and be a treasure to her. After all, that is one of the best things about being a quilter, isn’t it?

family · Family Farm · grief · Hackberry Spring Ranch · quilting · Ranch · trees

It Was a Good Day

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I was so tired when we got home from the ranch last night, but it was the good kind of tired. My husband, brother and I made the 2.5 hour trip to the monument company to pick up the marker for my parents’ gravesite, then the one hour drive from there to the ranch to place it. My cousin Dee came over from his home and we all had a nice visit and talked about some other ideas to spruce it up a bit. This is where Mom wanted to be buried. Many times over the years, she would say to us “cremate me and stick me under the hackberry tree”. I’m so glad we were able to fulfill those wishes. I think she would have been happy as can be with just the large rock from the ranch marking the site, but I really wanted a proper marker.

It was a cloudy, overcast day with a bit of moisture coming down at times, and the colors were really beautiful there yesterday. The last bits of winter color with spring beginning to burst through. The bluestem in the pasture was really catching my eye.

As were the dried up remains of last year’s thistles.

These trees that have been there since long before I was born beginning to leaf out again, and the winter rye grass greening up the place all around them.

I’ll leave off here for now, but will be back with more from yesterday’s little excursion. There will also be another “quilts in the wild” post, as I took another along for the ride to work on the binding while we traveled. Thanks for stopping by and have a fabulous Friday!

Life after loss · quilting · quilts

Bread and Headed to the Ranch

Wild Rose Quilter2 Comments

I have never had great success making bread. Except for quick breads, like pumpkin, banana, etc. I tried making a whole wheat sourdough yesterday from some starter gifted to me by a fellow quilt guild member, and it’s the best bread turnout I’ve ever had. Not that I have tried very much. I was always so discouraged after less than delicious results that I quickly gave up that endeavor. This round was encouraging, though!

Since my last post with anything to do about the ranch was 4 years ago, I do have some catching up to do about things there. I’ll start with the most special one today. My Mom had always told us that when she passed away she would like to be cremated and buried under her favorite hackberry tree. My Dad would always say something different and my brother and I would go back and forth trying to decide what to do, the Hackberry tree or the cemetery in our hometown. When my brother, cousin and I did the surface division of my grandparents’ ranch, I got the part with the hackberry tree. One day I just had a very strong feeling of “I have to take her home”. I called my brother and told him and he agreed, as well. My Dad always got the last word on pretty much all decisions, but this time, we were making sure Mom got what she had always so strongly wanted, and we knew that wherever we decided, they should, and would want, to both be together. I love that they are in a beautiful place that means so much to me, and someday, I will be under the tree with them. We currently have a large rock from the ranch marking their gravesite, but today we are headed to Granite, Ok to pick up their headstone we had made, and finally get that set over them. I can’t wait to see it and get it placed.

I can understand why she wanted to be buried in this place, under this tree. It’s one of my favorite views at the ranch, as well.
This is the first quilt I ever made for Mom. She was so proud of it. I didn’t have a longarm then, so the quilting is all by hand. Mom’s quilt, Mom’s tree.

Have a wonderful day!

quilting

Cute Little Elephant Quilt

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Yesterday, I got to quilt this adorable little baby quilt for a client. She requested edge to edge, except for the elephant. So, I set up a no sew zone around it and then added my interpretation of wrinkly elephant skin texture. 😄 So much fun!

Today has pretty much been housekeeping, but I’m taking a few minutes to sit in my rocking chair on the front porch and enjoy this beautiful day while I blog. Then I will go inside and sew a binding to the front of a memory quilt I made for a friend from her father’s shirts, and get it all ready for hand stitching over the next few evenings. Hubby is off for the next four days so if we go anywhere, I can pack it along to work on while I ride along in the car. Enjoy your Wednesday afternoon!

quilting

Tuesday Tidbits

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Yesterday, I got a client quilt on and off the longarm. Such a sweet little quilt. I used a computerized pattern from Sew Shabby Quilting called Bouquet. Just darling!

I also embroidered a couple of labels for quilts I’m working on. It has been forever since I pulled out my little embroidery machine. I almost forgot how to use it. I did have to pull out the manual to figure a couple steps out. I cut some binding strips and have those ready to sew this afternoon. I did finish the binding on the king size 9 Patch & Stripe from Eleanor Burns Still Stripping book. I’m so glad to finally have finished it after all these years. On the other hand, it has a sister quilt still waiting for binding, as well. I will get it done eventually!

Today is another productive day. I loaded and quilted a baby quilt for a client this morning, and I have another one loaded and ready to start the quilting. Getting some household chores worked in, as well. Hopefully, I’ll get out and walk a couple miles before the day is done. Thanks for stopping by! I have to get back to work!

food · machine quilting · quilting · quilts

Sunday Funday Sewing!

Wild Rose Quilter2 Comments

I finally finished up the intense custom quilting job I’ve been working on for the past couple of weeks. So, today I treated myself to some personal quilting time. I added borders to this cute little dinosaur quilt I’m making for my one of my little great nephews. I’ll be making another one for his baby brother. The pattern is called Strip Mirage, by Sew Yeah quilt shop in Las Vegas. They have a YouTube channel and there’s a tutorial, plus a link to a printable pattern for free. It uses one jelly roll, almost completely. I think there were two blocks left over. It finishes out at 45X60, but I decided to add borders to make it larger. The Moda jelly roll I chose was Stomp Stomp Roar, from Stacy Lest Hsu, and a coordinating Bella solid for the borders, backing and binding.

After I finished the borders and made the backing, I got it loaded on the longarm, and just finished the quilting this evening. I’ll post pics again once I get the binding finished.

I also did a bit of chain piecing and pressing on a two color quilt I’m making for our guild challenge in October. I hope I make the deadline, but I never have yet 😂. I love how cute the block backs look when you open that center up to flatten the intersection.

Before and in between all that quilting fun, I did manage to squeeze in some housework and laundry, so I’m giving myself a bit pat on the back.😊 And, I cooked dinner. I cooked some elk backstrap by searing it in some spicy garlic butter on the stovetop, and then finishing it in the oven. Turned out quite good! Hope y’all had a great Sunday!

applique · longarm quilting · quilting · quilts · wild rose quilter

Two Days in a Row

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Popping in real quick to keep this posting momentum going. I’m finishing my coffee while watching a quilting podcast on YouTube, getting ready to start my work day in my quilting studio. I’m about to cross the finish line on an intense custom job that will be entered in a local quilt show. I’m so anxious to get finished. It’s really challenged me and I hope my client is pleased when she gets it back. I’ll share photos of it after the show starts. My custom bookings have really been filling up this year. I had a lot of fun working on the last one, and I have a really fun one mermaid one coming up after I finish this one. Before I start it, I will be running through all my edge to edge jobs that have come in between the customs. I have a commission to finish up, just needs a label and binding, plus I am working on a very special commission project for a local family that lost a loved one in the devastating tornado that ripped through our community last June. I also have some new personal quilts going, in various stages, plus, I want to keep making progress on finishing up my old UFO’s. Today, I’ll share some pics of the last custom I worked on. This was a lot of fun!

Lynn’s Our Family quilt. Pattern from Pin and Proper Designs
daily life · quilting

Long Time No Post

Wild Rose Quilter8 Comments

Wow, a little over 4 years has passed since I have blogged. Life has been busy, and between Facebook and Instagram, I just let this slip away to the side. I’m going to try to get back in a more regular posting groove and see if anyone is still out there that cares to follow along with me. A lot has happened in the past 4 years. Lots of time spent enjoying my grandsons, as I kept them during the week days, either full or partial days depending on their school enrollment. Time so well spent! What a gift life gave me in allowing me to be a “stay at home grandmother”. My longarm quilting business has steadily been getting busier, as well, and now that all the boys are in school full time, I have more time to devote to my business and personal quilting, as well. I look forward to sharing more with you all again, and catching up with those of you that are still blogging that I used to follow along with, and hoping to find new blogging friends, too! The quilt below is one I made in 2009, quilted in January 2010, and shared here on the blog at that time. That was just shortly before my mom was diagnosed with lymphoma, and we began her treatment journey, and shortly after the conclusion of that, my late husband was diagnosed with his brain tumor. Every project I was working on at the time was just set aside, and I have so many UFO’s to finish from that time period. It is one of my goals to get them all completed. I am currently working on the hand stitching of the binding on this one. I will get this done! If you are reading this, thanks for the visit, and I hope you will come back!