Kansas State Fair

 Let's travel back in time a little more and I'll show my pics from the Kansas State Fair.  We attended with our friends, one of whom is a vet who grew up in Kansas and has attended every year, several times volunteering in the veterinary building.  She has lots of traditional things she liked to do, so it was fun to share it with her.

The guys spent some time going through the machinery, while we visited the domestic arts building.  There was some really neat cross stitch.  I took a picture of this Harry Potter themed one.

And then there was quite a lot of quilting that was well displayed.  Only one was hanging upside down.  (I've quit putting quilts in the Missouri State Fair simply because of the lack of care they show for displaying things.)

I thought the wall hanging below was quite clever.

And this t-shirt quilt caught me attention with the way they did the shirts in a swirl.

And it had more on the back.  I didn't care for the quilting though.

Below is the grand champion and the next photo is the back of it.  It was quite something.

We also went into the 4-H building.  Wow!  Was it ever impressive.  I took several photos to show Sarah, so these will feature more of the "sciency" stuff.

Case after case of Legos............

And this charcuterie board.............had fishing lures in it!  Sent that to my brother-in-law who makes these.

The sewing/quilting/knit/crochet was also impressive.  I took pics of this crocheted costume of Toothless from How to Train your Dragon.............

and from the back............

It was a huge building and was totally full.  There were at least 1000 photos, over 50 bug boxes and even more rock boxes and it was all very well displayed.  Again, it made Missouri look sad.

We got into Kansas politics as there was a debate going on that had drawn quite a cheering/booing crowd.  It will be interesting to see how the election comes out.  

We visited the vet building which I thought would just be a building where you could ask questions of the vets volunteering to staff it, but it was actually a birthing center.  They had all sorts of animals and I got to see new born calves, lambs, and more.  They had seating where you could just sit and watch.  I could have spent the day in there.

Meet Rosie who I visited in the cattle barn twice and each time she was more than happy to suck on my fingers.  

We were also going to ride the Old Mill ride, a long-standing tradition of my friends.  It is a permanent fixture on the fairground since the 1950's.  We were in line, and just as we got up to the entrance, they closed it down because it had stopped and needed repaired.  So we missed that tradition.

It was a fun weekend in Kansas.  We checked out interesting restaurants, played cards, and visited a castle.  There is more to Kansas than I had thought.

Since my last post, I have returned to the sewing room.  I cleared away the 4 bags of t-shirts I have been given to make a quilt.  I rough cut them to get rid of the excess, and now have a much smaller pile of usable parts stored in the closet until I'm ready for a game of Tetris to see how to fit them together.  I also made the backing for Mom's Christmas quilt and hung that fabric up.  Then I opened one of the project boxes I had last worked on at the retreat before Labor Day and sat down and actually sewed quilt blocks!  It was such an amazing feeling.  I sewed 40 sets of 4 half square triangles.  They still have to be trimmed, but I have decided the fabric is so pretty that I want to sew an extra seam before trimming them to save the bonus triangles.  Anyway, it was a really good feeling.

Busy day at church today.............my bell choir is performing for the first time this season, we are on the hospitality team for greeting and ushering, and it is the church tailgate party, so I have food ready to take.  It is kind of fun to get to wear jeans and my Chief's shirt to church.  And of course, we'll watch the game this afternoon.  Chief's vs. Raiders, 2 unbeaten teams!  

Well, it's time to grab some breakfast and hit the shower to get the day started.

Christi

How can it be October?

We're so glad the dog days of summer and the extreme temps we had are over.  My animals are very much like me.  We really enjoy air conditioning!  Harry Potter and Mabel did their best work sleeping in the house during those hot days!

It's confession time.  I have not sewn a quilt block since that retreat back at the beginning of September, so before Labor Day............can you believe it?  It was a very busy month with piano lessons starting and a few more trips.  Let's time travel back a little ways............

The second weekend of the month, we spent in Kansas with some friends.  Our goal was the Kansas State Fair in Hutchinson, Kansas, but our first stop was at the Eudora Quilt Show in Lawrence, KS.  It was a very nice show, well displayed.  So I'll just let you browse through some of my favorites.

The quilt below, I'm pretty sure, is a pattern called My Kinda Town.  This one is on my UFO list, but has barely been touched.  Also, I'm pretty sure this person rearranged the town a bit because it's not really how I remember it looking.  

I love how they did this panel in the quilt below.  You know about my weakness for panels and this one really captured my attention.

I'd like to try the one below as a scrap quilt from my stash.  

And this was another scrap quilt idea.  I make a lot of four patches, so I thought this would be a different way to use those.

And they had vendors at the quilt show.  I told my husband that I didn't need anything, but just wanted to look...............which is what I did at the Vendors.  But at the guild garage sale, I was like a kid in a candy store.  

There are several books and patterns (which I didn't need, but at a dollar a piece, I couldn't resist), a Christmas fat eighth bundle on the right, a Christmas jelly roll, and the bundle tied with twine is five one-yard cuts of Christmas fabric.  I gave that bundle to my mom the next weekend since she has a book of five one-yard cut quilts, and she already has a top together from the fabric.  She sent me a picture with dimensions so that I could get backing for it.  (and I haven't pieced a block in over a month 😕)

I did get the Jelly Twist quilt quilted and shown at the September meeting.  

And I got 3 mondo bags and a couple of little zipper pouches that had been started in the middle of August finished for someone.  I still need to get them in the mail.

They were made from a Peanuts jelly roll.  You can see what Esme has to say about the "dog" thing.

And I just finished Bert and Ernie, for ME!  Actually, I still have to sew down the hanging sleeve on the back, but I can get that done before the quilt show next weekend!  I really wanted this finished for the quilt show.

While quilting this one, I noted what large noses muppets have and how much hair product these two must have used to get it to stand up like that!

And I quilted 5 table runners for my mom and this large quilt for another guild member to show in the quilt show.  

She chose this orange minky for the back which looked awesome, but I did have to vacuum a lot of orange fuzzies after it was done.

Well, I'm leaving you here for now.  I'll post about the Kansas State Fair and some other stuff over the next few days, so keep a lookout for more posts.  

I should update the UFO list, but the only real change is that Jelly Twist is finished.  So that just leaves 3 quilts, My Kinda Town, Legendary, and the 30's blocks.  None of those appear to be going anywhere too fast.

Christi

 

Labor Day Weekend

 Our Labor Day weekend has historically been a family get together at my parents' house.  With Jackson's wedding the weekend before, we didn't do that this year.  This freed me up to attend the Sew Sweet Retreat at the Quilt Barn in Brunswick.

The night before I left, our ac quit during the heatwave.  I threw shorts and t-shirts into my suitcase on Thursday morning, packed my sewing stuff and headed for cooler temps in the quilt barn.  Well, the temps were much cooler there especially since I was sitting under an air vent.  I purchased a nice soft jacket from the quilt shop to wear most of the weekend.  My only other purchases were some quilt labels and a backing for this first top I finished putting together.

This is Cottage Twirl a pattern by Miriam at Stitch Obsessed.  I called the hubs Friday morning and had him measure some of my different pieces of fabric to see if I had something large enough for the backing and he finally said, "You're gonna have to buy some fabric!"  I did find a nice piece in the sale room, and I made the backing and binding for this quilt.

My next top finish was this long time UFO, Jelly Twist.  It had traveled to 3 previous quilt retreats and never made it out of the box.  I did have some fabric at home for the back (thanks to the hubby measuring fabric again), and the backing is made, it's even quilted, and the binding is to the hand binding stage.

And I got all the blocks made for Flower Toss.  I have to say that as I was making these somewhat tedious blocks, I was concerned about my choice of background fabric.  However, once I had all the blocks on the design wall, I did really like it.

I worked on some blocks for another quilt, but didn't get very far on that one.  I left a little early on Sunday so that I could get back and unload the car so that we could take Willow and Friday to the dog plunge at the pool.

This was Friday's first dog plunge.  Willow is a pro though.  She would swim and her hair would float about her like a mermaid.  Friday, not having the amazing webbed paws that Willow has, was not as great a swimmer.  He didn't like the fountains that were spraying water.  He also didn't care for all those other dogs around and stayed pretty close to Willow.  As it was another extremely hot day, we all enjoyed the water.

Honestly, Friday's favorite thing was sitting on the lounge chair.

Well things have cooled down a little and we are getting some much needed rain today.  Piano lessons have begun, and yes, at least 5 of them have already had to be rescheduled.  And the first 2 yesterday came without their books.  Five more today, so we'll see how it goes.  

The hubs has all the equipment ready to go to the field.  It will probably be the latter half of next week before he starts.

We're supposed to be at the Kansas State Fair on Saturday.  Hoping for dry cooler temps, but I don't know if that will happen.  

TTFN,

Christi

UFO Update

Let's take a moment to update the UFO list.  

1.  Proposal  (FINISHED!)

2.  Waverly  (FINISHED!)

3.  Lookout  (FINISHED AND GIFTED!)

4.  St. Pats Pillow  (FINISHED!)

5.  St. Pats Runner  (FINISHED!)

6.  St. Pats Wall Hanging  (FINISHED!)

7.  Jimmy John  (FINISHED AND GIFTED!)

8.  Snailing Around Town  (FINISHED!)

9.  Chalet  (FINISHED!)

10.  Foxes in Flannels (FINISHED!)

11.  Show and Tell  (FINISHED!)

12.  Love in Bloom Panel  (FINISHED AND GIFTED!)

13.  O Christmas Tree (FINISHED!)

14.  Heaven and Nature Sing  (FINISHED!)

15.  Scrap Jar Stars  (FINISHED!)

16.  Hash Tag  (FINISHED!)

17.  Jelly Twist   (All the block pieces are packaged together and 8 blocks have been made.)

18.  Halloween Panel  (FINISHED!)

19.  Thanksgiving Panel  (FINISHED!)

20.  Redlin Panel  (Gave it Away, so FINISHED!)

21.  Legendary  (Haven't even thought about it)

22.  My Kinda Town  (Have copied the paper piecing patterns and sorted into bags for each block)

23.  Turkey Lurkey  (FINISHED!)

24.  Turkey Blocks  (FINISHED!)

25.  Cat Nip  (FINISHED!)

26.  Pineapple  (FINISHED!)

27.  Tea Time Topper  (FINISHED!)

28.  Vintage 30's Blocks 

29.  Great Grandma's Fans  (FINISHED!)

So that's 25 of 29 Finishes!  (ok, so one was actually gifted away, but it's finished for me!)  Only 4 left to go from quilts that were started prior to the beginning of the year.  We'll see what happens at quilt retreat this week.  I'm actually only taking one UFO with me which says that lots of new things have been started.  

Looking forward to retreat.

Christi

 

August Wrap Up

 I KNOW!  It's been another whole month since there was a blog post.  So sit back and relax, there's quite a lot to share................

First, our birthday girl!  She's 29!

She didn't really think candles were necessary.................

And it took quite a bit of effort to blow them all out!

The very first weekend of the month, she asked to go to Bethany to visit her grandparents and go fishing.  As soon as we got there on Friday, she and Grandpa took off to fish before we even went to our favorite pizza place.  Saturday morning, David and I joined them and it was a tight squeeze into the pickup.

We were out all morning and amazingly enough, David was the most successful.  

After lunch, (and a nap for Grandpa..........Sarah, you must wait an hour after eating before fishing, right?)  Grandpa and Sarah went out again.  

Sarah came home again the next weekend to attend a family reunion on David's side on Sunday.  On Saturday, I dragged her to a quilting and sewing expo in KC.  I was paying for us to get in, and the person asked her if she was 16?  Apparently, she could have gotten in free if she said she was under the age of 16.  We didn't lie.  I do think it made her feel better since she has found a couple of gray/white hairs already.  I informed her that her father's side does gray early.  

Here are some of the quilts we saw.............just enjoy the show.

The detail in the quilting was impressive.  This was part of the hexie challenge.

I liked the uniqueness (is that really a word) of this one.

And now, some art quilts.......

And I'm being drawn to medallion quilts too............

And, of course, some animals..............

It wasn't nearly as big a show as I was expecting.  I did a little shopping at the vendors, but not much.  I've kinda been in a cleaning it out mode in my sewing room.  I used up a bolt of striped canvas fabric and some strapping to make 3 large reusable shopping bags...........sorry, no photos.  I also finished this long long time UFO.

These fan blocks were made by my great grandmother, Christina and were set together on their sides in rows with lots more white fabric on them, but were never quilted.  One of my cousins had hemmed it and used it as a table cloth.  It was passed to me and several of the blocks were damaged and shredding.  I took out the hem and took the blocks apart.  After sorting them into usable and discards, I squared all the blocks up, trimming off a lot of excess white.  I can definitely see where my mom's piecing skills come from.  Then I set them on point and added the blue setting triangles (fabric I had purchased for another project but didn't end up using).  I quilted it and I think the front is gorgeous.  Confession:  there is a big wrinkle in the backing which I'm not gonna show.  I almost picked the quilting out, but the fabrics are so old, I hated to do any more ripping, so I'm just leaving it there as my "humility".  It's still such an improvement.  I made the binding from strips of backing left from my Cozy Picnic quilt.  It's now hanging in my sewing room.

Another UFO was finished..................

This is for Sarah's bed.  It's called Hash Tag.  She picked the fabrics and I started it last fall.  When she was home at the beginning of the month, she took some scrap fabric back with her and purchased the backing fabric she wanted.  She brought it back the second weekend, and I got it finished to send back with her this past weekend.  It's gonna look sharp on her black bedroom furniture.

I also created this wall hanging by combining patterns from 2 of my favorite designers.  This is a block from Elizabeth Hartman's Show and Tell quilt.  The inside of the quilt is a pattern from Wendy Sheppard.  I got to meet Wendy at a trunk show she did on August 5th.  She's from North Carolina, but was in mid Missouri to do the trunk show.  I was so impressed with her presentation.  The wall hanging was gifted to my cousin Brenda when we went to Omaha for a visit.

And I finally got this monster quilted for a lady at church.  She had given it to me in May, but the backing she sent was too small.  She finally brought me a new backing, and guess what, it was still too small.  I called her and asked permission to make a backing for it so I could get it quilted.  She agreed.  She is gifting it at Christmas, so has four months to get all the way around the hand binding.

I quilted at least 4 big quilts for my mom.  She has been sending things without backings, so I've had to purchase those, or in one case, I made a scrappy backing from some of the lesser loved fabrics in my stash.  I don't have any photos, but I thought it turned out nice and she liked it.  

So if you've been counting the trips, we were in Bethany one weekend, Omaha one weekend, Sarah was here for a KC quilt show and reunion one weekend, and this past weekend, we were in Jefferson, Iowa for my nephews wedding............ 

It was a large wedding party.

My sister and her baby, Jackson.  I have to say, that my sister looked stunning.  I loved her dress.

Sarah and Aaron came from St. Peters to go with us.

And their older kiddo, Carter.

Sisters with our dad............

And from the ceremony.............my parents walking in.  This was their first grandchild to get married, and he's the youngest.

My sister walking in............

Jackson was very nervous..........

The bride had 4 little nephews and they sorta stole the show.............

And Carmyn, the bride............

And everyone from my sister's side who was there for the wedding.

Is it any wonder that I didn't blog for an entire month?!  I'm either not really doing anything to blog about, or so busy with things that I don't have time to blog.  And what about the pets?  Here are Mabel and Harry doing what they do best............

Esme, Friday, and Willow are still going strong.  Willow has been suffering with an ear infection for about 3 weeks.  And by suffering, I mean she's really been enjoying the extra attention and peanut butter covered pills.  We're so fortunate that my cousins moved to town and seem to enjoy caring for our pets when we are gone.  

That's about the wrap for the month!  Are you tired?  I kinda am.  I'm headed off to a quilt retreat on Thursday, returning on Sunday.  Sunday afternoon is the dog plunge.  And then, on Monday (Labor Day) piano lessons and bell choir start up again.  I'm definitely ready for a more consistent schedule and some cooler temps.  I was so warm yesterday (102 degrees in the shade) that I started getting my fall quilts out to hang up.  

And just to help you get into the spirit, here's what was outside our Tractor Supply early in August........

They have disappeared now, so someone must have purchased them already. I know, I missed out again!

Looking forward to September!

Christi