Tuesday, September 04, 2018

Victoriana Quilt Designs Quilter's Meet-n-Greet Intro

Wow ... the pressure is on!  Benita of Victoriana Quilt Designs invited me to participate in her September 2018 "Quilter's Meet -n- Greet" !   This is very exciting because you, the reader, will have a fantastic opportunity to read about and visit the blogs of all sorts of quilters.  Click on the high-lighted Meet-n-Greet link to visit all the blogs of great, participating quilters!

Benita is also having a contest with the Meet-n-Greet to encourage all of you to visit the participating blogs! You can check out the amazing prizes available here or just click on the picture to the right/

I was tickled pink!  Except that ... seeing as I have not been part of such an event before .. what do I write about?  Well, apparently, this introduction post is supposed to be just that .. and intro to me and my quilting.  Goodness gracious .. I can talk for HOURS about that topic!  (yeah .. just ask my family!)  :-)

So, where to start?  The Good Fairy of the Wizard of Oz suggested to Dorothy that is it is always best to start at the beginning .. so I shall do so.

First .. welcome!  I'm so pleased that you are here!

In the dim recesses of my memory, I have mental pictures of one of the first quilts I made.  It was circa 1970's and I made a strip quilt for the brother of my older brother's girlfriend (who he later married).  It was VERY simple, as my skills were VERY basic at that time.  It turned out to be a usable quilt and I was pleased with it.  Unfortunately, I have no pictures.

In the ensuing years, I did less quilting but MEGA amounts of garment sewing for myself and needlework.   In 1979-ish, I was married and moved into a new-to-us house.  At that time, I was subscribing to Family Circle magazine and they had an article to buy a kit which would enable to you to "make a quilt in a weekend".

one of my first quilts

Oh, stop laughing!  I *believed* them.  They wouldn't publish something that wasn't true, would they?  Well, I bought the quilt and one Friday afternoon, upon arriving home from work, I informed my new husband that I was going to be sewing all weekend and please don't interrupt or bother me.  I had a quilt to make.   Little did he realize this would be a scenario repeated ad naseum over the life of our marriage (now at 39 years!).  Poor him.  :-)

That quilt was a quilt as you go, Log Cabin.  King size.  Why a king size quilt?  Well, we had a king sized bed!!!   And you know what?  **I FINISHED THAT QUILT** by the end of Sunday evening.  It was pieced, quilted together and bound.  I had no doubt that I would accomplish the task because .. well .. the magazine SAID that I could make it in a weekend. :-)
I actually have a blog post about that quilt and you can read about the details here.

I made a *few* quilts after that but then we started a family and I returned to my garment-sewing roots and began years and years and years of making gorgeous, adorable garments for our three daughters.  Dang, I gotta say that they were the best dressed little girls in town.

But, around middle school, they decided they wanted to look more like the other girls .. fair enough .. and I greatly reduced my garment sewing .. but resumed my quilting.  It was in 2000 that we did a fairly major remodel on our house that knocked down the old, non-functional back porch and rebuilt it into a 10'x20' sewing studio for me (with an adjacent office for my home business .... when I closed that business about 15 years later, I converted that office space into my paper crafting hobby room.  No space is ever wasted!)

It was at that time .. 2000 .. that I realized that making quilts was FAR EASIER than making garments!  Dang .. no bodily curves to accommodate!   And quilts never get out grown!  Woo hoo!  I began quilting With A Vengeance.    From then, I have never stopped.

I made quilts for us, for the girls, for relatives, for gifts, for events, for no reason at all other than I liked the layout.   And I started collecting fabric suitable for quilting.  (DO NOT mention to my husband that I STILL have fabric for garments ... he doesn't quite understand the difference in fabric types!).   I now have a lovely inventory of quilting fabrics but never quite seem to have THE fabric necessary for any particular project.  How on earth is that possible?  (rhetorical question!)

I started with geometric patterns because they were the easiest to conceptualize.  Over the years, I have taken classes (both online and physical). I have expanded my skills to the point where I think I have done just about every technique .. or at least it certainly seems that way.

After not liking hand applique at all, I learned a technique from Nancy Lee Chong of Pacific Rim Quilting Company, that made me an absolute gushing Fan Girl of her technique and patterns.  Now, I will happily and contentedly do needleturn applique at the drop of a hat.

I started my concept of a Forever Project™  ... this is a long-term project that doesn't have a fixed finish date.  It gets worked on when I get around to it.  My first Forever Project was a hand embroidered throw pillow of a sitting unicorn.  It was for my oldest daughter (who was born in 1983).  It took me 10 years to finish that *small* throw pillow because I kept putting it away!  Sadly, I don't have a picture of it.  But it eventually got done and I needed something else to do.

hand stitched Cathedral Window
My second Forever Project™ was a hand stitched Cathedral Window.  I had found some fabric of my Mom's (who had passed away in 1989) and I felt very emotional and sentimental about it.  There wasn't a whole lot but I made some Cathedral Window blocks and made them the center focal point of a quilt.   It took me 7 years before I decided that it was "big enough".

After that, I had a fairly flexible mindset about Forever Project™ quilts.  Some were small, some were large.  Some took no time at all, some took years.

But always, they are projects that are hand work .. something portable .. something that I could work on in doctor's office waiting rooms, in the car on road trips, on vacations while away from my sewing machine.  And they never, ever, ever had a firm finish date.  When they got done, they got done.

I think I've done about a dozen ???? or so Forever Projects™ thus far.  They just never seem to end. :-)

I love sewing.  I LOVE quilting.  Like every other quilter I know, I have far more potential projects, UFOs, WIPs and inventory for projects than I will use in my lifetime.  But that doesn't stop me because I'M NOT A QUITTER!!  :-)


Lone Star with applique
You might be wondering about the dramatic lone star and applique quilt by my link on Victoriana Quilt Designs.  *That* quilt was a delight to make. Although the basic design is a Lone Star, the whole thing is an original design (with inspiration from a Ricky Tim's quilt) that had its ups and downs during construction.  The fabrics are hand-dyes and absolutely seem to *glow*.  It remains one of my favorites.  (and *one of these days*, I'll even get around to posting the gallery web page about it!)


I do have a web site which is a gallery of my quilts.  I started the web site as an online scrapbook of sorts to remind me what I had created and what I was thinking during that project.  Of late, I've been quite the lamer about keeping it up to date but seeing as I am feeling more energized about returning to blogging ... then my web site gallery must need to be updated as well!  And so I shall.  My quilting-specific part of my web site is The Dread Pirate Rodgers Quilting Projects.   The main site can be found at The Dread Pirate Rodgers Home Page.

Don't forget to visit all the other quilter participants of the Victoriana Quilt Designs Meet -n- Greet!


Click on the link below or the picture above for the contest!


Happy quilting!








48 comments:

  1. Your blog/post are fun! Over here from Benita's M&G. Nice to meet you! :)

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    1. Hiya, Denise! Thanks for stopping by ... I'm reading the blogs of Benita's participants also!

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  2. Hey Shelley - congrats on being a part of the Meet-N-Greet. I absolutely love your post. It's so you - both interesting and fun. I really enjoyed reading about how you started your love for quilting. Your work is amazingly beautiful and creative with just a little extra Shelley touch. Waving at you from AZ.

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    1. Hiya, Linda! oh, a familiar face! :-) thanks for stopping by!

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  3. I love the Lonestar that you have created.

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  4. Thank you! In all honesty, it's the hand-dyed (not by me) fabrics that catches your eye. But, it's a quilt that I'm so glad that I actually got quilted! :-)

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  5. So nice to get to know more about you! And yep - I fell for the *in a weekend* thing to. Glad you finished yours!

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    1. I'm glad I finished it also! I didn't realize it at the time, but not all tops get quilted. LOL!

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  6. So nice to meet another addicted SABLE (Stash Accumulated Beyond Life Expectancy). I love making quilts just because I love the pattern or the fabric...and I really enjoy creating quilts with no pattern at all from my scraps!

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    1. Oh, the fabric acquisition is an addiction! Yet, when I pull fabric for the current quilt, I frequently discover that I don't have ALL the fabrics required ... like the blenders or companion prints or accents. My husband doesn't understand why I need to buy MORE fabric. :-)

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  7. Your story made me feel like we are old friends EXCEPT that "quilt in a weekend" would have taken me MONTHS to make!! LOL That Lone Star is exquisite. I'm a fan of Ricky Tims and can definitely see the similarity to his work.

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    1. I absolutely used one of Ricky Tims' quilts as inspiration for those arched "caps" (or whatever they are called). I looked at *so many* Lone Stars for ideas because I really, really, really wanted this one to be very special.

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  8. The Lonestar quilt is breahttaking...Such a work of art!

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    1. Thank you! It's one of my all time favorites. I love looking at it. I experience a huge bubble of pleasure every time I see it. :-)

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  9. Hi, Shelley -- we met some years ago on RCTQ or Stashbusters. (I remember your html website.) Nice to see you again in blogland and to get to know more about you.

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    1. Hiya, Nann! I do remember Stashbusters! but dropped out of it quite a while ago. There were just too many ideas to absorb and I needed to concentrate on what I had to work on, rather than create new projects! I'm *STILL* at that point! LOL!

      Glad you stopped by!

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  10. Its nice to meet you. You have a lovely blog

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    1. Thank you, Tammy. It's been way too long that I've let it lapse. Thank you for stopping by!

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  11. What a fun story about that weekend quilt. Wowza! I'm totally impressed. The lone star quilt is gorgeous. It was very nice to meet you, Shelley.

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    1. Hiya, L.J. Who knew what that one "little, ol' project" would lead to? These days, a weekend project is practically instant gratification!

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  12. Nice to meet you! Love this gorgeous luminous star!

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    1. Thank you! Isn't that fabric absolutely astounding? I bless they day I found Tammy Salzman of 'Always Unique Hand Dyed Fabric'. She is such a wonderful person to deal with. I asked her if she could dye me some fabric to match a background color and she hit it spot-on. Highly recommended.

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  13. Always fun reading your stuff. Great that you got an invite for this!

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    1. Hey, Janna! I'm so pleased you stopped by!

      I love it when I get notifications of new content on your blog. *SUCH* an adventure ... but I'm glad it's you guys and not me! LOL!

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  14. I loved reading your story, Shelley - Thanks for sharing it and Thanks for being part of the Quilters Meet & Greet! <3

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    1. I am so flattered that you thought to include me! I am delighted to be a part of the Quilters Meet n Greet! Thank you.

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  15. Shelley, I made that quilt from Family Circle too, for my parents-in-law. We lived in a logging camp and I had to finish mine before a float plane came in, so I worked through the night and ran out of backing material...and had to use a strip of yellow material to finish out the blue back. The quilt is about 40 years old and tattered, and we got it back when they died. It is now keeping my husband warm on his side of the bed! I still refer to the article and pattern that I had to put plastic over to keep it safe. It resides in a brown envelop and I panic if I can't find it and the directions as to finish the quilt. Thanks for the memories...we were young once not so long ago!

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    1. How awesome that you made the quilt also! I bet you were surprised to see my picture, then! The worn appearance of your quilt is proof that it was well loved and admired .. the greatest compliment that a quiltmaker can get. :-)

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  16. I enjoyed reading your Blog and seeing some of your beautiful quilts. Thanks for sharing.

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  17. Nice to meet you! Your Lone Star is absolutely beautiful!

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    1. I'm so happy that you visited my blog! Regarding the Lone Star .. I gotta say that the star of the show (pun intended!) is the hand dyed fabric. Tammy Salzman of "Always Unique Hand Dyed Fabrics" doe superb work.

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  18. Wow....that Lone Star is really gorgeous. I am so impressed that you did a king sized log cabin.

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    1. thank you! In my defense, I must say that I had NO IDEA how big a king size quilt really was and I had NO IDEA that making it "in a weekend" was rhetorical. :-)

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  19. Nice to meet you on the Quilter's Meet and Greet! Beautiful quilts!!

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  20. One of the first quilts I made was a Log Cabin. Thank you for joining the Meet and Greet

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    1. Log Cabin remains one of my all time favorite layouts, probably because of that first quilt. It holds a special place in my heart. Thanks for dropping by!

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  21. Hi, I'm amazed your finished a kind sized quilt in a weekend. Great work of a beginner that didn't know any different. Love your quilts.

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    1. "... that didn't know any different." Isn't that the bottom line truth? It's also probably the reason so many things get done the first time! LOL!

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  22. HaHa. Bruce is going stir crazy cause he's without a project until our company comes next Sat.

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    1. OH NO! Set him to polishing the silverware. That was my job for the holidays and when company came. Geez, but I hated doing the forks ... all those stinkin' tines!

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  23. What a fun post! And you're so right - that quilt does glow. And I'm blown away that you made a king-sized quilt in a weekend - talk about wonder woman! Thank you for inviting us to visit.

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  24. What a blast to the past...Family Circle! Looks like they didn't lie either...you became a quilter that weekend. Stunning lone star quilt. I do love hand dyes and the special look they give a project!

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  25. Nice to meet you Shelley. I am not a fan of applique and have begun suspecting that if I took a class on how to actually DO needle turn applique, I might enjoy it. Time will tell if I actually do that. lol

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  26. I found it hard to choose a favourite quit of yours, but the Kanji Peace might sneak into #1. And then the Tin Lizzie suggestions, I have a very, VERY old Gammill with a wooden frame, and the side tensioner triangles would be a winner.

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  27. Feel like I just spent a wonderful afternoon with a great friend..over tea of course...and giggled & enjoyed all the chatter we shared! Thank you for sharing! :)

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  28. You have such a delightful story. The cathedral window pattern is my absolute favorite. Thanks for sharing with us.

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