February 2011

Happy Valentines!

 

      It's been a really weird month, our weather started out extremely cold with a blizzard blowing in on the 1st which dumped 14" of snow on us!  Okies dubbed it Snowpocalypse / Snowmageddon 2011.

        However Punxsutawney Phil did not see his shadow and is predicting and early spring.  Farther on into February the weather turned awesome with highs near 80°. Also this month, the Egyptians finally took control of their country when Mubarak stepped down, and Libya is trying to follow in their footsteps.  The final launch of Discovery took place this month too.

            I continue to work on the inscription on my quilt.  I am on the next to last row of the inscription.  I'm getting excited about the next phase, it has been a long time coming.  I have been conferring with my sister as to how I will be quilting my quilt.  She has made several handmade quilts and my mother made dozens and dozens of handmade quilts.  My sister will be my consultant as I step into the process of quilting….my first time!

Wetting the paper pattern

Removing the paper pattern

January 2011

Happy new year!  It's been a mild January.  This month is the 25th anniversary of the Challenger disaster, and Egypt is in turmoil.  I also made a trip to Texas to visit my sister and did not work a lot on my quilt.  I am still embroidering on the quilt inscription.  I have nine rows completed.  There are 3-1/2 rows left to go.  I'm looking forward to the quilting phase.  It's been a LONG time coming!

December 2010

Merry Christmas!  I attended two parties this month.  Shopped, wrapped, mailed Christmas cards and baked up a storm.  This is such a busy month!  A lunar eclipse also occurred this month.  The pictures were awesome to behold! 

Christmas Day!  Today is the day of the birth of the Christ Child, Jesus.  He is God's gift to the world.  Jesus shed his blood, died on the cross and rose from the grave on the third day to save man from his sin"!  "Suddenly, an angel of the Lord appeared among them. "Don't be afraid!" he said. "I bring you good news that will bring great joy to all people.  The Savior—yes, the Messiah, the lord—has been born today in Bethlehem the city of David!"  Luke 2:9-11, NLT.     I had a wonderful Christmas with all of my family and their families!




  I have finished sewing on the border on my quilt!!! Now I will finish embroidering the inscription and it will be ready to quilt.  I look forward to finishing the inscription this coming year and starting phase two – the quilting.  I will be hand quilting the entire quilt!

Border is complete

A closer view

November 2010

Go Vote!  Oklahoma elected its' first female Governor, Mary Fallin.  Prince William announced his engagement to Kate Middleton.  Wedding to be next year in April—the same month my new grandchild will be arriving.  My granddaughter also gave herself her first haircut! J  She decided she wanted shorter bangs.  Happy Veteran's Day….honoring all who have served!  Thanks for your service to our country!   "IT'S A BOY!!"  Just found out my next grandchild is a boy!  Congrat's to my son and his wife!  Happy Thanksgiving!  I had a wonderful Thanksgiving with all my children and their families.

I did not work on my quilt this month.  I hope I can make time to sew on it in December, 'tween all the flurry of December events.  See you next month!

September & October 2010

September 2010

Fall! It's on its' way! Yeah.  I'm very tired of summer J  Happy Labor Day!  We went camping for Labor Day Weekend….it did not turn out well as I came down with "Shingles" on the last day!!!  That's something I never want to have again!  Tropical storm Hermine made its' way straight through Oklahoma on the 8th, what is with all these storms!  I also enjoyed taking my granddaughter and family to the State Fair.  Also this month was Super Harvest Moon on the 22^nd, 1^st time in 20 years.  We also lost Hollywood Legend Tony Curtis who passed away at 85.

I continue to sew on the third side of the quilt border.  Did not feel well enough to sew on it this month.

October 2010

Happy Halloween!  Football season has arrived.  Everyone is nuts about football here in OU land.  We went camping again this month, took both my cat and dog this time.  My cat did not do well, Tina my dog enjoyed it a lot.  This month marked the 70^th birthday of John Lennon and the 10^th anniversary of the Afghanistan War.  We also had another earthquake, this time a 5.1M quake shook us up.  I always think a car has run into our house when one hits J  I also attended two Halloween parties and took my granddaughter Trick-or-Treating for the 1^st time.

I am almost done sewing on the 3^rd side of the border on my quilt.  This is the time of the year, when it is hard for me to find time to work on it.  See you next month.

August 2010

The Dog Days of Summer have arrived.  It is in the 100°'s right now  It's predicted to be a very long hot August.  This month is the 2^nd birthday of my granddaughter and the 7 year anniversary of my quilt project.  It was also announced this month, that my second grandchild is on the way, due next April '11 ! 

My daughter traveled to Vegas to compete in the August 2010 APA National Team Championships—apparently she is a 9 ball pool shark J  However, her team the Conquistadors placed 33^rd out of 500 teams.  Not bad!

I have finished sewing on the second border!  I will begin sewing on the third border which is the second  shorter side of the quilt so it won't take as long.  I have miscalculated the length of the border sides on the right and left side, it is not coming out even.  I will have to add two more squares to the sides.  I am annoyed with myself for not doing a better job of calculating!

May, June & July 2010

May 2010

Happy Cinco De Mayo!  And Happy Memorial Day!  God bless our troops! "Freedom lives….because they died".   My giant red poppies are blooming, they are gorgeous!  I also celebrated one more birthday J    Also this month, more tornadoes moved through our area and damaged a lot of stuff including our favorite camp ground and marina L  We also lost TV host Art Linkletter this month at age 97, and actor Dennis Hopper at age 74.

I continue to sew on the final row of my quilt, which is being added at the top of the quilt.

June 2010

Summer has rolled around again and we spent a lot of time earlier this month at the lake camping and floating around on our pontoon boat.  It's been a nice early summer.  We did have a brief period of rain, we got a whopping 11" in one day on the 14^th.  I also went on a road trip to visit my sister.  We both drove up to South Dakota to visit the famous "Corn Palace" and visit the birth home of my mother.  I had a fun trip, but did not get a chance to work on my quilt, so no update for you this month.

July 2010

July opened with lots of rain from Hurricane Alex.  It started out in Mexico and made its' way straight to Oklahoma City.  It rained for 8 straight days! 

I finished sewing on the final row of my quilt.  I also finished sewing on one side of the border and have started on the second side.  I did not take an updated picture.  I'll post one in August.  See you next month!

April 2010

Tiptoe through the Tulips!  My tulips are all finally blooming.  They are so pretty right now.  Easter has come and gone and I had a wonderful Easter, hiding eggs for the first time for my 1-1/2 year old granddaughter.

I am currently working to sew on the 2^nd additional row.  I will then attach the border and finish the embroidered inscription.

Attaching and sewing final additional row

February and March 2010

February 2010

Happy Ground Hog Day!  6 more weeks of winter :-(     I took off from working on my quilt as my father-in-law passed away and we had to make a trip out of state.

I am still working on the last row of 140 squares.  I have 4 more sets of 10 squares to sew, then I will sew the 14 sets together and both rows will be complete. 

March 2010

Happy March!  March blew in like the proverbial lion.  My spring flowers are up and I'm looking forward to seeing them bloom!  The United States Census 2010 takes place this year.  We received our forms this month, and our 17^th earthquake this year (in our state) took place this month on the 5^th.  I have felt several of them, this one was a 3.1M.  On more grim news, this is the 7^th anniversary of the Iraq War.

I have finished the two additional rows for my quilt and have begun to attach them to the quilt.  After they are attached, I will sew on the border.  The new size is now 140 squares wide and 162 rows long (or 22,680 1" fabric squares).  There are 102 squares sewn together for the border around the quilt.  Those squares are 3" x 4" each and contain pictures of the progress of the quilt beginning from 2003 and forward until the border was completed.  See everyone next month!

Sewing together the final sets

Attaching the two new rows

January 2010

Happy New Year 2010! My how the years are flying by.  Seems like only yesterday that I began my quilt project!   Another tragic event has occurred in the world, a 7.0 earthquake has hit Haiti!  It's the largest quake ever recorded in that area.  How sad for the people of Haiti!

I am continuing to work on adding two more rows to the top of my quilt.  I have finished the first row which is 140 squares in length.  I have started on the second row and am currently cutting more squares.  I cut a length of folded material so that when I cut the strip it cuts four squares at a time.  I usually cut about 40-60 squares each time.  I sew them into lengths of 10, then sew the lengths together when I've sewn 14 lengths.

Cutting pieces from pattern

Cutting final side of pieces

Pieces cut

Pattern layed out

Sewing the pieces

Strips of 10

December 2009

Merry Christmas!  Our Christmas Eve and Christmas Day was marred by a Christmas Eve blizzard that dumped 14.1" of snow on us.  Some of my kids were supposed to gather at my house Christmas Day, but were unable to traverse through all the snow.  We celebrated with part of our children on Christmas Eve and with the rest of our kids two days later.  We had a wonderful Christmas even though the food was left over J

I have decided to sew two more rows to the top of my quilt before I add the border.  There is not enough room between the pattern of her head to add the border so I'll begin the two additional rows immediately.  Each row contains 140 one inch squares.  See you next YEAR!

November 2009

Happy Thanksgiving!  This month is the 20^th anniversary of the "Fall of the Wall" when the Berlin wall came tumbling down and put an end to communism in East Germany.   I finished pinning on the 3^rd side of the border to the quilt.  I have to print some more pictures before I can make the 4^th side.  See you next month!

September & October 2009

September 2009

Many moons have come and gone since the start of my quilt in 2003.  I took a much needed two week break from my quilt and the rat race in general to travel to the northeast part of the United States—New Jersey, to visit one of my sisters.  I was joined on my trip by one of my others sisters who lives in another state.  Besides touring most of New Jersey and the "Jersey Shore", we also visited New York City, Philadelphia, PA, Longwood Gardens (duPont Estate) and parts of Delaware.  Longwood gardens was an amazing place to visit and I enjoyed it very much!  I also loved the "shore" and the lighthouses, enjoyed shopping in NYC and visiting the Statue of Liberty for the first time.   I had a wonderful time and can't wait to go back!

October 2009

I celebrated my 21^st year at the company I work for!  Gee! time flies when one is having fun ;-)  My granddaughter participated in the carving of her very first jack-o-lantern too, she really enjoyed playing with the seeds.  I managed to finish sewing the 3^rd border this month.  I will begin the 4^th side soon!

August 2009

Happy 1^st birthday to my granddaughter!  This month is the 6 year anniversary of my quilt project.  I've still a long way to go, but have also come a long way!  It is also the 40^th anniversary of "Woodstock" Peace!  We also lost the "Lion of the Senate", Ted Kennedy passed way at the age of 77.

I attended a family reunion this month and brought my quilt along for "show and tell".  Everyone said they were impressed with my quilt and all thought it was beautiful.  Thanks everyone! 

Showing off quilt top at family reunion

May, June and July 2009

May 2009

Happy May Day!  I turn 55 this month! WOW.  Also this month, a Filly named "Rachel Alexandra" won the Preakness—the first time since 1924.  "You go, girl!"  I also got my garden growing this month J. 

I have finished sewing the first side of the border and will start on the 2^nd side.  I have put "on hold" sewing the inscription.

June 2009

Happy summer!  My garden is growing, and the national switch to digital TV took effect this month.  We also lost the "King of Pop"—Michael Jackson who passed away at age 50. 

I have finished sewing the second side of the border and will begin sewing them on to the quilt soon.

July 2009

Happy 4^th of July!  We have experienced numerous days of 100° heat and above this month.  Fall can't come soon enough!  My tomatoes are ready to pick, they look beautiful!  Alas, a huge thunderstorm moved though on the 16^th, and the large hail storm that came with it damaged all my flowers and my garden.  It's all been completely flattened!

I have begun pinning the border around the quilt this month.  I have sewn half the border.  I will need to print some more pictures before I can finish making the other two sides.  I pinned the top and the right side border to the quilt and will start sewing the top border first.  I think it looks pretty good.  See you next month!

Border pinned on top and right

April 2009

Happy Easter!  Wild fires spread through our state this month and 100 homes were burned to the ground in our area.  Hope rain comes soon!

I continue to work on the inscription and the border.  I am also working on the first side of the border.  I have printed all the pictures onto material and am sewing them between a peach colored fabric and a cream print fabric used in the fill-in portion of the quilt.

Fabric photos for border

Cut out pieces of fabric photos



Photo squares being sewn together for border



January, February and March 2009

Happy New Year 2009!  Barack Obama became our 44^th President of the United States Jan 20, 2009 and our first black president.  We had ice storms in January and tornados in February.  What weird changing weather!   In March my husband had to have a stint and is doing fine.  I continue to work on the inscription and I am now on row 6.  I also have begun piecing the border blocks together.

September through December 2008

Happy Fall! Fall has arrived and I look forward to cooler weather and turning off the air conditioner which seems to have been running non-stop for three months.  I also look forward to decorating outside for fall and Halloween with pumpkins, gourds and hay bales.  The weather has been fabulous!  The tree leaves are beginning to turn red, orange, gold and yellow--I love fall!

We went camping and boating in November.  Happy Thanksgiving!

               

Merry Christmas all!     December     has arrived and I am progressing along on the quilt inscription.  I am currently on row five of the inscription (there will be a total of 13 rows in all).

Working on the inscription

June through August 2008

Happy summer! The heat has already begun!  A strong rain storm moved through our area bringing strong wind gusting up to 80.5 mph.  A lightning bolt hit our pecan tree and shredded bark from the tree in several places and put a medium sized hole in the ground, very scary and amazing at the same time!  Also my first grandchild was born in August!  How exciting it was to be present for the birth of my first granddaughter, truly a joy and a blessing!  We also made a trip to Ohio to visit relatives the last week of August and were there for the Labor Day Weekend Fireworks show on the mighty Ohio River....It was lots of fun!


I have progressed on the inscription on my quilt and have all the squares (for border) cut and ready to sew.  I used the iron on transfers to transfer my quilt pictures to the fabric and will place them every third square around the border.

January through May 2008

January/February 2008
Happy 2008!  The years are flying by!  I began on the 23^rd of January doing prep work for the border that will go around the quilt.  The border will consist of larger squares (approximately 3" x 4") than the quilt is made of, with pictures inserted every 2 or 3 squares.
  
March/April/May 2008
It's official!  We're having a girl!  My new granddaughter is due to arrive in August 08.    I'm still slowly progressing on embroidering the inscription to my children on the top left side of the quilt.  I must pin on the words and embroider over the paper then remove the paper, and this takes longer than usual.

December 2007

Exciting news!  I am going to be a grandmother in August 2008.  My first grandchild!  Winter didn't stay away for very long....an ice storm came in this month, it was the worst we've ever had.  Heavy freezing rain moved in with lightning and thunder, it was WEIRD.  We had LOTS of downed trees and damage.  Our power was not restored for 9 days.  Luckily we had a generator (which ran some of the house) and five days into no power, got a 2nd generator (which helped run the whole house).  Most people on our block went to motels/hotels.

I began on the 23^rd doing prep work for the border that will go around the quilt.  The border will consist of fabric squares and pictures of past progress of the quilt that have been printed on fabric.  I have printed some of the pictures that I will use and went and bought a couple of yards of fabric for the plain squares and will begin sewing them together after I get them all cut.  Merry Christmas & Happy New Year!!

March - November 2007

March 2007

Hello Spring!  My son got engaged this month to a very lovely girl.  The wedding will be in August :-)  I have taken some time off from working on my quilt to update my picture albums.  I will resume work soon, and when I begin again, will  work on finishing the outlining of the quilt top, add the additional rows to the top, begin the inscription, and then add the pictorial border around the entire top.  See you next month!

April 2007

GREETINGS!  This has once again been a very busy month.  To start with, all my tulips bloomed this month – what a beautiful sight!!  I had pink, yellow, purple and red ones.  I also planted most of the plants I brought back from my trip to Texas in late March. These included a rose bush, hosta, camellia, fern, impatiens and more.  My quilt progress is still on hold while I update my photo albums

May/June /July 2007

RAIN! RAIN! RAIN!  After a two year drought we now have rain up to our knees. As of this date (per the national news) we have had almost 19” of rain (normal yearly rainfall totals of 35.9” and during the drought the last two years totals were 27.8”) so we are on our way to being WAY above average this year).  My quilt progress is still on hold while I update my photo albums.

August 2007:  Happy Anniversary to this journal and my quilt.  August is the 4 year anniversary of the beginning of my quilt project and this journal.  The quilt top is complete except for a border and the inscription.  I’m on temporary hiatus to get ready for my son’s August wedding and to continue work on my photo albums. 

September/October/November 2007:  My son and new daughter-in-law had a lovely wedding last month, that was only marred by Tropical Storm Erin moving across Oklahoma.  We had to move the outdoor wedding inside, due to 9" of rain in just several hours!  I continue with my temporary hiatus and will begin working again on my quilt soon.  Happy Thanksgiving!

 

February 2007

Hello!  Oklahoma has been in the midst of a winter blast this past one and a half months which has kept us virtually in a “Deep Freeze” with snow, sleet, freezing rain and bitter cold…luckily the weather has taken a turn for the better with predicted highs in the 60’s & low 70’s this week!!  My Hyacinths, tulips and daffodils began popping their heads up around the first of this month and are getting buds and hopefully will began blooming soon.  Spring can’t come soon enough!   

The biggest milestone to date has finally occurred!! I completed sewing on the final row of my quilt on February 11^th, 2007 at 12:22 p.m.   I sewed a total of 22,400 squares (160 rows of 140 squares) and used a total of 3,400 yards of 100% Glace’ Finish Cotton thread to complete the quilt top – WOW!

     HOWEVER….I plan to add two additional rows at the top to balance the picture as the first row is so close to the top of “Natalie’s” head.  I will next finish the outlining and inscription and add the border….then on to “PHASE TWO” “The Quilting”

Me with completed quilt top

January 2007

Hello 2007!
Oklahoma celebrates it's 100th Centennial this year (in November)!  Happy birthday Oklahoma.

I am progressing nicely on my quilt with 8 rows left to sew on.  When all rows are sewed on, I will go back and finish outlining the picture, then add the border and finish the inscription.  Then “Phase Two”….the “Quilting” will begin.  Updated picture dated 01/30/07 is shown below. 

Also, someone asked me how I kept up with what row I am on while sewing on my quilt top.  I explained that as I began each row a numbered square (written on back of fabric) was stitched into each row.  See you in February!!

Rows numbered on back of quilt

October, November & December 2006

October 2006:  Trick-or-Treat!!  I'm now in the home stretch on my quilt top - working on row 153 with 7 rows left to go!!  I won't have an updated picture until the November update, so…..see ya then.

November 2006:  Happy Thanksgiving!  Wow!! Today--November 30^th, 2006 I reached one more milestone on my quilt, I began piecing the last row-No. 160 (22,400 total squares).   Halleluiah !!  However I still have no new picture.  I promise an update next month!  See ya then.

Dec. 2006: MERRY Christmas!  Wow time has flown, the Christmas season blew in like a whirlwind…with so many things that had to be done—parties, shopping, baking, wrapping, but what a wonderful month – my favorite.  I at last have finished piecing the final row of my quilt on December 2^nd and have now begun sewing the balance of the rows to the quilt (28 more rows to sew on) .  WOW – I’m almost there! It was recently suggested to me by friends that I give this little girl a name (the pattern shows none)….and after several suggestions have decided on the name “Natalie”.  The updated picture above (at last!) shows nearly all of the four clothes pin dolls and the carpet….just the rest of the carpet and chairs to go.

September 2006

I jumped into high gear working on my quilt during September and as of 09/30/06 have 13 rows left to sew, not all rows have been sewn on yet.  I am toying with the idea of putting pictures of my son and daughter and various pictures of  the progress of the quilt onto quilt blocks and then sew as the border of the quilt.  I printed selected pictures onto printable cloth and they came out real well so we'll see how this works out.

July & August 2006

July 2006:
        Happy 4th of July!  I  am working fast and furious on my quilt again after taking part of the summer off…I will update my progress in the August newsletter.  See you then!

August 2006: 

Good-bye August!  Oklahoma has been in the throes of one of the hottest summers on record with 36 days so far over 100 degs…...WOW!!  August 5^th was the Three Year Anniversary of working on my quilt.  Time flies!!!   I have spent most of August working fast and furious to try and catch up from my lack of progress during the early summer months.  As of August 31^st I am on row 137 with 21 rows left to sew on the top.

My husband and I decided to do some calculations as to amount of time spent on the quilt to date.  He "Timed" me to see how long it takes me to sew each square - I sewed 4 different squares and was timed on each square, then we took the average of all four squares and came up with 1 minute per side.  There are 160 rows in the quilt top - each row containing 140 one-inch squares.   So….  136 completed rows sewn x 140 squares = 19,040 squares x 4 minutes per square = 76,160 minutes divided by 60 minutes = 1,269.33 hours spent sewing the squares…these hours do not include time spent prepping the material (ironing, cutting, laying out the pattern, etc.) which we estimated added an additional 24 hours for a total of 1,293.33 man hours!!!  Once again I do not have an updated picture but will try to get one taken by the end of October (maybe the final picture!)  See you next month!!

May & June 2006

May 2006: 

         Hello all, Happy May Day!!  I'm sad to report that I'm not much further on my quilt.  I have completed sewing on all the rows through 125 (35 rows left to go).  I will now begin working on and off on sewing the inscription on the quilt as I make the final 35 rows and also do some more outlining.

June 2006:

Happy Summer!! I have finally begun embroidering the inscription on the quilt top while progressing on the final rows of the quilt top.  This must be done before it is quilted.  I am using two combined shades of gold thread for the inscription.  I also took an updated picture on May 16, 2006.  You can now see all of her shoes and the tops of the heads of the four dolls.