Crafts

Contemporary quilt for Katie

/ lifesloosethreads / 9 Comments


When my oldest daughter mentioned she would love a quilt to hang on a particular wall in their new home, I jumped at the chance. The last quilt I made for her was for our little grandson, Jake. After I learned she wanted something contemporary, I went to Pinterest and created a board for her to peruse. This would be my first time to enter the scary world of contemporary quilts. I was a little worried. Me … piece a quilt with solid colored fabrics? That has never happened before.

Katie choose a quilt pattern on the Pinterest board called Midcentury from Vintage Modern Quilts Pattern Co. It was probably the most modern and geometric on the board. The quilt was designed for Bella Solids by Moda Fabrics. It was easy to go to their website, and for a reasonable fee, download the pattern. My engineering husband helped with downsizing the pattern from 63″ by 74″ to fit their wall.

As the pattern suggested, I used Kona cotton in White and Zen Gray and matched the color of the “window pane” center of the quilt with one of the pillows in Katie and Chad’s living room. I purchased several fat quarters, one solid and the others a pattern that read solid. Could I tempt my daughter to think outside-the-box? Of course Katie picked a true solid fabric for the center.


After the top was finished, I had the most fun collaborating with Kim Norton, the awesome long-arm lady of A Busy Bobbin. Laying the finished quilt top across one of her machines, Kim picked out a thread color and three quilting patterns she thought would complement the quilt top. I took photos of the three and let Katie choose her favorite design … Denise’s spirals.


Katie named her quilt Mid-Century Maze. It was the last quilt I finished in 2014!

Loretta’s goodbye quilt

/ lifesloosethreads / 6 Comments


When someone in our “Bloom Where You Are Planted” quilt bee moves we make them a house quilt as a parting gift. It is an expression of our love for all the years we have been together. Friendship and quilting are a lot like Super Glue … a powerful bonding agent. Since I’ve been a member of the bee there have been four “house” quilts made. The last one was for Jan. I blogged about Jan’s quilt some time back. We had to mail her quilt as she sold her house so fast one day she was with us and the next … gone. We decided to use the same “house” pattern. If I remember correctly, the pattern came out of one of Loretta’s quilting books. We all loved it … and changed the colors up a bit for Loretta.


When we learned Loretta was moving. we immediately went into hyper-quilting mode. We were determined to get Loretta’s quilt finished before she left us. After assembling the top and basting the quilt, we turned it over to Tina who machine quilted it and made the awesome patch on the back. I don’t know who sewed the binding on. I was out of that loop but I have to say the quilt turned out awesome!


This week at our annual Christmas bee we presented Loretta with her quilt. I don’t think she saw the surprise coming as we also exchanged little gifts and celebrated Tina’s birthday. We are sneaky like that.

Santa Baby quilt

/ lifesloosethreads / 24 Comments

I finally finished my “Santa Baby” quilt!!! I purchased the book and kit during the 2013 Quilt Festival from The Buggy Barn. Their book is entitled “Positively Crazy.” The kit made up 16 Santa blocks. When all was said and done, I choose nine for a smaller wall hanging. The original quilt with all 16 blocks is 84″ X 84″ and just too large for my purposes. I still have three finished blocks that will eventually be turned into a table runner. Three of the blocks turned out mediocre so you can imagine where they are now residing.

I have to say this was the most challenging quilt I ever made. I should have read the directions three times before starting instead of two. The basic premise is stacking 16 layers of fabric (lights and darks), ironing a template on top of the layers, and cutting the layers with a mega-large rotary cutter. It was a little challenging with so many layers and pieces. My biceps are a tad larger after the cutting process! The sewing was fun, but I had trouble with things like getting Santa’s boots to not be pointy, tree trunks a little too thin to my liking, etc.

After the top was finished, I headed over to consult with Kim Norton, owner of A Busy Bobbin. We talked about custom quilting and I totally let her take over with design and thread choices.

I love what Kim did with the quilt!


After sewing on the binding, the identifying patch on the back and the sleeve it was finally ready to hang! What do you think?

Houston’s International Quilt Festival … We love you!

/ lifesloosethreads / 2 Comments

This is the 40th anniversary of Houston’s International Quilt Festival. Who is counting but I’ve probably attended for at least the last 35 years. People from all over the world come to view what a lot of imagination and skill can produce with fabric and thread. I attended this year’s show with my quilt bee buddies. And yes … we even have a name for our little band of buddies … Bloom Where You Are Planted.

Our first mission was to seek out the Karen Nyberg’s Astronaut Quilt. We attended last night at Preview Night. The show runs until Sunday so there is still lots of time to visit. So I wrote about making a star-themed block in a previous post. My bee buddies and I participated and searched amongst the 28 panel quilts for their block. I think we found them all. The project announced last year at the quilt festival netted out with about 2,260 blocks from all over the world. What a lovely project and very humbling to be a participant.

Next we headed to the purchasing part of our reason to attend festival. Fat Quarter Queen is one of our favorite stops. I showed great restraint this year and only purchased a dozen fat quarters. Some of my favorite booths were Missouri Quilt Company. I even got my picture made with Jenny Doan who has some great quilt tutorials. She is as charming in person as she is in her tutorials. I loved Laundry Basket Quilts, Moda Bake Shop (everyone gets a free mini-charm pack for stopping by), The Teacher’s Pet (darling baby quilts) and B&T Studios (fiber artist … just had to have her stunning bluebonnet pattern).

There are also booths that have nothing to do with quilting. I loved The Bell Collection and purchased a “grandmother’s bell.” They also make lovely bell charms.

It is a wonderful event and one of the top-attended conventions in Houston with about 60,000 attendees. I’m already thinking about next year!

Check out Martha’s Quilters Parish Festival Booth!

/ lifesloosethreads / 2 Comments


This Saturday, October 11, is St. Martha’s Catholic Church’s Parish Festival held from noon to 8 pm at the new church campus. Our very own Martha’s Quilters will have an awesome booth at the festival so come on out and support the crafty ladies with a purchase. The past few months we have been using our vast array of talents and treasures to create unique items that can be purchased for decorating, warming yourself around the fire this winter, and Christmas gift giving! How about a cute rug for your mug? While you are browsing check out our seasonal table runners, wine gift bags, adorable rolling pin covers, as well as fabric shoe bags for travelers. We also have lovely crocheted afghans and lots of one-of-a kind quilts. And don’t forget to check out our designer fabric checkbook covers and candle pads and all kinds of knitted items. Hope to see you there!

Sister Mary Rita’s Healing Quilt

/ lifesloosethreads / 9 Comments

Every quilt has a story … especially this one. It belongs to my friend Mary. When she asked me if I could make a hanging sleeve for a quilt she wanted to hang, of course I said yes. When I first saw it, I knew I’d never seen anything like it. It was heavy … very heavy … and contained 120 very personal squares … each one unique … and most every single square was not made by a quilter.

It was lovingly made 20 years ago for Sister Mary Rita, my friend’s sister. Mary Rita was her oldest sibling and the oldest of six girls and seven boys. She was a Catholic nun in the order of the Humility of Mary. As a young child, my friend learned so much from her sister about unconditional love and the value of each person. Sister Mary Rita also had the inside scoop that nuns actually do have hair. She was an educator in the Catholic schools in Cleveland, Ohio. Mary told me her sister was well-educated, smart, compassionate, funny and so much more. Take a look at the picture taken while the family gathered for a picnic…..yes, she was also a swinging nun!

When Sister Mary Rita was in her 40’s she was diagnosed with a blood disorder and then with Multiple Myeloma. For many years she lived with her cancer, receiving treatments as needed. Mary told me her sister continued to live her life to the fullest, with little to no complaining, being more concerned about how others were doing. In her 50’s and 60’s, she took more time off and traveled with friends. The Nags Head North Carolina beach was a favorite destination.

The patchwork quilt was a thought … a discussion … between Mary Rita and her best friend, Sister Cathy Walsh, in 1994. They had seen an article in the Reader’s Digest about a healing quilt. Cathy said that talking to and seeing Mary Rita nearly every day, she sensed that Mary Rita needed to reach out to friends and family and let them know how to support her. As friends do, Cathy encouraged her. Mary Rita wrote a letter asking for prayer and/or a patch for a quilt. They created a template and sent it with the letter to family and friends, many of whom were priests and nuns. In her letter, she wrote something like “I will wrap the quilt around myself and be reminded of and feel your love.”

Patches started flowing in …. 120 are on the original quilt with scriptures, poems, embroidery, needlepoint, creative arts, photographs, a clover secured in a plastic casing and even a Cleveland police patch. Later, ten more patches came in and small lap quilt was also made.

Cathy commented that every quilt square has its own story and they all came together to share and provide Mary Rita comfort. Sister Mary Rita wrapped herself in it daily!

In November of 2001, Mary’s sister had a seizure while driving. Mary told me her family thanked God He protected her, and others on the road, after she crashed into someone’s yard. By mid-January of 2002 Sister Mary Rita was diagnosed with a Glioblastoma brain tumor. Nine months later she passed away, but throughout her interventions and treatments she did as she always did…. lived her life to the fullest, listened and learned from the doctor and others, treasured her time with family and friends and never lost her faith.

In 2007, my friend received the quilt and it is now hanging in her guest bedroom. As guests visit, the quilt gives her the opportunity to tell others about her amazing sister and all those who touched her life.

I am loving the swirly machine quilting on this one!

/ lifesloosethreads / 6 Comments

I love going over to Kim’s house with a completed quilt top! She is the longarm quilting lady and owner of A Busy Bobbin. I gotta tell you that lady performs magic with just a handful of pixie dust and colored thread on every quilt top she touches.

First, we lay the quilt top over Molly Monster, the name she has given to the smaller of her two longarm quilting machines. Then we play with strands of thread to see which will complement the quilt top when the machine quilting is added. Next we flip through a binder full of quilting patterns for just the right one. The swirly pantograph pattern is called Denise’s Swirls.

It has been a few days since I picked up the finished quilt and I’ve almost got the binding sewed on. Once I sew the patch on the back, I’m ready to hand it over. This one is going to charity. Hope it makes a lot of money. I’m calling this quilt “Midnight in Mimi’s Garden.” It is being donated to The Village Learning Center’s gala in November. The theme this year is “Midnight Masquerade.” I think the quilt name fits the occasion!

Celebrating baby milestones on FaceTime

/ lifesloosethreads / 3 Comments

It was my husband who came up with the idea to FaceTime our grandson this past week. I was a little skeptical at first. I mean … Jake is only three months old. Rick thought it would be fun to sing the “Happy Three-Month Birthday” song to Jake … and after about five seconds of contemplation, I totally agreed!

“Be sure and pick up one of those little bundt cakes and a candle,” he smiled.

Although I totally got the heartfelt sentiment, Rick is one dude with a ginormous sweet tooth. But let’s face it … for every important milestone … there must be cake! And carrot cake from our local bundt cake store is even better.

I love how my daughter and son-in-law celebrate Jake’s milestones. Etsy has these cute stickers that you can stick on a onesie. Search for “month by month baby stickers.” They have hundreds of different kinds. Jake’s photos are are startling in their contrast! Is that elephant shrinking or is Jake growing? You be the judge!

Latest quilt top finished!

/ lifesloosethreads / 4 Comments

Every year I make a quilt for The Village Learning Center’s gala which occurs in early November. Among other endeavors, they run an awesome day center for adults with special needs that my daughter, Mimi, attends. I try and make them something each year I’ve never done before … either with color, design or pattern.

When I saw this quilt top made up at last year’s International Quilt Festival, I thought it would be perfect … eye-catching and a little wacky! Certainly not for everyone but I really liked it. Surely someone would love it … and 10 hours of quilt lessons to the person that purchases the quilt!

The quilt show booth offered a kit and I was hooked. The pattern is called “Urban Cabin” and is by Atkinson Designs. The directions were great and it sewed up nicely and fast!

Visually, it is stunning the way Kaffe Fassett’s fabric (purchased in a collection of 2-1/2″ strips, we call them “jelly rolls,” with the kit) pops like a bag of microwave popcorn in the microwave. And it was the first time I’d worked with so much black, so there you go.

I’m also using a Kaffe Fassett fabric for the binding.

And now that a few yards of quilt backing fabric is purchased, I’ll have it professionalled quilted in a couple of weeks by my favorite longarm quilting lady, Kim Norton, of A Busy Bobbin!

The dog-chewed afghan has a new life

/ lifesloosethreads / 1 Comment

Earlier this year Lulu ate part of my husband’s afghan. We caught her red-handed, or red-pawed, depending on how you look at it. Yep … I already blogged about it. I didn’t have the heart to throw the afghan away so it sat neatly folded across the couch all tattered and torn-looking. Recently over Sunday dinner, my son-in-law mentioned that I really ought to fix it.

“Why don’t you just unravel the yarn and then sew it across the bottom?” Chad asked.

I started with this little rant about why you don’t “sew” yarn. Chad didn’t know it yet, but he had planted a seed.

I had been thinking for several months the afghan was unfixable. The project was knitted years ago. I didn’t have the knitting pattern anymore with the cable design. I didn’t know the size of the needles I had used. I knew there was no way I could find the same color yarn. That is a lot of negative stuff.

But Chad got me thinking. What if I just didn’t worry about the pattern matching? What if I got a different color yarn for the five or six inches I needed to add to the bottom so my husband’s toes didn’t stick out when he snuggled? Make it look like it was meant to be a different color. Yeah … I could totally do that!

After a road trip to my favorite yarn shop Twisted Yarns right down the street from Old Town Spring, I was ready to tackle the project!

It took a couple of week of searching all the nooks and crannies around the house to find the knitting needles and just a little while to unravel the bad part of the afghan. Then I picked up the stitches and knitted a bunch of rows.

Thanks Chad for the inspiration! What do you think of the results?