Seems like the last three months have been a whirlwind for me. Scott and I have traveled quite a bit during this time. We were in Iowa for his father’s funeral mid-January. We spent a week with all the siblings working on clearing out Gene’s home. That time was difficult for the kids, so many memories of their mom and dad’s life together. The photo below follows Gene’s military career.
The week in Iowa proved to be one full of twists and turns! The winter blizzard that arrived the morning of the funeral caused the burial to be done prior to the church services. The snow drifts were a bit hard for some of the cars to navigate, but there were many good-sized men in attendance who easily pushed the cars out of the cemetery and back onto the road. Gene Dickman was a very well-respected and very well-loved man by everyone who knew him. We miss him!
The Annual Winter Sewing Retreat that I organize each year was held the 3rd weekend in January at the Hampton Inn in Aurora with 31 ladies attending. So many sewing and quilting projects were completed… lots of fun, food and fellowship! Everyone is looking forward to next year, which will be Valentines weekend for 2021. Because Scott and I got stranded in Cedar Falls, Iowa as we were making our home from the funeral, I 
missed a few days of my Retreat! But a fellow ASG gal, Aileen Vogel, took over and handled everything in my absence. It went off without a hitch. I have a couple photos of our Pizza meal held in a Conference room at the hotel. I can’t believe I didn’t get photos of the “Show -n – Tell” … I must have left my phone in the other room as the 31 gals did “Show -n-tell” on Saturday! However, you can read all about it and see many wonderful photos in the Chicago Chapter Cutting Edge Newsletter!
In February, I began working on a number of quilt tops… shown in above photo. There were actually a total of 9 tops that I finished piecing and quilting. Some were tops from my “Speedy Solutions” Book, some were for upcoming Lectures and Workshops and some were just for fun! The tops in the photo here are not quilted yet… they are simply pieced together. The next step was getting them all up on my quilt machine for quilting. For some of them, I chose to use Panotgraph quilting… (edge to edge quilting following a pattern which is on the bed of the quilt frame). For others I chose to do free motion and/or ruler work quilting. I really enjoy this type of quilting, especially feathers… LOVE feathers…
This Fruity Melon quilt pattern is always a fun pattern… goes together quickly since the Drunkard’s Path block is very large and there are only five Eccentric Star Blocks. The HOW -TO’s on my blog, show you how to sew the curved Drunkard’s Path block quickly, easily and without pins!!! On this quilt top, I chose to do Ruler Work and Free Motion Feathers. Follow this link to find out how: https://quiltingwithlori.com/2018/03/20/drunkards-path-quilt-patterns-made-easy/
I named this quilt pattern (which I designed in EQ8) “Blomster til Bedstemor” which is Danish for “Flowers for Grandma.” My Grandma Schulz was very instrumental in sparking an interest and then a love for sewing and quilting! For this quilt, I chose to use lots of Free Motion quilting, Ruler work, as well as my favorite: Feathers!
Above is my completed Fruity Melon quilt and my almost complete Sunny Dresden’s quilt. The binding has not been stitched to the back of that quilt yet in this photo.
The photos here are of a quilt for my new Art Quilt Workshop which is available this coming Fall. I call this pattern, “Ladybug, Ladybug – Fly Away Home! I enjoy drawing and painting and this little quilt evolved from one of my sketches.
In my Art Quilt Workshop, students will use a soft stabilizer for this project; they will learn my favorite adhesive application method using freezer paper and Glue Baste; and they will learn embellishment techniques (thread-coloring, raw-edge applique, and free-motion applique). Coordinating scraps are used in the asymmetrical borders of the quilt. Free-motion quilting ideas will also be presented to the student for quilting the project!
This art quilt is a wonderful way to use up fat quarters and scraps from your stash! There are many color combinations that could be used for this project… from pastels to brights to monochromatic colors! Let your imagination take over and have fun incorporating your own ideas into the design!
Another fun Art Quilt that I love hanging in my foyer is one that uses my “Speedy Solutions Scraps” for the background and all kinds of colorful scraps for the flowers. The Vase was a beautiful blue fabric that I received as a gift from my friend, Jeanette. I’ve named this quilt, “Blomster Vase” which is Danish for Flower Vase. So, yes, again Grandma Schulz was on my mind when I created this one! Each time I gaze at this colorful quilt, I think of both Grandma and Jeanette! Quilts always have a significance of some sort, don’t they? On the photo (below) I was trying to get a close up for you of the feather border and the paisley free-motion quilting… not a very good photo!
At the beginning of March, (before the CoVid-19 stay-home mandates), Scott and I drove to Marshall, Illinois to be with the National Road Quilter’s Guild. What a fun group of ladies they are! Marshall is on the IL/IN border. It’s only about 25 miles from Terre Haute. The Guild asked me to present my “Speedy Solutions to Cut/Organize Your Scrap Stash” Lecture and also my Sunny Dresden’s Workshop. We had a wonderful time together and I’m so glad this all worked out before we all had to go hibernate in our homes!
Here are a few pictures that Scott took during my Lecture at the National Road Quilt Guild. The ladies were so helpful and very talented! I always enjoy seeing the Show-n-tell when the guild members get up and “show” their creations each month! How inspiring for all of us!!
So, this week started out with snowfall here in Rockford IL. Grrr… I’m am really tired of snow. Seems like Rockford is always within a storm front which avoids other towns around us! Why is that?
This photo is a peek out our front window at the beginning of the week. But, it has melted since then and I am quite pleased that it has!
My daffodils and tulips are trying so hard to come up… Their little green sprouts are about 4″ tall now. I look forward to their beautiful blooms!
Happy quilting to everyone! Enjoy sewing up as many face masks as you can … check out a previous post of mine to see the Tutorials on how to make them as well as what organizations in your area need them! Click on the Title in the link below for more information:
Time for Prayer, Family and Creativity! (And Honey-Do Lists!)
Lori