Glad Creations Staff Quilt Show

This is the last post for 2010 activities.

Each year Nancy and Susan host a staff quilt show.  The theme changes from year to year and is always quite interesting.  This is when our customers get a chance to see how the staff responds to a challenge.  This year the theme was Lone Star Quilts.

Click Image to go to Glad Creations Blog

We had a great show with 14 very different quilts.  Please go to the Glad Creations Blog and watch the slide show that Nancy & Susan have put together using the SmileBox app.  You will be able to spot the central theme of the Lone Star but you will quickly see that each quilt is completely different form the others.  From a Lone Star with a "broderie perse" center to an all plaid quilt and colors that glow.

It was a great show that we are trying to get into the Minnesota Quilt Show as a group showing.  If that doesn't work I think we are each planning to submit our individual quilts.  I am going to have to tell my brother-in-law and his wife that their quilt will be delayed for a few months.

Judy Neimeyer's Autumn Splendor

A couple of years ago I took the Autumn Splendor class from Judy Neimeyer.  I really appreciate the paper piecing method for the long skinny points and Judy's technique minimizing the number of pieces converging on a single point.  This quilt turned out so well that I know I will be making a future Judy Neimeyer design.

When I saw Brian's apartment last year it was clear that he needed some color in his space.  Something to work with the tans and light golds but also to provide contrast and a spark.  Then I thought of this quilt - which of course was not yet completed.  By February 2010 the quilt top was ready.  I already knew how I was going to quilt it so I didn't feel any pressure to get going on it during the year. (I really need to learn to not put things off just because there is time still on the calendar)  By the time I was supposed to be finishing the quilting, our days were consumed with family and health issues. 

The quilting actually went as quickly as I planned.  What I didn't expect was the scalloped edge binding as a learning experience.  This took significantly longer than anticipated.  I had never done a scalloped binding and quickly realized that I didn't have a clear idea of how I was going to convert my familiar binding steps to this different angle.  Fortunately I found a web reference to Linda Franz Scallops and great directions on how to complete the Scalloped Binding ( click here for the link to her page: http://lindafranz.com/index.php?sectionId=40).



I am very pleased with the final results and have been looking at fabric for the next one.  Brian says the wall-hanging is the best quilt I have made so far and hopes that he will be the recipient of the Hawaiian Star bed sized quilt.  Somehow I doubt that he will get the next one.

Christmas Donation Quilt

Every year I plan to donate 2 or 3 quilts.  I had donated the Log Cabin earlier in the year to the Woman's Shelter and was finally able to get the binding finished on a quilt I had completed a number of years ago.  This little quilt was made for the daughter of one of Brian's friends.  There were changes in their relationship and the girl moved away before I completed the quilt.  I thought that it would be good for this quilt to go on to another little girl.

In December I looked for the Angle Tree at Caribou Coffee and found a request from a 12 year old girl.  She wanted a watch for Christmas.  I was able to meet that wish and add a quilt just for her.  I hope that she likes the watch and enjoys the quilt for many years.

Christmas Cards - 2010

I have made an ornament or Christmas Card each year for the past 25+ years.  It has ranged from 20 ornaments in the 80's to as many as 125 postcard in 2008.  In the early years it was a felt, glue and fabric paint affair that Brian and Eric reluctantly participated in.  In the 90's I converted over to making quilted ornaments that I included in the annual Christmas Cards.  In the last several years I have merged the postcard concept with a quilted ornament to make a Quilted Postcard.

In 2010, I was able to cut back on the number of cards since I no longer work in the corporate setting.  The total for this year was 70 cards.  If you look at the fabric that I used in the Christmas Star quilt in 2010, you will see that there is a border fabric used in the quilt.  I thought that it would work well for a Christmas ornament to be hung from a branch.

I already have the card for 2011 designed in my head but I have 10 months to figure out the construction and plan for the assembly line that takes over my quilt studio to get them done.  I  am on the lookout for the right fabrics and embellishments that I will need.  Maybe next year I will put them all on ice blue like the cold winter nights we have in December.

Remembering Jay

The end of 2010 was a whirl-wind of activity and emotions.  Steve's father, Jay, stayed with us for the month of October.  We thought that he might be moving in for a significant period of time as he was having trouble getting around in his apartment.  At 97 we expected him to be having difficulties but it was the harbinger of things to come. 

November brought multiple trips to the doctors in Minnesota and Iowa finally resulting in Jay entering the care center in Eagle Grove.  We knew what the outcome would be and we had a pretty clear idea of just how quickly it would come to pass.  Thanksgiving was a special dinner at Jim's (Steve's brother) with Jay an active member of the dinner party.

Events quickly cascaded from that point on.  More trips to Iowa and gathering of family for the final days.  December 29, 2010 was our last day with Jay.

We are still working to regain a balance of normal with the recent events, the holidays and the bittersweet gathering of all the family.  I think I like getting together for weddings better than I do for funerals.