I think God is a quilter

I Think God is a Quilter



I think God is a quilter, Who takes His needle and thread To piece our world from nothingness, And give it form instead.

I think God is a quilter, And everything I see Are pieces from His careful hand, From tree to bumblebee.

I think we see God’s stitches. His texture everywhere; The velvet moss, the grainy sand, the silky strands of hair.

I think God is a quilter; Stitching tight and tiny rows, Adding to my scraps and pieces, Seaming everything He knows.

I think He cuts the patterns from what I throw away. He shows me how to use each scrap In His redeeming way.

I think God quilts a pattern from everything I live; But He can only stitch the quilt from what I choose to give.

I think God is a quilter, stitching strength where I am weak. Showing me that life He touches, embraces everything I seek.

I think God is a quilter, from the patience in each thread; Proving length of time no barrier; Treating time a gift instead.

I think quilts are lessons God uses uses to teach That our pieces and our remnants have kaleidoscopic reach.

So, in the life I’m living, with pieces everywhere I’ll give them to the Quilter, to stitch with loving care.

I’ll give them to the Quilter, unwanted though they be And with His work of quilting, He’ll make a quilt of me.

***I got this from the face book group "quilter friends"***

my sewing machine

I miss my sewing machine, now that I have started working, I find I'm REALLY missing my sewing machine. It has been awhile since I have had the chance to actually use it. I don't like using it when the family is home afterschool/work, I feel like we should do "family" things, or at least I should be around if someone wants/needs to talk, and they complain that it's to loud, I don't have a sewing room so I use my kitchen table!!!

I do have a few things that need to be done, my daughter has 3 pairs of pants that she's to skinny for, my sister-in-law needs a jacket zipper replaced, but those are no"fun" things to do. I'm gonna change the zipper today and hopefully the pants, but alas I'm also working today and the house really needs a once over, I guess the sewing machine will have to wait, hopefully soon I'll have something new and exicting to do with the sewing machine!!!!

my fabric addiction

I have so many things going on all the time, my newest big project is my fat quarter exchange. A wonderful group of ladies from face book decided to do a fat quarter exchange and I was lucky enough to get in on it, so for the last few weeks we've been waiting for the fabrics to arrive. While waiting I started 2 new projects, one being the 12 days of Christmas wall hanging and a sunflower wall hanging the sun flower one is now done!!!! All the fat quarters are in and I got to work on that!!!

who am I kidding

Who am I kidding one project at a time ahahahahaha, if you could see my QWIPS you'd know I can't do that!!


So I bought a "craft" magazine and found a pattern for a wallhanging featuring the 12 days of christmas, of course I had to do it. I've never been a huge 12 days fan but this is cute!!! Here are the pics so far!!

new project

I know I said I was gonna finsh "freedom for all" but I haven't for two reasons I'm not sure how I want to quilt it and I don't like the poofiness (is that a word?) of the batting so I'm gonna change that so in the mean time here's the new project!!!

the finished project

The quilt is done so far we were at 71 hours plus the 2 hours for the satin and about an hour for each remaining block so that was another 15 hours and then making the binding took about 1 1/2 hours and then the binding was another 2 hours.


71
2
15
1.5
2
= 91.5 hours x $10.00/hr.= $915.00

So just labour on this quilt would be $915.00 plus all the fabric is it any wonder that they sell for so much!!!

This is the finsihed project!!!!

this is a picture of the back of the quilted Mr. and Mrs. Noah


This is the front with mr.&Mrs.Noah after it was washed!

The Mr. & Mrs.Noah that the quilted pictures were taken from

Binding

I will be cutting the binding today, It all has to be cut at 45 degrees so it will be a little tricky. Maknig sure that it does not move then sewing it all to gether and ironing it all then winding it on to a cardboard bobbin so that it is easier to work with when it comes time to bind it.

I also rememered something that I didn't count into my hours spent yet.... Each of the white center "squares" are cut out of satin.... that means that each one had to be backed by muslin so that it would not be to weak to hold together, so I backed each peice with muslin and zig zagged the edges so that it would not fray.. I think I spent a good 2 hours just doing that it was a lot of work but it should not fall apart!!!

I only have 5 more designs then the quilting is done!!!!

again with the guilt

Again I'm feeling guilty, so should I say still!!! I have been working hard on this quilt, there are only 15 blocks left......but then comes making the binding and actually binding the quilt. Let's review the time line on this quilt so far, first there was the day that the owner and I spent sorting fabric and ironing and cutting we were together for 8 hours then I worked on it for another 3 hours after that. The next day I spent a whole day washing and ironing the fabrics that we had not gotten to the day before (by whole day I mean another 8 hours)and the ironing was not all done it took another 3 hours for that!!! Then cutting all those little pieces, that took another 8 hours, Then the piecing that was 3 days work of work so on average I spent 5 hours each day sitting at the sewing machine whenever I could. I forgot the washing, drying,and ironing of the muslin (that was only about 1/2 an hour)then the cutting of the muslin, you can only cut so many at once because of how it is folded so it took a whole afternoon. Then I traced all the pictures off of the fabric (another 2 hours)and took the pictures to the copier to enlarge. At that point we got together again and decided where each picture should go, actually she chose and I traced and we only stopped for a half hour at lunch she was here from 8 am to 3 pm.(6.5 hours)After the kids went to bed I layered it and basted it so that took about an hour ( I hate basting in case you didn't know that)

Now for the quilting on average it takes about 1hour a "block" so far I have done 27 blocks so we are looking at 27 hours just in quilting time so far, I still have 15 to go. Now let's see the total time spent so far.

27
1
8
3
8
3
8
.5
4
2
+6.5
= 71

That is so scary 71 hours spent so far, imagine paying some one hourly to do this at $10.00 an hour that is $710.00 for a not complete quilt!!!! It is alot of work and this does not include the fabrics, thread, backing and batting ouch!!! It could get costly!!!!

This is my first attempt at paper piecing, it turned out really well it just needs to be quilted. This will be the next thing I do once the wedding ring quilt is done!!!

1/4 done!!!!!

The quilt is 1/4 done!!! Yahhhhhh I got 4 done today!!!!! Now to finish the quilting and and then make the binding and bind it!!!!!

my little pony

guilt

Okay i feel guilty about not having finished the quilt yet so I decided to work really hard on it, last night I did 3 more "squares"
These are all the different designs that are in the centers of the block. The * means they are done and I will continue to add to this list as we go. :)

~flower in diamond* ~baseball cap*
~my little pony* ~heart*
~candy cane* ~ball of yarn*
~teddy bear* ~baseball*
~Jesus fish* ~baby*
~mickey mouse* ~barn*
~another heart* ~3 butterflies*
~mouse (i call it a rat)* ~another teddy bear*
~pear* ~frog*
~piglet* ~pooh bear*
~bear on a cloud* ~large butterfly*
~tinkerbell* ~strawberry*
~Mr. & Mrs.Noah* ~headstand teddy bear*
~sail boat* ~heart*
~ABC blocks* ~bee
~giraffes* ~stars*
~precious moments boy* ~needle and thread*
~dove ~pansies
~puppy* ~flowers*
~ginger bread man* ~rooster*
~sunflower ~tigger

As you can see the list is long, so I'd best get to work!!!!

baby angel quilt

spelling errors

I have not yet figured out how to fix the spelling errors, but I will, some day I will!!!!

the quilt

I feel really bad I have not done anymore work on the wedding ring quilt, but m=now that it's cooler, I will work on it tonight while watching big brother.

I have however finished a few smaller projects, for the infant loss program at St.Boniface hospital, they were smaller and I was able to do then in the car or van what ever we were travling in!!!!

new quilt pics

These are pjotos of the back of the quilt it's a butterfly, and one of the pillow shams there are a matching pair.!!!!

Again way to hot to be quilting so the progress is slow!!!

But the saying is slow and steady wins the race right? This quilt is so big that I won't even be able to takle it with me on my road trip. (That is if I go)

Double wedding ring quilt

this is a quilt I am doing for a friend, all the fabrics are hers (actually a few are from my stash) she has memories in all of them, it's great to sit with her as she remembers all the different things she has made and who they are for. Some of the fabrics are actually from clothing she had as a child, and left over bits from her boys baby quilts.

The blue and white centers are from her actual wedding dress (scraps that she had that were still in the original bag) and the blue is from outits she made for her boys as babies.

The deal with this quilt is that I do the quilt and she traded me for a sweater she knit for me from "real" wool. I'm sad to say I have the sweater already but her quilt is still in the working stage!!!

We have spent 2 days together planning the quilt The first time we got together to sort, iron and start cuttung fabric. We spent very close to 8 hours sitting around the table ( well I sat she stood at the ironing board) and we were far from complete. I think it took about another week and a half to get it alredy!!!

Then I spent another week piecing the quilt. Once the peicing was done, we got together again to diecde what should be quilted in the center of which "ring", she diecded which picture she wanted where and enlarged them (some of them I had traced before hand and enlarged on a copier) or drew them when needed. I traced them onto the quilt, when she left that day the quilt was ready to be basted (ughhhhh).

I then basted it that evening, and started quilting, unfournatly it was late spring and so the quilt has been waiting for it not the be so hat to be quilted!!!

Check in reguarly to see the process I'll post pics as I go.

Oh I forgot there are also 2 pillow shams, They are finished but I have yet to take the pic!!!!

the cat "wall hanging"

this is my cat wall hanging, I'm not sure about the white and black fabric, and it has gotten a little larger then I wanted but it looks just like our kitty aisy who unfournatly is no longer with us!!

didn't know what to do here

I started this blog, knowing I wanted it to be about quilting, but then..........

I wasn't sure what to do with it so then I deicded.......

I'll make it an WIPS blog ( well actually UFO'S since it;s been awhile since any of these projects have seen light much less been worked on)

So I started digging around to see how many I could gather, and boy what did I find........

Don't tell the hubby but so far I dug out 5 that just need to be quilted, and there are more LOTS more. But I have hidden them so well from the hubby it will take some seroius diging.
You see the hubby told me NO MORE NEW PROJECTS until I finish some, if that was the case I'd never get to start anything new.........

So much fabric so little time......actually I could proablly find the time but I really enjoy piecing but NOT BASTING (I actually think I am very close to hating basting) and not such a huge fan of the actual quilting part either, and I do not have a quilting machine and have not faound someone willing to do this for me in my area.

So there you ahve it I will be posting about my WIPS and hopefully finish some of them!!!

fabric

Hello this is my first post on my new blog. I love fabric and quilting so I diecded to start a blog about my quilting. If I was talented enough I would be able to make money doing this and I would love it!!!!!