Friends, I cannot even tell you how excited I am about having this quilt on my bed! Did you know that I quilted? Yeah, I kinda forgot too!
In 2002 I got out of the Army and left my husband in Korea to complete a second year of duty. I came home to the US so I could take care of our sorely missed pups. We had no kids. I was a full time student, but still had a lot of time on my hands. Time to learn how to quilt!
I went to JoAnn's and picked up one of these Quilt of the Month kits. I completed the entire Queen Size quilt top. And I was so ambitious I thought I could do the actual quilting on my home sewing machine. I was wrong! So, I folded up what I had gotten done, put it in the attic, and vowed to find a professional quilter to finish the job (i.e. quilt it together with the fluffy batting and backing).
Over the years I contacted several quilters, but not one ever got back to me to take on the job. Perhaps it was just too big and daunting since I'd already started some of the quilting.
Fast forward 8 years and I inquire about a Quilting Guild at our local Sea Port. Yada yada yada....I'm put in touch with Lora Sparks....a professional quilter! She excitedly takes on my quilt! Look what a beautiful job she did!
Not only did she have to do the quilting, but she actually added fabric on to my existing quilt to make it fit a king sized bed. Amazing!
Here's a close up of her work. Note the whimsical freehand designs and flowers.
I'm so happy to be putting this baby to use! It brings such a pop of color to our bedroom. And I'm also a little inspired to sit back down with some fabric and make a twin sized quilt (or two!) for my girls. Might be a whole new edition to Fibers on Fridays :-)
Linking to:
Blue Cricket Design
And yesterday the rainwater collection system was complete. Granted, it doesn't look pretty now, but we'll spruce them up and make them a little more decorative when time permits. For now, they're collecting water! It rained this afternoon and each barrel is at least half full! Here's how we did it:
And here you have the rain barrel with the gutters diverted and ready to collect water:
When I stood at my kitchen sink, it was these owls that I would see outside. I really didn't like them. In fact, I almost ripped them down and threw them out on several occasions.
Now they can be perched somewhere in her yard for her to admire always!
I didn't know about Terra Cycle until recently. As soon as I learned about what more I could prevent from ending in land fills, I started collecting. I have a small section of my pantry dedicated to storing recyclables to send to Terra Cycle. Items such as yogurt cups, cookie packages, chewing gum packages, and chip bags. These capri sun pouches have been sitting outside in a box since my girls' 5th Birthday party in April. Ummmmm.....I don't recommend waiting so long to empty and clean out these things! Ants had made their way....some were a little moldy....and they were all covered in pollen.
Not only did she have to do the quilting, but she actually added fabric on to my existing quilt to make it fit a king sized bed. Amazing!
I'm so happy to be putting this baby to use! It brings such a pop of color to our bedroom. And I'm also a little inspired to sit back down with some fabric and make a twin sized quilt (or two!) for my girls. Might be a whole new edition to Fibers on Fridays :-)
And my little contribution to this week's photo challenge is my kids' "paw prints"....taken when they were not quite 3 years old. It's so sweet to me :-)
