I COULD HAVE BEEN IN PADUCAH

I didn't miss skipping Paducah this year until I started looking a photos from the show.  Now I wish I was there. Oh well...it's a ten hour drive for me, not something I would do spur of the moment. 
I cleaned out my memory card to show you some stuff and found a bunch of other photos I forgot that I took to show to you. 

My grandmother taught me to hand piece and quilt when I was young.  Maybe 8 or nine.  I did various things through my teens, but I didn't quilt.  When I was pregnant for my first child, I thought that I would make a quilt ( after probably 10 years of not making one) This will show you what not to do when making a quilt.  And no matter how bad a quilt is, with practice, you can get better.

This is a quilt that I made for my son.  I made it around 28 years ago.  This is a lesson about what NOT to do when making a quilt.

Do NOT knot your thread on the back of the quilt

Where can I even start.. basting stitches, horrible applique stitches, uneven borders..

A binding would be nice.

Years later when you realize how bad it is, don't take out all of the quilting in an attempt to re-do it all.

This must have been the result of trying to fix it.  Dumb idea, dumb place to start.  But the whole idea must have become clear to me, because half of the border is quilted and the other half isn't. So.. what to do.  

When I pulled it out the other day I took photos, accessed the situation, and did this;

I put a label on the back explaining myself.. 

I figure that the quilt served it's purpose.  It wrapped my sweet firstborn and warmed him.  I had the best of intentions when I made the quilt, and that is what counts. 

I am working on a new project.  Once I get going a little more I will post some photos.  I printed some words, and tea dyed them.  It was an experiment because I wanted to make sure that the ink would be good and wouldn't wash out.  I also tea dyed them, because the fabric was white and wouldn't go with the rest of what I was doing

They turned out okay, but I'm not sure if the text is too light, or the tea dye is to orange.  I may or may not use them, or I may do them over.  I took this fabric and coffee dyed it

I put the white paper next to it so you could see the difference.  When I bought this, they only had it available in white, and I didn't want white.  Coffee dye makes it more tan than orange.  I may do that with the blocks for the other quilt. 

Another thing I am working on is KLOSJES it is pronounced something like Kloss (sounds like boss) Shoos.  And means Little Spools in Dutch.  Mine looks more like a little bow, so I may have to go back to the drawing board and draw up something different.  I actually hand pieced this one.  I haven't hand pieced for 35 years, at least.  About half way through, I thought that it was a bad idea, but when I finished the 2.5" block, I thought wow...this is cute.  So I will probably do more.  After all, I don't have enough UFO's....right?