Friday, March 30, 2018

Easter Blessings


Easter Blessings to one and all!

How is everyone doing out there?

I know some parts of the U.S. can't figure out if it is Spring or not?  Missouri being one of those parts!  I hope that the weather doesn't dampen your spirits this Easter season.

The churn dash blocks from
found their way to me!
What a magnificent variety of fabrics and colors!

There is a plan in place!
This plan is NOT typical of the work I usually do.....
trying to practice what I preach......
step AWAY from the comfort zone!

Can you believe I am down to the last 13 quilts from
the epic QOV Block Drive
I hosted 4 years ago?!?!?!
189 quilts for U.S. Military Veterans
thanks to you all out there!
All of these quilts have been presented on behalf of
Quilts of Valor, Eastern Missouri.

These quilts above have been beautifully
quilted by my quilting friend Portia.
She has done an amazing job!
These quilts look like triplets ready to be bound
and labeled.
Thank you SOOOOOOOO much Portia!

Look at all these yummy scraps from my friend Frances!
Some Easter colors in there if I do say so myself?

These turned into..........

2" squares for my Leaders and Enders.
Thanks Frances!

I was able to meet this great lady at a recent quilt show
held in the Metro St. Louis area.
Norma ( I hope that name is correct?!?!) reads the ole' blog, and made sure to
come say hello to me!  She has the nicest daughter and son in law
who made sure she was able to come visit them and the show in St. Louis.

Ann of Attic Threads and Quilts and I were invited to show our collaboration,
 "Radar," at this quilt show.
We talked about how he was constructed and quilted.
An improv meet the artists if you will?
We had so much fun talking with so many quilters!

Look at all those free pallets!
Hmmm......I wonder what these were turned into?
I thought you all may like to see some of the Cedar trees
around the Quilt Cave too?
I love all of the trees around this place.

Some of those free pallets were turned into this awesome
brooder that will help house chicks until it is time to move
them outdoors.  This was built in my detached garage/barn.
And, no, I am NOT a carpenter! LOL

The latest batch of chicks are loving their new digs!
There is a great variety of chicks in this hatching.

I was recently asked by my long time friends Mike and Sherry
if I would like to see their daughter perform in her Winter Guard
troop.  I was in marching band in high school.....that was a long time ago!
It is interesting to see how things have progressed with the flag/drill team
since I was in school........there was no Winter Guard then!
Their daughter's team was amazing and won 1st place in their division.
CONGRATS!!!!

Whatever you have planned for your Easter weekend....make sure to include some sewing!
Thanks for all of the encouragement!
Thank you Jesus!
Keep on Quilting!
Kevin the Quilter







Wednesday, March 14, 2018

A Plethora of Gifts.........

Greetings Scrappy Quiltmakers!

March has shown me kindnesses beyond compare thus far!

A plethora of gifts!

First and foremost.......
I want to thank all of you who sent prayers and well wishes for my sweet little Momma!
Your friendship is an amazingly wonderful gift to me and my family!


Mom's tests went well, and we received
good news from her Cardiologist!
He encouraged her to keep doing what she's doing
and if any changes occur to let him know,
but, she should continue to do well.
My mother and I
THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH FOR YOUR PRAYERS!

Huffman's Hotties made an appearance at the
Hannibal Piecemakers Quilt Guild in
Hannibal, Missouri!
This guild was so welcoming and I truly
appreciated the hospitality and friendships made there.

My long time friend Debby came to support 
me during my presentation in Hannibal!
Thank you so much Debby!
It was great being able to catch up
after such a long time!

I was also able to share with the 
St. Louis Star Quilt Guild.
This guild was a hoot!
We all had a great time laughing and sharing
scrappy quilts with each other!
Thanks to Sue for the recommendation!


Thanks to these two great guilds for hosting me.......
again, gifts of many friendships were made!

Working slowly, but, surely,
block by block on the 
hosted by

This has been a wonderful experience, especially
since I have never tried to replicate a quilt
in this manner before.
Again, I am embracing the inspiration quilt's "mistakes."
It really is a study in analysis and observation, and getting to know
what I have to work with in my Civil War repro scraps.
I found the perfect red to use as the sashing!
Another gift of quilt making.....patience.

Two quilters have been so kind to share scraps
and notions with me from their personal collections.
Ruth and Deborah.......thank you so much
for these bountiful gifts!

I gifted myself these
AccuQuilt Studio dies to add
to my collection!  I can't wait to try these out
with some projects I have in mind!

Look what hatched!
More chickie babies to add to the farm!
Incubating eggs is so rewarding.......
and those cackleberries!
The gift of eggs........talk about a yummy gift!

And look at the gift I received
in the mail the other day!
My quilting buddy Alycia of
sent me all of this delicious
Chicken/Rooster fabric!
The Quilt Cave in in need of another
 Chicken quilt!  This is going to be fun
to make!
THANKS ALYCIA!!!!!!


And, not that I believe in reading fortunes......
much less fortune cookies......
I did receive the following message
in a fortune cookie recently while
celebrating my friend Mike's birthday.......

Hmmmmm..........
what gifts may be on the horizon for
Kevin the Quilter????????



Thanks again for the gift of all of your quilty friendships!



Thanks for all of the encouragement!
Keep on Quilting!
Kevin the Quilter











Thursday, March 1, 2018

Marching into March

Happy March 1st Quilting Friends!

Already the 3rd month of 2018......hard to believe, isn't it?

Speaking of Quilty Friends.......
This is my amazingly talented Quilty Friend
Teajuana Mahone of Teaquilts!
Please visit her website, and visit
her on her various social media sites as well.

is a link to her Youtube channel.

Tea visited us at 
Scrap Club hosted by Kevin the Quilter,
and shared some beyond amazing works of art!
All of our participants were so inspired by her
and her fun spirited presentation covering
ALL uses for various types of scraps!
Thanks so much for visiting us Tea!
I appreciate your friendship so much!

Speaking of Scrap Club hosted by Kevin the Quilter....
Alongside our Improved Nine Patch creations.....

We are making...........

Fidget Quilts to donate!

These are so much fun to make, and are so useful
for those suffering with memory problems.
Dolan Memory Care Homes is building a
new facility in our vicinity
that will use these quilts as teaching tools for
it's residents.

We received several of these Fidget Quilts during our
February meeting, and I look forward to seeing 
many more of these creative little quilts at our 
future gatherings.
If you are interested in donating a Fidget Quilt
along with us, please contact me personally on the
blog for more details.

Spring is just around the corner, and look at this
carrot that I found!
LOL
This came wrapped up from my good friend
That's a lovely Civil War Repro FQ
and some very needed Featherweight bobbins!
Thanks Dar!!!!!

This little guy was the friendliest little dude!
He was being watched by his Grandma at
Quilt4U in Columbia, MO.
A small group of friends went on a shop hop
and, as usual, I didn't buy much.....but, 
I DID get this masterpiece of a drawing he is
working on!
TOOOO CUTE! LOLOLOL

OK, so, I did recently cave into an online
Quilt Along.......
Have you seen these posts by my friends....

Lori at Humble Quilts
and
Wendy at The Constant Quilter ?????

You twisted my arm quilters!!!!!!

One of my favorite Quilt Book authors,
is hosting the
Please visit the above links to
register and become a part of this 
fascinating creation.
It isn't too late to join!!!!
Registration is absolutely free, and
Mary Elizabeth has painstakingly
and brilliantly shared insights on this 
antique masterpiece we are being inspired by.

Which leads me to my next thought......
have you ever tried to replicate a vintage work?
I mean, REAAAAAAAAAALLLLY tried.....using
similar fabrics, prints, and patterns?
I haven't, but, I am doing so with the
Foothills Quilt Along
because I am so intrigued by the 
inspiration quilt.

Are my fabrics EXACTLY like those in
the antique version........no.........but,
it has been a fun lesson for me thus far
in really getting to know the fabrics I have to work with.

Again, I am replicating the original quilt......
MISTAKES and all........
here are few of the blocks I have completed.......



This process takes me back to the several art classes 
I had in college in the manner of taking a work
and trying to recreate it as best as we could.
I am thoroughly enjoying myself here!
Thanks Mary Elizabeth!


Look what I stumbled upon in an antique mall recently?
For $20, I couldn't pass this one up!
It has a very unique finishing around the edge,
and the fabrics appear to be older than when
the quilt was made.


In family news...........

How on EARTH did my Lil Sugar Doll
turn 20 years old?????
Oh my!
I can still hear her running through the house
as a little toddler with me chasing her
and her laughing and yelling...
"UNTLE TEVIN!!!!!"

I was able to spend some quality time with 
both my niece and nephew while
celebrating my niece's birthday.
Of course Lilly Mae tagged along too!

Mousing around with Mr. Puss E. Paws 
aka Valentino!

My 16.5 year old diabetic cat went in for his annual
evaluations at the Vet.  This is truly one of the world's greatest 
kitties!

And my 11 year old Sophia Annabella had her
yearly dental at the Vet.  She HATES going to the Vet,
but, it is one of those things that truly does help
her health and has to be done.
She did fine during her procedure, and will eventually
talk to me again........SIGH

In closing, for those of you who are
willing to send some prayers on behalf 
of my sweet little Momma....
she is undergoing some tests on her heart.
We are praying everything is precautionary,
but, my Mom is consumed with fear.
Thanks in advance for thinking of her!


Thanks for being a friend!
Thanks for all of the encouragement!
Keep on Quilting!
Kevin the Quilter