K of K 1, sample fail and Tractors!!

K of K!!!  What am I talking about??  Last summer someone made a quilt, and I fell right in love with it.  It was called Kaleidoscope of Kolor and I bought the pattern at Quilting Delights in OR.  The lady that had posted the picture of her finished quilt said it took her 18 months, not 12, but that did not bother me a bit.

Up until last spring I only belonged to one facebook quilting club, so I started one and invited anyone that I knew to join me.  We decided, as a club that we would work on this block of the month together.

About the same time my little sewing group decided to do a star block of the month.

When I received the pattern I was in love.  It was shown in both black and white.  I decided right
away that I was going to use bali fabric.  So one black one white I will make.  Then I read the pattern and it offered it in 2 sizes, 96" x 100" and the half size of 49" x 51".  Well that was just not a decision I was willing to make, so guess what I decided to do??  Anyone??

I decided to make a big one in black and off white and a little one on black and off white. All bali fabrics.

So for the last year, I have been working on 5 blocks of the months.  Sometimes there were crazy amounts of things to make.  I had to make 52 flying geese one month, yeap, times 4!!

So this is month 12 for all of them.  Sweet success!!

There is still lots to finish them, but I have been working away at the big off white.  When I got the top together I laid it on my bed and decided that it does need the 10" border that it calls for.  And if there is a big border like that, it will need the 58 appliqued stars around said border.  So there is still lots of work to be done.  So here it is.

I am co-hosting a quilt retreat in October.  We are all given the same piece of fabric and the challenge is to make something, anything from it.  I was not going to show it now, but I am really so tickled at how it came out, that I am going to show you.  Here is the little bit of fabric that I ordered to go with my fabric.  The dark brown is the challenge fabric

I made this piece about as minimal as I could.  I have been exploring modern quilts and I think this is much more along the side of my modern quilting than the last one I made.  I am going to quilt the hell out of it.  So I decided to go with the matrix pattern that I had already made a sample of.  It just consists of lines that are not straight, that go from one side of the fabric to the other.  Then you are to suddenly go the opposite way.  Like this.

I did not  like my first line, so I stopped half way thru and ripped that out.  Chalked a line for guidance, then I was off.  As I worked myself into my first corner, I realized that this is going to take for ever.  So I did not go back over the line.  I really guess this is step one of matrix, or an echo'd line :)
Anyway, I am happy with it.  Here it is

Not bad seeing I am still very much a new machine quilter.  Now I have had a ripping experience since I last posted.  I guess I knew it would happen eventually.  I am going to try to learn the swirl stitch next.  I got a sample out and I sewed the first 2 great, then I really am not sure what happened.  It is not that bad, but it certainly is not that good either.  I did take a picture of it before I ripped it out :)  Sample Fail!

Tractors!!  I love tractors.  As you know my son is pulling a 1952 Farmall C tractor in the antique pull in Maine this summer.  We drove off to Frenchville 2 weekends ago.  3 hour drive for us and our tractor.  The first pull I did not go, had to work.  Clay placed 5th in his class but won a 2nd on someone else's tractor.
In Frenchville he placed 2nd twice with his tractor and he won a first on another.  He won the first on a 400 propane tractor.  It runs on propane instead of gas, never saw anything like it before.  I have uploaded some videos of the pull under used name wsnapo on your tube, if you want to see.  I took 72 pics of one pull and then put them to music.  It is here.  Then there is also the first pull.  He got 2nd.  It is here.
Here is the proud kid!!
I noticed that I had already blogged about this,  guess I must be a proud mom!!!!

Until the next stitch!!