A LOOK BACK

 Not a lot new to show you so let's take a look back.

This blog began December 31, 2011, mostly as an "online diary" of my quilting Journey. Here is the first post:

Out With the Old, In with the New

Today the studio has a different configuration but it's still my Happy Place.

Ten years ago I had been "on the road" teaching all over the country for 2 years. And I started "teaching" on the blog too. There are many tutorials--find them under the TUTORIALS tab at the top. 

In July 2016, so 10 years ago, I wrote this one:

PIECE YOUR QUILTS LIKE A PRO

It is lengthy with lots of photos and emphasizes a lot of tips for improving your piecing. As an added bonus it shows how to correctly replace an Olfa rotary cutting blade. In my classes I often fix a student's rotary cutter--they are often reassembled incorrectly:

I also explained the fastest way to get diagonal lines drawn on a lot of squares, a method I still use frequently. And I still teach this to most every class. It's a  "worth the price of admission" TIP:

Five years later, 2021, I am still going strong with a weekly blog post. This one features RED WHITE AND BLUE QUILTS:

Some are simple, some more complex. The pattern SAIL ON was in a magazine Easy Quilts Spring 2019. The larger one shown here was presented to a friend as a QUILT OF VALOR. Read about that ceremony here:

QUILTS OF VALOR AWARD CEREMONY

And if you are only going to look at ONE of my blog posts, go to THIS ONE: 

MY FAVORITE BLOG POSTS

It is my TOP TEN favorite posts I have written and certainly touches on the most important aspects of my JOYFUL JOURNEY as a quilter.  You will know more about who I am from these than any thing I could tell you directly. The list includes tributes to two special quilter friends you should know. And lessons I learned from a humble old quilt.

Now I have to get back to two big projects so I have more to show you.

Let's quilt.

Barbara

MY FAVORITE BLOG POSTS

 While I am away I thought I would share some of my most favorite blog posts that I have written over the last 13 years. There are almost 1100 posts to date, here are my Top 10.

If you have followed for many years, you have read these. If you are new here, I hope these will be interesting. They are the ones that have gotten the most comments or mean the most to me.

MY TOP 10 BLOG POSTS:

1. RED AND WHITE -- THE WRAP UP

By far the post that tells the most about me as a quiltmaker. The story of a very special event and what it meant to me.

2. LESSONS WE CAN LEARN  

Important life lessons from a simple antique quilt. What a story this quilt has to tell.

3. QUILT LABELS -- DON'T LEAVE HOME WITHOUT THEM

I am adamant that all quilts NEED A PERMANENT LABEL. The future will thank you. 

This second post on the subject expounds on the first: 

LABEL YOUR QUILTS

4. FLOATER BORDERS

Certainly one of the most important lessons I learned in quiltmaking is using FLOATER BORDERS to make pieced borders fit together perfectly. Taught by Sue Garman in the Block of the Month quilts she designed for The Quilt Show, I am forever grateful to her in teaching this. It is a skill I use in almost every quilt I make. Sue gave me permission years ago to write this Tutorial

5. MY FIRST LIFETIME QUILT

Subtitled "WOW"! this quilt captivated me for 3 and a half years. It was fun to make.

I wrote more about it here: QUILT # 23

6. MY SPECIAL EXHIBIT AT HOUSTON 2021

Surely the most important event in my journey as a quiltmaker was to have 25 of my quilts in a Special Exhibit at International Quilt Festival in Houston TX. I told my family "this is the equivalent of the Oscar's Lifetime Achievement Award". Entitled MY JOYFUL JOURNEY, it was designed to show the progress of a traditional quiltmaker from humble beginnings to four Best Of Show Quilts

I wrote additional blogs about each of the quilts in the Special Exhibit. Start with # 1 to see them all:

MY JOURNEY QUILT # 1     They ran from December 2020 to March 2021. 

7. A TRIBUTE TO SUE GARMAN

I would not be the quilter I am today without a lot of wonderful quilters who inspired me, taught me, befriended me, and supported me.  Sue was a dear friend, to me and many, and I still miss her:

8. A TRIBUTE TO BONNIE

Another woman who taught me so much by the way she lived her life is Bonnie Spencer. If you knew her, this will make you cry. If you didn't know her, read this to get a small chance to know a wonderful person. 

Maybe the most important lesson she taught me: Take the time to write a letter:

9. A QUILTER'S LAST WILL AND TESTAMENT

None of us will live forever. What happens to our stuff when we're gone? The steps we should take NOW to help our loved ones when that day comes. This one hits home for a lot of us.

10. HOW I LOST 100 POUNDS

Finally, the personal one, having nothing to do with quilting. It took a while for me to choose to write this but I'm glad I did. And ALL SIX POSTS I have written about taking charge of my health are easily found up there on the top bar under HEALTH JOURNEY. If you want next year to be better, it starts with what you do TODAY: 

My health journey continues. Two years later I am still down more than 100 pounds. My doctor is thrilled with my progress and success. I eat smart most days, exercise every day, and look forward to a long and satisfying life going forward. 

Now, there are quilts to make! Let's quilt.

Barbara