Wednesday, July 31, 2019

Sweet Land of Liberty

My mini for the month of July
came about as
a combination of genealogy and
a quilt group challenge.


Sweet Land of Liberty
32" x 32"

The quilt challenge was to make a monogram quilt.
Use your initials however you want.
A letter could be represented by a color,
a pattern, a type of fabric or an idea., etc.

My initials are K,E,R.

Here's what I was including in my quilt.

K = kinship, relationships based on family ties

E =  the American eagle, representing strength, dignity, freedom

R = remembrance, honoring those who came before me


A couple of years ago, my daughter and I
became interested in finding out more about our family linage.
I have a cousin who had done some extensive research
and Ancestry.com definitely helps you get access to records
that would be difficult otherwise.

Through our research we found
our kinship to many relatives who were Patriots of
the American Revolution.
April 19, 1775 - September 3, 1783


I began with the 
center of my quilt and reduced the size 
of an Eagle from one of the many 
 Lori Smith's patterns I have.

It's there in the center representing 
the national emblem of the United States.

With the genealogical work we had done
the first Patriot we discovered was 
Simeon Wheelock, 
my 5th Great Grandfather.



Simeon and his wife, Deborah Thayer Wheelock
lived in Uxbridge, MA with their 8 children
in this home built in 1768 and is still used today by
the Deborah Wheelock chapter of the DAR .

photo By Kenneth C. Zirkel - Own work,

Simeon was a blacksmith by trade and 
was involved in many resistant activities leading up 
to that first confrontation at Lexington and Concord.

Simeon along with 3 of his brothers,
Caleb, Calvin and Luther, and their father,


answered the alarm on
April 19, 1775
and were part of the civilian militia 
that marched to that first military engagement.

Those 5 men from the Wheelock family
along with 14 other members
of different family units
all are recognized Patriots
in their willingness to sacrifice their
lives to gain independence from Britain. 


This quilt was made in remembrance of
those men and their wives and families, 
my grandfathers, uncles, grandmothers,
who participated in the events and battles
of the American Revolution.

They are not the famous Patriots

who you read about in the history books.
They were regular folks
concerned about their families,
their lives, their livelihoods, along with
their rights to 
happiness, justice, and equality.



This is a quilt I have been wanting to 
design and make for quite a while.
I was inspired by Barbara of 
by her ability to incorporate genealogy into her quilts.
Thanks, Barbara.

It's been a couple months since I 
actually made a monthly mini, and
I'm linking this to Wendy's blog
so you can see what others
have been creating.



Until Next Time-
Kyle

















Wednesday, July 24, 2019

Hot Diggity Dog

Doesn't it make you happy
when certain opportunities
fall perfectly into place?

You just want to shout

Here's how it happened.
Well, last month was my birthday,
I had recently purchased Australian designer,
 Susan Smith's book,


Quilting Somewhat in The Middle,
and then I discovered
to begin a BOM for Susan's quilt,
the Lewis Coverlet, the quilt
featured on the cover.

I would say it was a 
serendipity moment. 

Hot Diggity Dog!!

****
It's been a very long time since I
signed up for a BOM through a quilt shop.
It has it's pros and cons.
But the timing seemed right, and I
was eager to play with one of Susan's designs.

I just received month #2 
 and I've been super pleased with
the shops fabric choices.

I know it's hard to please everyone,
but the fabrics are very close the original quilt
and come clearly labeled.


Of course, there is no law
that says if I don't like something that I 
can't change it.
If I miss cut, the quilt is scrappy enough,
I can just add something else.

The center of this medallion style quilt
was the first month's section.


The colors are soft and look
like the quilt has been well loved
for a long time already.
It's part of Susan's cozy style.

This month's section will be a 
time consuming working on the floral
garland that's in the center.
Lots of pieces to applique.

My needle and thread are ready.


Until Next Time-
Kyle

Wednesday, July 17, 2019

Christmas In July

The other day I was walking
through Hobby Lobby and 
there were the Christmas decorations. 
Thinking of "Christmas in July"
has become a popular summer tradition
or a winter one for those of you below the equator.

Granted I'm not quite ready
to shop or decorate for the holidays,
but I did recently finish 
my quilt, "Christmas or Not",
 which I had started 
in January, 2018.


"Christmas or Not"
68" x 84"

It is hand appliqued 
and hand quilted.

I had paced myself over the year and half,
completing the applique blocks in 9 months,



but the quilting
has been an ongoing project.


The background is filled


with diagonal lines and


  snowflakes.


The border is double straight lines.

It is a simple applique design
with simple quilting and 
will be the perfect quilt
to enjoy when the Christmas holiday
actually does arrives.

Until Next Time-
Kyle

Monday, July 8, 2019

Just a Quick Check-In

The 4th of July holiday weekend 
is over here in the states.


We had great time 
celebrating with the family.


Hope you did too.

****
I also wanted to thank everyone
for your birthday wishes and 
for leaving comments for 
my birthday giveaway last week.

Running Man wanted to choose everyone,
but we limited it to 3 and those
blogging friends  have been notified.

Michelle B.
Angie H.
Cathy B.

Thanks again, everyone.
I'm looking forward to a
wonderful year.
****

My maniac sewing resulted
in my finished top for
my blue and white version
of a Burgoyne Surrounded.



But right after I posted my photo
my eye immediately saw this


I felt bad for a few moments
until I remembered that the original
quilt made in 1880 had an oops too.



Am I going to change it?
Nope, it's going to stay.

*****

We've had some violent thunderstorms
rolling through the last couple of evenings.
The yard and garden got pretty beat up 
with the hail.

I just wanted to show you
a photo of these clouds
I took from the backyard.


Mammatus Clouds 

They can be seen before, after or during
a thunderstorm.
They are pouches 
formed by sinking air.
Cool, huh!

****

My upcoming week is
going to register high on the fun meter.


Running Man and I are going tent camping
with our daughter and her family. 


Should be fun!
I'm even going to bring along
a little stitching.
It's always good to think positively.

Until Next Time-
Kyle