Guest Post: Kimberly

Kim is the oldest sister in my family (there's 7 of us girls in all). She is funny, loves to play games, an awesome cook, loves art (her husband is an artist), collects Fiesta dishes, cross stitches, and does so many other things that amaze me! I remember visiting Kim right after she had her first baby, my family was going to Arizona and we picked her up from her apartment on the way. She was laying on the couch sleeping, waiting for us to arrive. Her little baby Lizzie was so perfect, and Kim was so pretty! I love my sister Kim!

So Sharon asked me to participate in this and I said sure, but I am not a seamstress to any degree. I can remember asking mom to show me how to follow a pattern, but I lost interest about 10 min into her demonstration. The one thing I really enjoy doing is cross-stitching and making quilts, I think its fun to make up your own pattern and find all kinds of crazy fabric.
This was one project I started when I was about 12 or 13. I wanted to make a quilt and I wanted it to be random colors and fabrics. It just so happened that mom had lots of misc fabric laying around and she let me choose whatever I wanted.

Some pieces included, curtains we had in our house, fabric from leftover dresses, mom’s muumuu fabric from Hawaii and others.
I cut out all these different sizes of flowers and then cut the circle for the center of all the flowers. I then arranged them onto a sheet and tacked them down with some thread (very loosely). I started at one end and used a sewing machine to sew the flowers down all the way. It was a long and tedious process. I think I got a little over half way done with it (this took me months to do) and then I got busy and so the quilt went into a closet and I forgot about it.
Skip ahead about 10 years and I get a present from my sister for Christmas.

I open it and it was my quilt that I started so long ago, she had taken the time to finish it for me. I love this quilt more than any other quilt, one because it was something that I designed and it has all the fabric I remember from when I was a kid and two because my sister took the time to finish it for me, I don’t look at it without thinking of her and the time she took to do that.

I have been gathering fabric for my next quilt. The pattern is called Grandma’s flower Garden and it looks like it will be easy but who knows till you try right? He are the pics, sorry I cant show you how to make it, I haven’t started it yet. I want to try and do it all by hand. Since I like to cross itch, I think doing this one by hand is more up my alley and if the Amish can sew by hand, why cant I?
Below are some images of what a garden quilt looks like for those who don’t know. I am going to try one and add my own fabric and flair.

Print and cut out the pattern. Cut out pieces from fabric. For each flower
you will need six brightly colored hexagons and one solid colored
center piece. Cut out at least 12 flowers. In a tradition flower garden quilt,
each flower would have a solid colored center in either yellow or red.
If you want to stay with quilt history, you may want to use 1930’s
prints from you local quilt shop. You will also need to cut out twelve white
pieces to go around each flower. After they are all cut, give the children
plenty of floor space and have them use the pieces to lay out a
flower garden quilt.