Sunbonnet-Sue

2011-04-10T11:04:00.001-05:00

With technology driving my day it's nice in the evening to marvel at nature! We do live in a beautiful world and we need to get out and see it!

Sunbonnet Sue Lecture

2010-10-04T17:45:00.004-06:00

Wednesday, October 6th I'll be speaking at the Eastern Long Island Quilter's guild. I'm adding depression era quilts into my usual lecture about Sunbonnet Sue. I'll be focusing more on quilts of the 1930. Check out the venue for the lecture at the guild's website .

The following week I'll be traveling to New Jersey to speak to the Love apple quilters. If you are in the area for either lecture, stop by and say hello! My lecture in New Jersey is on the History of Sunbonnet Sue and will take place on Tuesday, October 12th.

Light the Night Walk - 2010

2010-09-26T11:47:00.001-06:00

My Mom and my good friend Gayle have leukemia. On October 7th, 2010, I walking with the team "Shooting stars for Gayle" to raise money for cancer research. Please consider donating as little as $5.00 to cancer research. It would really help my team! Here is the link to the Luekemia and Lymphoma Society's website to make the donation!

My Fundraising Page

Thanks! Kim

Baby Quilt finished

2010-01-28T23:03:00.003-05:00

I made a baby quilt and actually finished it in time for the shower! I started it yesterday and finished it today. I even had time to sew one of the quilt blocks to a tote bag. I love to give my baby quilt in a matching bag. I simply take a purchased tote bag and sew one of the extra blocks onto the outside.

The tote makes for a nice place to store the quilt and the new mom can take it anywhere.

I modified the pattern from a 9-patch and friendship star pattern that was in the book "Quilting Along with Emilie Richards". I copied the soft colors and layout of the quilt in the book. Click here to see the book I used.

Thanksgiving Quilt

2009-11-30T17:10:00.004-05:00

Over the holidays I visited my cousin. She gave me this wonderful quilt!

It was in a old trunk. It is from the estate of Pauline S. from Wellsville NY. I'm so thrilled with it. It is English foundation pieced. You can still hear the paper crunching in it!

I'm guessing that it is from the late 1800s or early 1900s, but I'm more knowledgeable of fabric from the 1930s and there isn't a single piece in this quilt.

Some of the fabrics are falling apart, but most are still in good shape. There are velvets, wools, cottons. The paper that was used for piecing has handwriting on it.

This is such a cool quilt! Thanks Mary.

My Son Graduated!

2009-07-14T16:51:00.004-06:00

My Son Graduated!

Quilt Market

2009-05-30T13:23:00.005-06:00

I haven't had a chance to post since I've been back from Pittsburgh. In mid-May, the quilt industry held a big show called "Quilt Market". All the fabric manufacturers come and show their latest fabrics. The pattern and book publishers are there as well.

The trend I noticed was rick-rack. Boy, that vintage trim is back! It has gotten bigger and seemed to decorate every booth.

Here is a picture of the convention center in Pittsburgh decked out will all the vendors:

And that's only the half of it! I photographed this from a walkway that was in the center. There are just as many vendors in the other direction. Whew.

I ordered two new lines of Sunbonnet Sue fabric. One features the 1970s inspired Holly Hobbie

The other features Sunbonnet Sue from the 1930. Here is a preview of that one:

I can't wait for them to come into stock. I'll post more later!

Kim

Zen and the Art of Recycling

2009-03-31T05:52:00.003-06:00

My guild is doing a "green" quilt show this year. We were challenged to make a quilt from recycled material. I used the grocery bags that I get at my local supermarkets. One store uses white and the other beige, so that set the color scheme for my quilt. I cut the bags and quilted them onto the background. This quilt crunches.

On top of the "grocery bag" background, I attached little mini-quilts. Each quilt is embellished with some sort of recycled item. I have a rose made from an old sweater, the 3 key off an old typewriter, cut up soda cans, old buttons, a beer bottle top and an pin made from an old quilt.

It was a lot of fun to make. I hope I showed that recycled items are beautiful! If you want to go to the quilt show and see all the other recycled quilts, here the link to the show information: ELIQG.com.

National Quilting Day

2009-03-23T14:56:00.003-06:00

My Guild (Eastern Long Island Quilters) celebrated National Quilting day this Saturday. I had to work, but didn't want to miss out on the fun. They put together cuddle quilts for the local nursing homes. Even though I couldn't sew with them, I made one on my own. I started it Saturday night and just put the last stitches in the binding.

The fabrics are donated. There were some older, out of style fabrics, but I think it turned out great!

I used my walking foot for the first time. I used my new Janome and it quilted great! I never could get the walking foot to quilt on my old singer.

So now the quilt is off to the guild meeting to be collected with the other quilts made on National Quilting day. I hope the quilt gets cuddled!

Sunbonnet Sue in Heaven

2009-03-17T05:23:00.003-06:00

I'm finishing up some UFOs and I found three of these blocks and another one unfinished. I did these back in the 1990s (last century). I decided to finish them up.

I'd like to think that Sunbonnet Sue up in heaven has taken off her bonnet and she's dancing in the clouds. As for finishing the project, I'm not sure how to set them. They are small (8" square) and there are only 4.

I may combine them with some patchwork for a wall hanging.

Sunbonnet Sue Love TV Swap...

2009-02-24T20:58:00.003-05:00

The ladies of my sunbonnet sue group are at it again. This time we are swapping Sunbonnet Sue images that remind us of TV shows. The deadline is now and I'm procrastinating, but I did get two sets of blocks done.

My TV shows were Project Runway and I love Lucy. I guess I did a show from this century and last century.

Here is the picture that I got my inspirations from:

And here is the block I sewed. I know it isn't a traditional Sunbonnet Sue. She's wearing the wrong kind of hat! I did let Lucy's mouth show because she is so expressive.

It was fun to do and I can't wait to see the blocks that the others did. I didn't get the project runway blocks scanned, but I'll make sure to share all the swapped blocks once I get the scans.

Kim

Recycled Christmas Ornaments

2008-12-07T16:00:00.003-05:00

Each year our town asks the Girl Scouts to make ornaments for the tree that is in the public park. It is always a challenge. The ornaments need to be weather-proof, cheap and easy to make.

This year I decided to use old CDs and strips of fabric. I tore the fabric into 1" wide x 22" or so strips. For each ornament it took 2 CDs, 1 strip of fabric and a little glue. I put one end of the strip between the two CDs and started wrapping it around, finishing up where I started. I tucked the end between the two CDs and put in a little glue. The CD were placed with the printed side in and the shiny side out.

The girls in the troop were pros! They made these so quickly. They look beautiful hanging in the village park.

In fact, they are pretty enough to steal! Of the 25 ornaments that the girls made, there are 8 left. It has been windy, so maybe the wind took some as well.

It was a fun project, and a great way to recyle. The ornament have held up well to the weather.

Quilt Top Finished!

2008-10-11T19:38:00.004-06:00

Today I worked on a quilt top. I had some wonderful blocks of Aunt Martha's "Saucy Suzy" pattern. I used the Book "Turning Twenty - Around the Block" for the pattern.

So all I had to collect was the book and 9 fat quarters. As an homage to vintage 30s quilts, I picked some solids.

Each fat quarter was cut the same, so it was easy. I had to trim the embroidery blocks to 8 1/2 x 10 1/2" and that was a little trickier. I put some painters tape on my square ruler and used it as a guide to place my blocks.

The finished quilt looks great! I am happy with the way it came out. It has vintage blocks, vintage colors, but a modern feeling. I'm putting some kits together for sale on Sunbonnetsue.com!

Around the Blocks quilt - Saucy Suzy!

Old Dutch Cleanser

2008-09-14T14:34:00.006-06:00

Sometimes I get requests from visitors to Sunbonnetsue.com about vintage quilt patterns. Here is a picture of an inquiry I got earlier this year.

"I purchased this quilt on ebay. Have you ever seen this figure on a quilt? " The inquirer also send this picture:

The quilt has an interesting layout. Since I haven't seen a published pattern of this sue, I can only guess that it is a hand-drawn pattern. Someone saw a Sunbonnet sue quilt and wanted to recreate one. Perhaps the quilter was trying to recreate the Logos from “old dutch cleanser” packages. Here is a picture:

The outstretched hand, and way the bonnet trails down the back is similar.

So what do you think? Have you seen this design?

Summer Sunbonnet Sue

2008-09-04T15:40:00.001-06:00

Now that summer is over, it is time to finish up the Sunbonnet Sue Summer swap. I finished my second design and got the blocks in the mail to Sandy, the swap hostess. Here is my second Summer Sue.

She is a mother Sue, watching her daughter in the water. I made her as a companion to my earlier Sunbonnet sue, playing with her boat in the water.

I can't wait to get the swapped blocks back.

Stepping outside of the box by stepping into one!

2008-08-04T14:06:00.004-06:00

I tend to quilt the same traditional things, so sometimes I like to try new things. My guild sponsored a workshop with Karen Combs, so I signed up.

Karen is known for her modern quilts of illusion. Here is her website. I enjoyed her talk on color, value, and texture. I really learned a lot.

Here she is explaining the differences in color, value and scale. We all made cubes that used a light, medium and dark to simulate shading. Here are all the cubes we made. Mine is the black and red one on the bottom.

It was fun, but I wasn't interested in creating another unfinished quilt. I decided to make a couple of pillows and finish. Here they are all done.

It is way outside of my comfort zone, and I'm glad I made them! Now back to making some Sunbonnet Sues!

Sunbonnet Sue at the Lake

2008-07-20T18:04:00.002-06:00

One of the members of the "Sunbonnet Sue chat" group (an e-mail group on yahoo groups) is sponsoring a "Summer Fun Sunbonnet Sue" swap. I worked on my block this weekend. My Sue is playing with a boat in the water.

This is the first one I have finished. Now I just have 9 more to go! There are two groups of 10, so I need to design another block and get that going as well. I'm thinking Sue under a Palm tree.

If you'd like to read about the Sunbonnet Sue group on Yahoo groups, here's a link:

http://sunbonnetsue.com/email.html

I hope you enjoyed your weekend.

Kim

2nd Annual Long Island Quilt Shop Hop

2008-07-16T09:15:00.003-06:00

Last weekend was the long Island Quilt shop hop. It is a fun time to travel around Long Island and visit all the quilt shops. My friends Colleen, Cindy and Kathy met at "Pieceful Quilting" for a day of quilt shopping. Each shop had a free pattern to give out. The patterns made a quilt that each shop had on display.

Here is Kathy in front of the quilt from "Pieceful Quilting" in Riverhead. Their color choices are patriotic and happy. Like the pieceful shop that are many different types of fabrics in their quilt.

Here is the quilt from "Patchworks". This quilt is filled with batiks, a type of fabric that shop is know for. Each shop had goodies for us to nibble on too!

Below is the quilt from "The Quilt Bug". It is bright and colorful, just like the shop it comes from.

"Sentimental Stitches" is a shop that features reproduction and traditional fabrics. It is a quaint place. Their quilt is made in reproduction fabrics and hung behind the counter. Here is what I managed to photograph.

Finally, here is the quilt from "Sew What's New". It used some beautiful mottled fabrics for the sky and sea.

Each shop had a gift basket with raffle chances. I found out this morning that I won the basket from the Quilt Bug!!! Wow. I never win anything. Of course, that shop is the furthest distance, so I'll have to venture out again and visit the shop. It is well worth it.

We are lucky that on Long Island we have great quilt shops that offer such a variety. I bought my first fabric "Jelly Roll" and I hope to have a "Many Trips.." quilt done by the end of the summer. I'll keep you posted.

Enjoy! Kim

Honorable Mention at ELIQG Show

2008-06-07T17:53:00.004-06:00

Today was the first day of the ELIQG Show and my Sunbonnet Sue wins project runway quilt was entered. I won an Honorable Mention ribbon in the member challenge category. I've been entering the member challenge since 1997 and I've always been an "also ran", so I was thrilled to see the ribbon!

Here it is! There were some fabulous Sunbonnet Sue sightings at the show, so I'll have more to post later on.

Right now I'm doing a happy dance.

Quilt Finished!! Sunbonnet Sue on Project Runway

2008-05-25T13:50:00.004-06:00

June 7th & 8th is the annual show for my quilt guild, Eastern Long Island Quilters. The theme of the show is New York. Every year the members are challenged to make a quilt based on the theme. So our quilts needed to celebrate New York City culture (shows, places, people). I love the NYC based show "Project Runway". It is reality TV with sewing machines (what's not to love). So I put Sunbonnet Sue on the show.

I finished the quilt top today. I hope to get it quilted during the week.

Season 5 is starting this summer, so I put Sue on the quilt as the season five winner, along with photos of all the previous winners. The sue is based on drawings done by Jean Ray Laury, who is one of my favorite quilters ever! She did a line of Sue fabric that shows an exuberant, joyful Sue. I have a little of it left in my shop, but most is gone.

The quilt was a lot of fun to make. It combines two of my favorites, photo transfer and Sunbonnet Sue!

I hope you are enjoying yourself this holiday weekend.

Paper Dolls!

2008-05-14T19:08:00.009-06:00

I love paper dolls. In kindergarten my teacher organized a gift exchange for Christmas. We had to spend $1.00 for the gift. Luckily I pulled a girl's name out of the bowl of names, so I was buying for a girl. I didn't know who had my name.

I picked out a set of paper dolls. It was 99 cents, but it was a good set. The dolls weren't printed in a book, but they were in a box. That meant the doll was a more rigid cardboard and the dresses were thinner paper. It was much better than dolls cut out of books.

I was so disappointed when all I got for my gift was a pair of navy blue gloves. I cried on the bus on the way home, wanting the paper dolls I'd given instead.

Now some of those same patterns are available online. Here is a link to a great set of patterns of Sunbonnet Sue paper dolls... I see an appliqued paper doll quilt.

Image from http://www.treasuresforlittlechildren.com/

Lots of fun... lots of memories.

Learning to Embroider

2008-04-27T08:02:00.005-06:00

I'm in the throws of spring cleaning, so I was happy to find this piece of embroidery. It give me an excuse to stop work and come type this entry.

I was so anxious to share it with you, I didn't even press it. Actually I'll give any excuse not to iron!

It is one of my first embroidery pieces that I did with my Grandmother, Doris Marvel. She taught my sister and me to sew back in the 1960s and early 70s. As you can see by the stitches, I had a lot to learn.

The piece is unfinished and badly stained in one corner. I'm not sure what happened to the rest of my early handwork. I was particularly fond of her hot iron transfers of dancing vegetables. I remember stitching a lot of them.

Even if the finished embroidery isn't so good, the memories of learning to stitch with Grandma are. In fact, my very last meeting with my grandmother was three days before she died. By then I had moved on to hand appliqué and wasn't doing a lot of embroidery. I went to visit her, but knew that she wouldn't be able to hold a conversation. I brought my stitching along to pass the time while I sat with her.

She didn't know who I was, but she noticed that I wasn't using a thimble. She let me have it! "A thimble is important to protect you and your work"... and so on. It was our last conversation, but I am glad we had that connection.

I also found this early picture of her. It isn't the Grandmother I remember, but she does look good. She hated to be photographed, so finding pictures of her is not easy.

Here is a picture of her from the 70s. This is how she looked when she was teaching me to sew.

If you want to embroider with your children or grandchildren, there are some great beginner kits now available. They start out with a simple running stitch, much easier than the stem stitch that I was butchering in the piece above. Click here to see some of the kits.

But most importantly, keep stitchin!

Sunbonnet Sue in 1931

2008-04-20T13:18:00.007-06:00

When I started putting Sunbonnet Sue information online ten years ago, I didn't have a lot of information. There are not many books about the history of Sue or how the pattern has evolved. I have a unique system for research. I buy things! That way I have quilts and books to draw my research from.

When I see a unique quilt, pattern or item on ebay, I try and buy it. I search the textiles at yard sales and look in old book shops. Recently I came across this clipping.

It is from the Jun 13, 1931 issue of "Capper's Weekly". This magazine has been published for 125 years out of Topeka Kansas. According to http://www.cappers.com/information-cappers, the magazine promotes American values. What could be more American than Sunbonnet Sue?

The article shows 12 sunbonnet sues busily engaged in summer activities. At the end of the article is tells where to send away to get these images printed on fabric with different colored inks. Twelve of the blocks (9 inches square) can be ordered for 35 cents.

I own a partial set of these blocks, so I was excited to find their history. I've been calling them penny squares, but at 12 for 35 cents, they are really 3 cent squares! By finding this clipping, I can now properly date the squares. I also know who printed them.

Here is what the article says:

Sunbonnet babies, working, playing, eating, cooking, visiting as the decorate Baby's crib quilt are boon companions for the little fellow, for they teach lessons of thrift and industry and are ever interesting sources for story-making. Twelve embroidered quilt blocks, each one a different sunbonnet baby picture, each 9 inches square, make up this clever nursery quilt. The blocks are stamped in colors on fine white muslin, the color stamping serving as a guide for the placing of embroidery floss, which is worked in the simplest stitches -- outline and a French knot or two. Now that school is out and Little Sister is at a loss for something to do, start her out at her first fancy-work and her first quilt. Hers will be a double pleasure -- the pride of workmanship, the added joy of making something really nice for Baby Brother or Wee Sister. Or by joining the embroidered blocks with strips of the Little Maker's favorite color, the quilt will do nicely for the little girl's own bed. The dozen blocks stamped for embroidery cost only 35 cents and the work is so little, that I'm sure if there's a child in your home, no matter what size or sex, there'll soon be a sunbonnet baby quilt too. Order the Series R.D. from Needwork Services, Capper's Weekly, Topeka, Kan.

What a great find! I love matching up textile items I have with documentation that explains how old they are and where they were made.

Modern patterns are still being printed that use these same designs. I carry some at SunbonnetSue.com. Click here to see a list of the patterns currently in stock.

Mend on Wednesday

2008-03-21T18:04:00.008-05:00

I was lucky enough to win a collection of "Penny Squares" on ebay. As the seller mentioned, they are in rough shape.

They are stained, dirty and poorly stitched. They are not a complete set either. I am still happy to have them and the Wednesday block intrigued me. Sunbonnet Sue is mending as she rocks a baby's cradle with her foot. She appears to be mending pantyhose, but they weren't invented until well after this block was done. They are probably some sort of leggings for the baby.

Her bonnet style is different than the bonnets drawn by Bertha Corbett. It looks like the early postcards done by Bernhardt Wall. So I went looking through some Wall postcards and found this one from 1905.

And there is the image from my penny square! She is mending a baby's romper.

So I decided to make a redwork pattern from the design. Here is a link to the PDF file.

I simplified the hands in my drawing. The original penny square had fingers. I'll have to keep looking for more days of the week.

Enjoy,

Kim

A Visit to Pieceful Quilting

2008-02-21T09:47:00.003-05:00

I stopped in Pieceful quilting yesterday to see all the entries in the old bag challenge. I didn't win, and once I got to see the other quilts, it was clear why. Wow. The creativity meter was off the dial! Pieceful quilting put pictures of the quilts on their blog. If you look closely, you can see mine at the bottom: Click for Pieceful's Blog

While I was in the store I fell in love with a Block of the Month pattern. It is being given as a machine applique class. You go one Saturday a month and make a block. I've never been formally taught machine applique, so I signed up! Here is the quilt:

It is called "Be Attitudes", a play on one of my favorite verses in the bible. So I'm starting yet another project. I know that my sewing skills will improve!

That's all for now,

Kim

Old Bag Challenge finished

2008-02-02T16:18:00.001-05:00

Yea! I finished the old-bag challenge with time to spare. Here is what my quilt looks like:

I used a lot of the junk that was in the bag. I even made a Sunbonnet Sue doll out of the red hat charm. It was fun. The quilt is 20" wide, so it isn't a big one.

Starting a New Challenge

2008-01-20T12:38:00.000-05:00

I know I'm supposed to be finishing up projects this year. I am making progress on my parent's anniversary quilt. I have the 49 "Puss in the Corner" blocks finished and now I'm working on the flying geese units for the star blocks.

My local quilt store, Pieceful Quilting, is doing a challenge. I decided to make a challenge quilt. It is called the "Old Bag" challenge because you get an old bag filled with fabric to make the quilt. Well my bag had only one fat quarter of fabric and lots of trim and buttons.

Of course, I'm making a Sunbonnet Sue quilt. I using 30s reproduction fabrics in green and orange to go with the supplied fabric. I'll use their fabric as the border and as some yo-yos.

Here is a picture of what was in my bag:

I'll post pictures as I get the blocks done.

Kim

Hitting the Ground Running - 2008

2008-01-01T18:32:00.000-05:00

It is New Year's Day and it is time to get going on a new year, a clean slate. I try to make one big resolution each year. In 2006 it was lose weight. I lost 30 pounds that year and got back into a size 8!

In 2007 I resolved to start my long desired Master's degree. I'm happy to report that I'm a student at Stony Brook University with 4 classes (12 credits) towards my degree already completed. Classes start again for me on Thursday, so this is really a two year resolution!

Unfortunately as I was studying, the pounds crept back on! I guess I have to work on losing them again! I'm back up 30 pounds. The nice slim figure I resolved to get it gone, but at least a Master's degree can't be taken away!

So my 2008 resolution is all about finishing! Finish the degree I started, finish the diet and finish some of the quilts I've started. Yesterday I made a table runner for a lady I work with. She always sets up a wonderful black history month display, so I used some of my collected African fabric to make the table runner.

It is finished! I give it to her tomorrow.

Today I worked on a quilt I started a year ago. My parent celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary on December 1, 2006. At the party I had squares of fabric for the guests to sign. I started the quilt of 50 stars. Either the center of the star will be a square from the party or a photograph. Today I sewed for most of the day. I need to make 50 star blocks and 49 "puss in the corner" blocks for the quilt. Here is what would fit on my design board.

I'm really pleased with how it is coming out! We're Irish, so I decided to sprinkle little bits of Irish novelty fabric. Do you think it detracts? I'm wondering if I should leave out the "kiss me I'm Irish" fabric.

Anyway, I've working again...

Happy New Year.

2007-12-06T15:36:00.001-05:00

The Names Project AIDS Memorial Quilt

at Stony Brook University

November 29th, 2007

I'm taking graduate classes at Stony Brook this semester, so I was pleased to see that sections of the Aids quilt were going to be on campus on one of my class nights. After class was over I went over to the Student Center to check out the quilt show.

I didn't know what an amazing experience it was. It was like no other quilt show I have ever been to.

First the quilt panels are laid on the floor. You walk among them. As you make your way around the exhibit, it is almost like the quilt is a living thing and the people are part of it.

Then there is the realization that these quilts, for the most part, were not made by quilters. The panels were created by people who loved someone and then lost them to AIDS. There were various skill levels and techniques used. The panels were very personal.

This one shows a loved one in various pictures printed on fabric:

This one takes a suit of clothing. It is laid out on an old quilt. I can only imaging that it was his baby quilt.

An of course, whenever I go look at quilts, I look for Sunbonnet Sue or Sam. Here a precious moments character is captured on the panel.

And as you are looking at the panels, there is always someone at the microphone, reading names. That is the point of the project, the names. The list of those who died of this disease is very long and the constant reciting of names in the background is a reminder of what the project is all about.

The full panels each measured 12' x 12'. Here is a picture of one of the panels that was standing.

Many different sections make up a full panel. Only 25 panels made it to Stony Brook that night. I was in awe of the stories that each victim had to tell. The entire AIDS quilt is now more than 45,000 panels, which represents a small portion of the more than 500,000 people in the United States who have died from AIDS.

I can't imagine that many names.

For me the panel that summed it up was this one... an unfinished life.

It was an amazing quilt show.

You can get more information here: www.aidsquilt.org

Light The Night - Leukemia Walk

2007-10-14T12:08:00.001-05:00

Last night Suffolk Community College hosted the "Light the Night" walk for Leukemia. My mom has a blood cancer, so our family participated. Here is a picture of us right before the walk. In the picture are my 14-year old daughter Kelly, Husband Jim, Me, 9-year old daughter Suzie and off to the side, my 12-year old son Danny(being clever with his balloon).

There were hundreds of walkers who carried illuminated balloons. It was quite the parade as we walked around the road the loops the campus.

When it was all finished, we returned to the central courtyard of the campus in front of the Peconic Building. It was a beautiful site.

It was definitely a worthwhile experience for my family to gather together with others who have had blood cancers touch their life. There was a lady there sobbing and I felt so thankful that my mother continues to win the fight with her cancer.

If you would like to donate to the cause: http://www.active.com/donate/ltnMelvil/2075_bunchuck

Kim B.

Lecture and Workshop with Mark Lipinski

2007-10-08T14:32:00.000-06:00

My guild - Eastern Long Island Quilters - hosted Mark Lipinski on Friday and Saturday. He had lectured at our guild before and the ladies lobbied to get him back. I have to say, that although I found his talk amusing two years ago, I didn't like his use of the F-word.

Well he has improved with age! Since his visit to our guild two years ago, he started "Quilters Home" magazine. It is one of my favorite quilting magazines. It is fresh and fun. You can get subscriptions now.

His talk was much more fun. This time he was definitely a star of the quilting world. I really enjoy his fresh take on things. He did talk about how he is just not accepted by some members of the quilting community, but I'm glad that there is room for all kinds of quilters. He also toned down his language, which I appreciated.

Not to mention his stunning trunk show. This is one man who can quilt!

I also took his workshop on Saturday. We made three dimensional blocks to surround a Geisha panel. Here is a picture of Mark with the class samples:

I decided to appliqué the oriental Sue pattern that is free on my website Sunbonnetsue.com. I surrounded that with the blocks that we learned to make in the workshop. Although my top isn't done, there are only a few seams left to sew. I consider that a successful workshop. Here is my top:

Here is a picture of me sewing at the class,

It was a great day to sew with friends and learn new techniques! Now I have to get the top finished!

-- Kim

The quilters in my family

2007-10-08T13:53:00.000-06:00

Last time visited my parents, I searched through some of the old photo albums. My parents have a scanner on their computer now, so I can scan the pictures that I want and put the photo right back into my mother's album. She doesn't like to lend them out.

I found this one taken in 1960. It is my Mom, Grandmother and Great-Grandmother. My older sister is the little girl. I was an infant then and I wish my mother had put me in the picture as well. They wanted the "one from each generation shot", so I sat out.

Great-Grandma Whitney (far right) was the quilter in the family. It was the Sunbonnet Sue quilt that she made for my mother in 1941 that got me interested in Sunbonnet Sue quilts. Here is a picture of that quilt:

She used clothing and feed sacks. It is a summer weight quilt with no batting. Because my mother treasured it, it was kept in a trunk and never used. Now I have it in my trunk show when I lecture. I hope Grandma Whitney would have approved.

By the way, my family is participating in the leukemia walk this weekend to support my mother. If you'd like to help out, just look at the prior posting in the blog.

Light the Night...

2007-09-25T16:29:00.000-06:00

After spending so many hours putting together the quilt to support Women with for Breast Cancer I wasn't looking to get involved in another charity project right away. But, The Leukemia and Lymphoma society made me an offer I couldn't refuse.

They are sponsoring a walk at Suffolk Community College. I've worked on the campus for 20 years and find it to be an amazing community of caring people. When I heard about the walk, I had to participate. My mother, Ann Cronin, has been suffering with a blood cancer for over 10 years. She has lost a lot of weight, but her red blood count is the best it has been in a while and we are so thankful for all the treatments that she has been getting at Roswell Park Cancer Institute in Buffalo, NY.

So on October 13th my husband, children and I will be walking in the "Light the Night" Walk. Our team is called "Walking for Grandma" and any donations to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society would be greatly appreciated. We have a donation website for our team here:
http://teams.lightthenight.org/WalkingforGrandma

http://www.active.com/donate/ltnMelvil/2075_bunchuck

My mom was given 4 years to live when she was first diagnosed. I was pregnant with my second child and I wondered if she'd get to meet all my children. When my daughter was baptized, we traveled back to Western New York because my Mother was too ill to travel and we wanted her to be at the baptism of her first granddaughter. That baby is now 14! Strides in cancer treatment have given us such a gift with my mother's continued health.

I now have four children and my Mom has celebrated every baptism, communion, graduation with us.

So If you can help the society with research for blood cancers maybe there can be more stories of people living with cancer and enjoying their life and family.

2007-09-25T16:04:00.000-06:00

How I spent My Summer Vacation ....

The quilt is finally done! I mailed the Good/Bad Sunbonnet Sue bride quilt off to Texas. I didn't realize what a huge project it was until I tried to put the two-sided quilt together. Lining up the blocks was a challenge. The beading and embellishments made it difficult. And did I mention that none of the blocks were the same size!

But with the help of Beth and Roberta, the quilt made it down to Texas. Here is a picture of it hanging at the show:

"GOOD" Sunbonnet Sue side

"BAD" Sunbonnet Sue Side

I can't begin to thank the ladies who all made blocks for the quilt. It truly was an international effort with blocks from all over the world on the quilt.

The blocks that didn't make it into the quilt were made into smaller quilts that will be auctioned for the charity.

Great job ladies and I have to say that I'm happy it is finished!

I have to give a big thank you to:

the 61 women who volunteered to make blocks
Piecefulquilting.com who donated fabric
Sunbonnetsue.com (my website) who donated the batting

Quilting Bee held

2007-07-27T10:47:00.000-06:00

I packed up all the bride blocks and went to Suffolk Community College for two days of marathon sewing. My volunteers were dropping out left and right, so I was pleased to have two wonderful ladies helping me. Roberta and Beth came both days and worked their fingers to the bone!

Roberta is in the green shirt and Beth was our "quality control". Her hand sewing skills are excellent and she gussied up some of our plainer brides with more lace and beading.

Here are my two volunteers (Roberta on the left and Beth on the right) on day two, with one of the blocks ready to go into the quilt:

As you can see, the "Good" side of the quilt is shaping up nicely. I'm going to assemble it this weekend and get a picture online as soon as I can.

We had a few blocks come in, so check out the gallery to see them:
http://badsuequilts.com/brideGallery.htm

I put Nancy's block in with the extra wedding dress fabric when it came it, so I just got it online. Sorry Nancy.

This is going to be a beautiful quilt!

Kim Bunchuck

Sunbonnet Sue - Breast Cancer project draws near

2007-07-12T19:33:00.000-06:00

We are getting ready to sew our Sunbonnet Brides together. I have fifty block waiting for our Sewing days to get them put together.

If you can help, here are the details:

We are meeting at Suffolk Community College in Riverheadon Tuesday July 24th and Wednesday, July 25th.

We'll be in the Corchaug building from 9 am - 5 pm.

You'll need to bring a sewing machine loaded with basic white thread.

We'll be sewing the tops together. If you can machine quilt, please bring your machine to help with that as well. We will provide the quilting thread.

If you have any pink or white fabric that you'd like to donate, you can bring that as well. We'll need lots of ideas to get the blocks set together.

The cafeteria will be open on campus that day, or you can bring a bag lunch.

It should be a lot of fun.

Please e-mail me at kim@sunbonnetsue.com to let me know you are coming!

Kim

Alex Anderson Insults Sunbonnet Sue!

2007-06-16T14:32:00.000-06:00

I subscribe to "The Quilt Show", the new quilting show on the internet. I have been enjoying the videos of quilters sharing tips, patterns and ideas. In the beginning of episode 104, Alex Anderson and Ricky Tims begin by talking about their personal discovery of quilting. They talk about finding patterns, quilts shops and guilds.

Ricky says, “I did not know about drunkard’s path or your favorite Sunbonnet Sue. I know Alex loves Sunbonnet Sue”

Alex says, “The day I make one, just check me into the home. . . sorry if I offended anybody”

"Some of them are fun, some Sunbonnet Sue quilts are really great,” Ricky counters.

They continue on talking about other things.

I don't know of any other quilt pattern that takes the abuse that the "Sunbonnet Sue" pattern takes. When I started Sunbonnetsue.com ten years ago, frankly I wasn't sure if the website would be well received or not. Of course the quilting community has welcomed our patterns and Sunbonnet Sue information with open arms.

I just don't understand why people dislike the pattern so much. You think someone who is an industry leader in promoting all things concerning quilts would be a little more diplomatic.

That's my thought for the day.

Kim Bunchuck
Sunbonnetsue.com

Quilting Bee Scheduled!

2007-06-07T11:06:00.000-06:00

I'm so excited. I just got off the phone with Suffolk Community College and we have our Quilt Assembly Days scheduled for the Sunbonnet Sue fights breast cancer quilt.

Suffolk community College really stepped up to help our little project out. We are able to gather in one of their classrooms on the Riverhead campus and sew these blocks together. If you are a Long Island Quilter and you can donate some time to sew these quilts together, we'd love your help.

Here are the details:

Quilt Assembly Days -

When: Tuesday, July 24th and if needed Wednesday, July 25th, 2007
Time: 9am - 4 pm
Location: Corchaug Building - Suffolk Community College, Riverhead campus
Bring: Sewing Machine

We'll be sewing the blocks into quilts. If you are a machine quilter, you can help quilt some of the smaller wall-hangings.

Please let me know if you can come help us out - e-mail me

Kim Bunchuck
Sunbonnet Sue fights Breast Cancer Project.

Eastern Long Island Quilt Show

2007-06-04T17:19:00.000-06:00

Well I did it! I vended at the weekend's quilt show and lived to tell the tale. When I signed up for a vendor spot months ago, I didn't realize how crazy things would be. I had classes to finish, little league games to attend and work. All this is not to mention the Bridal project.

Here is what my booth looked like:

It was great to see all the people and talk about quilts for two days straight. Now I have to get the books back on the shelves in my web-store at home.

The brides came to the show too, for their first public showing. Here is a close up of them on the wall:

We are sewing the blocks together in July. If you are on Long Island and can help, there will be more posted.

Whew, I'm tired...

Bridal Shower

2007-05-26T19:03:00.001-06:00

It has been a crazy month and this is the first time I've been able to post. I am on the adjunct faculty of the local community college. We finished up the semester and I'm thrilled to have my Tuesdays free again! I just can't seem to find the time to get everything done I want to.

I did manage to get the last of the Sunbonnet Sue bride kits mailed out. Seventy-one went out. That is more than I expected, so we'll be able to get 2 or 3 quilts done. It just depends on how many of them come back as completed quilt blocks.

Some have already started coming. It is like a bridal show of block. Here is one of them:

If you'd like to see the others, here is the link: http://badsuequilts.com/brideGallery.htm

It is amazing the generosity of quilters.

There is a strange sort of footnote to this charity project. My mammogram this month turned up problems in both my breasts. I had to go back for more images (OUCH) and the doctors have decided to wait six months and have another mammogram done to see if there are changes.

Just that one little episode was pretty scary for me. I can't imagine living with it every day.

Brides Against Breast Cancer Deadline!

2007-05-01T17:07:00.000-06:00

It's May 1st. The deadline for sign ups for the Sunbonnet Sue fights breast cancer project was yesterday. Yikes, the project took on a life of its own. Originally I was worried that I'd wouldn't get 38 women to volunteer to do a block. I shouldn't have underestimated the generosity of quilters.

We have 67 different names on the list of volunteers to make a block. We will be able to make three quilts! I'm very excited about the turnout. The bulk of the volunteers are from the USA but there are also volunteers from Mexico, Canada, Australia, Switzerland, England and Germany.

The kits are being mailed out this week. I just printed 70 copies of the instructions and created the mailing labels. The kits are an inconsistent weight (some have more beading, some have lighter weight fabrics) so I'll have to weigh each of the packages separately. I plan on sending a few envelopes each day this week.

As soon as the blocks come back in, I'll be photographing them and putting them online. It will be exciting to see all the brides!

Sunbonnet Sue Fights Breast cancer

2007-04-22T15:47:00.000-06:00

Getting the kits ready for mailing...

I spent the day today getting the kits ready for the Sunbonnet Sue Bride quilt. It is really an exciting project. You can read about it here:

http://sunbonnetsue.com/badsuegetsmarried.htm

First I cut up all the background blocks:

They are all pink, which will contrast with the white of the Bride's dresses. It also is the color of the Breast Cancer ribbon.

Next I sorted through all the fabric from the Bride's dresses:

We got all the bows, embelishments and other pieces left over from bigger quilt projects. Since we are making Sunbonnet Sue blocks, we can use these smaller pieces. You can read about the brides' dresses to quilt project here:

http://www.makingmemories.org/quilt.html

There are some beautiful pieces of lace and fabric in this box! It was hard to cut them up.

I put one background block, some of the bridal fabric and some lace in each package.

Now they are ready to go off to the ladies (over 50 and counting) who have volunteered to make a Sunbonnet Sue bride block. I can't wait for them to start coming in.

Kim

Piping Hot Bindings Workshop

2007-04-05T15:13:00.000-06:00

My guild, the Eastern Long Island Quilters, hosted Susan Cleveland for a lecture and workshop. Today was the workshop on "piping Hot Binding". Susan showed us the ins and out of making a binding perfect. We applied a thin piping before putting the binding on the quilt.

Susan used a digital projector and digital camera to demonstrate her techniques. We were a large group and it made everything so easy. No more crowding around a sewing machine trying to see over the tall lady! I really enjoyed it.

We put the binding on a small project. I brought a Sunbonnet Sue block to put the binding on. You can see me in this group shot of the class. As usual, I had the only Sunbonnet Sue in the group.

What was great about the workshop was the light-hearted, fun atmosphere that Susan created. She was fun, informative and really knew her stuff. I'm made four great corners on the quilt I binded, something that has never happened for me before!

Here are a couple of the samples she brought. She is very precise and has a great color sense.

It was a good day. Now I have to go dig out some of my UFOs and get the binding on them as well!

Long Island Quilt Shop Hop

2007-03-25T10:24:00.000-06:00

This weekend is the first Long Island Quilt shop hop. I signed up for the bus that left "Pieceful Quilting" in Riverhead at 9 am on Saturday. All I had to do was sit back and relax as I went from quilt shop to quilt shop. What's not to like.?

Here was our itinerary:

PIECEFUL QUILTING, RIVERHEAD, NY (631) 727-5909
CLOSE TO HOME, SELDEN, NY (631) 732-3342
112 SEWING SUPPLIES, PATCHOGUE, NY (631) 475-8282
SEW WHATS NEW, ISLIP, NY (631) 277-4215
THE QUILTING BUG, MASSAPEQUA, NY (516) 541-8600
SENTIMENTAL STITCHES, COLD SPRING HARBOR, NY (631) 692-4145

I bought my "Passport" from Angie at Pieceful qulting

I had to get it stamped at every store. They are drawing for prizes on Tuesday, so I'll let you know if I win anything!

Colleen was my "seat mate". She has a wonderful color sense and shared her food with me!

Of course I bought something in every store. First on my list was interfacing and "Fray Check" so I could start work on the bridal fabric quilt. Working with Satin is going to be interesting.

Many fat quarters jumped into my shopping bag as well. With all the wonderful fabric to choose from, who could blame me?

Each store had a pattern to give out and if you combined them you could make the "Shop Hop Quilt". The quilting bug had their sample sewn in beautiful batiks (my favorite), so I took a picture of that one:

What is nice about the quilt is the variety of blocks. There is paper-piecing, applique and real simple stuff. It was fun to see the same quilt done up so differently. Here is what the one at Pieceful quilting looks like:

Completely different (also out of focus - sorry).

So I had a good day.

Kim

Sunbonnet Sue fights Breast Cancer

2007-03-12T21:06:00.000-06:00

So I volunteered for a charity project. I'm hoping to recruit Sunbonnet Sue fans to make and donate a block for a charity quilt. The quilt will go to support the group "Brides Against Breast Cancer". http://www.makingmemories.org/ is the URL for the group.
Here is the quilt design that I worked up.

Each of the pink squares is a Sunbonnet Sue block. The sashing and borders will be sewn with the donated Brides' dresses. I'm excited about it. Right now I've recruited 8 people, so I hope more sign up. You can read about the project here: http://sunbonnetsue.com/badsuegetsmarried.htm

I'll be recruiting for the next month or so. It should be a fun project.

Trip Into NYC

2007-03-11T10:54:00.000-06:00

National Quilting Day

My guild had their celebration of National Quilting day Yesterday. I didn't teach this year and my husband wanted me to skip the day to go into NYC with our church group to hand out groceries and food. So National Quilting Day went on without me and I went into the city with my 13, 12 and 8 year old children.

Three vans arrived at Tompkins Square Park. It was a bit of work unloading the trucks, but handing out the food was rewarding. My kids really got to see the variety of people that came. I think it was a bit of an eye opener for them. My oldest son wouldn't come, but managed to call me in the middle of the food distribution.

My 8 year old did a good job too. It was a good day. I'm back to quilting today.