Hitting the Ground Running - 2008

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.

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

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

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

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...

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.

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