The Capital Quilter's Guild is having its quilt show next week March 16-18 in Raleigh, NC at the NC Fairgrounds in the Kerr Scott Building. We are so excited about the show. I spent all afternoon yesterday taking in quilts for the show, and you will not be disappointed by the display we will hang next week. Judging of the quilts will happen on Wednesday, March 14, and the hanging committee will be hard at work getting quilts up as judging finishes. We will complete hanging and putting ribbons on the quilts on Thursday, March 15, and the doors for the show will open Friday morning, March 16! In addition to our more than 180 lovely quilts, there will be exciting vendors at the show as well, representing all aspect of the quilting and sewing community. We will also have a Sit and Sew where anyone can come and sew and learn about the piecing process. The guild is also having a silent auction of small quilts, so don't miss out! Come out next week to experience our vibrant community...you never know, you might just catch that quilting bug!
Memory Quilts
One of the joys of my work is the ability to provide people with a way to actively save their memories in a usable and enjoyable way. The quilt featured above is a quilt sewn by a daughter with her mother, as her mother lost her battle with cancer. I had the pleasure of adding borders and quilting this special quilt, and now the daughter has a lasting family heirloom and a quilt that provides comfort as well as warmth. I make quilts out of clothing for graduations, and I have made quilts to commemorate weddings. Squares were signed by guests or meaningful bits of fabric were given to the couple, so they could have them pieced into a brilliant keepsake. I have made quilts for cancer patients to use during chemotherapy, and a special tree skirt to grace a family Christmas tree. The list is really endless when I think about the ways I can put memories into a quilt, and all of those ways will provide relief, joy, warmth, and succor for often bittersweet hearts. I love to make these beautiful quilts, and I would love to help you capture your memories in fabric, too!
Capital Quilter's Guild Quilting From the Heart 2018 Quilt Show
Quilt Show!
The Capital Quilter's Guild is having their 2018 Quilt show next month! The dates and times are listed below, and you will want to mark your calendars. In addition to over 175 quilts being displayed during the show, there will be quilt related vendors, a sit and sew, special challenge quilts and a silent auction for small quilts. There will also be chances to buy raffle tickets for raffle quilts from The Capital Quilter's Guild and The Modern Quilt Guild. You can see The Capital Quilter's Guild raffle quilt on the front page of our website here: http://capitalquilters.org/ If you are local, then you should come see the show!
Dates: Friday – Sunday, March 16 – 18, 2018
Hours: Friday and Saturday, 10-5, Sunday 11-4
Place: Kerr Scott Building, NC State Fairgrounds; Raleigh, NC
A New Service!
Dogs and Bears
I have been asked several times since I started Finished Fibers, if I will make memory animals, specifically bears, dogs, and bunnies. For two years I said no to making bears, and I recommended another quilter I know who makes beautiful quilts and animals...she makes Santas, too. If you would like her information, then please contact me! This fall, I received a commission to make four memory quilts and my customer asked for a dog for her granddaughter, so I decided the easiest thing would be for me to make it. I absolutely loved making the dog (pictured above), and I have since made another, all the while plotting bears in my head. They are so cute, and I am happy to say that memory dogs, bears, and bunnies have been added to the list of services Finished Fibers now offers! #finishedfibers #memoryanimals #tshirtquilts #customquilts
Dorcas Ministries 50th Anniversary Quilt
Custom Quilt
I had the distinct honor and pleasure of being chosen to make the Dorcas Ministries 50th Anniversary Quilt. Dorcas is celebrating their 50th Anniversary this year, in 2018, and they wanted to kick off the year long celebration by having the quilt ready for the 2017 Dorcas Thanksgiving Day Breakfast. You can see a photo of the quilt in Dorcas's January Newsletter behind Debra Morgan (WRAL news anchor) as she led the breakfast. Dorcas asked for a quilt that will represent all that Dorcas Ministries is from its formation to its current mission. Dorcas is a great local group in Cary, NC that runs a thrift store, food pantry, and helps struggling people and families find their feet and the skills to become self sufficient citizens. We heard several stories of people who have been helped by Dorcas, and Dorcas's influence on them is impressive. The quilt is a mixture of hand work, photo printing, applique, and machine piecing. The Cary Seal is hand embroidered, and the words in the inner navy circle of the Dorcas 50th Anniversary Logo are hand cross stitched. All of the quilting is hand guided and custom. There is one heart quilted in next to Margaret Keller's picture; she is the founder of Dorcas Ministries. The quilt will now be displayed at local businesses until the 2018 Dorcas Breakfast, where it will hang with 50 quilts that will have been donated for auction. Then the Dorcas quilt will live permanently on the wall of the Dorcas reception area at Dorcas Ministries! #DorcasMinistries #Customquilt #finishedfibers
A Lap Full of Hexies!
Hexies
Here is my lap literally full of hexagons that are being stitched carefully by hand. This project is labor intensive and slow, but I am thoroughly enjoying it! The flowers were made by a clients grandmother, and I have everything from cut out flower pieces that were never sewn to complete flowers with borders. I am trying to utilize as much as I can and to work with the quilter's original vision and method. The pieces of this quilt hold a lot of memories and love, and I am honored to be able to finish her work for her!
Band Quilt Raffle!
Band Raffle!
Both of my son's are members of the West Johnston High School Marching Band, and Finished Fibers provided a quilt this year for raffle. Yes, this brilliant teal, black, and white star quilt with music themed fabric can be yours...if you are lucky enough to win! We are raffling the quilt all year long and tickets are $2.00. The quilt is absolutely worth it! The quilt is beautiful and the cause is worthy! Band is a super program that teaches so many wonderful skills...leadership, discipline, physical stamina, teamwork, and musical exploration. We would love your support or support a local band in your own community!
And yes, I did finally figure out how to put pictures into my blog and other places on the site...go check them out!
Pictures! Who knew...
I think I have figured out how to add thumbnails to my blog posts. I have mourned the fact that there did not seem to be a way to add pictures of what I am discussing to my blog, but apparently I just didn't look hard enough at the interface to see that I have a tab called "options" that allows me to add a picture. Since this blog is really about me blindly groping through technology and slowing gaining sight, I thought I would add a photo of one of the services I offer here at Finished Fibers: embroidery! The studio boasts a wonderful dedicated embroidery machine...Hey, I can offer a picture of that sometime soon, too! I should really see if I can add the thumbnail I planned to use first! I can put embroidery in the bottom right corner of the front of the quilt or a lovely label can be created for the back. The thumbnail shows a label on the back of a quilt. Embroidery is an extra cost: .75 cents a letter with a $5 minimum, but it is not a necessity. Quilts that are gifts lend themselves to a nice bit of embroidery, though.
Okay...so I have not been successful in the thumbnail category, but I think I am on the right track. I will consult my technical advisor and see if I can fix it. I have uploaded a photo...I just have to figure out how you see it!
A Special Commission
For the past three years, I have been lucky to be involved in the making of the quilts for Carolina Donor Services. The first year, I was working at Patchwork Memories, and I had the pleasure of finishing the quilts. Since Patchwork Memories closed, the past two years, I have made the quilts from start to finish. The blocks that I receive from Carolina Donor Services are so special and made with such care that the quilts are an honor to make. Carolina Donor Services posts the quilts on their website, and you can see the past years' quilts. You can click on each quilt to see the block details and information about each donor. This year's quilts were completed this summer, and they will be posted this fall. You can find more information about Carolina Donor Services and see the quilts here: https://www.carolinadonorservices.org/donor-quilts-gallery
Nods of Fall in August
August has arrived with unusually low humidity and cooler weather, and the thought of school starting is not far from everyone's mind. The Finished Fibers studio has been busy continuing summer projects, such as vintage hexagons being sewn together and design plans being created for special commemorative quilts. The nod to fall recently awakens thoughts of much cooler weather and snuggly quilts. Those t-shirt quilts and memory quilts you have been contemplating can come to fruition this fall; peruse the rest of the site to find out how. Or maybe you have wanted a special quilt to add a cozy feeling to your home. Let me make that quilt for you! In the mean time, savor the dregs of summer...
Sweet Solstice
Happy Summer and longest day of the year! Here in my little part of NC we have beautiful, cool summer showers this morning that will give way to delicious, vegetable laden plants and provides a lovely cadence by which to sew! Even though things seem to slow down in the summer, the Finished Fibers studio is still humming with activity. I am posting graduation quilts in the gallery, on Instagram, and Facebook, so be sure to go see those beauties. In addition to t-shirt quilts, I am working on memory quilts and some vintage construction work, too. You will have to check back in the gallery for those pictures later this summer. I am pondering posting process photos for a couple of projects to Facebook...I'll have to see how time goes!
Enjoy summer and remember, quilts do more than warm the body; they warm the soul.
Graduation...and so much more!
Graduation season is always a bitter sweet time of year; some form of school is ending, while some new part of life begins. T-shirt quilts are a great way to commemorate all of the memories leading up to that graduation event, and you can already see some of this year's examples in the Gallery of the website. Be sure to go the the gallery and enjoy those quilts that will bring so much joy...and possibly a few salty tears.
Though graduation is not the only quilt worthy event! I am working on a lot of different projects in the Finished Fibers Studio. A wedding quilt, vintage hexagons that are finally being pieced into a quilt, and memory quilts to remember the lives of deceased loved ones. Sometimes I even make quilts for people who just want something beautiful in their home.
Busy Summer!
Wow! Summer will soon be winding down, and it has surely been busy! Beautiful quilts are being planned and made in the studio. Go to the gallery to see examples the quilts already made! I am already taking Christmas orders, so you might want to think ahead!
Gallery is Live!
Instagram to the rescue! The gallery page is now connected to Instagram, so I can easily upload photos of quilts. I have uploaded photos from recent finished quilts, and I will continue to do so! You can click on the image to see the description I have provided in instagram, and as always, you can contact me with questions!
Working on the gallery...
I have photos for the gallery, and I am excited to see them there. I hope to have them posted by the end of the week, so be sure to visit the gallery soon! I am also contemplating an Instagram account. I really just like to sew, you know!
Exciting Arrivals in the Studio!
Exciting items have been arriving in the studio in the last two weeks. My APQS Lenni arrived last week, and I have been quilting away with him since! I also received my first shipment of American Made Brand Fabrics from Clothworks, and they are lovely! If you don't know about American Made Brand Fabrics, then you can find out more information at americanmadebrand.com. They are exactly as their name suggests, completely American made from the cotton to the weaving and the dying. You can go to the Finished Fibers Facebook page to see pictures of both Lenni and the fabric! Finished quilt pictures are coming soon to the gallery, so be sure to visit again soon to see them.
Launched!
The website is fully operational with tonight's launch! Thank you to my website testers, who were kind enough to read and work through the site, and thank you to my sweet husband, who has looked at the site almost as much as I have!
A logo will be added to the site soon...
Excitement Builds!
I am incredibly excited to be working on my website for Finished Fibers! I hope to launch the site in the next few days. I'll certainly keep you posted. I am also working on class lesson plans for Cary Quilting in Cary, NC. You can visit their site to see the classes they have to offer!