Carey Family

Quilting

Wild Thing Quilt

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Finally, another quilt finish!  I hate to admit this, but I actually finished the hand-quilting in late fall and it was just waiting for me to sew on the label to call it a finish.  So I did that this weekend and it’s officially done and hanging on my landing stairs to celebrate spring!

Wild Thing front

I used leftover fabric to piece the back.  I see lots of online examples of free-piecing the backs and decided to try it.  I like how it turned out.  It gives some variety rather than just a full backing of one fabric.

Wild Thing back

I took a class at my local quilt store on quilting basics 2 years ago and this was the quilt we started for that class.  I learned a lot of great tips and this was a fun pattern, plus my first time using pre-cuts, as this was done with Moda Charm Packs.  And I really love this line of fabrics-they are so bright and pretty!

Wild Thing quilting

Wild Thing, by Camille Roskelley, copyright 2008 by Thimble Blossoms

Size: 60″ x 68″

Fabric: City Weekend, from the Oliver + S fabric collection, produced by Moda

Tall Tales Quilt

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  IMG_3101croppedI started piecing this quilt in 2008 in my neighborhood quilt group, which has long since disbanded, but is where I learned to quilt.  I got it all sewed together a year or two later and started hand-quilting.  I was three-quarters done when I decided I didn’t like the pattern I was doing and ripped it all out.  Then I started over with the quilting.  It takes me a while to do the hand-quilting, so this has been hanging around.  I got the binding sewn on in October and then worked slowly at hand-sewing the binding.  A bout of bronchitis in the middle of December allowed me to finally finish this quilt.  I like it so much that I have decided to keep it as a lap quilt for myself and have been enjoying snuggling underneath it while watching movies.

IMG_3105IMG_3102 cropped

Tall Tales Lap Quilt

Size: 61-1/4″ x 74-1/2″

from More! Laps From Fats, by Ellen Replogle, copyright 2006 by Good Intentions, a pattern company for quilters

Festival of Trees 2013

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Dad poses with his handcrafted mantle
Dad poses with his handcrafted mantle

 

This year our theme is “Boys Like to Read”.  We decorate a tree benefitting Primary Children’s Medical Center in honor of Scott’s brother, Capt. Paul Carey.  Here are some pix of the wild and crazy decorators!2013-12-02 12.36.03 2013-12-02 12.35.04 2013-12-02 12.57.11 2013-12-02 12.57.16 2013-12-02 14.47.57 2013-12-02 14.47.522013-12-02 13.10.13.Michelle2013-12-02 14.48.10

We did the tree in lime, chocolate, and turquoise and set in a man’s study.  There is a cozy fireplace with classics on tops, chair with the quilt I made, a side table with an airplane lamp and Hardy Boys books, and Curious George books under the tree.

2013-12-02 14.58.132013-12-02 14.58.04  2013-12-02 14.58.57 2013-12-02 14.58.44 2013-12-02 15.00.55 2013-12-02 14.58.33 2013-12-02 14.58.22 2013-12-02 12.35.43 2013-12-02 12.35.40 2013-12-02 12.35.32  2013-12-02 15.01.092013-12-02 15.15.52       2013-12-02 15.11.03

 

Paul’s quilt

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Paul quilt-fullMonday I finished whip-stitching the binding to the back of Paul’s quilt.  I made it for our tree space at Festival of Trees 2013 that we will decorate on December 2.  Paul is Scott’s brother and every year our extended family decorates a tree in his memory at Festival of Trees.  (You can see past years in that category on this website.)  All proceeds from the Festival go to charity care at Primary Children’s Medical Center in Salt Lake City and several of our children have received medical care there, so we feel strongly about the cause.  Besides decorating a tree, my mother-in-law and I serve on a Gift Boutique committee that provides boutique items and works there during the week of the Festival.

Paul quilt label

I have been saying for a couple years that one year I would like to make a quilt to go with the tree and this year the sisters said it was time.  Our theme is “Boys Like to Read” and the quilt will drape over a chair by a side table with lamp and books that all sit by the tree.  Sort of like a man’s study where he remembers the books he enjoyed as a boy.
Thanks to my good friend, ShaRee, who set up quilting dates with me throughout October, I did the entire quilt from start to finish in a month.  That’s a record for me as I take my time piecing and then hand-quilt all my quilts, which takes a long time.  Since this was being donated and not an “heirloom” quilt, I had it machine-quilted so that cut off weeks.  The quilter had it done in a few days, so I can see the allure of having them machine-quilted.  More finished quilts, faster!

Paul quilt closeThe color scheme was dictated by the choice of colors for the tree and the pattern is Framed Rectangles “A Taste of Honey” from Quilt magazine, Dec/Jan 2011 #118.  The quilt is 62″ x 87″.  ShaRee told me about the best method for binding EVER and I got it done lickety-split.  I think I’ve even gotten over my hatred for binding.

All in all, I’m pleased with how this quilt turned out and I feel it’s a fitting tribute to Paul.

 

Paul quilt draped

Fall is here

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It’s been raining here for a couple days and yesterday I woke up to find that the mountains right outside my living room window have snow on them.  One of the peaks was snow-free for only about 9 weeks this year.  It hasn’t gotten quite cold enough at night yet to freeze so my annuals are still hanging on, although some of them are looking tired.  A few perennials are still blooming and I have some lovely roses blooming late this year.  Hurrah for Liquid Fence!  I’m a believer, as the deer have mostly stopped nibbling now that I’m fanatically spraying our property.  They pass through but don’t stay to eat.  So for the first year ever, I have fall-blooming roses because the dang deer didn’t eat off the buds.

Goodreads 2013 challenge

I’ve gotten some reading in and finished another challenge: the goodreads.com 2013 Challenge.  I set mine for 104 books and reached it in September.  Still three months left!

A friend and I have scheduled some quilting time together so that we can encourage each other and make sure some work gets done, so this week I started the quilt I’m making for our family Festival of Trees space this year.  I have until Thanksgiving to get it done, but really before then as I’m having this one machine-quilted for the first time instead of hand-quilting it like I do my others.  I’m shooting for finishing the top by Halloween.  It’s chocolate and lime with some turquoise and has a fun rectangular repeating block in a scrappy fashion.

Except for the week when I was laid up with a sprained foot, I’ve been walking pretty regularly around the neighborhood and listening to audio books.  I really like being out and walking.  With the weather turning cooler, I’ve been going later to enjoy the warmth, but this week it hasn’t helped much because it doesn’t warm up.  I might need to get one of those ninja masks people wear in the cold for fall walking.

IMG_0189We went to see our niece, Nika Fazulyanov, in “Shrek, the Musical” at the SCERA theatre where she played Young Princess Fiona.  She was great and looked cute as a redhead.

Brian’s car was broken into and had the passenger window smashed in.  Trust me, that makes an unholy mess inside the car. He was shaken up but not hurt and nothing really valuable was stolen, but I sat for 3 1/2 hours yesterday at the dealer while they replaced the window.  Things like that make it easy to get lots of reading done.

That’s about all the news.  Hope we have an Indian Summer on the way because I’m not quite ready for winter.