Saturday, October 27, 2018

Owyhee Mountain Quilters is Born!!

I  FINALLY got something checked off my bucket list.  I started a quilt group! Our first order of business was to decide what to call ourselves!  I had temporarily called us Owyhee County Quilters since that's the county I live in.  As it turns out, the majority of ladies there did not live in Owyhee County.  So we changed the name to Owyhee Mountain Quilters (much more inclusive 😊).  If you want to keep up with what we are doing, please feel free to follow our Owyhee Mountain Quilters Facebook page.  You don't have to be a participating member to join our Facebook group.  If you just enjoy quilts, we'd LOVE for you to follow our page and have someone to cheer us on!  For those of you who DO want to participate, please click the "Join" button on Facebook  to find out when our next meeting will be.  This will be the main way we communicate our schedule of events.  We have scheduled two more meeting dates.

I am so excited for our future because the group of ladies who came to the first meeting were a lot of fun and have some great ideas!  I have only been quilting for two years so I was the baby of the group.   The years these ladies have been quilting ranged from about 10 to 23 years.

When I first put out the invitation for this meeting, I had about a dozen ladies contact me who were interested.   Of those, 7 told me they would be at the meeting.  Two had unavoidable events come up that prevented them from coming so our attendance of the launching of Owyhee Mountain Quilters was 5.  Perfect!

Since we didn't quite know how we were going to proceed, the obvious thing to do was start with some show and tell!  Debbie brought two quilts to show us starting with this beautiful batik quilt.  Wow!

She had us cracking up at her admission that she made a wedding quilt for her daughter the minute she found out she had a boyfriend.   She's also pre-making quilts for grandkids and great grandkids that may or may not make their entrance into this world.  Doesn't everybody do that?  LOL!  

Here is the 2nd quilt she brought to share.  Another wowser!

Dawn brought this really great "quick finish" quilt that used a focal print and two solids to go with it.  LOVE the coral and light aqua colors in this and I apologize for the quality of the picture.  It doesn't really represent the colors very well.   She backed it with luscious orange minky.


We had a mother daughter duo join us tonight.  Beverly is Dawn's mom and she brought another great design for using up those 2 1/2" strips or jelly rolls.

Beverly is a fan of pieced backs so this is how she did the back of her quilt.  Beverly and Dawn are long arm quilters that I met because my hubby is building homes for both of them and a shop for their longarm business!  Can't wait to see that!


Robin is making TWO duplicate quilts at the same time (for Christmas presents) using the design by Elizabeth Hartman called Fancy Forest.  I was so intrigued looking at all the cute critters and fun fabrics she used I forgot to take a picture!  But here is the pattern she is using,  SO CUTE!!!


I showed my current project which is a baby quilt for a friend and I told you about last time.  Here's my progress so far.  Everything is now fused down and the next step will be to add a slim border of gray polka dot fabric used on the elephants, then a wider border of bricks using the fabrics in the splash and then bind it with the polka dot fabric.  I will be satin stitching around mama and baby elephants with pink thread (per grandma's request) and use the same color around all the splash pieces THEN  add quilting.   I've got to remember not to quilt as densely as I usually do as I want to keep it soft and cuddly.   I may also add a pink bow to the baby elephants tail.  


This isn't really quilt related but it was just too cute.  I had to share.  My husband has always wanted to be a farmer but things didn't work out that way.  He is a home builder.  But we finally have our little slice of heaven with enough room for him to practice his green thumbing.  He had a HUGE garden this year with over 50 tomato plants and tons of peppers and cucumbers.   He is wanting to experiment with growing different varieties of fruit trees as well.  So growing season is over and it's time to plow under the garden to start all over again next year.  He got the cutest little antique tractor for $500 which actually runs!  Well, it did for a little bit then it quit and he had to do some tinkering on it, but he got it working again. Talk about holding their value!  $500 is what it sold for back when it was brand new (1940's?)   Here he is plowing the garden under.  

He is just tickled to death with this old Farmall tractor!




He's been commuting back and forth to an office he is renting for his business that is kind of  an out of the way place for him and costing him lots of driving time getting back and forth between there and his job sites so I offered to share my quilt room with him instead.   It's the least I could do after he spoiled me to death with this huge quilt room.   He has to wait until next summer before he can build himself a shop so I can share for a while.   Here is my quilt room before . . .

And here is the new space with a split personality , I even hung up some pictures for him.  😊💙💙


How appropriate to have house blocks up on the wall.  
I'm building fabric houses and he's building real ones!

Last but not least I wanted to share a t-shirt I got for my daughter who is a cat lover and a lover of puns.  I found this humorous.  I could NOT resist!!  I am snickering right now.  
She's got her dad's sense of humor so I knew she'd appreciate this.  


Well, that's all for now and please don't forget to Join our Owyhee Mountain Quilters Facebook page if you want to follow our doin's! 

Linking to:
(she's doing a linky on the Friday's that Crazy Mom Quilts is not so be sure to join in!)
Busy Hands Quilts


21 comments:

  1. Janice this is such a wonderful post. All the quilts make me think there are lots of modern Quilters in your neighbourhood. I think we must be be living in a very similar universe. My hubby is the gardener here and he would love to have an old tractor to play with in his garden. Your Bee quilts look so fabulous on the wall. I believe I have block envy.

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  2. Great morning post and read! Have a great day!

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  3. OMG you did do it, so proud of you for putting yourself out there!!!!!! Glad it seems like it is going to work out and everyone had a good time sharing. DH would love the tractor too, he was a farmer and would love to work some land yet(but we don't have enough). So what did you do with all those tomatoes??

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  4. Congratulations on getting your quilt group started! Mine has been together for 20 years - just a group of friends with a common love for sewing and quilting - I love my group! The pictures of your husband on his tractor are great!

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  5. so nice to share your space with your hubby so no office renting is needed. I love that you were able to start a quilting group. That is really neat and I hope you will love it - I always liked the idea of an informal group to quilt with but when I finally found one I found the only thing I had in common with them was quilting and I didn't like the conversations that were going on around me and had to quit (racist remarks mainly)
    Love that you now have a huge garden and I love that tractor! wish I could get my hubby interested in something like that but all he likes is computers!

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  6. So happy you succeeded in your goal to create a quilting group - high five, girl! It's so fun to have Show And Tell to share each other's projects, insights and delights. Fantastic to make use of that tractor - really looks like he's in his element. Wish I lived closer and I'd help you eat those tomatoes next summer, lol! P.S. Love your split personality office/sewing space.

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  7. OMG that tractor just brought back memories of my Uncle John's tractor. I'm pretty sure he had one just like it but I was just a little girl so maybe it just looked like it.
    Love the pun on the shirt!

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  8. Beautiful quilts Janice. That old tractor reminded me of ones we had on the farm. Janice

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  9. Congrats on starting a quilting group!!!! Too bad I'm too far away to join :(

    Your elephants look fantastic!!!!! I love it so much! Having a brick border from the splash fabrics will look great. Did you use a pattern for the baby elephant or did you freehand it? If I end up using this pattern for my expecting coworker, I think I will add the baby, too, but I can't freehand anything. My friends in high school wouldn't play pictionary with me because my drawing is that bad! :)

    I love the pictures of your husband with his new (to him) tractor!!!

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  10. Lots of great news in this post! Congrats on starting a brand new guild!! That's a huge accomplishment. I loved seeing the photos of what your new group is up to, since I'm not on Facebook so I can't peek over there. And your hubby's new tractor and temporary office...so great! With a shorter commute, he can spend more time plowing with his new (old) toy. The cat shirt is quite funny..."humerus" even. And finally, I love how your elephants are turning out :)

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  11. Love your elephant quilt. The pink quilt on the baby,s tail would be so sweet. Got a chuckle seeing the cat pun. Keep up the good work!

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  12. Well done on starting your new group. May you all have many happy hours stitching together.

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  13. Janice, honey, I certainly enjoyed reading this morning with my morning jolt of caffeine. What fun for you to have started a quilt group, and judging by the pictures you shared, it was long overdue and will be very much appreciated. Kudos to your husband and all his efforts! It’s always wonderful when both spouses can enjoy their passions! I also share my quilt studio with a home office, which meant I had to spread out into the (unused) dining room, but that’s okay! Now half the house is a sewing studio!

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  14. Oh Janice, you have done wonderfully well starting your group, some people dream, and some people DO! I'm following along as always and will be there in spirit, as it's just a little far for me to come in person :-) I love all the show and tell pics, and the pics of Wally and the tractor too, he looks like he's in his element there. Good luck sharing your sewing room, there is no way Gary would share with me, I'm far too untidy when in the 'throws' of creation, but I do admire those who can. Your little elephant quilt is coming on beautifully, I can't wait to see the pink bow on the elephants tail.

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  15. That t-shirt--LOL!!! And another LOL--the member who made the wedding quilt as soon as a boyfriend appeared! Great job starting your own quilt group. Love the baby quilt you're working on and the ribbon idea, too. Your hubby and the green acres/tractor story--very nice for him. Great job scooching over for him in your big, colorful studio!

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  16. Congrats on your new quilt group! I love that your first meeting was show and tell. The story about the woman who makes quilts for potential weddings/babies is a hoot. The tractor is adorable. Really. Next thing you know your hubby will join a group for antique tractor lovers. You are so sweet to share your space. You’ll have to keep the house blocks on the wall. They’re perfect for the two of you. I picture potential home owners coming and just needing a quilt for their new home—or making a connection with you to learn to make their own quilt.

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  17. Congrats on your new group. Have fun. I really like Dawn's quilt. Was it a pattern? Or did she make it up?

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  18. This post is so much fun. I will follow along on FB to keep up on your group!! You have so much energy and it is really great to read about your endeavors. My husband would be green with envy. He really wants a tractor to play with - yay for the find on this older tractor. Tinkering with it will be great and it will likely be so helpful. Have a great day!

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  19. Love love love your quilting room. I see exciting projects on the wall. Wishing good luck to your DH with his earthy adventures.

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  20. WOO HOO! I am no longer a no-reply commenter!!!

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  21. Wow, lots going on at your place! Congrats on the new group, it's fun to hang out with like minded souls. I have a brother in law that loves and collects old tractors. He uses each of them (at some point anyway). Happy stitching.

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I LOVE meeting new quilting friends and always respond to comments so I'd love to hear from you!