Autumn's Renewal of Mind

Autumn's Renewal of Mind is what I titled the quilt I finally finished.  Romans 12:2 says, "Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.  Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is- his good, pleasing and perfect will." and this is where I took the renewal of the mind for the title. Although autumn may not seem like a time of renewal I see it as such.  In Ephesians 4:22-24 we are told to put off the old self and to be made new in the renewal of our minds that way we can put on our new self which is created to be like God.  This is what I see in autumn which is a period of rest and shedding of the old.  It is a time of preparation for when the new will be put on.  Autumn is a slower season wrapped up in anticipation of winter which allows one to reflect and contemplate the world around her.  All these thoughts are what led me to the name as this quilt is a picture of a farm in autumn.

Here are the pictures of the finished quilt:

I made my first quilt sleeve with which to hang this quilt.  I also experimented a little with free motion quilting.  This project has made me realize I would like to do more free motion quilting and so I have found some fabrics I can do that with and will probably turn them into postcards and ornaments.  I may even raffle, auction, or sell them off when I am done with them.  Although it took me a few months to make it I enjoyed every minute and will be sad to see it go.  What makes me happy though is it is going to a great home where it will be loved and appreciated.  I hope the next quilt of this size that I make will be done in a much more timely manner.

Shameless Plug

Thanks to the Houghton Drawing Board I am now going to give you a 'shameless plug.'

From Houghton Drawing Board issue 108. Published Nov 17, 2011.

The real plug is this.  I now also have a facebook page and you can go there and 'like' it.  Here is the link:

https://www.facebook.com/soaringheights13

Mostly I will be using that page to link to my blog here but who knows I may put pictures up there that I don't here.  I will also be using my facebook page to raffle and auction off practice pieces, quilts, and personalized quilts.

You may be wondering your blog is titled Soaring Heights and your facebook page is titled Soaring Heights Quilting, what is with the title Soaring Heights?  Well the Soaring Heights comes from Isaiah 40:31 where those who hope in the Lord will soar on wings like eagles.  I know my hope is in God and so I thought the title fitting.  Quilting is my way of exploring the beauty that God gave us in nature.  I take photos of this beauty and turn them into art quilts.  Quilting has been in my family for a few generations and I have watched my mom experiment with quilting styles and art quilts.  Now I am experimenting with art quilts and using that to show God's love to people.  Most of the quilts I create I do not keep but give to others.  My photos are my main record of my quilts.  I actually enjoy quilting that way and find I do better if I have someone in mind for gifting my quilt to.  It is my hope that through quilting and eventually veterinary medicine I will be able to bring God's love to many people.

Now make sure to check out that facebook page and like it and keep coming back to see the latest in my adventures in art quilting.

Between Rocks

My personal goal for this quilt was to have it done by August 1st.  I had to set a goal because I kept putting it off and I really wanted to work on it.  It has been a lovely quilt to work on and try new things.  However, I will be going away for two weeks starting Sunday so ideally I want to finish it before I leave.  This is actually feasible because it is almost there.

Trees were added trying a new approach where I just cut large 'confetti' or 'snippets' and have them fall onto the fabric.  I found I should have placed a green piece of fabric behind so I didn't have to make sure all the spaces were covered and there were no small white spaces peeking through.

Fields were added next.  However, if I were thinking I would have put the trees, bushes, and barn down after the first field and before the second but things still worked out.

The last fields and the road were then added.  After ironing things down and thinking about it a little more I would have made the upper two grass pieces one piece so the distant stone wall could be moved around a little more instead of having to cover the seam of the pieces.

The trees, bushes, and barn were added.  I really liked the look of the orange trees and will be making more of them with that fabric for future quilts I am sure.

The quilt has really progressed but then I hit a stone wall, not quite literally but close to it.  The black spaces in the photo are where I will be putting in stone walls.  However, I have never created stone walls with fabric before and found it to be quite challenging.

At first I attempted to create a stone wall free hand. Although my mom said it looked good I just was not satisfied with the look so I tried again.

This time I didn't do a free hand approach but traced the pieces onto fusible webbing from my design and went from there.  I was much more satisfied with this piece so I added it to the quilt.  I also added the last fabric details to the barn.

Now all that is left is the last stone wall which should go much more smoothly now I have practiced.  I also just have some threaded details.  Then it is deciding whether to add a border or just give it the backing.  I am very excited to finish this up and get it to its wonderful owner.  I guess I need to start thinking of names for it.  I am also very excited to go to Pennsylvania and hang out with a horse vet and a food animal vet.

Wandering Feet

It's been a while and not because I have been traveling.  Been reading and working a lot.  I even spayed some more cats.  Today I have finally started to really work on what I call Molly's Quilt.  No real name for it yet but I probably will once it is done.

As you can see the sky is done.  I am hoping to work on the main tree section and have that done by tonight.

In other news I will be traveling to PA where I will be for a few weeks.  I will be doing an internship of a sort.  There is an equine vet some friends of mine were able to connect me with who is willing to have me ride along and is also willing to talk to another vet who does cows to see if I can split my time between them.  She left the time I will be going up to me so I just have to get back to her about then and I will be set.  Well back to my quilting break and them hopefully more art quilting!

The Fourth is with Me

Today is Star Wars Day so I thought I would post a picture I found.  The fourth or rather God is with me because I had an unexpected job interview this week.  At the end of February/ beginning of March I submitted my resume and cover letter to an emergency veterinary clinic that was reopening in Meredith under new ownership.  However, they did not have any positions left at that time.  I had dropped them from my mind after that, thinking I would probably be stuck at the store until veterinary school.  This Monday I received an e-mail from the manager asking for a phone interview.  The manager wasn't asking to have the interview down the road but that week.  I had the interview Tuesday and I am now waiting to see if I will be working at an emergency clinic until vet school.  God is very good!

I have finally finished my design and can get on to the actual fabric part.  I don't really need a physical design.  I could have jumped right to the fabric but I always feel better with a design in front of me.  This picture is a combination of the two photos I was given.  It is not the actual design that I drew out but can give you some idea of where I am going with this quilt.  There are some things that are going to change from this image but you can wait until I post pictures of the quilt as it progresses to figure out what those changes will be (That means you get to play spot the differences).  Until then may God bless you and may the fourth be with you!

A Rags and Strings Raffle

Recently I 'raffled' off a quilt on my facebook page.  This is what I had posted:

RAFFLING OFF A QUILT. DEADLINE TO ENTER: MIDNIGHT, APRIL 8TH. TO ENTER COMMENT ON THIS POST. In order to start a new quilt project i am raffling off my next quilt. I don't know what I am going to create but it will be a wonderful quilt. Just look at my picture album Kara's Quilts to see some of the quilts I have created over the years.  I will randomly pick the winner from the comments.  The winner will be notified and asked to provide a selection of pictures so I can create a unique wall quilt.  The quilt, once finished, will be delivered to the winner.

The winner was randomly selected using an online random number generator.  I then sent that person some questions and asked for a few photos they had taken preferably scenery.  The two photos below were the ones I received.  Both are gorgeous.

I am not quite sure what I am going to create yet but there are many ideas floating around in my mind.  I have decided the size will be 11" x 14".  Normally I would pick one of the images and recreate it as a quilt.  This time I may take elements of both and put them together.  I hope to have the design finished by the time I head back to Houghton for senior week.  Until then its lots to do and so little time.