So sorry for my absence the past few months. I have been very ill the past several months. I am hoping the rest of 2012 is much better than the first few months for me. I am really late getting into my quilting projects I wanted to accomplish for this year although while I was under the weather I have been working on a Christmas quilt I have been hand quilting for the past year. It will be given to my daughter, Christi and I am really hoping to have it completed before the holidays this year.
I will try and post a photo of it later today.
One chilly night, Christi stayed over night with us and was sleeping on the couch and woke up feeling chilly. She told me she was tempted to get her quilt that was laying on my sewing table and snuggleing up in it although it wasn't finished....but she saw all the safety pins holding the batting, backing and quilt top together and thought perhaps it was not such a good idea...lol.
Since I have it all quilted except the last outer border so it won't be long now. I figure by the end of summer to have it finished. This last border is very wide and has a snowy Christmas scene of horses, ponies, kitties and other farm animals. I am hand quilting around all the animals and scenery so it is very time consuming but will be very nice, I think. Stop back later and see some pics of this quilt.....
Tuesday, April 24, 2012
Friday, January 20, 2012
It's a New Year.....
Yes, it's a new year and I am late in getting started. I have set a few goals for myself for this year and one of those is to cultivate my Free Motion Quilting skills. I want to participate in the 2012 FMQ Challange and Leah Day's FMQ Project for 2012.
I have often been frustrated with my FMQ attempts and after watching Leah Day's 1st Quilt Along Blog I see perhaps why I have not had much success. I plan to practice Leah's teachings from this first blog so that I can learn to successfully make these simple shapes before moving on to trying to make leaf shapes we are to do in the January tutorial for the 2012 Challenge.
I really think I would struggle to make these leaves when I haven't mastered nice curves in stippling yet.
I am more excited about this now and looking forward to taking these tiny steps to get started. The link to Leah's first blog on this is here...if you want to see what I am talking about.
Leah's Free Motion Quilting Project Blog 1
I have often been frustrated with my FMQ attempts and after watching Leah Day's 1st Quilt Along Blog I see perhaps why I have not had much success. I plan to practice Leah's teachings from this first blog so that I can learn to successfully make these simple shapes before moving on to trying to make leaf shapes we are to do in the January tutorial for the 2012 Challenge.
I really think I would struggle to make these leaves when I haven't mastered nice curves in stippling yet.
I am more excited about this now and looking forward to taking these tiny steps to get started. The link to Leah's first blog on this is here...if you want to see what I am talking about.
Leah's Free Motion Quilting Project Blog 1
Tuesday, November 15, 2011
My Christmas Tradition
This is my Christmas Tradition.....It is kind of long to read but it may just be what you or someone you know may need to get thru the holidays...
Christmas time for most of us is our favorite time of year but for many it becomes a very sad and difficult time to struggle thru after you have lost a loved one. Please read what I have to share with you so that you may find your Christmas spirit again. Perhaps you have not lost a loved one...Well then maybe you can share this with some one that has and make a big difference in their holiday.
I lost my Dad 15 yrs ago and found that Christmas had a whole different meaning now. Instead of the the warm holiday spirit that my family always enjoyed with a great passion it was replaced with such a huge sadness and painful emptiness that was unbearable and seemed to grow worse when each holiday rolled around.
I began what I call my Christmas tradition that has helped me find my Christmas spirit and with each year it has grown and once again I am able to enjoy the holidays. It all began a few years after I lost my Dad......I still had to go thru the motions of Christmas because I had two little girls and so tried very hard to hide my pain. I used to love Christmas but now had grown to hate this time of year. I had to shop for Christmas gifts for the children but avoided the Christmas department with all the decorations and such like they were selling the plague! And then they would play that Christmas music thru out the store that was sure to have me standing in the middle of Walmart crying my eyes out. Sound familiar, or perhaps It's just me.
It is kind of hard to buy wrapping paper with out entering the dreaded Christmas department so I intended to make this quick. As I made my way back down the aisle with paper in hand a little gold trumpet caught my eye, not that I was looking for anything but it kind of jumped out at me and said, DAD! My father was a musician and among the many intstruments he played the trumpet was what he had played since he was a young boy. Tears welled up in my eyes and felt the urge to just flee out of the store but instead I picked up the little trumpet and wept in the middle of Walmart yet again.
I bought the ornament and hung it on my tree that year. I still had many episodes of tears thru out that holiday but each time I looked at Dad's trumpet hanging on the tree I felt as though in a way he was with me that year. The little gold trumpet is a tribute to his memory and began the healing of my Christmas spirit. I have since each year bought an ornament or some sort of decoration in memory of my Dad.
I can't tell you how much that has helped me and brings a warm and happy feeling to my heart each year. I am doing something with that grief and have found a way to still include my Dad's memory in my holiday celebration! He would not have wanted me to let my holiday spirit die with him.
I since have lost my Mother as well and each year I buy an angel in memory of her. Many others have adopted my tradition the past couple years and found that this has helped them as well and with each year their hearts and Christmas spirit heals a little more with each holiday. In addition to our 7 ft tree with all the trimmings I now have a tree especially for all those "tradition ornaments" that I call my tribute tree. It is a little not quite 3 ft artificial tree that I sit on the end of my dining room table that sits in front of the window. It takes me about 3 hours to decorate it each year with the many ornaments I have collected for Dad, Mom and a few other loved ones. It does not make me sad but is decorated with love and great memories of each person and pet.
Yes....I even have ornaments in memory of my horse Cherokee and "Gumpy" my cat.
Hey, what ever helps us thru a difficult time, I say, do it! Our pets become as family members and is painful to lose as well. Gumpy had a favorite green bulb he would steal off the tree. He is no longer with us but his favorite bulb is still hung on the tree inspite of all the scratches on it. I wrote his name with Elmers Glue on the bulb and sprinkled glitter on it so it now bears his name.
I know that you are probably thinking nothing could help the dreadful pain you are feeling with each day as the holidays approach but believe me you would be surprised how a tiny symbol of your love and memory of your loved one will give you just the little shove you need to begin to heal. My Aunt Mary loved Cardinals so my cousin Judy buys something with cardinals each Christmas. Think of something that reminds you of that person and go buy that ornament today. I know that I can not be the only person that has stood in a department store during the holidays with tears in her eyes.
Share this post with anyone you like. My hope is that my tradition will help others this holiday. If you would like to contact me about my
tradition email me at mycherokee@earthlink.net
p.s. I have shared my tradition every year for about 12years and have heard back from so many people that decided to join in my Christmas Tradition and found it very helpful thus it became my Tradition.....
Love
Corry Geissinger
Christmas time for most of us is our favorite time of year but for many it becomes a very sad and difficult time to struggle thru after you have lost a loved one. Please read what I have to share with you so that you may find your Christmas spirit again. Perhaps you have not lost a loved one...Well then maybe you can share this with some one that has and make a big difference in their holiday.
I lost my Dad 15 yrs ago and found that Christmas had a whole different meaning now. Instead of the the warm holiday spirit that my family always enjoyed with a great passion it was replaced with such a huge sadness and painful emptiness that was unbearable and seemed to grow worse when each holiday rolled around.
I began what I call my Christmas tradition that has helped me find my Christmas spirit and with each year it has grown and once again I am able to enjoy the holidays. It all began a few years after I lost my Dad......I still had to go thru the motions of Christmas because I had two little girls and so tried very hard to hide my pain. I used to love Christmas but now had grown to hate this time of year. I had to shop for Christmas gifts for the children but avoided the Christmas department with all the decorations and such like they were selling the plague! And then they would play that Christmas music thru out the store that was sure to have me standing in the middle of Walmart crying my eyes out. Sound familiar, or perhaps It's just me.
It is kind of hard to buy wrapping paper with out entering the dreaded Christmas department so I intended to make this quick. As I made my way back down the aisle with paper in hand a little gold trumpet caught my eye, not that I was looking for anything but it kind of jumped out at me and said, DAD! My father was a musician and among the many intstruments he played the trumpet was what he had played since he was a young boy. Tears welled up in my eyes and felt the urge to just flee out of the store but instead I picked up the little trumpet and wept in the middle of Walmart yet again.
I bought the ornament and hung it on my tree that year. I still had many episodes of tears thru out that holiday but each time I looked at Dad's trumpet hanging on the tree I felt as though in a way he was with me that year. The little gold trumpet is a tribute to his memory and began the healing of my Christmas spirit. I have since each year bought an ornament or some sort of decoration in memory of my Dad.
I since have lost my Mother as well and each year I buy an angel in memory of her. Many others have adopted my tradition the past couple years and found that this has helped them as well and with each year their hearts and Christmas spirit heals a little more with each holiday. In addition to our 7 ft tree with all the trimmings I now have a tree especially for all those "tradition ornaments" that I call my tribute tree. It is a little not quite 3 ft artificial tree that I sit on the end of my dining room table that sits in front of the window. It takes me about 3 hours to decorate it each year with the many ornaments I have collected for Dad, Mom and a few other loved ones. It does not make me sad but is decorated with love and great memories of each person and pet.
Yes....I even have ornaments in memory of my horse Cherokee and "Gumpy" my cat.
I know that you are probably thinking nothing could help the dreadful pain you are feeling with each day as the holidays approach but believe me you would be surprised how a tiny symbol of your love and memory of your loved one will give you just the little shove you need to begin to heal. My Aunt Mary loved Cardinals so my cousin Judy buys something with cardinals each Christmas. Think of something that reminds you of that person and go buy that ornament today. I know that I can not be the only person that has stood in a department store during the holidays with tears in her eyes.
Share this post with anyone you like. My hope is that my tradition will help others this holiday. If you would like to contact me about my
tradition email me at mycherokee@earthlink.net
p.s. I have shared my tradition every year for about 12years and have heard back from so many people that decided to join in my Christmas Tradition and found it very helpful thus it became my Tradition.....
Love
Corry Geissinger
Wednesday, September 21, 2011
Been a While.....
Well I know it has been a while since I have posted on my blog. The last I wrote I was starting to quilt the Antique Car quilt I have been working on over the summer. I had hoped to have it done long ago but...Well it took much longer than planned. I really took my time with the quilting as it was the first time I actually have quilted a quilt with the exception of the Sun Bonnet Sue which was done only with "stitch in the ditch".
I had a few health issues over the summer that held me up quite a bit on my sewing but that is all behind me and I completed the quilting and the binding. Monday I made a quilt label and hope to put that on the quilt today and the Antique Car quilt will be done.
I am going to create a tab for this quilt in the right hand column of my blog. I hope you will take the time to click on over to the page for this quilt and check out the photos of the completed quilt.
I am so glad I decided to quilt it myself although I was extremely nerveous to begin with. I was afraid to start because of my lack of experience and did not want to ruin all my work. It turned out well and I learned alot and have alot more confidence now. I am still not ready to stipple but there will come a day when I will conquer that fear and perfect that technique.
Not sure what my next project will be yet but for now will publish a page for the Antique Car quilt....don't forget to check it out.
Corry
I had a few health issues over the summer that held me up quite a bit on my sewing but that is all behind me and I completed the quilting and the binding. Monday I made a quilt label and hope to put that on the quilt today and the Antique Car quilt will be done.
I am going to create a tab for this quilt in the right hand column of my blog. I hope you will take the time to click on over to the page for this quilt and check out the photos of the completed quilt.
I am so glad I decided to quilt it myself although I was extremely nerveous to begin with. I was afraid to start because of my lack of experience and did not want to ruin all my work. It turned out well and I learned alot and have alot more confidence now. I am still not ready to stipple but there will come a day when I will conquer that fear and perfect that technique.
Not sure what my next project will be yet but for now will publish a page for the Antique Car quilt....don't forget to check it out.
Corry
Monday, July 18, 2011
Quilting Today....
I started quilting the Antique Car quilt that I have been working on yesterday. 
This quilt has machine embroidered antique cars in the blocks and will be given to my Father in Law when finished. I have been putting off the quilting of this quilt for a while. I don't have alot of experience doing the quilting myself but I have to start somewhere don't I. I so far am doing stitch in the ditch. This is going good so far.
I ordered some templets a few weeks ago to use on the outer borders. The background quilting inside the block is what I am not comfortable with. I have been practicing but not getting the hang of it so far. My stippling looks pretty sad but I am going to still work at it. I heard somewhere to practice on paper doing the design and then it will come easier when I am using the machine. I plan to try that and see if it helps....will let ya know.
When I get this quilt done I will take some photos and let ya'll take a peek before I give it to Pop.
This quilt has machine embroidered antique cars in the blocks and will be given to my Father in Law when finished. I have been putting off the quilting of this quilt for a while. I don't have alot of experience doing the quilting myself but I have to start somewhere don't I. I so far am doing stitch in the ditch. This is going good so far.
I ordered some templets a few weeks ago to use on the outer borders. The background quilting inside the block is what I am not comfortable with. I have been practicing but not getting the hang of it so far. My stippling looks pretty sad but I am going to still work at it. I heard somewhere to practice on paper doing the design and then it will come easier when I am using the machine. I plan to try that and see if it helps....will let ya know.
When I get this quilt done I will take some photos and let ya'll take a peek before I give it to Pop.
Monday, July 11, 2011
My Design Wall this Monday....
The past week I have been working on some blocks that I needed to make for an exchange in the Quilters Board. I have gotten behind on my blocks and need to get caught up on this.
The first blocks I made are a bird theme. I found my block designs at the quilters Cache on the internet. These two blocks are called Squares and Stars
This block was also from quilters Cache and is called Lovers Knot. I like the way this one turned out.
This last one was paper pieced and is from the Carol Doak web site. The design is called Laced Star Variation.
I really enjoy doing paper piecing although these blocks are more time consuming but they turn out nice. One more block to make tomorrow and then I am back to work on the Antique car quilt.
The first blocks I made are a bird theme. I found my block designs at the quilters Cache on the internet. These two blocks are called Squares and Stars
This block was also from quilters Cache and is called Lovers Knot. I like the way this one turned out.
This last one was paper pieced and is from the Carol Doak web site. The design is called Laced Star Variation.
I really enjoy doing paper piecing although these blocks are more time consuming but they turn out nice. One more block to make tomorrow and then I am back to work on the Antique car quilt.
Sunday, July 3, 2011
What a Week.....
Good Sunday Morning...... Not a whole lot accomplished this week as far as my sewing. The Florida weather has been consistant in keeping me from using my sewing machines. I have started to just take that time to sit in the recliner with my Christmas quilt I am hand quilting and have gotten alot done on that this week.
Inbetween storms I have made a few quilt blocks for an exchange I am in. They have turned out nicely. At my thursday sewing group I again worked on my handquilting.
I have not been able to set up this blog as I had wanted but changed some things around this weekend. Instead of getting to one page for My Quilts from a tab at the top I have a tab for each quilt I have made under a My Quilts title in the column on the right of this page. Last night I added "My Horse Quilt" to my blog with sort of a story behind my horse quilt and what has inspired me to make this quilt. Rarely have I made a quilt that was just made because I saw some pretty fabric. At least so far I usually make a quilt for someone reflecting something about that person or something they really like. So if you have the time check out my Horse Quilt page from the link on the right.
My cousin Judy from Ft. Lauderdale came for a visit yesterday. She always has a goodie bag for me and it sure felt like christmas yesterday. She brought me the cutest little hummingbird figurine that will hang in my sewing room. I love birds and my favorites are Hummingbirds, Cardinals, Chickadees and as far as real birds I have 2 cockatiels.
She brought me several yards of an assortment of Christmas fabrics. My favorite she brought has a green background with sparkly Hershey kisses all over it. During the holidays I always have a little Christmas sleigh full of hershey kisses in it.
The most exciting thing she brought me is my Aunt Mary's quilt she pieced probably more than 50 yrs ago. For some reason she never finished this quilt. It has the backing and batting basted on it but it was never quilted. It is beautifully appliqued and will be an honor for me to finish it for her. My Aunt Mary has long passed away and the quilt, when I am finished will go to my cousin Judy. Judy used to quilt with her Mother but just can't bring herself to quilt now without Aunt Mary so I offered to hand quilt this for her. Later today I will add photos of this quilt.
I plan to remove the batting and backing and use new batting and buy some muslin for a new backing too. I need to wash this quilt as it looks discolored but am not too sure if that is a good idea and what to use to wash it. Not sure if I really should go ahead and quilt it first or if it would be alright to wash it before hand. Even though it has been in storage all these years it has 50 some years of "something" (discoloration or yellowing) on it. If anyone has any suggestions on trying to refurbish this quilt, please contact me at corrygeissinger@earthlink.net
I am hoping to be able to spend the day sewing today. I want to finish the blocks for the block exchange I am in if weather permits. Later.....my Friends.
Inbetween storms I have made a few quilt blocks for an exchange I am in. They have turned out nicely. At my thursday sewing group I again worked on my handquilting.
I have not been able to set up this blog as I had wanted but changed some things around this weekend. Instead of getting to one page for My Quilts from a tab at the top I have a tab for each quilt I have made under a My Quilts title in the column on the right of this page. Last night I added "My Horse Quilt" to my blog with sort of a story behind my horse quilt and what has inspired me to make this quilt. Rarely have I made a quilt that was just made because I saw some pretty fabric. At least so far I usually make a quilt for someone reflecting something about that person or something they really like. So if you have the time check out my Horse Quilt page from the link on the right.
My cousin Judy from Ft. Lauderdale came for a visit yesterday. She always has a goodie bag for me and it sure felt like christmas yesterday. She brought me the cutest little hummingbird figurine that will hang in my sewing room. I love birds and my favorites are Hummingbirds, Cardinals, Chickadees and as far as real birds I have 2 cockatiels.
She brought me several yards of an assortment of Christmas fabrics. My favorite she brought has a green background with sparkly Hershey kisses all over it. During the holidays I always have a little Christmas sleigh full of hershey kisses in it.
The most exciting thing she brought me is my Aunt Mary's quilt she pieced probably more than 50 yrs ago. For some reason she never finished this quilt. It has the backing and batting basted on it but it was never quilted. It is beautifully appliqued and will be an honor for me to finish it for her. My Aunt Mary has long passed away and the quilt, when I am finished will go to my cousin Judy. Judy used to quilt with her Mother but just can't bring herself to quilt now without Aunt Mary so I offered to hand quilt this for her. Later today I will add photos of this quilt.
I plan to remove the batting and backing and use new batting and buy some muslin for a new backing too. I need to wash this quilt as it looks discolored but am not too sure if that is a good idea and what to use to wash it. Not sure if I really should go ahead and quilt it first or if it would be alright to wash it before hand. Even though it has been in storage all these years it has 50 some years of "something" (discoloration or yellowing) on it. If anyone has any suggestions on trying to refurbish this quilt, please contact me at corrygeissinger@earthlink.net
I am hoping to be able to spend the day sewing today. I want to finish the blocks for the block exchange I am in if weather permits. Later.....my Friends.
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