And I've been k-kicking the new k-knowledge An emcee to a degree that you can't get in college

This is yet another Webster University Gorlok quilt.  I really loved making this one as I discovered an extra-fun design from Sew Adorkable.  Back in the day when our calculators could just do simple operations, we used to write words using the number pad and then flipping the calculator upside down.  Basically any word using only the letters B E H I G L O S could be written.  The girls tended to type in 0.7734 (when the fours used to be written with  2 vertical and one horizontal line rather than the modern 1 vertical, one horizontal, and one diagonal)   and the boys would write 58008 and variations thereof.

In any case, the recipient's name is Bobbie and of course her name can be written on a calculator.  She had several Webster World Works shirts with numbers on them and other Webster items as well.  Not all the numbers on the keyboard have an actual number shirt but she did have a mousepad we used for the decimal point key and the bottoms from drink koozies that were used for the dots on the division sign. I was also supplied with a couple of Webster totebags that we incorporated as well. 

 

 

The mousepad was difficult to applique and didn't look great when it was done so I embellished the circumference with a gold lace.  All the quilting was just machine-stippling.

 

 

And then someone snuck into my quilt studio and decided to help....

 

I  rarely take photographs of myself but our Main Campus asked the various departments to depict ourselves doing something fun and/or silly.  As I explained in the statement that was submitted with the pictures, quilting is fun for me and I know the design was silly but I couldn't resist as I am sort of a geek at heart.

Circle circle, dot dot. I got my chemo shot.

Although at my age I don't recognize birthdays, this year I did celebrate the fact that I am a 10 year cancer survivor.  This quilt helps me remember that.  The quilt is a combination of block projects, all in bright colors.

 

My Worker Bees designed an exchange that required participants to make 12.5" blocks (any pattern) using dot or circle fabric. The block in the upper-right corner looks like just a solid white but it is actually a white and pale pink 9-patch.  No matter how much I fooled around with the exposure, I could not darken it enough to get a good image.

 

.
I happened to have enough fabric from over 3 decades before from the Delta Xi Chapter of Kappa Kappa Gamma's Greek Sing costumes.  I know we did songs from 42nd Street and I think we wore black leotards with cummerbunds made from pink and white polka dot fabric.  42nd Street became my favorite musical and my kids were subjected to the entire score throughout their childhood.

 

These two designs are a sample of the exchange blocks. You can see one was two simplistic swirls and another was a candy popper design.

 

When I got sick, I started getting super-cute 6.5" cupcake blocks around my next birthday.  They were sent to me anonymously through the mail and I loved each and every one.

A couple of months after the first post-diagnosis birthday, the American Cancer Society had come up with their One More Birthday campaign which made these blocks even more meaningful.

I actually had to use 2 green fabrics in this quilt as I did not have enough of either.  One was random swirls and circles on a bright green background, the other was a Kelly green calico from the 1970s that my aunt had given me when she was cleaning out a closet.

 

Although it was machine-pieced, I did hand-quilt the entire quilt which ended up being about 77 x 77 inches.

Make you bounce, rock, roll and skate Don't underrate how I operate

This was one of the most challenging projects I have ever designed.  The recipient was a competitive skater in her day. She provided 4 costumes, all of which were sequined, sparkly and very slippery. Although the fabrics weren't stretchy, I fused interfacing to the backs and fray-checked every cut edge to make them behave.

I knew that the patriotic vest and white lacy bodysuit would work well together.  I overlaid the vest on top of the blouse.  A strip of the rainbow outfit was used as a cummerbund. I wanted to include all the fabrics on each side of the pillow, so I created a gold medal out of the neon yellow costume.

The other side was a bit of a challenge.  I created pillows for this person in the past using crazy quilt designs which would have worked nicely.  However I discovered a quilt block called Marcie's Maze and given that the recipient was named Marcy, albeit spelled slightly differently, I knew this would make a great side.

Not only did I reposition sequins for this side, I also appliqued the name tags that had been sewn into the costumes.  I created the piping from the striped fabric as well. I originally wanted the yellow and the white to be reversed but it looked too much like sunny-side up eggs.

The bass is booming from down below And Norton is chillin' with Mario

This queensized quilt is made for an Oakton alumna/current Duke Blue Devil. She will be getting married to another Duke grad shortly after graduation so this will definitely fit in their decor.

She wanted a more random layout than most so the blocks were cut in multiple sizes.   Neither sashing nor borders were desired so it was simply edged with binding.

This shirt was completely covered with quotes written in puffy paint.  This was a spirit shirt made with her cross-country team.  The quotes ran onto the sleeves so the block ended up being a fat apital T as opposed to the typical quadrilateral.  The recipient was also a swimmer so we incorporated her team bathing suit.

The recipient is very devout so in addition to the  shirts from religious camps and teen organizations, the backing was pieced as a basic cross in Duke colors.