Born and branched the Air Force for the USA They call me Silas Johnson but I'm MGJ

This quilt was made for a retired 2-star USAF general who served our country for over 3 decades.  Based on old movies, I knew pilots used to wear white scarves while flying but I never realized that in later years the squadrons and other units had scarves designed specifically for their organizations.  

I was presented with a big box of aviator scarves.  The vast majority were silk or a poly/silk blend.  Two scarves from Guam were made from barkcloth.  Most of the scarves had crests on the end with a repeating pattern in the middle.  I ended up arranging the crests into blocks and bordering them with the middle sections.  There were so many different pieces that I made a spreadsheet to keep things organized.  There were 65 lines of 8 columns detailing color, direction, unit, size of deconstructed scarf, crest quantities, crest design, crest size, block assignment.

The polka dots were from the recipient's very first unit.  This was more of bib than a scarf as the original garment was about 18 by 18 with a longer strip with snaps fastened at the back of the neck.  Most of the scarves were long, thin rectangles.

The fabrics of the scarves were very slippery, stretchy, and thin.   Some of the satin blends were shiny .  I backed everything with fusible interfacing,

Two of the scarves were made from barkcloth.  Not surprisingly these were both from Guam, as barkcloth originated in the Polynesian islands.   

I really enjoyed the mathematical challenge of designing this quilt.  Trying to incorporate as many of the different designs into a prescribed parameter while still being visually pleasing was a lot of fun.       

  

 

What she asked of me at the end of the day Caligula would have blushed "Oh, you've been in the house too long" she said And I naturally fled

So like many of us over the last 24 months I have spent a LOT of time at home.  I was so bored that I learned how to crochet.

I had seen the African Flower hexagon technique that was used to make an owl.  I used a J 5.25 mm hook and worsted weight yarn of various colors  Once I learned the stitches, it was amazingly easy.  I knew the hexagons were large but had no idea I would end up with a HUGE stuffed animal.

I then decided to make the same pattern using Kappa colors of dark and light blue since our mascot is an owl.  I did not want such a huge owl so used a much skinnier fiber and smaller hook.  This time I used a 1.5 mm hook and  #10 crochet thread.

What a size difference the hook and fiber make!  I found it much harder to crochet with this thread and tiny hook as opposed to the yarn and larger hook.

Here are the 2 owls together.  They don't match at all but I wanted to show their proportions.

I have decided that I am officially hooked!

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.

 

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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.

Just back from Japan and ooh I'm laggin' Goin' rao rao with the dungeon dragon

This is different than my usual projects.  The recipient had a gorgeous sashiko (Japanese embroidery on indigo) jacket that she bought in Okinawa.  I wish I had thought to take a picture of the jacket as it was quite lovely.

The recipient is redecorating a guest room with a blue and white theme so she thought the sashiko jacket could be repurposed into pillows. We added a blue and blue batik for the contrast fabric which is quite appropriate given that she is a Kappa Kappa Gamma alumana.

The first pillow was from the front of the jacket.  I sewed the opening down so there wouldn't be a gap while leaving the frogs and coordinate in place.

This was a basic 4-patch using 8 inch squares. I really loved how the batik coordinates with the sashiko embroidery.

To provide some visual interest for the bed, I made a bolster pillow with the two main fabrics.  I also added some cream lace to coordinate with the ecru fabric from the first pillow.

Father, we are thankful, May we ever be, Mindful of Thy blessings, We of K.K.G.

The title is the Kappa Grace as the recipient is a Kappa Grace as well ie a girl named Grace who is a alumna member of Kappa Kappa Gamma, Delta Chapter.  She has a very sweet boyfriend who is also an owner of a Rosmarinus Designs quilt and pillow.

The recipient is a graduate of Walnut Hill School where she studied ballet.  At Indiana University, she was involved not just with Kappa but also with the IU Dance Marathon and IU Ballet Theatre.

Several of her shirts had t shirt pockets.   Most t shirt quilts I make incorporate the architectural elements of the garments.

The long block in the middle was made from a knit scarf.  Kilroy's on Kirkwood is a major hangout for Hoosiers.

Although we stuck with a basic blue for the sashing and binding, I was very excited to find a vibrant owl print for the backing.

There for the blue of the sky and the sea and they bind our hearts so true.....

This is another multi-year accomplishment from the Kappa Needleworkers.  This is an interest group of the Northern Virginia Alumnae Association of Kappa Kappa Gamma.  These ladies get together once a month to put a quilt together (that's why it takes a couple of years for each one to be completed). This quilt is hand-pieced, hand-appliqued and hand-quilted.  After the quilt is completed,  it is raffled for an entire year to raise money for Reading is Fundamental (RIF), the Kappa Kappa Gamma philanthropy.

Blue ribbon gardens grow the fleur-de-lis!

This floral chintz pillow was made for a young woman who recently initiated into Kappa Kappa Gamma at Colgate University.  The recipient being a much bigger fan of pink and green as opposed to 2 shades of blue or the Colgate colors of maroon and white, we opted for a muted flower print with hot pink as the accent color and a green fabric with pink fleur-de-lis.

Unlike some of the other Greek pillows that I have made, we opted for the letters to be arranged diagonally instead of horizontally to include a monogram.

Colgate's logo isn't just a capital C, it always has the apostrophe gate written across the letter.

Here is a closeup of the fabulous pink and green fleur-de-lis fabric, perfect for any preppy Kappa.

I found a bit of interesting Colgate trivia.

No triskaidekaphobiacs at this upstate school, all good Raiders apparently are triskaidekaphiliacs instead.  Colgate was originally founded as The Baptist Education Society of the State of New York by 13 men who each offered $13 and 13 prayers.

The society's original constitution contained 13 articles. The address is 13 Oak Drive which happens to be located in the zip code 13346 (the first two digits are 13, and the last three digits add up to 13!).

So, that is why Friday the 13th is a day of celebration of Colgate. Every Colgate Day students, faculty, staff, alumni, and families around the world don their Colgate regalia and celebrate the university and its community.

They say I'm a Kappa, womanly and true...but wait a minute, I'll ask my mom to see what I can do!

What to do with shirts you can't bear to give away even though you haven't worn them in literally decades? Make a fullsize fennel quilt of course! Lots of sweatshirts, sweatpants, hoodies, a Province Meeting totebag, even some cross-stitched images went into this full-sized quilt.

This t-shirt quilt is made for an old, ancient alumna. :) She was initiated into the Delta Xi Chapter of Kappa Kappa Gamma at Carnegie Mellon University.  Note her homage to the Carnegie Mellon Tartans with her plaid letters on the left block that has been cut off.  The block that is centered in the picture is from a cross-stitch pattern booklet that was in print in the late 80s.

The sashing fabric is a mostly blue iris design but there are plenty of pink flowers and green leaves to provide a bit more visual interest.

The blocks above were not from normal t-shirts.  The blue section is from printed boxers and the hawaiian print was a surgical scrub.  The gold key below the white Kappa was a random embroidered applique that I unearthed in my quilt studio.

This shirt was from Spring Carnival. The booth and buggy events were very competitive. We always had a couple of sisters who were majoring in architecture or art which ensured our booths and shirts always looked great.

As usual, this was all machine-pieced and machine-quilted.  All the cross-stitching was by hand.    This grid of 5 x 6 shirts is really for a full-sized bed but works well as a topper on a queen.  It is an excellent size for a college twin bed that has been lofted with cement blocks as it is sufficiently wide enough to hide all the suitcases, refrigerator, and other stuff stored under the typical student's bed.



And Naugels, Isaac Newton, and Scientific E.Z. Ben Franklin with the kite, gettin' over with the key

This family has Monmouth Duo AND Kite&Key links in it.  The grandmother is a Kappa Kappa Gamma ΚΚΓ, the mom and 2 aunts are all members of Pi Beta Phi ΠΒΦ, and the granddaughter is a new member of Kappa Alpha Theta ΚΑΘ.  Apparently the grandmother's sisters are also Thetas so it's just one happy Panhellenic family!

The young woman is a soon-to-be initiate of Kappa Alpha Theta's Iota chapter at Cornell.  Her pillow was made from a tone-on-tone black striped home dec fabric.  Like always, the letters were skewed towards the top so that there is enough room for a monogram.They of course were centered left and right. The gold fabric has little dots of black and white. I used a variegated gold thread for all the applique work to add some visual interest.

Unlike the other pillows that I have designed that incorporate the school's logo, the customer wanted this pillow to be All Theta.  So on the reverse side, I appliqued a somewhat whimsical kite in flight.

The family has a great sense of humor.  Apparently when the youngest of the 2nd generation followed her 2 sisters into Pi Phi, their Kappa mom sent a bouquet of blue irises (the KKG flower).  This time they are giving the new initiate a pillow that has both owls and arrows on it before they give her the "real" pillow.

I love this fabric.  It is such a simple graphic in black and white and looks stunning IRL!

To All The Mothers And The Sisters And The Wives And Friends I Want To Offer My Love And Respect To The End

I posted about my dear Kappa Needleworkers over a year ago.  Our group recently finished yet another one of our fabulous Raffle Quilts. This queen-sized quilt with its bold plaid thistles not only speaks to me as a sister of KKG, but as a Carnegie Mellon Tartan as well.

The quilt took 3.5 years to complete.  Our group only meets once a month so much of the handwork is done at home.  The thistles are all hand-appliqued  and embroidered with a buttonhole stitch.  It is machine-pieced and machine-quilted.

The proceeds from the yearlong raffle will go towards the Kappa Kappa Gamma Foundation.

Groovy UV?

Hey look me over, rate me a 10
Fill up my beer teacup and I'll chug it down sip daintily again

They say I'm a Kappa, womanly and true,

But wait a minute, I'll ask my mom to see what I can do!

This quilt was made for an illustrious alumna of the University of Vermont.  She is also an alumna member of Kappa Kappa Gamma (yay!).    There were only 5 shirts in total and 3 of them were youth sizes.  One of the Kappa designs was actually from a sleeve.   So I needed a design that used bigger blocks as compared to the usual sashing method.  I used the same design as I used for the Be Prepared Quilt for the Scoutmaster.  This elongated Moon over the Mountain pattern is perfect for a Catamount quilt as Vermont is the Green Mountain state. 

UVM's colors are green and gold. Vermont is known for the cold, snowy winters (that plus the mountains equate to excellent skiing) so I chose a snowy grey Hoffman fabric for the background of the big blocks.  The greens are varied but Ione is a Jinny Beyer fabric and another is a  Debbie Mumm print.  Like the Scoutmaster quilt, I sewed buttons at the base of the triangles.  Again tying in the UVM colors, I used green buttons with gold thread.

I reverse-appliqued all the t-shirts into the larger triangles.   I was thrilled to match the border fabric. Not only does it have green and gold, there are grey owls all over.  Too perfect!

One final homage to Kappas everywhere:

I love you truly KKG

Let me be the first to say that I did not make this quilt. Rather, this beautiful wallquilt was created by the Needleworkers Interest Group of the Northern Virginia Alumnae Association of Kappa Kappa Gamma (ΚΚΓ). These sisters of mine took time out of their extremely busy lives to create this beautiful quilt for me when I needed it most. Needless to say, I was overcome when they gave this to me.

For all you Kappas, you will recognize the fabulous symbolism that was incorporated into the design. A fleur-de-lis medallion was appliqued in the center. The inner border has gold key and light blue owl appliques. Each key and owl has a Kappa Needleworker signature along with her undergraduate chapter. The next border is a modified Virginia Reel which not only ties into our Commonwealth but also references our 2001-2004 Philanthropy Quilt. You can't see it in the picture but the machine quilting on the quilt incorporates beautiful fleur-de-lis, hearts and the crossed-over loop of an issue ribbon. On the back is a hand-lettered label embroidered with gorgeous long-stemmed blue irises. In case you non-Kappas haven't figured it out, the owl is our mascot, the key is our badge, and the iris and/or fleur-de-lis (technically a stylized iris) is our flower. Our colors are "the blues of the sky and the sea".

Our Needlework Group membership transcends age, birthplace, career status, etc. We were born in different decades, went to different colleges (and pledged different chapters of Kappa)came to the DC area at different times, yet our love for Kappa and for needlework transcends these differences and renders them unimportant.

I will treasure this quilt always!

Thyme I

I'm a decent needleworker but only a so-so-at-best computer geek. My fellow Tartans would be appalled as our school is fairly well known in the computer world. In fact, I just recently discovered that it was at Carnegie Mellon where the sideways smiley :) evolved. This was back in the days when we had bboards and computer labs instead of PCs or gigantic mainframes with cards. In any case, I am not so great at formatting these posts but I will keep plugging along and hopefully I will get better. Thyme marches on....

The Thyme is a tote bag that uses both the back and front of the uniform. This Thyme was made for a Coast Guard wife who incorporated the colors of her sorority by selecting two shades of blue (and yellow) for her coordinating fabric. With the additional yellows and the blues, this color choice would be ideal not only for sisters of Kappa Kappa Gamma (ΚΚΓ) but also members of Alpha Xi Delta or Sigma Gamma Rho. The recipient opted for an exterior side pocket so she could put a water bottle in it.

BDU shirts have 4 patch pockets with flap closures. My designs always use the two breast pockets on the exteriors of the Thyme, Marjoram and Pansy and I use the lower pockets in the interior of the bag. Since the Coast Guard utility uniform only has 2 pockets instead of 4 like the DOD service uniforms, I made interior pockets from the patches on the arms which I am assuming are there for reinforcement.