bykathryn – Quilt for Joy by Kathryn

{Quilt for Joy} The Story Behind The Name

Published on August 9, 2018 by Kathryn StrasserLeave a comment

**Note: Although I am currently not doing custom long-arm machine quilting, I want to share the story behind the name.

The name of the custom long-arm quilting portion of my business, Quilt for Joy, finds its inspiration in Proverbs 17:22 which reads, “A joyful heart is good medicine…” I have found great joy in custom long-arm machine quilting ever since I started as a high school sophomore in 2011.

I wanted the name of my business to reflect that joy I experience when long-arm machine quilting as I work with my own quilts, and quilts for customers.

There’s a deeper meaning to the name, though.

When I started long-arm machine quilting I was dealing with a two-year-old wrist injury that was un-diagnosed at the time. Using the machine didn’t worsen the pain, so I continued learning all that I could about long-arm quilting. Unfortunately, another injury to the same wrist in the summer of 2012 increased my pain.

I continued to quilt during this time, finding as Proverbs 17 says, that a joyful heart is indeed good medicine. Machine quilting was one little thing helping me have a joyful heart in the midst of intense pain.

I ended up having surgery on my wrist in April of 2013, and another surgery in November of the same year. I was unable to quilt during that time and during the surgery recovery process. At this time, I also discovered that I suffer from chronic Lyme disease which causes achy muscles and joint pain in various parts of my body. Initial treatment attempts for my Lyme proved ineffective and the wrist pain returned a few months after my second surgery leaving me with few options for treatment, and a whole lot of pain.

I returned to quilting following my post-surgery recovery mainly because of the creative outlet it provides me,. I still struggled with pain from my chronic Lyme disease, but I was able to quilt well, and kept expanding my skills and understanding of the long-arm machine.

I long-arm quilted several quilts throughout my time in college, but my health situation was worsening. I stopped long-arm quilting near the end of 2017; with a new Lyme treatment on the horizon, I needed to remove as many outside obligations as possible.

The health treatment is working as expected (a rarity when dealing with chronic Lyme disease), and as of August 2018 my Lyme disease is in remission. It will take several months to return to my full strength, and in the meantime I need to scout out an ideal place to resume long-arm quilting at since I recently moved.

The twists and turns of life certainly keep my on my toes. I’m grateful for all the years of long-arm quilt experience. I anticipate the day – though it still may be far off – when I can use a long-arm machine again both for personal use and for clients.

~ Kathryn

Squares and Swirls!

Published on February 18, 2017 by Kathryn Strasser1 Comment

One of my favorite parts about doing custom long-arm machine quilting is the opportunity to see what so many different people do with their fabrics and piecing patterns for their quilts. This quilt that I worked with over my Thanksgiving break last November is one that really caught my eye. The design is so unique, and I love the color combination!

My client left it up to me to decide what design to stitch onto this quilt. Because of all the straight lines in the piecing thanks to the square pattern, I chose a swirl pattern to add some texture and motion with the curved stitching. The piecing was very straightforward, so I wanted to keep the custom machine quilting simple to avoid having too much going on.

I hope you enjoyed these squares and swirls as much as I did! Thanks for stopping by the blog today, and I hope you come again soon!

~ By Kathryn

Into The West

Published on May 29, 2016September 15, 2016 by Kathryn Strasser2 Comments

This quilt has a very special place in my heart. I made it for my boyfriend, Ben, as a gift for his college graduation. I wanted to create a quilt that told the story of the first months of our relationship.

I’m probably a bit partial to our story, because it’s ours, but it has some really fun aspects that made a story quilt a great gift.

We met in college at a 16-month Associate of Liberal Arts program named Rivendell Sanctuary. The name of the school was inspired by the home of the elves, Rivendell, in J.R.R. Tolkien’s, The Lord Of The Rings. When deciding on fabrics for the quilt, it was only fitting that I included portions of a map of Middle Earth.

For 5 weeks of our time at Rivendell (during Ben’s third semester, and my fourth and final semester) our classes traveled to Italy to study the Fine Arts. Although Ben and I had been on the same small campus at Rivendell for about 9 months prior to the trip, our paths had rarely crossed so we didn’t really know each other beyond our names. In Assisi, Italy, we went on what I like to call an “accidental” pizza date, and realized that we enjoyed talking with each other and spending time together. Naturally, I decided to include some fabric with famous locations in Italy (many of which we visited) in this quilt.

When we returned from Italy I graduated from the Rivendell program, and Ben had one semester remaining. I transferred to a different college to work on completing my Bachelor’s degree. Ben came to see me each week at my new college, and one of our first homework date spots was the library on the campus of my school. After a few of those homework dates in the library, Ben asked me to date him and I said yes! I added some book fabric in the quilt to highlight that time of our relationship.

I wanted to add a few hobbies and likes that Ben has to fill out my selection of specialty fabrics for the quilt. Ben plays guitar (quite well, if I do say so myself), and he regularly wears plaid shirts, so I thought that some fabrics along those lines would work well with my color scheme and story quilt concept.

Along with the special fabrics that I chose, I added some extra blues and tans to complete my fabric choices!

From the pictures you can see the overall long-arm quilting design that I chose for the quilt. I wanted to keep it simple so as not to distract from the fabric designs. In the border I did a different design to mix it up and give me a chance to play around with multiple designs!

I put a label on the back with some details about the quilt (I blurred the picture). I chose the quilt name because at the end of Tolkien’s “The Lord Of The Rings,” the elves (who live at Rivendell) sail away from Middle Earth, into the west. Ben and his classmates are leaving their time of education at Rivendell and heading off into the west, so to speak, to live their lives.

Needless to say, I had some sentimental moments while planning, creating, and long-arm quilting this gift for Ben. I loved seeing the picture that I had in my mind take shape as I added the special fabrics and created the layout. And, as always, I enjoyed tying it all together with the long-arm quilting!

The months of our relationship that this quilt captures had some amazing and unique adventures in them, and I am excited to see what adventures the future months have for Ben and I!

By Kathryn