Well – I didn’t set out to do this… This is a charity quilt for the Flying Geese Quilt Guild and I was just going to do an all -over on it. However, as I was loading the quilt on my long-arm, I remembered that the rear on-off switch didn’t work (my husband took the rear switch to fix the front switch last week and I haven’t remembered to go to Radio Shack and get another one) so I was not going to be able to work from the back of the machine. OK – I thought. This quilt has lots and lots of white space. I’ll just jazz it up a bit and put feathers in the white blocks. True to form, I couldn’t remember the size of the first feather’s circle when I was making the second. Now, I even took a ruler to it but still got it wrong!!! So the second feather has a bigger center and no longer matches the first. I debate. Who will notice? Its only one circle, right? It could be my humility block! But no, humility is apparently not my forte. I decide that I am going to make it look like I planned it and will do a different feather in each block. I was just finishing up the third when I wondered how many feathers I’ll have to come up with . I count the white blocks – There are 12. Had I thought to count early, I might have just gone back the the humility theme… Needless to say, I persevered and have 12 different feathered wreaths in this quilt. Hmmm… some are a little catty-whoppas… humility still lives!!
12 Feathers!
November 14th, 2010
New Quilt in Gallery
November 11th, 2010Just finished the Mason-Dixon Quilt Professional Network Challenge “Two by Two”. The premise was to think about things that come in twos or pairs, etc… We all met today at G-Street Fabrics in Falls Church, VA, and turned in our interpretations of this theme. Split Hairs, Peaches and Cream, Birds and the Bees and the Flowers and the Trees, Pairs of Pears are just a few of the titles for the 15 submissions. Here is my contribution. If you read my blog regularly, you will have noted that I said my long-arm machine went down in the middle of this project on Monday. My loving hubby fixed it right up while I was out canoodling with other quilters that night and I was right back in business Tuesday morning. The last stitches went into the sleeve and binding at 5 pm on Wednesday and out the door it went first thing this morning – hopefully off to tour at many of the major quilt shows across the USA! Check it out in the gallery for a better view.
Block exchange!
November 8th, 2010
Got this one ready for the Ladybug guild meeting tonight – had to include the light fabric with the birds on it and use red and green – wish I had more of that bird fabric because I would have done the fabric placement much differently- not sure how many people really like black in their christmas quilts…
Meanwhile, the on-off button just died on my longarm right as I am pushing a deadline for a Challenge quilt… I have confidence though that my handy-dandy loving hubby will fix it while I’m enjoying myself at the guild meeting tonight. If not, this is all I’ve got…
Retreating this weekend!
November 5th, 2010So its going to be all about Geese this weekend – I’m off to the Heartland Quilt guild in Denton Maryland and am looking forward to a fun weekend of quilting and retreating, good food, friends and fabric! We are doing my How Many Ways Can a Goose Fly? Block of the Month. Every one is sure to learn a new technique or trick to add to their quilting skills library. I enjoy this project so much – it is such fun to see the quilt come together in all the different fabric choices. Meanwhile, I wonder if there is enough left-overs in the fridge for my husband while I’m gone…
Sigh….
November 4th, 2010Oh, I wish I were in Houston…
Multi-tasking!
November 1st, 2010Ganging them up and churning them out – my only regret is I didn’t have one more small wall hanging to quilt since I had more room – Well, actually, I do have one more wall hanging but I didn’t want red fabric on the back so it gets its own turn later. Right now – all comes off so I can move on with my schedule this week – I have a feeling this is going to be one of those weeks when there’s not enough time in the day to get it all done!
Beautiful fall – Beautiful quilts
October 27th, 2010I had a great time at Quilting on the Line (Fawn Grove, PA) last night. Sharon was a perfect hostess and all the ladies were a lot of fun. There were many beautiful quilts at Show and Tell – loved the 75 Cents of Scraps quilt! I am torn as to what was the better event of the night, Show and Tell or the amazing display of fall colors on the drive over there through all the back roads!
Off to Lecture this evening
October 26th, 2010I have graciously been invited to present my lecture Quilting by Check to the Quilting on the Line Quilt Guild in Pennsylvania. It looks to be a fun group as I know a few of the members already. Their website has lots of nice pictures of quilts – take some time to check it out. Then its off to Dover tomorrow morning to teach Machine Quilting at Chicks-n-Stitches. I have packed up most of my quilts for tonight’s lecture and will have to repack early tomorrow morning in order to take some class samples with me. My walls and beds are bare right now – perhaps I need to make some more quilts just to avoid that empty house feeling when I lecture…
I should be working on something else but…
October 21st, 2010It started out like this…
got trimmed to this…
Sewn together like this…
and now I have to stop playing around and get to work on a Challenge quilt for the Mason Dixon Quilt Professionals Network that is due on the 11 of November. I’ve been working on it in my head but really need to put it to fabric!! Times a wasting… well, not really. I don’t think these pictures depict me wasting my time – maybe not planning my time well, but definitely not wasting it!
Local Quilt Show this weekend!
October 15th, 2010The Flying Geese Quilt Guild in Harford County, Maryland, is presenting a guild quilt show this Saturday and Sunday. Usually it is a pretty good production – there are vendors, the raffle quilt drawing is Sunday and Carol Taylor is the featured Quilter. I’m heading down this afternoon to drop two of my quilts for display. Hope you locals get a chance to visit – I’m sure there will be something there that will make the trip worth while for you!
Here are the two I’m putting in the show!