Cutting for a Retreat

I spent Friday evening and Saturday cutting pieces for two quilt tops to take to a retreat this coming weekend. The first one was Brad's graduation quilt. I had posted the fabrics here and decided this would be a great weekend to get the top stitched up. The log cabin strips are cut 2.5" so it will go pretty quickly with only 20 blocks.

The next quilt I cut is a bit more challenging. I am making Canyon Dance in queen size. I had made one in lap size for a friend in a different color scheme shown here. Here is the photo of my selection of fabrics (55 of them needed for this size!) and my piles of cut pieces.

Now I have to get the leftover fabrics put away. It called for FQ's but some of the pieces I had more than a FQ of. My batik containers are already overflowing and I can't figure out how I am supposed to fit more in. I need to stop collecting them I guess. Oh say it isn't so!

I will spend the week working on one of the many commission tops I have here. I am going to spend the rest of the day working on my Prickly Pear quilt and basting one of the commission quilts. I machine quilt them on my Janome 6500 without a frame setup.

My New Quilt Project

I have been doing some machine quilting and miscellaneous blocks. I decided yesterday to start a new project for me just because I wanted to! Yes, I have a large amount of unfinished projects, but they aren't going anywhere. I have several quilts to machine quilt for others (on my Janome 6500) but I needed a me break.

A few months ago I bought the Prickly Pear kit from Bold Over Batiks. I couldn't figure out the directions at first, but finally read them again and it made sense. The designer is Karen Stone and I love her paper pieced patterns but hadn't made any of her applique patterns. I took a before and after picture of one of the blocks and it's amazing the difference the stitching makes.

I am using decorative stitches on my Pfaff 2040 with Madeira Polyneon and Superior Rainbow threads with Superior Bottom Line in the bobbin. It's working wonderfully. Maybe by the time I am done with all 12 blocks I will be able to figure out out to turn corners easier and at the right time!