National Quilting Day

Today is National Quilting Day.  I came down with a nasty virus yesterday, courtesy of students at school I'm sure, but I persevered and did some sewing.   
I finally finished the top of my QM Bitty Blocks.  It's still longer and skinnier than I wanted, but it's okay.  It now measures 56 X 89.  I struggled with border ideas and finally just used the same black mini dot fabric that is used in the sashing.  I will bind it with a scrappy multi color binding.

Quiltmaker Bitty Blocks Row Quilt

I also pieced a backing for Fair and Square I posted last week.  I had LOTS of strips left over and they were all sewn end to end as that is how the quilt was made.  I started sewing them together like the jelly roll race quilt (aka 1600) and then decided I should really have a plan and see how much I needed.  I have only scraps leftover!  The blue was in my stash but needed to be bigger.

backing for Fair and Square

Now I need to make the backing for my Fire Island Hosta.

Quilt a day #19

8 of us in my quilt guild showed up to tie quilts today. We finished 4 and have another one partly done. We will be going back tomorrow. We are getting quite a large store of quilts on hand for Helping Hands, which is good. We really don't want to have to give them out because that means something has happened that requires them.

I am showing a couple of wallhangings that I made for my late friend Deb today. The first one is a mini that I altered from a Foundation Piecer magazine and the other one was a challenge we did with each other. She sent me fabrics and this is what I made. I can't remember where the pattern was.

Quilt a Day #18

I still haven't gotten all the borders on the American Hero quilts yet. I've been playing games and cooking with Lisa and Brad home. For the next two days I will be tying quilts with my quilt guild for charity in honor of National Quilting Day Saturday.

Here are two wallhangings that I made before November 2002. I think I must have been on a big photography session then. The hummingbird was a stained glass pattern and I really enjoyed making it. I sold it last year. Someone asked if I happened to have a hummingbird wallhanging on hand and I did and she was willing to pay for it. The second wallhanging was one I struggled with in the technique and it was made so long ago that I dislike the fabrics now. I love purple irises though!

Spring Break, Really It Is!

Above is a picture of my poor lilac bushes in my backyard this morning. Below is a picture of my crocuses that were actually blooming earlier in the week. I thought I would be getting my flower bed prettied up during spring break! I think not.

I started off the break by being sick. I came down with a nasty cold virus but I can't complain. I have had a fairly healthy winter and I work at a school! When a kindergartner coughed on me I jerked back and scared the poor kid!
Over the past week I have been working on this quilt top. My friend Cheryl passed away in December and last Friday at my guild National Quilting Day activities her sister Carol showed up and asked me to go to her storage to get "some fabric". She had donated "a truckload" to the Lewiston guild of which Cheryl had been a member and had three boxes left and a bunch of books and magazines. This quilt had six blocks pieced and most of the rest of the pieces cut. I got the urge to go ahead and finish up the quilt and will offer it back to the family. Cheryl didn't finish very many larger projects.