What's on my design wall

I like this new book, Scrap Basket Surprises, by Kim Brackett. I picked it up at Orange Quilt Bee when I was there last week. I was attracted by the quilt on the front, but there are several that I want to make.









The quilt in progress on my design wall is Scrap-Basket Blues from the book. Of course I had to change the colors a bit. They're still blue and a light, but not the dark blues in the book. I cut the 2 1/2" strips from stash fabrics. I think my husband is getting tired of me appropriating the kitchen island, but it's at the right height for cutting.




I've gotten three blocks put together so far. I like the way it is turning out.








When I sew on the white squares I stitch a second seam to that I can get little half-square triangle units.




I have had several projects lately that I've done this with. When I trim them up they should finish at 1 1/2" square. I have no idea what I'll do with them, but I couldn't bring myself to just pitch the triangles. I'm getting quite a supply of them.

Disneyland

Yesterday I went to Disneyland with my children and grandchildren. Exhausting and delightful. It is so much fun visiting the Happiest Place on Earth with little people. The girls walked hand-in-hand almost everywhere. They were excited about just about everything.





The boys on the other hand weren't quite as enthusiastic. It seems one can be too young for all that the park has to offer. Dear Grandson 1 was not overjoyed about the rides. Even It's a Small World frightened him. Poor baby we just kept torturing him with rides. I hope we haven't warped him for life.







Dear Granddaughter 1 showed me how she has learned to whistle. I was totally in awe, as this is a talent that I have never acquired.






DGS1 had a lot of fun on the slide in Toon Town. It's just that the slide doesn't really slide very well. The kids have to pull themselves along with their feet, or push themselves with their hands. I do think that

for DGS1 the true allure was the steps going up to the slide. The boy does love to climb.









As we were getting ready to leave I found this mug for my husband. It's perfect for him. Except for the fact that he no longer drinks his coffee from a regular mug. He only uses thermal mugs now. Oh well, I like it. I think it suits him to a T.

Life

I finished putting this quilt together this evening. I do like it better than I thought I would yesterday. Now, to decide what to do next. I think my Dear Grandson 2 needs me to get to work on his quilt.

I picked up the border fabric when I was visiting a new shop in Orange, The Orange Quilt Bee. I was picking up two quilts from a new customer, and she had suggested we meet there. They have a wonderful, spacious area for classes. Very nice people too.

In the afternoon I picked up three more quilts from a customer (continuing? returning? regular?).

Five quilts in one day! That's a record for me. Just a week or so ago I was thinking that since no one had called recently for quilting services I might see my business winding down. I have been expecting it because of the economy and all. Good thing no one is relying on me for predictions.

What's on my design wall

You know how sometimes things turn out better than your wildest imagination? This isn't one of those times. I bought two fat eighths packs in slate blues from Batiks Etc. I had a nice simple pattern, Serenity, from Quiltmaker. It just isn't turning out the way I pictured it in my mind's eye.








But, of course I had to make it bigger than the pattern. Maybe, that's where I went wrong.

Not that it's really a candidate for the ugly quilt contest. It's just not the way that I thought it would be. I'm hoping I like it better once it's sewn together and it has borders on it.

We shall see. We shall see.

I'm Such a Grandma

I'm such a grandma. I love looking at, being with, and taking pictures of my grandkids. This morning my husband and I went out to brunch with my son and his family. Out of 20 some pictures 17 were of the kids.

Dear Granddaughter 2 likes playing with the iPhone apps.







And, hamming it up for the camera.








Dear Grandson 2 is just a happy boy. He's not always sure what to make of his Grammy, but he's good natured about it.

I mean, look at those cute faces. Wouldn't you be taking pictures of them?

Happy Father's Day

Happy Father's Day!

Borders On

I got the borders on the Arkansas Crossroads quilt. I'm pleased with the way that they look. It wasn't too difficult to get them to fit. I fudged the blue border so that the 3" blocks would fit around the quilt. I also stitched a few of the purple blocks with a seam that was a generous 1/4" rather than a scant 1/4".

End of the Year

Well, as far as I'm concerned it is officially summer.

I've sorted the classroom library books, folded quilting fabrics and restocked the shelves, covered bookshelves, set out 5 large trash bags for the custodians, and shut down the computers for the year. I'm sure I could have worked another week sorting files and cleaning the roll around cupboards, but NO I'm done. It will all be waiting for me when we start up again in July.

Dresses Quilt

This is the almost finished quilt top that my friendship group is making for our guild's auction. The Valley of the Mist Quilter's Guild has an outdoor show the first weekend of October. There are quilts galore adorning the Old Town buildings, demonstrations, a silent auction, and a live auction. This will be my fourth year displaying and demonstrating. I really enjoy the day. It's so much fun meeting all the people who visit. Maybe this year I'll get up from my demonstration and see all the quilts that will be hanging.

If you are in Temecula on the first Saturday of October stop by and say, "Hi."

Little Ballerina

Today was my dear granddaughter's first dance recital. I couldn't see much of it because the grandparent in front of me kept standing up and cheering on her granddaughter (we'll order the DVD and watch later).

It was really OK though. I had a wonderful time watching her twirl and leap around on the stage after the presentation of the flowers. She loves dancing. Makes my grandma heart happy.

Borders for Arkansas Crossroads

I started with these purple fabrics.
I cut them into 3.5" squares. They are in the tub so that I can toss them around and try to grab them randomly for the border.




Then, I sewed them in to pairs, and the pairs into the border strip. When I finish getting all the borders on I'll post a picture. Now, I have to decide how to quilt it.

Quilt Delivery

Yesterday I took my quilting students to deliver two quilts to the local Veteran's Hospital. The girls were very proud of their work.










The students are looking forward to quilting again next year. I have to decide what project to do. I may stick with the string quilts for our donation quilts. I'm not sure what project I want the students to do for their take home project. This year they made some string quilts of their own, but some are very, very small quilts.

What's on my design wall

Well, I might get this one done. I've been working on this quilt made with Arkansas Crossroads blocks. It is made with pieces left over from making Strip Twist from Bonnie Hunter's Quiltville website. I'm trying to decide what to do for the borders. I'm thinking of a narrow inner border of light turquoise blue and an outer pieced border of purples.

These are the Strip Twist quilts that I made. I cut so many strips that I had enough for two Strip Twist quilts and the Arkansas Crossroads quilt. I guess I went just a little bit overboard when I was cutting strips.