Progress

 The blocks are assembled and the borders are on the string quilt. I even mitered the corners! Mitered corners are easier each time that I do them. Next task, tackle the applique. 

You'll notice though that I haven't begun the applique yet. That's because I'm intimidated by all that applique, and I'm not really sure where to begin. I'm figure the stems for the flowers come first. However, because of the way that the red diagonal is pieced they are not perfect. That means that each stem is a little different. I guess I just need to jump in and start it.

 

I also wanted to show you the progress on Dear Jane. I may have to redo the block in the lower left. Curved seams are not my strong point, and that one is a little off. The seam allowances are so narrow that some of the rounded pieces will get cut off when I sew the sashing on.

Next my SewCalGal Christmas Quilt Show entry.

This was my first experience designing a quilt using Electric Quilt. I had purchased the fabric, one yard of each, and I didn't want to buy more, or have any leftovers. I played around until I had a design that used up everything. The only thing I had to add was the white for the alternate blocks in the nine patches and the plain blocks. This poor quilt never got a name.

 This quilt, however, does have a name. My grandson, Bubba, named it Mimi's Kiki. I purchased the fabrics during one of the shop hops. I bought fat quarters at each of the shops to get a nice mix of fabrics. 

Visit Patchwork Times to see more design walls, and head over to SewCalGal to see all the Christmas quilts.

  

Quilt Show!

SewCalGal is having an online Quilt Show.  I'm thinking of entering a quilt or two. You should too.

Holiday Light Parade

Tonight, Motorcycle Dude and I thoroughly enjoyed the Holiday Light Parade at Courthouse Square. There is something utterly charming about a small town parade.








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Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving, Everyone!

Motorcycle Dude and I are on our own this Thanksgiving. It seems a little strange to have the house so quiet, but this is the Thanksgiving that the kids are with their in-laws.

I couldn't see making big pies, so I made little tarts. Isn't it cute?

String Quilt Progress

I have gotten all of the blocks pieced and trimmed. I started piecing the flowers.
















 Some of them are strings.

Some of them are crumbs. I have ironed the freezer paper on the back, but haven't turned and starched them. It's a little tricky making sure that I position the points far enough away from seams so that the points can be sharp.







While there are only 28 flowers, I'm going to have an awful lot of leaves, 56, and circles, 84, to applique.

 Hop on over to Patchwork Times to check out the other design walls.

AZLAQ President's Challenge Show

Yesterday, was the Arizona Longarm Quilters' Guild's President's Challenge quilt show. There were only 24 quilts, since the guild is small. I had entered three quilts, Blueberry Twist, Twinkle Stars, and Mashed Potatoes.

I had intended this to be entered into the overall category, but the judges shifted it to the custom category. I did the borders separately, but the interior of the quilt is freehand overall quilting. Nichole Webb calls it Fantasy Freehand. Carla Barrett calls it Artistic Freehand. Darlene Epps calls it Floral Fantasy. I call it quilting for those with a short attention span. I used designs from all three designers, plus some that were inspired by motifs in the fabric.

Mashed Potatoes got a Third Place in the Pieced Custom category. This is one of my favorites. I really like the way that this quilt turned out.

Twinkle Stars was the last quilt that I entered. This one received First Place in the Pieced Custom category, and it got Best of Show! I was shocked, and honored! This is a longarm guild and all members are very talented. I'm still surprised that I was honored with these ribbons.





Tune in tomorrow. I'll have pictures of the progress on the string quilt.

Design Wall

Here we are so far. I'm continuing to work on the string blocks for the MQS edge-to-edge category. I have more stitched, but not trimmed.

I have been trying to get the tulip design refined. You can sort of see them at the top of the picture. I think that I need to stretch out the leaves a little bit, longer and thinner.









Pop over to Patchwork Times to see all the other great design walls.

I didn't accomplish more as I was winging my way to California.

My dear-daughter-in-law gave my daughter a beautiful, surprise baby sprinkle. My daughter didn't know that I was flying in. DDIL pulled off the surprise.

What is a baby sprinkle?, you ask. Well, a sprinkle is a party for a mommy who doesn't need a full shower.  It's purpose is to acknowledge the special baby that is coming, but it's for the mommy who already has the basic baby necessities.





I don't have a good picture of the surprised guest of honor. The result of forgetting the real camera at the house, and having to use my cell phone camera.

We had a wonderful time. I didn't get the baby quilt finished, but was able to get a sweater and hat set knitted up.

Ready for the Longarm

 
I've finished the top for the new grandbaby. 
It's much cuter now that the applique pieces are on it.
I should be able to get it finished in time for my daughter to open it on Christmas morning. Don't worry about me spoiling her surprise, it's not a surprise. She saw the kit when I bought it, and she knows I've been working on it.
I had to make sure that she liked it.

I made a decision on the string quilt, thanks to all the feedback from friends and readers. I've decided on the applique border, since the Overall category allows for one border to be quilted differently than the main body of the quilt.

I reduced the size to a square quilt. This will reduce the number of applique tulips, and still meet the size requirement. I've also decided that the tulips will be made from string pieced fabric.

I'm getting excited about it now. A little apprehensive as well. Applique is not my forte. After trying a few different techniques, I've pretty much settled on the freezer paper method.
I seem to do a better job when it's prepped ahead of the hand sewing.


Thank you for helping me make a decision. Pop on over to Patchwork Times to see other design walls.

Decisions, Decisions

I have decided to try to enter quilts into two categories at the Machine Quilter's Showcase. The first category is Overall Design. This category can be any quilt design. The second category is Bread and Butter. This category is restricted to two quilt blocks, Storm at Sea and Snail's Trail. Whew, no difficult decisions there. Storm at Sea is a design I've liked for years. Decision made.

It's the Overall Design category that has me stumped. I have been working on designs for the string quilt blocks that I've been making for a year, or two, or three. String blocks seem appropriate for an overall quilting design.

My friend, Kathleen, had this really great idea for a border for those string blocks. Now, I haven't done it justice in EQ7. Her flowers were much cuter. I just haven't figured out how to use the applique tracing feature of the program. It does sort of give you the idea of the border though.

This is design #2. I'm using the string blocks, but have white on half to create the zigzag and bring the white into the border. This plays on Kathleen's design with the stems creating a zigzag effect.

This is #3. The quilt would be trimmed at the red band to create a zigzag shape.















Which one is your favorite? I could use some help making a decision. Please leave a comment with your choice.