Thursday, March 29, 2012

AAAANnndddddd she's ahead of the curve, again!

     Ya know how in love I am with the pot holder quilts and method?  Go back and read the previous 2 posts if you missed them.  Well, I went to work yesterday and a rep was in with the girls and........Marcus Fabrics is coming out with a fabric line and pattern based on one of the pot holder quilts in the Civil War Quilts book!    It's called "The Union Forever".  If you go to the Marcus link above, it'll take you to the
free pattern.The Union Forever by Jean Ann WrightThe original one has some of the center blocks done with red, white and blue fabrics in sort of a medallion in the center, but what the hey, change is good!
     In the meantime, I'm still working on the knife edge table topper and will have a picture tomorrow, hopefully, and I'm considering cutting apart a "modern" quilt I did with lots of Amy Butler and Kaffe Fassett fabrics in big blocks with white sashing.  I think I'll have fun turning it into a pot holder quilt and actually get it done.  Might add a little more kick with different block bindings!  (My grammer is getting more and more incorrectly convoluted, but that's how my brain is working right now, and I have to get things down.)
   I have to go work on my pineapple blocks, as this evening I get to mow the lawn again, today, the 29th of March.  Right.  As my daughter says, "It's not snow".  Amen.
later,
linda

Monday, March 26, 2012

Making progress


Here's a quick peek at my applique blocks:  

 
     The blue is really black, and I really do have all 4 done but I couldn't find the 4th one at the time, and it's a good thing because one of the cats managed to gack a hair ball in the open upper quadrant, and if the block had been there, well, you see where I'm going.
    I'm getting ready to go put batting and backs on these so I can quilt them on my Sashiko machine, then whip stitch them together!  Probably take me 'til the end of the week, but we'll see.  
   We've had 2 weeks of summer already and today it's back to seasonal temps in the 50's, but now that every tree is in full bloom we're supposed to get a killing frost tonight.  I hope it doesn't get all the apple trees in the orchard I like to pick in the fall.  This weather is too weird.  But the sun was shining and I got things done....mowed the lawn in March!!!
later, 
linda

Friday, March 23, 2012

Back--with a vengence

Oh, yeah, I'm back.  My new knee is great, I'm coping with my hives and my shingles are gone.  It's been a weird 4-5 months.  While I was gone, the girls at the shop where I work found a new-ish book:

 
      It's by Pam Weeks and Don Beld and it deals with "pot holder quilts"--quilts that are made as individual blocks that are completely quilted and bound, then whip-stitched together!  Makes group quilts as easy as those knitters and crocheters have it.  What it does for me is feed my "lazy quilter" mode.  I get to hand or machine piece a block, hand quilt or machine quilt a block, and bind a block  and then whip stitch it in rows or square units.  If I do it all by hand I get to do it all on the couch without displacing the dogs or abandoning Mr. Wonderful! 
     Look at this sweet block!  I turned it into a table runner by adding just 3 more (they're 14" blocks), and now I have plans for getting other quilts that I have in assorted stages of "not finished" actually finished!  And I'm getting to hand quilt without having to wrestle a big hunk of fabric stuff.
Right now I'm working on a pineapple applique table topper that will have a knife edge finish instead of applied binding.  If I go applique right now, I'll get to post a new photo in a day or 2!  
Check out this book!   
later, 
linda