In Time for a March Finish

I finished the binding on this quilt last night, just in time for it to count as a finish for March.

Closeup of the backing and binding...

And a closeup of the simple meandering quilting...

The pattern is my favorite quick go-to pattern for a child's quilt, thanks to Mary at Maryquilts.com -- it's the Quick Strippie pattern.

This uses up another four yards of my pre-2014 stash (2 1/2 yards are from pre-2013)!

I Couldn't Wait Any Longer

I don't care if it was 12 degrees with a fresh coating of snow yesterday morning, but the flannel quilts and pillows on the sofas are outta here and replaced with bright, cheery spring/summer ones!

The flannel quilt on the bed is another story, however....

Lancaster Goodies

Since I already have enough fabric in my stash to make oodles of quilts, I don't really buy too much anymore at quilt shows. But I had to get myself something at the AQS show in Lancaster, right?

So I did....I found shoes to match my quilt!

Here's a bit of an awkward side view, but I wanted to show that part, too...

These are really quite comfortable and I can't wait to wear them to the next quilt show!

I'm Blushing

As anyone who has been reading my blog regularly knows, I was thrilled that my Jane Stickle quilt was juried into the AQS show in Lancaster, PA earlier this month.

So, imagine my thrill when I was at the show and picked up the show book -- my quilt is there in all her glory!

First Finish for March

Finally, a finished quilt!

This was made using leftover fabrics from two other quilt tops (not quilted yet). I decided to quilt this one first because the other two require some thinking, while with this one I just did some meandering loops and double loops.

The last of the fabric was used on the back...

And here's a closeup shot of the quilting...

The pattern is a disappearing four-patch (video here). Very easy.

I still see where I messed up with the layout, but no matter....It's done and used up at least five yards of my pre-2014 stash (actually, all of the fabrics except for the solid cream came from my pre-2013 stash).

I Know How They Feel

This week, I sort of feel like the Jamaican bobsled team at the Olympics. I am thrilled to pieces that my quilt is at an event with the best of the best, but I know that I have no chance of winning for my technical skills. Of course, you could probably say that the Jamaican team was the most popular (they even had a movie made out of their story), so perhaps I have a chance of winning the viewers' choice award....

Multitasking -- Not!

I guess I can't walk and chew gum at the same time...

...or, at least, I can't gab and sew at the same time.

When I was sewing with friends recently, I thought I had the blocks neatly piled into numbered rows so that I wouldn't mess up the layout, but obviously we must have been talking about something really interesting while I was at the sewing machine because I wound up with two identical blocks next to each other. I didn't notice the mistake while pressing the top or while quilting it, but only after the quilting was all done. Too late to change it...oh, well, it's not a big deal because this isn't a "special" quilt; I just made it because I had leftover fabric from two other tops and because I wanted to try the disappearing four-patch pattern.

What's Old Is New Again

My parents are preparing for a move later this year and I've been slowly helping them go through all of the things that they have acquired over their 56 years of marriage. Some things get thrown away, some things get donated to charities, and other things are quickly grabbed by me to keep. One of the things that I recently took was this quilt that was made by my grandmother around 1960 (perhaps even a few years earlier). I think it has a bit of a "modern" look, very similar to today's graphic modern quilts.

The darker green patches seem to be some kind of wool or wool lookalike.

I remember my family using this quilt (actually, it's more of a summer throw because it has no batting; just two layers) many, many times while I was growing up. It was used on picnics and at the beach and has gone through the washing machine countless times.

There are all sorts of fabrics in it...even corduroy and some shiny, satin-like fabric.

Gray square is corduroy

Some of the pieces are made from two smaller pieces.

Of course, with all of that use, some fabric is starting to come apart, as you can see below...

And there has been some repair work done over the years by either my grandmother or mother...

The backing is plain muslin, plus some other unidentified fabric along the two sides, perhaps from old curtains. Very minimal quilting -- it's hard to see in the photo, but there are two vertical lines of quilting and two horizontal.

closeup of fabric on the back

I'm thinking of reproducing this quilt using solid cotton fabrics available today...who knows when I'll actually get around to doing it, but I like the idea. It will go on my "make someday" list.

So Excited!

One week from tomorrow, my Jane Stickle quilt will be on display here...

Anyone out there going to the AQS show in Lancaster next week?