It's done!

I finished this beauty last night. I was doing a happy dance when that last border went on. All of the fabric came from the stash. You can't really tell that I used any of the batik strings though. The black/white pile umm stack has decreased in height! It is considerably smaller than what I usually make. My husband accuses me of having a depth perception problem: I don't realize how big my quilts are getting & they generally end up huge! So this quilt was a nice change of pace.  The borders were relaxing to piece. I just cut lots of black/white strips 6.5" wide & an assortment of lengths. I then sewed them together at random until they were the size I needed for a border. I'm really liking this technique. I've used it on one other quilt & it turned out great. You don't have to worry about pieces matching up on the corners & it is a great way to use up some of those larger pieces. 

I guess I should name this quilt but inspiration hasn't hit yet. If any of y'all have some ideas I am all ears. My next quilt lecture/trunk show is this Thursday & I will be taking this with me! I hope y'all have a great day. More later on,

Vicky

Frustrations with the design wall.

I've had this picture in my head of what I wanted this quilt to look like. I really like how the body of the quilt has turned out but now it's time for the borders. I had a large handful of 2" strip sets that I had leftover. I was going to put them around the quilt as my border. As I layed them out two things occurred: #1 I didn't have enough to go all the way around the quilt & #2 the 2" squares are too dark & completely take away from the body of the quilt. Oh what to do. So I vented my frustrations to two Quilty friends & with their help I think that there will be a solution. I'm going to do a simple border of the black/white scraps. Then bind it with a scrappy bright binding. Sometimes you just need to step back & ask for help. I'll try to post pics when I get it finished. Hope y'all gave a good day. 

Vicky

My design wall/floor Monday

We woke up this am to no electricity. Not really the way you want to start a Monday. My husband got up & started to light our Coleman lantern. Small problem though, we couldn't find the matches. I should probably buy another box. So my husband got creative. He got a lighter & lit a pencil on fire to stick up into the lantern to get it going. He was successful  in getting it lit once but then it went out. The next try he used a q-tip that worked. Sometimes I think I'm married to MacGyver.  I was pumped to sew via a treadle by lantern but the electricity eventually came back on. 

I didn't get a lot of machine sewing done this weekend but I did get a lot of hand sewing accomplished. I finished my first Christmas embroidery block, added more hexies & I'm working on some string blocks. 

I hope y'all are having a good Monday. Mine is getting better as the day goes on. More later on,

Vicky 

Nostalgia

I've had this quilt pattern dancing around in my head for awhile. I'm glad that it is finally in quilt form!  When I was a kiddo we had lots of crayons and I would color really hard on scratch paper on the diagonal with as many different colors as I could. Then I would cover the whole page with black after that I would etch different designs in the black. The beautiful colors would shine through the black.  That is what I remember when I look at this quilt.

I really thought that this quilt would use up lots of scraps but you can't really tell  I've used 8+ yards of batik scraps. This quilt is not for the faint of heart. There is over 1500 hst (half square triangles). The black is also scraps. 

Hope y'all are having a great evening. More later on. Off to sew something

Vicky

A one track mind

When I am knee deep in a project lots of things go by the wayside. I am focused on getting this project done. Well in doing that there are things that get neglected. I have been focused on getting my latest quilt done so that I can take it with me tomorrow night when I speak in Holton KS. Well last night I got the top done!! Woohoo! I'm so excited to have it done. It is an intensely pieced quilt. I took it to my quilter today & she said that she could get it to me before I leave tomorrow night, Theresa W you rock!!!!

When I get it back I will post pics. 

So now I am playing catch up on all of my neglected items. Laundry is going, check book is all caught up, bills are paid, one very belated gift sent out & now I need to put on a binding to the treadle quilt. I've had it for a month now & haven't put the binding on. I'd say it's time. I hope y'all are doing well I am feeling very blessed. More later,

Vicky

Pears & piecing

We have a pear tree on our farm that is between 60-70 years old. As my father in law tells the story the pear tree survived the tornado of '53. It's a large tree for a fruit tree but it has never really been pruned & taken care of. It always produces buckets of pears. Last year we picked 27 five gallon buckets of pears. This year was not as good but we still picked a lot.  So I've been canning pears. I've had help this year. Friends Maria & Randi came & helped me pick, peal & can. It's a much more enjoyable process when friends are with you. Right now I'm kind of canned out. So I'm trying to work on my intensity quilt. I've got all of the small pieces together now I just need to add them to the bigger pieces & we'll have blocks! Exciting! I hope y'all are having a good day,

Vicky

One big step down !

Yesterday I had a sew day at a friends house. I was only there for about 4 hours but I got a lot done in that short amount of time. All of my half square triangles are done!!!!! I'm so stinking excited about it. Now I just have to iron them all. It should go quickly, I'm hoping. It will be this evening before I get to work on them again. Friend Maria is coming over this am to can pears. I like getting that done in the am when it is cool. Hope y'all are are well. More later, 

Vicky