Too Many Irons?

I am often asked how I get so much done.  That's ironic, since I feel like I don't get enough done! 

Maybe it's because I have too many irons in the fire?  Thought you'd like to see a shot of my current design wall:

At quick count I can see 6 works in progress--and at least 2 more that are covered up by the Small Feathers quilt and one that's in the basket.  Grandmother's Choice is almost done--only 2 blocks left, then borders and it's fini!

Some are hand pieced, some hand appliqued--they just go on until I decide they are done.  The Scrappy Trip Around the World was a class sample--class is over so I'll work on that as a "leader/ender" project until it's the size it wants to be. 

There is another "leader/ender" project to the left of the Scrappy Trip--it is lots of four-patches--1" finished size.  First there are 4 of them in a block with 1" sashing, then 4 of those become an 11" block, then 4 of THOSE become a 23" block--those are joined with 2" wide dark teal sashing and cheddar cornerstones.  This will be a special birthday quilt for my sister and is half done so far.  I have another couple years to get it done but think I'll try to wrap it up this year--I'm getting tired of all those little 1" squares!

Today I'm off to Long Beach, CA for the Summer Quilt Festival there.  I work for Quilts Inc in the Education department and look forward to these shows every year.  It's our last visit to Long Beach--next summer there will be a great new show in Portland, OR.  I will get to see my wonderful longarm quilter friend, Pamela Joy Spencer Dransfeldt, this Saturday when she and her husband Steve come to the show. 

Do you think I'd get more done if I stuck with one project until it's done?  Is that how YOU work?  I don't think I'd be able to do that--more is better for me. 

For more inspiration check out Judy L's Design Wall Monday blog.

Let's quilt!

Barbara

Small Feathers

I seem to have a thing for Feathered Star blocks and made this one to commemorate the 2013 Raffle quilt I created for our guild show, which is this October.   Here is my "baby":

I'm still hand quilting it--the wool batt is luscious to quilt with.  Then I'll bind it and add a sleeve.  It's 26" square and those feathers are 13/16" finished, the star is 12" finished.

Here is the "mama": 

It's 84" square and the star is 15" finished.  Tickets are still available for this beauty--just contact me and I'll fix you right up with as many tickets as you want--$1 each and you do not have to be present to win.

The kittens are getting adjusted.  The male was diagnosed on Saturday with a parasite, Coccidiosis, and is taking 3 meds to clear it up and control his "problem".  And we have to watch for symptoms in the female--she tested negative but it's early and she may still develop it.  They are 12 weeks old now and growing.  They sleep most of the time, then run and chase each other hard for a few minutes, then eat, "go", and sleep some more. 

Check out Judy L's Design Wall Monday blog to see what others are doing--I seem to make it by Tuesday!

Let's quilt!

Barbara

Call Me Crazy--Kitten Time!

After 10 years without a cat, I caved and went to a kitten adoption fair last Saturday.  My husband insisted we "needed" two so they could have a friend so we selected 2 sweet fur babies.  They came home yesterday, about 11 weeks old and so sweet. 

Here's Patches: 

She's still shy and a little skittish--I never know where she is hiding.  And she is not making friends very well yet.  But she purrs when she lets me hold her and she seems to be getting the lay of the land.

 

Here's Stitches:

 

Isn't he sweet?  He loves to pose for the camera so I have lots of shots of him.  He is very playful and you can hear him purring from across the room.  He thinks Patches wants to play--so why is she hissing at him all the time? 

Even though we prepared by buying all the stuff you need for cats, within minutes of being home I realized they needed collars with bells on them--so I can find them.  They are fast little kitties and I have to be careful I don't get tripped up. 

Today they'll be introduced to the studio as I have to get a small quilt done today--guild meeting tonight.  We're keeping some doors shut so we can keep an eye on them and they won't ever be left alone in the studio--there are just too many attractive dangers in there for them. 

Let's quilt--assuming the fur  babies will let me!

Barbara



Baby Quilt--Topsy Turvy

A couple weeks ago, two great quilt-y friends and I got together for a mini-retreat.  One day we went to a quilt shop out of town and the next day we sewed all day together.  It was just what we all needed and one of them showed me how to make the fun little twister block, also called Square Dance, and probably other names. 

Realizing I needed a baby quilt for a soon-to-be born boy baby, I made this:

It starts out like this:

Then you cut it up into twisty-turvy pieces and sew them back together.  Fun and done!

Check out Judy L's blog to see what other people are working on.

Let's quilt!

Barbara

Grandmothers Choice

It's getting there.  This is Grandmother's Choice, designed by Barbara Brackman, as a block of the week.  The blocks each have a connection to the Suffragist movement, from the late 1800's to 1920 when women got the right to vote.  Here is her blog.

I selected these colors based on the fact that the British Women's Social and Political Union adopted them in 1908 and I love Amethyst.  There is a lot of historical information with each block.  We take so many of our rights for granted, forgetting those who struggled to make our freedoms possible.

One more block gets done today, then just 4 more weeks to go.  I'm not sure how I'll do the borders, time will tell.

Check out Judy L's Design Wall Monday to see what others are doing. 

Let's quilt!

Barbara