Since I Last Posted

The quilting highlight of my past few weeks was most definitely my visit to the International Quilt Festival in Houston.  It was physically exhausting, financially costly and emotionally draining and altogether wonderful.  It dished up equal amounts of inspiration and humility, and I hope I will get to go again.

The adventure began with just getting to the hotel entrance.  It seems the final World Series game was just a few city blocks away and the streets were crammed with fans and television crews. 

We were fortunate to be in one of the hotels attached to the George R. Brown Convention center and once in, I did not have to venture outside again until it was time to leave. 

There is no way my photography would do justice to what I saw.  This link will take you to the Festival web site where there are pictures of some of the winners.

In other quilty activity…

A friend has had to take an interim position at our church due to the sudden death of a staff member.  She asked me to help her complete a Christmas tree skirt she had promised to her son.  The pattern she gave me was really for a table topper.  I used the traced templates she provided and made the topper from my own stash before I had the courage to cut into her fabric.

This is how her tree skirt turned out after I enlarged the templates she provided.

And, then I made one for me using the only fabric purchase I made at Quilt Festival.

Winter weather has arrived in the Texas Hill Country.  Fortunately, we had no road issues here, but our rain chain is frozen this morning.

Tuesday is usually the day I go out and sew with friends.  I decided to enjoy my nice cozy house instead.

Next UFO Chosen

No finishes to show off as September winds to a close, but I have been at work on my quilting and sewing projects.  I delivered 19 anti-ouch pouches to last week’s guild meeting bringing my total for 2019 to 111.  Saturday was spent with three friends doing housekeeping chores at the place where we gather to sew.  It was both hard work and fun, and the place looks much brighter.

I selected this as the next UFO to quilt and bind.  Backing fabric has been pulled from the stash and batting has been preshrunk.  I expect there will be a lot of stitching in the ditch on this one.

And always, my ¾ inch hexies are my go-to handwork project at night or while traveling. 

Finally, we passed a number of exotic game ranches during a country drive last Friday.  I don't really know what kind of critter this is, but it is definitely not your typical Texas white tail deer. 

Wall Quilt

I managed to squeeze in a finish on the last day of August.  This is a small wall quilt from Kim Diehl's Simple Whatnots Club last year.  I still have several more to complete. 

We were surprised this morning by a nice shower that gave us a little more than half an inch of rain and was very happily received.

11 Years in the Making

I began my version of the civil War Quilt by Jane Stickle in 2008.  It was that year when, quite unexpectedly, I had to opportunity to stand in front of the original while travelling in the Northeast.

By late November, 2014, it was a flimsy and hung in the closet with its backing band binding fabrics waiting for me to get the courage to quilt it.  I decided this year that I would rather have someone else tackle it, and finally it is a finished quilt!

Many friends gave me batik scraps to use in its construction.  The quilt is so large, the only picture I have of it, so far, was taken when I unveiled at last week’s Guild meeting.  

Good Sewing Weather

This is the extended weather forecast that greeted me when I clicked on my weather app this morning.  I am very grateful for a working ac these days. 

While I haven’t mustered the energy to blog lately, I have been at work in my studio (and in my favorite easy chair and at my sewing groups).  So far this year I’ve delivered 92 anti-ouch pouches to the Guild which will be distributed to breast surgery patients.  My annual goal remains at 100.  However, with the guild’s membership putting much of its energy into preparing for our February show, I’ve tried to step up my production.

I’ve also taken a detour from quilting and made these crossbody bags.  The first one I made had issues and serves as a model.  As I became more comfortable with the techniques, I really started enjoying them.  The pattern is available through Brynwood Needleworks.

It's Red

Long time, no post, but I have been on the road a lot in June. 

However, I do have a finish to show!

No one ever said I was a fast quilter.  This project began as a workshop with Mickey Depre, author of Pieced Hexies, in August 2014.  I quilted it with simple vertical rows.  All it lacks is a label.

Butterfly Applique Project

It’s been a while since I worked on an applique project.  When a group I sew with decided to do a project for the guild’s silent auction in February, I was assigned the task of appliqueing three of the medium size butterflies for a quilt designed by Edyta Sitar.  Today I was able to pass these blocks off to the person who will embroider the antennae.  Our instructions were to use any applique method we liked as long as it was turned edge and stitched by hand.

I elected to use starch and a heat resistant template to prep the wings.  

After letting it rest several days, I returned to the Kim Diehl project with all the blunted points.  I worked on it a little more and I think it is better.