For my gal's pal

I give a lot of quilts away -- a LOT of quilts. What else are quilts for?

My daughter has made a very good friend at college and such a friend deserves a quilt!

I used Bonnie Hunter's scrappy trip around the world pattern for the front:

I used a bunch of 10 1/2-inch squares and 2 1/2 x 4 1/2-inch rectangles to make the back of the quilt:

By all accounts, my gal's pal loved the quilt!

Check out Crazy Mom to see what other people have finished!

Weekend Fun!

This weekend I am teaching at Cottonseed Glory in Annapolis, Maryland. On my drive down, I stopped by Washington DC to see the cherry blossoms. They were beautiful!

Here I am, rocking the wind-blown look, right across from the Jefferson Memorial.

I visited the Freer and Sackler Galleries, and my head blew up from all of the loveliness. So much inspiration! I really need a month at home to just quilt.

So now that you know what I'm doing this weekend, I have a suggestion for your weekend:

If you've ever wanted to check out QNNtv.com, it's free this weekend. (Hint: my episode of Quilt It! aired in January). I have subscribed to QNNtv.com for two years and find it a great value. They have so many quilt shows available, all for the cost of a single quilt book!

Have a great weekend!

Happy Birthday!

If you read my blog regularly, you already know that my mom likes tablerunners.*

I pieced a runner for her last fall while living in a hotel room and I finished the quilting and binding in time for Mom's birthday:

Her table is larger than mine so it shouldn't cover her entire tabletop!

_____

* That post was from 2 1/2 years ago and she had 15 tablerunners then. She probably has nearly 30 now. I'll ask her to count again sometime.

Check out Crazy Mom to see what other people have finished!

Rethinking my furniture

My house has no lack of places for my cat Kermit to rest. I have a (very hairy) cat bed in the living room:

We have another bed that usually stays in my office:

Where does Kermit prefer to rest? On a (brand new and clean) pizza box that used to hold a quilt project:

So, if you walk into my house and wonder why there is a crumply pizza box on the floor, it is because my cat has claimed it as his own.

He's been using this box as his bed for over a month and it's getting that shabby chic look. Kermit weighs over 17 pounds and the box isn't meant for that type of abuse. Should I just throw it away?

Design Wall Monday

Last week I drove through Massachusetts and stopped at a cute new quilting shop: Sturbridge Quilting and Sewing Center.

The owner, Gina Zeleznok, is a talented quilter and teacher (she's also a good friend of mine):

I bought some red and white fabrics to make my memory blocks:

Check out Judy's blog to see what everyone else is doing.

Hotel Room Sewing

I am having so much fun teaching some wonderful quilters in Pelham, NH this weekend and got to spend some quilting time in my hotel room.

I finished piecing and putting borders on this scrappy four-patch quilt:

It is not too exciting to look at, but I also finished piecing a king-sized quilt back:

What are you working on this weekend?

A quilt in need of a home

Last fall I was in New Hampshire teaching longarm quilting by day but by night, my humble hotel room became my most divine sewing studio. I pieced the center of my latest quilt in that hotel room.

I added the border when I got home and threw the top in the "to be quilted" pile.

I basted this sweet thing on my longarm with a large loose meander, and then quilted it on my Sweet Sixteen.

The basting worked beautifully. Not a single pucker on the quilt. I felt so smart!

Then, I had to remove the basting. Hours days weeks later, I pulled out the last of the basting. I felt much less smart then, and my fingers hurt!

What is your favorite basting method?

Finally, though, this quilt is finished:

It currently has no home, but I do have a few people in mind.

Check out Crazy Mom to see what other people have finished!

New (to me) Quilting Products

If you know me in person, you know that I am a bit of an applique nut. I found the perfect thread (InvisiFil) and the perfect needle (a straw needle) and thought I would applique with these for the rest of my life. But nay nay! My friend John gave me some new needles to try:

I never thought that I would give up my straw needles, but these are now my favorites! Look for these needles, and look for my friend John's latest quilt design in the Summer Fons & Porter, coming to newsstands next week!

Last night I met Jill Finley from Jillily Studio. I got to see a trunk show of her quilts. So inspiring!!! I am already a fan of her Appli-Glue, but now I am a fan of her Poke-A-Dots:

They solve my thimble problem. Yes, I have had a thimble problem.

If you see me at a quilt show (AQS Lancaster, MQX, MQS) with a little red dot on my finger, you will know that I have been appliqueing and forgot to take my "thimble" off!

If you need a challenge this morning, take a photo of your right hand with a traditional camera. No, really, try it. It is not easy at all!

Do you have a favorite product that I need to try?

Design Wall Monday

Or should I say Design Sofa Monday? I am traveling and took this photo on the sofa in my hotel room.

I decided that I liked the 4-patch center and stitched it down. These blocks make great hand-sewing for travel, so expect more finished blocks in future posts. They are all made from scraps, so each block will be slightly different.

Head on over to Judy's blog to see what everyone else is doing.

My morning view

Every morning (well, most mornings), this is what I see:

It's the shirt I wear to the gym. It makes me laugh (the sayings on the shirt, not going to the gym).

I can't believe that MQX is in about 4 weeks! I will be teaching four classes there, including my new class, Quilting By Heart.

I'm ready and excited to meet my students, and that is why I am at the gym every day -- just so I can keep up with them!

See you at MQX!!!

It was my honor

Last week I had the honor of quilting a new sample for my friends at the Quilt Basket. This was an update of their wedding quilt with contemporary fabrics.

It is challenging to finish quilts that are this lovely. I found myself continually patting and petting this quilt, crooning "my precious" when I should have been quilting it.

The real danger of quilting shop samples is that it is a kind of "shop at home" experience. I quilt the quilt, I love the quilt, I buy the kit. It is as simple as 1-2-3.

If you need to buy this kit (and you do!), it is available here.