Free motion quilting

I know people have their favorite and least favorite parts
making a quilt from start to finish. I have gone back and
forth over the years liking and not liking certain steps. I
used to only like piecing, then I wasn't too crazy about
cutting but now I enjoy it. One thing I have done that
works for me (having A.D.D.) is to have many projects in
many different stages. That way, if I feel like piecing, or
cutting or quilting or pulling fabrics for a new project, I
work on the quilt in that stage. I do limit myself, however,
so I don't have only UFOs! I get some momentum going
to finish things.

Well, my least favorite part--always has been and
probably always will be--is quilt MARKING. I hate to
mark quilts for quilting. So whenever possible I choose
to free motion. (I do quilt in the ditch, but usually more
quilting is needed.) I don't mind stencils but they can
be limiting sometimes.

I fretted and stewed over how to quilt this pineapple
blossom pattern from Bonnie Hunter . I have a deadline
too. This is for my niece and her bridal shower is June
21. At least I have more time than the last one though.
I started drawing patterns on a piece of tracing paper
but that didn't work. I got out all my stencils but that
didn't work either. I wanted to do a little more than
meander all over. So last Friday night, with my deadline
looming over me I just sat down and started free motion
quilting. I realized that you can over think some things.
I love the large flower and the vine going through the
light squares and triangles. The only thing I should have
done (where I should have thought a little more) is to
quilt the vine in the lights with neutral color thread.

Here is a photo of the whole quilt.
I still like it and the best part is I didn't have to mark
anything!

Until next time...
Susie

Guild Anniversary Party

This is our 2008 Anniversary quilt top. We have a great
tradition in our guild that is for all the members to pitch
in and make a quilt top, organized by the previous
winner. Every member is eligible for the drawing (unless
they have won in the past 10 years) and they win the top
and they get to do the next years' anniversary quilt top.
This is a split nine-patch. We were all given the
background and told to use darks from our stash.
This one was organized by Kim and was won by a brand
new member. This will be a good way for her to get to
know people when she does next years.

The guild also sponsored a nine-patch Pizzazz class.
Here are some of the samples.

We also had a UFO challenge where we had to sign a
contract to finish one of our UFOs to be done by the
Anniversary dinner. This quilt was inherited by Susan
and made by her great grandmother. It is beautiful
and in amazing condition. All she had to do was bind
it. Needless to say, it won! And no, we did not use
it as a table cloth!

Until next time...
Susie

Life is just a bowl of cherries

Our guild president is giving up her reign and in keeping
with tradition we are giving her blocks. Hers are signature
cross blocks and we are supposed to personalize the
centers. I am a new machine embroiderer so I wanted
to embroider the center. I saw this "Life is just a bowl
of cherries" fabric at Joann's a few years ago and
literally bought 20 yards of it. This was before cherries
were "in" and I even had to search for red and white
fabric to match it. Now it seems cherries and red &
white fabrics are everywhere! I started with a few FQs
and then planned a king-size quilt around it so bought
about 6 yards more, then decided to use it for the back
too so I bought another 12 yards. Needless to say I still
have some of it and even if it is a little thinner than
quilt-shop quality, it has a nice soft feel and I love it.

So thanks Evelyn, you were a great president.

And on the bird front...we have an empty nest! Yep,
they have flown the nest and boy just like the kids they
left a mess behind! So on my husband's to-do list this
weekend is to scrub the side of the house and the
front porch. He is so good!

Bye-bye birdies!

Until next time...
Susie

Leap, and the net will come

This phrase has been in my mind for many years.
You can apply it to all aspects of your life. It was written
by Julia Cameron in The Artist's Way. Being somewhat
of a control freak I definitely need to have faith that
the net will come, if only I would just leap. The creative
process for me is a struggle. There are many reasons
for this but for now I will just keep the topic to quilting.

Making scrap quilts has been very freeing as well as
a learning experience. Dontcha just love Bonnie's
patterns?! They are so easy yet look complicated.
When I am picking through my scraps and I see a
piece that I think might not fit in, I force myself to
use it anyway. It always looks good when you get the
whole thing put together. I have even gotten better
at not worrying about the same fabrics touching
each other!!! I am becoming more random, instead
of "planned random".

This quilt still needs borders and it will be donated
to QOV. It will be my seventh QOV quilt.

Until next time...
Susie

Ahhh...nature

Aren't they cute, all snuggled together? We think there
are three, even though there were four eggs just a
few days ago. Mama robin seems to be more used to
people living just a few feet away and only freaks out
when we actually walk onto the porch. I had bee at my
house last night and when Georgia and Terri left
they caught the poor mama off guard, blocking her
escape route. She flew around the porch a few
minutes before she escaped into the open. We were
all holding our breath and ducking so she could
escape. I love watching this miracle of life unfold
but I know I won't be happy with the noise and
poop later. We will remove the nest when all the
babies are gone.

Do birds use the same nest or do other birds use
already made nests? We won't be taking any
chances that they do!

Until next time...
Susie