This and That

 I tackled a charm square pack last weekend. I'd never bought one before, but a friend of mine gave me a few packs in exchange for some charity quilting. I had two of these Moda packs, so I thought I'd see if I could make two baby quilts, one for my craft fair this fall and one to donate to the Forsyth Piecers and Quilters Guild for their preemie quilt project.

I've always wanted to try out this loopy L pattern, so I alternated it with some straight line quilting. Goodness, these things are harder than they look! I think it must be a movement thing. Once you get the motion right, it will just fall into place.

 Here's the back. Running low on muslin now:)

Also got a couple more of Beth's antique quilt tops quilted and bound.

Can't wait to start on this last one of hers. Of course, my fellow quilters can see the potential of all that negative space. Feathers here we come!

And last, but not least, I have a design wall, woo hoo! For the past 7 years, I have just laid all my pieces on my bed and carried them back and forth to the sewing machine. This weekend my mom agreed to watch the kids. My husband assured me that these huge 4 x 8 insulation boards would fit in our van, sans seats. And he was right! Now he did have to hunch over like an old woman on the way back since they went all the way over our heads in the front seats. But we did it!

Then I headed to Joann's for white batting. Thinking I could save money, I opted for the Pellon cotton batting on a roll instead of the Warm & White. It felt the same and looked thick, but when I hung it over the insulation board, I could see the purple board and a bunch of lines. This batting might work well in a quilt, but it doesn't have much consistency if you look through it.

Amy, from During Quiet Time, suggested a flannel sheet. Thought that might better for using a lint roller anyway. I managed to scrounge up a white flannel sheet (too small, but close enough), took the iron to it (hey, steam really does work better than a dry iron) and taped it up. You can see the bottom couple of inches of board and a strip on the side, but the fabric sticks so far.

We'll see if it hold up to blocks. If so, I may have to just buy a sheet that will cover the whole thing. That strip is going to drive me nuts!

Beverly's snowmen

Beverly brought me this wonderful snowman quilt that she had made in one of Kathleen Baden's classes. Everything other than the snowmen is this super soft flannel. I just wanted to keep petting it!

Beverly asked me to keep it simple. I used invisible thread and stitched in the ditch on the sashing and cream for the swirly border. I matched the dark blue on the outer board and quilted piano keys.

Classic:) Thanks so much Beverly!

Jonnie's Spin Blossoms

Jonnie brought me this adorable quilt that she made for another of her classes. My old machine would have balked at the seams, but George just breezes right over them. Yay!

A friend of mine had shown me a neat leaf pantograph pattern, so I decided to try that one out. I used white thread on the top and a lime green on the back to match.

Upgrade!

Wow, I just pulled up my blog to post this and noticed the last posting date. Has it really been that long since I posted? I actually had someone email me and ask me if I was ok, hehehe. A lot has happened since my last post. I got a new baby AND a studio! My APQS George arrived a week ago.

This is the box the George came in. How is that for creative packaging?

And this is what I found when I opened it up. So cute!

I've been trying to encourage my husband to convert our screened porch into a proper enclosed studio, but he's just not seeing my vision. When he suggested turning out living room into a studio and moving the couch and tv downstairs into the 'den', I wasn't too sure. But when a woman is offered a choice of maybe having a studio a year into the future (maybe not) or converting the front room into a studio right now, she grabs the opportunity with both hands. Who needs to watch tv anyway, right?

So here it is, my studio. Clients can walk right into this room from the front door and I can block the dogs off with a child gate instead of rounding them up and tossing them into various rooms, while they are barking furiously at 'intruders'. And by the way, that thing on the right that is covered in quilts is my baby grand. This room is both a quilting and a piano studio. Perfect!

According to my husband, the best thing is that he feels like he doesn't have to hide when clients come over:)

I bought this beautiful antique cabinet a while ago and refinished it. It has been holding DVDs, but my fabric looks so much prettier here.

I'm going to make a little curtain to put in the white hanging shelves so my big spools don't get dusty.

Dog number two has sneaked in to peer out the window. Is the neighbor's cat still lounging under my van? Inquiring minds (don't think he has one) want to know.

I'm loving my George now. I was a little stressed at first fighting with the tension. It is a bit of a transition from a well marked domestic machine. These unmarked metal tension knobs are a little scary. Turn it up, turn it up again, oops, thread broke. Ok, there's the top limit. Back down again.

I was having a bit of trouble and I got a t-shirt quilt in, which called for invisible thread. Lovely, who doesn't have trouble with invisible thread from time to time under the best of circumstances? By some act of God (and I mean that literally, I was THIS close to creeping back to my Jane), the tension was perfect at the first go. Hallelujah!! And no railroad tracks here and there on the back with certain curving motions. Maybe George is particular about his thread.

I guess we'll find out. Stay tuned for future installments:)

Here's a couple of quilts I've managed to get done as well:)

And, by the way, the foot pedal isn't a problem at all. Think gas pedal, not domestic, heel on the floor pedal. It is actually more comfortable and less strenuous on the old ankle after a few hours. Wonderful!