What I played with today

This top was made by Jay from Nebraska, a fellow HeartStringer. I quilted it with Baptist Fans, and today was inspired to finish it with the binding. Judy L http://www.patchworktimes.com/ has a tutorial for sewing the back of the binding from the front, so I gave it a try. Mine wasn't as neat as hers, but it did work, and this quilt is finished. Jay has a project making quilts for a nursing home, but this one doesn't fit his measurements. It's too wide for a lap quilt, and too square and short for a twin bed. I'm sure it will make someone in the Women's Shelter feel better. I tried Mary's setting for taking the picture, but my pink petunia's don't work as well with this quilt as her red geraniums would.

These are the 4 rolling star blocks for the corners of my Secret Project. The top right one was the first, and I made the outside diamonds with the same fabric on both sides. I like the other three better, but I probably won't make another one. They are merely fillers in the corners of the Secret Project. These are all made from scraps of my DD's wedding quilt. I used 1 3/4" strips to make it, so I used a template and cut a lot of them up into diamonds - they make a 6" block if you use just a single row of diamonds. I still have plenty left to play with, plus more scraps I can cut up. My DD always loves red, White, and Black, but I also used gray in the wedding quilt. I've never taken a good picture of it - it's a large king. Maybe one of these days.

The right block of these was supposed to be a June/July block for the Stashbusters Ugly fabric Challenge. I turned the flying geese inward instead of outward, so it ended up being another T block, just with the lights and darks reversed. Some astute Stashbuster pointed out my error to me. I always love to see how blocks look when you change the fabrics/values - I thought you might like to see these.

I also did a bit of mending - ugh! I only had 3 things, and about an inch of each item, but I had to change out the throat plate and the foot in order to sew them as they were knits, and needed the overlock stitch. Now they can be put away so I can clean off the sewing table.

I'm still doing odds and ends waiting for new glasses. I see the eye surgeon on Tuesday, and I hope the eyes will be "ready". I want some bifocals so I can read and see across the room without having to change glasses. I hate half glasses, and how you have to tilt your head to see over them. I rather just wear glasses all the time. One eye needs help to keep it from having double vision, but overall, I'm so much happier with the results of the 3 surgeries, and would do it again, even knowing I would have a new crop of floaters to look through. I can see at night again, and the huge halos are gone. I was able to see to match my points on the rolling stars, and the edge of the binding wasn't jagged where the bias seams were sewn together. I used to miss them by about an eighth of an inch. For me, that's a lot of improvement. I'm so grateful I found an eye surgeon who has the skill to change out my lens implants. Thanks, Dr Doane.
Happy Quilting,

Becky

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