Becky's quilt obsession

The holiday has taken a toll on the design wall. The king-size of last week is down for "security reasons", and we are off in another direction. I finished the red, black, and white quilt top that I posted about last week. It, along with others, is waiting for a turn at the long-arm machine. Last Friday, I did indeed have a sew-in for the grands and cousins. The first picture is of them with their pillowcases. The length of the picture does not show that 3 of them made the second pillowcase for body pillows. This was a full day/evening adventure, and they were very proud of their accomplishments. Note the color of the pillowcases on the far left (she's not asleep, I just can't take good pictures). This is the Gniece this quilt top was being made for. The pillowcases were made to match the colors in her room! I asked a lot of questions, and ended up finding out that she doesn't like pink, her sister likes pink. I just wish I could keep the two of th...

Ugly fabric quilt progress The Sunshine Ugly Fabric Stashbuster Challenge quilt has now grown too big for the design wall. The first plain 6" border is on, and two sides of the 6" block borders are on. Someone asked what my Ugly fabric was - It is the "fireworks" found in the center of many of the blocks. I picked it for the challenge as I don't work well with grayed (toned) fabrics, and I wanted to gain some skills with that. The Challenge also involved using a bit of orange and/or yellow in each block, also colors I don't use much. I have learned that most quilts need a touch of yellow to put the "sun" in them, but I don't pick it as a main color, which I have done in this quilt. I'm sure hoping the couple I'm giving it to for Christmas like these colors. They've wanted a large quilt from me for a long time (they have a large lap quilt, denim quilt, and lap Christmas quilts), but not one for their bed. The other two borders...

Wow, I LOVE these giant templates. If I could quilt like some of you (Mary), I wouldn't need the templates, but with them, I think this quilting is so neat! The quilt above is laying flat; the hills and valleys are a result of the quilting and the tangential light streaming in the window. It was really nice when I walked in the "studio" and saw this. It's ready for trimming and binding. It's not a Christmas gift, so I will put the binding on the front, and save the turning to the back for something to do while elevating my knee in January. Happy Quilting, Becky Email me

All the blocks for the king size quilt I'm making from the Stashbuster Ugly Fabric Challenge are finished. I made 36 - 6" blocks, and 28 - 12" blocks. I'm tired of making blocks from this group of fabrics. The EQ drawing at the top is similar to the set I'm using. I haven't figured out how to make sashing in the borders in EQ. I decided I didn't want to have to deal with pressing points back with so many of them in this quilt. I'm putting about 1-1/2" sashing between each block in both borders, so I'm using one less block than it shows. I'm so ready to stop working on this. However, I'm going to persevere as this is a Christmas present. Giant Templates - Our giant zig-zag templates for the Circle Lord arrived late yesterday! I'm planning on playing with them this afternoon. They are my Christmas present, but I need to finish other Christmas presents with them so I didn't wait until the 25th to open them. I hope I lik...

I must have Big Stars on the brain. Today I finished the center of the Stashbuster Ugly fabric Challenge quilt. This will be a king-size Christmas present. The center is 48" square. The other picture is of the finished blocks to surround the center. It will have a plain border, a border of 6" blocks, another plain border, then a border of 12" blocks. I need to sew a lot, as I still need about 12 more blocks of each size. I did go down to the long-arm and loaded the two charity quilts that were on the design wall last Monday. My friend wanted to try a pantograph on something before she tried to do it on a snowman quilt top she made. The first pass was a bit rocky. I left it for her to practice. I hope she finishes them soon, as I have 4 tops waiting that need to be finished by Christmas. I really wish I was better at the long-arm, but it takes constant practice, and I don't do that right now. Even just loading and helping her get started was rough on my j...

Oh, the innocent-appearing shredded carrot. The restaurant I ate at (not for long) last evening garnishes their garden salad with them. Do you see how they curl a bit on the end? If you get a piece with that curly end down in your windpipe, it gets stuck! You, of course, have to cough, and cough, and cough, but every time you try to take a breath that thing gets pulled further into your lungs. The patrons of the (nice) restaurant look at you with wide eyes, the manager and wait staff come running, your daughter tries a Heimlich but you push her away because you've taught CPR so many years and you keep thinking no Heimlich if "they" are still moving air past the obstruction. You now understand about panic! When you finally cough that now nasty carrot and other contents up in your hand, no one wants you to go to the bathroom alone to wash - and an old OR nurse can't stand "contaminated" hands! After everyone sits back down, your 3-year-old DGD crawls un...

Yesterday I started and finished the quilt kit for Quilts for Kids. They ask that you send another quilt made from your stash. I had this Disappearing 9 Patch cut out, so today I finished it. If I ever make it down to the quilting machine, they can be loaded together on one backing for quilting. It is much faster that way. I'll either send back their backing, or use it on another charity project. I haven't been quilting on the big machine, other than the small quilt for the railroad symposium. My stamina and pain tolerance aren't what they used to be, and one quilt on the long-arm usually costs me an additional day of rest (rather than doing the things I want). I only work 2-3 hours in a day, with a rest time each hour, but it still is a problem. I'm having my second total knee the end of the year, and I'm hoping things will be better. I think we have found the problem, and fixed it, that created the slow, and incomplete recovery with the first knee. I f...