design wall monday

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 are still on the design wall ready to sew together. It is so delightful, the first pieced border actually fit without a lot of easing. I also have the 12" blocks to do as well, but there isn't room for them on the wall right now.

Mile a Minute Blocks
When I was cleaning up all the scraps that accumulate when doing a sampler quilt, I decided to try MAM (Mile a Minute) blocks. I used some templates (Marti Michell) to cut out as many shapes as I could, then put them together with the various leftover small strips. After making these blocks, I only have a 8 x 8" piece of the grayed blue, and about a quarter yard of the second orange fabric left. I had hoped to make this quilt all from stash, but when I cut those 120" final borders, I knew I didn't have enough of the green to make all three plain borders the same, as well as I still needed the spacers for the block borders. I went with some other quilting friends Friday over to the Kansas Farm quilt shop, and found a compatible green (after checking that I had nothing in my stash to work).

Pink-eye, it's not just for kids
I came back with something more than I purchased - a case of pink-eye. Farm doorknobs carry a lot of bacteria, is what I guess was the problem. It started within hours of returning home, where the 2 DGDs were having a slumber party with Grandma. I had them sleep in the living room, instead of with me in the bed, and I practiced really good handwashing, and neither of them has come down with it yet. They were going to spend Saturday with GMa, but after I reported to their mothers what the eye doctor said, the moms quickly made other arrangements.

New Quilt started
While their mothers were here, we discussed Christmas presents. DD requested a "blanket" that could take a lot of washing. DGD#2 is the ladybug bedroom, so I found some fat quarters of Red, White, and Black, and started a Stashbuster quick quilt with them. I'm doing 20 blocks, so it should be big enough for her twin bed. I may have to add a bit more to the length, so it will cover DSIL's feet (6'4") when he reads books to her in her bed. I'm making it as a reward to myself. Every time I finish putting on a border on the king-size quilt, I sew a seam on these twenty blocks. It keeps me from "giving up" on the borders of this giant. I had planned some long-arm quilting today, but I don't think Rose would like me to "contaminate" her house and the quilting machine with pink-eye germs.
Happy Quilting,
Becky
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