Becky's quilt obsession

My design wall today is actually a quilt blocking surface. DH and I went to Home Depot and bought some 3/4”  dense foam insulation to use as a blocking surface. I laid some batting on it, and then pinned my Halloween medallion on it. Several years ago DH bought me my own laser level so I could have a straight line to pin against. It’s not a perfect set-up, but it beats anything else I ever tried. I quilted the medallion with my Cog 18” Circle Lord template, and then tried to put 3/4 cogs in the corners.  I hate that you have to work the CL from the back of the machine, because it is almost impossible to backtrack without looking right down on the stitches. They make a CL that works from the front of the machine for APQS, but not for Nolting. I wish they would work on one for Nolting, but I don’t think there is much demand. I’m hoping engineer DH will come up with something when he has time to think about it. I did do one more little thing, a journal cover out of the s...

Most of the past week was spent taking my fledgling quilter to the Happiest Place on Earth. Disneyland was all decked out for Halloween. We spent time there, at California Adventure, and a short time at the beach while visiting with one of DH’s college friends. They've kept their friendship intact all these years.   I did put the borders on the Halloween Medallion wall hanging, so it can go on Black Bart this week. I hope to try out my new Cobblestone board from Circle Lord. I’ll try to bind the pink quilt this week, as well. We have DGD#2 most of the week so her mother can attend a seminar away from home. She likes being outside, so I hope to plant my tulip bulbs this week as well as pull weeds and trim back overgrown roses. The Knock-out Roses loved the heat, and we watered, so they grew very well! Happy Quilting, Becky

Young quilter at work! Grandma did the first and last rows since DGD#1 couldn't see over Black Bart to do the guiding. Other than that, she helped load, advance, and remove the quilt from BB. We used the Cosmos Circle Lord boards – the hardest I have, but she wanted flowers.   She picked some binding fabric; we cut the strips, then Gma went outside to keep DGS company as he did some digging for me. I should have stayed inside and put on the binding. I ended up slipping, falling backwards down onto the steep part of the concrete driveway which unfortunately had the rake laying on it. Nothing broken, but no more sewing with “the hand” for a while. Ah, the joys of growing old and less steady. Happy Quilting, Becky

Winding Ways quilts – I just love them. Nancy MacDonald has such an easy way to do these, including the Medallion Set for this Halloween quilt. I cut out two when I made the first one, and now am just getting around to making the second one for the second DGK house. I was getting into a drawer for something, and the bag was just there. Good timing for a Halloween quilt. The skeletons on the green and the faces on the pumpkins glow in the dark if you “charge” them with some bright light for a few minutes. They glow under black light as well. I quilted a green spiderweb over the finished one – I hope I can do that again. I went to the AQS show in Des Moines last week. There are such wonderful quilters out there. The friend I went with commented that we may have started long-arm quilting too late in life to do such beautiful work. She may be right. Happy Quilting, Becky