Next up...

After I did a little 'nother-quilt-done jig and had a glass of wine to celebrate my clean workspace this weekend, I dug into my WIP/UFO corner and came up with this, which has kicked around my condo since I made it almost a year ago. I was all psyched about it when I started, then my friends started having little boy babies and all my girly quilts got put on hold.

Made from a Moda layer cake (Modern Workshop, Oliver + S) and a few Kona solids, these triangles are about three-quarters of an inch shy of equilateral (don't ask how I got to those dimensions, I couldn't tell you), so I'm calling it "Isoceles." Definitely a lesson in working with bias edges and trying to get long wonky rows of triangles straight again.

There were enough leftovers from the layer cake to make another top, which you may or may not remember. That one actually got quilted, though I think I was waiting until both of them were done to take a picture. It's been so long, I can't remember.

It's been wonderful working in the cooler Fall temps, but it also means someone is back to napping in the middle of my projects. Quilting may take longer than I thought.

Picnic time, part two...

I'm sure y'all are tired of seeing this quilt. But given I spent most of the weekend cleaning up my workspace and sorting through all my half-assedfinished projects, I don't have anything else to show you. So here are some of the detail shots I took before I entrusted my masterpiece to UPS.

I know I've said that half-inch quilting was well worth the effort, but when the quilt was washed? Oh. My.

The only word I can think of to describe the texture is "luscious." Not a word normally reserved for fabric, I know, but the crinkles and the softness...it's absolutely sublime. There -- I've thought of two words! I'm definitely going to be doing this on another project soon -- one that's going to stay in my house!

I'm pretty proud of the "rock pocket" execution here, too. I made some cute little napkins to tuck in one of the Velcroed corners. The appetizer-sized silverware fits in another. All the corners are piped with the binding fabric and lined with the backing fabric. 

I didn't quite trust my hand sewing to keep the binding on through as many washings as this might get, so I attached it to the back and flipped it around to the front to stitch down by machine. More security, and I don't think the quilt suffers any for it.  :)

I think I'll have to realign the buttons on this one, but I thought it was pretty ingenious -- using the entire corner makes the pocket big enough for a pair 6" plastic plates. I thought about trying to make a pocket for glasses too, but it would have been too lumpy. This way, it will at least be relatively flat when it's folded up. And they can put the glasses in the carrying bag.

Plates? Check. Napkins? Check. Silverware? Check. Seems the only thing this quilt is missing is the food!

Like sands through the hourglass...

A dear friend of my mother's was addicted to "Days of Our Lives." I spent a week at her condo in Florida one spring break while I was in junior high, and we ate lunch with the Horton's and Brady's every day, rushing up from the beach just in time to make sandwiches and settle down in front of the television. That opening line was forever imprinted in my memory that week, and even though Mrs. P's been gone for many years, she was on my mind throughout the creation of this little hourglass quilt.

This was supposed to be finished in May before the birth of my friend's baby. I'm not entirely sure what happened but here it's September, the child is almost four months old, and I'm just finishing it up. Summer was one big unproductive blur, and I have the tan to show for it.

Anyway, I love this! I started out with part of a Kona pastel charm pack, but it just wasn't bright enough. And at some point before it was fully pieced the little guy was born, so out came the pinks (I was positive he was going to be a she!) and in went more saturated prints, solids and pops of orange. The result was this sweet little thing that matches perfectly with the bright yellows of his nursery. I took it to the beach last weekend to finish the binding and bury all those pesky threads. The concession stand served as a great backdrop for the final photo.

Slowly but surely I'm getting back in to the groove. Maybe this will be the Season of Finishes? I can hope!

Time for a picnic...

Well, it's DONE. It took long enough, and I missed the wedding deadline, but the Picnic in the City quilt is finished. And I love it!

I made the center a few years ago from a couple "Summer in the City" charm packs, then didn't do anything with it (surprise, surprise). When I heard my cousin's oldest was getting married, I brought it out. They're her colors (she's a redhead!), and I thought it would make a great gift, but not big enough for the picnic size I envisioned. Fortunately, Jacquie had some Kona Mango that worked perfectly and made it just the right size for two (how convenient is it to have somebody to trade fabric with???). The quilting is all a half-inch apart, which made for some work, but it was totally worth it. Love!

The "rock pockets" in the corners have Velcro for the little cocktail silverware and napkins I'll tuck in, and one corner has two flaps for some small plastic plates, and I made a very cute carrying bag out of the backing fabric for it, complete with grommets and rope handles.

I still have a few threads to bury, but I can ship this one off to the happy couple next week!

On second thought...

Ever get partway into quilting and regret your design? That's where I am today.

I love the effect that this quilting has on my Picnic in the City quilt -- it's just that these half-inch lines are taking FOR. EVER. It's killing my productivity.

There's no choice but to plod along. It's too late to turn back now!

My QC inspector is hard at work...

I always wonder if the recipients of my quilts will find them as snuggly and user-friendly as I intended. Good thing I have someone on staff to pre-test them for me. Although he doesn't come cheap, his work ethic is unparalleled and his assessments accurate, so he's worth every penny.

Looks like this one is good to go!

WIP Wednesday, a day late...

I'm still here, trying to crank through all my projects, waylaid by travel, pet sitting, and gardening in oppressive heat. So here are a couple sneak peeks as evidence that I'm not totally unproductive:

LOVE these tiny stars!