2011 MAQ guild BOM

First, I must report to you that I have finished piecing the baby quilt for my newest grandson-to-be. Sorry, no picture because I don't want his parents to see it yet. They have to wait until it is done.

I will add that when I have no hand quilting projects going on, I can really get a lot more done at the sewing machine. I don't think I have ever put a quilt together in three days, before. Yeah, I know it was just a small quilt (36" x 48"), but still, three days is pretty good for someone that can't sit behind a machine for more that 30 minutes without getting distracted.

The Town & Country Quilters Guild, Maquoketa IA, is having a Block of the Month this year. We are a NQA Chapter and are using the NQA 2010 Block of the Month from the Quilting Quarterly. The plan is to make one block for yourself and one block to give to the guild for their charity quilt project. I decided the easiest thing to do was to make two blocks exactly alike, some days I just don't want to think too much, and since my favorite fabric is Fossil Fern from Benartex, that's the fabric I choose.

The guild has requested all their blocks have a cream color background, so the block on the left is for the guild, the block on the right is mine. I am following the color suggestion in the magazine which is burgundy, dark blue, medium blue, and dark green with white and tan for the background. I decided that Fossil Fern Golden Beige would have to work for both the cream that the guild wants and the tan that the pattern wants. Every quilters has to change something to make the quilt their own, right!

I still haven't gotten my Box 2 quilt from the long-armer, where it is getting basted, so I still have no hand projects except for my hexagons. Guess I will be getting a lot of piecing done on the Box 3 quilt this week.

Box Number 3

Finally, I found the time to get the sashing and cornerstones cut and get the blocks laid out. They are sitting beside the machine just waiting for me to get sewing. I have them stacked in rows going across the quilt but I may change my mind and add the sashing to two (2) sides of the blocks and then sew them together, if I do that method I think I want to sew them in long rows down the length of the quilt. Decisions!

So what else have I been up too? Well, I cut and washed the fabric for my newest grandson's quilt, he will be joining us in April. I won't put any pictures up for a while. I'm going to keep it a surprise for the parents since they always keep the name of the baby a surprise until they are born.

I almost have the binding turned on my MY SIDE OF THE BED quilt (Box 1). I should get that finished today. I have desk work to do so that may be just about all I get done unless I ignore the desk, and I just may do that. I feel more in the mood to sew.

Here's hoping you get to spend the day at your sewing machine.

Blocks to Raffle

Don't ask me why I did it, I just did!

I bought five (5) Blocks to Raffle at the Mississippi Valley Quilters Guild meeting in January (due at the February meeting). Smarty me, decided that I would get them made up early. We were given (2) 3.5" green squares and (2) 3.5" gold squares. All I needed to do was provide (2) 6.5" squares for each packet. Really simple, right!

Well, I sewed the green and gold together and put them into four patches, all 5 sets. Then I got out my scrap box of 6.5" squares and found four sets of red, then headed to the fabric cupboard to find one more and cut the squares necessary.

Oh, I was just rolling along.

Then, when I put a four patch next to the 6.5" red square I found out I had a problem. A Big Problem!!! They were not the same size. Out came the thread ripper and what should have been a 1/2 day project turned in to a 2 day project.

Actually I do like the blocks but I am hoping I do NOT win any of them. I have seen enough of those blocks.

Box Number 3

Where does the time go?

I looked back and it was January 5th when I showed you the picture of the 10 brown blocks from Box Number 3. Then, I said that maybe I would have a picture to show you of the 10 blue blocks the next day! So if you take 12 minus 5, the answer is 7, so where did the 7 days go?

I did get some quilting done on my Box Number 1 quilt. In fact, I had better get another quilt basted or I will have to go thru "quilt withdrawal" when I finish this one. And quilt withdrawal is very painful. So guess I should figure out what quilt is next, Box Number 2 or one of the other quilts hanging in the closet.

Decisions, decisions, everywhere you look there is another decision to be made. But it's fun, isn't it!

Just arrived!

Years and years ago, the first quilt I ever saw using the Stack & Whack method was made with rooster pillow panel fabric. It was just wonderful. Well, when I saw these new roosters from Quilting Treasurers, I thought of that old quilt and decided these fellows would make great stack and whack blocks.

And here are three tone-on-tone coordinates.

Box Number 3

So far, Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday of this week have been so busy that I have not gotten anything done at the sewing machine, nor sitting in my rocker and quilting. I am beginning to have withdrawal symptons. (Like I'm getting really grouchy!) But I did accomplish some on the Box 3 quilt over the weekend. The 10 brown 6" squares each have been incorporated into blocks. Tomorrow (with luck) I will start sewing on the blue squares in the lower left corner of the sewing table. With my table so crowded, I sometimes wonder how I get anything accomplished.

Here are the 10 finished blocks laid out on the floor.