December Update

Gosh, I'm not posting much, am I? I'll try to start doing better, I promise. ;) I've been busy, though! Here's the Carolina Christmas logo I just finished for Bonnie at Quiltville:


I've also put this logo on different items in the Zazzle account, if anyone wants to show their support for Bonnie and advertise for Quiltville.

Here's what I've been working on in the evenings after work. First, the finished Autumn table runner, at the completed top stage:



When we used it on the table at Thanksgiving, Mom decided that it would look better just a little longer, so I added another couple of rows of blocks on each end. I'm glad I hadn't backed it and quilted it yet!

And this is the Block of the Month row by row quilt I've been doing for the last year, finally all sewn together. It was just a little too tall to hang on the library shelves, so you can't get the full effect of the row of maple leaf blocks across the bottom:



Two final borders on this and I'll be done. I can't decide if I want a 1 inch brown, then a 3 inch green, or a 1 inch green and a 3 inch brown. :D If anyone's interested in seeing all the instructions for the blocks we used for the rows, they're all on the quilt guild's website: www.ucquilts.com

And finally, the pinwheel blocks you saw the EQ design for:


I've decided that I've definitely met and exceeded my scrappy comfort level with this quilt. Color controlled scrappy like the brown/cream/green row quilt = good. A billion different colors of calicoes put together like this one = bad. That triple-scrappy sashing between the blocks is too, too much scrappiness. It does look old-fashioned, but the end result is too busy.

I'm now planning to unsew and rip out the sashings you see there and use a fabric that reads as solid instead, maybe a blue or a dark green. I can always cut up the 1 inch sashing strips into segments for 9 patch blocks, maybe even use them between some solid borders for this quilt. I've got 17 blocks finished. I can't decide if I want to make it a 4x4 layout and have one block left over for the back, OR a 3 x 4 layout and have 5 left over for a whole row on the back, OR make three more pinwheels and do a 4x5 layout. Decisions, decisions!

March Update

First, the block of the month row quilt addition for April, 2009:


I'm alternating colors each star, some will have green centers, some brown.


All the stars will be the same off white muslin. Here's the link to the directions I made for my guild (and anyone else that wants to follow along.)

April's Row

I'm also working on a Heartstrings style quilt, but trying to use up all my strings and strips that are too short. Can you tell this will eventually be a tumbling blocks style quilt? Making that one side of the square from strips allows me to avoid the Y seams that are the bane of tumbling blocks. :)


I have plenty of the navy blue and plenty of the small sprigged white, for my solid diamonds, and of course I'll never run out of strings. I'm paper piecing the string triangles. This one will probably grow to be wheelchair lap sized, for donation.

It might be interesting to try this with all strips, divide them into three piles, strings mostly white, strings very dark, and strings in mediums. Of course, it'd also look neat in batiks too!

And finally, Spring has sprung in Tennessee, here's the daffodils around my mailbox - it's an especially thick clump of them. I hope I remember to separate them before next year.