{Post 1,140} Binding Strips Cut

Here are 10 WOF 2-1/2" wide binding strips.  

They are ready to be sewn end-to-end and ironed in half.  That means this is ready for binding!!!!!

{Post 1,139} Today's Progress in Pictures

Border and center:

From the back:

The quilting on this might be finished tomorrow or Saturday!

~Joan

{Post 1,138} Floral String Quilt Recipient

This post is dedicated to my dear friend, Mrs. H.  She is one of the most positive and cheerful people I have ever known.  She is my adopted grandma.  

Last year I got an idea of making her a string quilt from my watercolor fabrics.  She is an avid flower gardener.  I even have some of her grand-plants...ones she started for me from her supply.  They are special to me.

There was a period of time where we would visit for 90 minutes or so every Wednesday night.  Sadly, it has been months since we've had a good sit-down chat.  So yesterday I made a point to spend some time with her.  I also got a pic of her with the lap-sized quilt I made for her last year (I had neglected to get a picture when I gave it to her).  It's about 60" square.  I didn't want her to get tangled up in it or have something too heavy for her to handle.

Mrs. H is a very young 88.  Love spending time with her.  

{Post 1,137} Start of Spool Quilting

Finally got the backing pieced for my spool quilt.  It's been a long time since I made a quilt this big.  OK--now that I think about it, maybe not that long (look here).

The difference is that this one has a row of pieced blocks in it.  And I might have forgotten to carry a one, making all 3 rows of the backing 10" too narrow, which meant I had to add an 11" piece to each length of fabric.  Maybe.

Here is a picture as I rolled the quilt top onto the frame.  This is the back of the quilt.

Here are two shots of the machine quilting.  I've only done two passes, but I am making the motifs fairly large.  I don't want a densely quilted quilt.  

Have you ever considered how confusing quilting vocabulary can be? 

~What are you making?  A quilt.  

~Can I see it?  It doesn't look like a quilt.  Isn't there usually puffy stuff in it?  This is just the quilt top.  

~Now I'm quilting my quilt.  Usually I piece them and have someone else quilt them.  

Most people who say they quilt really don't quilt at all.  They piece.  But we all know what they mean, right?

Here is the machine quilting on my quilt that I pieced along with 6 friends' contributions :)

In the top picture, the flash lightened it up some.  Most of these in the borders are Thimbleberries, with a few exceptions.

I used Pajama Quilter's wonky feather pattern.  I am doing it all-over, no special inner border treatment.  Sam sent me a great idea for the border, interlocking S feathers.  I'm not sure my skills would make it look good enough, so I'm opting to go with what I know I can do well.  This is a caramel colored thread.

{Post 1,136} Baby Pictures

A few pictures from the Baby Whisperer (that would be me).  Of course, these don't convey the love and cuddliness of the little nipper, but here you go...

Shortly after his appearance:

Next morning pictures:

With handsome, rugged Poppa:

At home in the kitchen with Grammy Jo (doesn't that sound like a cooking show?):

Emily looking radiant as usual - day 2:

"All is right in my little world...Grammy Jo has me!"

God has, indeed, been so good to us.  9 lbs. 3 oz. and 19-3/4" long at birth.  Growing like a weed already.  Grammy Jo gets daily updates!

{Post 1,135} Border of Spool Quilt FINISHED!!

My b-friends are THE best!!  Thanks to my friend, Sam, who I have actually met in person a couple times (once at my house, once at hers), I have the perfect solution to the "I-want-them-to-look-mitered-but-don't-want-to-take-the-time-to-piece-extra-length" border corner.  Seriously.  

Normally when one miters a border, they make extra length, fold the quilt center at a 45-degree angle (pause for me frantically searching for a degree mark on my keyboard--there ain't one), then mark, sew, and cut the border fabric.  Another scrap generator.  

Sam suggested (and even emailed me a hand-drawn pattern in PDF) that I paper-piece huge HSTs and put them on.  So without further ado, I present:

That is exactly the look I wanted, I just didn't want to generate any more scraps.  Mission accomplished.  I am in the process of piecing a backing now (in which I get to use most of my 20 spools from the first potential border).  Such a win-win-win situation.  Three widths of fabric is about 4" too short for the backing, so I'm inserting the 6" spool blocks to supplement.  I am even including the last 3 spools for which there was not room on the front of the quilt so that I use every. last. one.

~Joan

{Post 1,134} Secret Sister Gift

This past Sunday, I got a gift from my secret sister.  It is right up my alley!!

Upon further inspection:

How cute are these?  An assortment of bright-colored yoyos, a l-o-n-g piece of yellow grosgrain ribbon, large buttons, a set of bright fat quarters, and a new bright green drinking cup!  Insulated to avoid water rings!!  Whoo-hoo!  I feel like I won a lottery that I didn't know I entered.

Special thanks to whoever my prayer sister is this year.  What a great gift!  

There might have been two small Snickers bars on top of everything else, but I can't be sure.

~Joan