Panic...

It hit me this week that next weekend I leave on a week long quilting retreat. Oh no! I've been focusing on getting UFOs completed that I have nothing ready to bring. It's certainly not due to lack of fabric or ideas. It's a matter of merging the two!

I pulled out some newly acquired "Prince Charming" fat quarters and added some quieter basics from the stash. This line is so gorgeous and reminds me of Tula Pink's earlier line "Neptune". In fact my friend Rene has some "Neptune" left and told me the lines work really well together. Some smarties know when to save old fabric!
I thought I'd try "Birdbath" from The Practical Guide to Patchwork after my failed previous attempt at this pattern. I decided to use the print in the center to showcase some of the lovely prints in the line. One block...
Became two...
I also looked at my stack of grays, pinks and aquas and decided to make something other than the Asterisk blocks. A little tip here: You'll notice that my stacks are uneven. I'll be using less gray than pink or aqua. I think keeping the proportion of colors uneven makes a quilt a little more interesting.
We had a speaker at our guild meeting yesterday who showed a quilt using these blocks.I knew immediately that was what I wanted for my new project. I'm hoping it will give me look I'm going for.
Just thought I'd share with you my little garbage bowl. If you watch Rachael Ray at all, you know that she always keeps a food garbage bowl on her counter when prepping. I do the same at my sewing machine for snipping "dog ears" and trimming triangles. Makes it easier than bending over a trash can.
I'm feeling better about being ready for next week and enjoying the view...

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Thinking about what's next...

I'm finishing up some ongoing projects. So in between a few excursions on this Holiday weekend (including shopping for a new dishwasher) I pin basted my Hexagon quilt. You'll notice I pin baste on a table. No crawling around on the floor for me! I start in one corner and baste what's on the table, then move the quilt to do the remaining sections.I did get the quilting done. On tap a movie and binding tonight.
These blocks are finally coming together. It's working so far; I'll keep you posted!
And while I was quilting, I was thinking about what to start on next. I'm going to redo my guest bedroom this Summer. The walls will be silvery grey and I bought a really cute aqua night stand at Home Goods last week. I'm thinking of doing grey, aqua and pink.
I want a simple quilt with lots of white. Something a little whimsical and fun. I made these Asterisk blocks, increasing the size to 8" finished - it might be cute. Any other ideas?

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My Summer Blankie

I'm not sure I can call this a quilt since it has no batting. I hope in this picture you can see how soft and cuddly it is... and why I'm calling it my "Blankie".I started with 3 yards of flannel, cut in half lengthwise, selvages trimmed and sewed together along the long edge. I ended up with a backing 54" x 80".
I cut strips of 54" wide voile in widths varying from 2" to 6".
I placed one strip along the 54" edge and added a second strip, right sides together, pinned then sewed.
I continued adding strips by pinning the loose edge of the strip and adding another.
When the entire flannel backing was covered, I trimmed the sides even.
Voila! A light, Summery blanket/quilt/blankie.
With a wonderful stripe for the binding (Innocent Crush). I'm ready for my Summer naps!

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Quilt Love...

I took 22 pictures of this quilt. I'm in love!
New-fashioned Dresdens.
Soul Blossoms plus some stash prints.
The blocks were trimmed to 13 1/2" The sashing strips were cut at 2" x 13 1/2". The Nine-Patches were made from squares cut 2".
Yes, I'm in love with this quilt.

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As pretty as a quilt...

I finished sewing my Dresden blocks together today, but I'm adding a small white border. Once that's done I'll have some pictures.

In the mean time I thought I'd share some photos from the Flower Fields in San Diego. Not a large garden, compared to our Missouri Botanical Garden, but certainly breathtaking!


That's the ocean in the background!
The kids even had a great time. They were given a "map" and told to find the stamping stations to mark their maps. Along with a maze and a playground - there was fun for everyone!
It made me want to put my Mother's Day gift to use when I got home!
We also made a trip to Maisonette and found not only some new fabric, but some new friends and bloggers. As we were shopping I overheard a customer talking about a great modern quilt shop in Kansas City. My ears perked up and when I asked her about it, I learned that the 2 ladies in the shop were modern quilters from Kansas City. Yes, it's a small world and you can read about it here. There are also some great pictures of the shop here.

You really need to drop in on my new Kansas City friends ~ Shea from The Empty Bobbin and Mary Anne from Quilt Logic: It's a Process.

Speaking of new blogs, Shannon is blogging at Fabric Nosherie as she plans on opening a modern quilt store in Webster Groves, a suburb of St. Louis. I'm so excited and plan on keeping her in business!!

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Focus...

I've got several projects in the works and this week I decided none will get done unless I focus on something. So I chose my Dresden quilt and worked on coming up with a setting.

After rejecting a few ideas, I settled on this - scrappy Nine-Patch cornerstones and simple sashing.
I'm doing 12 Dresden blocks and I've only got 1 1/2 left to applique.
It's amazing how things move along when you focus!

If you're local - don't forget the quilter's garage sale at Bindings, Borders and Squares this Saturday. I've got some fabric bundles, quilt tops and finished quilts to sell. Hope to see you there!

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Welcome

If you've been hanging around here for a while, you may remember my determination to make a Starburst quilt here and here. And you may have thought it didn't work because I never spoke of it again. Until now. That's because it's now hiding in the lower left corner of the cover of a special issue of McCall's Quilting called America Quilts for the Home.If you look close, you'll see it on the editor's page.
But on page 12, you can find out how to make your own! It's really a striking quilt and the magazine is filled with many more!
Here's my shot of it, dutifully held up by the hubby. The center 2 rows of diamonds are from Amy Butler's "Love" line and the remainder of the prints are from Anna Marie Horner's "Innocent Crush" line. The background is Kona Coal.
And a little close up of the quilting.
The issue is at news stands now!

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