I've been working on a challenge quilt and finished it a couple days ago. Since it is not yet judged, I cannot post it. In the meantime, we are downsizing and preparing to move (about 10 minutes from here). It is a bungalow condo with a loft and a larger lower level. My studio loses some daylight but gains area!

Thanks to Julie for her "no pin" notice. I'm using a similar one. 

Also reading your posts, and soon hope to put something up about my projects that I can show you! 

Mariner's Sunset is finished

Some quilts are like a monkey on my back, keeping me from doing new projects, but also scary enough that progress is very sloooow. This one is large, finishing at 72" x 96" and putting on the facing and sleeve by hand took several sports shows and a few editions of NCIS. 

But it is up on a wall, and FOR SALE. I'm hoping for a hotel or some other business with a large space will be interested in it. In the meantime, I'm enjoying the thing, even if it overwhelmed me, particularly the colors and the waves.

And I've started another quilt... more later!

Help...?!!

I'm hand sewing the facing to the back of Mariner's Sunset. It is about 28 feet around so will take a few days. I'll post a picture when it is finished, but I'm very happy with how it looks (as long as no one looks too closely). Getting this one finished will set me free from the nagging so I can move on...

And in that department, I have a question...

The quilt to the right, Kali's Cherry Tree, needs to be quilted. I've been procrastinating on this one too. I have decided how to mount it (it will be framed) but am not sure about the quilting. I don't want it to take over the design, but also don't want to do an all-over panto-type either. 

Any ideas? Email me, or put them in the comments for this post. All suggestions welcome!

Love Knots

This is another Celtic Table Runner that I just finished for my daughter. She saw the first one and asked for it in black and cream. I've never made the same thing twice, but for her... It is named, "Love Knots for Karen" and is about 16 x 40" with the bias strips sewn on by hand. I quilted beside them with invisible thread. Then I used twin needles and made a rectangle around the Celtic knots and finished it with a small meander on the outside edges. This gives those outside 'borders' a nice texture. Also, I put on a facing instead of a binding.

Health update: Heart clinic here says that my a-fib is  caused by an enlarged atrium which was caused by a leaking mitral valve. No fix. Valve replacement is too risky. They put me on three medications, all of which have side-effects. I have not felt well and couldn't do much, but something amazing happened last Thursday. I was praying for strength for the day and suddenly all my symptoms and side-effects left. Don't know exactly why that happened, but I've never felt so good for a long time. It could be that my body adjusted to the meds and at the same time, they really kicked in. As Charles Spurgeon once said, "God never uses miracles when He can use ordinary things!" That is fine with me — and I am very thankful.

Leader Grips

For health reasons, I'm not doing much quilting or much of anything. However, I'm feeling much better and hope to be back at it soon. In the past, one of my biggest procrastinations has been pinning a quilt to my HQ longarm. It takes forever, and I always poke myself with the pins. A few weeks ago, after a visit to Matt Sparrow's studio (aka The Man Quilter) and seeing a product called "Leader Grips" - I put them on my "must have" list. Hubby must have peeked at the list because a set of these was included in the gifts he gave me for my birthday. Check them out! If you have a longarm, you will want these! Sorry, I didn't take a photo but if you search using "images" you will find lots of them. I've set them up, but have not put a quilt on yet. Soon!

Progress Report: Mariner's Sunset

I know, it has been a while. We were on holidays the first part of January and planned to be away the whole month, but circumstances changed and we came home on the 16th. During this time, my a-fib started acting up. Instead of being predictable (caffeine/chocolate intake) it was hiccuping for no reason, and lasting for a day or two instead of a couple hours. I've been in the ER three times for cardioverting (not a lot of fun) and have an appointment with a cardiologist on the 8th. I'm on meds that slow the heart and regulate its rhythm, but make me "excessively drowsy" so moving at snail's pace. Otherwise, I feel okay and am not emotionally worked up about all this.  That wouldn't help anyway!

All that said, sewing is relaxing. I've pinned the leaves in place on Mariner's Sunset and am happy with the look of it. I will quilt them down when my ambition catches up. 

I've also finished the stitching of the bias strips on another Celtic Table Runner, so it is ready to sandwich and quilt. This one is at the request of my daughter. Picture later. 

Chomping at the bit...

Being away from home without my sewing machine -- what can I say? It is a patience-builder, at least. However, there are quilt shops! Yesterday we went to two, and one of them is still whispering to me, "Come back, come back..."

The shop is Sunshine Sewing Company in Margate, FL, near Fort Lauderdale. It is tucked away into a business park and almost invisible. Without a big WE ARE OPEN sign on the door, we might have missed it. However, Fay Nicoll knows her stuff. I asked for "geraniums" and she took me to five places in her humongous collection (at least 12,000 bolts) and found exactly what I wanted in the "end of the bolt" section. 

Some of this I bought in other shops, and I did buy other pieces, but love this set and am eager to get home and sew! I also bought some quilt books and another Patsy Thompson DVD.

We have to go home early (as in Monday) because one of our kids got a long-awaited call for repair surgery on a very painful shoulder. While it is 80 degrees here and below freezing there, we are okay with that.