Spin Wheel

I saw this quilt in a back issue of Fons and Porter magazine and decided to make a single block as a pot holder. Great boutique item!

Quilting directions rarely give any instruction for left handed cutting and piecing so I figured I would cut the strip set left handed and assemble as usual, but that my block would spin the opposite direction. Turned out that wasn't going to happen in this case, the pieces didn't fit together at all. Back to the cutting board...

 

Add the background rectangle and trim.

 

I layered two pieces of 100% wool recycled from an old Pendleton and a backing and machine quilted it. Wool is a good insulator because it doesn't melt like polyester and it won't catch fire like cotton.

 

I bound it with the green to make it look a bit like a border. It was fun to do and I learned how to piece a block with partial seams.

Morning Walk

We are desperate for rain this season, but the views are still lovely.

View from the backyard.

 View from the front yard.

That's our house under the large pine tree.

With This Ring...

We recently celebrated 34 years together. I was so tickled when Frank came home one night and asked if I'd like to go shopping for a new wedding ring. Would I?!

My ring was completely worn out and his was so tight he needed lots of soap to get it off. This time we got a matched set. I was thrilled!

Red Influx

Every year my guild has a Country Store Boutique as part of the quilt show. This year I spent most afternoons in August and September finishing UFO's and making items to sell in the Boutique. We figure we'll be moving out of this house someday and it's always good to 'turn over the inventory'. 

True, it's a quilt guild boutique, but items include crafting, knitting, general sewing supplies and hand made items. I offered a few of my reclaimed luxury yarns and some knit wear. I made a few hundred dollars and didn't have any booth fees. It was a win-win situation.

But I also bought stuff while I was there. Wait... that's not the point. But every year the ladies working the boutique, or shopping there, tease each other that we're just swapping our fabric and notions between us.

Red: Probably 5 yards, 3.00.

Purple: Probably 3 yards, 1.00.

Thread: 3 new spools, 1.00.
 

 
You've all heard me talk about prewashing before, so I'll let the pictures speak for themselves. It's fun to add to my stash from someone else's collection. It brings a little bit of that person into my quilting.