I finished quilting the wedding quilt yesterday.
Today, it is time for binding.
My old faithful Bernina doesn’t like this minky like backing. So I think I’ll be using one of theSinger 301s. I have to work today so I have to get moving if I’m going to get this done!
Have a great day!
Linking up with Sew Fresh Quilts, Quilt Fabtrication
I mentioned yesterday that my dad and mom pulled some vintage fabric for me from my great aunt’s estate. I thought I would share some of that with you today. This first pile is all a bit heavier than quilting cotton, more like home dec weight.
This next piece is at least 4 yards, all 36 inch width.
A pretty vintage sheet! New in the package until I opened it.
The next two are same print, different color ways.
I love these border prints. My aunt loved her aprons!
And this last group might be my favorite. There are at least 3 yards of that 30s green!
Not sure where all of this will end up. There is more, but these were my favorites.
Yesterday, I took Big E and Stinky for a long walk while Daughter #1 helped #3 work on her apartment.
We waved at the mail man in his truck and he waved back! So exciting! 
After she took her boys home, I helped #3 some more with unpacking, hanging stuff etc. it was a great day. And my Fit Bit thought so too.
That is NOT my normal day! But I have been working hard at getting all my steps in.
Time to get some quilting in before work. Have a great day!
Linking up with Mel’s Quilting Room, Free Motion by the River
I feel as if I haven’t been in the sewing room for days and not much is likely to happen today. Laundry is piling up, the kitchen needs cleaning and I’m going to have a fun day with Daughter #1 and 3 working on the apartment. Such is life. But I do have a couple projects in the design stage. This is what is on the design wall at the moment.
I didn’t get far on the wedding quilt for my nephew yesterday. I have gotten the backing loaded and the batting cut and I do hope to start the quilting today. But there is another design project on the horizon.
I picked this chair up while thrifting with my sister when I was in Wisconsin. I want to reupholster it in patchwork. I have no idea what I’m doing here. My sister is the upholstering queen and she gave me some tips. She assures me I can do this……
My dad not only saved the two sewing machines for me from the estate of my great aunt, but he grabbed a few boxes of fabric as well. In one, were these fabric samples.
They might find their way into this project….. This is a job I’m going to have to really think about. The chair will live in my sewing room and I want it to be wild and funky. And I want to do some free motion quilting on it. I have redone a couple small rockers and this seems fairly simple, but it is still a bit (a lot) out of my comfort zone.
Have a wonderful day!
Linking up with Em’s Scrap Bag , PatchworkTimes, Love Laugh Quilt, Cooking Up Quilts
Happy Mother’s Day to all of you moms out there! I hope you all have a lovely day ahead. I hope to get some slow stitching in after church today on this.
I have gotten a bit farther since this photo was taken. Later on, we will be going over to Daughter #1’s house for a cook out. After that, I’m hoping to finish loading this quilt and get started quilting it.
Yesterday, this happened:
Beautiful Daughter #3 graduated Summa Cum Laude with a BA in Communications. She already has her job lined up and will start after a well deserved week off. We spent Friday night and some time last night getting the last of her stuff moved to her new apartment. Monday Daughter #1 and I will go help finish unpacking and getting her settled. This girl is nothing short of amazing! She is a world changer!
This cute little guy came to graduation and was good as gold throughout!
Spring has finally, truly come to Michigan. Hubby’s flowers are looking gorgeous.
And the cherry trees are blooming as well.
Have a wonderful day!
I received a Pay It Forward gift in the mail this week from an Instagram friend. Jackie made me this gorgeous Sew Together bag!
It will be perfect for my next EPP project. Yes, I have another planned! I also got a couple fat quarters and this cute pin from a giveaway I won from Quilt Mod.
While I was visiting family last weekend, Mr. Wonderful was up to his old tricks! He went to an antique fair and came home with an early Mother’s Day gift.
Isn’t it adorable? I love the color. This is a very sturdy little machine and the condition is excellent.
Today my baby, Daughter #3 graduates from college. I don’t know where the time has gone! Hug your babies and never miss an opportunity to tell them you love them!
Have a great day!
A friend of mine recently contacted me and asked if I would quilt a quilt for her made from men’s ties. Hmmm….that ‘s a new one for me! She gave me a few tie scraps so I could practice a bit and get the tension right. The entire quilt is not made from ties, just parts of these blocks: 
The red print fabric is vintage and came from her mother’s stash. The border looks like a batik.
I just love how these varied fabrics came together! I used continuous curve quilting in the blocks. The smallest pieces I did freehand, the larger bits I used templates to get a nice curve. I used navy thread in the navy border, red in the “chains”, and khaki in the blocks and background. This took a lot longer than it would have had I used the same thread throughout, but I think it looks best.
Here is a peek at it laying on my guest bed.
She will be gifting this beautiful quilt to her Bible Study leader. Lucky girl!
Linking up with Crazy Mom Quilts, Confessions of a Fabric Addict, Sew Can She, Quilt Matters, A Quilted Passion
I pieced and quilted this quilt about three years ago now. And it never found a home. Sometimes, you just have to patiently wait for a quilt to tell you where it wants to go. This one will be heading to Happy Chemo as part of the Hands2Heart 2016 challenge hosted by Sarah at Confessions of a Fabric Addict.
This backing fabric has been around a while! But I think it fits perfectly.
I learned to quilt these peacock feathers from one of Angela Walters’ books.
This next picture was a total accident, but something about it is cool so I threw it in here :).
This is for Sandra who also likes to hang quilts in trees! 
Have a great day!
Linking up with A Quarter Inch From the Edge for Throwback Thursday, My Quilt Infatuation for NTT
Thanks to everyone for your comments on my new 301A machine! I am way behind on responding to comments since I made a trip home to see family last weekend. I got home just last night.
I drove part way Thursday and stayed in a hotel that night. A bit of sewing was just the ticket after working and driving. I took this well traveled machine with me.
I watched a couple archived sessions of Bonnie Hunter’s Quilt Cam. I had precut my pieces before I left so I was all ready to sew. I brought my leader/ender twosies and sewed them into blocks.
Then I started on my 30s repro hourglass blocks.
These finish at 5 inches. I got 47 of them pieced and have quite a few more cut.
I will probably cut more from the fat quarters I picked up at the garage sale. But today, it is back to the day job. Have a good one!
Linking up with Sew Fresh Quilts, Quilt Fabrication
My dad was recently working on helping to clear out my great aunt’s house after her death at the ripe old age of 99. He came across a couple old sewing machines and set them aside for me. This Singer 301a looks like it has never been used!
There is a mirror finishing this bed.
And the case is pristine as well.
I can’t wait to sew on this beauty! I will share the other machine soon.
Linking up with Mel’s Quilting Room
Are you ready for some fun? How about a quilt along? This is the brain child of Lori over at Humble Quilts. Lori, myself, and four other blogger/quilters will be working on Gwen Marston inspired medallion quilts! Lori is choosing the theme for the center, and then each month one of the quilters in our group will be choosing a theme for a border. And to make it even more fun, you can play along! We will be sharing our progress each month on our blogs and announcing the theme for the next border at that time.
I have loved Gwen’s work for ages. If there was one person I would like to sit and watch work in her studio, it would be Gwen Marston. I thought today I would show you a few of my Gwen inspired quilts. These are oldies! The first one was patterned in Ladies Circle Patchwork Quilts and it was called Pokeberry.
This one started out as a round robin project with my local guild.
I remember so clearly working on this little quilt! I was so pleased with how precise everything was turning out. I made my HSTs for the outer border, added the white border and, WHAT????!?!?!?! I cut the white border wrong! I was so upset I had to walk away. I went to get the mail and my copy of Ladies Circle Patchwork Quilts had arrived. I turned to Gwen’s column and she had written an article about piecing borders and chopping off what didn’t fit. It was a light bulb moment for me. She said this was the way women had worked for years and it wasn’t necessarily wrong. I went back to my little top, measured my HST borders and chopped off the extra.
And the world did not end.
At that very moment, I felt that I began to own my quilt making journey. I could and would continue to learn from others, but this was MY journey and I could do whatever I wanted. The quilt police lost their power.
This one I made in the late 90s when we lived in France. It was inspired by Gwen’s work in her book, Liberated Quiltmaking.
I can’t tell you how many wonky star baby quilts I have made using this idea!
Here are just a few of Gwen’s books. They are all fabulous.
So, won’t you join us in our Gwen Inspired Medallion Quilt Along? The assignment for the first month, is to make the enter block. And the theme for the center, is a basket. Or maybe a cluster of baskets, pieced, appliquéd, whatever! In any size you want. We will announce the theme for the first border on the first Monday of next month. Four borders will be added to the basket center. We will have link ups to share your progress each month. I can’t wait to see how everyone chooses to interpret the basket theme!
It is sure to be fun! Here are the other participating bloggers:
Wendy –http://theconstantquilter.blogspot.com/
Cynthia-http://wabisabiquilts.blogspot.com/
Cathy- http://wwwbiglakequilter.blogspot.com/
Katy- https://katyquilts.wordpress.com/
Lori- http://humblequilts.blogspot.com/
I sure hope you all will join in and quilt along with us!
Linking up with Em’s Scrap Bag , Cooking Up Quilts
