A Beautiful Day!

I thought before the weekend officially ends, I should post some pictures of the finished quilt.  Today was a nice sunny day so I took the photo shoot outside and brought out the big camera and then I had B-guy take the pictures!!  A clothesline would really come in handy for these kinds of large quilts, but they are outlawed in our subdivision!  Ah, the convenience of the modern dryer displacing the clothesline.  Does anyone who lives in the city still have a clothesline in her backyard?  And if so, do you use it?

On to the picture show . . .

I hope you ladies like the quilt.  It was a pleasure sewing it all together and then quilting it. 

Well, looks like the evening has come to a close and it's back to work tomorrow.  I did manage to sew five pillowcases and started another lap quilt so I got some sewing in.  Yay!  I hope every one has a wonderful week!!

Fini!

Last weekend I finished sewing the binding to the "secret" quilt and as soon as I get some time I will take pictures.  Donna from Donna's Lavender Nest and I attempted a lunch this week, but life happens and it was not to be.  We are scheduled for lunch next week.  So . . . after I do a little show and tell with her, I promise I will be sending this in the mail!!  I just want to thank everyone who participated.  The quilt looks GREAT!!!  I don't remember the exact dimensions, but I had to use a queen sized batting on it, so it's definitely a super-sized lap quilt!!

And speaking of Donna, check out her first quilt pattern that she's now selling on Etsy.  I had the unique opportunity to see the finished quilt in person and it is really adorable!  Way to go, Donna!  Good luck with the sales!

Awhile back I mentioned a project I was working on for the ArtHouse Coop.  It's called "The Mystery Project" and I was sent a Prismacolor marker and the general instructions were to put a piece of artwork out into the universe, take a picture and post it on their website.  So, I've had a few other things to do recently and I just now got around to looking at it and thinking about my project.  I decided I would go look at some of the other pictures and see what everyone was doing.  Good thing, I did.  Inside my package was a card that simply said "If tomorrow came yesterday".  I had no idea what that meant and thought it was just some random thought included in my envelope.  Well, it turns out, that was my subject.  Oops.  Now that I know, I've designed my project and this weekend I hope to make it and put it out into the world for someone else.  I'll keep you posted.

And finally, if anyone was wondering, my doggie is feeling okay (he doesn't complain), but he still has issues.  B-guy took him to the Vet again yesterday and he drained the cyst (for lack of a better word) again.  Lots of yucky stuff and it's infected so tomorrow we start on the antibiotics again.  (We have to wait until the steroids are out of his system.) Twice a day we inject him with saline to clean the area and get the yucky stuff out.  He doesn't like it, but he lies there and takes it.  I feel for the poor guy.  On a high note, he has felt well enough to walk all the way around the block twice this week.  That is a HUGE milestone!!  We used to walk at least a mile a day and recently he can barely make it out of our yard.  I love this dog!!

Quick Update

Today's project:

 Group quilt loaded on the longarm

 Thread selection made:  King Tut Saharan Desert

 Last row quilted

 Removed from longarm

Close-up of stitching

Another shot of stitching

 Backside

 Trusted helper bee hard at work keeping me safe!!

The next step is to trim the quilt and bind it.  Hopefully I will get the binding made tomorrow and by next weekend the quilt should be finished . . . fingers crossed.

I will at some point use a better camera and get some better close up shots of the quilting and a full-size view.  Until then, I hope everyone is having a WONDERFUL weekend!!

Hmm . . .

I purchased a rental property today and at closing this is what I received in exchange for my big, fat check:

 Really??? 

Yep, the sellers handed over this gallon sized ziplock bag and said good luck.  They didn't bother to point out which keys actually opened up the home.

So, after the closing I took the gallon sized ziplock bag to the new home and started in on the keys.  After much consternation, I discovered these to be the magic keys.  Well, actually, only one of the keys is for the front door.  I have no idea what the other two keys open up.  Looks like I've got me some exploring to do!!  I have exactly 2 keys for my house.  Am I the odd one, or does anyone else think the above amount of keys is excessive???  Show of hands, please!!

And as promised, I finished piecing the backing of the "secret" quilt and now I must go load it onto the longarm.  I don't think I'll get a chance to do any quilting until this weekend, but you never know.

The pinwheel blocks will be in the bottom half of the quilt.





Flip Side

I've been working on the backing for the special "secret" quilt and hopefully by the end of day today it will be finished and loaded on the longarm.  Fingers crossed.

 This is the panel that will be included on the back.  Right now it is shown pinned to the front of the quilt.  The third block from the left has everyone's name in it.

The third block over has the title of the quilt and each contributor's name printed on fabric.

These are some of the possibilities for the rest of the backing.  I've been spending a lot of time on this one - probably being way too critical!!  I have other fall fabric, but it didn't look quite right.  I think this morning, it will all "fall" into place and we'll move on.

I've been stepping outside my comfort zone and participating in various exchanges, etc.  Last year I did "The Sketchbook" project and this year I participated in the "4 x 6 Exchange".  Now I am signed up for "The Mystery Project".  I'm super excited (and scared) about this one.  The concept is to make a piece of art (paper, fiber, metal, etc) and put it out into the universe for someone else to find and enjoy.  It's sponsored by Prismacolor and this is what they sent me in the mail to use.  My color is yellow.  Stay tuned to see what I do with it!!



I desperately wanted blue . . . heavy sigh!

And I really do have a soft spot for the written word and all of the entrepreneurs out there who are making their own magazines, e-zines, zines, etc.  I found this one from the Netherlands and let me tell you, it is full of magnificent articles, pictures and best of all, someone actually edited this magazine and got it right.  It's their first edition and I'm looking forward to seeing what the future holds for them. 

And I also received this in the mail a couple weeks ago . . .

It's Melanie Testa's new book and I can't wait to spend some time with it . . .

But, first, I promise you, I'm going to finish our special "secret" quilt.  So, here I go . . . stay tuned for more pictures.