A College Grad Learns to Quilt

First of all, a big "Congratulations" to Vera Allen...or should I say "Gratulatio"...as she just graduated from Berkeley with a degree in Latin. While she job searches, Vera will be working with Uncle (that's Verne to you and me) weedeating, mowing, and other dirty work Verne doesn't want to do; she'll be working with Auntie (that's me) quilting. We've spent the last few days not actually quilting, but working on birthday gifts for her boyfriend, Sean. Here she is showing off a couple of his gifts (the first market bag we made) and she's now learning to make potholders...

Vera is a perfectionist! I show her how to do something just once and she's off and running. If it doesn't meet with her satisfaction, she rips and stitches it again. However, there's been very little ripping as she goes slow and does great work. By October and our next retreat, she'll be ready to tackle her second quilt...we're making her first this summer. 

Mega Kudos, Vera!

Something's Fishy

Actually, that's not the name of this quilt. It's called Molokini Bay and it is a Hoffman kit available through Hancock's of Paducah. Sally is making it for her daughter, Dianna, as a wallhanging for her dining room. It's made up of pieced strips (primarily blues and greens) that mimic water and has fused orange fish swimming across the quilt in both directions. We all know a picture's worth a thousand words, so here it is finished, but not quilted...

Sally started the quilt a few weeks ago and as the pieced background began to grow (it goes together in horizontal rows) she became worried that it would be too large for the space allocated in Dianna's house and checked both the quilt size and wall measurement. Yes, it was going to be too large. MFNT (that means "memo for next time"): double check all measurements BEFORE you  begin a project! I am comfortable sharing Sally's dirty little secret as I am guilty of this same mistake...last year I decided to surprise Scott with a quilt for his (small) apartment...I chose a pattern, bought the fabric, and as I began to cut the fabrics realized the quilt was HUGE! It was more than double what I'd thought based on the picture. Finished, it was around 4x5-1/2 feet, taking up the better part of an entire wall of his home. Who knows what I was thinking beginning a project and not checking the size first. Anyway, I know I've said this before (see above); but, a word to the wise...don't neglect the planning stage of a project and double check all measurements.

Sally brought the in-progress quilt on her visit this past week and in a matter of two days it was scaled down, sewn together, and the nine fish were pieced and fused to the background. It's a fun quilt to make and is going to look great on Dianna's wall! 

An Unusual Lone Star Continued...

Sometime last summer Sandy and I started a foundation-pieced project called "An Unusual Lone Star." We started by making 128 parallelograms that comprised the star. We both felt a sense of accomplishment by the time we finished the little buggers last September, but little did we know that the challenging part of the ULS was ahead. It's at this stage that Sandy returned to the project this past week. She arrived last Monday and we spent the next several days working on her ULS. Well, "we" is not entirely accurate...we worked in the cabin together, but she did the work. I was only there for consultation. She had hopes of finishing her ULS by Saturday, but was short fabric for the background. Unfortunately, the two stores we visited on Friday didn't have anything comparable. Disappointed, we returned home, worked a bit more on the sawtooth border, had a great Cinco de Mayo dinner, and called it quits until she can return with the background fabric. Good News: On her way back to Santa Barbara, Sandy stopped at Betty's (her favorite fabric store near Santa Maria) and found the background fabric. 

As it stands, the star is together, the sawtooth border is almost complete, and Sandy plans to return the first of June to finish her ULS. It's going to be smashing!!!