PWSC Project - progress?

I have had this unfished project floating around since October, today I finished quilting it and got ready to cut strips for the binding...but...I couldn't decide on the best fabric. I may have to take the table runner with me to the quilt shop and pick something out.  Darn.  I have to go to the quilt shop.  Or a few quilt shops. Well shucks...       :-)



It's hard to see, but I used the star block shape as a quilt design
on the solid blocks, then just stitched in the ditch and ran a border
around the outer edge...just needs a binding now.

All these choices but none of them are juuuussst right.

Finished! My First Official Quilt!!!

I can now legitimately call myself a quilter! I finished my first real honest-to-goodness quilt tonight.  My Tumbler Quilt. I used a fluffy fleece blanket for the backing, and turned it instead of adding a binding.  I just quilted it with two rows of borders and two seams across the width.  The fleece is so supple it didn't need much quilting, and it drapes beautifully. I am giving it as a Christmas gift, so I am bummed I can't parade around with it and show everyone.  Seriously! Bummed!

Tumbler Top Assembled!

Well, I finished the quilt top last night, with two borders. I think I am going to
use the extra wide outer border as the binding,  just fold it over and stitch down...
Still deciding on my backing!

Tumbler Quilt Kit

I bought this pre-cut kit months ago, at Quilter's Corner in Olde Ridge Village, Concordville, PA. My friend Ellen showed me her kit and I had to have one too - I loved the earth tones of the gorgeous batiks.

I was hesitant to get started because I knew my OCD traits would put me through torture - I wouldn't be satisfied until I laid out all the blocks and made sure the 20 different fabrics were evenly dispersed.  Well, after a half hour or so of rearranging the blocks on a table during the November mini-retreat held by my local quilt guild I realized I had to stop and STEP AWAY FROM THE TABLE...I would never be satisfied with the placement!  There will always be two similar fabrics too close to each other. I need to GET OVER IT!  

Today I just jumped in and started stitching rows, and by the end of the afternoon I had all 9 rows done and sewn together.  Now if I can just stay motivated to add the two borders tomorrow I will be ready to shop for backing fabric. I can't believe I made this much progress in just one day. One rainy, gray, chilly Sunday...

Prairie Women Sewing Circle

Almost finished my PWSC project for October, all the stars assembled and the batting and backing partially quilted.  Already picked my November project package - so I need to finish up the October one!  Had a fun trip to the PWSC headquarters, materialrewards.com in Dansville, NY, last week with Dori.  And we had a great burger on the way home at the Liberty Pub in Bath, NY!

Pressed and pinned, ready to be quilted!

Ahhhh, I did have a few "lesson learned" episodes along the way...

Nancy's First Project!

My sister Nancy and I have been hanging out this week, so today we got out her sewing machine and I showed her how to sew a tote bag using some cute accent fabric she had.  Isn't it adorable?  I'm sew proud of her!

Prairie Women Sewing Circle

So delighted (sew delighted?) with my progress on my first of six projects in the Prairie Women Sewing Circle event at materialrewards.com. Dori coached me on the cutting and assembly, and she even shared her reproduction fabric stash with me!  I am one happy and lucky girl, thank you to my friend Dori!

Pinwheels

Experimented with pinwheel block technique with Ellen earlier this month. We were delighted with our results!

Back from my trip...

Had a fun visit with my grandson in NM last week! He's such
a card, here he is with his "prize", googlely glasses from the
prize counter at the skee-ball arcade...

Progress on my napping quilt project....

Putting together a machine pieced quilt top from sheets.  I'm planning to use a navy flannel sheet for the borders and backing.  I think I'll try hand-tying it, I want a lot of drape since it will be used for naps on the couch!

What was I thinking?

I decided I should pre-wash every single piece of fabric I have. It didn't seem that daunting until I realized that I'm going to need to iron it all, too...

Believe it or not, I ironed every last piece tonight.  Took me about 2 hours, I set the ironing board up in front of the couch, low enough to sit comfortably and pull each piece from a laundry basket and the lay the pressed piece over the arm of the couch.  I might have had a glass of wine or two...

My Makeshift Sewing Room

I found room for my sewing machine in the spare bedroom, wedged between the bed and the storage shelves.  It works - for now anyway.

Tote Bag Practice Project

I was practicing creating quilt blocks (disappearing 9-Patch here)
and I decided to use the two practice blocks for the front and
back of a little tote bag. 

Here's the back of the same tote bag, my other practice quilt block!

My First Quilting Attempt

The finished project - a table runner!

Attaching the binding...

Laying out the borders...

Needleturn Applique Practice: All points

So lucky to have had chance to learn Needle Turn Applique from an accomplished instructor!  Our class project was a heart-shape with a small cut-out heart inside. Below is my "homework", an "all points" applique piece, intended to help me practice inside and outside points...

All points, basted and ready to stitich. Diet Coke? Check. Task light? Check. TV Remote? Check. Ready to go!

All Points Finished - same day, 4 hours later..Not bad,
need more practice!

Needleturn Practice: All Curves

Just started my "all curves" needle turn appliqué practice piece!  Planning to work on it in the car while riding downstate today...