A Quick Fix

Nothing like exploring a inviting, friendly quilt shop when you are tired of sitting in the car.

We traveled to the cabin this week for a little fall color, some hiking and then closing the cabin for the winter. It is a long ride! Both my husband and I needed to stretch our legs when we hit Cortez, CO and I remembered seeing a quilt shop on the main street.  So hubby took a long stroll and I went in for some retail therapy.

Cortez Quilt Company, located at 40 West Main Street.  

You can visit their website here.

I loved the quilt that greeted me at the door.

Kits are available!

They had a lovely wall of batiks,

a nice selection of civil war era fabrics,

and 

inspiring displays.

The staff was helpful and friendly; and Karen, the owner, was teaching a Bernina Class in the back of the shop. 

I left with a nice package of goodies and a smile on my face.

Now, a few updates.

The AMB license plate quilt is pieced and off to the quilter.

See my block in the upper, left portion of the quilt.

I love the way it turned out. 

And finally,

Penny Garland is all stitched down...yes, one wool piece is missing; but I did not bring any wool with me to the cabin, so I will place it when I get home.
The weather is gorgeous, so up the trail I go to get pictures of the Aspen turning.

Frosting!

That is what Mary @ Quilt Hollow does to a quilt top!

'Lunch Box Social'

I have long admired her quilting and I finally have one frosted by her!

Cannot wait to get it back and bound!

Here is the back...yummy!

I might have to display it as a whole cloth quilt with a pieced backing...haha.

Let's see....... what can I send to her next?

Temptation!

So hard to resist!

I purchased this fabric up in Prescott months ago, and then I saw the Temecula Quilt Co.'s Back to School Sew Along, Little Letters.  Perfect quilt for gifting to my grandchildren!

You noticed I said grandchildren...plural!

My son is expecting his first child right around my birthday...a little boy.

I will make two of each letter each week and have two quilts when all is said and done.

Now that is a BOW I can handle.

And speaking of done,

'Snowbound,'

quilted and bound.

I used a stripped homespun for the binding and cut it on the bias.  I cut my bindings 1 7/8" wide and then slightly tug on them when sewing them on the quilt...something I learned from Carrie Nelson of Miss Rosie's Quilt Co.  

Well, I learned something new!  Cannot pull on a homespun binding cut on the bias...it shrinks.  Next time I use a bias homespun, I will cut the binding wider.

I will not meet my goals this month.  Life just gets in the way sometimes.  Last weekend I was in California for the estate/garage sale to help my mom downsize.  It was a huge success, but an emotionally exhausting experience.  On the day of the sale, we also learned that mom's home had sold, cash deal, 20 day close.  We could not be more blessed.  The home was built by my father, husband, and brother.  It was hard to say goodbye, although I had never lived in the home.

The one decision I have made is to focus on one UFO, Pennies from Heaven.

Here is my abbreviated version.

I have worked hard in the mornings getting all the setting triangles done.  Next step is to piece all the blocks together.  I have ordered the border fabric and will decide on what I will do next when it comes.  It just might be to stop here.  It will look lovely on the wall in my 'green' guest room.

This weekend I will be working at TOWQS to help with Shop Hop and then we will head back to Colorado to winterize the cabin, so I am prepping a lot of handwork, including finishing Penny Garland and working on Sunflower Gatherings.  

Back to work. The day is short.

Cracking the WIP!

Summer is over and it is time to get back to some sort of discipline when it comes to finishing up my WIPs. 'In the Meadow' is ready to go to the quilter. I just need to get a backing put together. 'Lunch Box Social' is off to the quilter.  I finished my 'Autumn Pinwheels' by Primitive Gatherings and it is on display at TOWQS.

I will also continue to work on my blockhead projects, 'Christmas Magic' and 'Le Jardin.' And I hate to say it, but 'Sunflower Gathering' will become a WIP.  I will make it my goal to make a block a month. Perhaps I will make Wednesdays my WIP day like many other bloggers have.

But, and this will come to no surprise to anyone, I have to have a new project for the month...

Kim Diehl's 'Penny Garland' from her book, Simple Appeal.

I have been using the Soft Fuse Premium I spoke of before and I can report that it works well on wool.  Not perfect, but what fusible is. It is easy to trace the shapes on to, the paper peels off with the greatest of ease, and it is almost imperceptible since it is so lightweight.  It has one downside...the wool shapes do not adhere to the background as nicely as cotton did, but only with lots of handling do they come off.  Therefore, I can only place 6-7 shapes down at once before I have to stitch them on.  Maybe that is not a downside, since I would tend to place all the shapes and then claim I would stitch them down later...yeah, maybe much later.  I like the design portion of the process way more than the work portion. As a result, all those shapes are stitched and I can now proceed to design the outer border of wool shapes. The middle wreath gives it a Christmas feel, but when the multicolored shapes go on, it will be a year round topper for a round table in my home.