Progress on Several Fronts

First three rows of In the Meadow.

I was so pleased with my progress until I noticed I had forgotten the steps on the church in Row 3...argh!! I am contemplating some unsewing, but now that I see it all together...maybe not. I used a 28wt. Aurifil cotton to blanket stitch the barren trees in Row 3.  Much quicker and easier than doing by hand!

Really enjoying A Rainbow Garden by Liberty Homestead. I am even giving the embroidery a go.

I used my Sashiko machine to quilt this UFO from a few years back.  

It is a Carol Hopkins pattern, Grandpap's Cards.

This time I used a low contrast thread.  Cannot wait to see what it looks like after a washing. 

I had a request to show what the back looks like

and here is a close up of the front. 

For those of you who expressed interest,

Kim Diehl's club can be found at the Fat Quarter Shop.  Country Spools is also offering it, but you can pick which quilts you want to make. 

Last year I designed a patriotic quilt that I submitted to several magazines.  I was honored when Fons & Porter showed interest.  I just learned my quilt will be featured in their May/June issue of Love of Quilting. I am grateful to Diane Tomlinson and her staff for selecting my quilt. 

It is the first of the month, so time to make time for work on my blockhead projects. 

SSQSG meeting for July

One of the reasons I came back to AZ early was to have the opportunity to meet with my SSQSG.  What started out as a sewing bee has become a warm, enjoyable meeting of friends to talk about life and share our individual works.  Since we met at TOWQS this month, it was also time to get in a little retail therapy!

I will direct you to Merumo's blog to catch up on all her projects...

 and then I would love to share

 Lin's (no blog) work for the month.  

Loved this scrappy double 4-patch and must add some of that red border fabric to my stash!

A Quilter Lives Here by Liberty Homestead

I should have taken a close up pic of the fabulous machine quilting.

Made using Jo Morton fabrics and the hand-dyed, sueded cottons from Liberty Homestead.

Her full sized version of Grandpap's Cards.

The setting fabric is from Bonnie Blue Basics...it reads grey, but is a small pattern of blue and brown.  I'm thinking it would  be a good choice of setting fabric for my Farmer's Wife blocks.

Just love her version!  Do you think she will trade...her's is quilted and bound!!!

I brought home a few pieces of Jo Morton's new Sweet Emilie line.

Perfect nuetrals for the HST units in my Pinwheels for Caroline.

Mother Nature has blessed us with a marvelous, drenching rain this morning...

a good day to sew.  My goal will be to make a few R&W blocks first and then play with my new pretties.  What will you play at today?

Grandpap's Cards

Nothing like a weekend of French Open tennis and broken down internet service to get a small quilt pieced!  I don't have a good inner border fabric in my stash; so unless the LQS has something, Grandpap's Cards will have to wait until I get back to AZ and TOWQS to qualify as a real finish.

I drafted the Crosses and Losses blocks down to 3" and have the perfect spot for it on my bedroom wall.  I also think I will try tea dyeing to make it look even more antique.

On the subject of our LQS here in Pagosa Springs...it is a small cubby in the back of the local Mercantile, where hunting and fishing supplies seem to be the main fare.  The owner still manages to have a fairly good selection and carries mostly Moda fabrics, some reproductions, and a sampling of batiks.

I also spent some time getting block #3 of Autumn Houses done, sans the embroidery.

It still needs a little squirrel in the bottom corner, but I don't have the perfect fabric for that either.  That makes two things to look for at the LQS.  I use the starch and glue prep method for my applique and I am trying out a new archival glue from Jillily Studio called Appli-Glue.  Like it so far, especially the non-clogging tip; but the real test will be to see how water soluble it is.  I always rinse my applique after it is done to loosen and remove the glue.

We have been experiencing heavy smoke in the skies from the fires burning near Alpine in AZ.  I have several friends with cabins in the area and pray they are safe.