Patriotic Prim

I found a little time to piece the center of 

It's a Grand Old Flag

by Geoff's Mom Pattern Co.

You can find the pattern here.

I plan to do the applique in a combination of wool and cotton.  

We just returned from a refreshing week at Lake Tahoe. I had forgotten how beautiful the area is! The last time I was there was when I was in college.  I was a maid at the Blue View Lodge in King's Beach...oh, the memories!

As you can see, I was not the only one who enjoyed themselves.

Good times!

A Little Catch Up

Have not been doing much of this..

 my Pennies from Heaven blocks for March and April,

because I have been doing a lot of this...

vacationing!
My mother arranged for a family reunion aboard a cruise ship in the Carribean.  I am not much of a cruise person, but it was the perfect venue for reconnecting with my siblings and our children. My sister arranged for the zip lining trip on St. Maarten.  If you are ever in port, check out the Loterie Farms on the French side.  The young people had a blast and so did us old folks.  I still cannot believe I actually completed the 2 hour obstacle/zip line course in the pouring down rain.  Note we do not have helmets on!  This would not have happened in the USA...too dangerous!  And our lunch sitting out on the veranda under the canopy of trees was delicious, especially the Pina Coladas.

After my return, my sewing machine has been fairly dormant.
 I bound my Saltbox Sampler quilt and I am currently teaching it to a handful of ladies at TOWQS.
I just about have my granddaughter's picnic quilt pieced, but it is slow going.
I really do not like how it came out.

The layer cake looked so bright and cheery, but when pieced, it is flat and uninteresting.
I am hoping a good quilting and washing will give it a comfy look and feel.

There will not be much more coming out of my sewing room for awhile again.
Off to Lake Tahoe for a dear family friend's wedding here in a few days and then heading north for cooler climates.  I know there are parts of the country still suffering from the never ending winter, but we marked our first day of 3 digit temperatures yesterday. (The same day our A/C units decided to go on the blitz!)
My goal for the summer is to finish up some of those UFO's on my list and perhaps work on a new applique quilt.  I fell in love with Pat Wys 'Snowbound', so it may be my Christmas in July project.
Until then...
happy piecing!

Gathering Garden is a flimsy!

Gathering Garden
by Kim Diehl

I think I have finished all the quilts I wanted to make in Kim's book,

Simple Charm.

Besides, I am tired of appliqueing!

I have been piecing up a storm on the picnic quilt for my granddaughter.

I will be post a picture once it is done.

Since it National Quilting month,

no better time to be at my machine sewing!

Saltbox Sampler

I knew when I saw the delicious, vibrant reds in Judie Rothermel's fabric line,

Party of Twelve, they would be perfect in...

Saltbox Sampler
by Kim Diehl

Of course, the bubble gum pink and poison greens were the icing on the cake!

(I hope I got those hue descriptions right.  I am still learning the reproduction lingo.)

And I cannot resist a 'house' quilt, especially if it has a scrappy pieced border.

Those of you with good eyes can see that there is a border missing...

waiting for a perfect toasty piece of Jo Morton to arrive at TOWQS.

We spent last week celebrating my granddaughter's 1st birthday...

jeez how time flies,

especially when you are having so much fun!

Now to resume working on a few projects on my WIP list...

the first being a quilt for my granddaughter!

Atypical, divergent, unrepresentative...

...just a few of the words used to describe my latest project.

It certainly isn't my standard, normal or usual modis operandi,
but was so thoroughly enjoyable!
It will be a surprise for my daughter.
It was made from the scraps of the hexie quilt I am still working on. I knew this one would get to her much faster than the other!
I am calling it 'Working Nine to Five.'

I finished up last month's and this month's PFH blocks.

I used one of the stitch variations on the middle maroon flower.  I like the way it came out using a variegated Valdani thread.

I changed this block slightly by substituting another twig of bittersweet.
The original had a large circle with a star in it.
We are getting down to the last two smaller blocks and
I am real anxious to start setting them.

I'll be working on hexies today...top of my WIP list.
Hope you find time today for sewing too.

Abundance...

quilted and bound!

Thank you again Lori  of Humble Quilts for such a fun quiltalong.

Looking forward to the linky party so I can see everyone's versions.

Go check out her latest post...her quilts were part of a recent exhibit and look absolutely stunning all displayed together.  And she looks pretty cute herself!

I learned a lot hand quilting this little treasure.

First, basting is an important step if you don't want puckers and creases on both the front and back of your little quilt. I could definitely benefit from a class or perhaps I should read one of those tutorials I have pinned on hand quilting! And although wool batt is like butter, it is puffy and hard to work with without a hoop. 

  About half way through the process, I discovered that if I steamed my little project, the wool batt acted almost like an adhesive, giving me a well basted, flat sandwich. And finally, definitely don't place a seam in your backing right under a line of quilting...LOL!With all that said and done, I am happy with how it turned out.  

Imperfect, but charming.

And the last line of quilting showed marked improvement!

A Finish!

Country Whig Rose
designed by Kim Diehl

Yeah, it is officially a finish!

Here are a few closeups of the quilting.

The class I am teaching starts Friday, so done in the nick of time.

I am hand quilting my Abundance quilt, and it isn't turning out as wonderful as I had hoped. My stitches are irregular and my lines are wavy. Inexperienced, but lots of lessons learned. I will share it when it is done.

However, Gathering Garden did perk up after the addition of the some berries.

Giving my fingers a little break, but I should have this one done by the end of the month.

Then I think I will take a break from applique and get back to some machine piecing!

Tackle completing one of my WIPS.