Why wait?

Do you ever, inexplicably, put off finishing a project, and when you get back to it, you can't imagine why you didn't just finish before?  That was me today, finally putting the borders on this pieced Dresden.  I already had the pieced border pieced - why didn't I finish this before?  I bet it took less than half an hour!

This will be my next hand quilting project.  I want to use a variegated crochet thread and do some big stitch quilting on the black.  Should be quick and easy.  Unless, of course, I put it down again...

Oh, and my Ohio Star selvedge quilt?  Scrapped!  Instead, I made the two Ohio Star blocks into an over-the-shoulder tote bag, and was happy to have finished in time for the Challenge Quilt reveal at the guild meeting today.  Oh, what beauties people made!

Quilt selfie

Sunday and Monday are my days off.  I was SO TEMPTED to go back to the shop to sew on the treadle some more - it's just that fun! - but I didn't.  Instead, I worked up my plan for summer camp at the shop, worked on some samples, and started a baby quilt.

One week of summer camp will be making a small silhouette quilt.  The silhouette doesn't have to be of a person, but that's what I started with for my first sample.  The framing seems a bit heavy to me, so I'll probably cut it back a bit, but here's what I've got so far.

OK, so I know these are usually done in B&W, but I just don't see the world that way.  Besides, I've been looking for a use for that green fabric - I just love it.  And the background is a patchwork of neutrals, kinda like my own background.  I don't know if you can tell from this photo, but the strip down the center has sewing notions on it - cool!

As for the baby quilt, I've got a major quilting crush on Deanna at http://weddingdressblue.wordpress.com/.  The treadle quilt is based on her Fading Charms quilt.  This baby quilt is her Twinkle Baby quilt.  I love finding uses for all my pre-cut scraps!

Window Quilting

I spent most of my day making a dozen crayon rolls, waiting on customers, and helping two of the guys I recruited to Washington and Lee University sew nylon drawstring backpacks to take to the gym.

They brought these kits with them and I helped them assemble.

But every chance I got, I went to the window to work on my first treadle quilt.  I am using the Fading Charms quilt as inspiration, but of course, true to form, I am modifying it a bit.  Here's what's hanging in the window for the weekend.  It was hard to walk away at closing time today; I could have stayed there sewing until dark!  I am loving treadle sewing!!!

It is hard taking a photo of something in a window.  What's the trick?

My first quilt on a treadle machine!

I bought a Franklin treadle machine at an auction years ago, and it has just been hanging out at my house waiting for a new belt, some oil and some TLC.  I brought it into the shop on Wednesday, and on Thursday, one of my instructors said, "Hey, want me to get that going for you?"

Well, YEAH!!

She reconnected the existing belt, showed me where to oil it, how the vibrating shuttle operates, and got me going.  I also have a 1929 Singer treadle here that she got going, too.  AWESOME!!!

Here I am playing with it yesterday:

Then, today, I put it up in my display window and started making a scrap quilt with it.  Genius!  I get to sew with wonderful natural light, PLUS I can see all the comings and goings on Main Street.  And you should have seen the people stopping to watch on the sidewalk (and then coming in to ask questions and shop)!  This is going to be FUN, FUN, FUN!  It is so mesmerizing to use, and the stitch is beautiful!  I'm telling myself that it also counts as exercise.  :)

Not enough time

There just isn't enough time to do all that I want to do!  My sister and nephew are visiting for a few days before they drive my mom back up to New Hampshire.  I want to spend time with them.

The next session of the SEW Cool Afterschool Program starts soon, and I need to make class samples for all the projects.  The theme is "Picnic in the Park", and we'll be making a water bottle carrier, a sun hat, a placemat roll with cutlery pockets, and a picnic quilt.  Since the sun finally made an appearance, I made the sun hat sample first.  It's reversible - denim on one side, quilting cotton on the other.

I want to finish the Ohio Star challenge for our quilt guild.  We have to make a small (114" in circumference or less) quilt that incorporates the Ohio Star block.  I've been wanting to play with selvages, and my idea was to spell out OHIO using Ohio Star blocks as the two Os.  I don't think it really works - maybe if I remove the brown borders from the H and the I.

Plus, I have so much knitting I want to get done - I'm not sure it was such a good idea learning to knit and crochet; I feel like I am pulled in so many creative directions now!  I spent an entire morning last week making a bunch of citrus blossoms and leaves to decorate a bar branch that I put in my shop window.

My mom did find time to finish her first quilt while here, an 80" x 80" denim and flannel rag quilt.  Isn't it lovely?  She did the whole thing, start to finish, in just 6 days!!!