What Are Quilters Blogging About Today?

At Easter I went to Tekapo in the middle of the South Island of New Zealand.  The mountains and lakes are amazing there and the weather was beautiful.  The place we stayed at had great views and a big deck off the lounge.  

I took some quilting along because our Capital Quilters exhibtion is fast approaching and I'm not ready!! I still have two quilts in progress and this is one of them.  It's the Trip Around the World that I started in January.  You can read more about it here.  

It's quite a bit colder in ...

 My granddaughter Nikki is getting married in June, and her bridal shower is coming up.  Working with Nikki's colors and some wonderful fabrics by Seth Apter, here is her quilt.  Of course I hand quilted it in an off-center spiral and backed it with an Art Gallery cotton.  With the wool batting, this quilt is wonderfully soft and will provide a lifetime of cuddling. 

And while not a necessity, of course I made a matching tote bag which really allows two of the feature fabrics to shine.  

And while working on Nikki's quilt, I also started one for ...

Preface:  As the rhythm of my life changes, so do my blogging habits.  I am sewing more than ever but apparently only doing a blog post a month.  Sometimes I get so caught up in quilting projects that purses take a back seat.  I'm happy to announce that I have gotten past my purse block.  Several of these purses were made before Christmas, and they have just been waiting to be mailed.  I finally got busy and made several more.  

So many of these purses were inspired by the scraps I had at hand.  And since I've been ...

Happy New Year everyone. 

No sooner had I dropped my mum and dad at the airport on 27 December than I started getting inspired on Instagram.  Often I will start a Christmas themed cross stitch between Christmas and New Year, but this year I started a Christmas quilt and I had the whole top pieced in just seven days.  

But I used the brighter colours from this Christmas gift bag:

The photo I liked was by Edyta Sitar so I used her Laundry Basket Quilts PDF pattern for a Trip Around the ...

Speaking of on a queen size bed, I moved 38 wallhangings off the guest bed so I could take these photos.  30 of them are hanging over the back of a bench in my living room and 8 of ...

The binding is the same fabric as the border, an old Hoffman batik.  The back is a Free Spirit wide sateen backing fabric.  Both have been easy to stitch through.

It was only in the low 30s yesterday and snow predicted starting in the wee hours of Sunday morning and continuing for several hours.  They are talking about 1 1/2" and above freezing temperatures ...

After lunch I drove to the next town north of me to see my grandson's house.  He is a first time home owner and just signed the papers yesterday.  I got the grand tour of the house and the big yard and extra garage.

Last evening I tackled the box I showed a couple weeks ago that had the leftovers from several Trip Around the World quilts.  There were 3 strips of end cuts from a ...

Back in the mid 1990s I was working at a quilt shop that sent out a newsletter 3 times a year which announced the class schedule.  I taught the Trip Around the World quilt class 3 times a year and sometimes twice in each of the 3 sessions.  I ...

I had a stack of leftover riley blake fabrics that coordinated rather well. I decided to cut another trip around the world donation quilt. I wanted to cut a bigger size than my last one. This time, I cut 4 inch strips. I want to see the difference. I was cleaning up a spot, and had this leftover pile waiting for an idea. I am not sure when I will start on it. But, the pile is gone.

I hope my reds are different enough

I have a finish for Friday. My trip a around the world baby quilt for charity is quilted and bound. I taught a workshop for this quilt for my guild.

45 x 64 = 12 yards

I am linking to:

 I have had a trip around the world quilt on my bucket list for a long time. I had tried the Bonnie Hunter free pattern, but, I did not like the outcome. She had promised that any scrappy combination would work, and, I took her at her word. I managed to have scrappy fabrics that did not work. But, I have still admired all of them I have seen. I started investigating the colors and movement, watching and reading and you tube.  I was determined to try again. I think the key is to have color groups together in the ...

My guild has asked me to teach a trip around the world quilt workshop. I agreed, if, I could use what I had on hand. Of course, I would need samples of how to make it. I had a whole bucket of flannel 3 1/2 inch strips, yippee. I am not sure the colors will be a stand out, but, that is the magic of TAW quilts. They seem to do their own thing, no matter what the fabric is. I have the strip sets made, and, it is time to subcut and start laying them out.

The Around the World Quilt Pattern

 I haven't been posting much lately, but the quiltmaking continues!

This is a flannel couch quilt. A dear friend gave me some flannels, and I added a few of my own to the mix. I backed it with a piece of fleece I had on hand that happened to be exactly the right size!

Old-Style Winter Print Flannel (60" x 71")

Old-Style Winter Print Flannel (detail)

Old-Style Winter Print Flannel (backing and binding detail)

Next up is a Hallowe'en Trip Around the World. I know it is out-of-season, but next October, I'll be ready!