All in a Row Show and Tell

 

Another pretty productive day! I'll share all the stuff with you next week as I'm going through the show and tell before I forget about it! 

I worked on the All in a Row quilt for THREE days when we were at the retreat. Yep, I was that far behind, and one of the rows was a LOT of work. I'm still not quite as caught up as I'd like to be, but I'm working on it! OK -- so I'm NOT working on it at the moment. I have a few other pressing things to worry about, and then I'll get to it. There's no rush - we have until November to finish the quilt top. 

I'm trying to incorporate as many blocks (rows) within my two quilts as possible. I won't be able to put them all in, but I'm going to try and use color to pull it all together. Hmm - maybe if I make a third quilt, I can use all the rows? 

Let's look at the homework first. This is a small group, and several people are waiting to start work. That's OK. 

This is Cathy's homework. The first one is the "beans" block. It's one of the filler rows. She is making them all - to learn new things! I love that! Quilting should be about learning new things every time you sit down and sew. If you've got the quarter-inch thing down, then it's about pressing or about color. There's always something to learn!

The "beans' filler row

Here's her camper row. This is the cutest row in the book - well, the owl row is cute as well. 

Cathy's camper row

And here are all of Cathy's rows so far. I think she has enough rows that she could make ONE quilt. Then make a second one from the next series of rows? 

Cathy's rows

Then we have Kathi's rows. She is picking and choosing the rows that she wants to make. But both of them are caught up! Except for the stitching around the applique shapes. 

Kathi's rows

Here's a close-up of Kathi's camper row. 

Kathi's camper row

So let's have a look at the blocks that I made so I could take pictures to explain the block, but probably will not make it into my quilts. 

The first set is Floral Frenzy. Those were super easy to make. 

Flower filler blocks

And this is another of the filler rows. None of these rows are difficult, but it drives me nuts when the seams butt to each other. 

Another filler block

Now let's have a look at my two quilts. The first one is the medallion quilt. I'm missing quite a few components because we haven't got there yet. 

My medallion quilt

I used the "bean" block to create a border around the center block which isn't made yet. Then the flower row became the next row. There'll be a plain border of white between to space the borders out correctly. I LOVE it. So bright and cheery. 

Honestly, I should go through my stash, and whatever isn't bright and cheery, I should just put in the community projects pile. I skip over that stuff every time I go through the baskets. Did I just say that? Could I be ready to start downsizing? I might be, but don't worry - I'm not offering a single piece to any quilter! Nope - it's all going to be made into quilts for community projects when I need more fabric!

Here's my second quilt, which is totally adorable! Again - those bright colors appeal to me a lot. Yep -- I have a wee issue with the values in my blue/greens, so they don't show as much as they should, but I'm OK with that. I used one of the filler rows to make the scalloped edge of the border. 

My second quilt

I still have some stuff to stitch in place on this one, and there's one more row to make. None of the rows that I need are on the schedule for next month, so that'll give me a chance to play catchup with the stitching. I'll probably have to put a filler row in this quilt so the side borders will fit, and that's OK as the snail's trail row and the one below it has a lot of seams, and a little border of solid fabric would be the perfect thing to make it easy to sew together. I'll make it small, which will be a pain, but that's OK. 

In the morning, I set some stuff on the cutting table that needs to be dealt with. All of them are small jobs that shouldn't take long to finish. Mostly it's to put stuff away. I barely scratched the surface of that pile. I'll try to clear that today. 

Small jobs to fill the day

That's the kind of stuff that becomes clutter if it's not dealt with. I don't think I even got a chance to turn on the sewing machine except to make the backing for that customer quilt. 

And look who is looking in! That would be Murphy! I saw her walking by and called her name, and she's so curious! "MOM - what are you doing? Are there treats for me?"  And she's smart enough that she'll come inside to say hi. She didn't do that yesterday as she was on a mission to check out something at the gate.  

Murphy checking out what I'm doing

She's darn cute and seemed to be in her glory sleeping on the deck in the rain! Go figure! Lexi is quite a sophisticated lady who prefers to sleep in her kennel and is happy to be warm and dry. 

The next quilt is loaded and waiting for later today. We have UFO club this morning and well, many other small things need to be done. 

OH  - I should give you a heads up about a couple of things. The Virtual Retreat is fast approaching. July 24 and 25, so mark that on your calendar. So you can stop by and say hi!

The other thing is some classes that are coming up in the fall. These classes will be hosted by Thimbles and Things - Boho Heart and Gypsy Wife (now called Wanderer's Wife). They will be taught together in the same one-hour class. I'll also be rerunning Long Time Gone, so if you missed it the first time, you can sign up. OR - if you took the class the first time, but didn't actually get to work on the quilt, you can do it again and have a head start! The links will take you to the appropriate order page at Thimbles and Things. Please NOTE that some of them are SOLD OUT, and you may have to contact the store directly. Remember --- PATIENCE is a virtue!!!! 

I'll also be doing the demos for the Saturday Sampler, and there will be three different sessions. I've got two of the three topics picked out. You'll like both of them! 

The Thimbles and Things newsletter will be coming out in early August, so watch for that, buy your class pass, and then get signed up! It's going to be super fun!!!!  If you are NOT on the distribution list, then get yourself on that list. It's the BEST deal for classes that you'll ever come across. And since the store is up for sale, this might be the LAST time that they offer classes - well, they are retiring next summer, so get on that list and take advantage NOW!!!!!  Does anyone want to buy a quilt store???  We will definitely miss Sue and her great sense of humor!!

I mention those classes today because if you need a book for any of the three Jen Kingwell classes, ORDER IT NOW. Those books come from Australia, and it takes time for them to get across the ocean!!! Pass that word along to any friends who may want to take those classes. Sue may have a few extra copies at the store, but check it out if you want to get the book. 

As for registration, I have room for 100 in my Zoom classes. DO NOT PANIC -- I doubt that we'll reach the limit on any of them. Hey - I'm a good teacher, but I'm not that popular! 

I WILL NOT take any registrations until the newsletter has been released - so don't bother trying. I will delete your e-mail. And please DO NOT ask Thimbles and Things to take your registration. They won't. It goes through the instructor, and that is ME. You need to purchase the class pass, and you can't do that until the newsletter comes out. Remember - PATIENCE is a virtue, and I'm pretty sure that everyone will get in the class. 

So if you have ever wanted to make any of those quilts, looked at the book, and went - CRAP -- this sucks, you're going to get some great instruction! As you know, if you followed along with our Long Time Gone last year. Oh shoot -- I never posted the final pictures from that class. Oh boy!!!

Well, it's time for me to run! 

Have a super day!!!!

Ciao!!!!