Not resting on my laurels...

....but proceeding nicely with the next quilty project.

For my other BIL, I'd like to finish this one by turkey day.  Wish me luck....

Patriotic Stars: A Finish

I quilted away on Saturday and was able to get the binding sewn on and pinned down... but waited til Sunday morning to sew the binding down.  Good light makes all the difference when sewing, imho...

The red inner border is barn red or cranberry rather than red-red... but it's the best I could do.

I meandered in the center...

...did a loop-de-loop in the barn red border...

...and stars in the outer border.

You can see three stars plus the backing below...

...and I did my usual triangle/corner label.

The quilting isn't perfect, not by a long shot... but I am getting better.  This quilt is going to one of my brothers-in-law, both of whom are like brothers to me....

...and are wonderful uncles to my children and grandchildren.

Quilting Along

It was a busy week and I wasn't able to get to the sewing machine after work... too tired.  However, I've not forsaken the FMQing on the patriotic pinwheels project.   A cuppa tea to sustain me and I'm quilting away....

... a good way to spend a chilly Saturday morning, methinks!

Sandwiching

I finished up the quilt top for the pinwheel quilt, one of the two projects that need to be done before Christmas.  Actually, I'd like both finished before Thanksgiving because it seems that after turkey day, the slide into the holidays is very steep and very fast.  

Today, I am sandwiching the quilt...

Note to my FMQ-ing cheer squad:  I will be FMQ-ing this baby... meandering in the pinwheel section, a loop-de-loop in the red border, and stars in the outer border... if I get up enough nerve to do stars!   *lol*

Wish me luck!

A Finish!

I was able to finish up the last of the borders on the Aiming for Accuracy QAL last night.  I have to say that, even though this is not my usual cuppa tea, I do like how it turned out.

My typical lousy photography but it was dark out when I finished the last border and so there was no option but turn on all the lights and go for it.    I also had to jerry-rig an extension to hold up the right side since the top is longer than my design wall.   Can we say painters tape and a 12" ruler...  can you see the blue tape peeking out?

Ninety 16-patch Blocks!

This weekend, I finished up all the 16-patch blocks while tackling chores...  sew a bit, do some housework, sew some more, repeat...

...and ended up with 90 blocks for a 9 x 10 grid for a quilt top measuring 72 x 80 inches!

I also have two odd-ball blocks made with leftovers from other blocks.

The blocks will go on the shelf in a basket to await the dark days of January...  because there are a couple of projects I need to finish before Christmas.

Birthdays and Road Trips

Busy week but... the youngest grandbaby turned 8 this past Wednesday.  I was at my northern-most school that day, just a 30-minute drive from the birthday girl so...  I headed out after work and met my three little girls (my daughter and her two daughters) at their house.  Among the various gifts I took along, I did my grandmotherly duty got new snuggly jammies for the little ones who are growing like weeds.

The birthday girl is holding her new "light-up" Pillow Pet.

I left after supper for the hour-long drive home... in the dark... on back roads... with a big a** truck on my rear bumper... blinding me with all the headlights and fog lights and who-knows-whatever lights....    

My daughter sent a photo of the girls in their new jammies, ready for bed.  The photo made it all better.

Two More Sets of 16-patch Blocks

Between other projects and weekend chores, the 16-patch blocks make for a lovely break!

For those keeping count, I have four more FQs.... plus a FQ's-worth of the binding fabric.... left to turn into 16-patch blocks!   I'm getting there...

Autumn Adventure

Last year, I made a table runner for my daughter and, having some fabrics leftover, I decided to make a table topper for my dining room table.  What was the adventure?  Well, I did my first meander quilting on it... and threw in a little loop-de-loop on the inner border!

I quilted with a dark tan thread on the top but, on the dark brown  and the red squares, the thread looks lighter.  

Not perfect, of course...  there are a couple of loops in the meandering because I got into a place where I needed to change direction and had already headed in the wrong direction.

There are also some points in the curved line... I am just not smooth at starting and stopping... and then getting going again.

This topper will work well for fall... and, after Halloween, I'll add the little turkey salt & pepper shakers that belonged to my mom.

I can see the finish line...

...the Aiming for Accuracy QAL top is complete except for the borders, one of which is pieced with remaining print fabrics.   First, this section is Lesson 15...

 And now for the big reveal....   *man, that's blurry*

Another angle....

Our fearless leader let slip that we'll need 64 - 2.5" print fabric squares for the pieced border...  so I went ahead and cut those out.

 

I cut extra so I could have some choices when assembling the border....  any leftover squares will go into the 2.5" square bag for later use.     I'm getting there...

 

16-patch: 6th set of blocks

Set number six... 

...and still good therapy!

16-patch Update

Although after-work energy lessens as the week progresses, I was able to complete three additional sets of blocks this past week.

I was able to find a yard of a matching print from the "Picket Fence" line on Ebay and ordered it to use for the binding.  

If I need/want a few extra blocks, I will use this red fabric to make them... especially since there was only one print with a red background in the FQ stack.   Nice to have a back-up plan....