Finishing MOP, Shrinking Computer Screen Emergency

Stitching the centers of the Mississippi Orange Peel, wondering if I have any of the backing left for a sleeve.

Back at the computer--I often have to move cats out of the way so I can see the screen, but last night while trying to move Rahrah, this happened!

Computer screen with Facebook in a tall, narrow column

Brand new situation for me. Luckily, Linda had a suggestion that worked. Gee whiz--there is more about the computer I don't know than I do!

Last week I did a "Kindness in Action" TV interview about our Pine Belt Quilters guild activities called relating to Forrest General Hospital. We donate 400+ children's quilts every year to FGH and other area hospitals and children's shelters. TV interviews are kind of scary but I'm so proud of our guild that I swallowed my nerves and pride and did it. It's always interesting to see how much of the valid information gets tossed and what will be included in a two-minute spot! But it's fun to brag on our guild. Click on this link in case you want to watch. A group from Purvis is also featured about their making scarves for breast cancer patients.

We have had two days of heavy, stormy rains, and the cats took full advantage for some major sleeping on one of my oldest, softest, favorite quilts, made in 1987. (That's 31 years ago!) This is when I learned to draft my own blocks, choose color palette, and hand quilt. Note the lint/pet hair removal tool on the headboard.

August--Finished MOP, Silent Auction Pieces

I finished hand-stitching the black binding around the edges of the MOP and only need to quilt a bit in the centers of the blocks, add a sleeve and a label and it will be totally done. The piecing of the arcs was the most fun because of getting to make all the fabric choices.
(Enlarge any picture for a better view.)

I have finished a piece I am donating to the Silent Auction at our upcoming quilt show. It is free-motion quilting on a piece of hand-dyed fabric.

Daughter Linda is submitting a batik table runner (18" x 54") which can be used with the squares showing or the green batik back; prairie points show either way.

I'm very excited about the barn quilt sign she is making to replace the smaller faded one on my shop building. She will repaint the smaller one and get it moved to above the garage door.
This new one is 3' x 3', an adaptation of Judy Martin's Star of the Orient block.

Mississippi Orange Peel, Part 3

It's been a long time since I have used a bias binding to finish the edges of a quilt, but with the scallops on the MOP, I thought bias was was necessary.

 Elizabeth is very possessive of all quilting projects, and I have had to be creative to get any work done on it. She hears me begin to sew and joins me. After pushing her off the quilt several times, I either have to just leave her and go do something else or remove her and close the door.

Okay, I give up. I'll come back later.

June --Tying Up Loose Ends

While taking a break from quilting the Mississippi Orange Peel, I finished up several projects. I hope the child I'm giving this to likes frogs in wild colors.

Psychedelic frogs

The back has bicycles all over a black background

I love making the Interleave Quilts; there are so many possible fabric combinations as well as design choices. Here are a couple, along with a free-motion quilted piece for the Silent Auction at our show. What a great feeling it is to finish up some projects before deadline.

Interleave 1

Interleave 2

Free-motion quilting on hand dyed piece

My youngest granddaughter turned 21 this week. Here is one of my favorite pictures taken many years ago in the Texas bluebonnets near her home.

Mississippi Orange Peel, Part 1

Karen K Stone's Indian Orange Peel

Karen K Stone visited Hattiesburg in November 2016 and presented a program for our Pine Belt Quilters guild and then taught a class on the traditional Orange Peel block, showing her beautiful quilt she calls Indian Orange Peel. Karen's pattern included printed paper foundations, which I then copied onto an interfacing (which can be left in) called Do Sew. This eliminates that tedious step of tearing all that paper foundation out after the blocks are sewn.

Picking and grouping the fabrics for these blocks was a fascinating and fun project, and once I got started, it was like an obsession. The possibilities for spikes and backgrounds were endless.

It took a bit to get the hang of sewing the blocks, but with each block the process got easier and faster. I decided on a five by five block arrangement, adding the curved arcs on the outside of all blocks. I did not want the larger border Karen used in her quilt. The project lived on my design wall for quite some time as I chose how I wanted to arrange the blocks, deciding on a diagonal line of basically red blocks from upper left to lower right. So far, so good. I loved looking at it!

Then life intervened and the project was put aside as I pondered how to quilt it.  I like to quilt my own work and planned to really enjoy the process. I selected a black/white print for the backing.

Finally I layered it and began to quilt on my stationary machines--both the Pfaff and the Janome. Ooops! I hit a wall. All those little pieces coming together at intersections and corners of blocks created thick and cumbersome areas that wanted to push and slide under the presser foot. So I tried free-motion quilting. Still having problems with the thickness. But I have begun and will persevere. I love the pieced top too much to abandon the project. I hope to have some progress to show soon.