National Quilting Day...Er, Weekend

Saturday March 15th was National Quilting Day, so I pushed aside all other distractions like chores and got some work done of quilty projects.

I started Friday after work and got most of the sewing done on some pillowcases. Running out of top thread and then bobbin in quick succession told me it was time to sleep instead.

Last year, a friend passed along some fabric from a woman who was retiring from quilting (can it really be done? retire from quilting?), with the stipulation that it was to be used for charity. I work with a group who makes quilts for veterans, so my friend sent masculine colors. I got these cut out last year, but it took until this weekend to actually finish two almost identical quilt tops. They can now be sent off for quilting.

The vertical sashing is a border print that I received already cut into 4.5" widths. 4 10-yard pieces of 4.5" strips!

These are four fabric post cards I made for a swap with a great group of fiber artists who inspire me to try new things. I haven't had time to actually try those new things yet, though. I was down to the wire and the theme was tea, lace and roses with Victorian tea party mentioned. Since I was working too close to the deadline, I went with crazy quilt.

To be honest, I had to finish the embroidery on Monday night after work, so it made for a 4-day weekend.

The quickest project I worked on is one that is also close to my heart. Three years ago my baby girl got married. Although I had only been quilting for a few months, had made only a couple of quilts, I had to make her a wedding quilt. A Double Wedding Ring wedding quilt. I thought, I sew curves all the time in garment making. I can to this!


That quilt turned out rather sorry, but was filled with love. In the ring opening, I used a template with a Celtic chain of hearts. The one smart thing I did was test my quilting before I started on the quilt.

I saved that test, and this weekend I added a binding to it. It shows my lack of experience, and some of the blue marking pen lines that I didn't wash off. But it will always be special to me as a reminder of my baby girl's big day.