Instagram Quilt Fest - Part 3 of 6

 Before we start I have to show you the solution the Coast Guard came up with for keeping TONS of sealions off their dock:

Ingenious!!  Apparently, sea lions are not as mesmerized as we are by "Air Dancers!" 

Our guild is making an Ukraine quilt for our show.  We will be sending donations at that time.  I have a favorite sunflower pattern and we adapted it to the Ukraine colors.

Here is the Ukraine colors.  The four segments are not going to be sashed together.  We think we'll use them as a border or in the corners.

Here's a picture of my Sunflower quilt.  Traditional colors and the sash between the parts is really interesting going across the quilt.  My good friend C in Lincoln NE brought this pattern to our small group.  7 out 12 ended up making it!!  It was very contagious.

On with Instagram Quilt Fest Questions

Quilt Back:  If you are asking if I make boring backs ... nope!!  Okay, sometime when I don't have time to think it out.  Or someone is hand quilting it.  I absolutely adore extra blocks on the back.  Especially gives me a smile when I make it every morning!  Here's some examples of Fronts and Backs - can you match them up???

Pressing Matters:  My mom used to be my presser.  We had so much fun sewing together and someone pressing your seams for you really produces a LOT of really good blocks!

I usually have my ironing station set up away from the sewing machine.  My knees get really cranky if I don't stretch them often.  In the old apartment, if I was sewing the kitchen table - iron was in the sewing room and vice versa!  At retreats - you'll find me at the farthest ironing board from my station!  Ok, I  admit I often detour by the snack table!!  But I exercise on the way there!!!

And while we're talking strategies - your rotary cutting pad works great on a kitchen counter!!  If's it's 'double wide island style' you can work forever!!

Sewing Friends:  The best kind!!  My best friends are sewing friends.  I had two from earlier in my life, but I taught them how to quilt - problem solved.

Quilters are always exercising their brains, usually cheerful thinking about their next project.  And the best at helping you solve any problems - we're used to thinking around an obstacle.  I made a wall quilt for my sewing space years ago - 

Recent Finish:  Cherrywood Lane early this year.  An Edyta Sitar sew-along last year, using her Summer Village pattern.  So much fun!  

You know how quilting mysteries start easy and then get harder and harder??  We won't mention Jen Kingwell!!  God bless her and her wonderful quilts!  

This one did NOT!  And the finished product - perfection!

My good friend at Fernwood Quilting long armed it for me.  My hands are apparently 20 years older than I am now. And I'm 69!!  They don't have the stamina or flexibility they had earlier.  Hand quilting, binding and 'arm-wrestling an alligator under the harp of my DSM' - machine quilting ... all problematic at this point. 

Best Tip Ever:  Ok, when I was a new grandma, a good friend told me, "Don't make a thousand quilts for the first grandbaby, there will be more.  And you don't want to hear how the first got more than the next favorite!"  

So - my theory is present your quilts to a schedule:  Baby.  Big girl/boy bed.  Kindergarten (applique their hand or a favorite picture they drew) Teen (at least they can wrap themselves in a hug) HS Graduation; College Graduation; Wedding.  Repeat!!

Best sewing tip:  If you are pinning a long seam.  Start pinning opposite!  I mean on the right (far?) end of the seam.  When you are done pinning you have the end of the seam that goes under the pressure foot in your hand.  You don't have to move all those 'sticking out to get you' pins out of the way.

A New Lease on Life!

 We came to an agreement with our Landlord, signed a new lease and I started un-clenching my body!  It will take awhile to sink in, but there is no 'Move soon' hanging over our heads.  Yay!

The Halleluiah chorus is still loud and strong down at the docks.  Sea Lions as far as you can see!  The number and volume changes but from 50 sea lions to 100's have moved in!!  The longest dock is sinking under the weight of these not-so-svelte animals.  A theory is an algae has moved in and that's what is attracting them.  Always interesting!

Quilting like mad - I did finish the top of the Edyta 2020 mystery - 60 x 60, needs to be longer - I'll be sticking that in time-out while I figure that out!!

Then there was lots of fun with striped-leg birds.  I love these!  My top is together - ready for the triple border with half inch leftover legs!!  You'll just have to trust me on this one!  Darn cute!

I've also started making scrap 2.5" borders for a new project coming up.  Some friends swear by the 'sewing on adding machine tape' method.  But you do have to rip that stuff out, and there's no knot on both ends ... sounds problematic.  I started one seam on the tape, but then just started chain stitching pairs, recombining them, adding more ... it went really fast and I like the way it looks.  You DO have to use at least 3" scraps.  Not having a definite start (edge of the tape) it can drift a little and well, I did have to rip a few 'too small' pieces -out of the middle of course!  But this small part of the new project will be perfect to take to the April retreat - mindless, colorful and fun!!

Reading has slowed down a bit for me.  But we did have our first book club meeting in 2 years last night!  We decided the next five books will be:

Her Last Flight - Beatriz Williams   Fiction around the life of Amelia Earhart

The Day the World came to town - Jim Defede  Story of the small Canadian town that took in all the passengers blocked proceeding to US on 9-11.  We'll watch the musical Come From Away too!

Oona Out of Order  by Margarita Montimore  A woman leads her life, but not in numerical order!  It's very good.

The Rose Code by Kate Quinn  World War ll code breaker story

Murder on the Oregon Coast by G.A. Cockerham  I think you can figure out this plot.  It's 'happening' in Brookings so that will be fun to figure out where things are taking place.

We've been together for 10 years - 2 yr break during covid.  It will be good to get together again on a regular basis.

Stay safe and ease back into life!