Our Acceptable Obsession

Last week I enjoyed the Machine Quilting Today Show for 3 days.  Lucrecia and I took a room for a couple of nights and did some sewing in our room between classes. I finished 9 more blocks for my Ladies in Waiting quilt. It was slow going at first cause I wasn't familiar with the machine. The back of the hotel bedspread works for a design wall in a pinch.

When I got home I dug out this multicolored print I'll use in the border. I still want to pick out a copper or brown for some of the blocks then I can get on with the border blocks.

More about the show. Many of the classes at a machine quilting show are only 2 hours long. They have classes for beginners and experienced, for longarm quilters or domestic machine users, for art quilting techniques, for competition and for those with a computerized machine.  And then classes that interest me. Predominantly freehand quilting.

The classes are usually pretty good. I like to take classes to see how the teachers present the material and gain some new inspiration and ideas.  And just imagine, I learn something new while I am at it.
 I only take a drawing or a demo class because I don't want hands-on with a big heavy unfamiliar longarm. Ouch!

The show itself obviously had some phenomenal quilts made for the competition. This show also has categories that are more for everyday quilts I guess. Maybe next year I will enter that category. Again I was disappointed there weren't more pieced quilts. Always the art and applique quilts predominate. The lighting was pretty bad, but next year promises to be better. My camera has a flash so the pictures turned out fine.

Now it's back to reality. I have paperwork and doctors waiting and have a "show" to give in Waukesha. Yikes!

Milwaukee Show

I hope all is back to normal soon for those that have suffered the ravages of hurricane Irene.

2011 heat wave

I'm thrilled I have the AC to turn on in the heat wave much of the US has been dealing with. I hope you found someplace to keep cool.  I usually go to the basement studio to work a bit where it is even cooler.  I have been working on 2 customer quilts that I don't want to share till she sees them.

The church ladies decided they wanted to do a block exchange like some guilds have.  I was the second to pass out my directions.  Each participant is to make two blocks and we're taking turns every other month. These are the first blocks turned in to me. I think I already know how I am going to put them together. I guess it wasn't too brilliant not having a plan to begin with. I guess it's the way I work.

If it gets below 80 degrees I'll go for a walk.  There is a gorgeous prairie in fullllll bloom now with paved roads just a mile down the road and my route takes 45 minutes. I should think to take the camera. It is a new kind of subdivision for Wisconsin. It has about 52 one acre home sites on almost two hundred acres with restored prairie, woods and a lake for residents to enjoy. Only 7 houses built since the roads went in maybe 4 years ago. No wonder why. I can't get over what good medicine that walk is. Dealing with the people I help has been challenging these last two weeks.

 The Milwaukee Machine Quilting Show is coming up soon.  I'm getting excited about that.  I think I want to start planning my spending.  Any tips on how to do that???? Again this year between the classes I am taking, teaching and volunteering, I'm planning on spending most of the week there. I wonder how much I'll sleep.
Hope to see you there.

Fun is better than perfect

It was sew much fun, who cares how good it is? I guess the saying goes 'Done is better than perfect" but I've been saying this quilt is done for over 10 years. And it was quilted and bound, but I'd left the big 6" squares unquilted!  I was sorting through my quilts and found that this one needed more quilting. I think I felt bad about that every time I showed it.  I''m pretty happy with it now with the added quilting. Even Mark  said " I guess it needed more quilting".  Lately instead of crowing "The quilt is finished when the top is done.", I'm singing "The quilting makes the quilt." And I still have 100 tops waiting to get quilted.

Actually I was sorting through my quilts looking for something to practice on. I wanted to try Diana Phillips "Flower Power" technique. I love that book of hers. So many variations on an idea. I think I will use it often.
The quilt is a variation on my pattern "Briar Patch" in my book, Quilts from Skunks Hollow.

 
Did you notice the new link on the right  to the Milwaukee Machine Show put on by Machine Quilting Today.
 I'm just as excited this year that it is so close to home. And I'm scheduled to teach. Check out the schedule. There are classes for everyone, even piecemakers.

 I'm still digging thistle, and I haven't planted all my flowers yet either.  It's not uncommon for us to have frosts this late in the spring. In between I have been finishing the quilt top for our next raffle quilt. I hope allergy season has been good to you. Adios.