Now where is that mistake?

       Now what do I call this? Is it a "convergence" quilt? Or is it a "strips that sizzle" or "strip tease" quilt. It's actually a bit of each. I guess I don't need a name because it is not going to be published anywhere but here. I'm glad I did it and I'm glad it is done.

       Oh, and seriously, I did drop a piece when I was sewing it together and didn't know how to sew it in place without having to arrange the pieces on the wall all over again. I guess I should learn a lesson from that and take a photo next time before I start sewing.

       Next on the agenda is making a dent in the pile of orphan blocks from church.  There are probably almost 100 blocks. Here is the first batch I considered using together - mainly because most of them are scrappy blocks.  Block sizes: 8", 9 1/2", 10", 11 1/2" & 12 1/2"

 And here is the first pile of rejects that I had originally considered, however briefly. Yes, some of the blocks are in both photos. Imagine that. These came in at 8", 8 1/2", 9", 9 1/2", 11" & 12 1/2".  Did you know I like puzzles?

Meet Shirley

I've had a busy week working in the garden between rain drops. I didn't get much quilting done as I suspected. My people had  few dr. appointments. I did a lecture for the Oconomowoc quilt guild. It was a small group but very supportive of another Thirtysomething book. In fact supportive of all my books. Thanks again ladies.

I brought this top home from church last week and hope to get it quilted soon. The blocks are from  Judy Martin's book, Knockout Blocks and Sampler Quilts. Sue donated the blocks and I found the sashing fabric in our stash and another gal put them together.

My convergence quilt is coming together. Tonight the girls should be over for quilting, so I hope to get it done then. I don't think I will border this one.

Shirley would be happy to meet you. It is the name of this tulip. I first saw the Shirley tulip when I went on a garden walk with my mom whose name is also Shirley. We both liked it. When we saw it the petals were white with lavender brushed  edges. Very pretty and I was glad I found some for my own garden.  I was very disappointed when they came up the first year because they were this creamy yellow color (below). I was ready to rip them out. But gradually they changed color to the lavender in the  picture above. So I guess I will keep them. They make for a nice reminder of mom.

Busy season

Every spring I am especially busy cause of the garden and it is a bit bigger this year so you can imagine what I have been doing. Yesterday was quilting at church. I forgot to bring the swap blocks for Nancy.  Sue passed out directions for her block. She decided on the Bear's Paw  instead of  using this pinwheel  block.

 I adjusted the measurements on this block so the pinwheel could float  and the background of the blocks could all be trimmed making the blocks all the same size and ideal for a group project. I will post a tutorial  later when I have to make the block again. This was my sample block to check measurements and it will go with the orphan blocks for church.

I was in South Bend, Indiana last week for a lecture and workshop. It went well and was lots of fun. Joan, my hostess made me very comfortable. She even let me have a peek at her studio (for the longarm business) and her sewing room. It is always a treat for me to see that. The next lecture is just an hour north of here and it is the same lecture so I am already packed.

I haven't done anymore with my convergence quilt, except move the pieces around on the wall. I still have  a few more units to make, then it'll be time to make my decision. Here are just two of the possibilities. And yes I really do already like it more than the original quilt top that I cut up.

I think I might like an off-center arrangement of some kind for this thing. Then again, I might decide to add an alternate plain block or...

Still Converging

I hoped to be further along with my convergence quilt to give you a better idea of what I was talking about.
This is a picture of the top that was. Never quilted that is. And not even a top anymore.  As much as I loved the colors, it was kind of useless and not to attractive.

So I treated the quilt top as fabric yardage and fussy cut a bunch of triangles out of it.  I had to fussy cut to avoid having a seam 1/4" away from another seam. That could have been poor planning on my part. Had I cut triangles an inch larger, that may not have been an issue. I only did this once before so we could call this an experiment.

Next I chose some other fabrics that coordinated and maybe even enhanced the original selection. I picked some colors that were lighter and some that were darker. I cut strips, did some sewing and cut more triangles the same size.  Then I sewed pairs of triangles together, one of each kind and that is as far as I got. I will play with them a while before I decide how I want to arrange them. Stay tuned to see what comes of it. Then you can tell me if I should label this a tutorial. One with pretty vague directions. It's been fun so far.

Convergence quilt

       I just had to share. Lily doesn't really cuddle yet, but now at least I can hold her up to 5 minutes at a time before she wants to get down. Behind me you can see what I have been playing with. It's my version of a convergence quilt. I've made one before, where I cut my ugliest quilt top into 4" triangles, added some complementary fabric and sewed it back together randomly. It turned out great, but I didn't keep it or even get a picture. I'll show more details next time.

I should mention that Martingale has published about a dozen of my patterns that you can order individually. 
Go to www.shopMartingale.com and click on epatterns and search the quilting category for Bong.

No doubt my quilting skills are getting rusty. I haven't touched my longarm since Feb. I will plan to do a little warm up on some comfort quilts before I get back to doing my own  - some day. It's spring, what can I say?
My garden is mostly cleaned out.
On Easter, Mark and I took a hike in the neighbors woods and came across a coyote den. We think there is another coyote den even closer to our house cause they always sound so loud when they howl with the ambulances going by on the freeway one mile away. The thought of an ambulance being called is sad, but I have to laugh every time I hear the coyotes call with the siren. Call me chicken, but after seeing the den, I don't know that I will be comfortable hiking in the fields and woods around here by myself.

I am going to go do a little sewing now. What a plan!