Progress!

I've finished my BIQR applique, now to put borders on...I am trying out these hour glass blocks in fall colours...my flash does not work so I had to add light in picasa...

I finished my 9 Lives quilt, putting on the binding at the retreat, but I didn't get around to taking a photo of it until today.

But what have I done lately?

Now, that the saga of BIQR is over, it's time to get back to 'what have I done lately?' Our guild had their bi-annual quilt show Harvest of Quilts 2008. I submitted 10 pieces this year, 3 of which were part of the Guild Challenge display. I am the official photographer for the guild blog and have made one post, but I am still working on getting a slideshow up, you'll have to wait for that. This pic shows my Robyn Pandolph folk art wallhanging with 2 other interpretations. Isn't it great when 3 people take the same workshop and each comes up with such different interpretations!


(I've upgraded to picasa 3 and have been trying out some of the new features, one is a watermark...I lay claim to taking the photos not necessarily the content therein.) For instance this next photo is not of my quilt but of fellow guild member Jill, The Quilt Rat (she's just started her own blog and is on my blog roll, so check it out...her stuff is amazing and very unique!). This piece is called Earthbound.


Next, I forgot to tell you of my sister-in-law's visit from Calgary in September. We don't see her that often so it was nice to catch up and we took her out for dinner one night. She was in London only for a few days and had many other friends to catch up with too. BUT she did bring me a wonderful present, Anne is a quilter too and she brought me a bag full of her scraps!!! Her bag-full practically doubled my stash! And they were big pieces, too, and so many wonderful fabrics that I wouldn't already have, florals, jungle prints, some left overs from jelly rolls. (If you are reading this Anne, I know I owe you a postcard...I am working on it!)


I have been using some already...there were these nice polka dots, I think from a jelly roll, left over, and I thought it might make a nice bargello... I also used some of my left over solids to add to it. I thought it might make a nice doll quilt, but it is a little narrow, perhaps a topper for a dresser in a girl's room...


Next, remember my 9 Lives, inspired by this comic? Well, I felt like it needed some borders, and I was really stuck on what to do, but after Gwen's retreat, I was inspired by her Wedges and Slivers piece in her new book and wanted that colour pallette. I ended up using her strippy borders in those colours and of course some more left over solids. I look at those solid pieces as a blank canvas for hand quilting and can't wait to get these batted up!

My UFO list is growing, the following need to be batted up and quilted:

Andrew's Scrappy Bargello

Carol's Floor Scrap Quilt 1

Test Pattern

9 Lives

Pink Bargello

Liberated Strips

Tomasziewski wall hanging

and....

Top Secret Quilt, still working on the piecing.

9 Lives

There it is, the top is fused! I stayed up to midnight on Thursday working on it, I was a bit obsessed, and then I finished ironing it up Friday. I didn't have any good quantity of black, that is actually a navy blue with a black print on top, and the cats are also a blue with a black print, just a slight shade lighter. I know it might not show up that way in the photo. I think you have to be 12 inches away to see the print at all; it is that dark. I added some more birds, giving it a bit of an Alfred Hitchcock feel, also the birds flying are like in the movies when a gunshot is heard but all they show is the birds flying away.

I like the quickness of using the heat and bond, but now I hate the next part, machine stitching it all down.