It’s been a busy week and I am still catching up, but here’s the journal quilt from week 44. This was the first of our two baby showers and it was held in Boston.
Just a note to let you know that my Quilt University class “Getting Started Online” will be starting up soon. It begins April 20th so now’s the time to register if you’d like to join us!
My March lesson for Superior University arrived in the mail. I haven’t opened the packet yet to see what the lesson is, but I have to admit that I am intrigued by what looks like a bag of sand. I wonder what the project is?
This weekend’s work in the studio was a real struggle. I spent several fruitless hours trying to accomplish Plan A for journal quilt #43. Having given up on Plan A, I then resolved to execute a Plan B as quickly as possible since when I started this project, I decided to only commit a few hours a week to it and I was already over my limit with the first attempt. So, I just sat down to quilt out some shamrocks for St. Patrick’s Day. (Yes, these are supposed to be shamrocks. In my attempt at speed, I didn’t draw them first.)
Of course, I ended up liking the back way better.
We’ve had 80 degree weather in Boston since I made this journal quilt so it hardly seems like Spring anymore, but I made these snowdrops when I started seeing the signs of Spring.
Saturday, we held the first of two baby showers in what I have started calling “Baby Shower-palooza.” One down, one to go! For the showers, I made a fabric alphabet guest book, which will be the only one of its kind. I tried two different thicknesses of interfacing for the project and still broke three needles trying to sew the spine of the book. Since it will never have a mate, I am glad that I like how this one turned out:
I had a very productive weekend in the studio. In addition to a couple of journal quilts, I also finished my February lesson for Superior University (which is probably good because March’s lesson is already on its way). Here’s what came in my goody box this month:
I had a very enjoyable hour and 45 minutes watching the thread therapy DVD while I did some reverse sewing on the next project you’ll see posted on the blog. I picked up a few things that I didn’t already know, but I have heard him speak in snippets here and there (on The Quilt Show and other places) so I had heard most of it. Still, it’s nice to have the whole lecture in one place.
The actual lesson was creating a fabric greeting card using Rainbows variegated thread. The lesson promised that making cards could become addicting and I think that they might be right. It was a quick project and look how great it turned out:
Since my darling sister has a birthday on Saturday, this project came at the right time. And, of course, the Rainbows thread was just as lovely to use as every other Superior Thread. The only downside that I can see to the project is that the glue that holds the fabric onto the card does grab the needle just a little, but that wasn’t a major problem so, yes, I do find myself tempted to make more cards!
Okay, so this has been up on the blog before, but it’s back up on my design wall this week. This is the baby quilt top and I am now pondering how I should quilt it. Any thoughts?
The highlight of Week 41 was a birthday lunch for my DH’s grandmother who turned 99. Here’s the journal quilt, entitled “99 Candles.”
The highlight of this week was definitely a tour of the Taza Chocolate Factory in Somerville, MA. They roast the beans, stone grind the chocolate and produce both rounds of chocolate in the Mexican style and bars in their small factory outside of Boston. If you’re in the area, I highly recommend a tour, if only for the samples! Here’s my Mexican chocolate disk:
