A little finish

A good friend is celebrating one of those "Big-Oh" birthdays. I've been making table runners to mark these occasions. This friend and I have been through lots together: teaching, learning, having babies and grand babies, weddings, divorces and deaths. You pack a lot of living in 48 years of friendship!

Here's the runner. . . .

A little close up of the quilting loops and swirls. Happy Birthday, M!

Linking up with crazymomquilts.blogspot.com

 

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Merry Christmas!

Merriest Christmas to you and yours.

Here are a few Christmas items from years past before this blog had begun: a little elf,

a pillow with my first square in a square blocks

Improv Christmas trees.

I had hoped to blog weekly, and came close to that goal. There may be another before the year is over.

 

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Teacher Gift

Miss C loves her Second Grade teacher, and potholders make a great gift. This year, she did much of the sewing, she chose the fabrics and the design. Her teacher loves pink and yellow, so she found these in my stash.

Here she is doing the start of the quilting. She also put this square together. 8 is a great age!

We used cotton batting and a layer of insulbrite.

Ready to be wrapped and gifted.

Merry Christmas, Mrs B.

 

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Pink is Finished!

Pink is a favorite color of a good friend, so I was inspired. I have been wanting to make a 16 patch, so this is my first. I was hoping to find just florals, I came up short, so we have a few florals and pink vintage trailers, raindrops, dots, and some neutrals to calm things down a bit.

My granddaughter helped me with the layout, and pronounced this arrangement "perfect." I like the binding - a dot print from Amy Butler. The backing is a duvet cover from Ikea. I love the botanical print, but I got lots of wrinkles as I was quilting with my walking foot. I took out the worst part and re-quilted it from the back. I wished I had done all the quilting from the back. The backing is quite soft: difficult to quilt but lovely to feel.

It should be a great cuddly throw with wool batting.

 

 

Measures 60" x 72"

Pieced and quilted by me on my DSM

16 Patch

 

Linking up with Finish-It-Up Friday on CrazyMomQuilts.

 

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GWEN MARSTEN AND ME!!

Here I am with my piece and my teacher, Gwen Marsten.  What a great class . . . lots of fun.  I also got to be Gwen's driver from her accommodations to the class.  A little extra time in the car to chat.  

I'm not sure what I'll do with the quilt block.  Maybe finish it off as a mini. . .  I need a piece for my living room.  Somehow, this one feels like a technique sampler.  I have it put away right now.  I'll look at it again in a few weeks and see how I feel.  (I wanted to try everything!!)

Workshop with Gwen Marston

Lucky me! I was able to take a two day workshop with one of my quilting idols, Gwen Marston. Her liberated quilting improvisational style really appeals to me. (Of course, as a relatively new quilter, I have to try most everything.)

I didn't take many photos, and the good one I have with her refuses to load, but here is the flimsy.

I don't know how I'll quilt it. Ms Marston is a hand quilter, and I am not. I'll let the design roll around in my brain for a while.

Gwen Marston is a delightful woman. Funny, engaging, and a great coach for designing it yourself. She empowered us to push ourselves and create some great pieces.

Linking up with AmandaJean at crazymomquilts for Finish it up Friday.

 

 

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Travel Time

Prague, Budapest, Vienna, Passau. . . it was a lovely trip to parts of Europe that I have not visited before.

Prague has many old buildings as it was never bombed in WWII.  Beautiful old buildings . . . (This one reminded me of the one in the movie,  Budapest Hotel.)

And palaces with Throne Rooms, this one used by the King of Bohemia.

I did a river cruise on the Danube after 3 days in Prague.

Parliament Buildings in Budapest from our boat on an evening cruise.  

In Vienna, we heard a concert by this fine string quartet.

The cruising was relaxing, the touring energizing, the sights and scenery breathtaking.  A great trip.

Upon returning, I took a workshop with one of my quilting idols, Gwen Marston.  

More about that later.