My guild offers several days a year where we get together and spend the day sewing and working on our projects. It's like a one day retreat. Yesterday about a dozen of us gathered together for a day of sewing, chatting and giggling. My husband asked me what we do at these "Sew Ins" and I explained that we get some sewing done but it's mostly talking and laughing. And all without any wine at all!
I took my trusty Lily sewing machine with me and began the quilting on the brown and cream scrappy lap throw that I'm making for my daughter's friends who are getting married in a couple of months.
I'd gone to the Rec Center on Friday afternoon to pin this quilt sandwich as well as another one shown later in this post. I go there so I can use their big tables and not have to crawl around on my knees on the floor. So much better on my back--and my knees--and my dignity! The $5 fee is worth every penny!
First, I used a dark thread to stitch straight lines through the dark 4-patches. I stitched both ways and I thought about going in the ditch around each 4-patch, but decided to let that wait until I'd finished the entire center and then see if it was needed.
After I finished the straight line stitching, I changed to a free motion foot and a creamy white thread and began stitching spirals in each of the cream squares. I was only able to get one row finished before it was time to pack up and head for home. I've decided that I'll alternate rows so the spirals will go in opposite directions. And I must say, my Lily held up very well--no broken threads so far. Keep your fingers crossed that I don't run into the same problem I've had in the past where the thread breaks every few inches as I stitch the curves.
This is the other quilt sandwich I did up the other day at the Rec Center. It's a Disappearing 9-Patch that the guild did as an exchange a couple of years ago. I'd made up the top but never got it quilted. It's on the list of Tops to be Quilted on my side bar. I'll be happy to cross one of those tops off the list!
Anyway, I got the thing pinned but now I have no idea of how I'll quilt it up. I'll have to let it marinate in my brain while I quilt the brown and cream quilt and I'm sure I'll have ideas when I need them.
The other task I've been working on this week has been to catch up with all the Civil War Jubilee blocks that I did not do while I was in the South. It was too much to bring all my CW fabrics with and it only took 2 afternoons of sewing and I was caught up. Now I get to start assembling them into rows. I hope to have the entire center finished, if not the borders as well, by the next Guild meeting on April 5th, since this was a block of the month project that I was in charge of. I know some of the other participants in this project have finished their tops and one even has hers quilted up. I'm not even aiming for that at this point! (She has a long arm machine in her house which is much faster than the quilting on my domestic machine, but I'm not jealous or anything!)
And I just realized that April 8-10 is the spring retreat that the Guild sponsors so I have to have some things ready to go for that event. I have so much quilting to do that I don't want to begin another pieced top but wonder if there's enough room on the tables for me to work on a bed sized quilt. Just had a thought! I'll bring supplies to make up several items for my Etsy shop, Jolly Ruby, so I'll have more things for sale in the shop. Table runners and place mats are easy to make and quilt up in the smaller spaces available at the retreat.
That's it for today. Lots of little chores that have to get done before I get to head for the sewing room, so I'd better get on it.
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