re: Freshing

???

Yes, I'm back from a refreshing time away. Of course coming home means some catching up with laundry, to-do lists, e-mails and what not. But a good time was had by all, etc., etc.!

I never took my camera but the weather was wonderfully warm, the scenery smashing, and the fellowship with friends fulfilling.

It does seem that during this annual trip, we leave in winter and return with spring beginning to start its trickle into the year. I'm not sure I'm ready as I still have many things I want to accomplish without the grass demanding to be cut!

This week I think I'll focus on my dear daughter. (dd) She has patiently been waiting for her wedding quilt among various and sundry other things. To get to some of her things I'll be encountering numerous stacks and piles to practice my flinging on.

Tonight is our Common Threads Quilt Group night with basic quilting as the focus. Quilt as you go is the topic. Below is an old quilt I strip pieced in long sections using the quilt as you go method. The backing and batting are cut in 7 foot lengths about 14 inches wide. Then beginning in the middle of the batting I began to sew and flip random width strips of fabric. This is done thru the batting and backing. I positioned the first strip on the diagonal, placed another strip on top, right sides facing and sewed an 1/4 inch seam. The walking or even feed foot is well suited for this job. I flipped that strip open and placed the next piece of fabric to face down (right sides together) and continued. When I finished the length I went back to that first strip and worked my way to the opposite end. When I had enough sections completed I squared up all the edges. I then made long strips that I folded in half. The raw edges of these folded strips are aligned with the raw edges of two sections and a seam joins them together. The sections are opened and the folded edge of the long strip is hand or machine sewn over the raw edges. The choice to have the strip on the front or the back is just personal preference. When all the sections are joined the final binding can be done around the outside of the quilt. This is a great quick quilt. It is also a cool technique for place mats.

Blue is probably not my favorite colour but I made this for my Mum hoping she'd be happy with it. But she had her heart set on a red and white quilt that had memories from her childhood. So this kept them warm while I cranked up my enthusiasm for a quilt made with one block from two fabrics. Maybe next Valentine's Day I'll show that one.

But I do like this technique and I should do more with it. If it were done with squares of batting and backing the look is quite different.

If I can get DD's quilts done then perhaps I can make some quick quilts with this technique for the 2 grand children. See how patient she has been! 8^)