Two finishes!

Last week I picked up the Wensleydale quilt from Marie, the long arm quilter, and had it all bound by machine on Sunday.  She quilted it rather loosely in a snowflake pattern which looks a bit like a large stipple.  I like its puffiness and am glad it's done.   Foundation paper piecing made it easy to put together.

I realize that blue isn't considered a Christmas color, but it is used in most winter ones, so I chose the light blue stop border because the outer border includes blue.  I used the same outer border fabric for the binding because the inner part of the quilt is busy enough!  Of course, the holidays are plenty busy.

I may take this quilt to the library to hand on the wall during the holidays along with another quilt I often use with the auction items during "Light Up the Library."  When I get a chance, my plan to is make shopping bags for all the members of the library staff for Christmas.  Right now, I'm looking for a pattern that's easy and folds in or rolls into itself without snaps, buttons, or elastic.  

Over the weekend, I also got all the quilted pieces of my Modern Jane quilt together, bordered, and partly bound.  That was a lot of work, hauling the sections around and squaring them up together.  I was amazed that I had made almost the perfect lengths of piano key borders.  Sometimes things work like a charm and other times they are a pain.   The corners were duplicate DJ blocks that I made by accident during the three years I made them.  I lost track here and there along the way.

The spirit of Jane Stickle was with me on this quilt, I guess.  Besides the almost perfect length of borders, I found I needed to create about a foot more binding to get all the way around neatly, which used up all of one black/white fabric in my stash.   I had plenty more other b/w fabric but didn't want the binding to be scrappy.  I now face the task of sewing the binding down by hand, and I'll do that in spurts.

To give myself a break, I've been working on the July Rainbow Scrap Challenge blocks.  Why - oh why? - did I decide to make three different quilts this year?  The color of the month is Bonnie Hunter's favorite - aqua.   Unfortunately, I have very little of what I consider to be that color, so I have expanded it to be what I consider to be teal which I have a lot of.  Five log cabin blocks are in the bin and put away already.  The "traffic stop" blocks are well on their way to completion, and today I'll start on the improv houses.

The 2026 round robin

The last Heart of Vermont guild meeting was this past Tuesday, and we had the reveal of our 2025-26 round robin.  One person in the group couldn't make it, but we showed her quilt anyway, and we all took home our own quilts which were begun in the fall. 

I started with a left over 14" square from last year's Optimism quilt along sampler designed by Aby Dollinger.  Then it passed along to the other five members of the group monthly or bi-monthly depending on the size.  Each made a round with fabric I provided.  As you can see, it's another purple quilt, my favorite. 

Toward the end of the nine months, we had two months to work on a round, which some bigger quilts needed.  In the next to last round of Diane's quilt, I made a ton of nine patches in 30s fabrics, and for Marie's last round, I made quite a few friendship stars in red, white, and blue.  It's really a lot of fun to work on these round robin quilts with fabric other than my own.  Everyone does her best work, which is really nice.  As I said at the meeting, "it's a matter of trust," and it usually comes out great.

I didn't know some of the quilters in this year's group very well, and it was nice to get to know them through their quilts.  Here are five of the six of us, with me holding Marie's quilt top.  Our red ribbons denote that Ginny and I were "founding members" of the guild back in 2008.

I'm not sure when I'll get to my round robin quilt top or if I'll add another round to make it bed-sized.  These days I peck away at quilting my Dear Jane which is coming along pretty well.  We're heading to Colorado for a week to visit Mom, and I hope to finish Dear Jane all together by the end of July.  I have a few small projects I'd like to work on but meanwhile, I'll just think about what I'll do with the purple quilt.

Summertime and the living is easy

 

The rugosa roses in front of our house are blooming, and I picked lettuce yesterday.  Friends came for lunch Friday and gave me a lovely bouquet.  The whole house smells delicious - peonies will do that.  Wish we had some in the garden, but at least these are ant-less.

We had some pretty muggy days with summer temperatures.  School is almost out here - I know it's out elsewhere around the country, but ours stays in session longer to make up for the inevitable snow days.  We've had the fan on in our bedroom at night and the AC on in the living room and sewing room a few times.  We've had a few salad and cold cut meals, too.  Tonight we'll grill some pork chops from the freezer which I'm trying to empty in anticipation of having a crop of blueberries later this summer.

I am now ready to quilt the last section of Dear Jane.   I worked on the borders last week and made four 3" blocks for the corners.  Then I made another Improv House block.  I'm not sure how many of these I'll make, but so far I've been following the Rainbow Scrap Challenge colors.  This month's "pastel" turned out not as light as I wanted, but that's OK.  I plan to vary the landscapes a bit so that not all the hills go in the same direction.  It's pretty easy pattern, but I can't remember who designed it off hand.  Jo Avery?  Will have to go through my notes to make sure.

Yesterday I did a little embroidery at quilt guild while chatting with the group.  Some of us are planning to go to the first Vermont Quilt Show this week by a for-profit national group.  I'm curious to see vendors and some displays by local guilds.   My other guild meets this Tuesday for the last time before a summer break.   

Progress!

So far this week, I've been making all kinds of progress.  I finished a book and started another one.  And on Monday, I finished machine quilting the third of four sections of Dear Jane.  I'm pleased and want to work on the final section and work on the borders soon.  

But I also want to get the month's Rainbow Scrap Challenge blocks finished so that I don't fall behind (as I often do!).  This month's color is "pastel," which is a little vauge and presents a bit of a challenge.   I have a lot of pastels, but I'm not sure how good they'll look with the blocks I've already made.  I decided to combine some colors, so yesterday, I made a couple of Traffic Jam blocks in pinks and purples.  

Then I made an Improv Houses block in light blues.   I added the houses to my RSC list last month because (a) I love making house quilts and (b) I have plenty of scraps.  I have yet to make the log cabin blocks for the month and hope to get to them today.

Yesterday morning I made a stop at the Vermont Historical Society library with a bankers' box full of the archives of the state quilt guild.  I had been sifting through several tubs all year, with turning the files over to VHS for safekeeping the ultimate goal.  I was so glad and relieved to be able to finish this long term project.  The tubs had been languishing in the former historian's basement and garage for ages.  Now they will be preserved, indexed and available to anyone doing research.

Quilting Dear Jane!

I put the last stitches in block M-13 of Dear Jane Friday, and Saturday I sashed the row and added it to the Rows J, K, and L.  Sunday I sandwiched that section and have one more section left to sandwich.  It feels so good to make progress! 

I cut my sashing 1.5" instead of Jane's 1" (or less) because I think that makes each block stand out a little more.  Of course, that makes the center bigger (about 73" square) which is OK since I'm not adding the triangle border on Modern Jane.  I have been cutting pieces for the 3" wide piano keys border when I have gotten a chance, and I'll continue to do that off and on as I quilt.  

Yesterday I quilted the grid of this section, and today I started on the individual blocks.  Each one is being done a little differently, just as it would be if I were hand quilting.  Meanwhile, downstairs, the painter is working hard on our kitchen and dining room.   Our house is a bit topsy turvy this week.

Everything from the kitchen counters is either stuffed into cupboards (watch nothing falls when we open them!) or in some spot in the living room.  We moved all the dining room furniture into the living room except the big sideboard which we left under the chandelier.  My Oma's big painting of Lake Como is covered in and resting on two old quilts in the front hall.

We went out for pizza last night, but I plan to cook tonight.  Actually, it will be a salad topped with left over chicken.  The good news is that she's almost finished, after just two days on the job!   It will probably take a few days to get things back in order, but that's OK.  It's nice to see everything looking bright and clean.

 

Row M has begun

I finished blocks M-1 through M-5 yesterday for my Modern Dear Jane, including the dreaded M-3 which can include quite a few Y seams.  Rather than piece M-3, I decided to applique the pieces which worked OK but required a little hit of Fray Check here and there.  ome of these final blocks seem quite intricate - and difficult!   M-7 looks like it will need to be fused, but I'll worry about that when I get there - maybe today.

Lately, email ads and blogs have been touting patriotic themes as the 4th of July approaches.  I understand and honor the writing of the Declaration of Independence, but today's USA is in such turmoil that I just can't get enthusiastic about celebrating.  I won't be joining others in making anything patriotically quilty this year.   It just makes me uncomfortable.

Here's a quilt I made in 2018 that has the typical red, white, and blue color scheme (which I like very much).   It includes an old UFO center block along with several Dutch folk fabrics from my stash.  It's one of the first quilts I quilted myself using my old Viking.  I'll be changing the quilts I hang at the library soon and think I'll take this one to display along with Cornucopia of Thanks.  

Spring has sprung!

Yesterday was sunny, warm, and lightly breezy, with trees beginning to flower.  We opened up windows for the first time since fall, cooked outside on the grill, and planted annuals.  What a day!  We're hoping for another today and, if we're lucky, tomorrow, too.  The many colors of green are wonderful to see on our lovely Green Mountains.

Chris came over to help me with some planting and, while I had a tall person around, I took a picture of the quilt I finished last week, It's made with scrappy Kaffe Fasset fabrics and a few other colorful prints and will be going to Bags of Love for kids going into foster care.  I quilted it very simply using fusible batting (which I don't like much but keep trying to work with as it does make it easier to baste together).

Today I'll do a little more weeding and may go out to buy another hose and a longer extension cord so Chris can trim the bushes.  While at the hardware store I may also get a few more plants although there is still a slight danger of frost.  We always waited until after Memorial Day to plant tomatoes and other things, but in recent years, with climate change, we can often plant a little sooner.

This is going to be a busy week with a hair appointment for me and dental cleaning for Paul, quilt guild meeting, lunch and dinner out with various friends, and the opera - Cinderella - on Saturday.  In between I'll peck away at Dear Jane and the gardens.

The Maze of Madness!

It felt really good to work on my modern Dear Jane quilt again.  I hadn't made any blocks since September, but when I got everything out again, I found that I only have two more rows of blocks to make.  That's 26 blocks, however!  I have been quilting as I go, in batches of rows, so I sashed three rows and put them together.  I'll quilt those... eventually.  I then sashed two more rows and put them together.

Here are the six blocks I made this week for Row L.  While I'm not wild about paper piecing, it really works the best for many of the blocks in this row.

Just in case you'd like a closeup of L-6, Maze of Madness, here is one:

It truly did drive me nuts although not as much as L-4 (the name eludes me).  I hope the next few blocks are a bit easier.

All the blocks in rows A-K look great together, and I think I have enough gray grunge for the 1" sashing and stop border for the rest of the blocks.  Instead of the triangle border I'm planning a 3" piano keys border using all of the black on white background prints all the way around.  I will start cutting those scraps up when I feel like taking a break from sewing the blocks.   

We are having the kitchen and dining room downstairs painted the first week in June, so that will most likely be a good time to escape upstairs to sew or outside to garden.  It's been raining a lot lately, so everything is green and growing quickly despite chilly overnights.  Chris is coming tomorrow (Saturday) to give me a hand outside which will be nice.  I always enjoy those mother/son workdays.

Row K is finished!

 

It's been a busy week, but I managed to peck away at Row K for Dear Jane here and there.  I'll continue to do the same on the next two rows, but I think this weekend I'll work on binding Double Date which I picked up from Marie the quilter.  She did a wonderful job, and I can't wait to finish it.

I missed the first Heart of Vermont guild meeting of the year, but response to my email to the guild about a round robin activity has been good.  There are now six of us planning to join in.  I don't know two of the people, but that will make it all the more fun.  I enjoy meeting people in smaller groups, especially because that guild has 60 members.  It's hard to get acquainted just at meetings.

We had a very nice time with my brother Rob and his wife Linda early in the week.   We took a guided tour of the Vermont State House, visited a sugar shack for maple ice cream, visited the Vermont Granite Museum, and took several nice walks in the sunshine.  Of course, meals out together and a lunch at home were fun, too.  Rob is totally immersed in changing his house over to solar power and driving his new-to-them electric vehicle.  The learning curve appears steep, and I'm not sure I could deal with it all.

Vermont is experiencing a drought, and our plants are all in need of soaking rain.  The foliage is changing color rapidly, but I don't think it will be as vibrant as usual.  Still, the visitors are beginning to come, including the tour buses.  That's our "bread and butter"!

Aging and the aged

This week we were busy helping friends who are just a few years older than we are.  One is in a nursing home after breaking a hip.  He'd like to come home, but after taking him and his wife (who is fine) out for lunch, we realized that he can't go home.  His physical and mental faculties have declined.  Is the latter due to being in the nursing home with very little stimulation?  Perhaps it's due to his declining hearing? 

A few days later, we had lunch with a friend who passed out at the restaurant, requiring an ambulance to the hospital.  We stayed with her in the ER until it was decided to insert a pacemaker at the university hospital in Burlington, about 45 minutes away.  Paul drove her car to our house, and two days later, we picked her up and took her home, along with her cute yellow car.  She was very perky by that time, but now we hear she has had another episode.  Perhaps the problem is more complex than the need for a pacemaker?

It all makes me very glad that I am still walking, talking, writing, reading, sewing!   My A1c and weight are both down, and the doctor has reduced my diabetes med.  She promised that it may be removed all together if I continue on this downward trajectory.  My visiting sister-in-law noticed the difference which is nice to hear.   She and my brother are visiting from New Jersey - early leaf peepers!  The fall colors are beginning, but it will be a few more weeks until peak foliage.  Still, visitors, including busloads, are arriving.

All this activity has slowed down my sewing, but I did manage to make a few blocks for Row K of Dear Jane.  Just two more full rows after that, and the center will be done.  I'm now thinking about a modern border instead of the triangles.  What would Jane have done?

I finished a sweet little burgundy hat for "Bags of Love," which makes three for kids going into foster care.  The picot edge on that hat will look cute on a little girl.  I have some variegated green yarn to make another hat, but it will have to wait.  I just started a striped sweater for myself.  Not sure i like the yarn, but if not, I'll make a few scarves and more hats.

Busy week ahead

We are heading to Burlington this morning for Paul's regular Retina Center visit.  I'm packing my Kindle and saving my New York Times puzzles for their always chilly waiting room.  Tomorrow I have a pedicure scheduled, Thursday and Friday we're meeting various friends for lunch, and Sunday my brother and his wife are coming for a few days' visit.  Fall foliage season is beginning!  We play catch up with old friends and host visitors.  Back in our B&B days, I took two weeks off to help Paul make up beds, do laundry, clean the house, and cook breakfasts.  It was a whirlwind time, but now it's just fun before the snow falls!

Over the weekend I started on Row K of Dear Jane.  This row has quite a few paper pieced blocks which can be tricky.  Yesterday I made a 36 patch block (K-2?) which turned out so small that I had to add coping strips all around.  What a sense of accomplishment one gets upon finishing each little block.

Here are most of the blocks in Row J.  That empty space, J-11, was a work in progress so didn't get into the photo.  I had to add that I cut some corners on J-9 and J-11, eliminating some fussy little melon appliques.  I decided to add them with quilting.

I watched Ricky Tims' unveiling of his new quilt, The Visitation, yesterday afternoon, and all I can say is "Wow!"  I wish he still sold his hand-dyed fabrics.  It's on You Tube if you want to watch.  

Fall is in the air

 

We took our daily walk around the neighborhood yesterday, and this is what we enjoyed.  It's an early tree - most have not begun to change colors although our burning bush has really begun turning red.  We do get some lovely views in the fall in Vermont.  This is the time of year when we're happy to live here.  During blizzards, not so much!  Leaf peepers will begin visiting soon with a vengeance.

I woke up early this morning so spent some time catching up on blogs.  I got an idea for something I can make for tonight's dinner with leftover chicken and looked at other quilters' works in progress.  I don't know how some people get so much done!  I am dawdling around with Dear Jane these days and taking my time reading a new mystery by Elly Griffiths.  I do a little housework and cooking here and there.  Where does the time go?  

I did get out and do about half an hour's worth of gardening yesterday before Paul's nephew stopped by for a visit.  We had some rain over night so I'm not sure I'll get outside today.  Yesterday I planted some iris and crocosmia, a new flower my neighbor introduced me to this year.  And it is lovely with leaves that resemble gladiolas.   They seem very hardy,

Making progress

 I made a number of Dear Jane blocks for Row J in the last few days. 

Unfortunately, blocks #10-12 require hand applique, so progress will slow down for a few days while I add a jillion orange peels to two blocks and the handle on the very sweet little basket block.  I wasn't thinking clearly when I said Row J will be easy - it has its high and low spots.  I'll get them done, but slowly!

Outdoor work

There is a touch of fall in the air which isn't unusual.  Years ago (40+), I lived in the country at about 2500 feet, and we often had a bit of frost around Labor Day.  Those days are gone, but it is quite cool in the mornings anyway.  Today's fog will burn off to a sunny, lovely day, I'm sure.  When it warms up a bit, I will do a little gardening in the back yard. 

Chris is coming over later to help me dig out some hostas that encroaching on the blueberries.  We'll grill burgers for lunch.  Yesterday I pulled out a lot of lilies of the valley that were choking other things out front.   I left a few because I like them, but I need to stay on top of them every year.  I have ordered more daffodil bulbs for that spot, but they haven't arrived yet.   I decided not to try any more tulips out front since the deer just won't leave them alone.  They haven't discovered the early blooming ones out back, thank goodness.

I hope to get back to Dear Jane in the coming week.  I have made five blocks and find Row J a little easier than Row I which is a relief.  That's the next block I need to make - J-6 - which should be easy.  The photo is from the Hobby Stash website where I get my paper piecing patterns.

I was running low on black/white prints for backgrounds, so just ordered another yard of pin dots and also picked up two other half yards at the quilt shop.  This quilt takes a lot of fabric, especially when one makes most of the blocks by paper piecing.  

On to Row J

 Over the weekend, I finished Row I of Dear Jane.  Here are the last seven blocks:

I started Row J right away and am on block #5 now. This row seems easier than Row I.  The last two blocks (the yellow and purple ones above) each had 40-some pieces.  That's a lot in 5" block!

Last Thursday, I took the Double Date quilt top, backing, and batting over to Marie for long arm quilting.   She thinks it needs a modern quilting pattern and is waiting for some software to arrive.  That's fine with me as I was sick of looking at it and need a break.  It has felt good to be working on DJ again.  There are only 3 more rows after Row J, left.  I don't think I'll include the triangles in my quilt, but you never know.   Working on one quilt at a time is different for me, but it has proved useful in that I concentrated on Double Date for about three months.  And got it done!

Over the weekend we met Paul's other sister and her husband for lunch and, the next day, attended the annual neighborhood picnic.   Tonight we're going to the library's author program.  This summer has been busy, but not all that bad.  Pat is still with us but may be returning to Florida in late October; things are going pretty well for her these days.   I've been reading quite a bit but ought to be outside gardening while the sun shines.  It's good to enjoy the lazy days of summer while they're still here.

Back to Dear Jane

 

It felt good to work on something "new" this weekend after working for two months on Double Date.  I am halfway through Row I of Dear Jane.   Because I'm sewing in the basement these days away from my stash, I bought two charm packs in bright colors to give me the variety my stash would have given me.  A couple of the blocks - #4 and 5 - have hand applique which went well, and #6 had some fusible applique.  #3 was paper pieced, and today I'll work on paper piecing #7, a pineapple-like block.

We had lovely weather this weekend - sunny, not humid, temperatures in the 70s and low 80s.  I should have worked in the flower beds but didn't feel like it.  That's the great thing about retirement.    We finished watching the 1995 version of Pride and Prejudice on PBS last night - always a treat.

Heat wave is over

A heat wave in Vermont means temperatures over 90 degrees for three days (or more) in a row.  And that's just what has happened over the last week or so.  It's been hot, humid and wildfire smokey, making it extra difficult to do more than stay inside and read, sew, and snooze.   I did get a surprising amount of quilting work done this week, though.

On Saturday, I went to a quilt guild meeting which is usually held in the cool basement at the quilt shop.  Some people were continuing with their kawandi projects but, having finished mine, I started on a new sashiko.  It's a sampler/table topper that I will reserve to work on mostly at this group's meetings.  I enjoy getting together with these ladies for the wide-ranging conversations we have. 

Sunday, we spread Paul's brother-in-law's ashes at the island he and Pat owned about 45 minutes north.  Pat has been staying with us all summer and is hoping to sell the island and buy a condo near us.  We hope it all works out.  Meanwhile, I've been sewing in our basement while my stash is upstairs in the guest/sewing room.   I've been in one project at a time mode with my little backup Brother machine, and yesterday I finished the top that was that project (blocks below).   

Double Date got put together and had two borders added.  It looks great and is all bundled up to take to the quilter for long arming.  I am happy to get it all packed up.  Despite all the work it took, it's only about 63 x 74" with the 5" borders.  I ordered coordinating backing from Connecting Threads and hope it arrives fairly soon.  There's batting waiting in the closet in my sewing room, too.

Last week, I also managed to put the binding on my friend Pam's queen-sized green and peach log cabin quilt.  It was a lot to handle in my small space with my slow and less accurate Brother machine.  She started the quilt back in the 1980s so the colors and polyester blend fabrics are retro by now, and the long arm quilting and cream poly binding really look great.  I hope to deliver it to her this afternoon.

With Double Date finished, today I'll try to clean up all the greens and creams, put them away, and get out another project which I think will be Dear Jane for a while.  I think I left off at Row I, and my tub of black/white backgrounds has been waiting since last spring.  

I have some bright charm squares which I hope will be a good substitute for my stash which isn't as handy right now.  As you can see from Row E, every block has different bright colors on different black/white fabric.  I don't have a design wall in my temporary space, so you'll probably be seeing pictures of small groups of blocks as they're made for a while.  Who knows?  I might just finish all the Dear Jane blocks before summer ends?

Dear Jane revisted

Yesterday's state quilt guild meeting is over, and I am now the former president!  It was a great meeting, if I do say so myself.  A large number of new people joined, and attendance was up by quite a bit.  It makes me especially happy because when this particular board took over six years ago, the previous board was set on folding up.  The treasury was pretty much depleted and no programs were planned.  We managed to weather the pandemic by publishing additional newsletters and upgrading our web presence.  Once it became safe to meet again, we returned to our twice annual gatherings, with excellent speakers from within the state and fun programs.

My favorite part of our meetings has always been "show and tell."  In the fall, I had issued a presidential challenge to use the "Snowflake Bentley" fabric that had been copies from plates at the Smithsonian.  Bentley was a Vermonter who photographed snowflakes and learned that no two are alike.  Here's what one quilter showed yesterday.

Debie cut the snowflake blocks from the panel and then added snowflake blocks she designed herself along with some she machine embroidered.  It's a huge quilt!  And!  When she finished this quilt, she made a lap quilt with blocks she'd made using sashiko embroidery.  

Ginny and I did a short program about our journeys with Dear Jane.  We showed some of the "Baby Jane" quilts we've made over the years since the book came out in 1996.  Here are a few of mine.

This is my Asian Jane, made with those stunning prints and a black background.  (That's Tess holding the quilt)  Mary quilted this on her longarm.

Here's the baby quilt using 1930 blocks, some of them swapped.  I machine quilted in the ditch on the sashing and then hand quilted the individual blocks.

And here's the Christmas one I drape on the couch every year, again with some blocks that were swapped.  I machine quilted this quilt.

I walked over 8,000 steps yesterday, but it was well worth it!

Spring has sprung!

These last two weeks have flown by.  Last week my brother Rob and his wife Linda visited, and we spent a lot of time just catching up on our lives.   It was great to see them.  There was a lot to do before and after their visit, and then there was catching up on things not done.  I spent some time outside on nice days, picking up sticks in the yard, edging the front flower beds, and simply enjoying nicer weather.  I did snow - hard - one afternoon, but it all melted within a couple of hours.  We hope not to see that again until November.  

Our daffodils and tulips are blooming, and every day I see something new peeking out of the dirt.  There will be violets and lily of the valley soon, as well as flowering crabapple trees.  Spring is always a surprise around here after the long winter.

This week I finished Row H for my modern Dear Jane quilt and then caught up on some blocks of the month.

The block on the left is going into the lottery at my guild meeting later this month.  The other two are for me, with the one on the bottom being blocks for the quilt designed by Kristin Laura.  She has given our guild permission to make her quilt as a block of the month.  We will only have 9 guild blocks and 12 Kristin Laura blocks, so I decided to make them in the same colorway and combine them.  Hope it works out.

Then I made the "rows and pathways" (?) block for the lottery at the state quilt guild meeting May 10.  I initially wondered if it would turn out OK, but I like my block and assume the other quilters' blocks will turn out just as nice.  It will definitely be a scrappy quilt when they're all together.  It's supposed to look like garden paths.

I've spent some time in the last few days getting stuff together for the state guild meeting, too.  This will be my last meeting as president, and I'm looking forward to "just" being a participant and not responsible for anything.  We'll see how that turns out!

A friend and I are doing a short program on Dear Jane-type quilts at the meeting.  That's how Ginny and I met long ago.  We each have stories to tell and variations to show.  I have encouraged others in the guild to bring their variations along for show and tell, too.  One person has a mini that I think is just amazing.

And speaking of amazing, the other day as I was watering my indoor plants I noticed that my orchid, which I repotted a few weeks ago, is sporting two blossoms, with more on the way!  It hasn't bloomed in years, so it just goes to show that it needed a bigger pot.

  

Dual duty

 

I had this quilt top (53" x 55") hanging in the closet since early fall.  It is a variation (as most of my quilts are) of Jen Kingwell's Green Tea and Sweet Beans pattern.  I got tired of working on it over the summer, so set it aside until fall when I added the striped Australian fabric as the border.   All of the appliqued blocks are wool applique which I hope will not run when washed.  I like the quilt's cheerfulness.

During March, I made a block a day of Pat Sloan's quarter log cabin blocks.  Of course, I had to catch up some when we went on vacation for a week, but that was OK.   I used my basket of strings for most of the blocks, and used the plain mottled black for all the centers.  

Strings weren't the best choice as the seams don't match up.  Other people posted photos of quilts they made with fabric they had bought for the project, and they really looked nice.  Nonetheless, my top turned out cheery but not enough to be anything but the back of the Green Beans quilt.  Hence, the name Dual Duty.  

I plan to wash the quilt first and then, perhaps, give it to Bags of Love for foster kids.  Now that it's quilted, I do like a bit more.  I chose most of the strings at random, based on their length.  I ran out of longer pieces, so I used some leftover binding pieces as well.  

My strings have all been sorted by color and put into bags in my string basket.  I plan to see how they work out for my next Dear Jane row.  I have neglected that quilt for months and would like to get back to it.   But it's a very satisfying feeling to have no quilts hanging in the closet, waiting to be quilted.  It won't last - I have several blocks of the month that will no doubt be finished this summer.  

This leaves me with hand sewing the binding down on the Exploding Heart.  That will take a while because I have quite a few meetings and other events this week, and I don't like to overwork my wrists with hand sewing.