Melon Quilt Progress

Here's my melon quilt so far. There will be six blocks across and eight blocks down for the center of the quilt. I have two shades of solid turquoise for borders and am undecided about what else will be in the border. I'm thinking of entering this in the Maine Quilts show this summer. Deadline for entries is May 15 so I will need to make some decisions very soon. 

Paducah Winner

Listen to Susan's explanation of how she made her award winning quilt. It doesn't seem possible anyone could make such an intricate and beautiful quilt. Her steps and mis-steps along the way and how her life unfolded during the making of this wonder will touch your heart. We all have a story to tell and in the future no one will know the heartbreak behind this quilt.

Sewing and Home Improvement

I completed the small wall quilt top that I was working on at Camp Kieve. I have not layered this top and quilted it yet. It is about 38x45 inches. 

Kathy B. gave led a workshop at Back Roads that I was not able to attend. She did hand out instructions and gave a quick overview of the process. So with all my blue strip scraps I've been making these....

So fun to do and quite addictive. I've made 48 sets so far. Wonder Under is applied to the back of the rectangular units. The melon shape cut out and then pressed to the background fabric. Invisible thread is used to zig zag the unit onto the background. I'm just making the melons for now and will decide on the background fabric later. Kathy used soft yellows with her blue melons which I really liked. I don't know how big I will make this quilt yet either. 

And the reason I have been so enjoying this "mindless" type of project is because I have been immersed in another project:

I decided to paint the kitchen before the weather gets too warm and I will want to be outside in the garden. So, three coats on the ceiling...

three coats on the walls...painting the trim and china cabinet...

green paint on the cabinets. Still working on the cabinets. Can you see why I am enjoying some mindless sewing? Just sewing those strips together is so enjoyable and doesn't require much thought other than Kathy's tip to keep a good contrast between the strips. Well, you are a quilter, I am sure you understand!

We went to a fashion show

Last Saturday three of my friends and I drove to Saco to see the Saco Museum's exhibit 200 Years of Maine Fashions. The show will be on for another few weeks. I encourage you to go; the quality of the garments was excellent and the presentation was, too. Here is a slide show of some photos I took. The clothes dated from 1755-1955. We had a very fun day and stopped at Cottonweeds in Freeport and Calico Basket in Windham.

This photo slideshow created with Smilebox