On the Other Side of our Studio, and a Group Quilt

No boats this time from DH, but instead, he made this amazing chuck wagon.  The undercarriage is especially marvelous, made exactly like the real thing.  The wheels were especially complex (IMHO) and of course, they roll and turn and brake perfectly.  Inside are sacks of potatoes, coffee, beans and flour, as well as blankets and firewood.

I was hoping we might find some toy draft horses, or oxen, to adjoin the wagon.  We discovered that the nearby ranch store, Baumgarrs has wonderful model animals, of various scale sizes the could actually be the right size.  Yes, I'm getting carried away.

On the quilty front, this is a group quilt our local quilting gals are making for a donation or raffle quilt to benefit a worthy cause, with appreciation for our monthly quilting gathering place.  Our group has new quilters and others more experienced, but all these blocks and border units turned out really well.  I  am putting borders on the quilt - don't ya jes love that ribbon border?   It's bright and bold - I think the quilting might help to blend the variety of Friendship Star blocks.   These blocks are 9 in. finished and the quilt is approx. 82" x 101".   So far, so good!  (It's kinda crumpled in this photo.)

RSVP Raffle Quilt, and Jigsaw Puzzle

Our local in-town sewing/quilting group of 5-10 members, was asked to donate our skills and time to make another  raffle quilt for RSVP - Retired Senior Volunteer Project.  We settled on a Scrappy Friendship Star, each of us took home a piece of "focus" fabric so all the blocks blended.

The Friendship Stars that came back were indeed, uhhhhh SCRAPPY!, and while we all HOPE they will blend nicely together, the great variety appeared scarey and possibly overwhelming - many of us were doubting!  Possibly, you also have occasionally endured the same unsettling thought --  the "how can this ever turn out?" doubt. 

As soon as we started playing with borders, the quilt almost designed itself!  Adding that ribbon border also gave it the almost-finished look we were hoping for.  Lastly, the quilting, done by our friend Chell, absolutely took our project from "a Raffle Quilt" to "Stunning !"  Wow - this is a lesson - finish your UFO quilts!  Remember? "Quilting Makes the Quilt!"  I'm including a link to her site - I'll bet you'll agree it's a lovely finish! (She has better photos, as well!) A binding and label will finish it. 

 

Separate subject - jigsaw puzzles.  I gave DH a birthday (December) puzzle that would take a long time to complete (you know, long, cold dreary January) !!!  Uhhhh -- success!   I shopped at this site.  My gosh, the choices available are astonishing and you can narrow your choices by age, themes, sizes, # of pieces - there was no end of options. This is 1000 pieces, but what they didn't say for this choice was that many of the pieces are interchangeable - this one was NOT easy! Good thing we didn't need the table for 2 months!  BTW, DH loves boats.  Not many gifts can last this long!  LOL

Notice the almost identical shapes of those all-blue sky pieces!!!

Pressie, finishes, and a DONE Quilt

This was to be a this-year Linus Quilt but I did not make the deadline. I LOVE the way the strips weave in and out - a simple quilt to make. It was quilted on my DSM, with big loopy-loops, with white thread.

Below is a lovely box of 2 1/2 in strips from Gypsy Quilter who is trying to reduce some of her stash. mmmm - she's showed photos of her stash - I don't think this box will help much but I like how I benefitted. The enclosed chocolate bar did not last long enough, especially as I asked DH to help open the package and he saw it first! Thank you, San!!! 8-)) Below is my (drum roll please!) finished Pineapple Blossom Quilt started in January with Bonnie Hunter of Quiltville.com as our teacher. It's a large quilt, about 70 x 70 inches. The real colors are a bit brighter. I'm liking it, and used mostly stash except for that bright fushia and a bright blue that took it from blah to lovely.
I saved all the 'waste triangles' and made the border. If you have not made this quilt, you might miss the details in the triangles border. Each triangle is made up of 2 pieces - that adds a lot of MORE interest. I trimmed the waste triangles exactly to 2 1/2 inches and using this layout, they fit together very nicely. Maybe I can quilt this summer.