Bedfordshire Top = Dunzo!

As suspected, the mitered borders were a challenge. A manageable challenge, but a challenge nonetheless. Start to finish, the borders probably took about 6 hours. Lining up those 1/4" partial seams at the corners isn't the easiest thing in the world, but the overall seamless effect it gives the patterned border is nice.

Here's a peek at the best looking corner...

Not bad, eh? You don't get to see that not-so-best corner. :) She'll be headin' into the quilter this weekend!

Off to the The Quilter & Weekend Tidbits

It felt good to get another quilt top done, but once that part of the process is done I get obsessed with piecing the backing. It's another one of those thing where if I don't do it now, I won't do it all. I'm not always the most adventurous with the back of the quilt - often just a solid color - because I like the focus on the top and because...lazy. But this weekend was a start in the right direction! Still not the most creative, but I pieced four different small prints together.

It should look nice with the quilt, a 69-inch square. I don't know if I'll ever get tired of this happening when I'm piecing...

Those points lining up properly on a four-patch make me giddy. I folded it up neatly with the top and 100% cotton batting and off to the quilter it went!

When I don't do the quilting myself, I always take it to the good people at Millie P's Quilt Shop in Anoka, MN. They do a terrific job of quilting and are always very friendly. The downside is this -- I can't just drop off the quilt and go. I've always got to shop, and they've got a large fabric selection. How I managed to leave with only two yards of solids is beyond me (actually, it's because I spent $60 the day before at SR Harris).

I picked out a pattern and soft yellow thread for the quilt, got an estimate of a 4-week turnaround (baaa!) and decided to do some shopping.

The big draw to Anoka for a lot of shoppers is the antique shops. There are a lot of them, and they are stuffed with lots of goodies. So stuffed with old things that after a while, my throat gets dry, my eyes start itching, and I get a headache. Allergies are a joy. I stopped into Amore Antiques and walked out with this beauty.

There's a tiny scratch on one side, but $23 for a vintage pink Pyrex casserole? Shoooo...my mama didn't raise no fool!

I planned on doing some quilting today, but after a look around my messy sewing room, I couldn't do it. I had to put some stuffz in order. Things were a mess. I try my best to put fabrics away as I'm done using them, but I was in such a hurry to get the quilt top off to the quilt shop, that there was fabric everywhere. EVERY.WHERE. I folded up the fat quarters that were mostly in tact and cut the rest up into strips for later use -- 1.5", 2.5", 3.5" and 5".

Now things are in a semi-orderly state, I can sit do other things I enjoy like nerdy kitchen alchemy. Today I made a fresh batch of soy cashew yogurt.

It's tangy, creamy, smooth and delicious. It's also very easy to make. I'm vegetarian, inching toward vegan and trying to cut out as much dairy as I can. Most of the time when people say, "It tastes just like the real thing!" I don't believe them. This, however, is an exception. I buy plain yogurt and sweeten it myself with a little fruit and agave syrup, and this tastes every bit as good as regular plain dairy yogurt. Actually, better. Homemade yogurt is one of those things that really does taste better than store bought. It's also great for cooking.

The house is quiet, things are in order and now I'll sit down and watch a little (okay, a lot) of Investigation Discovery. It's my drug of choice.

And She's Done

I know myself well enough to know that if I plan on doing something when I get home from work, I bester do it right away. Once I find my way to the couch or the bed or to the Wavy Lays (it happens), all bets are off for the evening! I wanted to get the top for this quilt done today, so as soon as I walked in the door and took care of the dogs, I headed straight to the sewing room. And GET 'ER DONE I did!

This is the picnic quilt setting from Lori Holt's book, Farm Girl Vintage.

I made the borders just a couple of inches wider than the pattern suggested and staggered them with partial seams. If somebody knows the actual name for that type of border, please enlighten me. This was my first time sewing partial borders, and it was far less difficult than I anticipated when making the top, so I went ahead and did the same on the borders as well. I'm happy with the outcome! (The bottom border isn't wavy; it just needs to be pressed) I'll piece the backing - hopefully this weekend - and send it off to the quilters straight away.

And then it's back to yet another of Lori's fun projects, her Bloom Sew-Along. These are the first 8 blocks I've sewn.

This one is my first applique project, and though I'm satisfied overall with my progress, I can definitely see areas for improvement. Even still, it'll make a fun surprise gift for a surprise somebody!

How Many Projects Is Too Many Projects?

Like most quilters, I suppose, I tend to work on several projects at a time. The second I get bored with one, I switch to another to avoid complete disinterest in another long-term project. One of the ones I keep coming back to is this fun little lap quilt.

It's the picnic quilt setting from Lori Holt's great (and addictive!) book, Farm Girl Vintage. I've had the book since it was released about a year ago, and I'm still making projects from it. I wanted a simpler block since I was going to be making fifty-two of them -- some 6" and some 12" -- so I went with the crystal star block, a modified version of the simple star block.

I used fabrics from some of my favorite designers: Lori Holt, Pam Kitty Morning, Lecien, and Ellis & Higgs among others. I love how scrappy it is and that it's so bright and colorful. All that's left to do on the top is to attach the borders, and then off to the quilter she goes! One of my local quilt shops, Millie P's, always does a great job quilting them on the long arm. Smaller projects I'm willing to tackle myself, but for bigger projects (and when I'm feeling exceptionally lazy and impatient) I will gladly hand over my dough to the professionals and let them do it.

Once I attach the borders, I'll have a better quality image of the finished top. After that, it's back to one of the eight(!) or so other projects I've got on the back burner.

Today I'm also linking up to one of my favorite pattern designers, Lorna McMahon at Sew Fresh Quilts. She created the pattern for this reindeer block that I used to make these pillows.

Until next time, a glass of wine and Chinese takeout is calling my name...