Sunday, February 08, 2015

February Already?

Whoa!  What happened to January??  I can't believe it's been a whole month since I posted!   Oh, and by the way, my last post was my 300th post!

I went to the mini quilt retreat and had a good time.  I even got some things accomplished.  But I came down with a nasty cold with a vicious cough almost the next day.  And, just when I was getting over that, it turned into a sinus infection.  Ugh.  We were going to be leaving for Florida in a few days when the sinus thing happened, so I quickly took myself to Urgent Care and got some antibiotics and cough medicine.  I finally felt better, right before we got on the plane, and I'm sure all the other passengers were as happy as I was that I was no longer infectious or coughing my lungs out!

We had a great time in Florida and really enjoyed the sunshine.  It wasn't real warm, as FL was getting the side effect of cooler temps during the "winter event" happening in the Northeast U.S.  But it was gloriously sunny, and that was wonderful.  We were in Tampa while DH was having a Professional Development conference with the Co. he works for.  There were 5 other wives there, and we had a grand time seeing the sights.  We went to Clearwater and saw the white sand beaches there (that looked just like powdered sugar!), along with lots of pelicans, and I even got to see wild dolphins playing in the ocean!  Then we went to Tarpon Springs and shopped and ate wonderful Greek food.  (I especially recommend the flaming cheese! Fun to see and yummy!)  Oh yeah, and I finally got some Key Lime Pie.  I had never had the real deal before and it lived up to it's reputation.  Sadly, I never found a fabric shop, but that was OK.  I had fun seeing someplace new, and sunshine in the middle of winter was just what the doctor ordered!

But enough blabbing.  Let's get to the good quilty stuff!



At the mini quilt retreat last month, I managed to make some real progress on my Split Flowers friendship quilt that has been languishing in my project bins for too many years.  I had finally gotten the blocks put together into a top before the retreat and got all the leaves sewn on while I had friends to talk to there.  Now that I've seen the photo, I can see that I need to add just a couple more leaves.

And then it'll be time for the major decision of what to do for the border.  I'm torn between doing some more raw edge applique like the flowers and leaves, probably using a serpentine vine, or doing something pieced.  Any suggestions?  It may come down to what will be faster, as I'd like to have this finished in time for the quilt show in October.

Edited to add: this pattern is from the book Stitch and Split Applique and it's available on Amazon here. 


I didn't make great progress on the Split Decision quilt that I showed in my last post here.  But I got a few blocks made.


Here is an example of what a finished block will look like.  (one block is just folded in half and placed over the other)  I like this!

And that was the end of any sewing that happened in January.  But I have been sewing this past week.

I made some blocks for my guild's raffle quilt.  This year there's no set block size or color theme.  We're just going with the concept of friendship, stars and baskets.


This block finishes at 9 inches and is called "Measure For Measure".  I found the pattern in Judy Martin's book The Block Book.  There are templates you're supposed to use to make these patterns, but I tried to get cute and fake it.  It got ugly.  But I got it done!


This is my second block for the raffle quilt.  It will finish at 12 inches and is called "Crystal Star".  This pattern came from Judy Hopkins' book 501 Rotary Cut Quilt Blocks.  I love that book!  And this block was easy.  I think it took me longer to decide on the fabric than to construct the block!

That's all for now, folks, but I hope to be back soon.  I've got more quilt-y goings-on to blab about.

Have a creative week!

6 comments:

  1. Whenever I hear about Florida it always sounds great. Your split flowers quilt is beautiful, I've never seen one like it. I know you'll come up with the perfect border. Fun raffle quilt blocks too. the concept of friendship , stars and baskets will no doubt inspire a great quilt.

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  2. I would likely keep the border pieced rather than any more raw edge - perhaps a narrow inner border using the green of the leaves and then the outer one that celebrates the colors in the flowers but doesn't overwhelm them ( or go scrappy netrals like your backgrounds and find a fabulous floral for the back). Have never seen this flower pattern before? Pattern or book?

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  3. I love the split flowers quilt..... not sure about the border, but I'm sure whatever you decide, it will be fabulous. Florida sounds like fun..... maybe someday I'll get to take a winter vacation there!

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  4. Very nice blocks and quilts. Sorry you did not get to Rainbows End quilt shop in Dunedin as it is only a few miles away from Clearwater. It has a huge inventory of batiks and more!

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  5. Sounds like the nasty bug I've got now!!! Glad you're better, gives me hope, lol. I probably haven't been to Clearwater or Tarpon Springs in 30 years - used to have family down there - I'd love to be there right now, lol! Love your blocks but oh those split flowers - LOVE!!!!!!!!!!!!

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  6. You're not the only one having trouble keeping up with blogging! Glad you've recovered from the bug; it sounds like something that went through my daughter's family about the same time and just as unexpectedly. Lucky you to spend some time in Florida during our gloomy weather. And kudos on the Measure for Measure block. It looks great, well worth whatever effort you had to put into it. The Split Flowers looks something like a quilt my friend also put together after years of languishing in the UFO bin. Must be that some projects just need to age before they are ready to be finished! ;- )

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