Autumn Activities

It has been a busy couple of months, with the birth of a new great-nephew, for whom I had to make a quilt, a niece's wedding, a quilt retreat, and completion of a quilt top my daughter and I have been working on for years.

We also experienced some "interesting" fall weather, as the tornadoes that hit Illinois and Indiana just missed our area. We did have extremely high winds. I am grateful that friends and family members in the affected areas were not hurt, and hopeful that things will return to normal for those who experienced property damage as soon as possible.

 

This baby quilt is based on a pattern in an old "Quiltmaker's" magazine. I made some changes, and resized it. The quilting pattern is my own free threadplay.

Here is a closer look at some of it.

This quilt top is the Ozark Maple Leaf quilt pattern from Nickel Quilts. We began it with the intention of hand-piecing a queen-size quilt, but after many years, I requested my daughter bring me the blocks she had finished. Between us, we had enough blocks ready to make a lap-size quilt. We were able to find materials in my stash for the first and third borders. The other fabrics used in the quilt run the gamut from leftover fabrics from my daughter's childhood through fabrics we purchased at a quilt shop in the town in which her grandmother lived. The placement of blocks and choices of colors are my daughter's. She now has possession of the top and is planning to dye the fabric for the backing. Once that is done, she will return it to me for sandwiching and quilting.

I have another couple of projects that I am currently finishing, but can't show since they are intended for Christmas gifts. I really appreciated the opportunity to go on the quilt retreat, since I was able to get a lot of work done in that time. One thing that it demonstrated for me is the value of working around other artists. This is also highlighted in this interview on Makers-In-Business-with-Liz-Smith. It gives me a greater appreciation for the idea of a studio space in a community of artists.

I hope that you have a wonderful and safe Thanksgiving this year. I feel I have a great deal to be grateful for and hope you can also find things that make you happy in your life.

As always, until next time, I wish you peace and all good.