Quilts PhD

Piled higher and deeper...that's what they are. Yesterday I finished off sandwiching the remaining three quilts for quilting. First up were the Bag Ladies of the Fat Quarter Club. I had way more backing fabric here than I needed, and so I used my pinking shears to cut off the bottom edge. I'll use that fabric for something else eventually.

While I was smoothing this out, I noticed that some of the button embellishments had come off this lady. Possibly, I got interrupted and never finished her. I'd be surprised if they came off because that's never happened with these hot fix nailheads. They stick fast once they're on. Either way, I'll finish that up when I finish the quilting.

Also, this little lady had no button embellishment on her jacket at all. Some of these were stitched on the road with the understanding that I'd finish them when we got home from our trip. And, again, this can wait until the quilting is finished. I'll give her some buttons then.

Next up was Wine Country, and regrettably, I didn't think to take a picture until it was all neatly folded up for addition to the pile. But you remember Wine Country, right?

Finally, Heart & Home. This is one of my favorites of the group. There's something very pleasing to my eye about this quilt. I really love red, black, and white together. Coincidentally, those were our school colors in high school.

So there we go...11 quilts for quilting in 2019. Missing from the pile is a holdover from my last sandwich-making spree, the Lucky Charm quilt. That one is next on the list to be finished, and then I'll probably do the Going Bananas quilt so that I can get it off to Quilts for Kids.

After that, I took some time to relax and ice my knee. It's been bothering me throughout this process. Too many trips up and down stairs, I think. Eventually, I got back to the Farm block. I brought the fused templates upstairs to cut them out in a comfy chair. Only...there seems to be an obstacle to my progress...

If you could just...

Ummm, excuse me, but...

Is there something I can do for you? Don't you have somewhere else you need to be right now?

Well...that was challenging, but I got them all cut out. The first sunflower has 29 pieces.

For this, I slip the placement diagram under the teflon pressing sheet. I can use just the tip of my iron to stick them to the pressing sheet and hold them in place while I get them all set up.

With so many pieces, eventually I can't see the placement diagram any more...

and so I pull it to the side and eyeball the rest of the pieces.

I can still use it to get the correct orientation.

And there we go...one finished sunflower. This one will be peeled off the pressing sheet and then stored away until the quilt is sewn together sometime in 2063.

There's one more sunflower to cut out. The next one has just 14 pieces, so it should be a little less complicated. After that, I'll get going on the cow.

Today is a cooking day, but I don't think it will take up all my time. We're having a little get-together tomorrow. We got a free turkey at Thanksgiving, and Mike wants to try smoking it in his Traeger grill. We've invited the kids and one of the neighbors over. Since Mike's experiments in smoking have tended to take a lot longer than expected, we'll have a ham available as an emergency back-up plan. So my part is to make a couple of salads, some baked beans, and an apple crisp. I'll do the salads today. Also, I need to go pick-up the ham. If I can get all of that finished with time to spare, I'll get back to my sewing.

So here we go...2018 is very nearly history. Happy New Year, my friends. Please be safe out there today and be back to celebrate the new year with me again next year.