Let's Cruise!

The same market customers who had ordered the Labyrinth placemats a few weeks ago (see this post)  were so pleased with how those came out they decided to have a set made for their daughter, who's birthday is coming up.

How cute is that fabric for someone who's a bicycle enthusiast?

It's "Cruzin' Bicycles" from Henry Glass fabrics.  I ordered it from Fabric.com.

All that was needed was a little loopy quilting

 and a pretty fabric from my stash for the back.

 Luckily, I ordered enough fabric to make something for myself!

Team Basting

Last night was designated by my quilt guild as a Basting Extravaganza, and my basting floor (which doubles as my Living Room) got a big workout!

First up:  my Design Opportunity Quilt (see this post for more about this project.  Hint:  it was supposed to look completely different!)

I often baste this size quilt myself but as long as 6 friends were around to help, why not enlist the troops?  Like most of the quilts we basted during this session, it only took about 15 minutes to complete.





Next were several charity quilts:

Pictured at right:  I had made those house blocks YEARS ago, and they had hung around forever and I never did anything with them, so I donated them to be made into charity quilts.

Looking at that quilt, I almost regret giving them away.  Almost.

It was a fun and productive evening!

Some Advice for Mother's Day

Happy Mother's Day!

This and That

Lots going on, with the Florida Orchestra season in it's last couple of weeks it feels a little bit like a race to the finish line!

A few quilting finishes to report:

   The Spur-of-the-Moment triangle table runner from my last post (here) is finished and listed in my Etsy store.

 I quilted it with orange thread in the pieced portion, and did wavy lines in a matching dark teal thread on the border.

I like it, and I am newly in love with half square triangles.  I definitely want to do a really random, scrappy one of these next.

A new Office Lunch Set, just to fill out my selection a little bit (I'll be making lots more of these over the summer!)

That butterfly fabric is pretty!












This Sunday:



The final market of the season!  It's been a ton of fun at the market this year.


















And tonight:

ROCK SERIES

Part of The Florida Orchestra’s new 3-concert Rock series.

Brent Havens, guest conductor
Randy Jackson, vocals

Saluting the raw energy, edgy lyrics and often wild stage presence of this ground-breaking iconic group, the lead singer of the rock band Zebra, Randy Jackson, is the featured vocal soloist with The Florida Orchestra in this sizzling tribute concert featuring 21 hits by The Doors, including Touch Me, Riders on the Storm, Roadhouse Blues and Light My Fire.

Not exactly A Regular Day at the Office!  This should be fun!  

(More info about this concert and The Florida Orchestra here)

Play Time

This morning I was consumed by the urge not only to sew but to take a break from All Scheduled Projects and do something completely spontaneous.

I love half square triangles and haven't done anything with them in a long time, so I decided to cut some out and just see what evolved.

 I used the 4 1/2" HST cutter for the Accuquilt Go.


Fabrics used were leftovers from this quilt and this quilt

The triangles come out of the cutter already finished-- no pesky dog ears to deal with, and no trimming needed after sewing them together.

A pinwheel design starts to emerge.

Oops.  I did say "pinwheel design, right"?

Seam ripper to the rescue!

That's better!

A table runner starts to emerge.

Now that's what I call a Fun Sunday Morning!

Going Once, Going Twice. . .

A new opportunity came my way recently.

I was contacted by the St. Petersburg Opera Company  (the one in Florida, not Russia!) to donate some quilted items to the silent auction that they're having as part of their "Bella Voce" fundraiser being held next week.  It's one of those Fancy Shindig events that a lot of non profit organizations hold yearly to raise money and have a nice social event for donors. There will be dinner, musical entertainment, plus a silent auction. (More details on this event here).

It wasn't a shock to be asked by them-- I've known their music director FOREVER.  Before he was an opera conductor we were co-workers at The Florida Orchestra, where he was principal bassoon for many years.

One twist that made this a particularly interesting opportunity is that donated items aren't just a flat-out donation.  Proceeds are split with the artists, which makes this a really attractive opportunity, and I would imagine greatly enhances the quality of what gets donated.

At the suggestion of the folks at St. Pete Opera, I'm donating 2 items:

Music themed placemats seemed like an obvious choice!

 There's even music fabric on the back!

Also, this quilt:

I love this quilt and it's a big item to donate but honestly-- it's been for sale since the fall of 2011. That's a long time.  It's too big to bring to markets or shows (it's 78 x 92", a generous twin/double bed size) and it seems that lap size and baby quilts are the stronger sellers. A quilt this size is also really bulky to store!

So, this seems like a good opportunity to make room for fresh merchandise and donate to a good cause and who knows?  We'll have to see if any Opera-supporting quilt lovers come to the auction!

The Week in Placemats

I've sold several sets of placemats in the last couple of weeks, both at the Seminole Heights Market and in my Etsy store, so I've made a few sets to catch up.

I've had that black and white print for quite a few years but I don't think there's anything frumpy or dated about it.

That print puts me in the mood for a picnic!
Also:

I'm trying to decide which is prettier:  the coffee pot print or the rick-rack print!

Also completed:  The Labyrinth Placemats:

You'll recall from this post that these were a custom order from market customers, who are going to give them to a friend who's a member of The Labyrinth Society.  I used the pattern from my Easy Placemat Tutorial.