For the last few years I've grown accustomed to helping Garrett pick a show & tell on Friday morning to take to school. With him being home this summer I've missed this little routine of mania as we flurry out the door.
In hopes of filling that empty place I introduce Show & Tell as a regular Friday feature. This will be where I share what is keeping me crafty. To kick things off I'll explain how I've come to be consumed by fabric & quilting right now.
I made my first quilt, a
rag quilt, about seven years ago. It was fun and then I made about four more as Christmas gifts. Not so much fun. However, since I had the technique down the mini version became my go to baby present.
It wasn't until
a few Christmas' ago that I made an adult version again. Because I procrastinated & was rushing it was again a frenzied experience.
Last October I took Garrett to a craft fair and was collecting the cards of inspiring local artists. One of those cards was that of a quilter who had
a pillow I adored. She had
a blog & I began to follow her. When she posted in January about starting a
Modern Quilt Guild in Dallas I was excited enough to not only attend the first meeting but volunteer to be the Historian!
The last seven months have been full of inspiration, new friendship & fun. My favorite part of our meetings is
show & tell . This is truly a talented group of ladies. My other favorite, the Saturday Sew. It's like going to a crop!
Between the pregnancy & Owen's arrival I've only managed to
finish one quilt. It was so exciting though because it was my first pieced quilt that I quilted the three layers at once. Since the rag quilts are quilted at each block this was a big step for me.
Since that accomplishment I've learned to piece my first block together. I was spurred by a fellow guild member's
call for help. She had a friend in need and asked for assistance in making blocks for a quilt she was going to gift the family with.
Here are the blocks I sent .
She finished
piecing the quilt top together this week and it is so beautiful. I'm in awe of how so many different fabrics can come together as one. I think that is my favorite piece of quilting.
Today Owen & I are heading out to my first ever quilting retreat. So excited to enjoy the good company of new friends and to indulge in a weekend of sewing. My project is to complete a quilt for Garrett. When I made Owen's quilt my intention was to have a big brother version for Garrett.
Since the rows are pieced I should be able to have the quilt top pieced shortly. Then it will be time to quilt and bind. Sounds easy enough but if I hand quilt the binding this could take all weekend.
I'm also taking with me this fabulous find from last weekend's adventure in Canton.
It is a 1930s/1940s quilt top. My plan is to hand quilt all of it. This is a project that may take mw until Christmas to complete and I'm OK with that. It's just so beautiful. I'm excited to show these seasoned quilters & to get their opinion on the backing. They've already been amazing sharing all their tips on hand quilting.
This week was more tell than show so I want to leave you with my two of my favorite quilters right now. I adore everything over at
Film in the Fridge &
Cluck Cluck Sew. I gather all of my quilting inspiration on my
tumblr blog. Head
over here for tons of eye candy.
You may say I'm a scrapper not a quilter. True but I encourage you to look beyond the quilt and find inspiration for color schemes & design.
Have a beautiful weekend my friends!
lovemon
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