This can't end well

Busily folding my fabric on to comic book boards. I just can't tell you how tickled it makes me to see it all even and compact and organized.

There's something wrong with me, isn't there?

AQS Lancaster Mission Debrief

OMG. Feet. So. Tired. But worth every second! Mom, C- (bff) and I went to AQS Lancaster last weekend and shopped until they kicked us out. We stared at the displays and drooled over longarms and even squealed a little over some nifty patterns. And we learned some lessons. Here's what we learned at the Lancaster Quilt Show this year:

The First Step to Recovery is Admitting You Have a Problem

Now, granted, that's the haul for all three of us but still.... I think we may have a problem.

C- went a little nuts with the oriental fabrics, she's dreaming of a bargello.


Me? I just grabbed up stuff I'd been drooling over. I also stocked up on the John James Gold'n'Glides which are hard to find around here and ridiculous to ship for something that weighs less than a penny. I got some fabrics I'd been thinking about but wanted to see in person first, and some that just made me smile. And I got a stack of 100 4" squares of 30's repro prints. I have NO idea what I'm going to do with them but they're making me happy. Here's my haul:


And see this stack of Riley Blake Bloom and Grow? Mine! All mine! No idea what it'll be but it's stacked up next to my sewing machine being wonderful at me.



Oh, and there were quilts, too. Here's the Best in Show beauty. It's just this amazing swirl of colors and detail and painstaking precision.


And here's my favorite. I just wanted to crawl inside it and fall asleep on the window seat.



I have inspiration and fabric and goodies and tools and all kinds of ideas. I also got some quality time with two of my favorite people in the world and the best sandwich I've ever had. A rousing success!

I'll leave you with this view. I like this shot because it makes it look like the fabric stretches on forever... ah, if only.

So I've had pictures for a while but the only working SD card reader is at home and for the past week I've been ready to just fall down, not get online and deal with photos. But now it's Friday and work today is data entry and so... picture time!

The scrappy circle quilt is finally finished. I need to pick out about 8" more of stitches from the failed decorative stitch but by Monday it will be ready for Steve to give to his department head, the proud new mother of a baby girl.



I pieced the back with a row of patches left over from the front fabric. I love working with this white, it's so soft and it has that lovely worn feel.




For the binding I picked a fabric that doesn't show up anywhere else in the quilt but it made me happy just to look at it, and I figured that was reason enough.



The other thing I finished last weekend was my baby pinwheel quilt with prairie points. I snagged the pattern from the Moda Bakeshop and picked A Breath of Avignon for the fabrics. It's like this great summer pop. I love it. It's on the way to live with my friend Ronnie.

No in-progress pictures because I whipped it out really fast. Steve and Chloe were having some time with Grandpa and I was home with my favorite sewing buddy and we just moved really fast on some stuff. I guess that's what happens when you're not responsible for wiping someone else's butt. ;)



Can you tell that I love these fabrics?




This weekend we're house hunting so I'm not sure how much sewing I'm going to get done, but I love this pinwheel so much that I want to make it out of every fabric I have. My next one will be all oranges. We'll see how it turns out. If nothing else I can use it to stop up the draft under the door.

I had a very nearly perfect weekend. Saturday there were hugs and cuddles with Chloe and then a whole afternoon and evening to MYSELF! Sewing! Cleaning! TV shows no one else likes!

I pulled out the Breath of Avignon charm pack that came last week and decided that the colors just made me too happy to put them back in a box. So I started cutting for one of the Baby Pinwheel quilts from the Bakeshop. They came together so fast! By Sunday night it was done with the binding ready to fold over and sew down. Should have it ready to go to it's new owner on Wednesday. Pictures to come!

At some point my bff showed up at we went shopping. Not girlie shopping, we're not that type. Home Depot shopping. I love how that place smells. We picked out some MDF and a nice thick dowel rod for Operation Make My Own Extension Table. While we were out we also test drove sewing machines for BFF. She and I have the same problem, we've done all our sewing on old (extremely reliable) mechanical machines. I think until I got my new machine in January neither of us had a machine younger than us.

I got to drive the Bernina 820 on the Inspira frame. BFF drove the Aurora 440QE. To be honest? We didn't like them. The BSR got in my way on the 820 and wouldn't let me move as fast as I wanted to, and the action on the Aurora wasn't as nice as BFF wanted. Plus? We currently are using our kidneys and can't sell them to pay for either of those machines.

Across the street from the Bernina dealer is a dealer who sells both Pfaff and Viking. There were test drives of the Sapphire 850 and the Grand Expression 4.0 QE. She walked out with the Pfaff. Well researched, well deliberated, and money well spent. She kept giggling as she tried out new stitches.

The one thing I didn't get done was the templates for my mariner's compass blocks. I had the absolute joy of taking a class on hand piecing that block from Jinny Beyer. What a lovely delightful woman. It was snowing like crazy during our class and she kept reassuring everyone that she had plenty of crash space. Plus, she had the most sympathetic look ever when she told me I'd sewn two of my pieces on upside down. Nothing warms your heart like hearing your idol say "I hate to tell you this, but they're upside down." :D

Anyway, I have plans for a quilt with hand pieced blocks and I keep not getting my templates cut out. Maybe tonight. The blocks I'm going to make are versions of the local Quilters Quest blocks from last year's quest. With 12 blocks to choose from and include the finished quilts are gorgeous. Here's the one hanging at Jinny's shop:



I love it so.

Ok, time for work so I can do binding at lunch. Pictures of pinwheels later!