Shakespeare is done

I have no idea why it took me this long to get this quilt finished. Looking back, I started sewing on this quilt in July of 2010 and finished the quilting back in August of 2011, and then it sat, buried under a pile of quilts sitting on a chair in our dining room, waiting for the binding to go on. Well, it is now on, and totally finished.
This is another Judy Martin pattern, from her book The Creative Pattern Book. I love the movement in the quilt. I love the way the dark background shines through the gold stars.
I used spiraling feathers that follow the movement of the snails trails blocks, and the feathers also reach into the outer background areas of the large stars. The star points and interiors are quilted with continuous curves.
And, as usual, I used the faux piping technique to completely machine sew the binding. The binding fabric was a stripe printed on the diagonal that I found a year or two ago, bought expressly for binding this quilt. I'm linking this finish up to Amylouwhosews, who's having a virtual sewing sewing summit party this weekend. Unfortunately, I'm working this weekend, so can't participate, but she's also invited Friday finishes, so I can do that. I'm also linking up to Finish it up Friday over at Crazy Mom Quilts.

Design Wall Monday August 8

There isn't anything new on my wall this week. The Rose Log Cabin blocks look exactly the same as last week. they have been on the design wall, 2 flannel backed vinyl tablecloths, with the bottom of the cloths brought up over top of them to protect the blocks. We've been laying laminate flooring in that room, so we needed to protect them against all the dust from cutting. I have been working on machine quilting, though, on Shakespeare in the Park. I have never been able to do feathers properly. they always looks weird, kind of like limp cigars. But I suddenly this week had a sort of epiphany, and suddenly figured out how to do them, and I am loving what I am seeing. I'm using a Rainbows thread called Zebra, and it's shades of pale grey to black . There is a spiral feather in the snail's trail block, and I'm continuous curving all the stars. And then I'm continuing the feathers into the background of the large stars, with the hope that it will continue the overall motion in the quilt. I haven't got enough of it done to know whether it will do that or not. So, for the next 2 days, I'm going to work on this. When my legs and back get tired from standing at the longarm, I'm going to sit and piece on the log cabin squares. In between, of course is boring mundane things like laundry and meals.
If you have a few minutes, and want to see some fun stuff, head over to Judy's Patchwork Times to explore more design walls. 

Shakespeare in the Park is done

Shakespeare is done. The top at least, and I'm totally loving it. I have a love affair going with Judy Martin patterns. They are so clearly written, and so easy to follow. And she has some unique rotary cutting methods that end up saving fabric. I can't recommend her books and patterns enough. I have been following the blog Amylouwho for a little while now. Every Friday she hosts a Friday Finish. Up till now I haven't had anything that was finished in time to post in this group. I think Shakespeare is a good place to start. If you go over to her site, you'll see other  finishes. The fun part is that they aren't all quilting finishes, but a variety of sewing projects, including the cutest little girl dresses.

Design wall Monday July 19

Another fast week. Between working on Charlene's monster size quilt on the long-arm, work on Shakespeare in the Park, and working shifts at the hospital, life has been a smidge crazy. Add into that an upsurge of menopausal hot flashes and mood swings........... yikes. I had to warn the people at work that I was likely to either be grumpy, or to cry, and, wouldn't you know it, no sooner had I said it, than tears started to flow. How embarrassing! It's been going on for 2 1/2 years now, although it had really settled down. Maybe this is it's last fling, and then it will be done. (sigh......) Anyway, onto more enjoyable stuff. I got a lot done on Shakespeare in the Park last week, and that is what is on my design wall. Go on over to Judy's and check out other design walls. It's always good for finding inspiration.

Design wall Monday July 12

Monday already. That was fast. I managed to get the Spring Swap quilt done, although I'm debating putting on a couple more borders. It doesn't look quite finished, yet. I'm thinking a 5 inch border the same colour as the setting triangles, and then a 2 1/2 inch repeat of the first border. After taking the Spring Swap quilt down from the design wall, I put up some squares for Judy Martin's "Shakespeare In The Park" quilt. I'm lovin' it. I'm not sure how much more I'm going to get done on it in the next few days, though. I've got some customer quilts waiting to be done, so that's my plan for the next few days. But, I can always do some piecing during the times when I have to take a break from standing at the machine. Hmmm, sounds like a plan to me. But, first, I'm going to grab a coffee, chocolate raspberry, and spend some time checking out the other design walls at Patchwork times