Autumn Aspens

I just put the finishing touches on a wall hanging that I've been working on (mostly off and on) for some time. It comes from a book by Joan Segna called, Follow the Dots to Dazzling Quilts. Her quilt is done in black and white fabrics and called Winter Aspens. I decided to do it in fall colors. Most of the fabrics were designed by Jane Sassaman and were perfect for this project.

I had fun with the pieced back and the label. The label is kind of a miniature of the front of the quilt. I had fun doing it, but mostly, I'm glad it's done. Cross another one off the list! Autumn Aspens is going to my sister, Nancy, who laid claim to it just as I had finished the top. I'll be borrowing it from her to put in the New Year's show at Glad Creations. Come and see it in person this coming January 1st!

I Went Shopping!!

Yes, I know I'm on a fabric diet and a pretty strict one. But I want to start a new project, and since I can't purchase new fabric, I went shopping in my stash! What fun that was. I put together a fat quarter bundle like those we sell at Glad Creations. Every time someone buys one of those bundles, I get kind of jealous. Now I realize that I can create one anytime I want.

Isn't it pretty? Better yet, the fabric is mostly prewashed!

Progress is Sweet

This weekend I went to the cabin, and along with enjoying the north woods of Wisconsin, I completed two more sets of kaleidoscope blocks for my quilt group's block exchange. (Think cookie exchange.) I've now completed eighteen sets of blocks, which means I'M DONE! Well, kind of.

Now I need to take stock of what I have, determine what size quilt I can make out of the 166 blocks I've made and received so far, and decide on a setting. I may have to sew a few more blocks.

Here's a look at the eighteen blocks I made. (Yup, they're all from my stash. No new fabric was purchased.) Do you see the secondary design coming through? Hint: lean back and squint your eyes. Cool, huh?

Top 40

I'm in a quandry. I'm itching to start a new quilting project but have been kept busy by four other works in progress. I just finished hand-quilting a lone star. I'm making kaleidoscope blocks for a block exchange. And I'm trying to finish blocks for a One-Block Wonder. The block exchange is nearly complete. I want to push everything aside and start something brand new.

Some people like to work on one project at a time. Not me. I like to have several going at once so that I can work as my mood dictates. Sometimes I just want to sit at my machine and sew. Other times I want a needle and thread in my hand while I stitch on a quilt that is keeping my lap warm.

My favorite part of the process (besides buying new fabric) is starting a new quilt. Left to my own devices, I would have 40 quilts in various stages of incompletion. That's why I keep a Top 40 list. I limit myself to four to six actual works in progress and keep track of the other 30+ projects on paper.

My Top 40 is categorized, prioritized, ghant-charted, annotated, and tantalizing. It's a mess. But I can still read it, and it keeps me focused. Right now it's telling me to stick with the One-Block Wonder, but to go ahead and start a new handwork project. Yippee!!

Hmmmm. Which one will it be???

State Fair Diet

I'm so bummed. The Minnesota State Fair is over for another year, and I only got there once. My sister and I arrived early on the first day and did it up good. We stayed late, ate our way from one end of the fairgrounds to the other, and picked out some good boyfriends for each other along the way.

I think I gained five pounds. Over a period of thirteen hours I ate: half a foot long, half a carmel pecan roll, half a dozen chocolate chips cookies, several glasses of milk, an ear of corn, a box of popcorn, two beers, a gyro sandwich, lemonade, a pork chop and a vanilla malt.


It's what I didn't eat that haunts me. No pronto pup. No french fries. No cream puff or Tom Thumb donuts. What was I thinking? Now I have to wait a whole year. In the meantime, it's back to Weight Watchers.

(Oh yeah. The quilts on a stick in the Creative Activities Building were fantastic. Did you see them?)

Fabric Diet

Painfully, I met with my financial advisor last week. He told me to quit buying fabric, so I'm back on my diet. I don't quit eating when I'm on Weight Watchers, so I'm not going to quit buying fabric. I'm just restricting my purchases.

Here are my dieting rules:

1. I can buy full-priced fabric to finish a current, in-progress project and only if I have thoroughly searched my stash.

2. I can buy half-priced fabric, a remnant*, or what is left of an air bolt** if it is one I've had my eye on for a future project.

That's it. Just two rules. Should be easy to remember when I am tempted to buy from a new fabric collection.

Temptation is all around me. Have I mentiond that I work at Glad Creations in Minneapolis? Check them out at gladcreationsquilts.com!


* A small piece of discounted fabric.
** A bolt that is more air than fabric, usually less than 2 yards.