Off on an adventure

Soon I'll be heading off on an adventure.  Hubby and I are planning a vacation to the San Diego area to visit relatives.  A cousin suggested a couple of wineries to visit in Temecula, CA.  Does that name sound familiar?  I have made up several of the free patterns that have been shared over the past few years by the Temecula Quilt Shop blog, and I don't think I can pass up the opportunity to stop in person!

Just for the record, there are the three quilts at my house that can trace their beginnings to that sweet little blog.

Temecula Blues 2013
which I believe was to celebrate the Quilt Shop's Anniversary

Countdown to Christmas -
a 2013 pattern that I finished last week
I made about half the blocks so it's smaller than the original pattern

Valentine Hugs and Kisses - Feb. 2015

If you enjoy English Paper Piecing, which I have to admit I've never tried, you should skip over to Sheryl's blog.  She is in the midst of a lovely series of blocks made with that method.  And, of course, her Little Letters alphabet series was extremely popular last year according to the number of times I saw those adorable pieced blocks on various blogs that I visit.  That one is on my wish list!

President's Day Red, White and Blue

Another UFO is quilted and bound!  This one was started in April 2013, so I've been working on it off and on for quite a while.  All that was left was binding and the machine embroidery eagle that I wanted to put in the center.  I finally made a decision on a grey binding fabric last night, and finished it up.

The backing is grey fleece, so it's lightweight and warm.

It's so much fun to use the embroidery feature on my Elna to quilt in special designs like this eagle.

The print fabric is deep stash that had been around for 20 years before I decided to use it.  But now it's ALL GONE.  It was leftover from making some Zuba style pants for my kids back when I was sewing most of their clothes.  Here's a photo of  my daughter wearing hers when she was 5 years old.  How time flies!

I just can't settle on a name for this quilt yet.  Maybe Red, White and Zuba?  Though it's actually Blue, White and the Zuba print, so... maybe not.  Any good ideas out there?

Valentine Hugs and Kisses

Just in time for Valentine's Day I've finished a little quilt called Hugs and Kisses.  The pattern is from Temecula Quilt Co. (sort of).  I used 1.5-inch strips and squares instead of their smaller size. They were already cut, and on hand in my scrap bag.  So easy!

Can you tell those alternate blocks look just like chocolates?  I wish I had bought more of that fabric.  It's such a rich chocolate brown swirl.

All finished, and I can deduct another 1.5 yards from my fabric stash log for the year!

A night at the museum

It was a late night Sunday at the Old Town Hall Museum working on a mounting and display frame for the Pond Dakota Album Quilt.  I had a lot of help from Hubby, and he even took photos!

Here you can see the back side of the frame that he made.  I'm bent over the frame attaching cotton cording to stretch across the frame and hold the muslin tight.  Hubby used the ratchet straps to hold things together until the cording was pulled tight.  We didn't staple the muslin to the frame because we want to be able to take the frame completely apart for storage when the quilt is not on display.

Frame is turned right side up and the fragile quilt laid out so the folds will relax.  Next weekend I begin carefully hand sewing the quilt to the muslin.  Those old marching band white cotton gloves have come in handy!  The Museum can't afford museum glass or acrylic right now, so I'm working on an idea to use a layer of bridal tulle netting to keep people from touching the quilt, and yet allow them to see it fairly well.  The goal is to have it on display by February 22, 2015 when there will be a presentation about Quilts and the Underground Railroad at the Museum.

Countdown Complete

Another UFO finished over the weekend!  In late fall 2013 Temecula Quilt Shop had a quilt-along for an adorable quilt she called Countdown to Christmas.  I enjoyed making the tiny 2-inch (finished) stars and four-patch blocks.  But there were way too many of them!  I ran out of ambition, (and 1 1/2 inch scraps)  so I finally just gave in and made up a 38x46 lap quilt using the blocks I had finished.  Better to have a finished quilt than another UFO, right?

Then it sat... and sat... while I tried to find borders that I liked, which ended up being navy with stars and red with stars.  It's finally finished!  I may gift this one to my Aunt who is in a nursing home.  In a strange twist of fate, though I live in Minnesota, my Aunt lives only about an hour's drive from the Temecula Quilt Shop in California!