Geese at Julia and Fred's Wedding

This quilt is going home to North Carolina soon so it's time for a blog post. If you follow me on Instagram (if you don't, you really should!) you saw it coming together last year. 

Made for my daughter and her husband, Julia selected Judy Niemeyer's pattern Geese at My Wedding. Julia insisted on a double wedding ring and she loves flying geese, so this was a perfect fit. Oh, but the pattern was written for a table runner, so some recalculating had to be done to make it queen size. Only a crazy mother of the bride would turn this pattern into a queen size quilt!

Let's start at the beginning: fabric selection. (November 2016)

The first ring! (February 2017)

I really had to be organized with this one!

I managed to get two rows assembled for the bridal shower. (March 2017)

Aren't they the cutest? (April 2017)

The top was done at the end of July and machine quilting started in early August. This quilt has it all: walking foot in the ditch, free motion, and ruler work. 

Since this quilt was for my daughter, I went all out and learned how to add a double piping to the binding. I highly recommend tools and classes by Susan Cleveland. (September 2017)

I don't block every quilt, but I always block the important ones. The big ones almost completely cover the area rug in the living room.

Julia came home for the Ninigret Quilters' show to see her finished quilt! (October 2017)

Picked up a couple more ribbons at the Narragansett Bay show. (April 2017)

And now for the detailed beauty shots!

A secret parachute was stitched into one corner for my airborne son-in-law!

Their names and the date are quilted in.

Their puppy had to check it out before it goes home with them!

Geese at Julia and Fred's Wedding

88" X 88"

Started November 2016

Completed September 2017

Total working time: 235 hours

Pieced and Quilted by Tina Craig

Spring Recap

 Now that summer is officially here, I thought I should show you what happened around here in May and June.  Here's a recap of the highlights.

Julia graduated from college, so I made her this little gift. The title of the hymn and smiling earth are perfect for my sweet girl who majored in Environmental Studies and minored in Religious Studies. (Pattern by Mollie Johanson of Wild Olive).

The best pictures of any event are the ones with my mom! Julia is happily interning at Disney's Animal Kingdom as a Wilderness Explorer troop leader (environmental educator). If you're headed to Disney before the end of January 2017, look for her and say hi!

 My cousin celebrated his 25th anniversary of priesthood, so I made him a new stole. I decided to use scrappy greens, knowing he'd get a lot of use from the color for "ordinary" time. I didn't know green is also his favorite color.

My husband turned 50 in June, so we went on an epic musical road trip from Nashville, to Memphis, through the Mississippi delta, and finishing up in New Orleans. I only stopped at a few quilt shops along the way: Craft South, Sew Memphis and Ella Rose. We were on a tight schedule, so grabbing fat quarters was a great option. He bought a guitar in Clarksdale, so I came in way under budget!

We picked out the bendy bag pattern at Sew Memphis for Bill's electronics and new reading glasses. He travels a lot for work, and this is a vast improvement on his ziplock baggie. I forgot to include the pull tab, but he doesn't mind.

 

And now for the WIPs. This spinning hexie EPP has become my traveling project. I kitted up some blocks to take on our vacation. Now I'm working on them during work breaks and in front of the TV at night. I've got 2 or 3 more block kits, but I might keep going to use up more scraps. Each hexie finishes at 3" on a side. I have no idea what this will be. I'll just keep going until I get tired of it or a shiny new idea comes along.

In other EPP news, my Lucy Boston-inspired Patchwork of the Crosses top is finished! It measures about 35" square, so I'm trying to decide if I'll add borders or not. It would be a sweet wall hanging as is. I have no clue how I'll quilt it.

I designed and started piecing this ombre mini back in early April. I had intended to participate in the ombre mini swap, but I didn't finish in time. I finally competed the piecing this week. I think the quilting will wait until after a class with Angela Walters in a few weeks. That will be fun!

Since the ombres were out, I wanted to play some more. I pulled an old Simply Color (V and Company) jelly roll off the shelf and went to town.  I found this pattern online that got me started. The jelly roll only had 21 strips, so I cut 3 more from my stash. Each strip set makes 7 equilateral triangles plus 2 ends (1/2 triangles). I cut the first triangle in the center of the strip set, which in this case was the lightest area. The top is about 36 X 45", which is a nice baby quilt size. It would be a striking wall hanging, too. I love how it looks on my front porch!

 Last but not least, Julia and Fred are engaged! Yes, there is a wedding quilt in the works. She really likes the wedding ring quilts I've been making for my nieces and nephews, but mama needs a change! She picked the Geese at My Wedding pattern from Quiltworx. We haven't decided on colors yet, but she likes modern solids. That works for me!

It's time for me to head back to the basement for more sorting and purging and cleaning.