I made it! The Rail Fence Around the World quilt was finished in time for show and tell at our quilt guild meeting last Wednesday. Another UFO off the list.

We had an interesting workshop at guild meeting on the use of photo-transfer paper. The gal that let the presentation is quite the artist. Although I am artistically challenged when it comes to drawing, there are things even I can use this medium for. I immediately thought about using this special paper for making unique labels. I also thought about transferring some of the art work my daughter has done for me to fabric and showcasing it in some wall hangings. I think there are some more UFOs about to be born!

This is one of my daughter’s latest drawings. She calls it, “Cluck-a-tude” or “Rooster With an Attitude” This picture alone inspires me to create a quilt!

One of the special things about our monthly guild meeting is the group of us that go for coffee after the meeting is over. We have been going to the same Starbucks on the third Wednesday evening for coffee for so long that last Wednesday they had our chairs and tables arranged for us in anticipation of our arrival.

After reading Colette’s blog this morning, http://www.lapagedecolette.blogspot.com/ , I thought I would share the bear that I made.

Meet, Sandy.

Sandy sits in our foyer and welcomes everyone to our home. This is the fist bear that I have made. I took a bear making class a couple of years ago and Sandy was the result. I want to try making a few more bears but quilt making seems to keep getting in the way.

I worked on my Rail Fence Around the World quilt on Friday night. The binding is half sewn to the back of the quilt. I will try to finish it tonight during Desperate Housewives. My husband and I are hooked on this show and the weekend is not complete until we have watched the latest episode.

I did stray a bit from the completion of my UFOs. I was surfing the net yesterday and came across a new way to use up bits of fabric left from other projects. This technique is called “crumb quilting” and is very mindless. I find this type of block construction relaxing and low stress–absolutely nothing to match. You just keep joining fabric bits together until you have a piece the size you want and then you trim to size. The blocks I made were trimmed to 8 1/2 inches. I managed to make six blocks yesterday. The only rules I respected in the construction of these blocks were that the fabric scraps I used were green or contained a green element and two fabrics that touched could not be the same fabric.

Is it possible that Spring has arrived? Today the sun is shining – after 20+ continuous days of rain – and the temperature is +4 (Celsius).

Even my daffodils think spring must be around the corner – they are brave enough to poke their heads above the ground!

It seems that I can not stick to just one project from start to finish. I have several on the go at any one point in time and find that I switch between projects often.
The inspiration for one of my latest projects was an article in the 2002 issue of Quilt Almanac. (I say latest project meaning that I have been working on it off and on lately. I started this quilt top many years ago and it is truly a UFO in need of completion!) The quilt in the magazine was made by Sandy Henry and is referred to as the traditional Rail Fence.

This is my version which I have named, Rail Fence Around the World. I have finished this project to the binding stage. The binding is sewn onto the quilt by machine and I just have to hand stitch it to the back of the quilt. My goal is to completely finish this quilt before next Wednesday night so that I can show it off at our guild meeting show and tell that night.
This is a close up of the quilt showing the machine quilting that I did on my long arm. The quilting pattern is Baptist Fan and is a favorite of mine.

I am also working on the blocks for a scrap quilt that I started between Christmas and New Year’s. (No new fabrics were purchased for this project. The goal is to finish this one with fabrics from my existing stash. I had many strips of fabric cut already just waiting to be put to use.) The pattern is Fun With Bricks and can be found on Quiltville Custom Quilting’s web site at the following address: http://quiltville.com/funwithbricks.shtml . Bonnie suggests making 30 blocks in her pattern. I have 19 made so far–only 11 more to go! The block finishes at 12″ square so this will be a nice-sized quilt when it is finished.