When a quilt speaks to you...

I've been working on what now is being referred to as "the buffalo baby quilt" all week. I had the trials & tribulations of the machine embroidered strip shrinking excessively after wetting down to remove the guides I'd marked and then prewashing the rest of the quilt only to find that some pieces shrank more than others. Well, once I looked at it again, I really didn't like the way it looked with that gold border between the focus strips and decided to experiment with the brown I'd purchased to border it with. I liked it! So, I let the quilt keep talking and found it had more to say. With the help of my friend Sharon (we are frequent weekend quilting buddies), we decided the gold did want to be included, just in a different way. I followed that lead and am very pleased to tell you that the quilt top is finished and ready to be sandwiched. This is the final result of reworking the borders.

The focus strips really pop with the brown used throughout and the gold as a 1" accent border makes the gold in the buffalo strip pop. So, now to take it downstairs to the big tables to layer and pin for quilting. I've found having a deadline really helps! I'd purchased the fabric a few weeks ago, but hadn't decided what to do with it. Then I got the invitation last week to the baby shower scheduled for Feb 23 and decided it was time to kick-start this project! For such a simple quilt with minimal piecing, it sure has been a challenge to put together. But I'm happy with the results and I'm sure Lizzie and her baby boy will LOVE it!

Saturday, Sharon and I juggled projects as we sewed side-by-side in my sewing room. By afternoon I had set my projects aside to help her finish some things. We both went downstairs with my Brother Quattro 6000D set up on the dining room table to start embroidering select blocks in a Wizard of Oz Turning Twenty she had started last August. The designs she chose to include and the colors used are really making them pop! We didn't get any good pix of it this weekend, but will take one after the embroidery is done to share here.

The other project Sharon brought with her to finish was a birth sampler she had made for her grandson. She found some ABC fabric she liked that coordinated with the cross-stitch design and serged the edge with a wooly nylon in variegated primary colors. Together we managed to get it measured and cut, stitched mitered corners to make a fabric frame, and then stitched in the ditch along the inside edge of the serge line with a zipper foot to get close enough to applique it to the piece. Now she'll take it to be matted and framed under glass before taking it to her daughter and grandson. Here's Sharon showing off the nearly finished project. It turned out so cute!

Now it's time to take a break for some supper and get ready to watch Downton Abbey. After a productive weekend, I feel I deserve a night off. Ha! Back to normal with Jacob here in the morning. It will be interesting to see how much sewing I can get in this week.

More snippets from the sewing room soon,
Liz