Saturday, June 21, 2014

Another UFO complete!

I made a resolution to complete some of the long-term UFOs in my closet this year. I have yet another one done and I think this one may have been the oldest--at least 4-5 years since I started it. My daughter and son-in-law are going through the process of adopting a baby, so this little beauty will go to them. It's made with the Cat's Cradle pattern. Sweet and simple.
When I started quilting this one I used each different fabric to practice a different FMQ design, making it an FMQ sampler. I finally finished all of the FMQ and got it bound last week and love how it came out!

This weekend was, once again, the monthly Honey Beezz Flea Market where I have a booth showing my quilts. I have been talking about taking orders to make memory quilts with photo blocks, but the only two I have made went to new homes. This week I got busy and made the top for a 26" square wall hanging in memory of my folks. I included pictures from 1935 when they met at Neptune Beach in Alameda, CA; 1946 when Dad was in the Navy and he was home for a weekend with my mom at her parents' home in San Francisco; 1960 when they were all dressed up to go to a dinner dance; about 1968 when we were on vacation at the family cabin in Ben Lomand, California (near Santa Cruz); and in the center, their 50th anniversary portrait taken in 1987. I'm pretty proud of myself for getting my mitered corners to come out so well! I took it with me today and had it laying on one of the tables in my booth and it certainly generated a lot of conversation! No takers yet on commissioning one, but I'm sure it will happen.
One exciting part of the flea weekend is I have been invited to be a vendor at the EudoraFests, an annual community event that features over 100 vendors featuring arts, crafts, and food, plus live music throughout the day. A vendor from the flea is on the committee and said my quilts would be perfect for a booth and gave me the name and number to call to get an application and more information! Now that's exciting!

Over time my booth is looking better with more quilts and other small items like mug rugs, coaster sets, novelty print pillowcases, and machine embroidered lace ornaments. It's exciting to have people stop and ask about the quilts and once I find the right venue, I'm sure Gypsy Dreamer Quilts will finally take off.

Time to wind down for tonight. I have to be back at the flea early in the morning to finish out the weekend commitment. I'll have my hand-sewing with me, so I'll be busy working on something while I visit with patrons who stop by my booth.

More snippets from the sewing room soon...
Liz