Virtual Scared Stitchless Class is LIVE!

Something I've been working towards for several years has finally happened. My first online class is now LIVE and ready for students to sign up! The first virtual class is Scared Stitchless to Quilt Your Quilt: An Introduction to Free Motion Quilting on Domestic Sewing Machines and/or Sit-Down Quilters.

The information included is extensive with lessons covering machines and accessories, needles and threads, batting choices, and so much more! Before you're done, there are lessons on preparing your quilt sandwich and creating your own first free motion sampler. As long as you can either drop or cover the feed dogs on your machine, you can free motion quilt on any machine. The sampler on the left below was quilted on my Singer Featherweight, while the log cabin block sampler was done on my Brother sewing machine. You'll practice a variety of designs that can be stitched out on a simple grid to start. Then you can move up on your own to practicing with stencils and more complex designs once you're comfortable with the basics. 

 

I've been teaching Scared Stitchless (previously Introduction to Free Motion Quilting) since 2015 to full classes, including at the 2017 and 2019 Kansas City Regional Quilt Festivals. Everything I cover in a single 6-hour day in-person class, is now available to anyone online for up to 6 weeks so you can work at your own pace. 

 

My own need to learn to free motion quilt came out of necessity. When I first learned to quilt around 2006, I didn't have the budget to send my tops out for quilting by a longarmer. I was working part time while caring for my aging father. Signing up with my friend Marsha for a free motion class at a local shop got me launched. Several months after that initial class, I attended a week-long FMQ camp in Southern California where I quilted from 9am to 6pm every day for a week. I went home with so much more confidence, lots of knowledge about how to prepare a quilt for quilting on a domestic sewing machine, and most importantly information about the things I needed to know BEFORE I even sat down to the machine. Hence, the lessons about machines, needles & threads, batting, marking tools, etc., were as important, if not more so, to the time spent at the machine. The information included would be valuable even if you own or are considering owning a longarm quilting machine. I hope you'll join this journey to quilting your own quilts!  

Sit-Down Quilting with Rulers--Curves

My favorite way to quilt a Hexified Panel Quilt or One Block Wonder is with gentle curves or orange peels that curve from seam-intersection to seam-intersection. Since I press the seams all open when making these quilts, stitching all those seams in the ditch would be stitching only on thread. By using the curves, I secure every seam and create a lovely quilting design that is easy to do. I've done dozens of quilts this way completely free motion where the overall quilting is perfect in its imperfections. However, my sweet husband decided he wanted his Wolves Hexified Panel Quilt quilted with a ruler so the curves would be more uniform and fill more of each triangle. So, the adventure shifted early in 2019 to using a ruler on these quilts.

I've been teaching free-motion quilting on domestic and mid-arm sit-down machines for a number of years now. As my students have improved, they've asked for advanced classes using rulers. The plan was to teach several classes this year at area shops to demonstrate and teach quilting with rulers on domestic machines or sit-down midarm quilters. The COVID-19 pandemic changed all that as I cancelled all of my classes and workshops for the foreseeable future until we see how this all unfolds. I've considered doing an online class or Facebook Live, but haven't managed to make that happen yet. We shall see what the future holds in the way of classes--either live or online, but in the meantime we are playing with short videos taken with my camera to share.

I quilt on a HandiQuilter Sweet Sixteen sit-down midarm. The machine slides into a custom table that, with the extensions, is 6 feet long by ~30" deep. I have craft tables set on either side of my chair, tucked just under the edges of the table that carry the weight of the quilt as I shift it around. This allows me to keep the quilt "pooled" on the U-shaped nest and prevents the quilt from falling off the table and creating drag. I have quilted everything on this machine for the last almost 8 years from little 6x8" mug rugs to a huge 112x121" king size quilt with no problems. It just takes getting used to and focusing on the section you are quilting at the moment so as to not get overwhelmed by the larger projects.

Here's a link to a video (that Blogger says is too big to upload) that Les took today of me in action on my machine, quilting curves on a Hexified Panel Quilt using a ruler. I talked through some of the steps I take in holding the ruler, creating tension with my hands to keep the quilt layers flat, and more. It's linked to my Facebook page which I hope everyone can access. Be sure to follow me while you're there!

Sit Down Quilting with Rulers--Curves

Now to add some additional illustrations and tips to expand on the information in the video.

While quilting curves on one of our Hexified Panel Quilts today, I was using the little 4" Arc by Westalee/Sew Steady. The triangles I was filling measure 2" from point to flat side within each machine pieced kaleidoscopic hexie. The 4" arc curve is acute enough to fill these triangles nicely. On some of my earlier Hexified Panel Quilts that had larger triangles, I preferred the Kelly Bean ruler by Kelly Cline Quilting that has a somewhat gentler curve. There are many options out there, so find the one you like for the project you're quilting. Be sure to have some sort of non-slip sticker or adhesive product on the back of your rulers. You don't want them to slip and slide while quilting, as they should be moving with the quilt as you move them together along the quilting foot. These have True Grip self-adhesive circles or leftover pieces from the sheet of circles that are designed for quilting rulers. The rings are die-cut on a full sheet of the self-adhesive rubber, so when the rings are all used, be sure to cut up the leftovers! There's enough extra to use on several more rulers. Also, always set your needle stop in the DOWN position when quilting so when you stop, the needle stays down in your quilt to hold it in place. If you leave it in the UP position, when you let go of the quilt after you stop, the quilt will likely shift and create a jump-stitch when you are ready to begin stitching again.

Before you start on a project, do enough practice with your ruler to know what speed you like to work at. I prefer to work at about 40% speed on my HQ Sweet Sixteen. As you can see from this picture, I have my presets on my machine set at 25%, 35%, and 45%. Depending on what I'm quilting, I can adjust up or down from there, but only on very rare occasions do I go beyond that 45%. I've found the speed that I'm comfortable with and stick with it. I find that when I set a specific speed, I can quilt "pedal to the metal" and not have to keep my leg/ankle in a constant state of tension trying to find and hold a specific speed. For those with midarms or even modern domestics that have a speed control, set it to a speed you're comfortable with so you can just put your foot down and go. 

Yes, there's a little 2" thick photo album under my heel. I have found that even when quilting flat out, having my ankle flexed causes a lot of tension and strain in my leg by the end of the day. By elevating my heel I'm pressing down with my foot, letting my calf/leg stay more relaxed. It's definitely easier on me than having my heel on the floor and my foot angled up to press down. It's a little thing, but whatever you can do to make yourself comfortable for hours of quilting will help you enjoy the process more in the long run.

Here you can see me holding the ruler snugged up close to the closed quilting foot, spaced about 1/4" from the intersections I want to intersect with my stitching. You have to remember that the space between the edge of your ruler and the needle centered in that foot is 1/4", so you have to take that into account when placing your ruler to get the stitching where you want it. When you turn the ruler around to stitch along the next seam, be sure you stop at the intersection, keeping your hands and the ruler firmly in place, until you have completely stopped and taken your foot off the pedal. The needle may take one more stitch in place as it resets to the needle DOWN position, so don't be in a hurry to move your hands. Once you've repositioned the ruler, you are ready to go again, holding the ruler firmly in place and giving a little tension to the quilt around where you're stitching with your hands to prevent any ripples on the back and to ease the layers into the space you're quilting.

When quilting gentle curves/orange peels, I prefer to stitch long rows of curves that alternate direction. I will follow those long straight seams, alternating my curves from point to point, for as long as I can across or around the quilt. These rows can be done in such a way as to quilt an entire quilt with as few as 3 or 4 starts and stops. Along each seam there will be a curve on each side of it creating the melon shape. Three long rows of curves create all of the quilting, with two runs along each line--quilting S-curves in one direction and back the other way to complete the melons. Once all three rows have been quilted along the seams, they create these stars or flowers within each pieced hexie.

This view lets you see the same quilting design from both sides. The front of the quilt shows the stitching, pausing at each intersection along the seams to move the ruler back and forth to create the long S-curves, ultimately creating the 6 melon shapes that create the star. From the back, you only see the stars or flowers as an all-over design. Can you pick out the row(s) that still needs to be quilted? Yes, it's not completely done. There are a variety of ways to quilt orange peels, but after trying several, this is my favorite.

I hope this has been helpful for those who want to learn to quilt the orange peel/gentle curves on their OBWs or Hexified Panel Quilts. Please don't hesitate to message me or post questions if you'd like more information!

More snippets from the sewing room soon,

Liz

Fraternal ties extend to quilting!

The past several years, I have been blessed to be asked to help make very special quilts for the state officers in the Kansas Order of the Eastern Star. Several of the Past Grand Matrons who are in charge of making the quilts for the incoming Worthy Grand Matron and Worthy Grand Patron each year are quilters, and some are not. I've worked in tandem with the quilters, helping with assembly as well as quilting, and have made an entire quilt for a non-quilter. Each project has been so special and seeing the recipients with their quilts is quite a thrill knowing I had some small (or not so small) part in making their gifts.

My journey with these wonderful gifted quilts began in 2014 when I made 20 personalized mini-quilts for the grand officers to be gifted by then-Worthy Grand Matron Donna Fagg. She and I worked back and forth to get the colors right; make sure the names, offices, and escorts were all correct; and come up with a finished design that met with her vision. It was somewhat of a challenge as these were made of silk, shantung, and cotton. I used a pinking blade in my rotary cutter to reduce fraying and produced what felt like pounds of silk "dust" that was everywhere in my sewing room. In the end they were wonderful and so gratefully received by each officer.

Later that same year, I was asked by the officers to make signature quilts for WGM Donna and WGP Mike. Two identical quilts, each with blocks signed by all of the officers, were made and gifted at their Christmas party.

In late 2016, I was asked to make quilted wall hangings for the new WGM Susan and WGP Pete to be presented at their Christmas party. These were, again, customized to represent each of their themes and emblems for their year in office.

For the incoming 2017-2018 Worthy Grand Matron Wanda Ryan, I was blessed to be able to help with the making of her special quilt as well as quilting it. Past Grand Matron Pam Abel pieced all of the snowflakes, while I pieced the central Eastern Star emblem, using Wanda's father's neckties for the colored star points. Wanda's father had recently passed away and PGM Pam and Wanda's family thought using the ties would be a wonderful memorial to be included in her quilt. 

After the quilt was assembled and bordered, I got it back and quilted it using lots of ruler work to make the secondary design of stars in the quilting itself. I was able to be at Wanda's reception to see her receive this special quilt.

The current 2018-2019 Worthy Grand Matron Mary Hayselden and Worthy Grand Patron Steve Boyer received their special quilts just in the last few weeks. I quilted WGM Mary's Hawaiian applique that was hand appliqued and made by PGM Pam Abel.

I was asked by PGM Susan McGinnis if I would be willing to make WGP Steve's quilt since she is not a quilter. I chose the Two-Fabric Bargello pattern, added just a touch of purple as a third fabric to highlight one of his colors for the year, and worked with a black-to-silver ombre and a coordinating Effervesance fabric. The overall look of the finished quilt reminds me of a sound wave that I felt suited his interests in music and radio, and had it quilted by my friend Sandra Morgan Cockrum with flames that tie into his love of Harley's.

In future years I have no idea whether I'll be honored with the opportunity to help on these special quilts again; however, if asked I will definitely say yes! Eastern Star has been part of my life for over 40 years and I love being involved both in my local chapter, as well as helping at the state level with such special projects.

More snippets from the sewing room soon...
Liz

Trace-and-stitch experiment with wash-away stabilizer

I read a tip recently in some quilting magazine (looking at stacks of quilting magazines, both new and new-to-me around my house, who knows which one!) that one way to get your quilting designs onto the quilt after sandwiching is to trace the design onto soluble stabilizer, pin it to the quilt, and just stitch through it by following the lines. After you quilt it, the stabilizer will easily tear away and any left behind in the stitches will wash away when you wash the quilt. Since I do all my own quilting on either my regular sewing machine or on my HQ16 sit-down model, anything to make the quilting process easier is worth trying!

In the past I've printed quilting designs from my computer onto regular paper, which I found was too thick and hard to remove even with the natural perforation of the stitches. Then I had foundation paper recommended to me, which I used to stitch the feathered heart on Heartfelt Love and that worked well for the most part. There were a couple of drawbacks with that method. First, it's difficult to truly center your design because you can't see through the paper. I cut the design out close to the stitch lines in order to better see where I wanted it to go on the block, but then had problems keeping the quilting foot from catching on the paper at the edges and tearing. Although not as bad, even the foundation paper was hard to remove in some cases where stitches were built up and bits of paper were left behind. I had to go after several spots with tweezers and pins to get all the bits of paper out before I was truly satisfied.

So, I've been looking for another method of getting fun designs onto my quilt tops. I've collected some fun books of quilting designs including some great dinosaurs that I want to use on my grandson's quilt, but haven't done anything with them because I just didn't have a good way to trace them. Using a soluble stabilizer seemed like a brilliant idea when I read it, but I needed to try it for myself to see how it really works. Here's what I learned from tonight's experiment.

I recently purchased a roll of Pellon Sol-U-Film Lite, a wash-away embroidery stabilizer. Initially I had planned on using it as a topper for my machine embroidery projects and probably still will. Since it was sitting on my cabinet in plain sight (my other soluble stabilizers are still lost in the shuffle of my last move) and I had a quilt ready to be quilted with designs from my computer, I figured it would be a great place to start in trying out this technique. First I found a star design in my EQ7 quilting designs that fit the block style I was trying to fill. I printed it onto regular paper in the dimensions of the target block, taped the tiled image together (10" design that fit the star in the 12" block), and then taped the Sol-U-Film Lite over the printout on my cutting mat. The first thing I noticed right off is that this particular product is definitely a LITE version! It is almost as flimsy as the old saran wraps of the past that made my mother say words she didn't typically say. But I continued on since it was purely an experiment and I wanted to know whether this technique would work at all.

I tried several different pens and markers and the only one that would write on the film was a Sharpie--green happened to be the color that was in the pencil cup on my desk. I was a little worried about that since Sharpies are permanent, but I made sure the ink was completely dry before taking it anywhere near my quilt (rubbing across the traced lines with my hand didn't turn it green). 

A problem I didn't really consider when I started this experiment was the fact that I was working with a 10" design and this particular roll of film is only 7-7/8" wide (looking online I see that it also comes in 12" widths  *Sigh...). I was already setting myself up to fail on some level because it wasn't quite big enough for the design I wanted to transfer; however, since it was only two points (I think you can see where the film didn't reach to the edges of the top & bottom points on the first picture), I figured I could probably wing it and stitch the points without the lines drawn in those spots. 

Most of the designs I use typically have a lot of curves to them, so they're much more forgiving than the design I picked for this quilt. I prefer those curvy designs, but this one fit the block so well! As you can see I just drew the lines and didn't use a ruler to be sure they were all straight. Being in a hurry to try it at the machine, I was sloppier than usual and, although the lines are all there and pretty close, a little more precision in the tracing before would probably make the end results a little better. But, hey, it was an experiment!

After the design was drawn and I was sure the ink was fully dry, I pinned the film onto the quilt. I'm so glad I had the design on film that I could see through because once I put the design on the block, I realized I liked it much better tilted with the sharp points in the corner blocks instead of straight up the way it printed. I probably wouldn't have been aware of that subtlety had I been using foundation paper. After centering and pinning the design over the block where I wanted it, I began stitching, starting with the center square, jumping to the next square and continuing to add rounds until it was complete. As expected, the two points that weren't on the film were a little problematic. On one point when I stitched off the film, the foot got caught under the film when I sewed back towards the center. I had to hold the film down securely while moving the quilt to get the needle & foot to bounce over it and not get caught further and pull the film askew. Otherwise, it worked just fine and the traced lines were visible even on the black background fabric.

Once the stitching was done, I was able to tear the film away as it was perforated along all the stitching lines. It tore away easily and even the pieces on the interior of the design came up easily once the outer piece was removed. There were only one or two spots at v-shaped joints where I had to dab away any remainders of the film with a damp cloth.

The quilted block looks great! I'll do this again only using a roll of stabilizer film that is wider than the block I'm working on. For 6" or 7" blocks, this roll will work fine since I can easily secure the film over the entire block without worrying about stitching off the edge. Overall, this is a great way to get the designs from a program like EQ7 or fun designs from books onto a quilt without having to plan ahead and use a light box to trace before sandwiching. I typically let the quilt speak to me as I go, so rarely do I get a top marked before I'm at the machine with the quilt sandwich ready.

Here's a few things to keep in mind if you try this:

• Experiment with quilting designs with dry- or wet-erase markers on a piece of plastic sheeting laid over the quilt block first (laminating plastic sheets, clear placemats or even a piece cut from a Ziploc freezer bag will work). This lets you try out different designs before committing them to the quilt. Note: The wet-erase markers don't smudge as you draw, so have worked better for me in the past, and they wash off easily so you can reuse your plastic sheet.
• Use a soluble film or light weight wash-away stabilizer that you can see though. This allows you to center the design on the block easier than when using foundation paper that you can't see through. 
• Trace all of the designs before you go to your machine so you can pin them on in progression and streamline the quilting process.
• Try different products to see which one works best for you. In the 12" width, this product probably would have been great, even with its flimsy nature. It's my own fault I tried it on a block wider than the roll. Next time I'm going to try Super Solvy as it has a little more body to it and isn't quite as flimsy as the Sol-U-Film Lite that I tried. A little more body to the stabilizer would make it easier to trace on. I had to hold this film pretty securely with my other hand so it wouldn't shift as I traced the design. I think I'll put this roll back with my embroidery stabilizers for now.
• This appears to be a great way to transfer the designs from those fun books of quilting designs onto quilts--just trace onto the stabilizer and then stitch through.

I'm giving this "trace-and-stitch" technique two thumbs up! It was fun trying something different. When I bought the Sol-U-Film Lite I didn't know what texture or weight it would be, I just knew it was a wash-away film that I could trace and stitch through. I'll be looking at other wash-aways to experiment more as I truly like this technique. It just needs a bit more tweaking as my experiments continue.

Regardless of what technique you use to get designs onto your quilts--FMQ without lines; stencils with soluble pens, chalk markers, or pounce; tracing before sandwiching with a light box; or using this technique of trace-and-stitch on wash-away stabilizer, just be sure to have fun!

More snippets from the sewing room soon,
Liz

UFO Sunday--Feathered sprays

Welcome to UFO Sunday as I'll be linking up with Leah Day's review of what we've been up to this week in our free motion quilting journey.

What a glorious weekend of quilting with friends! I attended the Emporia Regional Quilt Guild's weekend retreat held in town at a local church. The basement fellowship hall is huge and easily accommodated over 30 quilters for the weekend. The doors opened on Friday at 4pm for setup and to get started on our projects. Dinner came about 6:30, and then the stitching continued until they locked up at 10pm. Saturday morning bright and early, the doors opened again at 8am. The committee treated us to a variety of crockpot soups for lunch and a build your own salad and baked potato bar for dinner. The stitching continued all day with lots of sharing, helping, talking, laughing, and a fair amount of teasing with what's become a regular joke with a rubber rat that appears under someone's sewing table. Sunday morning we returned at 8am, enjoyed a delicious lasagna, french bread & salad lunch, and then started wrapping things up so everyone could help with clean up to be out by 4pm. The ERQG holds these retreats quarterly, providing a fun space to work on our projects together and occasionally hosting a national teacher. Last November we had Pat Speth from Nickel Quilts teach for the 3-day weekend and it was wonderful! We learned to much and had so much fun!

I spent my time working on Cindy's Comforting Words quilt so I can get it finished and mailed off to her before she starts chemo. I got it pinned Friday evening and printed out the feathered sprays that I wanted to FMQ in the borders from my EQ Quilting Designs collection onto foundation paper. Saturday morning I ditched first, quilted the diagonal lines through the Irish chains and echoed the embroidered motifs. With the main part complete, after lunch I started the stitching over the foundation paper on the borders and before I left at about 9:45pm, all of the borders were quilted!

Wow! A picture of ME at work! Fun!

Follow the lines--figuring out where to go to make the stitching as continuous as possible.

And then removing the foundation paper to reveal the lovely quilted feathers.

Most of the gals in my guild send their quilts to long-arm quilters rather than FMQ their own projects. I had lots of people coming to watch the process and it was fun to share the techniques I've learned over the last few years with them. Sunday, when I wasn't off visiting at other work stations or looking at other projects, I was tearing the foundation paper away from my feathers. It's a tedious process, but I've learned that taking smaller stitches and staying on the lines makes tearing it away much easier! Practice makes perfect and before long it was all done and the quilting looked beautiful!

Comforting Words for Cindy--trimmed and ready for binding

Nice shadows showing the feathered sprays that are in all the borders.

Before packing up to head home I managed to get the quilt trimmed and now all I have to do is prepare and attach the binding, stitch it down, and attach the label. Whew! In just over a week this project has come from conception, design, production, and nearly completion. In many ways it feels like this quilt made itself. Even when piecing the back, it came out the same size as the front without planning it that way, and when pinning, it lined up so well I was able to trim right where I had planned without losing anything on the backing. Indeed it is a comfort quilt designed by God that flowed through me to fruition. Blessed be!

Here's a few fun shots of the retreat weekend. There were so many great projects being made!

Joan getting ready to pin her hand embroidered bluework tea time.

Lyn showing off her grandson's Indiana Jones mini-quilt. The animals are all paper pieced! This is my favorite of the weekend!

Queen size Neighborhood quilt

Hexagon puzzle--reminds me of the Card Trick patterns

Sharon with her Turning-Twenty Wizard of Oz quilt that she's added several embroidery designs to for added fun

Sherry with her second Quilt of Valor top finished this weekend

Becky busy on her quilt top

Trish finished adding the 9-patch corner stones and stripped sashings to her finished blocks

Kathy giving her top a good press before...

she taped the backing to the floor to pin her mom's Cardinal quilt.

All in all, we had a wonderful time! Everyone got a lot accomplished and Linda even started to learn FMQ, first using the walking foot on a printed panel top and then switching to the open quilting foot with the feed-dogs down to echo the characters. She is just starting out, but wants to keep at it and become comfortable enough to finish some of her own quilts--probably the small ones to start with. :-)

With tables set up along both walls, as well as a few down the middle, plus ironing and cutting stations, there was plenty of opportunity for stitching and visiting. I can hardly wait for the next one in May!

Back to unpacking and cutting binding strips to finish the Comforting Words before tonight's Downton Abbey comes on.
More snippets from the sewing room soon,
Liz

Striping Dad's Shirts

I've spent the last several nights working at my dining room table with Torchwood reruns going on Netflix while I start the process of turning all of Dad's shirts into 5" strips to turn into memory/comfort quilts for my family. I think I'm finally getting a routine down. Some of the shirts are so worn I'm having to starch them in order to give them enough body to cut straight. The pile of strips is growing and I'm also making a separate pile of sleeves and shirt pockets to incorporate into unique blocks down the road.I only have 4 pairs of Dad's jeans, so my daughters and son are collecting their used jeans to add to the stash to provide enough family-used denim for the blocks. Eventually everything will be brought down to one huge charm pack of 5" squares.

During the day I keep thinking I'll get more done, but then I get totally distracted...

You see, I spend my days taking care of Jacob, my 7-month-old grandson. He's just started crawling and loves to take the DVDs out of the rack and then chew on them. You'll probably see more of this little monkey since he seems to get in most of my pictures.


While cruising through my FB newsfeed today, I spotted the Quilting Gallery's "Quilter's Show & Tell" event. This week's theme is to post a picture of your favorite quilt of 2012, even if it's not finished. I did finish my favorite in 2012 and, in fact, Enlightened Souls is the favorite quilt I've made so far! I really got into the FMQ and outlined every feather on the cranes in Hemingworth 40wt Old Gold, as well as doing lots of what I think of as artsy FMQ with pebbling, pine needles & knotty branches, and playing with several stencils in the various borders.

I collected the blocks on two subsequent Quilter's Quest shop hops through the San Francisco Bay Area--the first year was the kimono blocks and the next was the lantern blocks. Each shop had made such marvelous quilts each year that provided lots of inspiration. However, they sat in my stash for about 3 years before I decided what to do with them. At Christmas I had found the crane fabric to use in a pillowcase for one of my great nephews who loves Asian stuff. I bought more and started playing on my living room floor (my design wall at that time) with the blocks. The Kimono blocks were my first venture into paper piecing with the collars and sleeves. It was a challenge, but one that I managed to figure out on my own.

A close friend of mine has a life coaching/counseling practice called Youniversoul. The more I worked on this quilt, the more I knew it would someday be Adele's. Once I knew whose it was, then I got more excited about working on it and before I made my move from California back to Kansas in early 2012, I was able to complete it and present it to her at our last visit at her office in Berkeley. She was so overwhelmed by it that she just wrapped herself up in it and cried. Then we put it on the massage table, which I had measured on a previous visit, and as I had hoped it was a perfect fit.

This summer Adele had a seminar in Wichita, KS, and added a day to her trip to come visit me in my new home. She brought the quilt back to me so I can show it in a couple of local quilt shows and enter it in this year's Lyon County Fair this coming June. After it has made the rounds, it will be returned to her. I'm so grateful to Adele for sharing this beautiful quilt with me again so it can be shown and shared with my quilting friends.

I'm off to visit my son for a couple of days, so the UFOs and NewFOs will have to wait for me to return.

More snippets from the sewing room soon,
Liz