Long Overdue

 Hi.  Thanks for stopping by.  This is going to be a long, overdue post.  Yes, the comma is in the right place, lol.  I was an English professor, as a matter of fact, so I do know the comma's uses.  

I missed getting my blog post done for the March One Monthly Goal start, so I can't enter, but I do plan to link up with Elm Street Quilts for this post.  I need the accountability. 

I do have finishes, and I'm still working on the Island Batik Ambassador Scrappy March challenge.  I have almost half of the blocks done as of tonight, so I'm hoping to get them done Sunday, and have the top assembled by Tuesday.  

So, now to the finishes.  

First, I finished this quilt for my son.  We went to Grand Canyon, Bryce and Zion National Parks last March, just as the shut down started, on the Collette tour I won from the 2018 Secret Santa Wheel of Fortune prize.  It was a great trip, and shortly after we came home, I discovered that Riley Blake Designs had panels for the National Parks, by Anderson Design Group.  I purchased a bolt of Grand Canyon, and Bryce parks, plus the pillow panels (available in my Etsy shop) and designed this quilt top with EQ8, using fabrics from Island Batik as well as more from Riley Blake.  I wanted the pieced border to resemble mountains, and I think it came out great.  I quilted it with the Navajo panto from Urban Elementz on my Handi-quilter Amara with Pro-stitcher.  I did design it to be long, since my son is tall, and I know he loves having quilts that cover his feet.  It's a long overdue, since it was initially intended for Christmas.  And it's long, get it?? lol  I had to make a trip to Pennsylvania a few weeks ago, so I was able to give it to him.  He promised to keep it away from his puppy (who actually chewed an older quilt that night).  Aurifil 40-3 thread for quilting, Warm & Natural batting, and cotton sateen backing.

Next finish:

Fruit Salad. 

This was started in 2017, part of an Island Batik Blog Hop for the Cherry Berry collection.  I used the Accuquilt GO! Apple Core die, and had the top together, but Island Batik is very generous with the Ambassador bundles and I had a 2 yard piece of the blue/lemon design that I really wanted to use.  I also had a few more of the other blocks cut out, and wanted to use them, as well.  I sewed the remaining pieces, and cut the strip in half, and added it to both sides of the top, to make it wider, and give a straight edge for adding a border (I could have just cut off the sides, but would have lost about 5" in width, and didn't want that to happen.)  I decided to cut some of the blue and do the same thing, to make the top and bottom even.  I did end up cutting a few more pieces, and even grabbed a scrap from a recent collection to add to this.  Once the top was done, I searched and found Fruity panto, which I thought was perfect for this top.  Quilted in blue Aurifil 40-3 weight thread, and used Warm & Natural batting.  Grey swirl wide backing.

Lemon/orange slices, apples, cherries, and other fruit shapes!

This is for sale in my Etsy shop.

I also finished the vintage Trip Around the World top I was asked to quilt.  My customer's mom had started this in the 1990's and passed away before finishing it.  Although she had done some of the hand quilting, other family members decided to add stitching as well.  Maureen didn't want that stitching removed, even if it would have made it easier to finish, so I left it all, including the ones that didn't bury the knots in the layers.  I decided to finish it in the same pattern, of 1/4" or so inside each block, and used rulers to get that done.  Then I searched my stash for a blue fabric that would work for binding.  I must have pulled about 15 different ones, until I decided on this stripe.  I knew it was perfect when the selvage dated it to 1990.  It's similar in shade to the blues in the top, plus the stripe is fun, and that little pink flower is similar to the pink flowers in the calico.  My customer has seen it on Etsy and is happy.  I'll deliver it Sunday.  

I made myself a new Easter egg mask, and I'm hoping it will make Mom smile when I'm allowed to see her again.  It's scheduled for this week.  

I also quilted 2 customer quilts, and have one more here to go, plus a few that are lining up for soon, and I was also asked to make banquet cushion covers.  It's getting busy!  That's good, and I'm being careful to NOT schedule too much, because I also need to do my quilts.  I have more UFOs plus the monthly challenge, and other things for my shop I want to make.  I also want to make a Bryce Canyon quilt for me!  If I don't occasionally sew for myself, I get frustrated.  Sewing and quilting is my passion, and my love, but it can't all be work, or it feels like work.  It's not exactly balanced, but it's better.  I've gotten burned out before, and felt so much better after making something for me.  It's not selfish sewing, it's sanity!  I also took a class from Megan Best at BestQuilter.com to learn more about Pro-Stitcher and Designer, and did my first sample of embroidery on the long arm.  I want to make more, some for me and some for the shop.  I also finally got the new Janome 550 Embroidery machine working.  A few screws came loose in shipping, but the tech at Pocono Sew & Vac fixed it quickly.  I have more things I want to embroider as well as things for the shop.  I'm just going to keep moving forward, keep sewing, and keep blogging my finishes. 

Thanks so much for reading this long post about long quilts and more!  Have a wonderful day!