Stitch Stitch Stitch!

So, here we are again, back to the hopes of Spring! The last couple of days have surprised us all, and I've even had the windows open! It rained a bit last night, and I see sprouts of green in the grass, even! So it won't be long, I think.

I've passed off my Round Robin starter block, and now I have my round sitting patiently on the design wall for ideas. This will be the last time I am able to post anything about the Round Robins, though, as we are keeping them secret until the final reveal. Our group has decided that "anything goes". My Round Robin is going to be a traditional center block that they add borders to....or not. I told them they could add 2 sides or 3 sides, or whatever they felt it needed. The one I have now (Nancy's) is based on the grid method. Each of us will complete the equivalent of 10 (6") blocks. They may be separate, or they could be any combination of 6" blocks such as a 12" block which would be equal to 4. I have an idea simmering, but I am going to wait another couple of days before beginning.

What's in My Garden?

This past Saturday was the first 2011 birthday stitch day with the Amazing Quilt Babes. We give each other a day of stitching for a birthday gift, with the Birthday girl preparing the blocks to be sewn, and serving birthday dessert. We divide up the year with those special stitch days, and even though it might not be your birthday or even your month, we celebrate the day as if it was. It was my day to celebrate, and celebrate we did.  

It helps to have a rosy outlook on life!
Vicky, Ibby, Sharon, Shirlee and Carol

We worked on Star Whimsey, and I think I am going to love . love . love . this quilt when it's completed! I pilfered used Ibby's leftovers from last fall for some of the blocks. She works in Colonial colors which are difficult for me to choose on my own, so shopping in her scraps made this quite perfect!

Star Whimsey

One of the things I love about working with a group of quilters is that I always learn something. This Saturday I learned an easy way to mark half square triangles. I've used Thangles, and I've used Fons and Porter's methods and just about every other technique there is. The most perfect HSTs for me are when I mark the diagonal, then sew about a thread's width away from the line, then press it back and trim off the background and the extra triangle. If I make larger HSTs, I save those trimmings and make smaller HSTs to store away for a rainy another day. Amazing Quilt Babe Carol, helped mark the squares for this project, and here's what she did:

An emery board has multiple uses!

She pulled out an emery board and marked those squares lickety split! I have a sandpaper board, but it's always lost in another place where I can't find it readily. With this method, the square stays put, you have a straight edge, and it's small enough to store in your machine tray along with your seam ripper. Too cool! Thanks Carol for sharing this little tip!

Life is getting back to normal, or what will be the new normal here at Quiltgranny's Shoe. And life is good. All I need is a quilt, a cat and a dog to make me smile!

Mayo and Clyde sharing a warm spot on "Stars over Cambria"