Granny's Strings Making Progress

I have finally taken some time again to work on Granny's String Quilt. I say that because when you quilt for others, it is often difficult to take the time to make your own quilts. In fact, I have had to quit doing custom work, so I can free up some of my time. But today I said,  "It is okay, you have quilts to make, so go sew!!" And I did. I added a 2" white border to separate the inside strings from the outer border.

I've been sewing the leftover strings all morning, making sure they were at least 4 3/4" long. I pieced some to make better use of the scraps. I kept sewing them together until the pieces above got much larger then I trimmed the strips down to 4 1/4" wide.

Here's how it will look once I get the border sewn on. Maybe tomorrow, but this afternoon it's back to longarm quilting! I love seeing quilt tops become quilts whether they are mine or other peoples!! Happy Stitching!!

Class, String Quilt Update & Jake

 I recently took a class with Terry Atkinson who makes all those wonderful fun and easy patterns, like the Yellow Brick Road and the pattern I used for my Dr. Seuss quilt. However, it was testing a pattern that she will be publishing this spring so I cannot share the quilt top.......yet!! But, above you can see the fabrics I chose for the quilt, laying on top of my background piece. All I can say is, it is a very unusual quilt and so fun to make. Sweet Home Quilt Company sponsored the Retreat at the Charlie Elliott Wildlife Center in Mansfield, GA, and we were treated so well. Great place to sew, a large room, delicious food and nice clean rooms to sleep in after sewing all day. Thanks, Melisa!!

 Here is an update on my mother-in-law's string quilt. I managed to take it completely apart so the blocks would lay flat, resized the blocks, added a few that I had made with her fabrics and put them back together. I had a few leftover small blocks which will become part of the back art. I think I may still add a piano keys border to make it just a little larger and use up more strings.

 Here is a close-up! You probably recognize many of these fabrics from the past 15 years of quilting.

 And here is Jake on his first picnic with his mom. Isn't he adorable!! He was having such a good time and there was a Girl Scout get together so he was entertained, too.

And now he's walking around and playing ball. My, my, how these babies do grow so quickly!!