Going in Circles

 One of Carol Taylor's Quilts for Going in Circles Class! My favorite.

 I had the opportunity to take a class with Carol Taylor this past Saturday. She has some magnificent quilts and they are all so very well done. Also, she quilts them all on her Bernina 1630 Sewing Machine - not a longarm or even a large bed. Makes you appreciate her skills even more. We were sewing curves which is not something I do very well but hers turn out great. With a little practice I found that I could do it - lol! Steam is great for flattening those buckling seams.

 Here are a few samples of people's work - Judy with those gorgeous earthy colors.

 Margaret with some blue greens to serve as a large pillow cushion, matching a rug she has in her home!

 Patti - who had some traditional fabrics and several fabrics that represented special things to her, such as birdhouses, flowers like in her backyard, etc.

Barbara, was using some bright and color fabrics that I particularly liked!

And here is my quilt as far as I got in class. Honestly, I don't do so well in a class setting but I just try to learn what the teacher is saying and get the techniques, then go home and finish what I've learned. I was using some hand-dyed fabrics in the center and batiks for the rest.

Carol is a really good teacher, conscious of the time as we moved through the day to be sure we covered all she had for her class, plus has many more styles of quilts that she does that you can view on her website, Carol Taylor Quilts! 

Easy Street on a Mission

 All of a sudden I decided I needed to work on Easy Street and get those blocks going. So, I have 9 of the B blocks. . . .

 and two of the A blocks - still needing 14 more. Fortunately they are going together rather well.

I laid out the blocks and sewed the first two blocks of each row, keeping the threads intact as I chain pieced. Skipped the third block on each row and sewed the fourth and fifth together. . . .then kept the threads holding those rows together, too. Next added the third block of each row to the first two blocks then the fourth and fifth that were already sewn together. 

I did not press until the rows were completed. It kept them together really well and went much faster. These are my five rows, still intact with threads, but not pressed. Maybe I need more pictures if this is not clear - BG!

Chelsea Completed

 My Chelsea quilt is completed. I opted to do machine quilting with a pretty pantograph called

 Swirl 'n Twirl. I am very pleased with the results. Even though I had done hand appliqué, 

 I liked the overall design with swirls, as opposed to outlining all the appliqué, especially since it was so busy in many of the backgrounds.

And now the backing - I always enjoy a pretty back and this was a large floral in my stash that turned out to be just the right size.

Wool SBOW

I am still working on my Wool Summer Block of the Week from Primitive Gatherings. In early January I got all the blocks and borders put together but then comes the finishing with stitching the vines and leaves on the border. But, before you can stitch, you must bond them in place which takes a large block of time. I finally found the block this afternoon and now I am ready to stitch this pretty border. It is really very relaxing using the #8 Valdani Variegated Threads. Each leaf will get a special touch of embroidery added to it also. This is on my UFO list for 2013 so I'm thinking it is very doable. Stitch when you can!

Chelsea Quilt Top

And now it is a quilt top. . .waiting to be quilted and placed on the wall for viewing! Btw, this quilt pattern is from Kaffe Fassett's Quilts in the Sun book.

 And now what I really did last week! Played with these sweet babies!

 Fed the birds at the park. . .

 had a picnic in the in the backyard . . .

and tried to stay warm at the park!