Goals for March

1. Amaretto Cottage ~ Add borders to my top as well as Janie's once we have her last blocks together so that both of our tops are ready for quilting. 

2. Binding and a label on the little geometric scrappy quilt without a name. I finished the machine applique yesterday, this is a pic with them placed onto the quilted top...

It worked great using a button hole stitch to stitch the EPP pieces onto a quilted top :)

3. Binding and label on Steppin' Up the Squares, top made and quilted in February

Altho I didn't set any goals for February, I did have a finish with Beckie on Valentine's weekend each making Our Favorite Bags. We had so much fun! 

Enjoy your Sunday, Jo

Make the time to take some stitches because...

"We will be known forever by the tracks we leave."
Native American Proverb

Janie's Amaretto Cottage

 up on the design wall in my studio.

We arranged all of the pieced blocks

with the medallion center in a final layout

along with the setting triangles we cut today.

Wonderful colors and fabrics

Janie took them home to piece the blocks and triangles. 

Next will be the borders and then... 

quilting a finished top. Yea

Completely off my goals from January. Didn't set any for February and ended up spending three of the weekends on new projects. Love the bags Beckie and I made and finished. Over the weekend Steppin' Up the Squares, a last minute decision to join in a guild workshop with Mary Kay Davis the first weekend, that quilt top is quilted. Getting back to Amaretto Cottage, that fits into my goals. Yep, happy!

Enjoy whats left of the week and month

Tot Ziens, Jo

Steppin' Up the Squares finished top

 Steppin' Up the Squares

Pattern by Mary Kay Davis
Threads on the Floor 

Top is a finish :0)

Quilting yet to be done and I have some good ideas for this one.  Hummmm... a label and binding. OK technically it's a UFO. Still, happy that the top is completed! This was a fun fast project made in a workshop with Mary Kay on Friday. If you like fussy cutting and a quick project, check out Mary Kay's other patterns as well! Well written and illustrated. We all purchased more :0) What impressed me the most tho, was Mary Kay's challenge quilts. Wow, they are gorgeous! Check them out :0)

Update... Mary Kay posted a pic of my top on her Quilt Friends page of her website!!!

Fun! Thank you Mary Kay

Happy with the mitered borders. Most of the fabrics are a collection by Andover purchased at a quilt store in Genoa, Nevada when I lived in South Lake Tahoe many moons ago!

Earlier I watched a program on PBS on Quilts ~ Why Quilts Matter. This episode was from 2011 about quilts in museums. Some wonderful old quilts and they mentioned Gees Bend. Off to watch some of the Grammy's and then Downton Abby.

Enjoy your week

Tot Ziens, Jo

 "We will be known forever by the tracks we leave."
Native American Proverb

Steppin' Up progress

Yesterday I finished the center field and cut the inner borders for Steppin' Up the Squares, Friday's workshop project with Mary Kay Davis. 

During the workshop we talked about different layouts for this pattern and I played around with my blocks. I like the layout on the left but in different fabrics...

I am sticking with the original layout and design, on the right, because IMHO it works well with the Native American fabrics pulled for this quilt.

After fussy cutting the inner border fabric I decided the corners needed to be mitered so I put it off until this morning. All of the borders are now cut, pieced and laid out on the design wall...

Ready to be sewn this afternoon. 

I am going to finish this quilt top today!

It's been raining since early this morning and no wind today. Yea! Friday we had a large  Walnut Tree branch break and fall, luckily missing any structures or the fence.

Enjoy your Sunday

Tot Ziens, Jo