Shannon asked for an "S"

January is birthday month around here and for several of my friends. One in particular, is Shannon, who is not only my friend, but someone whose blog I read regularly and whose quilting I admire.

Her birthday was on the 23d, the day after Dennis, and she asked that her blog readers send her an "S" in bright colors.  So I did...

More Chickens

Just finished this one...isn't it cute? I love Buggy Barn patterns. I did an allover loop meander with a variegated thread--the chicks didn't ask for anything more.

Underground Railroad

I have always been fascinated with the Civil War and the stories and history surrounding it. When Jennifer Chiaverini came out with her book, The Runaway Quilt, I couldn't wait to read it. In fact, I read it aloud to Dennis as we drove across the lower 48 to Texas to pick up our horse trailer a few years ago. He even liked it.

In keeping with the book, Eleanor Burns came out with her Underground Railroad quilt pattern, which I immediately bought and then allowed to languish on the shelf with the zillion other quilt books I own.  *shrug* However, this year, my Wednesday night class is doing the UGRR quilt; I quilted this one for our instructor.

Carolyn chose traditional colors, as did most everyone in class...except me. I'm doing mine in super bright batiks. I have no idea how it will turn out....

A few close-ups:

Impossible to tell without clicking on the photo to make it bigger, but I did a wishbone in the sashing with a gold thread. I really liked the simplicity.

Are you ready for my colors????

I love how each batik color carries into the next. Originally, I had planned to use the black for the sashing, but I'm thinking that its way too much contrast now. Oh well...guess that means I'll have to find something different and add this to my stash...darn!

This is the first block...I'm not loving the brights yet, but I hope that after the next few blocks, that will change. Otherwise, this is going to be a long semester.

One of Mine

I finally finished something...can you believe it??? Do you remember when I was asking if anyone had or knew where I could find this fabric? It was finally located and this is what I did with it. Nothing major, but it will hang in my kitchen and look great with my terracotta wall color.

Have a look:

Did you notice the prairie points? They're both easier and harder than they look, IMO.

A close-up:

And the best for last...the back. Since this was for me and going to hang, I used a good quality muslin on the back. However, even though it was pre-washed, it still puffed out where I didn't quilt the pinwheels. Oh well...live an learn.

Quincy Crazy Quilters Opportunity Quilt 2011

This year, I once again had the privilege of quilting my Guild's Opportunity Quilt. I love the colors in this quilt and the way it turned out...have a look:

I piano-keyed the borders, outlined the applique and did an allover leaf meander in the body with a light green thread. Its hard to see here, but if you get out the magnifying glass and look at the bottom left corner, you can see how I allowed the corners to become a crosshatch to finish each row.

Some close-ups:

If you're interested in tickets, let me know.  The drawing will be in September; tickets are $1 each or six for $5.