What? My daughter...sewing?

 You might think that with my love of fabric, sewing and quilting, that at least one of my 3 daughters would like to sew. As it turns out, they love fabric and have even been known to buy some, but haven't really done a lot of sewing. My middle daughter, Wendy, did make a rail fence quilt a long time ago, and has hemmed some curtains, but that is about it. So imagine my surprise when we were shopping at Big Lots one day and she found fabric. Jelly rolls to be exact. She really liked the fabrics and kept asking me what people make with them.  More specifically, what could she make with them.

So I suggested a Jelly Roll Race quilt...quick and easy for a beginner. She got her jelly rolls and we made plans to get together and work on it. She came over last night and I showed her how to sew her strips together with a 45* angle. We both like that join better than the straight seam. 

 Isn't that a pretty pile?

 Resident quilting expert Smokey came along to give her opinion about the quilt too.

 She got them all sewn together and had started pressing them when she realized that she had sewn some of them together right side to wrong side, so she cut them apart and redid them. Then we noticed a few other problem seams, so she spent some more time fixing them.

 Finally she was ready to begin sewing the two ends together. We think it took her about an hour to get that first 800" seam sewn.

I explained how to do the next step, so she is going to try it at home. I will keep you posted on how it goes!

Snake Dance Mystery quilted

 I have had the Snake Dance Mystery quilt on the quilting frame for a couple of weeks...it's just been too busy to get it finished. After doing some cleaning (yuck! both bathrooms, among other things!), I finished the quilting. I used the panto Leafage by Karyn Emmerson. It's one of my favorites because of the way it fills in and has a soft, swaying effect. Since I can't show the front of the quilt until after June 5, I have to be happy with showing the back.

 The first group making this quilt had their second session Saturday, and are well on their way to finishing two more clues. I have them sworn to secrecy, though I will say that their color choices are really pretty!

The second group meets for the first time Wed. night, so I will be able to post some pictures of the first clues after that. It will be fun to see what fabrics they have chosen! They meet twice before the first group meets for the third and final time on June 1. Group 2 will finish on Wed. June 5.

I started inventory in my library the other day...didn't get too much finished as I still had some classes coming in for storytime. I should be able to get a lot scanned in the next few days. Then comes the fun part...trying to get all of the books back! I still have over 400 checked out, but some of those are books the teachers have checked out. They will turn them in when they are finished using them this week. My last day of school is Tues. May 28...

I trimmed the quilt and Conrad gave it his purrrrrr of approval. He is also sworn to secrecy.

I had two Sampler Clubs meet this week. I didn't remember to take pictures Monday night, but did take some last night. Usually everyone makes the same sampler design, but this class is called Sampler Pick. They can choose any sampler quilt from the 17 I have designed over the years. We meet once a month for six sessions and they work on the quilt during those classes, sometimes with "homework" to finish before the next class. It's a great way to teach new techniques, plus the students can try out a block that they might not try otherwise. You can do anything once! 

I always use different blocks and a different setting for each quilt design, so it's a challenge for me to come up with a new design every 6 months or so.   Actually the challenge is what drives me, though it doesn't always seem like fun while I'm in the process!

The blocks in the top picture were made by a student who has made thirteen of my sampler designs. She is a meticulous piecer and enjoys the process of trying out different blocks. She also likes learning new techniques.

The other two students in the class are working on their first sampler with me. They each chose a different one and are beginners who are jumping in with both feet and doing a really good job! They are  working on the Snake Dance Mystery quilt as well. I have met so many nice quilters teaching classes. It's very rewarding in many ways, but watching their skills grow and their enthusiasm is wonderful!

Creative lettering

A quilting lady I know sent me this picture of the perfect Scrabble game she made! I asked her if she was going to reproduce it in fabric and she said probably not! I wonder how long it took her to work it all out?

The first session of the Snake Dance Mystery went well last Sat. They worked on one clue and got another clue for "homework". I had to make them take a vow of silence since the other group hasn't started yet. We do have one German quilter joining this group for the mystery, Kerstin of Cookie's Treasures. She is working on the clues on her own, but we are chatting in a Yahoo group so that she can be part of the group and join in on some of the speculation!

We are counting down our last days of the school year...8 days left. We have to come back for one day after Memorial weekend because of all of the snow days this year.  Today is my last day to check out books to kids, then I begin taking inventory of the library. I would really like to get the shelves labeled before summer break too. It's been so busy since we moved back in January that I haven't gotten it done.

It's been crazy spring weather too, we had snow about 10 days ago and yesterday it was over 100. Yes, we do live in Iowa, but still! Thankfully it cooled off overnight and today's high is supposed to be a more May-like 83.

Happy Mother's Day!

My daughter and I went up to my hometown yesterday after class to give my mom her Mother's Day gift. Many of my family gathered to work on their garden. It is huge and a big task, so we decided it was the perfect gift! We started out with 50 bags of cypress mulch and when I arrived about 1:30 they had already gone through that on one half of the garden and got 40 more. So we joined in and worked the rest of the day, and ran out again! So off they went to get 15 more bags and some red wood mulch for the path. All in all, we used 112 bags of wood mulch, laid down over cardboard, but it should be good for awhile now. They also did some tree trimming at the back of the garden. They were out there working with us too, so it was a fun family day. Work goes so much better with many involved!

The first class of the Snake Dance Mystery went well...they got off to a great start and seemed very excited to be working on it. I can't post any pictures until after the second group starts their quilt on May 22, because I want them to be surprised with each clue.

Have a wonderful Mother's Day! I celebrated with my daughters on Friday night, my mom yesterday and am going shopping with my daughter in a little bit. 

Another Cathedral Window finish

Gisella finished her Modern Cathedral Windows pillow within a few days of the class and sent me this awesome picture. I love it when people send me pix of their finished projects from classes I taught!

Here is her start during class. Such pretty florals. You can visit her blog here.

We have another planning meeting tonight for the June 15 Council Bluffs QuiltFest. It will be here before we know it. We are using a different location this year, and plan on touring it tonight to plan our set up. I am getting a bit nervous about the number of quilts have been promised to us to display, so I will be calling people to firm up how many each plan on bringing. We are focusing on traditional patterns this year. 

Playtime and a little hint.....

I sewed the back together for the Snake Dance Mystery quilt and loaded it on the machine on Sunday.  I got a few rows quilted before I quit for the day. I am using a panto that I have used before. I like the way it covers and interlocks. 

Since I can't post pictures of the quilt, I got very close and took a couple pictures of the quilting.

Yea, I'm a tease, so what? You will see it eventually.....

 The mystery begins on Sat. at one location as well as for online participants, even though online students could start anytime after Sat. I was printing the patterns last night and I ran out of ink, so I have to stop tonight after work and get some more so I can finish printing the pattern for that and the new Sampler beginning on Monday.