Shoo Fly quilt

Good news on the quilting front--I've completed quilting and binding this Shoo Fly quilt. I hope to be sending it off for donation this weekend. I free-motion quilted it on my sewing machine. And today I did sew the border on that Hodge Podge quilt. I sewed on 4 inches of a mottled gold fabric. Now I have to dig through my stash (it's in a big storage box at the bottom of my closet) to try to find a backing for it. I've been enjoying my sewing lately. And oh yes, my daughter liked her shortie PJ pants that I sewed for her. The fabric was printed with helicopters and I managed to not have any of them flying upside down.
It seems to me that I ought to be counting my blessings lately--I'm grateful for my wonderful family and friends. I have to be grateful that I live in a nice place and go to bed each night in comfort. And I have to stop complaining so much!
By the way, a message to the East Coast from the folks in California--welcome to earthquake country!

Bloggers Quilt Festival 5-2010

It's time for the Bloggers Quilt Festival.  Here's the link http://www.amyscreativeside.com/  I made this quilt for my daughter who lives far away from me in Florida.  I was inspired to make this pattern which is a Liberated Shoo Fly by reading the book Liberated Quiltmaking by Gwen Marston.  That book is now out of print, but Gwen Marston has recently published another book called Liberated Quiltmaking II and it has similar directions.  I used an assortment of solid colors for the background of the blocks, and then I added scraps galore.  I try to use my scraps whenever I can, as you can see.  I included scraps in the borders.  But my scraps seem to multiply nevertheless.  This quilt was so much fun to sew.  I like to just throw colors together--I'm not the interior decorator type, I guess.  I free-motion quilted on my sewing machine.

Liberated Shoo-fly quilt

I'm so happy with this quilt. I had no plan when I started it. It just popped into my brain one day. And Happy New Year! May the new year bring more cuddly quilts.

My liberated Shoo Fly quilt

I'm so proud of this second quilt of the pair! It's the liberated Shoo Fly. I hope that the boys will like their quilts. I hope to mail them next week. Hopefully, the fires in Calif. will have died down by then, and the mail will be more reliable.