Wednesday, May 24, 2017

Preakness to Freakness

We hosted a little horse racing party on Saturday.  I decided to make a hokey cake for the occasion.  It was an exciting race with Cloud Computer stealing it from Classic Empire.
I have been working very hard to finish my son Andrew's quilt.  The backing is finally pieced together.  To be sure everything was the right size, I folded each part into fourths, then layered them.
 When you are making a giant quilt, this is the surest way to avoid mishap.  And Friends, I have run into trouble on several occasions.
I pinned the center of each layer.
 I cover my kitchen table with old cutting mats to protect the crappy finish (ha ha) and get my binder clips and pins out.
I store pins in the open and sprinkle them on the lids and across the quilt - it's works for me.
 I match up the pins when I layer it on the table and in this way know that everything will line up on center.
I marked straight lines 1 1/2" apart.  I like Crayola WASHABLE markers but I always toss out the yellow marker as it is harder to remove.  Also, you have to use Clorox2 when you wash per manufacturer's instructions.
Next I pinned - and I mean PINNED!  I have found that it is really works well for me to use a lot of pins.
Finally... I'm ready to roll.  Wednesday, I quilted for 7 hours with a few breaks.
Okay - here is the Freakness part of the post: We're watching this at my house.
It is confusing, violent, provocative, disturbing.....we love it.  I am listening to a podcast to help me understand what is happening.

While machine quilting, I binge watched this on Netflix.   It is also a bit disturbing, but also fascinating.
To leave you on a upbeat, is this not the funniest card - ever?
It made me belly laugh out loud.  Have a great week and I'll share more on how I'm quilting this king sized quilt.

xo

Wednesday, May 17, 2017

Butter & Beauty: Savannah!

Photo Heavy Post all about Savannah (with a zillion links).  Not much quilting - just a little hand quilting on the plane.
Our home away from home.  The Old Harbour Inn on River Street.
 I fell in love with the Live Oak trees with Spanish Moss.
We had dinner at The Grey.  What a great vibe.  Is is an old Greyhound station.
Best Cosmo of my life - and that's saying a lot!
Wow - that's a lot of candy.  They love their sweets in south.
butter.  butter. butter.   Hey Ya'll.
Voted the most beautiful street in the USA - Jones St.
On Kelly's suggestion we ate at Mrs. Wilkes Dining Room.
 Two hour wait in the hot Savannah Sun......Worth it!
21 bowls of southern food and sweet tea:  $22.00.    The chicken is soaked in buttermilk before frying, of course.

We highly recommend the Old Savannah Tour Trolley .   Judy (on my right) and I have been friends since 5th grade and Joan since I was 20.   Some of you may know us as the Champagne Girls and we did have some. We missed Martha who was in Europe :(
Characters hop on and share Savannah Stories.  This is Franky, she was a welder in WWII.
 Next time I want to eat here!
Here is the sight of Forest Gump's bench where he narrated his story while he waited for the bus to see Jenny.
Fun shopping at the Paris Market.
Woo hoo a new Pressed Penny for my collection. What a cheesy ham I am.
Handsome devil.....
During the rain we checked out the Jepson Center Museum.  This is a giant air balloon mobile.
This where you can find The Bird Girl monument, made famous by the book Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil.
The River Walk area has these gigantic cobblestones which was balist in cotton ships on the Savannah River.
 This reminded me of Diagon Alley.
The Bohemian Hotel has a very cool bar both on the roof and this one just steps from the River Walk.
I loved you Savannah!  Spending time with my oldest (ha ha) friends was a blessing and a gift.

Regular Quilt Posting will resume soon.  Tonight I'm presenting a program for The First Dutchess Quilters in Poughkeepsie, NY.

Have a wonderful week!

Wednesday, May 10, 2017

Quilts on Parade!

Thank you Herring Run Quilters for such a warm welcome last weekend.  Your show and tell was amazing!

The Northern Star Quilt Guild Show awarded my Alice Payne Quilt with a Blue Ribbon.
Hot Flash received an Honorable Mention.
Brownstone Quilters Guild  won a Blue Ribbon in the group category.
Thank you to all the quilters who shared their work at this show!  If generous quilters didn't take the time to enter, we wouldn't have a quilt show to attend.

Here is my Best in Show.  It was my favorite quilt of the day and just a wonderful wonderful quilt!
What majestic whales.
The details make it very special.
Here are a few more that I really liked.
Here is how I prep my quilts for shows:
I drape my big board with a clean bed sheet.  I also place one on the carpet under the board.
Then I set about checking the whole quilt for threads.  I use a lint roller over the entire surface, front and back.
Regardless of how carefully I store my quilts, they always pick up lint.  Try this - you'll be amazed!
I'd also like to wish my Applique' Medallion quilt project a Happy One Year Anniversary.  I should be finished by now, but I've had a very busy year.  I'm working on the 2nd clamshell border.
I'm off tomorrow for a girly getaway.  I plan to journal my little trip on IG.
Hope you have a great week.
xo

p.s. for those who have been reading FWB over the years, you'll notice I didn't report on the Derby.  Looking For Lee upset my betting boxes and overall I thought the race was Meh.