Lots going on lately

We have been busy as usual at the Cottage.  Some of the things that have been going on are -

Saturday, 20/27 was our pajama sale.  It is so much fun to wear pajamas all day - I am almost tempted to make that our shop uniform!  You can rely on the quilters to participate in something as fun and silly as this, especially when it means getting a good bargain on fabric.

On Thursday, 11/8, we had quilters visiting from Spain and Hungary.  Rosario owns a quilt shop in Spain, and traveled to the US for quilt market.  When she came to market she brought 7 quilters to Lancaster, and they stayed a week to tour the area.  While they were here they wanted to take a quilting class, so they came to our shop to learn how to use the strip-tube ruler.  It was a really neat experience to be with quilters from across the globe, with a completely different culture and language, and to be instantly connected through our love of quilting.

Friday, 11/9 was our last meeting of the Contemporary Quilt Club for this round.  The show and tell sessions throughout was amazing, and the sharing of ideas was very inspirational.  The group has decided it wants to continue, so it will resume beginning in January.  There is room for more members to join the group, so please sign up if you are interested in contemporary quilting.

We had our final session of the Crowning Achievers UFO club on Thursday, 11/15.   The group had such a great time, and got a lot of sewing done, too.  They requested that we have another session of the UFO club, so it will continue in 2013.  The same quilters are coming back, so the group is already full.  We may need to consider having another UFO club in the future...

We published a post on facebook last week that we were collecting quilts for victims of Hurricane Sandy.  Here are photos of the quilts we received so far.  We will continue to take quilts - they can be new or used, any size, any style.  We hope these quilts would brighten the lives of people who are terribly distressed.

Quilt made by JoEllen Myers

Quilt made by Melinda Sheppard

Quilt made by Beth Reese

Quilt made by Joan Fischer

Quilt made by Sarah Campbell

Quilt made by Sarah Campbell

Quilt made by Susan DiClemente

Quilt made by Susan DiClemente

Quilt made by Barb Motter

Quilt made by Joan Shafer Gavigan

Shop sample quilt made by Diane Fitzgibbon

I Love Presents

Here are some photos of a quilt I am working on for a shop sample and kit.  It is called "I Love Presents"- there will be sashings and corner stones in between the rows.  Is it cute, or what?
I will post another photo when it is done.

Helpful Hint -
When I am making a quilt and have blocks or units to sew together, I lay them out on my living room floor.  I can go upstairs and look at them from a distance to see if I want to change the arrangement.  It is a good way to determine what areas may need to be re-arranged for a better distribution of color, etc.  Another way to view your layout is to take a picture - especially if you do not have the space to layout your quilt and stand far enough away from it.
Before - My sewing room is upstairs, so in order to sew the blocks together correctly I would pin a label (or sticker) to each block in the corner, 1-A, 2-A, etc.  Then I would pile the blocks together to take upstairs to sew.
Now -   Instead of labeling my quilt blocks, I refer to my picture.  I use my phone to take the photo because it is super handy, and easy to view the photo as I am sewing the blocks together.  It saves time, and the little labels are not in the way when I am pressing my seams.
When I was assembling a bigger, more complicated quilt, I printed the photo of the layout on paper.  I folded the piece of paper to show the row I was working on, then I drew a line through it when I had it stitched together.  This was a major time saver because there were so many blocks and it would be easy to get them out of order.  Think of a Blooming 9 Patch for example...
I love my phone and having a camera with me all the time.  If you haven't tried using your camera on your phone you are missing out.  Just try it, you'll see.

UFO'ers Unite!

Hi All of you fellow UFO'ers.
I know you are out there and that I am in good company.
So far this year I have finished 3 UFO's - to me, finished means the binding is complete.  I have also worked on a lot of UFO's that are further along on the road to completion.  So far, so good.

Here's the thing about UFO's, though.  I keep starting new projects!  I just can't help it! An idea pops into my head - Ooohhh, that pattern would look so good in those fat quarters, or, I love that different color combination, or, I want to make a quilt for so-and-so.  I just have to get started, and I tell myself that it won't take too long.  Then once it is started I have a commitment to the quilt.  I can't help it, and I am not going to apologize for it.  I LOVE to sew and make quilts, and I enjoy every minute of it.

To those of you "I only work on one quilt at a time and finish it" people, I admire your discipline.  But I am not going to be you, and I am not even gonna try.

I am still going to set my goals to get UFO's done - this year I want to complete 12.  But one thing is for sure... as long as I am able to quilt, there will be UFO's.

Please share your comments on your UFO status.

Keep stitching, Beth

Here are two of the finished quilts.  The top one is made with flannel, and it is a Thimbleberries pattern called "Tree Farm Throw".  The bottom quilt was made using a jelly roll and fat quarters I had, and I came up with the design.