I’m still moving kind of slow. and not getting a lot done. I did prepare a back for the Seasonal quilt and got it layered and pin basted. I had purchased a panel to use on the back as I thought it would be a good thing to show that I did not just use a whole panel on the front, but that I cut it up and pieced it in.

A little bit of the top is peeking in at the bottom, but since it was made larger than the finished size, that will probably get trimmed away after the quilting.  That piece of blue fabric for the majority of the back is one of the first pieces of fabric I bought way back in the 80’s when I started quilting! It was the perfect color for this purpose.  The batting I am using is Matilda’s Own Wool.

I have spent the better part of three days now quilting on it and have about one third of it finished so I think I am in good shape to meet the deadline.

Except for lunch and a walk, I quilted all day yesterday, from 8-5. Having the walk in the middle gave me the ability to carry on at the machine, and I made good progress. Today should be a repeat!

I know– I put too much quilting on, but I guess it is just my signature style, I can’t help it!

I got word yesterday that “The Merchant’s House” was juried in to the AQS show at Lancaster, and word today that it is due home from Road to California Thursday. No prize this time but it got very good judges’ comments except that they didn’t like the way the rock fabric didn’t match up. Oh, well. I kinda thought it added to the “old” look.

Still working, still changing, still sewing and unsewing— slow progress!

The redbud tree fabric was in my stash, purchased a few years ago because it reminded me of our back pasture in the springtime.

Harriers are here year around, but using this fabric sets the season as Spring and the piece eligible for “Celebrate Spring”.

It’s been a crazy week around here, my husband had surgery on Tuesday. He’s home now and going a bit stir crazy I think. He usually does the cooking so I am having to do that now, so all in all not a whole lot of sewing getting done.

My next project is going to be for “Celebrate Spring”. I have a nice fabric in my stash of redbuds blooming just like up in our back pasture in the springtime. So thinking about how to use that, I remembered seeing a Norther Harrier last spring. A very striking bird that is pretty unmistakable, a ground nesting low flying hawk with an owly face. I googled for research pictures and found this amazing bird photographer and was so taken with one of his photos, I wrote and asked permission to use it and he graciously consented! So Ashok Khosia will be credited for the inspiration photo. I am in the process of plotting out the sewing lines now and have pulled fabrics that I think may work. It’s always exciting to start something new!

Last week on one of the quilting lists someone posted that she was being sued by a fabric designer for having used that person’s design in a piece that was published in a book. She wouldn’t elaborate or name the designer. Since what I do is all wrapped up in using commercial prints, this was pretty scary! Especially since this piece I am currently working on features the use of a printed panel cut up and rearranged. One has to wonder why they would produce quilting fabric and then sue you for using it, but crazier things have happened. I didn’t even want to work on it! I wrote the designer and explained what I was doing and asked for written permission to proceed. It took a couple of days for the answer, during which time I imagined worse case scenarios, like “Now she knows what I’m doing and will be watching and waiting to sue me” But no. she granted permission. Monday I finished up the last of the seams and the top is finished. I think now it will be set aside since it has an April deadline and I’ll concentrate on something for Celebrate Spring which had a January deadline.

I knew that the deadline for AQS Lancaster must be soon, so I decided today would be a good time to take care of that. Alas, the deadline IS TODAY! So, nothing for me at Lancaster next year. The deadline for Paducah is Jan 2 so I should attend to that soon. Why do I always wait til the last minute!? I entered two things to Road To California and got the email that one of them was rejected, but nothing about the other one. The official notification date is not til Dec 1, so I will hold out hope..

The past week was spent tweaking the Seasonal piece, changing and adding fabrics. It is still in two pieces but bulky and awkward to work on. I think that I have at least one more change to make and then I will just live with it for awhile and see if anything else demands attention. At this point every change requires that I rip something apart and add in new, sort of like mending, which I hate. I would rather go buy something new than mend or alter clothing! In the meantime the mending pile is growing larger as I see my husband has added yet another garment to the pile.

Last evening, I folded and put away all of the fabrics I was working with and swept up the bits on the floor, so now, if I actually DO this mending today as I plan, the studio will not look too bad for company on Thanksgiving!

I only got to work on the new piece two days last week and two days so far this week, but it is coming along nicely! There is a lot of challenge to this one and I am enjoying that! When I was in Springfield, MO teaching I found this fabric

and even though at that time I didn’t know if I would be accepted to Seasonal Palette, or how I would use it if I were, I had to buy some! And I am so glad I did…….Since a big part of what I do is using commercial prints, this one was too good to pass up!

“Longhorn Splashdown” has make it home from PIQF, along with it’s judging comments. Nice things were said about design, fabric and colors, but the negative comment was: “would have liked to see more variety of quilting motifs”.  Hmmmmmm- 15 weren’t enough? Sometimes you have to wonder if they even look. Or if they realize how stupid some of their comments make them look!

Saturday I was away all day  so didn’t get to work on my project.  I was teaching hand quilting at a shop about an hour away from here. It is gratifying to see that there are still people who want to do it by hand! We had a fun day!  I love the drive to Emporia through the Flint Hills as there is a quiet beauty there in any season,  but Fall, when the grasses turn pink and gold and the sky is so blue is especially pretty.

I was anxious to get home and see the new fabric that was supposed to arrive, but was disappointed to discover that it did not. Surely Monday it will get here!

I have been having great fun this week with the new Seasonal Palette piece and have a nice start! I wish I could show you but there may be a book so they don’t want pictures posted.

But I WILL show the fabric I pulled. Some of this has since been put back on the shelf and others added…….

It has not been without drama though. After several day’s work, I was not happy with some aspects so reworked parts and now I have the problem of fitting already pieced elements into a revised whole, but it will work out, I’m sure. I ordered more fabric from two different sources; the first arrived yesterday and the second is due tomorrow. It’s a little difficult to plan without the fabric here so I am working on the parts where I feel safe, knowing I may have to tweak later. This has enough challenges to keep it interesting for me!

The handwork is finished on the elk and now he has a permanent twinkle in his eye and for good measure one on his nose!

Close-ups to show the edge finish, facings do give a nice clean finish!

Yesterday I spent some time making half square triangle units for a monthly exchange for a group that I belong to. This month’s color is purple and since I still had fabrics off the shelves and the meeting is tomorrow night it seemed like a good idea! I was on a roll so did the next two months as well! It feels good to have those done and the fused top also, which I finished this morning.

I added some darker blue to the sky behind the white mountains, so they would show up better, but I don’t like it. We were supposed to put tulle over the finished top to hold everything together but I don’t like how that dulls it down. Here you can see the difference, with and without.

I removed the darker sky strips and replaced them with tulle and I like that better. It does the job of defining the mountains but is more ethereal. Some of the pieces are already coming loose so I went ahead and covered the whole surface with tulle.

Without the uncovered surface to compare to, I think it looks OK. Now that that is done I can finish putting fabric away and start thinking about the next project.  This one is to a point where I can put it away for now; it still needs to be layered with a backing and quilted.  I don’t think fused applique will ever replace my pieced work, but it was something different and I think I may fiinish it for an upcoming exhibit at the Topeka Art Guild about Travel, Near and Far.