One Finish......Many in Progress!!

 Spent many Winter evenings quietly quilting away on this Toile Center Medallion, inspired by one in Gwen Marston's "Liberated Quiltmaking ll".  Now would like to make a bedsize quilt.  One friend suggested I just keep on going with this one, but I think the 12" center toile would be too small proportionately for a fullsize quilt..........so I will sometime start another.  This kind of quilt is one I can easily work on, set aside and pick up again without losing my train of thought!  I did use a quilting hoop with this one and my quilting is so much more even than when I don't use a hoop.  For small Jo Morton-type quilts, I often just quilt in my lap but quilting is not as even.  I still do it, tho, hoping for improvement!  I hung this on my little clothesline that I strung up in my dining room to display quilts just to take this photo, but I think I have decided that it has found a home for now!  I never hung quilts in my home much as I hang them in my shop, but after 30 years of quiltmaking, I have enough for beds, walls, tabletops, cupboard doors, and the shop!  Below the quilt is a scrappy (charm) log cabin runner (my first big-stitch project if I recall correctly) on the limed oak cabinet of my 1956 Pfaff sewing machine that provides a flat surface for such stuff!  There are two detail shots below.....had fun picking out early 1800's fabrics for this quilt!

 There is something wrong with this picture below!  Can you tell what it is?  This is a current Jo Morton Club project of brown/shirting flying geese....very tiny..finish at 5/8" x 1-1/4"!  Made my test block (4 geese at far left).  A few nights later I cut out the remaining parts needed and proceeded to sew ....should not do this after a long day in the shop during shophop month!  I cut, sewed, pressed AND trimmed 44 units without noticing anything was Wrong!  I spread them out to take this photo and it hit me!  I did it backwards!  Geese should be light, not dark! Well Jo made her little quilt from a mistake She had made in the same manner.........she wanted dark geese and ended up with light geese!  I did the same thing, but in reverse!  I like her method of flying geese......don't know exactly who invented it, but this website gives great directions.  Click on "sharing patch" in the bar at the top of the webpage for Flying Geese directions as well as many other free patterns.  Spent last evening doing the prep work (drawing lines on Dark Squares for background!) for a second set.  Now I will have two quilts because I am too frugal to just let these sit around!  

 Leaders and Enders.....another thing I am frugal with is thread.  Had for some reason gotten away from using little blocks to start and end machine sewing thread......using a scrap is fine, but nothing is Accomplished!  Remembered these little pinwheels (actually Found Them buried under other projects.....started these in Fall 2008....it is a smaller version (used the charm pack) of the project from the first Moda Collection for a Cause "Heritage" which I fell in love with the focal fabric that will be the sashing.  The Pinwheel blocks are made into 4-patches alternating with plain blocks if you can pick the block out at the bottom of the photo.  So-o-o-o, I've been using these as my Leaders/Enders.  First in joining two little units together and then by sewing the center seams.  Really made quick work of something I hadn't found time to do!  Not only does using Leaders/Enders help you to make two projects at once, it does it so neatly in that there are no threads hanging all over the backs of patchwork!  Now it's time to retire to the sofa for some handquilting of a small quilt from Country Threads "Back to Charm School" and/or the binding of two small quilts........stay tuned....will show them as soon as I finish them!