vintage block

I liked the simple vintage block Bonnie showed over at Scraps and threadtales'. The block is huge, 17 1/2 inch finished.
I am working on cutting down about 15 years of thrifted shirts that I had taken apart, but were not organized well (kept the backs, cut everything else down to 6 1/2", 2 1/2", 2", and 1 1/2", and random crumbs).
Whenever I got really tired of ironing and cutting, I'd make a few more parts for this quilt.
A simple pleasure of quiltmaking is the surprise I get when the raw blocks from the design board finally get sewn together--the transformation sometimes is startling.

ready for auction and feeding the stash

My Sarah's Sisters group at church helped me name these quilts for the auction this weekend. First is Green Whimsy, second is Chicago Blues.
The second is based on Bonnie Hunter's Crayon Box.

Sleeves for Sharon.
I found some of the most lovely shirts I have ever discovered yesterday at the Village in my hunt to replenish my stash (which does not need replenishing) . And, while cleaning the basement, found some more that I had bought earlier. Here they are all trimmed and pressed, a stack for my neighbor who swaps sleeves with me from our thrift shop finds.

another stretched star

Andy and I went to Nashville for a few days. Enjoyed the food and music, and had a little time to bind this second stretched star quilt in the style of Kathie, made with blocks I mistakenly had sewn to go the wrong way for the one I made in December.
I really like this quilt and may just have to keep it. Quilted with the squiggly lines on my Bernina.

I did a talk about quilting at a local older adults center. I go there with my nursing students in the fall. In November they were working on the spring calendar and asked if I had any topics to present. I decided against a health one and offered to show some of my quilts.
I had 7 attending--we sat around a table, studying and touching each quilt. I brought about 6 that I made and 6 old ones. I also brought an unquilted top so they could study the construction on the back.
I miss teaching quilting at the arts center--they closed last fall. I need to find another place to teach.

happy, happy anniversary

We celebrate our 25th anniversary on St Patrick's Day, and hosted coffee hour at church today. Today is also Eve's birthday. I was too busy to take photographs while the reception happened--I saw someone with a camera, so I hope to get a few pictures.


Two of our nephews helped with the day. We all went out to eat afterward.

broken

My machine quit working last evening--no loud noises, no smoke, no warning. The needle just stopped engaging.
While getting it ready to take to the repair shop, I had it on its side and noticed a button that looked like a resolution button. This machine is the Bernina 1530, one of the early computerized machines. I bought it in about 1993. The past 6 months I thought the screen was burning out as it was very difficult to read. I would move the mouse as far as I thought would be enough by memory to get to different stitches.
It turns out someone had turned the resolution button way down. Finding this out at home saved me from my fear of a big ticket repair and from embarrassment at the repair shop.
It is difficult being in the house without a working machine--my backup is at the arts center. I took in the 830 found at the thrift too--we are going to have it set up for the rest of the family--maybe it will keep them away my machine and from the resolution button---, the one I didn't know existed despite 17 years of daily sewing!