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Monday, January 19, 2015

Sew It Together, Mona!

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Yesterday Mona and Beanie came over to lay out Mona’s first ever quilt.

Only she discovered how hard it is to lay out a quilt when Beanie purely wanted to be part of the action….oh, and the bone too!

This little dog brings so much joy, but sometimes that joy gets in the way of putting the quilt down the way we want it!

Still.  Take time out and love on the pups, they give us so much more than we give them!

Oh---and the story about the bone ---They were bought for Sadie.  Sadie has a very picky palette, which does NOT include raw hide chews, or evidently bones.  She turns her nose up at them and walks away.  So we saved this one for Beanie.

And wouldn’t you know it, as soon as Beanie left it alone, after getting all of the marrow out, Sadie decided it wasn’t so bad and decided she wanted it after all!  Funny dogs!

I’m so proud of Mona and the job she is doing on this quilt.  We started with simple rotary cutting of strips, sewing of strip sets, making 4 patches, assembling blocks and here we are laying it out for assembly!


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Holy Moly, this thing is BIG!

Well you know me, any quilt worth using better be people sized! This quilt is destined for the guest bed up in Mona’s loft in her cabin.  Probably no borders.  Just a blue binding.

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Her hubby Rick has been told to keep his feet off the quilt!

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So happy to see these scraps sewn up!

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Learning to “Web the top!”  Sew, Mona, Sew!

Because Mona’s cabin doesn’t have the floor space to lay out the quilt top, and it is bigger than the top of the guest bed, I’ve told her to just leave it on the floor at Quilt Villa and just come work on it when she wants.  I’ve got a spot for her to day-retreat with us next week while Lori and Randy are up with us.

So Mona, what is your NEXT project going to be?? Ha!

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As all of this was going on, I was attacking the purple scraps!

I have had questions on my cutter, this is an Accuquilt Studio. What looks like random placement of scraps on the tray is really strategic. I watch for the blades in the die and load up the tray with the best placement for least amount of waste.  My Studio can cut through 8 to 10 layers, so I can process a lot of strips in very little time.  Anything too narrow to be a strip, but wide enough for string piecing goes into my string box.  I only had to toss very few margins.

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Plastic sheet on top, roll it through!

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A whole handful of 1.5” strips in this batch!

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This is all in preparation for the 2015 APQ Quilt-Along, more info to follow!  Can you feel the anticipation?  There will be 3 projects showcased, so you can choose one of those, or go your own way using the units in your own creation.  I will be posting more details as they become available so stay tuned!  It’s going to be FUN!

Oh, the home front last night:  Some slow hand stitching on a Downton Abbey Night:


Happy to say I have moved the hoop twice during last night’s relaxing stitching!

I’m off to Georgia this morning.  And wonder of wonders, my route takes me right down I-85 through Charlotte and Gastonia.  Hello, IKEA!  I need a couple more lights!  Hello Mary Jos!  Hello any Antique Mall that comes my way – I’ve got all day to get to Clarkesville and it’s been a long time since I’ve had a driving trip and freedom to roam!  I don’t meet up with the Mountain Laurel Quilters until set up time at 11:15 tomorrow morning.  They gather at noon for their meeting that starts at 1pm.  It’s one of those driving trips that would have me leaving before 5am if I were to drive it tomorrow, so I’m going today instead so I’m not a complete zombie for my presentation.

The van is loaded with my own sewing projects…guess what I’ll be doing tonight?

Catch you from Georgia!


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17 comments:

  1. You didn't take the 'last train to Clarkesville'???? I couldn't resist.

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  2. Have a safe and fun trip bonnie. My vacation time is over I go back to work 2 pm to 930 pm today and back in at 730 in the morning so no sewing tonight. :( my husband calls this my turn an burn.

    tina

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  3. So glad you had a great weekend! The hand quilting project is lovely.

    Quick question about your Accuquilt Studio. Like you, when I cut with a ruler I leave the whole line on the fabric for that extra thread or two of width. How do you find that the Accuquilt compares? Does it 'short' you that extra width?

    Have a great trip!

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  4. Beautiful first quilt, Mona. A star quilter is born! Hey! HST stars for the next one? Janet in WA

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  5. Bonnie, 10 miles further south of Mary Jo's is Foust Textiles in Kings Mountain, just a bit off I-85. Foust is a wholesaler and has lots of great stuff in case you've never visited.

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  6. Safe travels! Enjoy your day of roaming! Excited to see what you'll be doing with all those strips!

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  7. Way to sew MONA! What a great teacher she had. 1 on 1 instruction from the BEST! Drive careful today and we'll be watching fro those Galaxygrams from Geogia.

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  8. Great quilt, Mona! Can't wait to see it finished. The APQ quilt- along looks like fun. I'm anxiously waiting for the details!

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  9. Mona did a great job, I'm sure it won't be her last quilt. Safe travels to you Bonnie.

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  10. Hi, Mona! I LOVE your quilt. I see many more in your future. AND, lucky you, you're learning all the smart stuff now, so you won't have to re-learn stuff later like the so many of us have done. Safe travels, Bonnie.

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  11. If you have the time to drive down from Cartersville after your workshop on Friday, please consider visiting us at the Southeastern Quilt & Textile Museum in Carrollton, GA. www.southeasternquiltmuseum.com

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  12. OK... I get it now....Beanie is Sadie's BONE TESTER...if Beanie hasn't keeled over, it must be ok LOLOL.....either that, or Sadie wasn't going to let Beanie have ALL of the fun!
    Have to say that is a winning quilt...
    Smiles, JulieinTN

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  13. Congratulations to Mona on this beautiful top!

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  14. Thanks for the cutter info. I would love to see a quilt cam video on the accu cutter. I just don't understand how they work or how you put the fabric on.

    Looks like Mona did a great job. Can't believe it is her first quilt.
    Kathkeen in Liberty MO

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  15. YAY! Mona is ready to put all the pieces together. She has done a wonderful job!

    I used to be the same way when I had to be on the road all the time. I liked to get there plenty early to have a relaxing evening, good night's sleep, and hopefully a recon of where I had to be, if it was a new place. Then I didn't have to be stressed out the morning of my first meet.

    Have Fun!

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  16. Tell Mona her quilt is beautiful! Love your studio! Strip away!

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