Snow Day=Spider Web Sew Day!

**Notice** Before I go any further I want to let you know that there are 3 openings left on our October Cruise! 

If you were interested in coming and afraid it was sold out, please click the Cruise tab at the top of the blog for more info! I’d love to have you join us!

If you were hoping you’d get in to our Vegas retreat and found it full too quickly, this might be a better choice to fit your schedule!  Give it a look.  Come sail with me!

I was feeling a bit BLUE with all of the winter weather and snow dumping we've had lately here in North Central, North Carolina.

What is a girl to do when she is feeling blue?

Pull out a blue sewing machine and sew something sunshiny and bright!

This is Petula, my 1967 Wizard Citation.  Such sleek, fun lines!

Before leaving for Texas I had assembled the rows for my String Spider Web re-make, and the rows simply needed to be pinned together and stitched to assemble the quilt top.

But OH the pinning!

There were points to match that just would not match no matter how hard I tried.

String quilts are utilitarian in nature and by that nature were never meant to have things match perfectly – but we do give it a good try when we can, don’t we?

There will ALWAYS be bulk in the many seams of a string quilt where corners and points come together.  That’s just the way that it is!

But oh what fun when you stitch a row on to find another section completed!

Uhoh…no matter how hard we try….same fabric together!

See that yellow print, front and center?

I was having a conversation with a quilt friend today attempting to define our “genre” as a quilter.  I do not enter my quilts to be judged.  For display only?  Yes.  But to be judged? No.

I’m firmly in the court of “mid-depression to mid-century farm wife with a burgeoning scrap basket” as far as I think of myself as a quilter.  I love to sew it up – the more fabrics the better!  The more variety the better!  The more color, the better!  The more perfect….ugh.  I am happily a relaxed piecer who doesn’t want to stress over points that don’t match ALL the time.  I like to be surprised when they DO match to no fault of my own!

And I did the best I can to match places where many points and seams are coming together, but if they are off a needle’s width here or there…I just tell folks with a shrug of my shoulder and a slightly crooked grin on my face:

“I live happily in the land of That’ll Do!”

Another section ---so fun to see this off set!

I asked on facebook and instagram – Borders or No Borders??

Really, it was split about 50/50.

And I’m inclined to NO borders.  Just a strong binding.  Maybe turquoise?

It’s already 74 X 85 and I never do ONE border for a quilt – it would have to be at least two, like a mat and a frame, and then it would be TOO big.

Draped over the rail of my long arm machine.

I’m not sure what to call it yet, but it will come to me.

I’m planning on just quilting it with an edge to edge design because it IS a utility quilt, and will be used a lot. 

No, this is no show piece, it would be right at home with mid-century farm wife scrap bag.  And I love it that way!

Oh, and as for where that favorite piece ended up?

Bathing Beauty strutting her stuff!

I’ve got a backing pieced, but no time to load it.  I still need to pack up the trunk show, and pack my own suitcase.  I need to make it to the airport by 6:45 at the latest tomorrow morning.

The roads may be a bit treacherous ---we had a lot of thaw, but there is also a lot of re-freezing happening tonight.

Florida, you can’t bring on your warm quick enough!

Oh, and while the quilter was quilting – this was going on in my back acreage:

The Hubster entertaining himself while the rest of us WORK! HA!

I have a sweet giveaway happening here tomorrow morning, be sure to drop by! You don’t want to miss it!

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