Design Floor Update!

Reach and bend, and stretch and place and pivot and rearrange -

I'm a bit stiff this morning - I'm not lying!

I'm catching you up with where we left off in yesterday's post on the progress of my current all-consuming string quilt project.

I know several folks were leaning toward darker colors for sashing - but I don't want a dark quilt.

I want something bright and happy to get me through the winter months.

I live in a log cabin - my walls are wood-colored.  Things can look a bit dark, and I need some sparkle.

Sashings and cornerstones in place!

I went with the orange polka dot!

The grey swirl is a great fabric, but just looked a bit too busy and kind of dingy next to the blocks - 

Webbing is under way!

If you are new here, webbing is a term I coined for continuous assembly of a straight-set block or quilt top. Working in columns, all of the rows of the quilt (or block) are assembled at the same time leaving the rows connected with chaining threads in place.

More on Webbing The Top can be found in my article of the same name under the Tips & Techniques tab at the top of the blog.  Things are alphabetical, so scroll down to W and take note of any other interesting things you might want to check out later.

I am webbing the whole thing - and then will likely clip the chaining threads so the top is in two "halves" for the cross-seaming and then join them together to complete the top.

So many seams!

One of the reasons I chose to sash this quilt was to give the seam bulk a place to land.

And yes - I'm going for King size. It's been a while since I had a new quilt for my own bed.  

And as you can tell by the top two photos in this post - there is no shortage of strings (all of those bins!)  and I need to keep sewing it up.

Not big enough for a pillow tuck, but big enough to cover the sides so the sheets aren't hanging out like a bad slip beneath a Sunday skirt, you know?

The cornerstones were a snap - I just grabbed handfuls of squares from my squares bin - already cut. Loads of variety. And some fabrics date back to the 1980s.

Zoey Jo, impeding binding progress.

Binding is complete on the hand quilting project - sleeve is about 1/2 way sewn in place.  I'll tack down the label, and then I can hoop it up once again and start hand quilting the interior.

I know it sounds backwards! If you are new and wondering how I can quilt from the outside-in, revisit this post HERE.

Some desk work also happened yesterday - and you'll find my 2024 Craftours line up added to the tabs at the top of the blog.

This was Ireland group 2 this past June!

It's never too early to plan! And though snow was swirling around me yesterday morning, I've set my sights on Ireland & Scotland with Craftours this coming JUNE!

Join me in Ireland June 6-14 as we travel from Dublin to Galway, to Connemara to Dingle to Cliffs of Moher and more!

Ireland is absolutely my favorite place on the planet and I can't wait to go back.

Even more - you can add a 5-day pre-tour package to extend your time on the Emerald Isle.

And - *drum roll* add a 6-day post-tour package in Scotland!

I am over the moon with the options and I can't wait for you to join me.

Space is filling quickly - yes, we welcome friends, spouses, adult children!

Info on all of the above is found HERE.

And yes, if you are looking for a roommate, Craftours can match you up with another person also in search of a roommate.  Many awesome friendships have been formed this way, and these folks have become traveling pals and take more trips together!

Please call Craftours for more info and get your reservation in!

Contact form HERE.

2024 is going to be an awesome travel year for us. We're also heading to Kenya in September, and a year from now we'll be experiencing Christmastime in England!

Grab a friend, spouse, sibling, adult child - and let's see the world together!

I received a cute little message from Kristie at Sew Q Laser letting me know of a little mistake she made when setting up the discount code Bonnie15 for you to save 15% on Sew Q Laser.

It seems she typed in 11/29 instead of 11/28 so guess what? You can still order TODAY and save that 15%!

And be sure to click back to the Gift-Away Post and get your entry in! I'll be drawing for FIVE winners total! 2 for the Sew Q Laser, and 3 for the Iron EZ spray bottle and holder sets.

More information on the Sew Q Laser can be found on the Sew Q Laser website.

The kind folks at IronEZ are also offering a 15% discount to my readers using code BH15OFF 

No more knocking that spray bottle off of their ironing board ever again.

And since Kristie is extending her sale - so am I!

Today is the LAST DAY!

All digital patterns in the Quiltville Store and the Quiltville Etsy Pattern Shop are 30% off using coupon code DIGITAL30 at checkout.

Code MUST be used for discount to apply.

If you aren't sure where to place your code - graphics and instructions are also found in the Gift-Away Post.

Okay - I'm heading out to make sure all is ready for the December Quiltvillians' arrival at Quiltville Inn this afternoon.  It's our LAST retreat of the 2023 season - that's 4 years in the books.

How does all of this fly by so fast?

Quiltville Quote of the Day -

Make what you love, love what you make - Let’s make it so!

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It’s going to be an Awesome Wednesday – right?

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⁣Love the Fabrics in this 1960s postage stamp quilt. I remember so many of these fabrics from my childhood - I'm sure my mom made my outfits with so many of these.