I have a baby quilt top to quilt for another group - I'm planning to get that done this weekend.

Next up is a large applique hibiscus kit that I've had for several years.

Finish my flamingo applique wall hanging. Once those 2 are done I can hang the four quilts in my guest room. Two are done already - a paper pieced flamingo and my applique orchid from a QU class.

Who knows after that? :)

Donna

This weekend is to be spent finishing my round robin for the show and putting a hanging sleeve on my Sunny Lanes.

I also want to finish the quilt for baby Leo in Brazil and the Shoo Fly baby quilt destined for my Etsy shop.

Just picked up a nice magazine at the grocery.....The Scrap Sensation from Quilter's World - 25+ scrap friendly projects. Table runners, hot pads, bed and baby quilts, pin cushions, mug cozy and lots more. It's been ages since I bought a quilt magazine and I deserved it for getting up so early to get the car inspected and grocery shop. ;o)

I'm so glad the month is starting off with a long weekend!!!

CLEAN UP THREAD!
First of all, I must clean every bit of thread off the sewing room floor and figure out a better way to store bobbins and spools so crazy McQueen can't get into it.

LOTTO
I haven't done my Sept lotto blocks yet and need to get those done this weekend. Also October (Santa Faces!) and maybe November (blue/green/purple Depression Blocks).

RETREAT PREPARATION
My main goal is to get ready for the retreat. I know one project I want to bring, but figure I should have a back-up along too.

PICNIC QUILT
I don't want to bring this to retreat because it's too bulky, but I must finish the Fun & Done quilt-as-you-go picnic quilt by Oct 13th. That's the night of the local botanical garden's Fall Jazz Night.

QUILT SHOW
September 21 is the day I'll be at the Jacksonville Quilt Show. It's always a great show and I'm really looking forward to the quilts, the vendors and to spending time with my quilting friend Marilyn. Its will be a weekend of us camping out (RVs, not tents) with husbands, dogs and featherweights!

Kate

Kate, I'll be at Jax on the 21st, too! Maybe with my 2 quilty friends...haven't asked if they'd like to go yet.

Donna

To quilt the bordered diamonds. Going to buy thread for it today.

Kate, I am so relieved Mr. McQueen is mended. I usually pick up thread daily as I work in the sewing room, but got lazy about it, so your posts were timely. Not a good idea since I acquired a new kitten who does 'mouth' things like babies of all persuasions. My adult cat ignores the scrapies on the floor, and is seldom in the sewing room, but I take kitty up for a while every day to get him used to me, and let him rip. He was climbing my design wall yesterday, like a rock cliff. LOL.

This month, I am on a blue/cream crusade. I have so many pieces of blue and fell in love with how the two fabrics go together. It's another jewel box with a carpenter's wheel medallion smack dab in the middle. Double teaming with a blue/cream crazy quilt for a new baby with the scraps I generate. I am in no hurry with this one, plan to keep it myself and am not setting time goals, but just enjoying the experience. If it turns out really well, it'll go to the lady who long arms to quilt it for me. I don't usually splurge but would on this one. I've been spending a lot of time in the kitchen, my dh was just diagnosed with diabetes, and although I know my way around food, I still have a lot to learn, and basically he eats six small meals a day now. argh.

Kate, I am so relieved Mr. McQueen is mended. I usually pick up thread daily as I work in the sewing room, but got lazy about it, so your posts were timely. Not a good idea since I acquired a new kitten who does 'mouth' things like babies of all persuasions. My adult cat ignores the scrapies on the floor, and is seldom in the sewing room, but I take kitty up for a while every day to get him used to me, and let him rip. He was climbing my design wall yesterday, like a rock cliff. LOL.

This month, I am on a blue/cream crusade. I have so many pieces of blue and fell in love with how the two fabrics go together. It's another jewel box with a carpenter's wheel medallion smack dab in the middle. Double teaming with a blue/cream crazy quilt for a new baby with the scraps I generate. I am in no hurry with this one, plan to keep it myself and am not setting time goals, but just enjoying the experience. If it turns out really well, it'll go to the lady who long arms to quilt it for me. I don't usually splurge but would on this one. I've been spending a lot of time in the kitchen, my dh was just diagnosed with diabetes, and although I know my way around food, I still have a lot to learn, and basically he eats six small meals a day now. argh.

Donna, My DD made a small flamingo wallhanging for me a few years ago. She blinged it a bit and I just love it. Am looking forward to seeing yours.

Kate, have fun at the quilt show and camping with your friend!

Rita, What kind of thread will you use on your diamonds?

calliope, Your plans for the blue and cream sound great. Sorry about your DH ..... amazing the indepth things we need to learn about food when certain diagnoses threaten our lives.

I'm finally back home and very slowly trying to put things back together in my sewing area. It's difficult trying to take it easy when I'm so anxious to get started sewing something.....anything!

SharonG/FL

RVing at the quilt show sounds fun Kate. Well I am keeping it simple this month. I will continue to hand-quilt my Grandma's quilt. I started at the bottom of the quilt and have now started the middle row of large blocks. Hoping I can have have everything except the border and binding done by Halloween. I want to get her quilt completed before Christmas and hopefully have time to complete some other small projects for Christmas presents.

Best to you,
Sandra

Sharon, I picked out King Tut multicolored cotton, it's called "Harem". It has pinks, yellows, & purples in it, because those are the predominant colors in the quilt. It's also nice thread, I've used it before. I have finally gotten used to handling the quilt on the machine with the Quilter's Dream cotton/poly batting. The hardest part is when I'm quilting the center blocks, but as I move to the sides it gets easier. I did come to realize that I needed to get the edges of the quilt up on the table instead of letting them hang over, the weight with this batting is unbelievable. I tell you, that batting is sublime.

I finished one of my September goals! This is a pattern called Pretty Thin by Donna French Collins that I've had for a long time. I did the applique while we were on vacation and recently finished the embroidery. (Took a while b/c it was boring!) Anyway, yesterday I machine quilted it with a large crosshatch and bound it.

He's going in my spare bedroom. I have another flamingo wall hanging in there and will have 2 flower appliques, too.

The hibiscus applique is on the quilting frame...nearly done. I'm having issues with thread breakage so have quit in frustration for now.

Donna

He/she? is great. I can imagine that having completed the appliqu� it was tiring doing the embroidery, but looks like it was well worth it.

Donna, It might have been boring but it sure is a cute whimsical flamingo!

Rita, Sometimes it seems we need a huge room with a u shape table set-up for quilting those bigger quilts.

I'm making a little headway here.....think I'll be able to sew a bit tomorrow. doing a happy dance....

SharonG/FL

Forgot to say in the last post. Learned by a visit to the Sacramento zoo that flamingos (they're orange there because they eat shrimp) colors are determined by what they eat. This guy ate lots of maraschino cherries ;-)

Must have been the ones from my drinks on the cruise! :) LOL Living in FL we have lots of opportunities to see flamingos and it's pretty amazing how many different colors they can be.

The one in my other wall hanging is shades of pink.

Donna

My Floosie is in pinks, too. Planning to take it to retreat for show and tell as I think DD did a great job on it.

SharonG/FL

Here is my second finish for this month! (I know - don't faint.)

It's a kit I've had in the closet for quite a while. The applique is all fused - you build each part on a pressing sheet then fuse them all to the background. Then you layer it and stitch around the edges of the pieces then add quilting details.

I did the edge stitching on the Brother, but it balked at doing FM (it always does) so I loaded it on the frame and tried to quilt with Sulky rayon machine embroidery thread. The thread kept breaking so I ended up using C&C Dual Duty poly/cotton.

It's 17 x 22 and will go in the spare bedroom with the flamingo I posted earlier.

Donna

How pretty, Donna. You have quite a tropical theme going there. I like all the veins in the flowers and leaves. Did you have to cut all those intricate tiny pieces? Lois

The applique is all fused - you build each part on a pressing sheet then fuse them all to the background. Then you layer it and stitch around the edges of the pieces then add quilting details.

Donna, Sounds like you could do a tutorial on this technique. I think this will go well with your flamingo wallhanging. Good job!

I have one of those plastic-like pressing sheets, but don't really know what to do with it. @:(

SharonG/FL

Gorgeous! Sounds like a class I'd enjoy.

Thanks, y'all! Yes, Lois, I had to trace and cut out about a zillion pieces, many of them very small!

Sharon, you can see through these pressing sheets, so you lay it over the pattern and then lay the fabric pieces (with the fusible on them already) over on the pressing sheet following the pattern. It actually went together much faster than I thought it would.

Donna

Donna that's really pretty! Well I have gotten some work done on Grandma's quilt, all I have left to hand-quilt is 3 rows and the outer border + make binding. :-)

Best to you,
Sandra

In reading over the posts, it looks like we've been busy this month. Clap Clap Clap Clap.....

Of course, I've changed my mind about retreat projects and there's still time to change it again. lol But, I think I've narrowed it down so Kate's vehicle won't be as full as we first thought. I've cut sashing for the monochrome blocks I made awhile back and have been sewing those on. Still haven't found the second Twister Tool I put in a safe place and can't find....

How's it going in your sewing world????

SharonG/FL

Right now we're driving back to Orlando after a fun RV trip. I have new mosquito bites and new quilt fabric. The campsite was beautiful, at the end of Amelia Island. Saw lots of wildlife, including dolphins!, but no owls. The Jax quilt show was huge. I love this show! (Donna, did you get there?)

Kate

Yes, Kate, I went on Friday and had a grand time! They have SO many beautiful quilts...lots of inspiration!

Donna

I'm sorry we didn't see you! I think I was in sensory overload by the quilts and the vendors.

Yeah, I was, too! Plus my camera battery crapped out after an hour (even though I fully charged it Wed. night) and I was taking pictures with my phone and worrying that it's battery might run out, too. Then I decided after twice around the vendors to go back and get something and couldn't remember what booth it was in! LOL

In addition to my 2 goals I have made a valance and 2 pillow shams for the spare bedroom, too. I got 2 bolster forms at JoAnn's this morning so now need to make covers for those to complete the room.

Donna

Donna, I love your wall hangings! It is so nice to see unique projects - thanks for sharing them with us.
Sounds like the Jax Quiltshow was a fun weekend for you both.

I really need to get my butt in gear and get ready for Camp!
I was planning on doing sooooo much yesterday and the @#!$ power went off for the entire afternoon - for no apparent reason! Today, my stuff is still not working right, and I am in complete panic mode.

I got one project packed up today - I'm so sick of it, I may not even work on it at Camp. But I should, just to get it done (well done to the point of joining the other done tops :)