A Quilted Hug

Saturday was quilting day at The Strawberry Patch for Lady L. She arrived bright and early to try her hand at steering Sundance in loops over the surface of her beautiful chevron quilt made from her precious Grammy's fabrics.  Unlike the rest of us who would complete the quilting and then stand back to admire the finished product, Lady L. promptly wrapped herself up tightly in her first quilt! She did a phenomenal job start to finish, including her own awesome hand-dyed backing fabric!  This week she'll make her binding and get that attached, what a wonderful keepsake she'll have to take with her to college in August; a warm, quilted hug!

Well done, Lady L!
Life is Good!

Smile!

There's nothing that can compare to THAT smile, the one worn by someone who has just put that last quilting stitch in their first quilt! This is one of the B. Sisters; she arrived yesterday morning and after a quick long arm lesson she was off and running, deftly leading Sundance through loops and turns over the surface of her pretty Nine-patch quilt! She is a natural. She was done before dinner time, it was a very productive day!

 B. quilting a pantograph design.

This is her daughter, the lovely Lady L. She'll be quilting next. Take a look at the gorgeous tie-dye backing she created for her ZigZag quilt. She comes by her talent naturally. I am proud to be their instructor,
they continually inspire me.

Life is Good!

Do You Remember?

Do you remember the feeling of those last few quilting stitches going into your very first quilt? There's no other feeling quite like it. Now, imagine that you very first quilt is made from your precious mother's fabrics; fabrics that she had collected but never stitched into a quilt, fabrics that outlived her. Today was quilting day for one of the B. Sisters; here she is driving Sundance gracefully over her first quilt, the one that would make her Momma proud; very proud!

Pale blue Loop-de-loop quilting adds fluid movement  and soft texture to an otherwise linear quilt.

The quilt's backing after all of the quilting was completed.  Upon closer inspection we decided that the backing fabric had been hand dyed, a skill that B.'s mother enjoyed practicing and perfecting. Making this quilt has been a therapeutic and healing journey for this new quilter. Today there were tears... and hugs. 
This quilt is already deeply treasured, although there are other quilts loved a LOT
there are none loved any more than this one; there couldn't be, it's simply not possible!
Do you remember the feeling?
Life is Good!

And Yet Another...

... reason to cheer! It was time for "hip, hip, and hooray" last evening at The Strawberry Patch as B. (half of the famed B. Sisters team) completed her first quilt top. She will add a border to hers (as her sister is doing) and soon it will be quilting time. I was so excited to view her artistic layout, rather than placing her 9-Patch blocks randomly she chose to arrange them by color and value producing this stunning optical design. Well done, B.! Her sister's quilt top from the same pattern can be viewed here. They are both awesome!

These same sweet and generous ladies brought me with some wonderful gifts last evening, I can't wait to try them all out! There's a wonderful Prairie Point pressing tool, a cool Log Cabin/Courthouse Steps ruler by Creative Grids and the most precious book: Story Time by Kim Gaddy... all these were wrapped their Momma's fabric and tied with a length of her ribbon, she was a very special woman who is sorely missed and more dearly loved with each and every passing day. In fact, it's their mother and my friend, Natalie, who is our common thread. She has bound us together in this happy quilting adventure that we're all experiencing now on Thursday evenings, for that (and for her) I could not be more grateful; I'm certain that she knows and approves, and that she's smiling!

Life is Good! 

Bitten By The Quilt Bug

I asked the question last week: "is there any smile broader than that of a quilter with her very first quilt"?  Last evening Lady L. arranged and labeled her blocks, I heard her talking about tie-dyeing fabric for the borders! In answer to that question... yes, there's one smile larger and brighter: that of her Grammie smiling down on her. Well done, Lady L., there's loud cheering happening, on Earth and in Heaven. That Quilt Bug has attacked again and bitten yet another; what Lady L. might not know is there's no turning back now, her future (and ours) is looking bright! Make room, the next generation of quiltmakers is here.

Put on your sunglasses... it's all good~
Life is Good!

Class Notes

It's back to class time for students everywhere, but these quilt students have been hard at work all summer long right here at The Strawberry Patch! One of the B. Sisters (R) has finished her very pretty 9-Patchtastic quilt top and is ready for batting, backing and some quilting stitches, she is definitely the class over-achiever! Is there any smile broader than that of a quilter with their very first quilt? 

Lady L. trims up a stack of half square triangle blocks and is laying them out in a chevron design; she's  making a throw-sized quilt for the end of her bed from her precious Grammie's fabrics, she's an inspiration! Don't worry about the future of our quilting world, it's flourishing; Lady L. is living proof.

Miss D. is finishing up a wallhanging begun many years ago with hand quilting, her stitches are perfect!

Last, but certainly not least, the other Sister B. carefully pins together her 9- Patchtastic block units in preparation for more time in front of the machine. Yes, it might be the beginning of school and first class days everywhere else; but it's just another Thursday evening for these happy, eager, quilt students!

Well done, ladies~

Life is Good!