New York Beauties – a Demo translates into a new Project
We are expecting snow today and tomorrow. I guess we shouldn’t complain considering that it’s almost the end of November and the weather has been beautiful, for the most part. The sun was shining yesterday and it was so warm in my studio that I had to open the window and close the blinds. I even went outside and lied down on the bench wearing just a sweater and yoga pants. I almost fell asleep! What a lovely and bright day it was!
But, despite the laziness of that half-hour in the sun, I had a productive day. A couple of weeks ago I did a demo on New York Beauties Blocks for the Flying Needles Quilt Guild – which I belong to. It is difficult to explain how to put the block together without actually using a sewing machine, but I had lots of step-outs which I had pinned to boards, so hopefully everyone got the idea. I promised to bring the sewing machine to the January meeting and actually sew a block together to give them a better idea. It’s a somewhat simple block to sew once you know how to do it. As you know, it is still one of my favorites.
I didn’t want to leave all those blocks in pieces, so I started sewing them together and ended up with about 6-7 complete ones, plus some pieces. I decided to work on a new project to be offered as a class / tutorial / possible pattern. It uses 4 blocks, partial seams and will end up being sewn into a pillow. Here are some photos of the process:
Last night I started quilting the 2 13″ x 22″ pieces for the back. Quilting with black thread on black fabric at night … maybe not such a good idea, especially when I was quilting circles and feathers. Hopefully, I’ll get some quilting done in the next few days and will have the pillow assembled and stuffed before the end of the week. I promise to post a photo of the finished product.
What are you working on these days? Are you getting ready for Christmas? I have three quilts to bind before Christmas, a pillow to quilt and finish, another quilt that I’d like to get started, a table runner or two … Lots of ideas, not enough time. Hope your plans are taking shape.
This is all for today’s installment. I hope you enjoyed seeing what I am working on. Hope to hear from you soon. Enjoy the snow. Great weather to stay at home and quilt!
Ana
