Sometimes Quilting is a Lifesaver

I started this QAL one week before Bob passed away.

Being committed to making the blocks, as they were issued each month was a real lifesaver.

I was also doing another QAL, that I started six months earlier and the two QALs, kept me focused when so much was going on.

This is a close up of the center portion of the quilt.  The quilt was the 2015 Mystery QAL with Pat Sloan; its title is Vacation Time.  I started the first block January 22, 2015, and finished the binding yesterday, March 13, 2016.  The quilt measures 62" x 66".

This is the quilt back, and a close-up of the pantograph, Almost Paisley.  I thought it went great with the center fabric.

The last photo shows the San Diego Modern Quilt Guild's Vintage Quilt Revival QAL, that I was working on concurrently with the Vacation Time QAL.  Real lifesavers! 

May your bobbins always be full,

Meadow Quilt Workshop

I had a VERY interesting day.  I signed up for the Lizzie House Meadow Workshop.  It was sponsored by the San Diego Modern Quilt Guild.  The location was more than an hour away, so I decided to board the dogs for the night and pick them up on my way home.  That way I could leave early and be on time.  Weekday morning commute traffic can be bad in SoCal.  My drive took about 70 minutes and I'd allowed two hours, just because.  I spent the rest of the time before class reading emails and reading a book.  The class was scheduled from 9-4, when 9 rolled around the store was still closed.  I got out and walked around and nothing was happening.  I was unfamiliar with the area, and if you look at the photo above, you can see that there are two shops in this strip mall that refer to quilts and roses, and I was at the wrong one.  The woman who runs the wrong store was late opening, she didn't get there until 10:10, I was beside myself.  She told me I was at the wrong store and where the correct one was.  So I was over an hour late, even though I was early!

It's a good thing I'm an experienced sewist; I was able to catch up really fast.  The gals at the SDMQG are super nice and actually apologized!

I ended up having a great time and meeting some wonderful people.  The "boss" of the volunteers at Quiltcon was even there, but Colleen is a member of my MQG, The Temecula Valley MQG.  I worked for her for 4 days, and I loved the experience.

At the workshop, we only constructed a test block, but we were given the foundation of making the entire Meadow Quilt.  This quilt is made using scissors, no rotary cutting!  That alone makes it unique.

At the end of the class, Lizzy House offered to sign our test blocks.  I'm going to use this on the quilt back and I think it will be a nice touch.

This is a shot of her completed quilt.  She's taught this workshop more than 80 times, all over the world

Lizzie House

All the members of the workshop, with their blocks.  This is the very first quilt workshop/class I've ever taken.

The drive home took 2 hours and 15 minutes, traffic, traffic, traffic.

May your bobbins always be full,